The pups are four weeks old...and growing!

 Last week I received the most beautiful, treasured picture, from Marycke.
This is one of the puppies (I think Pocahontas) with a copy of Maxdog. 

The big lump in my throat was hard to swallow. 

The photograph arrived unexpectedly - a real heart-warmer!

Thank you, Marycke of

QUILLQUEST GOLDEN RETRIEVERS

(Every single photo is being carefully filed in my new pup's photo folder)

Which one will it be?

---xXx---

I believe the pups are doing well; growing daily. It's such a pity that I'm not closer to Cape Town to share in their early development.  The weekend of the 25th January cannot arrive quick enough!

On Christmas day, the pups had their own Christmas dinner:

"Mommy's milk"...

        

 ...supplemented by their solid meals...

                 

 In the next couple of weeks, the puppies will undergo a behavioural assessment, whereafter my specific puppy will be chosen for me.

At the moment, it looks like it's going to be little 'BELLE'.

(Please note that this name is a litter-name and may well change when she arrives on our doorstep)

Above: Little "BELLE" being 'stacked' for the first time in her young life.

I asked Marycke about Belle's temperament (at this stage).

Her answer was this:

"Belle is a curious, yet soft puppy!

She's not scared or timid...just soft

She's very pretty too.

I think she will be very loveable.

But I also think that she has a little wilful streak - which means that she is not a pushover...

She hates being medicated and fights the most of all the pups."

Well, consider this sweet picture...and judge for yourself:

Everyone else is fast asleep. Belle says she wants to come out to play

ODE TO BELLE

Tinkle, tinkle, little star,

how I wonder what you are?

A precious little Belle I see,

all soft and cuddly you will be.

Tinkle, tinkle, little Belle -

thoughts of yonder - time will tell.

I wait, I wonder, I hope, I love

the little star from up above.

Caryl Moll

30th December 2012

---xXx---

With love, and wishing all my special friends...

A VERY HAPPY NEW YEAR!

WISHING YOU A MERRY CHRISTMAS... with Christmas lights.

Dear Friends,

I want to wish each and every one of you a very happy and special Christmas!

Thank you for your love and support over the year/s. 

May you be blessed today and always.

I took this short video a few nights ago of a house in our suburbs and want to share it with you.  The owners have been decorating their home for over 12 years.  Every year, the entire neighbourhood takes a drive past this house.  Many stop to enjoy the beautiful lights - children, adults and pensioners alike. There are a few large boxes on the pavement - for collection of goods for various charities - in true Christmas spirit.

  Congratulations and thanks to the owners of 

14 Appelblaar Street

RANDPARKRIDGE

I hope you enjoy it as much as I did

With love and...

HAPPY CHRISTMAS

Caryl

xxx

a.k.a

Christmas is a time for togetherness...

Hello there, dear friends, on this Christmas eve...

Let me take this opportunity of wishing you a very happy and peaceful Christmas.  A very special "THANK YOU" you for your continued support, love, encouragement and uplifting contact throughout this past year.  Although I've not met most of you, you feel like family to me.

 May all the blessings of this Christmas season fall on you all...abundantly!

I am so grateful at this time to Marycke Ackhurst of

QUILLQUEST GOLDEN RETRIEVERS

in Cape Town, for diligently posting up such beautiful pictures on their FACEBOOK PAGE of this beautiful

DISNEY LITTER - one of which is destined to come home to me.

4 Generations!! At the back:
Phoebe (greatgrandmother), Lola (grandmother), Emmi (mother) and in the front all Emmi's babies

I am so far away and feel so torn when I see the pups grow and develop each day. I so wish I was close - to be able to go and see them and tell my little one how much I love her. 

These regular photos keep us all updated.  So thank you, Marycke, for allowing me to share this special journey with my friends around the world. 

Here is today's offering ....

 Above: Beautiful Em and her babies

Below: Belle being very cute!

 Below: The puppies on their day 'out'...

 Below:  "Yum"...

 This is little Belle...

 Little sleeping angel...

 Kyla trying her hand at stacking a pup... not toooo shabby!!..

 Mommy Emmi back after her swim... Wow, what a picture!!

Finally...

And just in case you may have forgotten:

My beautiful pup will arrive on our doorstep around the 25th January next year, and will be welcomed by my current Golden Family of two.  

AUNT TAMMY and TOBY, "The Sweet Hooligan"

Toby and Tammy eagerly await this event...so here are some pictures of them too.  

