Going into Summer

Tags

Canada, cruise ships, PEI, Potatoes, Summerside, Weather

We are still in May but the weather took a turn for for sunny and hot, in just one day we are now at 25C.

Yesterday it was 10C. quite the difference, this week we will reach 27C which is July weather but I am not complaining. Will have a tour this week on Wednesday starting at 8am.

This past week, I took Nick and Nora to the groomer in Kensington and then drove over to Summerside, it was a very cold day, windy and rainy with fog. I was surprise how cold it was, near the freezing point all day. In Summerside on the water with the wind it was even colder. I did walk around a bit, it is a very nice little town of 17K and once was a major air force base which closed in 1999, it is now a centre for aerospace research.

Beautiful homes and I stopped at Holman’s for ice cream. Holman’s is in the old mansion of the Holman family built around 1855. They were until about 45 years ago a big concern on the island, owning the large department stores in both Charlottetown and Summerside. There home also has a beautiful garden and the present owner has preserved it. The downstairs is the ice cream parlour which kept all the fixtures and woodwork of the era. Despite the fact that you will be told that the best ice cream on Earth is COWS, which is made by a large corporation in a factory, the Holman’s Ice cream is all small daily batches and so it is rich and very creamy. I got their chocolate ice cream which is very dark and pure chocolate. I also got the salty caramel which is very good and unlike any commercial brand. I brought a big cooler to keep it cold on the drive back.

On HWY 2 close to Kensington you pass the Cavendish Farm factory where they have their potato research station, always a lot of white smoke in the area which smells of boiled potatoes, rather pleasant smell. This is a big corporation owned by an even bigger one IRVING, which is involved in oil, propane, gas, timber, navy ship building for the Canadian Royal Navy, etc. Despite the fact that they generate thousands of jobs, the Irving family is detested, never heard one nice word about them.

The rest of the week has been arranging wardrobes retiring winter clothes and bringing out summer clothing. If you live in Canada, you will have several wardrobes for various seasons. This takes an afternoon to do and it is tedious. Same with the bedsheets from flannel to cotton.

I have not been blogging as much as before, simply I have been busy with other projects around the house, at the Club and now with the Cruise ships and tourism. I try when I blog, to be interesting and give an idea of life here, not going to do a FB post with a picture of every tedious moment of life. So maybe there will be less frequent postings.

Here are some pictures of Summerside, the old town. The photos were taken on Thursday and it was a very grey cold day.

What a week it has been.

Tags

bus tours, Canada, cap jourimain, cormorant, cruise ships, New Brunswick, PEI, tourism

This weekend is the first long weekend of Summer, Victoria Day weekend, we are the only country in the world celebrating a Queen who died more than 122 years ago. Some say it is time to change the name of the holiday. Cottages will open and time to light the BBQ.

This past week because of icebergs near Cornerbrook Newfoundland many cruise ships were diverted, 2 came to us on the same day so we had a total of 3 ships at once and we had to improvise. That day my short tours of 3 hours turned into a 7:30 hour tour. It was a long day, but I learned a lot and had a lobster lunch and ice cream, so one cannot complain too much.

Then on another tour later in the week, we crossed the Confederation bridge to Cap Jourimain in New Brunswick, this area is at the entrance to the bridge and is a national park, very swampy area, perfect for moose and black bears. There was a sign warning people of little cubs and mother bears in the area, which means if you see a cub no matter how cute and cuddly they appear do not touch them and walk away, the mama bear is very near and will kill you if she thinks her baby is at risk. The view from the N.B. side of the bridge was spectacular, but despite the beautiful sunshine the wind was very cold.

The last tour of the week took us along red dirt roads I did not know about around Victoria by the Sea which is a charming little village of about 100 people. It is very nice to go there in Summer, excellent restaurants, hand made chocolate factory, very small and high quality and one of the oldest hotel in PEI, The Orient Hotel.

I am looking forward to guiding my own tours. What the tourists off the cruise ship do not know is the Cruise terminal in Charlottetown was built as a potato warehouse and was used as such until 1989. It has been completely renovated for its current use.

Here are some photos of the week.

Cormorants drying themselves by the Pier.

The Old Railway Station of Charlottetown closed in 1989 with the last train.

Some tourist stop like Shop and Play, offer to dress you up as Anne of Green Gables for a funny picture. This is at the entrance to PEI as you drive off the bridge.

