MY DOG'S NEW GAME .....

                         

Hello everybody,

Phew, the heatwave that struck Brittany last week has gone away ! Here such a scorcher is quite unusual, and shutting the windows, pulling down the shades at 10am, and then staying cooped up till sunset are not things we are used to.

Feeling sluggish and dragging one's feet from one armchair to another are real downers, aren't they ?

Fortunately, after those awful dog days, mild temperatures, blue sky and a gentle seabreeze are expected for the next few weeks, so I'm back on line, as fresh as a daisy, and, of course, as perky as a busy bee !

Even better , no need to rack my brain to get some thrilling stuff for you
cause, a couple of days ago,I woke up at the crack of dawn with this week's topic in my head !
Jumping the gun and starting scribbling still in jammies ? No way !
When my feet hit the floor, I must stick to my morning routines not to veer off course, and fall behind with my daily plans (and sharing my adventures with you is a part of them !).

Usually a lukewarm shower and a healthy breakfast fuel my energy and keep me on tracks, as well.

So , two days ago, go figure what went wrong with my morning habits ?

Was my shower too steamy ?
Quite true that I am not yet bold enough to experience  the  heart- pounding exhilaration of a cold shower, but I do my best, and everyday I turn down the temperature a wee bit, so nothing to blame myself for !
  

Then, was my breakfast too creamy ?
Greek yoghurt with fresh fruit and seeds is too yummy to be sneaky !

So what ? I really don't know, but it turned out that, once done with those two " rituals ", there was still something niggling at the back of my mind ...

Well, a kind of meditation in the garden would definitely get those fuzzy ideas  out of my hair.
Don't get me wrong ! When I say " meditation ", it doesn't really mean sitting cross-legged on the grass chanting " Omm...".
You know, that position requires flexibility in the hip joints, back and thighs, and, I am anything but supple and toned. To be honest, I'm as stiff as a poker,and the catch is that whenever I sit in an Indian style, my legs go numb in a wink.
So, a good reason not to risk getting stuck in the middle of the orchard, shouting for help. No way to be the laughing stock of Dearhubby !

No, when it comes to meditate, I have my own ways, and weeding the garden is my favourite.
Digging up dandelions, thistles, clovers and bindweeds is my best 
" mind cleaner ". And, of course, it lets my imagination run riot.

So, last Friday, there I was, weeding both the lawn and my mind, when I felt something hard under my hand...a kind of felt  patch.
What was buried there ? 
I dug a bit deeper, and found other tiny pieces of beige felt ...
Jeez !! My slipper !!
You remember when Canaille blogged for the first time, he told you he thought I loved playing " Fetch the slipper ".
Well, last time he played that naughty game he has invented , I was just stepping out of the bathroom and couldn't run after him.

What was to happen, happened.
Canaille came back from the garden without my slipper !
Counting on him to remember where he had left his " prey " was just wishful thinking, cause I have rubbed off on him, and he is scatterbrained and easily sidetracked : a birdy twitting , a twig cracking louder, and Canaille forgets what he was doing !!

Sent back into the garden to find the slipper, he pawed up and down, wagging his tail and sniffing as if he was on the track of Cinderella's glass slipper, but I already knew my Charming Prince would come back home , as happy as a lark, more playful than ever, but empty-mouthed.
I had to face the facts : my right slipper was reported missing and the  poor orphan left at home could be thrown away. 

No regret, cause , last Friday, when I found the tattered felt, I realized my slipper had suffered agonies under the wheels of Dearhubby's lawn garden tractor !!


That's when I had a light bulb moment and I understood what had been niggling at the back of my mind since I had woken up.

My slippers ? Canaille ?
Yes, that was it !!

Actually, I had a bone to pick with Canaille for filling my shoes last week and turning me into an armchair sportsman in his blogpost, and now I had another bone to pick with him for losing  my shoe !

I would not make any bones about that, and I would tell him who the top dog was !

But a leopard can't change its spots ...