 (Above: Beautiful, graceful, ageing..."Aunt Tammy")

 "What's up, Mom?"

 (Above: Toby did some 'counter-surfing', selecting this as a gift for our arrival home last night.

"A cucumber Toby?  Why, Thank you! Very thoughtful indeed... " :) )

These two dogs have been my anchor over the past years.  

I love them to bits - just like the new puppy will also be.

Thank you, Toby and Tammy, for being part of my life...

Wishing all my friends, once again, a very happy Christmas!  

May you be surrounded with love and may you also feel this special (((Cyber-Hug))) from me.

With love

IRENE COUNTRY MARKET and descending Christmas spirit...

Hello there everyone!

Last Monday was a public holiday here in South Africa.  My daughters took me to 'IRENE COUNTRY MARKET' for a VERY belated birthday outing (My bithday was in May),  This trip has been on the cards for a while, but we've never found a date that was convenient for us all.  It was an exquisite day - clear blue skies with bright sunlight.  Thankfully we went early - to avoid the inevitable heat later during the day.

Some pictures of the market:

 Walking down the country lane, towards the market.

 Reasons to salivate...

 Below: Kudu (antelope) wood carvings.

 Glassware - with embedded flowers...

 Beautiful table cloths...

 Colourful, steel wall-hangings...

 Painted, wooden and clay wall-hangings...

 Below: My favourite:  A small 'baby grand piano' - all made out of steel.  Incredible artistry!

 The creative energy and atmosphere is palpable...

 Below:  

I don't know how it happened, but I was convinced by Robz that a camel ride should be on my bucket list.

  "Ok," I said.  "Let's do it".  I held on tight...

 Very uncomfortable, but lots of giggles...  The worst part is the end where the camel eagerly resumes his spot on his blanket next to the straw.  You soon realise how how high you have been when he finally sinks to the ground.  

Robyn says that I screamed.  Quite frankly, I can't remember.  :)

Camel ride done and ticked!  

Off my bucket list, lol!

The Christmas spirit is descending.  The tree is up, twinkling and laden with gifts.  Carols fill the air, meals are prepared, dogs get extra walks and the family are all 'at home'  (well almost) 

But I must say that my mind and heart is filled with the image of a little golden bundle all those miles away... waiting until she's old enough to come home.

I asked the breeder if she could PLEASE take a photo of her daughter and little 'Belle'. 

This is what was posted on FB.  Although it's not labelled, I would bet my bottom dollar that this is my little one.  :)

What a beautiful photo! 

 Thank you Marycke Ackhurst from Quillquest Golden Retrievers.

I can't wait for the 25th January when puppy comes home.  

The pups are only 3 weeks old at this stage.  They had their first 'real' meal recently.

Wishing all my friends a wonderful, peaceful and happy Christmas season.

With love

UPDATE: Our little Golden bundle grows and grows...

Weeeeeee!  
Hello there, dear friends...
I am sending you warm, Christmas wishes from Johannesburg, South Africa.

I just had to post up this picture today - re-posted from Facebook - of a dear little Golden retriever bundle that is growing as we speak.  Maybe you would like to share my excitement... 

At the moment she is only 3 weeks old, but is growing rapidly, and is due to have her first supplemented meal today.

If all goes well, this is the little one who will be joining us around the 25th January 2013 -  as a sister to my "Sweet hooligan" Toby and Aunt Tammy. 

Ageing Aunt Tam is still agile enough to help 'nurture' the little one, and our 'Sweet Hooligan' will have a new playmate who will be able to grow up with him.  I will no longer have the concern that he will be lonely in the years ahead.

Behavioural assessments are conducted on the seven pups in the litter at about 7 weeks of age.  After that, the puppies are matched to their prospective owners.  We are definitely going to be getting one of the little girls, and she will be flown up to Johannesburg, where she will join our eagerly awaiting family.

At this stage, it looks like its going be this particular little one.  Her litter name is 'Belle', but her real name will be chosen once she comes home.  We're already throwing around some cute names, but it will have to be a name that 'matches' her, so we'll wait until she gets here.

My request to the breeder has been to choose the quietest, smallest one in the litter for me.  I know this can never be guaranteed, but it's a start.  Our little bundle already has a place booked at McKaynine Training Centre, for her puppy socialisation classes.  (Sometime in February)

 Isn't she just the sweetest little Golden bundle ever!  
Thank you, Marycke Ackhurst from Quillquest Golden Retrievers for entrusting a puppy to us, and for posting up photographs on Facebook, so that I can share in her progress.

