Another New Year greeting and this one is from Kayla who is from Smudge's litter born 24th February last year with her dad being Reggie.

Dear Jane

Just wanted to let you know how much we enjoyed our first Christmas with Kayla - and how much she enjoyed it too!  She wanted to help open everyone's presents and wasn't satisfied with all of hers.  After her first one she knew exactly what she was doing!

She's such a lovely dog with a wonderful temperament and only ever barks if there's a genuine reason.  Her training is coming along well although she is a little devil for pulling on the lead - I'm working on that!  Everywhere we go, we get compliments on how lovely she is .
I've attached some photos and a short video of her running in the snow.
Best wishes
Lynne

Thanks Lynne for the update on Kayla and sharing the video of her out in her first snow. Have a wonderful 2015 !

It's cold here in the UK at the moment,  cold and damp. Tonight we are expecting a hard frost and most of the roads around here are wet still, so tomorrow I would suspect a lot of black ice around if the forecast is right on the money. Tomorrow all going well and the roads are not to hazardous, late morning I should be in Tavistock to have Smudge's, Primrose's and Toby's eye examinations. I have to travel across Dartmoor  to reach Tavistock and if weather has made the roads unsafe with black ice etc, because getting their eye tests done is not worth wrapping the car around a tree, I may have to reschedule the eye test. Hope not as I'm really looking forward to my egg and bacon bap at Sourton. 

Tonight we had pork belly for dinner and it was bloody lovely, so nice that I commented to the children and husband, "If I'm wrong and there is a God, eating that is worth going to hell for and if I were to find myself at heavens door and the only black mark in life is that I've eaten pork, then I think I've done bloody well for myself."Lol

Really like pigs and it is so unfortunate that they taste nice, as a child my parents always had a few pigs around for our freezer and to sell on. I had a very nice pig friend as a child and of course he was called Percy. Percy was bullied and pushed out by his peers,  and although I new his destination would be for the table, I stupidly took on rearing him, not knowing the close bond we would develop. I would of been around nine years old, when Percy crept into my life and blew me away. 

His breed was a Large White and he was a barrow, a castrated male pig. He was really naughty being a very good escapologist and  all but became a pet and lived free about the place until one day he let some piglets out. At the time my home was living on the outskirts of Barnstaple in my parents farm, just above at the time, the newly built North Devon hospital. Percy took his merry band of piglets down the lane and went for a walk around North Devon hospital, stopping traffic and caused much amusement, but it meant he would have to be better contained, so lost his total freedom, unless out with me. 

Percy had a game with me, which was to see how long I could stay on his back. I would mount Percy, and he would charge off bucking and twisting, dump me most unceremoniously and then he would actively encourage me to mount again, by coming over nuzzling me with his snout, to my feet and positioning himself to start the game again, such fond memories but alas as you would of guessed by the start of this story, the day came that Percy was big enough to leave and I begged my mum to keep Percy, but she said, " It is for the best, you can't keep a pig as a pet." The day Percy was leaving I was at school, I said my good byes that morning and left for school with a heavy heart, never to see Percy again. 

My children in recent years have asked to get a couple pigs to rear, as we have the room here to do so, but after Percy I know the heartbreak it would cause them. If you can keep a lot of pigs, it lessens the attachment but two pigs, I suspect what would start as fattening a couple pigs for the table, we would end up with two very loved naughty pet geriatric pigs. 

Last tonight is a photo of Reggie, just because I thought he looked very cute in mid stretch. Let's hope I can get down to Tavistock tomorrow and will be back next time with the results of the eye examinations. 

First blog of the New Year and let's start with the first update for 2015 from Sarah, who has Chester from Smudge's litter born Spring 2014. 

Thanks Sarah for your lovely update on Chester and glad to hear all is going well. Sarah's friend, also called Sarah had Jake from the same litter as Chester and it's great to hear that they get to see each other regularly and are good friends. Have a wonderful year Sarah and Sarah.

Last night my husband and me managed to have our Christmas present, a meal out. As I said on a previous blog, I was driving, so not partaking of alcohol until I got home. We had a lovely meal and without any alcohol I still managed to nearly impale a gentleman on a table below us with my cutlery. 
The first time I accidentally catapulted my knife in his direction, it landed with such a thud, that it received the attention of most of the restaurant. Thankfully they laughed and kindly returned the knife and then I did it again whilst eating my main course, this time with my fork and again much laughter and one of the gentlemen on the table put forward a theory, that he thought I was some sort of assassin, paid for by the wife of the gentleman, it seemed I was aiming my cutlery at.  I did manage to eat my dessert without a cutlery incident thankfully. It was lovely to get out and we thoroughly enjoyed the food and of course the company. We have eaten at 62 The Bank in Barnstaple over the past 17 years and have never had a bad meal there. If staying in the Barnstaple area and you enjoy good food and a lively dining experience, 62 The Bank is well worth looking up. 
The photo below is me on returning home and finally getting my first glass of wine for 2015. The photo shows me with all our Cavalier girls, Ysobel and her daughter Primrose, Millie and her daughter Smudge, Dolly and Jessica who unfortunately in 2014 lost her left hind leg. Some of you may of noticed that I never seem to wear a dress or skirt, but not really practical if you're an assassin. Lol 

                 Poundlane wishes you all a wonderful 2015 !