Every year I hand deliver around fifty Christmas cards around Trelawnyd, and every year what should be a leisurely stroll full of festive cheer becomes two hours of dog induced stress as dogs cannot quite grasp the finer points of visiting strange front doors and new, interesting smelling paths in order to shove a small envelope through a little slot in a door.
Leads get tangled.
Doorsteps are pissed upon
And open doors are invaded.....
So by noon, I and they were all hot , sweaty and Very pissed off and I STILL had eight envelopes left to deliver at Rhodfa Arthur ( the Welsh for Arthur Avenue) so the prospect of walking all the way round from Well Street , along the main road to the final cul de sac felt one step too far.....
So I took the sneaky short cut, and dragged the dogs through Beryl Evans' back garden!
I was just tip toeing past her front door when it opened and a rather surprised Beryl said " hello?"
" your Christmas card" I mumbled offering it to her ...it had a sloppy bite mark on it where I had held it in my mouth after yet another tangle with the dog leads,." you keeping well.?" I asked her in passing
" No .." She said " I'm not feeling very well at the moment"
" oh dear" I said and marched off
I just needed a sit down and a cup of tea
It's ho 'ho sniff atchoo sniff ho' in this 'ouse!
ReplyDeleteNote to self - do NOT walk the dog and deliver the cards (he does like to poop in public -ick - mortified face!)
Best not to ask after people's well being.....those that are not being well like to talk about it. I'm sure the dogs enjoyed their outing though.
ReplyDeleteNew pooing locations; what could be more inviting for a dog!
ReplyDeleteIsn't that the truth? :)
DeleteYour poor sod! They don't do Christmas cards here and there is no postal service so I do not have to worry about a single Christmas card!
ReplyDeleteFive alcohol free days now, I have gone cold turkey! So I am a bit hot and sweaty as well!
I don't send Christmas cards...feeling a bit smug right now!
ReplyDeleteJane x
File that under "it seemed like a good idea at the time"....
ReplyDeleteNext time leave the dogs at home ..... or send Chris out after work fortified with a large glass of something and the promise of another on his return!!
ReplyDeleteThe season of goodwill should never get off to such bad start :-(
I love sending Christmas Cards but I mail most of them.
ReplyDeleteWalking the five Gud Dugs sounds like a great idea but maybe in theory only.
At lest it wasn't in a blinding snow storm !
cheers, parsnip
or a stiff whisky.
ReplyDeleteI'm doing the Chagford run on Friday. Short cuts currently unavailable unfortunately. Sodding Christmas. x
ReplyDeleteWhat a good idea to hand-deliver each card John! Not many of us would even entertain that idea and if I had that many friends/acquaintances locally I would consider the same gesture. I don't, so I have joined the cyber world and now email my cards.
ReplyDeleteBet the dogs LOVE this John!
Indeed jimbo
DeleteThank you for your card btw!
I send mine by the post. I was tempted to hand deliver the ones for my neighbours up the street, but all of them mail me my card. ALWAYS. I have the last batch to send out tomorrow, and should be good.
ReplyDeleteI think you just like to punish yourself, leave the bloody dogs at home my friend.
ReplyDeleteImpossible task with dogs... leave them behind & you might get invited in for a cuppa or two.
ReplyDeleteHaving recently adopted a second dog, I can suddenly appreciate the challenge of walking more than one. I can't EVEN imagine dealing with more than two by myself.
ReplyDeleteYou must have the patience of a saint. Seriously. :)
Sometimes multi-tasking is not as good an idea as it sounds.
ReplyDeleteYou really are Christmassy, giving out that many cards to neighbours. We are lucky to holler a greeting to ours any time the week before or after!
I hope you have had your well deserved cup of tea now. x
ReplyDeleteIt is a sign of being part of a community when one delivers Christmas Cards by hand. You really are a sweetie.
ReplyDeleteDelores is correct. Asking how someone is can really open a door. And you, being a nurse, might find yourself drinking tea all day.
How is William's foot? Never mind your problems!! X
ReplyDeleteIt's much better thank you.... Although he's still being daddy with his food
DeleteIn the village, for the 25 years I've been through, one house is decorated every Christmas season with two illuminated, handmade signs. Across the porch: Merry Christmas. In the side yard: Bah Humbug.
ReplyDeleteThe house is for sale this year, but still decorated. I must take a picture tomorrow.
Love it...will pop in to see it
DeleteNeither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night stays these couriers from the swift completion of their appointed rounds. Nor door steps pissed on apparently. you are such a good neighbor!
ReplyDeleteyou cast a long shadow. I mailed my 12 cards; over here, your delivery method is impractical.
ReplyDeleteThat's exactly why I left my two dogs at home yesterday while delivering around 30 cards locally. They get too excited and pull. I need several pairs of hands to hold on to the dogs, extract cards from the pile, open and close gates and shove cards through letter boxes. Last year I ended up putting some cards through the wrong doors! The dogs are also getting stressed with all the cards coming through our letter box, And they're going to be very over excited when the free turkey arrives next week, all 20lb of it. For three of us!! Plenty for the dogs then.
ReplyDeleteNext year I will wander around all by myself
DeleteThat sounds like the best solution, John.
DeleteHave a great day tomorrow.
Sounds not so much like 'Christmas cheer' but 'Christmas cheerio - and good riddance!'
ReplyDeleteI send a few cards in the mail. Since I don't live in a charming Welsh village, I don't have to give cards to everybody. If I walked around with cards, some drug dealer . . . oh, never mind.
ReplyDeleteLove,
Janie
Perhaps you could train the dogs to deliver the Christmas cards while you sit at home having a leisurely scotch egg and cuppa?
ReplyDeleteYou were like any parent, John. You envisioned your children as being well trained, equipped with good manners as well as restraint. Then the reality of the situation became apparent with everyone of them being rude, lacking any restraint & devoid of all manners. Oh, the shame of it all.
ReplyDeleteI think that it's quite sad that the tradition of sending Christmas cards will disappear soon. I make mine every year, deliver local ones by hand and post the rest. To send a text or email just isn't the same somehow. XXXX
ReplyDeleteNext year why don't you post your cards in one of those red Royal Mail post boxes and just take the dogs for a nice long walk. x
ReplyDeleteI delivered half a dozen cards to neighbours while walking my dog, too. He doesn't wear a lead, he's elderly and just ambles along at my pace, so no problems there.
ReplyDeleteHowever, I wish I'd had prior warning of Ted Pengelly's electrical arrangements when he decorated his two fir trees by his gateway.
I went all my length over a cable that snaked across his drive and landed head first in his flower bed (wet & muddy at present). My dog found enough energy to join in with this impromptu falling on the floor lark so that we both ended up filthy, muddy and bruised (me).
Pengelly can go run for his Christmas card this year. Bah Humbug!
I love it x
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