Day 31

Beautiful boy doing his favourite thing . . . dozing in the sunshine

Day 30

There's nothing like meeting up with old school friends. These girls are some of my closest friends from senior school. We went to TGI Friday's for one of their birthdays . . .it was like being 13 again, especially as they expect you to stand on the table and be sung to by the whole restaurant. We spared my friend the embarassment of that!

Day 29

Day 28

Look at the birdie!

Day 27

Can you fit a greyhound in a mini? Luckily my Mum's car is a mini clubman which means the boot is a bit bigger. So the answer is yes, but only for short journeys!

Day 26

I was trying to keep a straight face for a passport photo. Why is it when someone says be straight-faced you just can't stop laughing?!

Day 25

Day 24

Day 23

Day 22

Day 21

Day 20

 

The rents all dressed up to go to a piano recital. Minty and I stayed at home and watched Sky all evening which was a real treat for me after a long week working at the hospital.

Day 19

Day 18

Day 17

Waiting for the postman. As soon as he arrives Minty throws himself at the door and rips the post out of the letterbox. We really should get a wire post box on the back of the door because most of our mail has tooth marks through it! The poor postman is scared to death of the psycho one-eyed dog living in this house!

Day 16

Day 15

As snug as a bug in a rug! He likes to be completely wrapped up in a blanket in the evening and snoozes in front of the fireplace whilst we watch TV. He usually hides his face underneath as well, not sure how he manages to breathe really!

Day 14

Mmmm these make me dream of of hot summer days . . .

Day 13

 

Today we ate what we baked yesterday, yum!

Day 12

We needed to use up some of the lovely Sussex eggs we received yesterday. So we baked . . . good old Kenwood Mixer!

Day 11

Fresh Sussex eggs from the farm behind our house. They taste delicious, much better than those from the supermarket.

Day 10

I believe I can fly!

Day 9

My new ear muffs. After buying them, I wore them out walkng with Minty. Came home, put them on a chair in the hall and went upstairs. Next thing I hear my Mum shout "Noooooooo!" Minty had found them and started chewing away. Luckily I salvaged them just in time. Anything fluffy and he wants it. Well I guess he is bred to chase bunny tales!

Day 8

He's seen something moving in the distance. Is it a hare? Is it a fox? Whatever it is, he wants to chase it!

Day 7

A pretty orchid to brighten up these dark January days

Day 6

Rain rain go away!  It poured all last night and all of today. I have to drag Minty outside in this weather, he hates getting wet. Roll on spring . . .

Day 5

A gruesome scene - Minty's Christmas teddy bear. First he chewed off both his eyes. Then he made a hole in his head and pulled out his brains. Lastly he went straight to his heart and pulled out his insides. He behaves like a puppy, honestly he's 7 years old now!

After adopting Minty, we soon realised he was not like a typical greyhound. He was WIRED for a start. He needed long walks and exercising and he just wanted to play all day long. As for sleeping, well that was a rarity. It felt like we had a labrador puppy and I do wonder if that is in his blood.

Though he had looked like a greyhound at the rescue centre, over the first year he filled out a lot. He did not become overweight but he simply had a much stockier build than a greyhound. Looking back at pictures of when he first came home, I am shocked by how skinny and underweight he was.

Being a rescue, he came with baggage. He does not get on with other dogs which is probably why he was kept away from them at the rescue centre. He needed a lot of training and he took quite a while to trust us. When we put him in kennels for the first time when we went away, he wouldn't look at us when we picked him up again and he lost a lot of weight. It was obviously too stressful for him and now he only stays with family.

Even now he stills exhibits some behaviour related to being abandoned. He needs a lot of physical contact for reassurance. If we are in the house but in separate rooms he will only sit in the hall where he can see everyone. He is always checking where we all are. He won't let anyone else walk him unless he knows them really well. And whenever one of us leaves the house, he makes a lot of noise!

The lovely thing about rescue dogs is that they have so much love to give. I think he honestly appreciates affection all the more because there was a time when he never had it. We find ourselves saying "Yes we STILL love you, don't worry!" because he is always rolling over for tickles just to check that we do indeed still love him!

Day 4

Back to Minty Woo today as a subject. He's getting more comfortable with my camera now. When I first got a DSLR he kept turning his head away when I tried to photograph him. Now he just looks at me like I'm nuts, especially today when I was photographing his nose!

I had always wanted a dog and nagged my parents for years and years. Finally when I was 16 and studying for GCSEs (exams in the UK) I said to my parents, if I get 10 A* star grades can I get a dog? And my Mum said YES, if you get those grades we will get one! The thing was she didn't think I would get those grades. And to be honest I didn't think I could either. But I gave it my best shot.

