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 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 . . .

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.

Scavenger Hunt Sunday

I have been stuck inside for a few days with a cold so I had time to try out Scavenger Hunt Sunday this week. Since I've been ill, I havn't really been outside so a few of these are off the Christmas tree!

1. Winter

I took this during the week when walking past Somerset House. During winter there is a skating rink in the square and it is like the London equivalent of Rockefeller centre, it is THE place to skate over Christmas. My university campus is literally the building next door and this year King's College London also bought part of Somerset House.


2. Black and white with selective colouring

Minty playing with his brightly coloured ball. It used to squeak but he chewed a hole and pulled the squeak out so it had been sewn back up.


3. The wind

This was the only wind theme I could find indoors. A decoration of  a Scottish bag pipe player which I bought in Edinburgh one year. I guess these need a lot of wind to play!


4. Framed

Counting down, only 5 days to go now . . . 


5. Remember when . . .

I used to play the saxophone. From age 12 to 18 I played in the school jazz band and orchestra. I swore I would keep it up at university but alas it is currently in the attic. Maybe when I graduate this summer I will have the time to take it up again. I remember spotting this angel decoration not long after I had started playing.

Take a look at all the other hunts over at Ramblings and Photos.

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge: Winter

The theme over at The Paper Mama this week is Winter. I chose this photo of my furry baby, Minty. I love the specks of snow on his ears and the snow-covered ivy which he is sniffing. Check out all the great winter entries here!

I Heart Faces Photo Challenge: Pet Faces

This week's theme over at I Heart Faces is pets. I took this photo 2 weeks ago in our first big snowfall. This is my dog Minty who is a greyhound cross i.e. a lurcher. He is a bit smaller and a bit stockier than a regular greyhound but he has all the typical greyhound characteristics.

He was a rescue dog and has never raced but he runs in incredibly accurate circuits, even though he only has one eye! You can see in the photo the two lines in front of him where he has run round once already and he literally follows the same circuit round and round. He is FAST, you really wouldn't want to be in the way of his circuit! He doesn't need long walks, just his burst of exercise each day and he's happy.

He loves the snow, gets very excited and runs faster than ever! Check out all the other gorgeous pets over at I Heart Faces!

The Paper Mama Photo Challenge: Blessings

Here in the UK, we don't celebrate Thanksgiving but I certainly have a lot to be thankful for. I chose this photo which I took 2 days ago down the country lane during our first big snowfall this winter. I am particularly thankful for having a happy and healthy furry baby. As you can see, my dog Minty does not have a left eye. It had to be removed a few months back due to a tumour. I am thankful that:

1. The tumour was benign
2. He has adapted really well to having just 1 eye. Occasionally he bumps into an object he hasn't seen and I have to throw balls towards the correct side but otherwise you'd never know.
3. We decided to adopt a rescue dog. At the beginning, he was hard work to train but he has given back more than we could ever have imagined.

Be sure to have a look at all the other Blessings over at The Paper Mama:

Sweet Success

Imagine my excitement when I checked back at The Paper Mama to see the winners for the Black and White photo challenge and my gorgeous Minty was there at number 2! My eyes nearly popped out of my head! Here is what the guest judge, Tezz, said:

"Sweet Minty captured my heart early on, this week...I couldn’t get this image out of my mind; his soulful eyes, looking slightly ashamed yet playful at the same time...it makes me think he’s just got a ”talking to” for playing with the tree, but he just wants to go right back to it again!  A fun holiday photo, taken from a great point of view...and, that added twinkle is like the ”cherry on top” :D"

I have entered only 4 challeneges since getting a new DSLR a few weeks ago. The funny thing was this photo was taken a year ago with my old point and shoot and it came out awful! I really wish I had discovered photo editing software earlier rather than just accepting dire photos but that is the great thing about the blogging community, you learn so much from reading other people's blogs and looking at their photos.

I secretly had a little aim to get a top 5 listing in a photo challenge over the course of this year, when I intend to start a 365 project, so I feel very encouraged now but there is SO much more to learn, bring it on!


Thanks Tez, you have made my day!

The Paper Mama: 2010 Holiday Card Challenge

This picture was taken on my birthday last December, one week before Christmas. I was originally going to zoom in and snap the couple with the dog who you can see in the distance but realised the shadows of me and my dog were rather lovely!

I nearly didn't make it home for my birthday because there was a record amount of snow and the UK transport system grinds to a halt even with moderate amounts. My 1 1/4hr train journey from London took 3 hours. We had our first sprinkling of the year 2 days ago but a lot more is predicted this week. Bring it on!

My previous post has a few more "cards" that I made but didn't make the final cut!

Check out all the festive entries at The Paper Mama.

Decisions, decisions

Today I have been playing around editing photos for the Paper Mama 2010 Holiday Card Challenge. I have a few favourites which I thought I would post before I link up my chosen card.

This was so much fun! Next year I might actually get some photos printed as cards. For this year, I've already bought charity cards. Now I just have to choose my favourite . . .