When I came back home and opened the door, that naughty boy greeted me so cheerfuly ,  and he gave me such a dog and pony show that my heart melted, and I gave him lots of cuddles !!

So,for the topic I had in my head when waking up two days ago, you'll have to wait till next week !

In the meantime, make the most of each day, and don't forget :

                             BE PERKY !



PS : When the cat is away, the mice will play ...Perky has gone out, so here is a picture of me to show you that all the naughty things she tells you about me are not true. Look ! I'm as good as gold !!

😉

MY DOG'S BLOG SEASON 2

                       

                                 

 Hi everybody,

That's me again !

What ??? " Me who ?? ". Are you kidding ? Don't you remember me ?

Of course this is a photo of me when I was a puppy, but as I'm still puppy-minded, I have chosen  that one to let you know that this week I'm on line again !

You know what ? I'm cooped up, to say it mildly.

To be honest, between you and me, I think, I am punished. Yes, that's it, I am punished, and even worse, unfairly !

Don't ask me why . The only thing I know is that Perky was digging the flower-bed and I kept barking to tell her that I had not buried any chewbones or treats there. In vain ! So, I started barking louder to warn her that Sugardaddy wouldn't be happy with her, cause last time I digged a hole in the garden, he scolded me ! No use !

What could I do ?

Well, I decided to pace up and down the flower-bed to show her that I had already tested the place and there was nothing to be found there !

That's when things went wrong....

I have already told you how weird and unpredictable Perky can sometimes be.

I didn't see it coming, but before I could say Jack Robinson, I was taken in and locked in !

Perky shaking her finger at me is never a good sign. I often know why and I usually lie low.

But today, I really feel blamed for something I didn't do !

I could cry foul, but Sugardaddy is mowing the lawn and won't hear me .

So, here I am, alone in Naughty Perky's study.

Champing at the bit, because I have a bone to pick with her ?

Not at all !

You know, a leopard can't change its spots, I mean, an English Springer Spaniel stays loyal, affectionate and eager to please , through thick and thin !

So today, I will fill Perky's shoes and work my tail off to treat you with some good reading.

Sure, Perky will be grateful to me, cause she is really behind with her blogging stuff, and she is the only one to be blame, but nobody is perfect.

She has the same foible as me. She is crazy about felt yellow balls.

Why does she call that ' tennis ' and not ' fetch the ball ' , go figure !

So, every year,between late May and early June, I know I can't get anything out of her.

She takes off her Perky Busy Bee costume to slip into the Lady of Leisure's.

Of course, we have a long walk on the moor, and a ' hide and seek ' game in the garden in the morning, but after lunch no way to drag her out !

I am ready to share all my squeaky toys or my well-worn frisbee, but she is ' incorruptible '.

Whatever my tricks to attract her attention, her answer is always the same :

   " No, Canaille, it's Roland Garros tournament ! ".

I don't know who that Roland Garros is, but if I were Sugardaddy, I would be a bit suspicious ...

But Sugardaddy doesn't have a jealous bone in his body !

Quite the contrary !!

At two o'clock sharp,every afternoon, he switches on the telly to make sure Perky doesn't miss the players' warming-up.

Yes, guys, that girl's really mad about that game  that she calls  ' a tournament ' and that I would simply call a kind of hype " fetch-the-ball game " !

When TV is on, whatever the program, I have noticed that she often dozes off,  but tennis matches keep her wide awake.

Even worse, she is so fidgety, then, that  I can't even have a good afternoon nap, sprawling on her lap !

It is just as  if those little yellow felt balls were driving her nuts.

She claps her hands, she jumps out of her armchair, slumps into it again, she utters deep sighs, shrieks and even sometimes four-letter words ( she knows a heck of a lot ...).

Sometimes I feel green with envy, cause she never looks so thrilled when we play ' fetch-the-ball ' together.  And yet I am an ace at it !

You can't imagine the fifteen hard days I have to go through every year because of those damned flying balls.

