THAT’S Some popcorn for the Macnaughties but don’t ask them to watch the movie

LIFE

Well, what has it been like for you over the past day or so?

For many of us, this must have been the most muted end of year in memory.

Still, it can only get better – and busier.

In the meantime, we wait. We watch. And we read. An awful lot, as it happens.

As part of my Christmas box, the chief gives a quirky book filled with fascinating food facts.

It is riveting. Did you know that a crisp apple can give as much energy as a cup of caffeine-filled coffee?

Or that honey is the only natural food which never goes off?

Ah, those clever old bees. Archaeologists have found pots of the stuff from centuries back – and still the stuff looked OK.

Then there is the lowly lemon. A tart creation that actually contains more sugar than the stylish strawberry.

Well, who’d have thought it?! It’s OK to give a dog the odd strawberry or two – all in moderation, of course – but they must not be given citrus fruits.

For their part the Macnaughties can be found crunching on bits of carrot and apple.

And over the festive season they’ve discovered the pleasure of popcorn. Which, again, comes with caveats. It must be well popped, unsweetened and preferably unsalted before going anyway near a canine mouth.

I bought a bag of popcorn to brighten the day. And when we snuggle up on the sofa to watch the latest Netflix blockbuster, we can imagine we are at the cinema.

Because if there’s been a lot of reading over the past week, there’s also been a fair bit of lounging in front of the TV.

Logburner going full blast. Comfy slippers on. No makeup. Hair just as it comes. And the hope that no one will knock on the door.

Not that they ever do in these careful Covid times.

We are watching wall-to-wall box sets.

I couldn’t do it for long. But when it’s cold out there, being holed up with nowhere to go is comforting.

Especially if you’re the Macnaughties. Because a lazy life is an old dog’s dream.

And I reckon ours are now sleeping for Scotland.

But back to the book the Macgregor so thoughtfully gave me.

I now know that the world’s priciest pizza costs several thousand pounds.

And that’s because it takes several chefs to make it – and comes complete with caviar and lobster.

I have learned that ketchup was once used as a medicine, tomatoes thought to be a good way to treat a runny tummy.

I realise that whilst reindeer eat grass and moss, they also like bananas.

And I see that nutmeg is banned in some countries because eaten in quantity it can allegedly be hallucinogenic.

All this information may not be useful in the great scheme of things but it’s certainly filled a few hours of the day.

Meanwhile, as a new year comes blinking into the winter light, it can only get better...

A LAZY LIFE IS AN OLD DOG’S DREAM. AND I RECKON OURS ARE NOW SLEEPING FOR SCOTLAND

Unsweetened and unsalted popcorn is OK for dogs.