Let the games begin

Karina's giveaway result a day early

All present and waiting for the draw for Karina's giveaway ?

Even Frankie de tabby joined us.

As the sun shone today we had the draw in our garden. I took every name that had made a comment on Soggibottom  from the post on Marie Charcot Tooth Disease onward to the last post of Karina's giveaway.

Hope you all approve. You are all in the basket.
Just like to say a very big thank you for all your good wishes and thoughts for our daughter Karina.

The giveaway was Karina's idea to say thank you for all your good wishes.

Tony picked the name, each name on a separate folded piece of paper, no random generated computer here, only the best, a hand picked winner.

Freya Rose Blossom watched.

 The winner is.......

Just need an address Billie Bee and Karina's giveaway is on it's way to you.

For everyone, a rose from our garden as consolation.

It's six days to the opening ceremony of the Olympics, we are riveted in anticipation.

I know exactly where Freya will spend most of her time during the next few weeks.
Freya is expecting company tomorrow, the reason why the giveaway has taken place a day early.

You can find Freya at CATFLAP CAVALIER as usual.

A glorious red sunset, must mean a beautiful Sunny Summer's day.What ever your doing, have a great weekend. 

Karina's Soggibottom Give a way.

There are some things I love to distraction, most of all.... my other half and all three of our kids.

Everyone already knows that anything with four paws that lives here gets extra treatment too.

Karina is, as most of all that follow Soggibottom's blog know..... is....
Supposed to be recovering from her foot operation. I say supposed, because she will never actually do as we suggest......
Karina always has, always will do, exactly her own thing. this I understand very well... I haven't a clue as to where she gets her stubbornness from........ I am so pleased she has that extra special gene that makes her special,  that makes her take a stand and stands out from the norm, and won't let things beat her. MY GIRL.

I always like to remind everyone that the cottage is called Soggibottom and it's not my name or a particular nickname that either Tony or I have. Soggibottom is the 17th Century Cottage, in the South of Devon.

The name makes you smile though, doesn't it ?

Thanks guys for all your good wishes over that last few weeks for Karina, I have passed every single comment on to her.

In a phone conversation, she said she would like to thank every one.

This morning I had a small package through our door, delivered by our very special postman. Who I aim to do a very special post for.

Karina is far better than I will ever will be with beads, you already know she welds a paint brush when she feels well enough to do so like a Cavalier, I don't paint, or do beads...

Karina and I used to have a pact, you draw it, I can sew it.

This giveaway is from our darling daughter.
It's going to run for a week.. oh, so many photo's I can cram into that time..

Freya will still be in training for the Olympics on her blog CATFLAP CAVALIER 
Karina's giveaway ends 7.00 p.m. 22nd July GMT.
There are some who already have an entry, just by wishing Karina well and sending all their love.........
I know who you are, don't worry ..

As usual, you have to add Karina's giveaway, either to your blog or your side bar and make a comment to be entered. AND MOST OF ALL, BE A FOLLOWER OF SOGGIBOTTOM...

Where ever you are in the world be cool and if your around our part of the world keep dry...

Karina would love these.... saved from the rain in our garden... Ah, shame babes...
Going to see you soon-) x x x    x x x   x x x x

Luvs to distraction. XXXXXXXXXXX

The charm of snails and Foxes

Little snail was popular, I might go and hunt him down and send you all your own individual photo.
No one asked what we do with snails... ... we relocate them in a container and put them over the other side of the park.away from the cottage, there they can munch their hearts out and not eat my plants.
Trouble being, I'm sure they're all homing snails and find their way back again.

We used to relocate long eared field mice that we used to catch in our rabbit shed.
We used a humane mouse trap. My kids would carefully place the trap with the intact cute mouse in a carrier bag and head off to the fields at the back of our house. They would pass a row of cottages where our beautiful older generation neighbours would always make a fuss of the kids and ask what they were carrying so carefully. It was always great to see them retreat from the carrier bag at a fast pace when they knew what was inside.  I think the mice would make it home before my kids. The little black cat we had at the time called Tiddles (because she was so small) was dead scared of mice.

This is a cottage we passed the other day. Notice anything different about it on the roof ?

The Thatcher's mark... This thatcher must have been called Mr Fox
As for the bus at the top of the post, it helps to be in front of something bigger than you when travelling down our lanes.

Have a great weekend, all snail solutions and idea's greatly welcome.
Who said throw them over the next door neighbour's fence ? You can find Linda here.

Freya is over at Catflap Cavalier testing out beaches for her digging competition. 

Don't you just love snails....

Slight interruption to the normal blog.. the normal one will follow on tomorrow...........

Positive things about rain in the South of Devon

It can be moody and black but wow, the clouds speak for themselves. I love this photo.. I took that...
It's a bay called Blackpool sands, on the South West Coast of Devon, just South of Dartmouth.
Karina and I once chased each other to a certain point swimming out to sea in this bay. That year, I might have had the speed, but she had the figure.  It must have been the last time I ever braved English water's, it was so cold and yet it was the height of Summer.

