Ok, so our wedding anniversary trip to Cartmel didn`t go at all well. The beautiful White House turned out to be the very musty haunted house!
I don`t generally go in for ghosts and ghouls but having written about them in the past I`m prepared to accept that they are out there, somewhere. So when Ollie, one of our two, Standard Longhaired Daschunds refused vehemently to even step inside the White House we suspected something might be wrong. The musty smell inside this chocolate box house should also have caused us to wonder.
Having gradually enticed him in with yet another "treat" he was clearly unhappy and quickly turned around to vacate the place we had booked for the next ten days.
But matters were set to get even worse. Whilst eventually edging part way into the ostensibly beautiful house Ollie refused to go into the kitchen where we had planned for them both to sleep. Not even anther treat could entice him over that line between hallway and kitchen. If you`ve ever seen Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner you`ll easily imagine what this was like.
Then, to top matters off he wouldn`t eat! Not like either of our dogs.
The next three nights were spent with one of us sleeping on a couch - a very small couch! - in the lounge with both dogs. Not remotely enjoyable.
But as well as this being a time of celebration, probably in our favourite place in the whole world, it was also supposed to be a time when I would get to to some writing and hopefully meet the deadline set by my editor in New York. Hence the choice of the house with its own study and writing desk. Needless to say that didn`t go well either.
So, I remain (officially) on holiday but now back in the comfort of my own study at home - my second favourite place. I`m trying to work on the novel and fending off the demands of business life and the office, wondering if I`ll ever finish it. But I refuse to give up. The novel will be finished because its actually the only thing I was created for. To quote Steven Furtick, "There`s no point in trying to put out oranges when you are supposed to be growing figs!" There`s a real message in there for us all.