As I suspected, puppy sitting is going to be quite the wonderful challenge! It will definitely get easier once we settle into a routine, just as happened with the dogs in Bulgaria. My charge is so cute, smart, and cuddly and I’m absolutely smitten. 🙂

I actually had quite a lovely first evening with my charge. I was told to expect that she has moments where she’s practically bouncing off the walls and moments where she’s quiet. I took a quiet time to heat up the lasagna my hosts left for me and enjoyed that immensely with a glass of white wine and some olives. I felt rather spoiled! By the time I’d cleaned the kitchen, the puppy was ready for some play, so I tossed her a ball for a while and let her chase it. She’s definitely got the concept down that she needs to give me back the ball for me to toss it again!

I got her to bed around 11PM and then promptly went to sleep myself as I was knackered.

It was not the puppy but a weird rattling that woke me up around four. Gah. I figured that since I was up I might as well take her out for a pee so that I could go back to sleep after. She wasn’t too keen on being rousted out of her warm bed, but she finally went out. I went back to bed and after almost two hours managed to doze off again (I could not find the source of the rattle, augh). I finally got up at nine.

The morning routine is going to be similar to Bulgaria, where I need to exhaust the puppy before being able to settle down with coffee, breakfast, and work.

When the most pressing of the day’s work was done, I headed out, around 11:30, to find the Barclay’s and get my first real taste of Shrewsbury.

I walked along the shores of the River Severn to downtown (about one mile away).

I passed this interesting sculpture.

The downtown core was a warren of tiny streets, some pedestrian only, lined with mostly Tudor-style buildings. It’ll be fun to come back and explore properly.

I enjoyed listening to an accordion player and danced with him for a bit before leaving him a few coins.

This particularly crooked house reminded me of Amsterdam.

I found the Barclay’s easily enough. I like being back in a country, like Spain, where I get free withdrawals because I don’t need to take out as much at one time to reduce the number of $5 foreign ATM withdrawal charges I rack up. It makes it easier to budget and, of course, it’s less risky.

This wasn’t a morning for dawdling since I had a large difficult file left to do, plus it was cold and spitting rain. I popped into a Greggs for a coffee to warm my hands for the long walk home. This was a much bigger one, where you could eat in and there was a stand for folks to add their own milk and sugar. I accepted a coffee card, although I don’t know if I’ll manage to buy 10 to get my free one by the time I get home. It could happen, though, if I end up spending a few days in London before heading back to Canada since Greggs has the best price I’ve seen so far for coffee and it’s really good!

I enjoyed going down this narrow alleyway.

I stopped in at this pub because my hosts told me they do an inexpensive “Sunday lunch.” It sounds like a good deal at £6.95 so I might do that one week. I didn’t realise that you need reservations, so it wasn’t an option for today.

This pretty church is near my house.

I came in and put together a Tesco order. My hosts did a great job directing me to the various supermarkets around here, but I found that I really liked doing the Tesco thing in Hebden for the convenience and how much money I saved versus going out and doing my shopping nearly daily. I had to pay a £3.50 delivery charge this time since my free trial has expired, but that’s worth it to me. It’ll come tomorrow afternoon as will another order that I’ll blog about tomorrow. So tomorrow will be a stay in day.

Then, I managed to get my work done. The puppy is way too interested in the foot pedal cord and my earbuds, so I have to keep them away from her. If I’m at the table with just my computer, she’s happy to lie at my feet and go to sleep, but when I’m transcribing, the cords are too tempting for her and she can’t leave them alone. I go through this with the new cats in my life, so I’m sure she’ll get used to it. Thankfully, there is a very strong possibly that a large non-transcription project is coming down the pipeline at the most perfect timing imaginable.

It’s been a really good first day of puppy sitting. My biggest worry was getting enough sleep (a huge issue in Bulgaria) and if the first night was any indication, that will be fine. I love playing and cuddling with her and watching her sleep after a particularly exhausting play session. Did I mention how cute she is and that I’m smitten? 🙂