I should know better

It`s that time of year again, when the days are bright and the nights are frosty and Christmas looms - the local festive lights were switched on on the 14th, for heaven`s sake! . And am I tackling the seasonal shop? Am I ahead on the present front?

No, I`m stuck in with Tamara. The whole winter puppy thing. Maximum time away from home 3 hours (and I need 20 minutes of that to get as far as the bus stop.)

Tamara isn`t helping. The whole exciting puppy experience has made her a bit loose, culminating in the grand event last night, when she was sick and had diarrhoea all over the puppy. Alarums and excursions! Frantic mother and puppy washing - and after all that the baby looked very shivery and I didn`t give a lot for her chances. Tamara, overcome by it all, just sat and stared at her one and only as if she`d never seen her before. Meanwhile the heated pad packed in, sending me hunting for fuses and screwdrivers....a truly awful night.

But in the morning there they were, right as rain. Fat warm puppy, hungry mother. In much better shape than I was. Tamara devoured a boiled egg and at least a pint of kaogel and my fingers and toes are crossed. Could that be the end of the problems?

Well, at least until Kallista and RedSonja get going next month........