That blank sort of time when you can't sleep

That time in the dark hours when the house is asleep and you are not.................

Something about wild weather that makes you want to hunker down and craft, curled up in a chair with the fire crackling away. Only my mind is elsewhere.

It is that sort of 'catch-up-lull-time' time of year, that week squished between manic festive preparations and celebrations and new year.

For the first time in about four years, I have actually had some days off at chrimbly time with my boys and they (those days) seemed to just be gobbled up by cooking and wrapping, by urgent last minute present buying (Eldest seemed completely flummoxed by the need to buy something for the girlfriend), by visiting and being visited and by the loss of an elderly giddy dog who has.just.disappeared.

Oh how I hate this - when an animal just vanishes. She has wandered off before, years ago - taking herself for a walk then getting lost, but this time - she is old and this wandering off was quite unexpected. How does an elderly partially sighted and deaf dog escape from a sealed garden?

Last time she went AWOL, 10 years ago, I rang all the rescue places and spoke to people, real-live-people, and gave details and descriptions and received consolation and advice from professional animal rescue organisations. This time we have had to follow instructions from automated messages - had to log information on line, had to tweet and to open on-line 'lost animal accounts'. All the rescue 'services' have been farmed out to private companies that charge a fee and operate on-line website.....I am yet to speak to a real voice.
Our own personal search and rescue has been hampered by vile weather and the fact she is deaf ...... standing on a wet and wild moor yelling her name only makes it worse.