A beautiful surprise and a happy day at the zoo !

Dad's work organised a day at the Melbourne zoo, so when Mum and Dad said they were going with Amelie, Anais and Matthieu, I asked if I could go because I wanted to say hello to all the animals, but they said that dogs aren't allowed, which I think is not fair, but I guess I could probably get eaten by a tiger ! However I had a wonderful surprise which really made my day, a parcel from my good friends, Derby and Julep !

So while my family was at the zoo, I enjoyed all the wonderful presents from Katie (Derby and Julep's Mum) - a lovely jumper, cap, water bottle and toy. My family will love the other gifts : pen, book, towel, sticker, "I love my Westie" magnet, Christmas bag and "All dogs are pets, Westies are family." sign, but what about the teddy bear, both Mum and I want it, we'll have to find a way to share it !

Mum and Dad, please send me to Derby and Julep's house in Mariland, I'm ready to go, jut put some stamps ! 

Thank you so much Katie, Wilson, Derby and Julep for spoiling me and my family, we are so happy ! You are such good friends, we love sharing love, tenderness and happiness with you and all our friends.

Go and see Julep and derby's blog; Derby and Julep and adorable and their Mum Katie takes beautiful photos.

When my family came back from the zoo, I was so happy to see them, and they were so happy to see me too, you should have seen them, it looked like they had been away for months !

They enjoyed learning about the animals and seeing how well the zoo cares for them and protects them; animals can teach us so much about the wonderful world we live in and how important it is to look after it and all the living things that we share the earth with.

The Melbourne zoo has animals from all around the world, but Dad wanted to share with you photos of some of the animals that live like us in this marvelous country "down under".

The soft and friendly kangaroo and koala - did you know that koala is an aborigine word that means "does not drink", because it never drinks ? 

The cute fairy penguin and playful seal that live like us in the state of Victoria - many of the seals at the zoo were rescued; this one, Tarwin, was found at a farm ater crossing 6km of land in search of food.

A cute little frog (remember the tadpole photo sent by Bunny in my previous post ?) - I love frogs too !

Mum and Dad Croc are having a cuddle while Joanna the Goanna is looking for something to eat.

A bearded dragon and some colourful rainbow lorikeets - my sister would love to have a bearded dragon, maybe he could have his own blog like me !

Mum said that some of the  animals were a bit sad in their cages, but all the animals are well looked after and have some very good carers and this zoo always reproduces as much as possible the animals' natural environment. It has some lovely gardens and very good facilities, so if you are in Melbourne don't miss it !

I'm happy to have such a lovely family who spoil me and love me and I think about the dogs who are not as lucky as me. I play a lot, run a lot and have so much fun and I love sharing my happiness with all my friends !

Last week, one of my photos was featured on the web site Cute Overload and many people went to see my blog; here's what one of them said : "Bella’s website just restored my faith in humanity. Thank you thank you thank you thank you to all you people who love, cherish, adore, respect, save, protect, and provide homes for the animals!!!". Well said, and I say thank you too !
If you go and have a look, please note that the story was made up by the Cute Overload Team, my name is not Gertrude and I do not play bridge !

Please pray for Oskar's Mum as she is in hospital; we send her all our wishes of healing and recovery.

To all our friends in the USA, we hope you have a happy and safe memorial day.

Absence makes the heart grow fonder; when you are away from your loved ones, think of the joy of seeing them again and then cherish every minute you have with them.

What's in the letter box ?

Mum said "Come on Bella, let's go and see if the postman has brought us anything"

"It's cold", I replied, so Mum got me some clothes fit for the season.

"Are you tired Bella ?", asked Mum. I wasn't really but I love being in Mum's arms so much, I told her I was and I think she enjoys carrying me like a baby too !

And what a surprise, a parcel just for me from Rocky Street Scotties ! look it's Lilly - Welcome to Australia my dear friend ! Remember when I showed you all the soft toys I have that look like my friends ? When the Rocky Street Scotties saw that, they sent me a little Scottie to remind me of them. Thank you so much, it's a great present ! Don't forget to go and visit their blog, it's great !

This is something else that the postman brought us, my very own stickers !

Last time, I showed you the lovely photos of Spring sent by my friends, here's another one from Bunny the Greyhound :

This is another Spring photo from Bunny, little tadpoles - I think I will have some frogs in my next post, so stay tuned !

The best gift that life gives you is friendship. If your friends are in another city or country, exchanging gifts or letters brings them closer.

I want to share something with you !

Mum and Dad shared something with me that I want to share with you.

When Mum was 12 she wrote a book with lovely drawings, photos, poems that she wrote and poems she loved about life and love,

Now let me put my glasses to have a look :

Here is one of her poems (translated from French)

I would like my life to be nothing but light, my path to be nothing but freedom.

I would like my heart to open like a spring rose.

I would like my hands to be full of softness and love.

I would like my words to be poems and songs.

I would my shouts to be of joy.

I would like to walk on a ground twinkling like golden sand, avoiding rocky paths that go against my destiny.

I would like my life to be infinite happiness and eternal love.

That's beautiful Mum, I think it's your turn to publish your book !

When my Dad was 14, he edited his own little newspaper, it was called 'The liberated dog' and there's 2 reasons for that : the first is that the local paper where he was born was called "The liberated Dauphine" (Dauphine being the name of the region where he was born), the second is that he loved dogs.

Now let me change my glasses to look at this :

And by the way, Dad thanks the American, Australian, British and Canadian people who contributed to liberating his country during the 2 world wars.

Here's an extract (translated from the French) :

This paper is made to liberate you, poor doggies treated unfairly :

If your master forces you to eat disgusting canned food, go on a hunger strike. Your master will do everything to make you eat and then you will have steaks and roasts every day !

