SEIturday

Sei-Chan: The first thing to tell you is that Violette is feeling better. #1 said it was quite funny last night watching  Ms. S clean out her nostrils and put Vicks in there to ease her breathing! Anyway, thanks for your kindness yet again!

The weather has been beyond bizarre the last few days with some nice sunshine and huge rain, and nothing much between the two! I had been taking it easy INDOORS! #1 actually got a little video of me whilst I was napping:

Sorry about the strange noises the zoom lens was making!

This is my "I give up" pose:

My big sister Tama (who is always very nice to me!) has a bit of a temper and she occasionally gets annoyed, especially with her Beebs. At such times, there is only one option, UTB!!!

And when things calm down, I emerge and enjoy a spot of Zabuton napping...

I hope you will going us again tomorrow as a certain Silver Streak is celebrating his Gotcha Day!

Violette and Vidock Vendredi

Violette: Pretty neighs, everyone! I would appreciate a few neighs, purrs and woofs of support as I am just a tiny bit under the weather. I had a bit of a fever yesterday morning so the vet was called out (yes, for us horses, they come to us rather than the other way around). He thought I had a bit of an infection and gave me a shot. #1 is worried, though, as I am her little girl, and she hates it when I am not 100%, so I am trying to get all better as soon as possible.

Here is a picture of me looking rather coy. I do coy rather well, don't you agree?

Tee Hee Hee...

Vidock: Hi everyone, your studly friend here. I thought you might enjoy this shot showing you my rippling muscles:

One of the things I like best this time of year is when #1 comes to visit and she just puts her hands over my eyes so the flies stop bothering me, even for a minute. I hate those pesky flies!

Urey: Pssssttttttt... It's me, Urey! I'm not in the title but I managed to slip in to say hi! I love looking out of my stall!

If she's out there, I can neigh out to my cousin Violette!

That horrible Danish lady called me a monster but here, they are all saying that I'm monstrously SWEET!

Thankful Thursday

Bibi-Chan: First of all, we would all like to thank you for so many kind words of support yesterday. They really warmed our hearts, especially #1's. She says she just can't figure out why people spend so many energy trying to hurt others, but it sometimes really makes one want to become a recluse...


Anyway, we are THANKFUL for all our friends for your support in so many things. Remember our Blogaversary commenthaton? The comments kept trickling in and the final tally was actually 56. With Ms. A and Ms. H doubling the stakes, we were able to go on a substantial shopping expedition for the Mayhew Animal Home. This is what we got them from their amazon.co.uk wish list:

This book cost £54.60 and being big ticket, we thought that there was less chance of people buying it so we went for it!

We also go them a couple of these of these:

Catit Jungle Stripes Design Patterned Scratching Board with Catnip, Lounge

And also:

And they were looking for some bath mats, so we added this:

Sorry about the quality of the pictures, but we (sssshhhh...) lifted them off amazon's website.

Thanks again for your support. As promised we WILL do the draw for the Goodie Bag this week.

Oh, and here is a photo of me for good measure!

PS: we have been having a little trouble with formatting today, and can't figure out how to get the spacings back to normal...

Whacked on Wednesday

Tom: We are spending the day today looking after #1 who is feeling distinctly down in the dumps. Recent months have seen a series of work-related difficulties and then, just recently, one client behaved appallingly, ditching her in mid-project with no reason other than "I just don't feel this is how I want to do it" and then refusing to pay for all the work done, instead offering half of what she had billed, take it or leave it. Right now, she feels as though she has been beaten to a pulp, and her confidence in her fellow "man" is at minimum levels.

Things were not improved by several of the fields up from the house suddenly getting dug up yesterday which sent both of us into a funk. There are housing development projects in the works and it looked like things were moving much more quickly than had been expected. Fortunately, this morning, we found a nice young man to talk to, and he explained that they were in fact only doing some archeological digging at this stage, to make sure there are no vestiges around. It seems the big construction project won't be happening for another 6-7 years, if all goes well. They said they would put the soil they had dug up back in place and leave the fields be. Phew, but all fingers an paws still crossed.

So here are some photos #1 took last night of one of the fields as we walked around the parts that had not been dug up:

And the most exotic item of all!

And lest we forget.. HAPPY 4th OF JULY to all our American Friends!

