I had a pretty cool last week and a great weekend to top it off!  Here are my highlights in order:

1. Bread Baking School!  Sounds so cheesy but it was pretty darn cool.  I took the train from Paddington to Bath early on Monday and spent the better part of my day there learning about new techniques to make bread by hand.  The school is run by a Frenchman who has been baking for over 20 years and living in the UK too. There were mostly women in the class but we had a few guys learning and at the end of the day we came home with a whole lot of bread.  Of course Alan was a willing taste tester of the samples and declared them good enough to make again! 

2. Dave Matthews Band at Brixton Academy on Thursday night!  Finally I got to take Alan to a DMB show and it was a really good one where they played for nearly 3 hours to a sold out crowd in a small theatre. 

3. Viewing the white cliffs of England…Saturday we took the train to Seaford and started a 13 mile trek to Eastborne.  We had amazing weather, views of the cliffs and sea and a good pub lunch stop.  Both Alan & Brian have blogged about the trip so check out their pictures. 

4. The Killers Concert in Hyde Park on Friday, we rocked the house that night!  It was a very different show then Thursday with DMB but the energy was awesome and we enjoyed a tall pitcher of Pimm’s in the park. 

5. Listening to music in Hyde Park on Sunday…we trekked up to Hyde Park with Daisy and a couple of containers of pre-mixed homemade Pimm’s and listened to DMB (again) and then a bit of Bruce Springsteen for free outside of the concert.  The Boss opened up with a cover of “London Calling” by the Clash which was pretty darn cool!  We finished up the night back at home with Alan on the BBQ and watching the sun go down ever so late to trick us into thinking it was earlier than we thought. 

Now I do wonder if this week is able to match this past week!  I have yet to make any of the bread recipes from class as we were super busy most evening last week too with the garden.  Yes we are working in pots this year and have about 25 of them going with a range of tomatoes, beans, lettuce, herbs, peppers, peas and leeks.  With all the warm weather this week and last week it should really help to get them growing strong.  This week is back to bread week…yum!

Well tonight marks the official break up of Daisy and Milo.  Friday Milo departs for his home back to Seattle not to return to be a London dog anymore.  No more meeting at the creepy hospital in the big field to run around before meeting in the pub and playing games. Maybe my liver will thank me but I will miss our friends and Milo.  It has not really sunk in yet but it will over the next few weeks for sure.  Milo has a long journey home tomorrow so we hope that he makes it in the crate for the long flight back to Seattle.  Good luck back in the Emerald City! 

Africa pics & stories coming soon…no travel for the Tetley’s for a bit we are actually not getting on a plane for 6 weeks!!  Plenty of time for cooking & baking.

It is going to be quiet soon for us as we are heading off into Africa!  Zambia, Botswana and South Africa all await our arrival or at least we think so.  We depart on Thursday night and then come back on the 16th.  It should be a nice long break with no email/laptops/or mobile phones to keep us occupied.  I am really looking forward to it!  The rest of June we are then spending at home and finally getting a garden going and catching up on life.  So until then…safe travels wherever you might all be!

Wow has May already gone past me?  I look back and wonder what has happened and I realize it was an all around good month.  We went to Rome, a food show, Palm Springs, spent time with friends in London from Seattle and now about to wrap up from a 4 day work week.  Palm Springs you say, yes I did fly all the way to LA to visit my brother and then onwards to Palm Springs for a Hen (Bachelorette Party) for Jody.  I tested out Air New Zealand’s advertising and their idea that they are going to LA anyways on their way to NZ so why not take them?  The price was right and I must say the flight was quite nice too.  A bit more leg room in economy, a cool entertainment system that works even while sitting around on the tarmac and good wine.  The food is still airplane food but not bad sides and the bread was warm!  I spent two nights with David and we got to hang out and shop which was good for me and my need for a few new pairs of shoes.  Plus we made a stop at In’n’Out for the requisite California burger.  The girls came into LAX on Thursday and off we went to Palm Springs.  We had a very cool house to spend our weekend in and we all caught a bit of sun…what happens in PS stays in PS!  The flight home was long but I managed to sleep and then run to the office to catch up with an executive visiting!