Cap Jourimain with the Bear sighting warning.

From New Brunswick looking across the Strait at PEI in the distance.

There are 44 arches to this reinforced concrete bridge and it take 12 minutes to drive across.

The lighthouse at Cap Jourimain.

This lighthouse is at Victoria by the Sea. We have 61 lighthouses all around the Island. Our coast is very dangerous with rocks barely visible just below the water level.

This week in the mail arrived from the UK the mug I ordered for the Coronation.

A very good week

Tags

Canada, CANCER, cruise, lobster, news, PEI, tourism

This week we got wonderful news from the Chief doctor at the Cancer Centre who took care of Will.

This was the 6 month exam/consultation. All the testing and blood work shows Will is clear of cancer, it’s a big relief for Will and I. Life will be less stressful now that we have put this behind us, what a roller coaster ride this was, truly exhausting. We can now plan ahead and look for vacation time off Island. To celebrate I got him a big bunch of multi-coloured tulips, we grow here on PEI.

In other news, I am continuing my training with the Tour Company, I am enjoying it, good group and on a good weather day it is very pleasant. This week and yesterday the weather shot up to 21C and it was so very nice. We could shut off the heating system and open the windows. Thinking now of flowers for our terrace.

Today I worked for 8 hours as a tour guide. Coming to the Cruise terminal at 07:30am I thought I was doing one program, however I quickly learned that because of numerous large icebergs near Newfoundland, 2 cruise ships had diverted towards PEI and now instead of only one ship we had 3 ships. Also it happens that tours are oversold and this means other problems for us, lack of space on the bus. So suddenly I was switched to a new tour but I had no idea where we were going or what this tour was about. Lesson #1 be flexible no matter what.

Since I was only following the senior guide giving this day long tour, I thought, just go with the flow. It was a very interesting and good tour and I discovered many things again and this gave me ideas on how to develop my own tours with my own spin on things.

To my surprise, we got lunch, a lobster lunch no less. This is the beginning of the lobster season, so it was nice. Usually as staff you bring your own lunch but I was told that if it was an all day tour you get the same lunch as the clients. Then later we got Ice Cream, pretty nice. What was also a bonus today, it did not rain, the forecast said rain all day and I dread doing tours on rainy days, it is so dreary. We got sunshine and mild weather, it only started to rain once back to home port and only lightly.

On Thursday another tour, I am not sure where exactly this time, but will know the details tomorrow.

This Morning the first ship to arrive in Charlottetown at 8am

The old now closed since 1989 Train Station at Borden Carleton where the train met the ferry to cross over to New Brunswick (1917-1989) Next to it the Confederation Bridge built between 1993-97 to link PEI to the Mainland of Canada 12 Km away.

The Point Prim Lighthouse built in 1845, the oldest lighthouse on PEI, now automated, signalling the way into Port Charlottetown. It is only one of two round lighthouses in Canada, the others are square. It is also built of brick recovered by wood shingles.

The ferry at the Port at Wood Island in Western PEI connecting that point of the Island with Pictou, Nova Scotia, during Spring, Summer and early Fall. No service in Winter.

The McNeill family farmhouse relatives of Lucy Maud Montgomery and the inspiration for her books on Anne of Green Gables. It is now part of a National Park and attracts tens of thousands of visitors each year. The house has been modified to meet the description of the fictional house in the book. The area was devastated last November by hurricane Fiona. The damage is visible in the woods all around. When the McNeill’s lived there around 1880 the house was not painted white and green, again an adaptation for the book and the tourist market.

I also bought today my uniform which is dark blue with the company logo. So I am all set to go.

The day has arrived

Tags

Canada, CIIIR, Coronation, Haviland Club, lunch, Parade, PEI

Despite the constant speculation by the media and their morbid fascination with the downfall of the Monarchy all that remains speculation. I see little value in asking a bunch of kids with piercings what they think when what they have to say is confused and half baked opinions with little to no aforethought.

Point is, in Canada, Charles is our King and this is our reality and it cannot be changed or not changed without a great deal of difficulty. In our Canadian Constitution the king is entrenched as the head of State.

Was at the club tonight and we had a charity auction, it went very well, we are also fully prepared for tomorrow’s Coronation Lunch/BBQ with music and broadcast of the ceremony in London. Looking forward to it, weather is said to be sunny around 10C. not warm but we will enjoy ourselves. In fact we had a fire going in the fireplace of the Lounge at the Club tonight. May can be chilly on PEI.

