Constitutional - a curious way of saying 'walkies'

Me and the dog have taken to going out for a midnight 'constitutional'. Up the road, into the field and back again. And now we are joined by the little black and white cat. We like this. Cat and dog investigate hedges and fence posts (sometimes together, puzzlingly) and I wander backwards and forwards looking at the sky and the hedges and woods and thinking what a shame it is that the animals won't stay still long enough to be photographed. (20 seconds minimum needed in bright moonlight, 2 seconds max stillness available :)
We have also taken to going up the road for our morning constitutional. It's beats trudging round the wet garden (though, so far, it hasn't rained on us so we may change our minds if it does).
Since the field across the road is a change from the one out the back, I've taken to going back, without the dog if there is a nice sun or sky or whatever, to take a few photos. In fact this morning, I did it the other way round since there was frost and mist and all that :) Got up very early even. The dog didn't even realise I was going out it was so early.
Anyway, now, me and the dog are going to do it again.

Goodnight, sleep tight.

Round the Ikea in less than 80 days

We went to Brother in Law's for the weekend. The main object of the visit was for Barney to chop down some of a tree. All his family turn to him when they need any heavy duty gardening or roof repair doing and we turn up with chainsaw and assorted implements of destruction.
Here are the brothers Bardsley, working harmoniously together.*
On this occasion we got magnificently fed...I don't think I will need to eat again for several days. What's more they have an Ikea on their doorstep. So me and sister in law made an excursion from which, thankfully, we emerged**. After watching the football, the brothers Bardsley chopped and hauled and managed to reduce the tree somewhat without totally destroying it. Later the boys went to the pub and Sister in Law and I drank a bottle of wine before we all ate the most enormous pork chops I have ever seen. Later still I thought, maybe I will have a hangover tomorrow! Oh well. This shot of suburbia was taken under the influence of huge food and much drink.
Then today there was an enormous chicken, marvellously stuffed. (but absolutely no wine for me thank you very much). And the niece and nephew were around over the weekend, both being pleasant and charming and entertaining as usual. They are a delightful pair and I prophesy broken hearts in both their wakes in the years to come. If not already!
Barney and I made a second excursion to Ikea to investigate desks. I've sold him on the room usage thing and he got quite excited about the prospect of going home with a new desk and a room just for stamps! Sadly, after an hour waiting for Ikea to open properly (funny Sunday opening hours they have) so the hordes would be allowed into the warehouse area, we found that the chosen desk was out of stock! Barney was sad. And eloquent upon the shortcomings of Ikea and all its awfulness. Couldn't really disagree but anyway I still have to go and get myself a sewing table and a card making desk. All will be well :)
Mind, I've no idea how all this is going to be paid for! Better examine all my bank statements carefully so I can do a bit of sleight of hand on them. After all Christmas is coming and I will need to spend money on it however much I might wish it would just disappear!
So back home and time to fetch the dog from kennels on a misty early morning :)


*A scene I often see in various forms - Barney up a tree wielding an implement of destruction and a member of the family standing helpfully at the bottom
**I really do wonder sometimes if there are people in Ikea who never managed to find the way out, haunting the bed department and wandering sadly and hungrily around the sterile kitchen bit. As all Ikeas are identical, I guess they might skip through to some other universe and find themselves in a different Ikea in some other time and place. This could account for huge numbers of missing persons...now displaced.