Dougal, Dinner for One and Dolph Lundgren

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I haven’t been on the blog much at all over the last week or so, mainly due to this:

This is Dougal, my sister’s dog, who I have been looking after while she went on holiday. My sis lives quite a distance from me, so I moved into her flat where (for the first time in about nine years), I was living on my own for an extended period of time.

I’ve never been bothered or upset with my own company. In fact, I quite like it, but after living with The Bloke for so long it felt… odd. The longest we have ever been apart (even when we just living together as housemates) is two weeks when I was stranded in America on a school trip, and since then there has been the occasional week or few days here and there, but that’s become more rare as time passes.

There were a lot of positives about being away – Dougal is a joy and his needs meant that I was forced to get up early in the morning and then go out again in the afternoons for his walks, so I got more exercise than normal. His happy demeanour and insistence on playing ‘let’s run around like a mad thing with Auntie Suzie’s socks while she is having a shower’ and ‘let’s accidentally lock myself in the bathroom and give Auntie Suzie a minor heart attack by making her think I’ve got outside’ also kept me on my toes. I had free reign of the tv, along with extended channels that I don’t have at home which allowed for binge watching of the nonsense that The Bloke normally detests (Helllloooooo America’s Next Top Model).

It was also very cute when my sister and Squidge – my niece – came round to visit. Squidge had never met Dougal before, but he was very sweet as he was hovering near her, hoping that she would drop one of the rice cakes that she was eating. I was surprised at how disinterested she seemed to be – most babies are completely enamored with animals, but she seemed to be more bothered about her food.

She takes after Auntie Suzie… I managed to catch her off guard and get this picture of her munching away at her rice cake.

Again, she takes after Auntie Suzie.

What I found most interesting is just how quickly I reverted to who I used to be when I was living in my own before, both as a student and when I had just started my teaching career. Normally, when I am working from home or home during the holidays I will make sure that I have a proper meal ready for when The Bloke gets home from work (he’s never asked me to, but I enjoy it), so my day follows a particular routine. On my own, however, I ate when I was hungry, and what I ate was generally quick and easy (and quite unhealthy if I’m being honest) and didn’t involve much preparation or washing up. Dinner for One. I haven’t done that in a long time. My shower has been later in the evening, my bedtime has been even later – 2am on occasions – and I have indulged in an afternoon siesta (accompanied by Dougal) several times. I have found myself watching ridiculous Hallmark made-for-tv movies after I have done all my admin stuff and talking to the dog as if he actually understands what I am saying to him in the same way I used to talk to the cat I owned (to be fair, he does actually understand certain words – ‘chicken,’ ‘ball’ and ‘walkies’ always provoke a reaction from him).

I also met up with my mum the other day. She has two dogs and brought them up so we could take them and Dougal out for an enormous walk. We were lucky to find Bramhall Park, a beautiful hall and gardens where we were able to walk the dogs for miles and catch up. Dougal was an absolute trooper – his little legs powered through and he was so shattered that he slept for the rest of the evening and through the night.

And then, I was tagged in a post via Facebook of the ‘For the Love of Sci-Fi’ convention that is happening at the end of the year in Manchester. There was one specific reason why my friend had thought of me: Dolph Lundgren, the most beautiful man ever created and the subject of my 30 year adoration, is appearing and there’s an opportunity to get a photograph taken with him. And then, my mum offered to pay for the photo as a birthday present, and I bought the tickets.

So, after 30 years, I’M GOING TO MEET DOLPH LUNDGREN. Poor guy… I hope I don’t cry on him…

So now, after a week, I’m back home. I’ve missed The Bloke, I’ve missed the cat, I’ve missed my routine, and I’m going to meet my idol. Awesome.

What about you guys? What have you been up to?

You can also find me on Twitter and Tumblr @suzie81blog, and don’t forget to follow my Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/suzie81speaks, my Pinterest page http://www.pinterest.com/suzie81speaks and my Instagram page http://www.instagram.com/suzie81speaks

42 thoughts on “Dougal, Dinner for One and Dolph Lundgren”

  4. Dougal is so cute! I love pugs! Squidge is a cutey too! Ah, Dolph Lundgren….I think the first film I saw him in was Masters of the Universe and I was more interested in his muscles than what he was saying!!