Brace yourselves ! She gets so engrossed in the game that she nearly skips my meals !!

So, I have to make do with what is at hand (or at paw, in my case).

To think that pawing to the kitchen and back would give her a light bulb moment is just wishful thinking !

Putting my paw on her lap ? Forget about it ! It just triggers her more and more irritated " down " !

But words are wasted on a starving man (and on a starving dog, as well).

My empty stomach doesn't give a hoot about any crunches of the tennis match.

When I am fed up (well, that's a way of putting it), I put my nose on her lap and drool !

Right in the target !!

She springs to her feet, scolds me because I have ruined her trousers with my chops, but I don't care, cause then she rushes to the kitchen, prepares my bowl, puts it down and  rushes back to the telly.

Expecting some kind of " Enjoy your meal " ? Too much to ask for ! But don't feel sorry for me, I'm used to it now, and after all, it only lasts a fortnight . 

Easy to figure out why Perky is now snowed under with work inside and outside , and why she is twitchy. Maybe that's why she refused my help to patrol the flower-bed . 

Poor girl !

I guess she will be tickled pink when she realizes I have written this week's post.

Sure she will open the ' treats drawer ', and then...

Just thinking about it makes my mouth water !

               

Oh dear, I can hear the top dog, aka, Perky,driving her wheelbarrow into the garden shed, so it's high time I switched off her laptop .

I'll do my best to pretend to sulk, but not too long, cause I'm an English Springer Spaniel !

Cheerio

BTW : don't forget : BE PERKY !



              

                   

HOW TO LOOK ON THE BRIGHT SIDE

                                   

Hello all of you,

This week a few funny tips and tricks to keep upbeat and look on the bright side. I think these days we really need to...

In Brittany, Summer season kick-off is just around the corner, and everybody's enjoying the thrill of the countdown.

                                     

Sailing boats are ready to cast off, trendy T-shirts, shorts and sandals are popping up in all the shop-windows, and the iconic double-scoop cone has already launched its advertising campaign for new mouth-watering flavors ! Will Perky Busy Bee give in to those frozen temptations ? You will know more in an upcoming episode  !

                                         

I really love that period of the year !

Balmy mornings in my garden heady with fragrance, and early walks in the gentle seabreeze are the best pick-me-ups I have ever tasted.

Don't get me wrong. I'm not that sappy, I don't live in La La Land !

I know lots of you live in big cities and your everyday life often means exhaust fumes of cars, deafening noise of horns, hammer-drillers, let alone people shouting in their cells.

                      

I know what I'm talking about. I lived in Paris for years and I had time to experience all those scourges. 

But I also remember that bunches of flowers brought back from the market, strolls in the empty streets of the capital in the wee hours of the morning,  casual  talks with strangers at the bus-stop,and espresso sipped at a sunny sidewalk café used to make my day !

                       

So you see, wherever you live, just a positive mindset can help you keep on the sunny side.

Do I sound a bit like a smarty pant ? Sorry, that's my gung-ho side !

Hey, grumpy you ! I can hear you grumbling about the same old, same old ,and the unavoidable household chores !

Quite true, no off-season for those deadly boring grinds , but relax, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve for you !

Housework :

Just a question of secrets and lies*. You know where dust bunnies 

hide ? 

Well, keep that close to the vest and pretend you haven't found their dens yet !

Better ignore them and not blur the blue Summer sky with clouds of dust.

                  

Household shopping :

Whatever the season, it's my pet hate, but you can't live on love alone.

Fortunately, when Summer comes, things get different.

When it's scorching hot outside, cooling up in the air-conditioned aisles of the nearby supermarket helps me " make a fresh start " and enjoy the rest of the day.

Even better, I have just read on the net that being minimalist is all the rage among hype people.

Lucky me ! I 'm far from being hype, but I can have a go and shop with a minimal list ( naughty  pun, but I couldn't help).

Just buy what I need and nothing else.

Spare time and money, and get more fun to share with you, my dear Perky Busy Bee adventurers.