Matt & Dana visited over the bank holiday weekend and we managed to take them to our favourite pubs, cook out in the sunshine and go to our my first Fulham Football game.  We sent them on their way to Spain on Monday and we ran around to finish up our weekend chores but in the sunshine.  The weather over the weekend was great and we enjoyed the sunshine as much as possible and we are keeping our fingers crossed for more this weekend. 

June brings us to travels to Africa!!  A bread class for me and several concerts and yes after Africa we stay home for awhile, really we do. 

Bank holidays make for good 4 day weeks but we still managed to have a busy week that went by too quickly.  Alan didn’t even get to go to the movie on Wednesday night (we have a 241 deal with Orange every Wednesday any movie which is a steal of a deal!)  Our next weekend adventure kept us at home for a little time to breath and remember what our house looks like. Our Saturday event after the normal farmers market run to stock up for the weekend and we were off to meet up with Brian and Lorie to check out the Real Food Show.  I know a food show sounds dull but it is really cool!  It is like a farmers market but on steroids!  We went last year to the first one and were stuck how cool it could be, plus all the samples you get there is no need for lunch. The show is for folks who are passionate about food mainly fresh, organic, local, and have something to sell you! Alan and I had high hopes for a few of the vendors that were there last year to stock up on some of the favourite chutney’s that we had grown low on and we were not disappointed.  The real spirit of the show lies in the people you meet there and who are working in the booths trying to sell their goods and also to try and be noticed by people to get their products in the stores.  The event is held at Earls Court a big convention hall and there are loads of booths to visit and purchase from.  We had our shopping bags and a backpack with us but we did a loop around first before purchasing as things tend to get heavy rather fast.  Many times over we stopped at places and said to ourselves we would be coming back for more or purchase on the spot and they would hold it for us until we came back around which was rather helpful.  One of our favourites was the Sheep Dip Whiskey and we got to taste and chat with the makers of the whiskey.  I had seen an article about them written up in the Jamie magazine recently and was excited to taste.  We added that to our list of things we had to go back for before leaving.  All in all I think we spent around 4 hours at the show and sampled our way through with our bags starting to burst at the seams we made the trek to the tube and home to Daisy.  We got there and suddenly realized we had forgotten our whiskey! We are not big whiskey drinks but this stuff is pretty good plus as Alan says we watch a lot of Mad Men (tv show) and all they do is drink whiskey and somehow it makes him crave a glass on occasion.  We knew what had to be done and we packed up dog walking supplies and leashed up Daisy and out the door we went for a long walk back to Earls Court with our ticket in our pocket to get us back in.  It is a good walk there and we found a few parks along the way for Daisy to play in and when we got there Alan waited outside and I went in and had no problems going back in and found the whiskey easy and made my purchase and was about out the door when I spotted the gelato.  It had to be done it had been over a week since our last intake of gelato!  Alan was very happy for it too and it made the tube ride home with Daisy all the better. 

Our damage was done but we were happy with our new chutney’s, whiskey, ciders and other assorted goods for another year.  I have already marked the date for next May in the diary. 

