A winner!

Archie and I would like to say thank you very much for all the wonderful comments about the embroidered hoop and all the very funny captions for his photo - we had a great time reading all your suggestions! (Well, I did, Archie just perked up each time I mentioned biscuit or walk!).  So, Archie has picked a winner but before I do the big reveal (lots of photos and a couple of short videos!) here's a quick catch up...

My prize from Kristyne's giveaway, sponsored by Gigi at Pinks and Needles, arrived at the weekend and it's even more wonderful in person.  Unfortunately my photos can't do justice to the delicate beauty of the pin toppers and the egg cup pincushion but here's my (poor!) effort...

I love them so much...they're currently living on my mantelpiece!

Thank you, Kristyne and Gigi!

And I have been doing a bit of sewing but nothing I can show you at the moment.  Here's something almost finished that I can share...it just needs stars on the top and two companions, my mam's dining table is getting three of them for Christmas!

A bit naked without its stars at the top but you get the idea!

Archie and I had quite a few conversations about the best way to pick a winner.  He was very keen on me printing out all 86 comments and putting a biscuit on each one.  (86 because one comment was mine - no, I wasn't trying to win my own prize! - and one person commented three times as they were worried about their first comment containing a potentially offensive word and wanted to give me the option to delete it...which I didn't!  Also, two comments were left after the closing time but Archie declared that it wouldn't be fair to leave them out for the sake of a few hours so we included them in the draw...still with me?!)  So, 86 biscuits in a line, yes?  No!  As I explained to Archie we don't have room to lay 86 biscuits in a semicircle and make it at all fair for everyone and if he thinks I'm going to let him eat 86 biscuits on the trot then he's got another think coming.  We reached a compromise that would involve a bit of luck, a bit of deciding and several biscuits!

Here's the plan...

Put the numbers 1 to 86 in Archie's food ball (used to distract him when I've got visitors who aren't keen on dogs and occasionally as a treat for him, and me!) and get Archie to roll the ball around until five numbers drop out.  Then match those numbers to the comments, read them to Archie and get him to pick his favourite...

Our independent adjudicator (I think it was Archie pretending!) insisted we show all the numbers ready to go in the ball...you'll have to take Archie's the adjudicator's word for it that all 86 are there!

Initially Archie refused to get out of bed to draw the winners of the first round as he knew there weren't any biscuits in the ball.  This was soon resolved with the help of ACAS and a handful of biscuits. (Archie would like me to point out that 'biscuit' is overstating it...they're bits of his dried food and are about half an inch long!)

As several people have pointed out...I don't have to get out of bed you know!

Once that issue was resolved Archie deigned to participate and I managed to catch a short (and wobbly!) clip of how the first round worked...

If you listen carefully you can hear his teeth chattering with excitement at the beginning and if you have very sharp eyes you'll see the first number fall out under the Christmas tree!

And the winners of the first round, and therefore those going through to the final voting are...

For anyone unable to read my writing it says Nicky, Hadley, Marjorie, Annabella and Di@Willowbeck

Note to self (to be added to my blogging rules) - when doing any writing that might end up on your blog it's wise to make sure it's your best writing not some spider scrawl!

Time for round two!

As when Archie voted for his favourite Japanese scrap bag challenger I set out his voting booth while he was shut in the front room and he was so excited at the prospect of voting that he could barely contain himself!  (Please ignore the bags and boxes in the background, it's tree decorations, etc!)

Unfortunately I didn't manage to capture his excited full body quiver but trust me, he was very excited so after sitting him down and reminding him of the rules I let him into the booth...

So I read them all and then pick my favourite?  And I can eat the other four biscuits afterwards?

Ohhh...this is tougher than I expected...

You'll have to get faster with that camera!

As you can see I wasn't fast enough to take a photo of him scoffing the first biscuit and only managed to capture him choosing second place but the winner is (and I wish I could make a hoop for all of you but I'm afraid I'd be at it until it was time to get my bus pass!)....

Hadley!  Well done, Hadley, I've sent you an email!  (Well, I will do once I've written and published this post!)  Archie would like to say something to you...ahem...You're right, it wasn't the deal - the deal was I'd spread hair everywhere, bark at the doorbell and demand to be fussed at inconvenient moments...there was no mention of hundreds of photos and picking in the contract, I think I'll demand a new contract, with a clause specifying rewards for participating in blog related activities...

And just in case you've forgotten what was on offer, here's what Hadley will be getting in the post.

And if you were observant you'll have caught the results of my penguin moment (an idea blatantly copied from Alison at Little Island Quilting - I hope she doesn't mind!) and another item to add to 'ATWD's blogging rules' (I might put them on the side bar, once I've worked out how to do it!)...when conducting a voting session that involves lots of bits of paper in a food ball don't leave the dog alone with the ball while you find out who he picked...

Yes, that would be 81 (5 were with me!) pieces of paper all over my carpet, under the tree, behind the telly, etc.  As far as the eye can see, in fact, and round the corner too!

After all that excitement I spent the afternoon putting lots of decorations (my mam calls them toys!) on the naked-but-for-lights tree that has been lurking in the background of the photos and now it looks like this

It looks much better IRL, honestly it does!!

And finally (phew!) I've decided to try to include a random fact about me or Archie (thanks, Lucy! If you don't know Lucy please go and visit her, say hello and become a follower, she's one of the many wonderful and lovely people I've had the privilege to get to know since I started my blog) in my next few posts so here is

Random Fact One - Archie hasn't always been called Archie.  When I adopted him from the rescue centre (where he'd also been as a puppy and then returned when he was about 18 months old...) he was called Milo.  Which I hated (I wasn't going to shout the name of a Tweenie across the field - I think Milo is the one with the purple face!) and which he didn't respond to at all so I spent a couple of days pondering names and trying them out on him.  It soon became clear that he responded to names ending in 'ie' so he was renamed Archie which he instantly responded to and I think it suits him perfectly!  And if you followed the link to find out what a Tweenie is you'll have discovered another annoying song that specialises in sticking in your brain and driving you batty!  No, please, no need to thank me!


I hope you're all well and full of the Christmas spirit?  Thanks for popping in!