Cooking :

Again, an opportunity to cheer up and celebrate Summer.

After sweating on how to get the knack to make the perfect stew or the best-ever meat and mushroom pie ( most of the time, in vain), I can now slack off and stop  thriving to win a chef's hat. I hardly deserve a cap !

No more worries and shame. Juicy tomatoes, tasty cucumbers, bright colored raddishes and spicy chilis  are expecting my visit at the local producer's .All of them are eager to turn the poor cook I am into the 

Queen of the Veggies !

Quite impossible to ruin a vegetable salad !

(As long as I don't confuse "dress " and " drown "...You know how scatterbrained I am, so one dollop too many and ...).

Housework, shopping, cleaning, then, what's left to be done ?

Nothing but  get some fresh air and do some exercise.

Fresh air :

No problem. In Brittany, whatever the weather is , there is always either a gentle seabreeze, or strong gusts of wind.

Perfect ! No need to waste hours in front of the mirror, trying to style my untameable hair . Once outside, within a wink even the most  

easy-going " hair gets tousled !

And yet, hairdressers here keep working and defying the wind. You see how bold Breton people are (and stubborn, as well) !

Exercise :

When Summer comes, I usually ditch my indoor workout and I must confess I 'm thrilled to bits to do so.

Bye bye my stationary bike and the strong pedal strokes which still leave my calves and thighs begging for mercy.

Bye bye my jump rope, my little niece will be happy to get it and I'll be happy to teach her a skipping song.

Time also to bid farewell to push-ups ! Phew !! At last !

I have read somewhere that " if you are doing them right, your chin should be the first part of your head to touch the floor, not your nose. "

Well, I must be a basket case, cause for me  " touch " is a humongous understatement ".

Once I scratched my chin and had to wear a sticking plaster for a couple of days and pretend I had fallen. And my last attempt turned my nose pink , perfectly matching my rose-colored glasses, but a bit painful when blowing it.

              

Staying cooped up ? No way !

Early in the morning, sturdy overalls and rubber boots on, I'm ready to follow " the call of the wild ".

I'm rushing off my feet in the garden.

Raking the lawn to get rid of stray leaves and twigs, pulling out  pesky weeds,  and climbing up and down the ladder to pick up the fruit  left by the birds we have fed all winter long,are my  best outdoor workout. 

Yes, on sunny days , I live by the motto : ' Enjoy outdoor life from dawn to sunset and don't care about the rest ! '.

Nice, isn't it ? Yes, but not totally true ...

Every year , the last week of May and the first week of June I stay indoors : that's my sportiest fornight of the year ! 

Highly intensive training ? No, not really, but intensive TV watching !

Yes, I'm a die-hard fan of Roland Garros tournament, even though I have never been able to use a racket properly.

All the energetic vibes flying over the court make me tingle, and I really have a ball !

The day after the final, I feel tuckered out ! No kidding ! Really washed out, but quite happy to have seen in every match the  living proof that where there is a will there is a way , and how much mental is a deciding factor in that sport and in everyday life, as well !

Just for fun : a friend of mine phoned me some days ago, at a critical moment of one quarter final game. Of course, as I had left my phone upstairs, I leaped up the stairs and when I answered, I was out of breath. When she told me I sounded breathless, I explained that I was midway through a tennis match. 

She immediately apologized, said she was sure I would win , and then hung up !

Well, of course I called her back the day after to make things clear, and we had a good laugh ! Anway,  she said that if some day I decided to go in for tennis, she would be my first supporter ! A friend in need is a friend indeed !

 Now that  you know my tips and tricks to look on the bright side, please give me your on perkybusybee@gmail.com

Start each day  with gusto and don't forget : BE PERKY !

NEVER PUT OFF TILL TOMORROW WHAT YOU CAN DO TODAY

                                             

Hello all my Perky Busy Bee Adventurers,

This week I want to tell you about a funny adventure I had because of my procrastinating tendency , and how I turned out to be the living  proof that French people are not really good at languages.