Saturday 6 May

So we had our big lunch for the Coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla. About 100 members showed up and we had a great deal of fun. The Mayor of Charlottetown who is also a Patron hosted the event and the Lieutenant Governor of PEI who is the personal representative of the King and is also a Club Patron came. We watched the Coronation and at the moment of the crowning, the Lieutenant Governor offered 3 cheers for the King and we all said God Save the King! The weather was quite nice, sunny and we had a good time all around.

What a memorable day for all. During our luncheon the Government of Canada announced a new postal stamp and a new Canadian Crown which is distinct from the Tudor Crown used in the UK. The currency will also bear the effigy of the King.

The New Canadian Crown, has a wave of blue line for water and oceans, Maple leafs and the cross is removed and replaced by a snow flake which is in fact taken from the Order Of Canada. The Chief Herald at Rideau Hall designed this new Crown.

We also had a military parade pass by the front of the Club and a 21 gun salute to the King. Great food, harp music, good attendance and good weather.

How was the first day

Tags

Coronation, cruise ships, PEI, Scotland, Stone of Scone, tour guide, tourism

This past week the first Cruise Ship came in port around 8am. The Zaandam of Holland American with 1432 passengers.

It was a windy day but quite pleasant a few clouds and sun. The first day is always about orientation around the Cruise ship terminal which use to be the potato storage area prior to shipping on the dock of the port. It has been completely renovated and is a nice space for people to enter while they wait for their buses to take them to different points on the Island. The Port Authority offered free oysters on the half shell, live music and Anne’s drink with is a cordial. People are relaxed, the average age is 75 and they are all on vacation.

So I did learn a lot on that first day and observed how the operation functions. It is a lot to remember but it is common sense and nothing complicated. I will have to prepare some cheat sheets about Island facts and each guide gets a folder for the tour of the day, so it is pretty straight forward. I did help that I got this type of training back in Ottawa when I was working as a guide and presenter at the National Gallery of Canada.

Port Cruise Terminal seen from the deck of a ship.

This week I work on Tuesday with the same ship coming back into port arriving from Boston. I have to remember to bring some water and some lunch.

So this morning (Tuesday) I was at the Terminal at 8am however the ship was 45 minutes late due to bad weather and rough seas. The weather was not good today, heavy rain and freezing weather. We drove to Cavendish to the site of Anne of Green Gables. Lots of fog and rain, however Parks Canada who is responsible for the site has done massive renovations and it is quite beautiful. Lots of cleaning up during the Winter after the incredible damage done by Hurricane Fiona. We went to Rustico, no fishers since they are all out to fish for Lobster. Rustico has been cleaned up again after Fiona, we travelled around the Island and it was very nice despite the weather. I learned quite a lot about how to conduct the tours and how to handle a bus load of people.

Next week I am to do a full day from 7am to 3:30pm, should be interesting but also quite tiring, you are on all the time. The bus is comfortable and the drivers are knowledgeable. I did not realize that last week the ship was in fact arriving from Fort Lauderdale and had sailed up the way up the eastern seaboard to PEI. Repositioning for the Summer. Some people got on for this 10 day trip in Florida and paid $400 total, last minute deal. Where can you go for that amount today? So I am enjoying myself so far with this Summer job.

So we are approaching the deadline for the Coronation, only 3 day to go, in London every night there is a full dress rehearsal in uniforms, parade with the bands, horse guards, carriages, etc… following the route that will be taken on Saturday. It takes place between midnight and 4am and lots of people come out to see it. A real dress rehearsal for free.

At Westminster Abbey the stone of scone has arrived with a special royal escort from Edinburgh, it will be placed under the Chair of St-Edward. The stone is the one used for all coronation of all Scottish Kings who would sit on it. Here it is in the Abbey and the Herald stands next to it, dressed in the heraldic colours of the King. Upon its arrival there was a religious service and a blessing.

Here we see the Scottish Archers in their green uniform, ceremonial everywhere.

Food critic and wine connaisseur

Tags

Canada, Cheese, Oysters, PEI, Seafood, tourism, vintage wines, wines

I recently wrote about Francois Simon who is a French food writer and critic who is well known and writes about quality in food preparation and the flavours of ingredients, presentation at table and how simple and elegant this can be. In Europe most restaurants have tablecloth and not just bare surfaces, there is effort in preparing food and serving it in a fashion that is typical of that restaurant and not a generic big corporation approach which is the cancer of chain restaurants killing the industry, if we can call it that.

