5 things you learn when you get a husky

Get a husky I thought, it will be fun...I thought- and it is, well, for the most part.

However, sometimes I wish I had a really old, slow, half dead dog that knew his name.

I learnt a few things very quickly when I got a husky, here are my top 5...(for the purpose of this blog I am using 'He' but it applies to female husky's too.)

1. When going on a walk your arm will be yanked out of its socket approximately 56 times, possibly more if there are a lot of other dogs around. You may also notice that the arm you predominately hold the lead in has taken on a hulk like appearance and you can crush cans with surprising ease.

2. You will start running, not as a hobby but as a necessity. When you decide to let your husky off the lead (because we all try this in the beginning, then we understand why husky's are rarely off the lead), he will pelt off into the distance and you will find yourself having to run constantly to catch up with him before meets a new family and goes off with them. He will not look back, nor care that you are screaming like a banshee.

3. Which brings me to this point...he will pretend he does not know his name. If you are doing the above and chasing your husky, shouting his name will mean absolutely nothing. Though it is mildly amusing to fellow walkers if you are shouting 'COME HERE MR FLUFFINS THIS INSTANT!' If you are at home and your husky has been naughty, if you call him by his name to tell him off, he will look the other way and pretend he thinks you are talking to some other naughty husky.

4. On walks you will look at other owners with their dogs walking calmly by their sides off lead and you will look at your dog with mild disappointment and say to him 'Why can't you be like that?' Your dog will then yank you over to said dog and the owner will look at you cautiously while backing away asking 'Is he OK?' You will say the well rehearsed line 'Yes, he is very friendly, but he is a husky so he just runs off if he is not on lead.' 

5. Having a husky is harder than having a child sometimes, but he is my baby and he is so much fun. I would be lost without him, like he would be without me if I didn't keep him on the lead. 

I love you Mr Fluffins.

(AKA Hades, Mr Fluffins was a made up name for this piece but actually, I quite like it...maybe I will get another Husky and call him that. Then again...maybe not.)

Baking for 'good' mothers

All good mothers know that you should attempt to bake with your child every once in a while.

It takes a lot of preparation, patience and the understanding that the cakes/biscuits will look nothing like the picture in the book, or on the internet and they will probably end up being fed to the dog as he is the only one who will stomach them. Even so, he will give them a second glance before taking them.

However, if you grin and bear the baking hour (it should not last more than an hour, if it does then declare the oven is broken and send the kids back to the TV), then you will not have to do it for at least another 6 months/ year if you are really lucky.

So, my latest attempt at baking with Scarlett started off well, like usual...full of hope, promise and lies:

'Our biscuits will look just the same, of course darling!'

I then discovered that my electronic scales had stopped working as I hadn't used them in 6 months, so I had to guess the amount of ingredients. After a bit of 'Add more flour'...'No! add more butter!' we got a ball of dough together.

We made the heart shapes then I threw them into the oven and hoped for the best- whatever that was.

Then came the 'fun' part. Making the gooey marshmallow/Chewit melting mess in the middle of the sandwich biscuits. Once the half burnt biscuits were out and I put the slime in the middle, the pan was a hot sticky mess, so I did the easiest thing and I threw it into the bin. I haven't looked back.

Scarlett decided to take the biscuits into her teachers, and after a bite I gladly wrapped them in cling film and put the in her bag for the morning.

I haven't had a chance to speak to her teachers to see if they enjoyed them, but I have seen them glaring and backing away from me, so at least the are still standing.

If your baking day with your children is coming up, I have provided the recipe below should you fancy making these for your relatives/children's teachers/enemies.

Good luck and I will feel the pain of baking for 'good' mothers again in six months...

Escape game Brighton

We walked into a dark room, the door was clicked shut behind us and a chill ran through my body as a voice filled the room. This was it, we had to find the clues the murderer had left to escape the room, or be murdered.

We had one hour, locks, keys, magnets and a whole load of clues which were challenging to say the least- it is a good job I am not a detective in real life, else not a lot would get solved.

My partner and I played the 2 player version of Murder at Brighton Pier: Revenge but had I realised how much I would need to think outside the box, I would have dragged a few more brains along with us.

This escape game is genius, unique and a brilliant night out and I can’t recommend it enough. It is a night you will not forget in a hurry.

So, the most important part- did we escape? Well, I have written this post but I might be speaking from beyond the grave...

escapegamebrighton.com