I didn't take this photo, I wasn't the one who braved the rain.
Dartmouth in the rain, 2012, July 12th... what a year to remember for water in England, drought conditions .... Talk about Soggi. (slip of the finger Y).

This is the market square in Dartmouth at the height of a deluge of rain. How do we know that ?

The market is open on Tuesday and Friday ( I think), yesterday the flag stones were wet and the tables empty.
Most of the planned open air events have been cancelled.this year around our part of the South West... very wise... but what a shame...

I had to take this photo, not to show you how empty things are because of the rain but,  because of the floor.Wow, wouldn't I just love to have this floor in the cottage. .
It's not a place to walk if your unsteady on your feet........just saying............

At least the downpour gave us the chance to fit Freya Rose Blossom's new collar. We have been trying for ages to find her a thin collar that actually fits her and that is easy to unclip . She could also have had a new lead, but I am still unwilling to give up a certain purple number which gives me memories as I clip it to Freya's collar... it might have been a year and a few weeks, but... I find it so hard to give up Amie's lead/leash.
Maybe the next time we are in Dartmouth, it will be different, but for now, Amie's purple lead is Freya's town lead and keeps her close.  I like the thought that Amie is still right beside me. Although looking down to Freya the little red fox who is so unlike Amie....
I never once woke up to a fluffy ear in my mouth when Amie was around... Amie was a dog dolly. Freya is um ... different...

This is another photo of Dartmouth I have taken so many times, you can see part of the inner harbour. I just love to see and pass this four story building. There is a shop at the bottom and one of us often goes in and out.

There are other view's of Dartmouth,  heading along the coast road toward another of the beaches we love to visit..It looks good when the sun shines, but just as good when the clouds are moody.

Another photo of Dartmouth, this is the Butterwalk. A certain miss mutt will never know, although the sign to the museum shows,. NO DOGS....  Her ancestors did go up there along with their owner Charles the second.
In theory Miss Mutt has the freedom of London.. does that include the Olympics ? OR DARTMOUTH ?
One day, me being me, I will challenge the NO DOGS rule .. but it was wet..and time to head for the car.

She has had a very busy day.  Walking around Dartmouth takes concentration.
Freya Rose Blossom does it with panache. She needs a new red lead to go with her collar...

I wouldn't cuddle up to my shoe....

Catflapcavalier

More to come ....Freya is entered for the Bloggie Olympics...
She already has a gold from us. What a beautiful faithful little mutt :-) Our red fox and star.  x x x 

Rain has it's good points, what would we do without it.

Have you seen our garden lately ?

At this time of year it's not normally so overgrown, but I like it this way...

It's almost a mini rain forest.

It even has a palm tree, it's not a real palm but near enough. I grew this Torbay palm from seed (member of the cabbage family so I am told) and planted it when we first moved here.

It's hard to believe that when we moved into the cottage there wasn't a plant to be seen. The whole garden was planted with paving slabs and under that four inches of concrete, I think the last owners must have had a concrete fetish.

Amie and Mew are under the silver ball hanging from the apple tree.

We even have more apples than the ONE we had last year.

We've started to grow more and more vegetables in pots this year as our time in the veggie garden next door is soon going to come to an end, but that's fine, pots work. The tall plant right at the back are chips and not to be touched for a while. Please no one notice that there is a runner bean plant growing out of my hanging tomato basket on the wall. It was a mistake, but a happy one as it turned out as the bean plant is starting to climb along the wall.... great.

The other potato plants are in the veggie garden.

A full greenhouse with a pink bowl to catch the water from the open window. It gives some colour.

It's good to have a day off from the rain, and who knows, it just might be sunny and bright tomorrow too.
Rain and heat, moderation in both would be perfect.
Miss Mutt is over at CATFLAP CAVALIER, she is still in training for The  Dog Olympics.
Happy gardening. 

Free Rag Doll Pattern update.

With so much wet weather here this week, there really is only one thing to do and that's be inside and finish pending projects.
This is the little doll I showed a couple of posts back.

I got carried away with denim this week and made another doll as I think they look good in pairs on here. They both have homes to go to by the way..

So here we are in July.... the height of Summer in Devon at the moment.

Freya's normal beach walk has been slightly different, she has had the whole beach to herself.
Normally in July there are children playing on the beach, holiday makers making the most of the sun.

Jake's coming to stay soon so he had better bring some sun with him.
The update from Karina's operation is that Karina still can't put weight on her foot for at least another month.
Foot up at all times. Things are slowly healing. When she told me this week she was bored, a good sign that she is starting to feel better. Mum's know these things.

Beach Freya ?

Want to go out Frank ?

You can see Freya over at  CATFLAP CAVALIER in training for the dog Olympics and  Frank de tabby  on his face book page.

Tomorrow we have booked  two front row seats in front of our TV watching the men's finals at Wimbledon. IN THE DRY. Where ever you are this weekend have a great time, sun or no sun, rain or dry.