The other night we had a wine tasting of Cabernet Sauvignon at the Club, four wines from different regions of the world. This reminded me of this fellow who has an immensely large collection of rare vintages between 1787 to 1990. He will organized monthly dinners in Paris where 7 bottles of rare vintage will be opened and the goal is to identify, taste, examine the notes and quality of each wines. Some of those rare vintages are very old, say 90 years old. I have to say that I was skeptical if a wine was still drinkable after such a long time.

Francois Audouze, francois.audouze@wine-dinners.com is all about the love of very old wines with rare qualities. A fascinating site, just to look at the labels of what they will drink at one of those dinners is an amazing thing.

The other fellow I follow has a site on Instagram called Le Secrets des bouteilles he answers questions on what to look for in a wine and how to enjoy it.

This Petrus Pomerol 1975, gets a 4.5 rating and is on average $6400. for a 750ml bottle.

On Friday evening we crossed the street to attend the Season opening of the Water Prince restaurant, I believe this is their 38 year in business and it is a lot of fun to go to this small 14 tables, with its all seafood, lobster menu. We know the owners and their family, all the staff and it is a good atmosphere, just before the tourists arrive. Had excellent Malpeque Oysters, and a great grilled scallop dinner.

Yes the Tourist Season is just about to start and everyone is getting ready. I now have been hired by one Tour Company and a second one would like to interview me. I am looking forward to it all.

This week I made a pizza at home, Will prepares the dough and then I do the rest. The pizza is cooked in a black cast iron pan in the oven at 500F. The toppings were a rosé sauce, mushrooms, cauliflower, brocolini, mozarella which I slice myself, I do not buy the crap stuff already sliced and a generous portion of Parmigiano Reggiano, again grated from a big block I keep. I parboiled the cauliflower and the brocolini, I also sautéed some slice mushrooms prior to garnishing it all on the pizza which then cooks for 8 minutes.

Tonight I will have a pizza for dinner, this time I will garnish it with zucchini sliced, cauliflower and some brocolini all parboiled for 4 minutes. The mushrooms again sautéed, mozzarella and parmigiano. You can substitute mozzarella for goat cheese (made from goat milk).

Finally, I also follow a fellow who has a wide knowledge on cheese. Unfortunately most people eat cheese today which are of poor or mediocre quality and mass produced, wrapped in plastic. Supermarkets are full of that, here they are so expensive, the other day looking at the prices for any kind of cheese and the small quantity you get, I said to the clerk, you should have security guards around at those prices for such a display of cheese.

We do have a lady at the Farmer’s Market who sells fresh cheese and a beautiful variety, all are produced in very small batches by various producers in Quebec or here in the maritimes. Quebec has a great culture when it comes to cheese making. All of her cheese are wrapped in wax paper, no plastic. The thing is, it is not more expensive to buy from her compared to the corporate/industrial stuff. It’s all about the quality.

Summer job

Tags

PEI, summer job, tourism

In the last two years I have heard quite a bit about friends who in the Summer months are involved being tourist guides, a job that pays very well and has tips on top. It’s not that I need the job, no, however I need to keep busy and I am not the sort who goes to the beach everyday, some people do and like it but not me. I like walking on the beach but not lying on it for hours on end. In town, well the attractions are limited and concentrated on the tourist experience, so it is tiresome after a while. Will see how it goes. I have previous experience in the last 12 years in museums in Canada and it is fun to meet and speak with people.

In the meantime today is Easter Sunday a beautiful sunny if coolish day. This coming week restaurants are re-opening for the tourists and the first cruise ship is arriving. I would not visit PEI before mid-May, the weather is just too cool and windy but people do.

We are 3 weeks away from Coronation Day on Saturday 6 May, we will have a BBQ at the Club, I hope the weather is warmer and sunny. In the next 3 weeks I will be in class for training for this guide job, so it should be busy.