Wishing everyone a happy weekend.
Sending lotsaluv
  

...and 'Aunt Tammy' and the Guineapigs.

A BIG secret is revealed...

I admit that I've been holding onto a BIG secret for a while now...  
The time has finally arrived to share it....  
Toby, Tammy and the rest of our household are doing the 'happy dance' - in anticipation of the BIG event, early next year... 

Only SIX WEEKS TO GO...>

 Above: Mommy "EMMI": 

(Quillquest Moonstones (Macanne Shooting Star GMHR FTA x Quillquest Red Hot NHR) with her beautiful puppies.  
BORN 1st December 2012)

---xXx---

If all goes well, we'll be welcoming one of these little puppies into our home in January next year.  Yes, you read it first...A NEW GOLDEN RETRIEVER PUPPY in our household!  And a special new friend for Toby and Tammy.

It's a long story, and it follows months of lengthy discussions and debate, but the decision has finally been made....  

QUILLQUEST GOLDEN RETRIEVERS

(In Cape Town)

...have selected us as one of the prospective new homes for one of their Golden puppies. 

You can check out there website HERE

---xXx---

Isn't that wonderful?  Such good news!  Toby will finally have an energetic playmate, and Aunt Tammy will have a new pup to nurture.  Me?  I'll have to rope in my energy and commitment towards puppy socialisation and dog training.  Our new pup will be fully integrated into our household.

So let me tell you about these pups...

This is Mommy "EMMI": 

Quillquest Moonstones (Macanne Shooting Star GMHR FTA x Quillquest Red Hot NHR

...with her puppies, born on the 1st December 2012...

 ...isn't this just too beautiful for words?!

and this is...

 Daddy "NEEKO" (Affectionately called 'GOOFY') :

Quillquest Thomas Burberry at Kinndell (Ch Siatham Baron Quillquest at Chardale x Ch Siatham Classic Quillquest)

 (Above: NEEKO's photograph in the 2013 Animal Talk calendar)

 (Above: NEEKO in the show ring)

(Above: NEEKO at field trials)

Both parents are highly pedigreed, KUSA registered and champions in their own rights.  But most importantly though, they have had all their health checks, been loved in compassionate families, and are on the scene because of the vision of Marycke Ackhurst (their breeder).  In one of our discussions, I asked Marycke what she was most proud of as a breeder:  

---xXx---

"I aim to improve the breed; taking into consideration a variety of aspects:
pedigree, temperament, health, conformation and working potential.
As a breeder, I think it is my responsibility to prepare pups for their new life by socialising them well.  I also want to prepare owners as best as possible for their new arrival -  for now, and the future.

I try and match owner requirements and pups to the best of my ability, with the available tools.  For me, the ultimate is to breed Goldens that are beauty and brains combined, adaptable in most situations, that can work, thus a pleasure to love and care for.  I think the main aim is to make people aware of what they are letting themselves in for, and to think a little more about it."

---xXx---

  I would personally like to say that, throughout this whole process, I have been treated with patience, respect, courtesy, care and professionalism.  All health checks on the parents have been done, cleared and been sent to me promptly.  I have been thoroughly screened - something I welcome as an owner of Goldens - it reassures me that every care has been taken to protect and nurture this beautiful breed.

There are seven pups in "DISNEY" litter and they are identified by their collars:

THE BOYS

Alladin (Light blue)

Mowgli: (Teal/blue green) 

THE GIRLS

Mulan (Maroon)

Pocahontas(Red)

Aurora (Pink)

Rapunzel(Purple)

Belle (Orange/Yellow)

I would like to compliment QUILLQUEST GOLDEN RETRIEVERS on their impeccable professionalism.  After completing an extensive questionnaire, submitting references and having lengthy telephonic discussions, I have been told that I am on their final short list.

I have requested a female puppy - "The pup who is the quietest in the litter; the more laid back one; the gentlest one"

A full behavioural assessment is conducted at around 7 weeks of age.  

Thereafter the final decisions are made.

There is, indeed, one particular pup which is standing out as 'the one' at this stage...

 This is 'BELLE', growing fast but still the smallest in the litter...

It is still early days yet...the pups are only two weeks old at the moment.

Although we are separated by over 1400 kilometers, the puppy which is earmarked for me is already tugging at my heartstrings.  Time will tell...

Our new little Golden bundle will be flown up to Lanzeria airport, Johannesburg (from Cape Town) towards the end of January.

We will be there to welcome her, in full force!

Grow well, little one...

With love,

Caryl