You might think we have gone off the face of London but we are really still here.  The month of May is full of funny travel and meeting up with friends and family between Europe and the States.  The first weekend of May for us in the UK is a bank holiday which means a three weekend.  So to celebrate David came over to visit as he got a good deal with miles to fly over and he spent one night with us in London and then the next day we flew to Rome.  I know i hear you all groaning the Tetley’s going to Rome again, but really we had to take David.  The 3 of us rented a flat near the Pantheon and so much gelato we had to sample right away.  The boys and their first gelato of the weekend.  We spent the weekend walking and checking out the sites of the city.  We dragged David from favourite site to favourite site usually ending with some sort of food related stop (pizza, focacia, gelato or pasta) followed by more walking. We met up Marco & Nana the people I met when doing the work event two years ago and went to an amazing dinner on Saturday night.  The best part of going with them is that we never get menus and the food is amazing and we tend to have very long dinners which is not a bad thing when there is loads of food.  The weather made us crave summer as it was in the 70’s the whole time we were there and able to walk around without jackets.  Somehow when in Rome the boys tend to do more shopping then me and they both ended up with belts and shirts though I do admit to a new purse on this trip.  Our final gelato stop had to be the best.  It took us back to one of the oldest shops in Rome for gelato and was packed with people .  I think the happiest camper had to have been David and his 3 scopes of yummy gelato!

Really I only had 2 scopes!!

Sadly our Rome trip came to an end too quickly and we had to head home to Daisy and London. 

What do you do on a Sunny Sunday in London? You take a long walk to a frozen yogurt place and eat it sitting on the steps of the nearby store while your dog suns her self!  We met up with Brian and Lorie yesterday and took a long rambling walk from Fulham where they live to South Kensington where the yogurt place is called Snog.   They have 3 flavours to pick from, Natural, Green Tea & Chocolate, but then you get to the toppings bit and you get some real choices.  Fruit is high on the list with different berries, dates, nuts, or coconut shavings and then there is the naughty list which includes; chocolate nibs, Oreos, and a few others (I didn’t look past these two).  Lorie did have a point when she said that there are no sprinkles included on the naughty list like there are at TCBY…mabye we should bring our own next time to add on top! Snog is really more like regular yogurt frozen then it is sweet like TCBY yogurts.  There is the hint of sourness to the flavour but mixed with the right combo it is pretty tasty.  I did Chocolate Nibs & Coconut Shavings, Alan went for Natural, Strawberries and Oreo’s which was also pretty tasty.  Neither Daisy or Milo mined the Natural flavour to help in the clean up process.  Then we had a nice long walk back in the sun to make us feel like we earned our treats for the day.  Daisy on the other hand was so hot when we got home it was time for a quick trip to the River Thames for a swim, then the day was really perfect. 

I am glad we took full advantage of the nice weather this weekend as Monday has turned out to be rainy and gray.  I am grateful that it is happening today and not over the weekend! Next up a trip to Rome with David when he arrives on Thursday, this should be fun and full of good food! 

Yesterday I had to take a long walk for work, really!  The Victoria Line was down due to planned Industrial action aka a strike so my normal connection between Oxford Circus and Victoria Station was shut, so I opted to walk.  This week London has jumped into spring head first with great sunny weather for the whole week and made everyone smile or at least break out their sunglasses and shorts.  My walk took me from the office in Soho along Piccadilly Street to Green Park Station.  From there I cut into the park and walked in the sunshine and trees.  Lawn chairs had been set up and it was still a bit early for lunch but people were already setting up picnics and themselves in the chairs and on blankets ready to enjoy the sunshine.  As I crossed the park I could hear music towards Buckingham Palace as it turns out I was in time for the Changing of the Guard!  I stopped to cross the street and was held up by the horses crossing and the line up of cars following behind waiting to be let through to continue on their journey.  Weaving my way through the crowded sidewalks surrounding the Palace I kept getting glimpses of the event taking place and made me appreciate what I get to do everyday in living in this big cool city.  Here I am walking between offices and something that has happened for years and years with so much pomp and circumstance is still happening just to change a guard at a palace! Tourists still swarm to see the event everyday and yesterday was no exception it amazes me that it still draws a crowd for just a simple event that takes under 15 minutes. Nothing comes even close in the states.  My walk back later in the afternoon proved to be much calmer but I was sure jealous of all the folks with their books in the lawn chairs in Green Park.  

