New toy!

Archie went to visit his dog borrowers, K and L, this morning. They have been fairly regular in taking him out for a walk for many months now, but when we suggested they have him at their house for a morning to get to know him better, they were keen. He's such a dear wee thing in the house, very affectionate, and full of fun, which you don't see when just taking him for a walk. They had him from 10am till 3pm, and declared him to be a 'wee star'. There were no calamities, so maybe we can do this again in the New Year.

Despite imbibing more prosecco than anyone else last night, the medicinal properties had no effect whatsoever - I had a bad night - coughing fits every half hour or so, so I didn't sleep a wink. At one point - 4.30am to be precise - I was lying on the sofa, coughing, coughing, coughing. Archie was on my chest, on his back, legs in the air, rubbing his head against my face, trying to make me stop coughing. Possibly.

Annoyingly enough, JR discovered that we had some cough medicine in the morning....

I had such watery sore eyes all day, but we didn't want to put off our pals for nibbles and bubbles this evening. This time I imbibed twice as much as last night, so maybe it will have the desired effect tonight.

Wee R (he's grown so much) came round with his mum and dad and it was good for Archie - after barking for longer than usual when they came in, he stayed well away from the toddler, but kept his eyes on him. In fact, R was keeping a wary eye on this noisy little hairy animal looking at him.

Rufus and his mum came last night, bearing a new toy for Archie. After briefly thinking to keep it till Christmas for him, I came to my senses - he knows not of Santa Claus, and he needs some new toys. So he's been quacking away in the hallway all evening and is now sleeping beside it.

Look at that naughty little smirk on his face. You can guess what happened right after this. Yes, he was mauling it!