Lots to write about.  Firstly, young Murgatroyd is continuing to make excellent progress.  She went for her post operative check up and the vet was delighted with her, and that she had put on over a kilo in weight.  She's now looking slightly less bony but still thinner than I'd like - though with good feeding and care, I'm sure that will come right in time.  The dogs' owner continues to be unwell and is likely to be so for some considerable time so it looks as though the two dogs will be with us at least until Christmas and potentially even longer. Scarily, though, the festive season is only around twelve weeks away and seems to be flying towards us with increasing rapidity.  

The main element of this post though will be about a project I've been hatching this year, and which is now up and running - my new business, Milgi Coats.  I've set up a business selling beautiful fleece housecoats, walking out coats and bandanas for greyhounds, lurchers and whippets.  The business runs online from our website which has a fully functioning online shop which accepts credit and debit cards.  We also accept card payments by phone, postal payments by cheque and attend events with our stall.  We've deliberately purchased a card machine that works in a mobile setting which is perfect for these sorts of events.  

Our first outing with the business was for the South West Greyhound Gathering down in Upottery, near Honiton back in August.  That was quite a small event but still very useful as it gave us some great feedback from customers, including a request for whippet sized bandanas.  Since then, we've tested and developed these and had a batch made for our next outing which was on Saturday to the Great Greyhound Gathering in Nottingham at the racecourse.  This was a much bigger logistical exercise - we decided not to take all four hounds and Andrew's parents very kindly agreed to come over and dog sit for us.  They arrived on the Friday night and we had dinner and an early night.  Then on Saturday, we left the house at 5 a.m.  (not a time I'm normally awake) with Murgatroyd in the boot along with our kit.  We arrived safely and set up our lovely tent and bunting which I made.  In time I will get some bespoke feather flags made, in time for next year's appearances, but we can't do everything at once.  Lots of lovely merchandise and then after a slow start, the day hotted up, literally and metaphorically.  

The sun shone brightly and the racecourse gradually filled up with hundreds of greyhounds, whippets, lurchers, deerhounds, Salukis, and even a few non-pointies.  The atmosphere was wonderful - so happy and friendly, with masses of gorgeous hounds everywhere you looked.   The organisation ran very smoothly and the venue was great.  I entered Callie in a couple of greyhound classes, and sadly she wasn't placed, but the competition was pretty stiff and there were some stunning hounds on display.  

One particularly lovely feature of the day was meeting up with an online friend who I know from another internet forum.  She was attending with her greyhound Sprocket, who is coincidentally Andy's half brother (both by Brett Lee, a very well known and prolific greyhound sire).  I was thrilled to see her, and even more excited when Sprocket was placed in one of the greyhound classes.  She'd also very kindly brought us a wonderful tent warming present - online I'd been jokingly referring to it as the "Tent of Destiny" and she'd had a little plaque made with the words "Tent of Destiny" engraved to hang up in the awning.  Brilliant! We loved it, and she'd even brought some chicken's feet for the dogs too.  What a star.  

The stall did a roaring trade, with sell outs of some fabric and a lot of interest in the whippet bandanas (definitely a good idea) and even in our Christmas fabric range which I'd tentatively taken along.  Lots of people also took cards with our info on for future reference, so I was delighted with the way it went.  Eventually it was time to pack up and make our weary way back to Wales - we were both shattered.  A late dinner and then almost immediately to bed, after greeting the hounds and much needed glass of red wine.  

On Sunday, we all went over to the greyhound field.  Rita and Roger hadn't seen all four hounds hurtling round together - it's quite a sight so joined us before making their way back home. Then we headed back home for a very quiet afternoon of recuperation and relaxation.  

Today's been surprisingly busy, there's been a little flurry of orders coming in after the show which is great. 

I've attached some pics from the weekend.