Please tell me when you're ready

Please tell me when you're ready

dogs

 Hello. If only our pets could speak. They could tell us when they are happy and when they are sad. They could tell us when they are having an off day, or when they are feeling better. They could tell us when they are tired, or when they want to go out. Young dogs could probably tell us these things, but older dogs cant.

Older dogs slow down naturally, they don't wag their tales as much, they don't get up as early and stay in bed longer. They don't tell you when they want to go to the toilet you have to remind them and lead them outside. They don't listen to your chat any more because they have gone deaf and can't hear your voice. If you leave the room they wonder where you have gone and start to worry when you are no longer there.

Older dogs move a lot slower, they can no longer play, they don't want to play, they just want a quiet life. They become picky with their food and we look for food that they will like. Because they are old they should have nice food that they like.

If only our old pets could speak. They could tell us when they are struggling, that they have an ache here or a pain there. They could tell us when they are too weary to go on, and say it's alright mum, I'm ready to go now. There's going to be a massive hole in my heart when the time comes for this little fella to bow out. Who knows when it will be, one week, one month, several months. I think within this year. I hope I can spot the signs when he is ready.

Feeling down, but I'll pick up. Thanks for popping in. Toodle pip

The kids speak

The kids speak

cats dogs

Hello, Mayze here, we are taking over here today, the boss is having a day off. I do love the way she leave stuff lying around all over the place, plenty of places to make a bed. A new project is started and stuff from the previous project is not put away. Look what I found here, a plastic carrier bag full of mesh fruit bags. it's lovely and snug and comfy in here, I think I will curl up and go to sleep. 

Hi, my name is Heidi, and I have a little blood problem so I am on constant medication. I must say though that the boss makes sure I get the check ups I need at the vet, and vet Marian is ever so kind. We went last week because I hadn't got any tablets left. They took some blood again and tested it, and Marian said I should stay on the same dose of half a tablet every night. I have got used to the routine now, the boss wraps me in a towel and pops the tiny tablet in my mouth. I take a big swallow and it's gone, then I get a treat of my favourite food. I am playing  a little game here, Rocky has a few treats on this saucer and I am watching over them for him.

Hi, I am Bugsy, the second boss in this household because I have been here the longest. I might be an old man of 20, but I know how to keep the young ladies in their place. I'm sitting here waiting for the slave boss to come and fill my bowl. Excuse me, I'm hungry, you are not paying attention, have you not noticed that my bowl is empty.

Hello, I'm Rocky. I just want a comfortable peaceful life and most of the time it is nice and quiet here, except when the boss puts the radio on and dances and sings to the Sounds of the Sixties. Gawd, it's a hell of a racket. Probably a blessing that I am going a bit deaf. I like my soft bed where I can rest my tired old bones, and when it's sunny I can amble around the garden. I don't like to go too far from home these days because I feel safe here.   

Thank you guys and gals, saved me a job for today, I'll be back tomorrow.
Toodle pip.

The kids soaking up the sun

The kids soaking up the sun

cats dogs

Hello. I've been outside most of the day, it's been lovely A few pictures of the kids. Cat on a plastic roof. Heidi climbs up onto the garage roof, then leaps across the gap onto the summerhouse. She is still doing well on half a tablet a day, wouldn't even know that she has a blood problem.  

Heidi, I would like to look at that map please, while I sit down for my coffee break.

Rocky has come out for a bimble around the garden to see what I am doing.

Every afternoon you will find Bugsy in his favourite place, taking in the sun on the windowsill. Every so often he will come off it and sprawl on the table, it gets very hot behind the glass.

Mayze sunbathes in the garden in her bed on the wooden shelves. She spends many a lazy hour here. All the kids are happy and content, good job they have me for a slave.

I snapped this sky out of a bedroom window last night. Isn't it fabulous. I love unusual cloud formations. 

Just a quickie tonight. I've got to go back out and water the flower beds. Haven't got many flowers yet, but I live in hope. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon. Toodle pip

Just perfect

Just perfect

dogs garden growing flowers reflections on life

Hello. This pampered pooch loves his bed. He lies on the edge of my duvet, and has his own small duvets, one underneath and one on top. I get up in the morning and he lies there waiting for me to get dressed, go to the bathroom, then come downstairs and open the back door. 

I went to Crafty Club this morning, and after a lunch of mushrooms and scrambled eggs on toast, I went out into the garden to finish off the beds. davee is disappointed that I spent £28 on some plants, when there are plenty of seeds going free at the local park, and cuttings can be taken as well. Yes, I agree there are lots of freebies if you look around, but I haven't had hardly any treats over the last few months. Last holiday was in September, an odd day out here and there, and considering how much I have actually saved by scrounging free bricks and doing the job myself, I think I can splash out on a few plants. It looks a bit bare at the moment but there are lots of seeds in there as well, so I am hoping for a splash of colour for the summer.