Tama-Chan Tuesday

Tama-Chan: Well, as they say here in France "it has been rock and roll here lately" with our Blogaversary and the big "Save Urey" operation. But all has gone well. The final tally on the Blogaversary post was 54 comments and with Ms. A and Ms. H doubling the stakes, we will be doing 110 Euros' worth of shopping for the Mayhew Animal Home. As for Urey, he is enjoying being home and getting lots and lots of cuddles. Oh, and we promise to do the draw on the Goodie Bag this week!

Now, if you will excuse me, I am rather tired and do need a rest...

Manly Monday

Tom: As we read about our friends in the States who are baking or roasting in dangerously high temperatures and facing terrifying fires, we take a more measured view of the cool weather we have been having. It is sunny today, but the forecast is for a maximum of 20C (about 70F). We wish we could share that with all our friends.

#1 was out all day yesterday at a family lunch so our evening walk was late, at around 9pm. The sun was still shining and she is really happy with this photo she took of me:

She calls me her Golden Boy!


Bibi-Chan: Did somebody say Golden Boy?????

Genji: I may not be golden but I can glow too!!!!!

Vidock: I don't really do "Golden Glow" but how about a nice silhouette?

Urey: Thanks for all the really nice comments, guys! I am just so happy to be home...

Sighs of Relief on Sunday!

Violette: Pretty neighs everyone. Violette here. So, it seems that you were quite intrigued by that last photo on Friday's post...The photo was actually taken a few weeks ago, and I have quite a tale to tell you about the boy in it.

Please meet my cousin, UREY DE VANOISE!

He truly is my cousin as our dams had the same sire, i.e., we have the same grandfather! Urey is a jet black 4-year old entire pure-bred Percheron. He is an absolute sweetie. #1 "discovered" him a few months ago when she was first contacted by a Danish woman who was looking for an entire male that she could use for dressage. She worked with this woman for months to find just the right horse, offering the woman several properly schooled horses. But the woman decided that she wanted Urey, who was unschooled and whom she nicknamed the "young rebel." He had been barely handled and, at age 4, was already pretty big and strong. He came to our place for a test-schooling, to see what might be done with him, and he passed everything with flying colors. As I said before, he is really sweet and he is bright and eager to learn.

Both Ms. S and Mr. E worked with him:

And everyone fell in love with the big black horse!

So, we were all a little sad to see him leave on Monday of last week to go up to his new owner. His journey was supposed to take 36 hours but ended up taking almost 4 days because the (cheap) transport company parked him somewhere along the way. On arrival, he was tired and stressed and his new owner hated him on sight. She never even gave him a chance. He was called "The Monster" as soon as he arrived and deemed unapproachable and unhandlable. He was put in a box that was never mucked out, he was never allowed to exercise, and he was barely fed and watered. Only 24 hours after his arrival, his new owner put him up for sale.

We were all horrified at what was happening to our sweet pal and #1 and Ms. S and Mr. E decided he simply had to be rescued. To get a transport company to go get him would probably need 2-3 weeks wait as there is no regular horse transit between France and Denmark. What's more, the woman was being a total bitch and, having agreed on a price, then tried to increase it after the money had been paid. Days of delicate negotiating (when you want to kill someone but try your hardest to be nice so they do what you want) and finally, she said OK. We were not going to leave our buddy up there one moment longer than necessary, so...

... Mr. E hitched up his horse van and with another friend, they drove 1,400km (almost 900 miles) each way to get Urey and bring him home. This is how they found him:

Apparently, the poor guy almost jumped into Mr. E's arms when he saw him, so happy was he at the sight! He ran into the van and never moved during the entire journey. The heroic Mr. E and Mr. R drove almost 40 hours, with just short stops along the way, to bring our big guy home. Since his arrival back in France, he has been principally seeking cuddles from all those he knows love him.

Urey is now a temporary member of the Poupounette Gang. You could say he is our Rescue/Foster. #1 bought him but Ms. S and Mr. E are boarding him and will school him for free, and we have sworn that we will find him the best home possible once he is ready to go. But first, he is going to have a holiday! Bring on the straw bedding!!!

#1 sometimes shakes her head when we are chatting, saying "why is it that some people manage to rescue 500 gramme kittens and I always end up with 800kg horses?" We know why. Big horses need rescuing too!

Anyway, today is Sunday so we must leave you with come snuggle pics, featuring Urey of course! These were taken yesterday afternoon, a few hours after his return:

Look who's smiling: