Old Dog...... New Tricks

Last night we fell off the wagon

My sister cooked the family a fantastic "St David's Day" meal.

And so mentally we threw away the weightwatchers manual and just enjoyed the food for what it was!

tapas nibbles, prawns in white wine and garlic,pate and hummus, lamb shank that melted in your mouth, potatoes in a creamy sauce.......chocolate cheese cake and of course too many gin and tonics........

We ate as if it was our last supper and enjoyed every friggin' fatty, fat bastard bit of it......

Tomorrow's weigh in shall be interesting

Anyhow

At the moment I cam cooking a somewhat "pared down" Sunday lunch while Chris is in Church

The dogs have all been out for their long walk and are lined up waiting for their dinner, and I have just realised that Mabel now understands that she is indeed now called....Mabel!

It has taken her a while to learn this.

For the name she was originally christened with, was a somewhat saccharine sounding "Jasmine"

Now as some of my regular readers will know only too well, I absolutely love irony....but even I would draw the line at naming a bulldog, with a set of front teeth like a row of bombed houses such a flowery name.

Indeed when she first arrived at the cottage only a few months ago now, Chris' eyebrows did some of his characteristic Roger Moore arches, when I told him her name, especially given the fact that she was at the time farting with all of the delicacy of the Queen Mary's fog horn

"Jasmine" he repeated with a sigh, as another fart rang out " How appropriate!"

And so I felt a new name was in order.

People who own more than two dogs ( Kim?) will tell you that naming a dog is not as simple as it may appear. The trick with a name is to pick one that is individually "sounding" whether it be a different number of syllables to the other dogs' names or a very different delivered name.

Something like Muffy and Fluffy is not really a wise choice.........not unless you want the neighbours to realise that you are an Essex Girl and you are happy owning a pair of effeminate sounding dogs with an identity problem

I have always named our dogs with old fashioned "proper " names....

and in "Jasmine's" case the solid, farmer's wife name of Mabel seemed to fit perfectly

Mabel is the name of a woman with ham like arms, a big bosom and an even bigger heart!

Today I whispered her name as I cut the greens for lunch, and slowly she dragged herself off the kitchen sofa and came to see what I wanted......

success........