Rupert and Hugo were a bit nonplussed by it and were quite keen that we should have it removed :-D
It didn't snow for long and then the sun came out. I went outside a bit later to do something, looked out over Ballarat and saw this over the mountains behind Ballarat, slowly heading our way:
Fortunately, by the time it got to us it had transformed into rain rather than snow and wasn't, quite, a storm.
We stayed up at Hill House on Thursday evening. Lindsey had bought in chicken kievs for dinner and Annie the vet was expected at some point to trim Rupert's claws. Rupert HATES having his paws touched. So Annie had prescribed a sedative to make him sleepy enough so it wouldn't be so dramatic for him.
Sleepy? The sedative obviously made him feel a bit peculiar but it didn't make him sleepy. Far from it. He was positively hyperactive. When Annie arrived it took both Lindsey and Jim to sit on him to allow Annie to do his claws. I almost had to sit on Hugo who clearly thought that Rupert was being attacked and wanted to rescue him. Alternatively, of course, he might have thought it was a great game. Whatever, it took all my strength and cajoling to keep him at a distance. No one knows why Rupert is so sensitive about his paws. As far as we are aware no one has ever tried to hurt his feet. He's been with us since a tiny puppy and we definitely haven't.
On Friday the weather was horrible. It was raining fit to burst and it was windy. Rupert dashed out for his morning wee as fast as he possibly could. Hugo flatly refused to go outside. Flatly. And when a Great Dane digs all four paws in and refuses to move there isn't much you can do about it. If it is a small dog you can pick it up and move it. You can't do that with a Great Dane! Jim reports that Hugo retired to our bed and eventually went outside when the rain had dropped off at about 10:00!!!
It was Lindsey's birthday on Friday so Jim and I once again stayed at her place overnight and I cooked a birthday tea of beef wellingtons, proper thrice cooked chips and Lindsey's favourite vegetables.
Sunday was Mothers' Day. Plus, of course, it was still Lindsey's birthday weekend. She had had breakfast with Emily on Saturday morning and dinner with Ian, who had returned from Sydney, on Saturday evening. The rest of us rocked up to Stella and Tony's place on Sunday for a "picnic" lunch to celebrate Lindsey's birthday and Mothers' Day. I took party pies and party quiches. Suzie brought her apple and fennel sausage rolls. There was smoked salmon, chicken burgers, salads, vegetable spring rolls, buttered potatoes, all sorts of picnic style food. There were also 17 people and 5 dogs. It was a boisterous celebration. Having a picnic was a great idea. Nothing like the amount of work that a "proper" Sunday lunch for 17 takes.
Lindsey's son Ant made her a birthday cake:
Inside it was a rainbow layered cake with a centre filled with smarties. It was very beautiful.
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| Lindsey took this photo |
We were very fortunate with the weather. It was gloomy, cold and drizzly when we left Mount Helen but the weather cleared the closer we got to Melbourne and by the time we got to Mount Martha the sun had come out. There was a lot more traffic than I had been expecting for a Sunday morning - I was glad not to have to tackle grumpy weather as well as lots of Sunday traffic.
Jim and I went to Costco on the way home. I haven't been for ages. It was seriously busy - at one point I wondered if we would get a parking spot! I hadn't expected it to be quite so busy but I guess lots of people had had the same thought as me - it's not an enormous detour to go there when en route between the two Mounts.
This morning we have blue sky and the sun has just got up. The new week beckons. I suppose I should consider getting dressed and go out to meet it. I hope the weather won't be quite as exciting this week. I know we need rain but gentle rain rather than flooding rain would be better.
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