Anniversaries

It was Mum and Dad's 40th wedding anniversary on Sunday so we went up to see them for a family get together. All my sibiings were there and the in-laws too. Even C's in-laws-to-be popped along. As ever with these family gatherings there was way too much food.

D cleaned up his fishing gear that he'd left in the shed when he moved out. Little C and me are going fishing with D on the 16th. C is really looking forward to fishing with his uncle and I'm looking forward to spending some time with my brother. I really don't get to see him much now.

It was my 11th wedding anniversary the day before too. We went looking for a pet dog at Last Chance before meeting up with J, N and their kids for bowling at Tunbridge Wells. The lane we had kept breaking down so we got vouchers for a free game.

After the bowling we popped next door to Frankie & Benny's for some dinner. The starters didn't come out together and when J got his tomato and basil soup it had a chicken leg in it!!??!! He was really calm about it and just asked for another soup. I really expected N to complain a lot more, she would've been right but, there you go.

Dog hunting

Just spent the weekend looking for a pet dog in the local rescue centres. They've got a lot more professional since we last adopted a cat. Now they take a lot more care categorising the dogs/cats. Each animal has full details and they list such things as the age of children he/she will cope with, other types of pets, locale etc.

For example a typical dog listing might say:
Name
Breed
Age
Sex
Good with children 10+ or Adult-only household
No cats
OK with other dogs but might be dominant
Some behavioural issues, needs an experienced owner.
Then some blurb on the dog's likes/dis-likes and how playful/taciturn they are.

Much better than it used to be but it does mean it'll take a while to find the right one.

One common theme at all the centres is the large number of Staffs dogs they have, seems they ony really appeal to drug-dealers and teenage boys with insecurity issues.

Howwwlll

I think I've finally given in to all the bloddy nagging about a new pet. Worse, it seems we're getting a dog.

Our elder cat, Emily, died recently and Wife has been on and on about a new cat. She logs into my facebook account and changes my status, leaves messages on my friends walls, get's the kids to nag me too. It's just plain old manipulation as practised by wives around the globe ever since Adam first bit the apple.

I set some conditions though. No new cat until she gives up smoking for 3 months. Well she's given up smoking but somehow the 3 months has become 6 weeks and the cat's become a dog. Life is too short to argue over such minor things, if you're male that is. Anyway, i quite like the idea of a dog but not the tie and the potential cost.