CANINE NEWS

It's official: Spurn-Me-Not Angel Honeybear Carpet Crapper is not coming back to Becket to live but will remain with the breeder. Hooray. Becket now a Collie Free Zone. The dog came for a visit I hear yesterday, but didn't make a fuss over Peg despite not having seen her in 6 weeks, in fact didn't appear to even know her--and that decided it for Peg. And is the right decision. On top of which the dog looks great, is beautifully groomed and has lost 15 lbs, not surprising, not having been on Peg's famous Cake and Taramasalata Diet in awhile. Also, she MAY be coming into heat, in which case she will be bred, and if any puppies pop out, Peg gets the proceeds from one of them ($1000).

So. I am happy. On the What About That Bloody Collie front.

Also, Terri (staff) is sleeping upstairs, as directed, and so far nothing terrible has happened. Also, she has cut down her hours. Am happy on this front too.

HIGHLIGHTS IN BECKET:
Peg got a call from a guy, a property guy, who's bought the land adjoining our 28 acres with a view to putting up two houses. Fucker. Lives in Vermont. He asked to come over and look at the boundaries, she said yes, I think also invited him (a total stranger) for dinner, and only told me about all this in passing, whereupon I vetoed the visit, alerted Bonnie, who gave the guy my details and he rang me in England this afternoon. A Michael Sanders. Sounded OK, slightly slick in a fast talking property guy kind of way. The problem seems to be with the boundary on the north side, to the right of our driveway, the markings don't tally with the deeds or with the town plans. I agree, having looked into all this in depth when we were thinking of selling off some land this past year. I either say "The boundary is the stone wall" and that's that, or….what I have in mind is a possible trade off: part of his land juts in at one point at a stupid angle, practically touching the dog pen, and who needs some new build within spitting distance when I'm trying to unload the property (one day, some day, maybe, when they die, if they die, ever). So the deal I'm proposing is he'd get a bit more on MY side of the stone wall at the north end, far from the house so who cares--and I get to own that big stupid jutting triangle close to the house where it matters (to me). Of course, the very idea of me doing a property deal (I can't even read the plans, I had them upside down when the realtor was over last spring) is so far fetched that I suppose that in itself is what's giving me the courage to steam in.

Odd's birthday last Friday. Peg forgot. I sent a card, Suffolk Magazine which had a feature on Denis, and a marzipan candy bar, not knowing he is now not allowed sugar because of his diabetes and being light-headed when he stands up. Bonnie got him a sugar free lemon meringue pie. Terri bought him some new sweat pants. Peg forgot. Or did I say that.

Bonnie's birthday today. Peg forgot.

Genworth latest is that they will most likely cough up for Peg's Laurel Lake nursing home stay plus a 20 day Recovery period at home. Delighted. Odd's bill from Laurel Lake on the other hand is over $2000 for 11 days of having an alarm pinned to his back and not being allowed to get out of bed by himself and coming home physically worse than when he went in. Won't be doing that again in a hurry. 

HIGHLIGHTS IN ENGLAND:
Denis, who is not the most observant at the best of times, opened the gate to take his bike to the beach to see if by any chance he'd left the dog's £75 collar-beeper thing there earlier (yes), and in doing so, didn't notice Mabel shooting out past him through the hedge when his back was turned. So she had a good 3o minutes traversing the Freud's fields next door chasing rabbits at full speed before anyone noticed she was missing (I was at the supermarket), whereupon DK eventually heard her, then from the upstairs window saw flashes of white bobbing up in the long grass over there, raced over and, eventually, persuaded her to "Come, God dammit!" but she has either been bitten or done something to her leg, anyhow is quite miserable and won't move, just stays where you place her, and today is of course Sunday and the vet's is closed.