In Canada we get a 4 day weekend with Easter and this means that shops are usually closed on Good Friday and Easter Sunday. I shopped yesterday for our Easter meal and I really wanted lamb chops, I found Island Lamb which I prefer to Australian lamb for various reasons. However what dominated the meat counters was ham in various sizes. I am not crazy about ham unless it is the big ham with the bone simply cooked or smoked and served as is or later in sandwiches. Easter for me is more about a nice crown of lamb or lamb chops, lamb brochettes. Easter morning for breakfast we will have French eggs and Gravlax. I am going for a walk today to build an appetite for tonight. Will also made a Remoulade with celery root and kalamata olives, you can use capers also. He is also making a pudding for dessert, I think he will use oranges.

Today was a perfect day for walking, the wind is brisk from the North East, but it is still nice and it is so quiet all around. Only the convenience store is open. Tomorrow is also a holiday however most stores will be open. The weather is so warm and sunny 14C that we are putting away our Winter jackets and the Spring coats have come out. The rest of the week is suppose to be equally nice.

Spring

Tags

car, Charles III, Coronation, elections, PEI, Spring

Yesterday I had my spring check up on the car, had the summer tires installed, tune-up and safety inspection. All is good, despite the fact that the car now is 5+ years old, I only have 35,050 KM on it. Which is nothing, I am not driving that car, but now with multiple announcement of EV replacing fossil fuel cars by 2030, I am thinking maybe I should look at least at an hybrid, in 7 years my current car won’t be much good. I did get 2 beautiful golf umbrellas from the dealership and they washed the car. I love a clean/spotless car at all times.

The Provincial election was also yesterday and the turn out was very low. Most people did not see the point of this election. Sad thing really, Statistically the current conservative government was re-elected with 38% of the total vote. But gained a big majority of 22 seats, the Opposition has 5 seats.

The leaders of both the Liberal and NDP parties were not elected, this is even worse with no leader in the House except, for the Green Party and the governing Conservative. I can see how this is not going to work, the arrogance of Premier King and his government will lead to little being done for us. Not really democratic, but this is what people voted for, sad.

It was also revealed in the news that despite our rapidly increasing population on the Island, those coming are mostly retirees over 55 and those leaving in droves are the under 35 age group. The Province of Alberta some 3500 km away to the West is attracting a lot of your Islanders with very well paying jobs in the trades and the oil sector. PEI cannot compete or won’t salaries here are pitiful for most people unless you are a professional. PEI taxes are high and the population small, cost of living is also high. So no wonder young people are leaving. The government of the province is oblivious to it all, living off the generosity of the Federal Government since 1873. Personally none of this affects me but still I do not like what I see.

Only one month to go before Coronation Day and I am organizing a party at the Club. Looks like our patrons will be coming and will have something official. More details to come…

So happy the King is going back to the symbol of the Tudor Crown.

More reconstruction

Tags

Berlin, cruise ships, elections, Hohenzollern, palace, PEI

In early April more final touches will be made to the rebuilt Imperial Palace in Berlin. The outside is in the baroque style while the inside is in a very modern style to suit the new vocation as the Humboldt Forum dedicated to the age of enlightenment and the Humboldt brothers. The outside matches all the buildings around it, all built at the same period and following a uniform pattern and called the Frederick Forum. Another building a few steps away is the Catholic Cathedral of St-Hedwige on Bebel Platz is going through a transformation which will no doubt bring back its 18th century splendour.

This is portal III of the Imperial Palace in Berlin, a photo taken in 1920, the palace will be destroyed by the communist in 1958. It has now been rebuilt and open as a museum to civilization. The great Coat of Arms was destroyed in 1958 but this week on the 4 April a replica weighing 5 tons made of copper and bronze will be remounted above the great door. It measures 16 feet by 16 feet in diameter. Below is the model ready to be taken from the atelier of artists who recreated it and also the Crown of Prussia which will sit a top, covered in gold leaf, the cost of the Crown alone is 2 Million Euros, all done by public donation, as is the entire reconstruction of the palace at 890 Million Euros.

Well it is now Spring and this picture of Wisteria in bloom in Rome, I remember in our neighbourhood it was everywhere on the street and in gardens, lovely colour. This picture is in central Rome next to the Altar to the Nation.

The weather here in Charlottetown is getting warmer progressively, restaurants are re-opening for the tourist crowd as of 14 April and the first cruise ship arrives a few days later. This month I am taking courses to become a licence tourist guide, well if you cannot beat them join them, I say and the pay is good, it will buy the bubble gum at least. They say 97 ships will come this Summer, the last one is usually on the first Week of October.