Alan and I make it a mission every Saturday we are home to head down to our local farmers market.  We are lucky enough to have one within walking distance and with good local suppliers.  I remember two years ago we toured the village and it happened to be on a Saturday and we stumbled upon the market and we both were very excited by it and knew this had to be the place for us.  Our Saturday mornings usually start by Daisy waking us up (usually Alan) for her breakfast/pee and then a snuggle back in bed for a few more hours until we realize if we don’t get going we would miss market and the good stuff. Quick showers and a snack to keep us going we grab the backpack, shopping bags and Daisy and out the door we go.  Daisy uses this opportunity to lead us down the path she wants to the village.  Our favourite way is to wander the back streets and taking in what new things have bloomed and lately it has been the Cherry trees & Magnolia trees with all the colour we really know that spring has sprung.  The path to market first involves a quick detour around the Barnes pond to make sure Daisy has a few fetches and then we head in.  We cross the street and enter into the parking lot of the Barnes Medical Group (NHS of course). My first stop is the veggie stand as it is right at the entrance and usually has a bit of a line so it is worth getting to it early. I add up what I might make during the week and then take stock of what they have.  Usually a bag of onions, carrots, spring onions, broccoli, and maybe potatoes or squash go into the bag.  The same women work the stand every week so it is fun to chat with them briefly during the purchasing process.  They have a good mixture of most things and tend to be in tune with what is in season which I like and has taught me a lot this past year about cooking seasonally.  Who knew Alan and I would find so many different ways to eat squash and like it!  After veggies we glance around and take stock of what we need, there are two bread stalls, an olives stall, an Italian cheese stall that has some of our favourites and a great lady that works the stall who always lets us sample things.  There is a good tomato stall that has good greenhouse tomatoes that they grow year round which is a feat in itself!  Fresh pasta, fish monger (still have yet to try, I think it might be this summer!) and then we are in the back of the parking lot to where the butchers hole up.  First you have to pass the man selling French cuisine and he has every week his very large fry pans out cooking up giant batches of potatoes and cream sauces or prawns and chicken but our recent try was his beef sandwich that was awesome.  A few weeks ago on one of the sunny Saturdays he came out with this huge slab of beef and onions mixture with sauce and put it on a roll and Alan and I had that for lunch it was really good!  Our butcher sells all the meat I get for our weeks needs and sometimes I do get a bit extra and freeze it for the weeks we are not able to make it to market.  I don’t remember the last time I bought meat at the store.  During the holidays we order our turkey from him too.  Several other treasures are in the back, for one the flour man is back there.  Last week when we went he had not been in awhile, heart trouble he told us, so we were glad to see him healthy again and back in action.  There is also another cheese stall selling British cheeses and several cheddars that we have grown to love, I am still avoiding the blue.  If we are feeling hungry or we skipped breakfast there is a stop at the bap stand for a bacon, egg, and cheese bap.  They fry up everything right there in front of you upon your order.  You can just get bacon or sausage if you want but we choose to go big by adding the cheese and egg.  Daisy last week was lucky to get a few of the crispy bits of bacon from the gal at the stand and she didn’t mind at all.  When all is said and done and the breakfast bap consumed we take a final quick lap around and make sure we have what we need and start the trek home.  Our last stop before heading home is back to the pond for a ball throwing session for Daisy and then we start the trek home either on foot or the bus. Either way it makes for a good way to spend a Saturday morning in Barnes.

So the other day I was walking down into the tube line at Victoria and saw this very funny to me advertisement.

“Brighton the new Barcelona” come by train from Victoria! 

