Playing catch-up and Piglet

I can't even remember when I wrote here last time :P Think that was after the Shire Horse Society Spring Show. So many times I've thought "I really need to get my blog updated again", mostly because it's awesome  being able to look back at posts a year later and remember things and feelings. It's a spare memory outside your head, which is fantastic :)


So since I wrote last we have moved into the house we found in Burton. It's so many times better than the flat!! Not just the size, but the fact that there's no mold on the windows, it has a guest bedroom, it has a bathtub (yay!) and a backyard :) We're both really happy with it and it's ALMOST fully furnished now. Getting a couple of sofas and the guest bedroom done was our first priorities, and that's done now! I should do a post on the house later and maybe post a picture or two of the rooms so my friends who haven't seen it yet can do. Think only my family (and not even all of them) have seen the pictures so far and only unfurnished. I need to convince them there's room for them to come and visit! Hanna is easy to convince, she's already been here for easter, but my sister Linda and her other half need to come and visit as well, so I'm working on nagging them into visiting me this summer, lol! Anyway, house post coming up later!

Since we've got a house now and I have a steady job and we're generally quite happy with our situation at the moment we have been thinking of extending our family with a pet. So when we heard that Rob's colleague's son is rehoming his Staffordshire Bull terrier puppy Bronson (named after a violent criminal - charming xD) we said we'd give it a try. So they came over with puppy and "accessories" last saturday and we said we'd have him back to them by Monday. It was a really nice weekend. When I sat on the sofa I had someone who jumped up next to me and either smothered me in kisses or curled up by my feet and slept. Rob had someone to bring along on his evening walks (I got the morning shift) and we both had someone to play with. He made sort of a snorting sound when he breathed, especially when he was sleeping or excited (that's the bulldog heritage of the breed I guess), so I called him Piglet <3
The only downside was that he was only 8 months and still wasn't fully house trained and a little bit chewy. Had it not been for those reasons we probably would have kept him, even if we both felt terrier dogs are maybe not our cup of tea.

Before we took Piglet back to his breeder we took him to the Meadowside park. Me and Hanna went there with Rob last September when I first moved here to watch the Rugby. Thet was on the other side to where me and Rob went now and I never realised how big the park was! It's situated right on the river Trent and there were green fields and trees and ducks... It was a perfect day out for all three of us. Pictures on the side are from the park :)

As much as it was a fun weekend and as sad as I was to give him back again, it was really good for us to try having a dog around. It made us think of two things:

1. I really need to get a car and start driving. It looks like Rob may have some travel with work later this year and I really need to be able to get myself to work and back without relying on Rob's friends and colleagues for a lift. It also means Rob doesn't have to take a day off every time me or my friends or family need picking up from the airport.

2. Rob is thinking about maybe starting to work shifts again. That way we would absolutely minimize the time during the day when the dog had to be alone.

Number one is not optional, I need to be able to drive, but number 2 is just something we're keeping in mind at the moment. So we've had a look at car insurance and it looks like the cheapest car for me to insure is a Vauxhall Corsa (Vauxhall = Opel), so we're saving up for one of those. Even so it will cost me somewhere around 7-8000 swedish crowns per year to insure it, so that's a hefty 1000kr/month 11 months of the year. God knows how people who are unemployed afford to drive in this country... (Their premium is probably lower than mine though...)

Anyway, I'm not going to force everything into this one blog post! There will be more later :) For now I need to go check the roast beef in the oven!

Love you all <3
Huggles
Saga