In the end I got 6 A* grades and 6 A grades and 4 of the A grades were only a few marks off A*. Because I was literally a few marks off the target, she gave in and said we could get a dog! We had in mind that we wanted to get a retired greyhound because a lot of them need homes after their racing careers are over. They are also generally very placid, laid back characters who sleep a lot, don't shed much hair and actually only need 2 short bursts of exercise a day.

So we went to a local rescue centre but didn't see any greyhounds. We were about to leave when we saw a sign to 2 more kennels down some steps away from the other dogs. Down we went and there was Minty in a huge outdoors kennel. He ran staight up to us and put his paws on the wire. Of course we were smitten. Then he started playing with his Kong toy and he was jumping literally 5 feet in the air! He was full of beans.

After a bit of thinking we decided a younger dog would be quite nice because we'd have them around for a bit longer. Although it said Greyhound Cross on his details he looked exactly like a greyhound. So we played with him for a bit in their exercise area and I remember he wouldn't look any of us in the eye. After a home inspection he came home just a few weeks later!

More on his adoption tomorrow . . .

Day 3

My 365 photo today had to be inside the house again. I'm staying in to try and get some work done on my dissertation. I thought I'd give Minty a rest and find something interesting to photograph in the house. My Mum keeps this bell on the hall table. She bought it when we lived in our old house to ring when dinner was ready. I was a teenager and my room was in the attic. When I was upstairs working listening to music, the bell saved shouting / trekking up 2 flights of stairs!

However, it has become habit to ring it. I usually help prepare dinner but if I am upstairs she still rings it, even though our new house only has a first floor. Minty knows it means dinner and he howls when it is rung!

I liked the different focus on the knut and bolt and the clapper (the ball inside). This picture reminded me of the Italian word for bell which is "campana" for a church bell or "campanello" for a smaller bell e.g. a bicycle or door bell. Campanology is the study of bells. I loved learning Italian at school because it is close in origin to Latin therefore similar words pop up in English a lot, which made it easy to remember!

Day 2

Dolce Vita by Dior is my favourite perfume. My Mum used to wear it and when I was little I would sneak a spray when she wasn't looking. Now I wear it every day. I love how the smell of different perfumes takes you back to a certain time or a memory of someone.

Memories, Dreams and Reflections

1. Me!

On a night out in London. I guess I have always been happy and pretty confident but I am more so this year so that's probably what I'm most proud of. 

2. I Love You

 

More than words can say Baby Boy.

3.  Still Laughing

 

This plastic green dragon was one of Minty's Christmas presents. He absolutely shredded it to pieces within 10 minutes of getting it!

4. Winter Wonderland

Frost on the leaves, there was no snow when I took this.

5. Birthday

I celebrated with my university friends a week before my birthday. Being a Christmas baby, the two celebrations always merge a bit!

6. Friends

All that was left of the bottle of brandy after adding it to mulled wine.

7. I Was Inspired

To try Christmas tree bokeh after seeing other bloggers' photos. Then I spotted this little reindeer and thought I'd add him!

8. Spring Fever

Pretty spring light!

9. Travel or Vacation

My Mum and Dad on a bench in Central Park this summer.

10. Summer Days

Me and some old school friends at the beach near our house. I'm in the middle, Titanic anyone?

11. A Day in My Life

Training to be a dietitian, I spend a lot of time talking about food! We had to wear these hideous T-shirts when I was working at the hospital in the summer. They show the correct portion size of different fruits and vegetables. At the top is says, "Eat More Fruit and Veg". Sexy huh?

12. All Smiles

He always makes me smile!

13. Autumn Harvest

Horse chesnuts.

14. Family

With a corny heart shape of course!

15. Celebrate!

Baby opening his presents on Christmas morning. He actually does open them, we just have to give him a hand with the selotape!

16. Let's Do It Again

We went to the Metropolitan Museum of Art, NYC in the summer but one day did not even touch the surface. It was an incredible museum, I want to see more of it.


17. I Miss You

Still on the New York theme, I do love this city and I miss it.

18. Beautiful

How can that face not make you melt? "Ok you can have another biscuit, sweetheart!"

19. Dress Up

At a Christmas party, Lil' Elf!

20. Macro

Frosty. 

21. Holidays

He got this blanket as one of his Christmas presents. He loves to be wrapped up in a blanket and won't settle down unless he's cosy in the evenings. He didn't look to impressed when I took this picture, maybe because I called him a Grandma?

22. My Favourite

 I'm a sucker for red berries in the snow. That's not a typo, favourite is spelt with a "u" in the UK.

23. Don't Ever Change

This boy loves his cuddles, I hope that never changes!

24. Just Because . . . So There!

Thought this one was quite fun. The purple blur is my Mum walking in the woods.

25. Hopes and Dreams

Minty makes little barking noises in his sleep and his legs move as if he's running. I wonder what he dreams about? My personal hope for 2011 is to complete my 365 project, let's see how it goes!

Wow that is the most time it has ever taken me to make a post! Check out all the other entries at Ramblings and Photos.