Not sure if Brighton will be as warm or have good Spanish food but they can sure try and sell it.  :)

Today when taking the District line in to our Victoria office I had a history lesson.  The tube driver while we were stopped before Earls Court decided that to be very chatty.  He let us know that Earls Court is where the first ever escalator was built in the tube stations. At first no one would ride them so the company hired a man to ride up and down them to show how safe they were.  The ironic part was that the man riding up and down them had one wooden leg and so people didn’t trust watching him go up and down wondering why he only had one leg!  Overtime the escalators took over and has he put it what we do without them now, so true. Several other tidbits  of history about the District line track is the oldest part from I think he said South Kensington to Westminster as Kensington was the suburbs at the time and Westminster was the city.  At Sloane Square station there is a river that car 4 is under when stopped at the station!  Who knew that the ride to work would be so informative. 

The final full day in Zermatt and Alan and I were determined to use our snowshoes!  We brought them from the US to UK and then on to Zermatt.  We woke up to gray skies and low clouds again but fuelled by our good breakfast we went into town and worked out the train schedule to take up to the top via the Gornergrat train. From the top we would then strap on our snowshoes armed with our official looking trail maps and hike down.  We boarded the train and were surrounded by folks with their skies ready for the day at the top.  The train took about 30 minutes to the top and about half way up it broke through the clouds and blue sky and the Matterhorn shone through and there was a collective gasp from the train at the beauty we all could see.  It was pretty freaking amazing.  Upon arriving at the top we watched everyone strap on their skies and head down.  We climbed up to the hotel that is perched on hill and took pictures and was in awe of the glaciers and mountains surrounding us at 10,000 feet!  Our mission to snowshoe ended shortly thereafter.  Due to all the fresh snow it made snowshoeing nearly impossible and the trails were not even tried in recent days so after a few short steps we realized our fate was really to ski on that day.  Up we went back to the train, down the mountain to the first available ski rental place, then back to the train and up the mountain!  Yes we really went down and back up but it was so worth it.  The snow was perfect with the sun shining on it all afternoon we could not have asked for a better day.  We rounded the day by sipping Champers in the Igloo bar under the shadow of the Matterhorn.  Our final evening we gather up a few snacks for the long travel day on Sunday and then cleaned up and found a good restaurant for our final meal in the village.  What a weekend we had and wonder who we could get to go with us next time!

Our trip back to Zurich and home to London was thankfully uneventful thanks to the Swiss trains and our carefully packed snacks from the day before.

Snow!  That is what I have to say. It kept on coming down all day long.  We woke on the Friday to snow coming down with much excitement and a bit of nerves we quickly ate breakfast at the hotel and then packed up and bundled ourselves into our gear and made the trek down to the first ski lift area.  We managed to rent our gear fairly quickly and without too much hassle and then it was time for the slopes. 

Our first experience was going up one of the smaller gondolas and that was pretty cool, similar to the ones they have in Whistler.  There was not much of a view due to the low clouds and snow falling so fast.  We got to the top and we followed the crowd and made our way to another gondola, but we didn’t know yet what we were waiting for as it was all in Swiss-German so we waited.  A few minutes later the gates opened up, we swiped our cards and shuffled forward and there coming down from the clouds was a large gondola, almost like a cable car.  It fit everyone standing around, probably a 100 people and the doors shut and we stood there not being able to see out as the windows were fogged and the snow/low clouds so I shut my eyes and waited for the top to come.  It was about a 5 minute journey with some swinging in the middle but all in all a fairly smooth ride.  Alan and I stepped off the lift and we were up high in the sky.  We started out on a T-bar as well that was pretty much the only thing open! I have not been on a T-bar before and so the first few rides were a bit nerve racking to say the least but by the end I got the hang of it.  Thankfully we were also on skies and not a board which can be a bit tricky.  It snowed very heavily all throughout the day and made seeing hard but we managed and laughed a lot that morning at ourselves.  Right before lunch we attempted a new route and ended up in a very different spot then we had hoped for but we managed to take advantage and stopped for a good lunch. One can not beat a big bowl of pasta for lunch along with hot chocolate to warm the soul and feed the ski legs!  We took another gondola back to the same area and finished the day riding up the T-bar and playing in fresh snow.  We managed one more hot chocolate spiked with snaps and then took the lifts back down to return our skies for the day.  Our goal at the start of the day was to make it to lunch and we far passed that and enjoyed ourselves on our first day skiing in several years!  The night was capped by a good meal in the hotel restaurant and a bottle of Swiss wine.   We stopped by the cheese shop again and stocked up for the next day and then wandered our way back to the hotel.  We cleaned up and then ate that night at the hotel.  A pretty good dinner with table side service.  I must say some of the best ice cream I have had in a long time and some very tasty homemade ice cream! 

