Mixed weather

I was busy making broccoli soup this morning when I suddenly remembered that Xena had a vet appointment. The cooker was turned off, and with the only half the ingredients in the pot, we rushed off to the vet. She was having a blood test to check for rabies antibodies, as is required to travel to Europe. This is the second time she has had this, the first time she failed the level of antibodies required (as the EU make it ridiculously high), so we had to start the process all over again. A waste of time and money but that is what we have to do to travel to Europe now due to Brexit. Most dogs fail the test the first time if it has been more than a few months since they received the rabies vaccine. The vet said they received guidance from the government on Saturday, and while Brexit has obviously not yet been agreed/finalised/walked away from, according to that guidance it looks like each time we want to travel abroad with her we need to apply for a kind of export permit that is for single entry use and only valid for 4 months. It is going to be such a faff travelling to Europe with a pet now! It is very popular to travel to Europe with pets as Europe is so dog friendly, and up till now it has been much cheaper than kenneling costs, but these new requirements due to Brexit may change people's opinion on that.

After the vet we went to the woods for a walk - we had missed the early morning sunshine due to being at the vet and it was now raining and wet, but then suddenly the sun came out from behind a cloud and it brightened up again.

The day seems to have run away with me again - I enjoyed the broccoli soup for lunch and then I went grocery shopping, getting back as it was getting dark. 

I must quickly prepare supper now as tonight is the last camera club meeting of the year (on zoom), and we have a talk by the award winning sports photographer Mark Pain.

Xena says thank you for all the lovely comments and hearts on her Christmas photo yesterday!