If your master does not show his affection, hide where he won't be able to find you; your master will think you've disappeared, look everywhere for you and  put an ad in the paper. Then, when you come out of hiding, he will be so happy that he will cuddle you and spoil you all the time !

That's very cheeky Dad ! Well I'm happy to say this advice does not apply to me and I hope it's the same for all of you...

Dad tells me he also wrote in the student newspaper he was at university - every week he wrote a 'Silly Page' inspired by the humour of Monty Python.

I think that if blogging had existed in the 70s and 80s, Mum and Dad would surely have had their own blogs, but I let them contribute to my blog to make them happy (actually I dictate to them what to write because they can type much faster than me).

I have received some lovely photos from my friends to share with you :

This one is from Lorenza in Mexico : it shows the flowers and plants she sees everyday on her walkies and it  includes those very small chiles that are very common there!

This one is from Mercy in Corgi Country, South Central California, showing beautiful lilacs blooming in the front yard :

 

This one is an Azalea bloom from  Maggie May, in New York State. (and thank you so much for the beautiful award you shared with me, I'm very honoured)

 

And I heped Dad take this one :

Please join us in praying for Diana, Jazzi's Mum who is ill and who should be undergoing surgery on Tuesday, we pray it all goes well and she recovers quickly.

I think praying is a beautiful way of sharing our love and God's love too. There is a beautiful prayer blog for animals, have you seen it ?

Sharing is what what makes love and friendship grow. When you share your happiness, you double it, when you share your sadness you halve it.

Smile, And The World Smiles With You

Don't you think smiles are beautiful ? Us doggies wag our tails to say "I like you, You make me happy. I am glad to see you", and humans smile to say the same thing.

My brother Matthew loves wrestling, and I love wrestlers - to be more precise, the plastic figurines that Matthew loves to play with, they are quite yummy to chew ! It got me in trouble, but Matthew was quick to forgive me because Mum went and bought him some more to replace the one I chewed.

I do have my own toys to play with, I don't like dog toys that much, Mum gave up on buying them at pet shops, my favourite toys are baby toys, they are great !

"Every time you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing."
Mother Teresa



We all bring happiness to our loved ones, each one of us in our own special way because we are unique. If you want to share your own little way(s) of bringing happiness, click here to tell me about it (include a photo if you wish) and I will publish it on my blog and also in my book if you're OK with that.
Also, I'm still accepting photos on the theme of your current season and photos of my friends for my book. I'd love to hear from you.

I love my friends !

I love my friends and I wish I could see them more often (we had some much fun at the pajama party), so Mum found these soft toys to remind me of them. Look, there's Kira, Peggy, Booker Man, Santa, Martha, Twinkie, and Mercy ! I wish there was a soft toy for every one of my friends, but Mum said we'll have to ask soft toy makers to make Airedales, Dachshunds, Boxers and so many others....

Mum and Dad want to make my book bigger and add some photos of my friends, so send me one of your best photos, and you'll be in my book - it would be so good if I could have all my friends in my book !

Speaking of my book, I sent a copy to my good friends Derby and Julep for their birthday - have a look at their blog, they're having so much fun on their holidays, I wish I could be with them !

This weekend, I had my photo in the Herald-Sun newspaper, I couldn't believe it, it means many more people will know about my blog and I can bring laughter and happiness to more people and doggies !

This weekend my cousin Snoopette had to go to hospital for an eye and ear infection; now she's better but we'll keep praying for her. Her Mum (Aunty Mimi) looks after dogs at her home when people who go on holidays can't bring their dog with them and she looks after them like she was their Mum, she is so kind.

Your friends are your treasure, cherish them and care for them.

I love cooking !

I love watching (and especially smelling) Mum and Dad cook, and  I aways get to lick the bowls, it's yummy ! Yesterday it was my turn to try cooking, so Mum got me a hat and an apron.

I have everything I need, so I can mix the ingredients.

            Mum, can you help me, I can't see anything !                                      That's better !

            Now be patient, it hasn't finished cooking !                                         It's ready now !

This is yummy !

Make a nice dish for your loved ones, you don't have to be a chef to make something yummy. It's so much fun to try a new recipe or to make up your own recipe and then share it.

And now my Dad would like to share a recipe for escargots.

                             No, no this type of escargot,                                            that one !

Everyone in the house loves them and whenever anyone eats one, I look at them with my puppy eyes - they can't resist and give me a piece, but don't tell my vet, he wouldn't agree !

Ingredients :

Pastry

 2 eggs, completed with milk up to 300 ml

 1 teaspoon salt

 75 grams sugar

 75 grams margarine

 450 grams flour

 2 teaspoons yeast

Filling

 250 ml milk

 2 egg yolks

 75 grams sugar

 20 grams cornflour

 Vanilla

 120 grams sultanas soaked in water

Preparation

Put all the ingredients for the pastry in a bread machine and choose the dough program.

To prepare the filling, heat the milk and vanilla until it boils, then cover the saucepan.

Then, beat the sugar into the egg yolks in a large bowl and add the cornflour; pour the milk into the bowl while mixing with a whisk. Put this mixture in the saucepan, heat it up while whisking until it thickens.

When the dough is ready, shape it into a rectangle with a rolling pin; spread the filling and add the sultanas.

Pre-heat your oven to 175 degrees.

Roll the dough, cut in into pieces about 3 cm wide, put them on a tray covered with baking paper.

Mix an egg and brush it on the escargots.

Let them cook for 20 minutes.

Enjoy !

Don't forget to send me photo(s) of the season of the place where you live - it can be a flower, a landscape, a bird, whatever you love - you can be in the picture but you don't have to be. I will put them in the blog next week.