My rambling blog posts!

  Tonight we sadly had to say goodbye to our canine companion Woodie and to say we are heartbroken is an understatement.  I'm having a rough time of it at the moment as recently my dear brother passed away too and one night as I sat on the floor crying, Woodie walked over to me and licked my face and therefore my tears away, stood near me and genuinely comforted me. Well, tonight my tears are for him too and I wish he were here to comfort us.  I know everyone who has a dog thinks their dog is the best but Woodie actually was! I've never seen a dog with such a gentle, sweet soul as Woodie. When we decided to get a dog all those years ago we went to a greyhound rescue centre and they let us meet another greyhound first called Sunny, who was a lovely well-behaved dog but not quite the right fit. I couldn't remember the name of the dog my wife wanted to see, (as unlike me, she had looked at them online), but I knew it was a dog with a name off of Toy Story. I asked to meet Wo...

  Here's a screenshot of an old home video of my lovely brother Mark when I lived with him, my wonderful sister-in-law Sharon and their fantastic children 20+ years ago. In the video he was looking at me exasperated as I was twanging a balloon perilously close to some breakable items in his home...I wasn't a child, I was 21 so his facial expression was justified! I remember those years very fondly, I had left home and was living with them all in what can only be described as a house of fun, excitement and above all else love. The footage this screenshot was taken from was actually one of their amazing childrens parties they always threw, a time of joy, party games, organised chaos and all the laughter that I remember so fondly, (I copied the fun element of these parties for my own children's birthdays many years later funnily enough).  When I lived with Mark we were probably quite  annoying together, we were partners in crime, always coming up with pranks and ridiculous h...