An additon to the family

What a week I have had! I made some more pages for my mother's journal before leaving for Cheshire, about 300 miles north of Devon. I started out at 06:15 and arrived at 11:00 after a reasonable run up the M5 and onto the M6 - that was a bit hairy and needed a lot of concentration. That afternoon I chatted to my mother, got settled in and sifted through all her old photos. It seems every time I go through them I see different things about my past life and jogs to my memory. I managed to sort out a pile of wonderful photos for my mother's journal and gathered lots of ideas for presenting them. Wednesday was doing the list of jobs she had accumulated, with shopping for large items and two copies of the Argos catalogue which weighed me down plus shopping from M&S etc. Then the afternoon was taken up with my daughter Stephanie and her daughter as they had flown over from Munich to Stephanie's father for a short visit. The evening was taken up with a trip to the local pub with Bert where I enjoyed a couple of glasses of wine and a meal. It's the only time I get to be chauffered by him so I enjoy every minute of being looked after.

It was also on this day that I learned that the lady who lives 2 doors away had died and left a tiny dog stranded for 3 days beside her body. Such a sad tale and I went next door to offer a home if needed. The lady's daughter asked me to phone her and we discussed Digby's needs and I went to see her on the Thursday afternoon. Digby was delightful and full of fun and it was agreed that I take him to Devon with me the next day and see if he would gell with my other Jack Russell, Peggy. I had been looking for a companion for her for some time and this seemed a golden opportunity.

On Thursday Mum and I went to the NEC at Birmingham to see the Festival of Quilts. The displays were breathtaking and my favourite suppliers were tucked at the back so I could browse to my heart's content. However, the journey back was tiring, with several hour-long delays at J14-16 and Arclid crossroads, then when we set off for Hazel Grove there were road works along the way. Stephanie came over again that evening to chat and tell us about her own experiences before I went to my bed well tired.

On Friday I was up early, packed and boarded ready for the arrival of Digby and his 'life in a suitcase'. It was a sad and emotional farewell before I set off down to the M6 motorway and home. Digby was a total pet, he slept in his basket all the way, and we stopped for a little comfort break halfway down the M5 and he never moved much at all. There was a short delay at Birmingham but the M5 was mostly clear so I was able to make a much shorter journey than I had thought. I parked up at home and showed Digby round his new home and left him in the garden whilst I went for Peggy. I brought her through the house and into the garden so they could meet with plenty of room for sorting themselves out. The meeting went better than I had hoped, a lot of squaring off, then nose to tailling, then Peggy showed Digby round (at a gallop). We went for a walk with the double harness but as Peggy's gait is a lot faster than Digby's he was galloped round without chance of a wee or sniff at anything.

The evening was a jockeying for position at my side and I managed to get them both settled, but when I wanted to get to bed, it became a little fraught. I had been advised to put one of them into my cage in case they fought during the night, so first I tried Digby in it, but he was not used to one and kept barking, then I tried Peggy, but he still kept barking. So in the end I shut Peggy in the kitchen and let Digby sleep by my side on the bed - just this once! Even so, he heard next door's occupants going to bed and getting up and kept letting me know with soft waffles, so sleep was a long time coming.

Today was much better, they are still squaring off every now and then, but each dog is equal and not backing down so they would tussle and then have a breather then rush around the garden together. The territory is subtly being divided and each dog establishing their own routine without any acrimony. I have high hopes that they will gell in the next few days.

Amongst all this I managed to pick up my book prize, and what a prize! and do some shopping for food for the dogs and myself. I took the dogs for a walk this afternoon on separate leads and it proved to be much better. Peggy went on the expander lead and at her usual pace, and Digby was on his own lead and trotting beside me. He managed to get in a lot more sniffs and wees as we went round the estate. He was also good at picking up the commands I use with Peggy and followed her lead as to what to do.

He has proved to be very affectionate and friendly and even picked out a toy to play with this afternoon and to take trips into the garden on his own. Next he has to learn how to use the dog flap after I have made a step outside the back door for his little legs.