Dog tales.....

Small Dog and I talk to each other all the time.

Sometimes our conversations are deeply philosophical, sometimes they're purely functional.

Tonight we had a mix of both.....

SD:  Muuuuurrrrmmmm.....hurrie uppp with mai dinnur.  Ai am starvven.

Me:  Oh for goodness sake.  I'm doing it!  OK?  Patience is not your forte.

SD: Forty!  FORTY?!?  Ai am onlie nein, as well yue kno.

Me:  You're nearly ten.  Do you know how old that is in dog years?

SD: Tenn?

Me: No.  According to the Pedigree website, in human years you are nearly 56 years old and are considered a senior dog.

At this point there was a loaded silence, during which Small Dog gave me a long, hard stare.

SD:  Phiphty sicks.  PHIPHTY SICKS!!!! 

Another long silence......

SD: Seenyore dog.  SEENYORE DOG!!!!

Me:  I'm sorry ..... but yes.  Like the rest of us you are no longer a spring chicken.

SD: *deflated* seenyore dog.  Ai kannot evin hardlie bileev itt.  

Me: * attempting to lighten the conversation* But look on the bright side.  There's life in the old dog yet!

SD: *withering look*  Harummph.  So.  Ai am neerlie retyrd.  Thats OKAI.  Ai eckspekt ai wil gett a penshun.

Me:  Ermmm..... 

SD: O bluddiehell.  Shurlie ai gett a penshun.  Ai have bean Hedd of Markitten & Komewnikashun.... thatt is a importent possishun.  Grate responsibilutie.  Perques of the jobb and orl thatt.

Me:  Yes.  Well.  I'm sure you will qualify for a pension commensurate with your level of management skills.

SD:  Ai shude thinc so too.  *mumbel, muttr.... seenyore dog... phiphty sicks.... peepul thees dais have kno respekt fore ther eldurs.

SD: *brightening*  Stil mummm....ai am yunger than YUE.

Me: Yes.  Yes you are.  Well done.

Me: *sigh*

Christmas Survival Kit.....

As Christmas edges ever closer, it has come to my attention that alternative Advent Calenders are a thing.

Forget chocolate calendars, or the ones with sweeties in.  There is a whole new genre of Advent Calenders, or as I prefer to call them.... Christmas Survival Kits.

I am totally up for doing one of these.

But I will wrap each bottle in tissue paper and randomise the numbers so we never know what we're getting.

I might tie a little Christmas decoration around each bottle to further Christmasify it.

Anyway, on FB my post seems to have galvanised a movement amongst women who might view the countdown to Christmas as....what shall I say... a bit of a bugger?

So, if you're up for it, we're all going to post photos of our own Advent Calendar in the guise of a Christmas Survival Kit.

If you're in, say YAYYY!

Call to action......

In January this year I did a 30 day blogging challenge and today I was re-reading the list of 'calls to action' recommended during the process.

One particularly caught my eye and I had to visit Tower House Dolls to see if we had it.  
'IT' being the opportunity for customers to leave a review on any items they'd bought from the website.

I don't know about you, but whether I'm buying a book on Amazon, researching a more substantial household purchase or planning a trip to a hotel or restaurant, I ALWAYS read the reviews.  Some of them make entertaining reading, some of them are downright useless, but most of them give me a good idea of whether it's worth buying whatever I'm looking for.

So, apparently, on the Tower House Dolls website we have a Write a Review button at the bottom of each listing.  It enables customers to give a star rating and write a short review, which will then appear alongside the relevant item.

Look for the Write a Review button at the bottom of your listing

Leave a star rating and your review then click Submit

To date we have a grand total of ZERO reviews.  I'm not sure why that is.... we get lots of repeat orders and I have loads of emails from satisfied customers saying how much they enjoyed making up a kit, or how delighted they are with their little toy doll or toy theatre, along with photos of their purchases in their doll's houses.

So, here's the thing.

If you have ever bought a kit, or a finished toy, which is still available on the website, would you be prepared to revisit the listing and leave a review?

As a small incentive, our Hedd of Markitten and Komewnikashun has come up with the suggestion that each month we'll put the names of everyone who has left a review in that month into a draw to win a £5 gift certificate.  The winner of the November draw will be announced on 1 December, and so on.  

Thanks in advance........