Bliss, oh Bliss.  A rare day off for both me and Tony at the same time and NOTHING to do but muck out, walk dogs, and catch up.  It has been such a busy year and a frenetic end to the TTouch year with radio interviews, the book launch for 100 Ways to Train the Perfect Dog, Discover Dogs, Your Horse Live, the International Animal Welfare Conference (my favourite event of my year), a mini film session for BBC Points West and the final four workshops for 2008 in London, Leamington and here at Tilley Farm all packed into the last four weeks before I head out to the US to spend Thanksgiving with my sister and my nephews in Connecticut.

Tony has had an equally mad year and has not stopped working.  Trying to keep up with charity commitments as well has been no mean feat and we certainly have a lot to be thankful for as our lives are truly blessed.  The Maremma puppies that were born at the farm are now six weeks old and so joyful and so clever.  They are already tumbling out into the garden when they need to relieve themselves and the last month has also been a social one with visitors and puppy sitters coming and going helping to take the pressure off as we charge around the country.

It hasn’t been without the odd moment, though, where I have questioned whether I should retire and spend my days knitting blankets for ancient cats.  The success of Discover Dogs had obviously gone to Cookie Dough Dynamo’s head as she developed an overwhelming urge to attach herself to my fleece with her teeth as BBC Points West started filming!!!! Tony lost our Shetland pony twice in a month and the change in the weather has brought out the worst in our donkeys and horses!!! Days have started at 4.00am on a few occasions and phone calls and emails had been backing up. 

But now, calm has been restored. All my work commitments are complete, and the footage on BBC Points West was fantastic (thank heavens for TTouch as Cookie calmed down and behaved perfectly).  Walking this morning with Tony through the glorious autumnal countryside that surrounds our home with our dogs leaping joyfully through the mud and leaves was a reminder (if it is ever really needed) that I am so very glad that I do the work that I do and can’t ever really imagine giving up my job.  And besides.  I can’t actually knit.