  5. What about us guys – what have we been up to?

    Me, I’m building a shed on the side of my house to store the paint, mower, and yard tools in. Since it gets hot in the afternoon, work usually starts between 8 – 9 AM and stops before noon.

    Are you sure Dougal “accidentally” locked himself in the bathroom? If you check You Tube, you can find videos where dogs have been filmed unlocking and locking doors and opening refrigerators, and then looking innocent when accused of what was caught on film.

    A friend of mine set up a camera in his living room that was linked to his smartphone. His dogs aren’t supposed to get on the couch. He was 20 miles away when he caught them on the couch using that smart phone. That camera also had a built in speaker and he could talk to it from his smart phone. He told his dogs to get off the couch. We watched them sit up looking guilty, but they searched the room and couldn’t find the real person behind the voice so they returned to the couch and ignored his orders to get off.

    The dogs must have thought they were hallucinating.

    • Bahahahaha! That’s hilarious! The door to the bathroom has a handle that is quite high up, but I accidentally left the door open a few times and he wandered in and managed to shut the door on himself, then started crying… How did the shed building go?

      • Dougal must have been twerking when he walked in the bathroom and a butt bump closed the door.

        The shed is still under construction. The framing is finished. Sheeting comes next. It’s hot here now so I only work a few hours early in the morning and try real hard to make myself quit before 11 AM.

      • Progress on the shed?

        Yes, I was out early Thursday morning and put in several hours to 11:30 AM installing sheeting for the roof. I’m skipping today since the heat is predicted to hit 112 degrees F. But tomorrow, I plan to be out early and start at 7 AM and stop by 10 AM since the heat on Saturday is predicted to hit 113 degrees in the afternoon.

        Weather Underground says it will be 90 degrees by 10 AM Saturday. Even though I’ll be working on the shady side of the house, I’m sure I’ll be soaked with sweat by the time I stop and stagger inside where it should be cool unless there is a power failure – HOPE NOT!.

        I went out this morning at 9 AM to bring in one of the trash cans (Friday is trash pick up day) and it was already feeling like a warm oven out there.

  6. A Pug – how lovely. When I was living and working in Adelaide and away from home, I missed my family and my dogs. I was asked once to extend my stay and I said I could not. When asked why, I said that my wife was holding my dogs hostage to make sure I returned :o). I enjoyed living alone mainly because I had great support – which helps. I did try to get home as often as I could – home Friday night – leave Sunday afternoon. Meals for one – I found that fun, perhaps that’s just me but I enjoyed planning a week of meals. But having said all that – it was good to be back home again. Anyway, enjoy the Convention and the photograph session with “The Man”.

  7. The cheetah and I celebrating my birthday today,we talking about The Defenders TV show and how much better then I had expected it to be. Tomorrow,we’re reviewing Zombies…..

  10. Hi Suzie. I’m sorry I haven’t been round for awhile. I am trying to get back on track, but things have been quite hectic on the home front. Four months ago, I was approved for the National Disability Scheme here and suddenly started to receive 9 hours of house support along with seeing OT, physio. I’ve put my head down trying to get the house sorted out after being sick for the last ten years. I’m finally starting to feel like I’m getting somewhere. Phew! I am trying to fit in my violin practice and am feeling like I’m starting to make a bit of progress. My daughter has made it into a selective Performing Arts Programme in the dance group for high school next year and is in dance team for her dance school. This leaves me driving around, watching performances, all of which I love but it’s brought a shift of focus. Well, that’s if I had a focus. My son has had a rough trot but went on a school excursion to the snow and his teacher said he “smashed it”, He has been quite a good skier but hard to shine with that at school when you live at the beach. We live in surf country here. Very proud of him and relieved.
    Hope you’re doing well.
    Best wishes,
    Rowena

  11. Dougal looks so cute, with his little face!
    AS for Dolph Lundgren, I cannot tell you how jealous I am! It is funny because I have decribed him in very similar terms to you, I think he is my idea of what a perfect man should look like. He is absolutely gorgeous, and has still got it going on!!
    I am looking forward to reading your post and seeing your photos of him.:-)

  12. Both Dougal and your niece are so cute! You seem like a great aunt! Found your blog through the Pain pal’ s blog recommendation and looking forward to continuing to follow!

    • Hi! Thanks very much – they are indeed both very cute haha! I’m looking forward to seeing how they get on – he was far more interested in her than she was in him! Welcome!

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