Living in New Zealand: Mini Break to the Hurunui With Off Leash Puppy
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We have friends with a bach in the Hurunui in the high country of Canterbury, New Zealand and we joined them there for a weekend.
Molly loved being off leash
My other half went fly fishing but I had a lot more fun swimming in the deep water pools. It is fairly safe to do this in the high country as there is not so much run-off from agriculture, particularly as there are no dairy farms there.
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Molly learned to swim across the river, which she preferred to old rickety bridges. She taunted her new friend, Marlowe, who was not that keen to get wet.
It was a fantastic weekend…
…but it’s always good to head home.
FAB Club 3 is a Finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards
I’ve just heard that FAB Club 3 – The Big Match is a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Book Awards.
I love these awards as they are judged by teachers and children.
FAB Club 3 is the final book in my chapter book series about standing up to bullying. You can get it at all good bookshops and at the Leslies in Lyttelton... ;-)
Birthday Card for My 8 Year Old Nephew
Happy birthday to my nephew who is 8 already. Blimey, my life is whizzing by.
Happy Birthday from 8 dinosaurs…
Illustrated Epistle Extract: Cartooning With a Puppy
Our personal Christmas was quiet because our Jack Russell puppy kept us close to home and busy.
Molly is adjusting to this new life more quickly than we are. I got behind on my official deadlines (6 weeks ahead for daily cartoons and I was down to 4) because when Molly was in the studio I could only work when she was sleeping. Otherwise she would play with things like electrical cables or want to be OUT in the garden. If I had her on my lap she would walk on the keyboard, or chase my pencil.
I was lamenting this to a friend who told me to just puppy proof the studio already. And make an outdoor run. She was right and an hour or so’s job made the studio a lot safer. This weekend’s job was to put up some chicken wire and waratahs (star pickets/metal stakes) in the garden so that she can go out and play on her own whilst I am working.
Molly is three months old and out the prime age to train according to a book (Dog Zen) a friend lent me.
So far we have
This is an extract of my Illustrated Epistle, which goes out in the middle of the month. It is a behind-the-scenes look at the life of a cartoonist (specifically, mine). I'd love it if you signed up at the bottom of this page, or here:
http://eepurl.com/cCOOeD
Or head to the archive to read more here.