Our European visit...

Hi everyone! It's been a while since we've written on Abbey's blog but with all the end of year and equally crazy beginning-of-the-new-year madness behind us, we've finally settled into a  nice routine and I hope to visit all your blogs in the next couple of day to catch up.

I have not traded little miss Abbey in for the cutie above but had to share this picture with you. We were fortunate enough to spend the first day of the year in Funchal, Madeira, the island where my husband was born. This picture was taken at our favourite restaurant on the island and whenever we visit, this is part of the ritual - saying hi to their three resident birds, Joanna, Junior and Vicente. I think if Abbey had to come face to face with one of these she'd run for the hills - they are about twice her size!

Here are a few of the pics I took at the restaurant on this day...

And the food was excellent - as always!

As for the rest of our trip - I was really happy to see that city dwellers in Europe seem to be really good about exercising their dogs. People were our walking their pets early in the mornings and late afternoon, evening walks seemed quite the norm as well. Here are a few we spotted on the streets of Malaga, Santa Cruz and Rome.

We discovered this delightful pair in a very nice pet shop in Spain and the owner allowed me to take a photograph. I was really impressed with how he kept them and we spent forever in his shop watching these two play as only young pups can - with absolute abandon! I hope that by now they are happily connected with their new owners.

Finally - I know I have the cutest Yorkies in the world, but I have to admit, this little Portuguese princess that I spotted at Monte in Funchal was pretty hard to resist!



A special breed...

Don't you just love this!

Thought we'd pop in to say hallo to everyone! We've been scarce but certainly very busy! Little Ms Abbey has been on a few road trips since we last posted and last weekend she was the team mascot for our cycling team, she joined the backup team in the vehicle for all of 210km!

Here she is with her dad at one of the feeding stops...

Looking at this picture I have to say, it's amazing how such a tiny little creature can melt a grown man's heart the way this little one does! "Show me where the bullies are..." could very well be the caption for this picture as well! :)

I don't know about you, but I for one continue to be amazed by the truly special people who cross my path via the blogging world. Last night I chatted to my South African blogging buddy, Caryl, for the first time. What a special conversation we had! Caryl has just published her first book and I can't wait to read my very own copy! She's posting it to me today and you can be sure that I'll be posting a review somewhere in the near future!

Caryl and I chatted about what a special breed dog/cat bloggers are and she really gave me loads of food for thought. We do adapt writing styles when we write alongside or by mouth of our animals and by doing so we certainly attract a very special audience. Mostly people who can identify and I have to say, people who seem to be incredibly caring and loyal. I think that this is one of the reasons I have been unable to say goodbye to this blog - somehow I sense, every time I look at my little silent family of 51 followers, that there are amazing friends in that little group. 

I am forever grateful that I started Abbey's blog and as she and my three other four legged children will never actually utter an actual word to me - their love and friendship is as tangible as the love and friendship that I share with the humans in my life.

So, to all my blogging friends out there - THANK YOU so much for taking time to share of yourselves in your blogs. I feel honoured to be a member of this exclusive club and Maxmom - a big hug to you today!

Click here to read Maxmom's amazing blog.

Hope this week bring you loads of smiles!

Interesting encounters...

Halooo! You're different!

MSA - Not three letters that you want to see together!

This morning we'd like to ask you to join us on the 3rd of October in raising awareness of a horrible disease, known as MSA or Multiple System Atrophy.

Here is the definition as per Wikipedia:

'Multiple System Atrophy (MSA) is a degenerative neurological disorder. MSA is associated with the degeneration of nerve cells in specific areas of the brain. This cell degeneration causes problems with movement, balance and other autonomic functions of the body such as bladder control or blood pressure regulation. The cause of MSA is unknown and no specific risk factors have been identified. Around 55% of cases occur in men, with typical age of onset in the late 50s to early 60s.

The overall prevalence of MSA is estimated at 4.6 cases per 100,000 people.'

On the 3rd of October the organisers of International MSA day have asked that people all over the world light as many candles as possible at 8pm their local time to create awareness of the illness. They have also asked that people walk a mile during that day, either alone or with someone else and that those miles are logged on their official MSA website. What a wonderful idea!

I have written a piece on this on my Camino blog and all the info you will need if you want to participate is to be found from my post on the subject. I will be walking with the amazing Sonja, one of my newest friends, who was diagnosed a year ago with MSA. From being a vibrant athlete and gym instructor, she is now wheelchair bound. I will be meeting her in person for the first time on Monday - in fact, we'll meet at her local beach where they plan to start the walk. People will take turns to push her wheelchair - I thank God that he surrounds us with our own special angels in the form of friends and family in time of need!

To find out more about Sonja and MSA, click here for our post on the subject. Thank you for taking the time and we'd love to hear from you if you have participated or discovered what people have arranged for the 3rd October in your part of the world.

We would love it if you can join us in lighting a candle in your own home at 8pm on Monday. Why not send us a photo of your burning candle/candles and we'll send it on to our friend Sonja, who is working so hard to raise awareness while battling the illness herself.

Our email address: ferreira.emilene@gmail.com.

A few special moments from our roadtrip...

Almost at our destination - this part of our country, known as the little Karoo, is pretty arid but covered with amazing wild flowers this time of the year.

Beautiful blue skies with yellow and purple flowers alongside the road for miles...

The famous 'rooster brood' or griddle cakes found at all events hosted in our small towns in the countryside.

Made with love by these three local ladies...

...and enjoyed by us with a lovely Italian cheese!

Our home on wheels for four days!

And this is what the trip was all about - the annual 'Karoo to Coast' 100km mountain bike race.

A view of the town of Wilderness on our 'Garden Route'.

Tourists in our own country!

And when a girl has to go, she has to go!

Halloo - we'd like a big bush for privacy please!

Holiday homes along the route...

This was the view at our campsite this morning - picture perfect!

Almost home!

Well, that's about as much as I could stay awake for!

Same here - wake me up when we get home!

Day 1 of our roadtrip...

A flower amongst the flowers!

Halloooo - I'm here too..!

Delicate 'Chinese Lanterns' growing wild along the roadside - stunning!

We are having fun indeed!

Our route so far: Cape Town / Worcester / Montagu / Barrydale / Ladismith / Calitzdorp / Oudshoorn

We are following the classic 'Route 62' - if you'd like to see more of the area that we are travelling through, click here for the official route site.