Luca's New Name

I've always been bemused by racehorse names, and pedigree animals are pretty much the same. Strange multilevel names that seem to have no connection to the animal.  After a couple of pedigree animals you'd think I'd be used to it but today I received Luca's papers. 

May I introduce Giant Angel Ultimate Edition!

I think it suits him!

Montreal

As it's been cold rainy and grey, I've decided to take a quick look back at somewhere much sunnier (then) !

Just before I got the keys to the new place, work kindly sent me to Montreal, Canada  for conference. This is always a busy time, but I decided to stay on for a long weekend and meet up with family and friends in the area.It's been a long time since I've been to Canada - the best part of 15 years  and a lot has changed. Montreal's economy has clearly struggled in the interim and this lack of cashflow has definitely left it's mark on areas of the city.

As I was in the centre of the city, I couldn't resist a visit to Notre Dame Basilica in Place D'Armes Square. It is Gothic, colorful and unmissable as you walk in through the front doors. This amazing photograph by Adrian Hu gives you a sense of how you drown in color and light as you walk down towards the ornate altar at the nave of the church

At the rear of the building there is the Sacre-Coeur Chapel which is like stepping out of a kaleidescope and into an autumnal frieze. It was destroyed by arson in December 1978 and has been completely rebuilt in a modern style. I adored this winding staircase that just meandered up into heaven.

It was also the Montreal beer festival that weekend -I really couldn't pass up on the opportunity to test out some local food and drink in a sunny cheerful environment full of happy people.Firilst up was a beavertail or 'queue de castor'. its a lovely gooey doughey deep fried pastry - a lot like a doughnut - covered with a choice of sweet toppings. I tried the apple & cinnamon; as well as the chocolate and maple syrup - both divinely calorie laden treats. 

I had the chance to sample a few of the local brew - this one was light and refreshing - perfect for a sunny summers day.

 To deal with the post beer munchies I sampled 'Poutine' - a French-Canadian fast food favourite of french fries and cheese curds topped with a rich gravy. It's filling, tasty, filled with salt and really quite addictive. The curds are 'squeaky'- not made in the traditional way by weighting and pressing to release whey but by cooking and allowing to mature to develop their unique flavour and texture. 

 It is quite a heavy dish for summertime, but the queues speak to the enthusiasm the Quebecoise have for their national dish - even in the middle of the afternoon the Poutine vans had long trailing queues that stretched across the grounds with people waiting for their chosen dish & toppings. 

Lastly I'd love to introduce you to a new friend of mine - 'coons run wild in Montreal, a lot like the urban fox in London. This chap had no fear at all, running around and through the tourist to dig through bins and explore for tasty titbits for dinner.

Montreal is beautiful - and a wonderful place to visit - don't forget to say hi to Charlie, here!

Home is where the Woofer is

Its been quite a few years since my Shadow crossed the rainbow bridge and for a long time, I didn't really want another dog. There are some dogs that are just that special that you are not likely to meet another one quite like it - and Shadow hit that perfect spot.

It's also hard to travel when you own animals, unless you take them with you or have a great relationship with a local kennel. As Shadow had a lot of health issues, kenneling generally wasn't an option, so it was travel with dog or find a friend! I also feel that its unfair on a dog to be alone during the day, and with the move to a new country that was pretty much on the cards all the time  - so another woofer just wasn't an option. 

Life changes though & with W's new job, the 'alone time' dropped dramatically and it became possible to think about having a dog in our lives. I made the mistake of looking around to see what woofers I could find and met this adorable chap. He really looked more like a guinea pig, than a puppy - and sounded remarkably like one too. 

As the largest puppy in the litter, he clearly shared some dietary traits of a porcine nature. Here he is with his sister, the day before he left for his new home. 


The first few days of settling in were quite challenging as the renovations were still in full flow, so the house was full of people wielding sharp implements and pots of paints. Luca quickly demonstrated his ability to get underfoot, find and remove the tool you have just put down, or simply cause chaos.  We have started puppy training, which is all done in Dutch and is a huge encouragement to accelerate my language skills. Thankfully, some of the basic commands sound almost the same in English and Dutch so I can claim to have a bi-lingual puppy. Or as close as you can come, when he wilfully and cheerfully ignores you because he's found something far more interesting than listening to his master's voice!

Despite the puppy training being second time around, I am struggling to find some comparative  commands to those we are learning here : 'high' and 'low' for 'stand on box' 'get off box to the ground' just don't quite sound right and Luca can definitely  hear the lack of confidence in my voice. If anyone knows what the commands should be, please let me know!

It's quite an exhausting experience for a young puppy to spend an hour concentrating hard, in a group of distracting and interesting other pups. So Friday nights usual end up rather like this - with Luca inelegantly sprawled on his own personal sofa .

Madonna Mia

Today, I fell in love with two Italians - they are both very cute and fluffy, and had very round and full bellies having stuffed themselves on cat biscuits. They also slept very soundly, apart from occasional mouse-disembowling attempts.

Today, I attained a new status with my travelling partners - I am now officially the Madonna of the Kittens.