This has been one of my worst weeks ever, with too many sad events and too much bad news.

We had to say good bye to our lovely Dylan.  He has been ill for a while and he deteriorated very quickly in the last week.  I had no idea that this would have been his last walk which was in the woods over the road, a couple of weeks ago.

It was freezing cold but he always liked a paddle in the water.

He was such a lovely dog.  He was kind and gentle.  None of us can recall ever hearing him growl.  He barked at the gate but never growled.  He loved going out for walks and it was hard not being able to take him out much in the last month.

He enjoyed his last trip to the beach when we took him to Ramsgate 3 weeks ago.

Dylan would always leap to his feet to welcome you home or even to greet you as you walked around the house.  He has left a big gap in our family.  We were lucky to have loved him and been loved in return for 10 years and we wish it had been longer.  But he was too ill so we had to say good-bye which was heartbreaking.  It is so hard to think he won’t come trotting through the door again, with his tail wagging and being all pleased to see us. He won’t come on any more walks with us.Or enjoy being with us all.

Milton will really miss him as they spent all their time together, 24 hours a day.

A couple of years ago, Harvey won first prize at a dog show in Tenterden with Milton and Dylan.  He was so proud of them both. I was proud of him as he had to show them on his own and he did brilliantly. Both of my kind hearted children love our dogs and their hearts have been broken this week and that has been hard to bear.

Dylan, you were a wonderful dog and we will all miss you very much.  Thank you for protecting us and loving us as you did.  Thank you for all the lovely walks we did together and for being such an attentive brother to Milton.  Bye bye xxxx

I have been eating really badly lately and not exercising enough which is making me fatter and unhealthier, not thinner and healthy.  I woke up with a hangover after a night with my lovely local ladies friends, playing cards, chatting and obviously drinking too much.  I was determined to eat well and basically I did.

I chopped up carrots, butternut squash and red onion, added salt and pepper, a little oil and roasted them in the oven for nearly an hour. While they were cooking, I made a smoothie from 2 ruby grapefruits and 2 bananas. Plus tea, lots of tea. I ate the veggies with tenderstem broccoli.
They were really good and very filling. I then had a delightful afternoon which was much needed.   A lovely long dog walk at Penshurst place. Milton has been lonely without Dylan and really enjoyed the time spent with other dogs. It certainly was a beautiful afternoon. So was the company.  After a lovely walk we had tea/coffee.  We had to sit outside because dogs weren’t allowed inside and Billy is only a puppy and we didn’t want to leave him in the car.  We had so much to chat about but got cold so ………. we decamped to a nearby pub, The Spotted Dog.  It was a lovely traditional country pub and we enjoyed a beer before heading home. I had a tub of tofu that needed using up and a new vegan cookbook to try out. I marinated the tofu and made it in to a scramble.  It was very easy.  The marinade was made from 4 tbsp miso paste, juice of 1 lime, 2 tbsp maple syrup, 2 tbsp tamari, and 2 tbsp sesame oil.  I pressed the water out of the tofu, chopped it in to small pieces and marinated it for an hour before frying it with an onion. I served the tofu scramble on mixed salad leaves in a wholemeal wrap.  We had 2 each.  It was ok.  Not amazing but ok but as a quick and easy meal to prepare, I would do it again.