Finally today is Election Day in PEI to elect a new Provincial Legislature of 27 members. The Island Province now has a population of 175,000 people a new record. Favoured to win the Conservatives of Premier Dennis King, not happy about that, will know more tonight once the poll close.

Province House under renovation until 2024. Built in 1847.

So many details coming

Tags

Bialetti, Canada, coffee, dachshunds, life, PEI, Politics, routine, tea

Well yesterday I drove to Kensington some 45 minutes from Charlottetown down HWY 2, the wind was high and snow drifted across the highway but the sun was shining over a bright blue end of Winter sky. The country side is quite picturesque. Nick and Nora were snoozing on the back seat of the car wrapped in their blankets. They were going to the groomers who live on a farm. After leaving them, I went to Kensington and then to Summerside which is just about 5 minutes away and I like to have a coffee at Samuel’s, they truly serve a wonderful coffee, rich and flavourful and I had their raspberry jam cheese pie, again wonderful dessert.

Around the countryside of PEI there are lots of place where home made desserts, pies, breads and jams are always available, you could say it is a culture of the home made. It is very good and so much more pleasant than the usual factory made dessert.

So in about 8 days we go back to Summer time and that makes a big difference. This weekend the Canada Games are ending and we will have fireworks tonight at 8pm on the cruise ship docks about 500 feet from our house.

Today I went to the Vet to get some food for Nora and the place was busy with humans and their pets. It is quite amusing to see the interaction and how pets are far more than that to us humans. We talk to them and comfort them at the Vet and no one thinks you are crazy. The Vet and staff do the same thing. I wonder what the various pets make of all this.

My Bialetti Coffee maker and what I have discovered thanks to Matteo D’Ottavio on YouTube. I have learned quite a bit from him on how to take care of my Moka. You would think that after 40 years using one I would know. There were somethings I did not know. Life is a learning experience. I now clean my Moka with white vinegar and water, the boiling effect on the stove gets rid of the excess coffee oil and other residue. I also only put the heat on medium low or low. In the past I always used high heat and Matteo shows how that is a mistake, a Moka is not an espresso machine. I am happy with the results now and enjoy my coffee even more in the Morning.

Tea not all the same around the world and how people drink it. I remember that depending on the geographic location of the country where you are having your tea and also on the capacity to pay for packages of tea, the quality is vastly different. In Egypt where tea is a all day drink served in small glasses, it was mostly stems and very bitter, to tone down the taste half of the glass was filled with white sugar. I simply brought high quality variety of boxes of tea from the UK or Canada. I also gave boxes as gifts to staff at work and they marvelled at how nice it was, for them it was a luxury. In China, in Beijing, I discovered the tea market which was a gigantic modern warehouse with all manners of tea merchants and tea furniture and exquisite porcelain tea services. I would go there with Chinese friends who knew the culture and the many varieties and which tea pots to use, glass or porcelain. I do prefer loose leaf tea and I really do not like the cheap brands sachet powder teas or orange pekoe tea.

So last night the Premier announced that he was calling for an election on April 3. It was no surprise but the media took it as if we were going for a picnik and it was going to be so much fun. The issue is healthcare which is a disaster and wait times now are year long. Of course Conservative Premiers like ours are calling for privatization American style. The only problem, the majority of people have no money to be able to pay for private care and have no memory of Canada before 1965 when you had to pay for any and all medical services. The other issue is housing construction, there is very little of it going on. The population is growing rapidly each year, in fact little PEI has the highest population growth in Canada. The situation is beyond the crisis point. For our size we would need 1800 units per year just to stem the crisis, not resolve it and that is not happening.

The Official Opposition in the Legislature is the Green Party, they have not been very effective and the Liberal Party is no where to be seen. So it looks likely that the Conservatives of Mr King will get reelected.

Morning routine, well you know a lot of influencers always have a morning routine, well so do Nick and Nora as the No1 influencer in Charlottetown. Look at those pictures, this is their routine, as I sip my Espresso surrounded by two Dachshunds snoozing/snoring away in their blankets, it is a must, they are so Zen. Of course they insist it has to be this way, the whining alone forces you to do as they wish.

Here is Nicky in a deep sleep after his walk and breakfast, time to enjoy a morning snooze. But I have to be sitting next to him, otherwise the routine is disrupted and that is not acceptable for a dachshund.

Nora snoozing and dreaming, her little paws twitching and she huffs and puffs at imaginary figures in her dreams.