Living Balance

A 9 year anniversary for The Burnout Queens

Well it is hard to believe.  A lifetime ago now, really.   This was Dr T at the airport in Vancouver (Dr B taking the photo) awaiting our flight to London, England.

Our adventure that we both dreamt about in 1972 was about to come true, albeit late.  But then we have both always been off-time (off-beat even).

Big change was happening, and more was about to happen.  Change that we didn’t know but were fully ready to embrace.  We left Canada knowing we would not return.  When that last call to board was made (Ladies and gentlemen we are now boarding Air Canada flight to London) Dr T & Dr B smiled widely and joyfully marched into that plane to our new homeland.

Nine years ago, on July 4th we landed at Heathrow and the first words out of the immigration staff when she looked at our passports stamped VISA, she said “welcome home ladies”.  London was our independence and our freedom.  Little did we know how much!

Yes, we are home.  We had lost a lot leading up to that day, but we have gained so much more in taking that final leap.  Would we redo it again?  No.  We have created a culture and lifestyle for ourselves here in the south-east of England.

This was just meant to be, the way we had always planned and more.  We are so fortunate to have met and lived close to wonderful people who have been so open to helping us out and sharing our good moments (and stressful ones).  Don’t think we even think like we used to.

And then of course there is the joy of art, pastries, walks, our dogs, and last but never least, tea and cake.

They say you can’t go home again.  Well Darlings, we are home at last.

It Ain’t Easy Being Short!

 It certainly isn’t easy being short, especially these days.  You see we are experiencing a heatwave here in the UK and it’s going on, and on, and on, which means that every day the heat on the pavement keeps rising!  And that is exactly why when you are short like we are, you feel the heat on your feet pads and bellies Really Fast!  I’m sure if you are a dachsie you can relate, right?

So us ‘little critters’ have a BIG request for our dachsie-owners:

 

 

  1. Keep us inside most of the day while this heat is high (we can catch up on our barky walks later when it cools down). 
  2. Don’t take us grocery shopping, leave us tied up on the street, walking the pavements, or on long walks as usual even in parks (it’s too hot to expect us to take 5 steps at a clip to your every one…we hate marathons and your belly doesn’t drag on the ground!).
  3. Don’t ever leave us in the car with the windows cracked while you pop into a shop (it only takes a minute for us to overheat or worse!)
  4. Leave us at home with lots of water and a floor blanket in the coolest part of the house (classical music on the radio is appreciated).

Most people think our owners fuss too much, but we’re glad because we don’t end up in the vet emergency with heat stroke, seizures, or burnt paws.

Here’s a special tip from The Burnout Pups that works like a charm.

Check out Easi-dri cooling coats and blankets (http://www.easidri.com). We don’t get any special reward points, compensation,  or treats for sharing this with you!  In the heat, we wear our coats with delight. They cool down our body temperature and we just love the wet-bathing-suit feel on our wire-hair and skin.  We think our picture says it all!

Bliss!

Repeat after us…”when it’s this HOT, HOT, HOT, keep us little shorties IN, IN, IN”.

With love and gratitude,

The Burnout Pups

 

Hello from Lewes & London! 16 June 2018

Hello from London & Lewes

It’s May, it’s May, the busy month of May

It’s been a right royal month hasn’t it Darling!  This edition of Hello is no exception, because we are back from vacation and we have everything ‘royal’ to share with you.  Grab your tea and come on vacation with us.

Mid-May we celebrated Dr T’s birthday in style at London’s The Wolseley Piccadilly (Remember she is a Burnout ‘Queen’so that makes her part of the royal tour). Class all the way from menu to service and even an unexpected surprise birthday dessert was brought to top it all off.  Perfection! After cake it was off to shop (The Burnout Queens consider shopping an art form) and enjoy the display of banners and decorations celebrating the upcoming Royal wedding.

 

 

The vacation officially began with the relatives arriving.  Their wish list this visit (it’s their third so far) was royal castles, homes, and gardens; ancestral sites, and as much history as we could see.  This is England, they won’t be disappointed.  This trip ‘Flash’ (our great new car) created some fun and crazy moments in the countryside, especially on roundabouts and when getting lost with sat navs. Thank heavens Dr T set us straight with her trusty paper maps.

 

First stop Hever Castle, Kent.  Drizzly day, but this is the family home of Anne Boleyn.  What a beautiful place inside and out.  The Astor family lived here for a time and it is still a working home.  I’ll give you a smattering of the pictures we took, but we’ve decided to mail you an extra edition of the whole day because it’s too beautiful to miss and we know many of you will never visit in person.

 

 

Two days later we were back in ‘Flash’ and landed at Dr T’s ancestral cottages on the south coast.  A quick drive to a great lunch, then a trek through cow pastures and gun turret sites to the coastguard cottages on the white cliffs (which were absent in the mist).  Last year we did the same trek with her niece, but this trip we added another generation, so they counted a few more titles of great, great, great onto the relatives who lived here.  We paid homage to the Canadian soldiers who were killed during a German flyover, as they camped in the fields at Cuckmere Haven, and enjoyed watching a flock of Canada Geese and their goslings by the river as we walked back to the car park (Canadian theme going strong).

 

More history!  We drove to Alfriston, a little village (pop 700+) that now has a famous vineyard, but historically was a route for religious marches and smuggling.  Dating to Neolithic times (!) some of the buildings on the narrow high street dated to 1394.  The architecture and layout of the village is stunning in the middle of the South Downs.  I’m sure you will agree.  We can’t wait to go back for afternoon tea!

 

 

Hope you aren’t getting bored, but this last royal venue was beyond fabulous.

We hopped the train into London and went to Buckingham Palace (always a family stop) and toured The Royal Mews.  The coaches, town cars, coronation coach, horses and bridle apparel are all housed here.  Beyond interesting, especially when you often see all of these being drawn through the streets to Parliament by horses and cavalry.  The best way to end the everything ‘royal’ visit and having a little ‘royal’ moment for Dr T.

 

 

 

Sad to say the relatives have gone back to Canada, but not before we had an East meets West meeting.  You see Lewes falls smack dab along the Greenwich meridian so we are the 0-degree divide between the eastern and western hemispheres on the planet.  How cool is that!  Couldn’t resist dipping our toes into the divide just before taking one last walk with The Burnout Pups through the ancient monastery ruins at The Priory (great dog walking park don’t you think).

 

Hope you enjoyed the royal tour.  Now go get yourself a cuppa and cake and enjoy your day.

Until the special Hever Castle issue,

The Burnout Queens | Dr Toby and Dr Bev

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