A new addition to the family

We have a new member of the Goode household. After a lot of umming and arring, and after exhaustive research, we decided to get a dog.

What do you get when you cross a labrador with a poodle? A labradoodle, of course. Now don't laugh: this is the proper name for the breed. Fortunately, ours looks more like a labrador than a poodle. She's 12 weeks old, and we've called her Rosie. She's pictured just after her arrival: the boys were thrilled.

There are pros and cons to dog ownership. The pros? You get unconditional love and affection, and unswerving loyalty. You also have an excuse to go for lots of walks (which for some might be a negative, but I love going for walks). The family is enriched. The cons? Going on holiday becomes more complicated (although lots of friends have expressed an interest in borrowing a dog). The smell. And picking up turds (which all socially aware dog owners should do).

To celebrate Rosie's arrival we had a bottle of Roederer Brut NV, which is a very lovely full flavoured fizz with good acid and nice toasty richness. It's one of those fizzes that you really could serve throughout a meal; I also think it would develop with a year or two in bottle.