Well it has been two years since Alan and I have been on any sort of winter sport equipment and we were not about to let another year go past us.  Over New Years we planned our Swiss Chocolate Trip as I called it.  Yes it probably should have been about skiing or something to do with snow but I picked chocolate and we did make sure to sample whenever possible.  Alan has posted a bunch of info on our first night in Switzerland (our second new country of the year) so check out his blog for Bern details. 

Zermatt…what a cool place.  We had heard about it from friends in Seattle who did a big ski trip about four years ago and how cool it is so I was determined to see it at least once on our adventures in travel and living in the UK.  We arrived after travelling on the train and it was dumping snow!  We called the hotel and they said yes we will pick you up…40 minutes later we were still at the train station.  Alan rang them again and they said oh no we can’t come get you take a taxi there is too much snow!  We hopped in a taxi, really they are little electric cars or boxes on wheels that cruise around the village.  The taxi driver took a look at our hotel and whistled so we knew we were in for trouble.  It turns out our hotel was really out the outskirts of town and down a small path/road to a dead-end.  Thankfully our taxi driver was pretty much a maniac with the box on wheels and we arrived safe in one piece to the hotel.  Alan and I were grateful to be there as we had started to turn a bit frosty from standing outside waiting for the hotel van so were happy to check in and then layer up and then head back out.  We found our way pretty easily into the village and then started to wander into places.  I found us a cheese shop and it turned out they were also doing a wine tasting of Swiss wines, did we want to try some?  Of course was our answer!  During our tasting we also managed to get them to let us try a few local cheeses too from the region and boy where those tasty.  In the end we walked out with a dessert wine to take home and the promise to come back the next day for cheese.  Our next stop…more cheese for a fondue dinner.  We overloaded on cheese and thankfully had a snowy walk back to the hotel, oh so good. 

One thing I do love about London is that the majority of the museums are all free.  There are a few that are not such as the transport museum but that is okay as it is worth paying to go see how transport was developed here.  Most places also will do special exhibits for a cost and they tend to require booking ahead but for those moments when you want to pop in and see something new the FREE is good. Sometimes Alan and I don’t always do the big museums when travelling as we feel guilty if we don’t see the whole thing so this is a great chance for us to take advantage of having it in our city.  For example two weekends ago we met up with Karen & John for lunch at Borough Market then walked on down to the Tate Modern for a couple of exhibits.  When we were tired of doing the museum shuffle we crossed the Millennium bridge and found a pub in the shadow of St. Paul’s Cathedral.  A few weekends before Alan and I went and visited the V&A or Victoria and Albert Museum.  It will take us many more visits to see the whole of this place as it is incredibly large and complex holding a great mix of art.  Another favourite worth a mention is the Imperial War Museum. Not sure what is the next museum on the list but I am sure we will come up with something. 

Some days the hunt to get one green pepper is a struggle in a local grocery store.  Last night I needed one green pepper, not anything else.  I hunted around the store for just one but no love I ended up with three peppers, one of every colour.  I realize I was at my local Tesco at the station and they are perfect for loads of packaging and quick in and out but still one is all I needed!  It is amazing how much packaging goes into things in the grocery stores here.  Often times the stores do not do the open bins or collect your own in a bag.  The option is you grab a package and what you get is 3 or sometimes more than what you need.  This is of course why I love shopping at the Whole Foods and the farmers markets.  There I can get what I need without all the packaging!  At the end of the day I just feel wasteful and so it makes me sad.  I realize that they do that here and elsewhere throughout Europe since so many people just grab and go and go home and cook it up.  I just wish for the rest of us there were more options without packaging. 