We all know that prevention is better than cure, so I won't harp on it, cause I may sound a bit preachy and suck all the fun and positive energy of the Adventures of Dany The Perky Busy Bee.

Yet, there's something niggling at the back of my mind, and maybe you can clear it up for me.

Here it is :

In the place where you live, is it easy to make an appointment with a fully booked specialist doctor ?

                       

Last time I asked that question to a friend of mine who lives abroad, and who is a naughty boy in his spare time, he answered, tongue-in-cheek, that there was nothing simpler.

It boiled down to this :

Ring the secretary, ask for an appointment, turn up on the day of your appointment, and then leave a boatload of money, cause, as my friend added, the longer you wait,the more you pay !

No need to tell you that words failed me to express my heartfelt gratitude for such a treasure trove of information !!😉

But that reminded me of a teacher of mine who lived by the motto " To get the right answer, ask the right question ".

Boring old tune, but actually quite right.

So, let me be clearer :

In the place where you live, how long does it take to get an appointment with a specialist doctor ?

In Brittany , for example, getting an appointment with my eye doctor within a couple of weeks is just wishful thinking.
I usually have to wait three solid months before being able to see ( or not to see, that is the question) that specialist.
A way to queuejump ?
Unfortunately, none ! I have racked my brain about one,over and over, in vain !
Trying to bribe him with some butter and sugar-soaked kouign-aman is useless. The man is the sporty type and pays attention to his figure (and his activity figures, too...).
                                     

Buttering him up and telling him he is a sight for sore eyes, the light of my light , the apple of my eyes ? No way ! That guy is a badass and could have played in " The Untouchables " by Brian de Palma.
                          

No need to let my imagination run riot and get my hopes up.
I just have to take for granted that, whenever I want to have my eyesight checked, I am doomed to wait three months.

So, if I were a born-organized girl, of course I would make an appointment every year at the same period.
Well, to be honest, when it comes to medical appointments, I am anything but organized.
Fake excuses and procrastination rule the roost !

But, a couple of weeks ago I was gently reminded that there are things that should not be left on the back burner ...

I was nearly done with my week's to-do list and was quite satisfied with myself, even though the red flag ' make an appointment with the eye doctor ' was still flying frantically at the bottom of the list.

                  

                  
Actually, it had already been flying there for two weeks, and, even worse, in small letters ! A kind of ' out of sight out of mind ' rank.
Anyway, it was Friday, 6.30, so too late to bother my dear doctor.
I promised to myself it would top the list the week after.
For a while I wondered if I should not start a ' pious hopes ' list...but no time to waste , Ulysse was ready for a his walk.
So, off we went.

Ulysse had been frolicking off leash for a while, when I caught sight of a couple with a child on a tricycle and ...a cat on leash ( quite unusual, but why not )coming towards me.
I called back Ulysse and took him in my arms,cause that sweetheart doesn't get along with cats.

                                

As they were getting closer , I could hear them speak English, so when I passed near them, I apologized for not socializing and said :

" I'm sorry but my dog doesn't like cats ".

And I walked away.


That's when I heard the man say to his wife :

" French people make effort to speak English, but jeez they really lack vocabulary ! ' DOG ' is  an easy word to remember, isn't it ? ".

I turned back, screwed up my eyes, and realized that actually the cat on leash was a puppy teckel !!

No need to tell you that the week after I called my eye doctor.
He offered politely to squeeze me in on ...October 4th ( 2017, fortunately !).
An earlier appointment ?
No way ! June ,July and August are overbooked and in September he is going away on a sightseeing  trip ( quite normal for an eye doctor ).

So, now just one thing to do :

Wait and see !

That's all for this week, folks, but don't forget : BE PERKY ! and never put off till tomorrow what you can do today !

By the way, could you spare a minute and tell me how long it takes in your place to get an appointment with a specialist doctor ?

Just a  short mail on perkybusybee@gmail.com