Oh well I still made my Sloppy Joes over on Meg’s Kitchen.

Well I finally got me a new pair of glasses and they arrived today, yippee!  For one thing I have been needing them for probably over a year and then they finally broke last week on the way home from Chicago on the plane.  The day after we got home I went and had an eye exam at a local place.  They seem to be all over the in the tube stations too.  I used the one at Hammersmith and it was pretty good deal in the end.  A funny part was the ‘Dr’ who checked my eyes at first is actually an intern who does the work and then has it all checked by the real doc/mentor.  It took a bit longer but overall it was pretty good and the real doc/mentor was good at teaching which was cool to watch.  But today had to be the best part cause my glasses came in and they are super cool, well to me they are.  Plus now I don’t have to walk around blind or hold my book super close to me at night!  They are slightly chic Euro and a good Euro brand of Chanel too…yes I splurged but they are worth it for another five years! 

Alan posted info on Chicago recently.  It was a lot of fun to be back and we ate a lot of pizza! 

A new one I heard today

“Please take your litter with you” 

A very good point! 

So what do you wear when it snows in London for shoes?  On my way to work on Tuesday after most of the transport was back up and working I noticed many things.  While being from Seattle I put on my sensible shoes that have traction and are flat for walking in, no I didn’t wear my hiking boots, those I save for walking the dog.  You might think the same for other other people but oh no not the ladies of London they wear anything even heels in the snow and ice, though I am not sure it their cases how many stayed on their feet.  I think my favourite were the ones wearing the wellies.  Many wore their long rubber boots (some actually pretty cool) with their skirts, dress trousers and dresses.  It was pretty funny and sensible at the same time as the back of their legs didn’t get dirty!  I stuck with my sensible shoes but admired the cool wellies as they trekked the city.  Mine are only plain black maybe I will invest in a coloured pair in the near future.   

Another weekend in London.  We had a few adventures this weekend but none quite like what is currently happening right now at midnight. It is snowing buckets!  Yes we are still up watching the super bowl and eating nachos, the super bowl food group.  It is predicted to be snowing most of the night and the earlier predication is for about 5 inches/15cm…we might already have around 4 inches outside!  We took Daisy out in it a bit ago and let her run around in the snow and she went into hyper dog mode and picked up sticks, snowballs, and anything available to make her happy.  It is a true snowstorm out our windows right now! We hope it sticks for Monday and be able to go out in the daylight to play. 

Our adventure yesterday took us to the Wimbledon Common.  Daisy was in her element running around with mud up to her belly with a tennis ball in her mouth ready for anything.  Along the way we met an older man looking for a dog that had wandered off named Coco he said was a liver spaniel.  We had not seen the dog but we said we would keep our eyes out.  As we were heading out along the path we saw what we thought was Coco. It had the look of a lost dog.  Alan tracked the dog and finally he caught it and leashed it up and we started our mission to find the owner, the collar had no id or phone number on it for easy returns.  We wandered for nearly an hour talking to people and trying to find the owner but no love.  Someone mentioned that we try going to the rangers office as they know about lost dogs.  Thankfully it was in the same direction as our car as it was getting late so we talked with the ranger and dropped off the dog.  As we were driving down the lane we saw the guy, I jumped out of the car and ran down to the guy to let him know.  He was so grateful hugging me and saying how happy he was as the dog was his mother’s and he couldn’t go home without it!  I pointed him in the right direction to the rangers office and he hurried off and I ran back to the car to head home.  All in all a good deed well done.  We were just happy to have the dog safe as it was pretty afraid when we first found it.  A lesson out there to make sure the dog has a collar with a phone number on it. 

PS…go see the movie Milk it is really good.