These two popped in to see me when they were passing. Lulu on the left and George on the right. They know where to come for a tasty doggy treat. Quite a few dogs try and pull their owners up my driveway because they know this is the house where the owner is soft about dogs, ha ha. Aren't they adorable. 

My job for tomorrow if the weather is dry. That pallet decking has to go, and see how the wooden shelving is leaning, it's rotten at the bottom and is in danger of keeling over. I have a plan for that, I can't take it away altogether because Mayze cat likes to snooze in it. Some adjustments are needed to keep it upright.

Isn't it lovely that we have more daylight hours now, I am waking up earlier as well. The first thing I see when I open my eyes are the silver birch trees in the garden behind mine. My bed is facing the back window and I leave the curtains partially open. Some mornings it's the sunrise that wakes me. Every morning I lie for a few minutes and contemplate how I might fill the fresh new day ahead of me. My life is just perfect at the moment, I have everything I need. My house is not modern, everything in it is a mish mash of different styles and colours, nothing matches. The interior decoration is the choice of the previous owners, I can live with it. My garden is my playground, there are no manicured lawns or block paving. The garage needs demolishing and a new one put up in it's place, but it won't get done, I'll manage with it. Show house it most definitely isn't, but it's my home, and it does me just fine.

A nice mug of hot chocolate will finish the day off nicely, so I'll say goodnight. Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip.

Deep rooted problem

Deep rooted problem

cats dogs garden

Hello. Another garden day today, aren't we lucky with the sunshine. The next raised bed to be given a  makeover is this one. I forgot to take a photo before I removed the rotten pallets. It's not very big and always had the runner beans growing here in the corner, sheltered by hedges on two sides. Should be an easy job, should have it finished today. 

I soon got a sweat on with the digging and took a layer off. Heidi has found it on the table in the summer house. She does like to lie on my clothes, especially as it means snoozing in the sun as well.

I brought Rocky's spare bed outside. He lay watching me as I cursed and swore at the roots I found under the compost.

Bugsy moves up the garden to stay in the sunshine. He got off the towel and lay in the hedge bottom, then he moves up onto the decking. Eventually going back into the house to lie in the front window sill. He's not daft. 

Mayze is peering out of the summer house watching me huffing and puffing pulling the roots up.

 And this is how it finished at 5pm. A big pile of roots, I suspect they come from the surrounding hedges. I was in two minds whether to build a raised bed here or leave it flat. The ground has a slope on it so I have spread the compost about to try and level it. I have got enough bricks so I think I might put one in as it looks a bit bare. I don't want to plant anything too tall in the space because I have to get a stepladder alongside the hedges to cut them in the summer.

I'm feeling a bit knackered now, those roots were a pig to get out. I feel like I have done a three hour work out at the gym, the muscles in my legs are aching with all the bending down and pulling. I had to use the loppers to cut some of them off. They were too big and too deep to remove with my hands after loosening them with a fork. I could have done with a JCB, ha ha.

I've had my dinner and don't know if I can get off my chair. Now I have to decide if I can manage a walk or not. I'll make a drink first, then decide. Tomorrow I'm going to the small garden centre to see what plants they have. Janet is coming with me. We pass the tip so I'll load the car up and chuck a load of pallets in the skip on the way through. I put a notice up on the front gate this morning, free firewood, but no takers.

Thanks for popping in. We'll catch up soon. Toodle pip.

Adding a PS. I did get up off my bum and walk. Just come back and collapsed in a chair. Now I am really knackered. Ha ha. 

PPS. My sister has just rung, she says I am on the Jo Brand documentary. 

PPPS Carol, the links to my long walk work now, I have fixed it.  Thanks for letting me know about it. 

Bathroom selfie

Bathroom selfie

cats dogs fun

Hello. Am I brave enough to do a selfie in the bath? Oh go on then, here it is, ha ha. 

Here are the courting couple sharing a bed last night. I think they must have had a tiff because tonight they are sleeping separately. Picture not set up. that's how they were. 

Just a quickie tonight. We'll catch up tomorrow. I've got to have a bit of a tidy round in the morning, my sis and hubby are visiting at lunchtime. Just popping in on their way back from Yorkshire. Will be good to have a natter.
Toodle pip

Do you have trouble getting the kids out of bed!

Do you have trouble getting the kids out of bed!

cats cheap food dogs garden healthy eating

Hello. Thank you for your good wishes regarding Heidi. You can be assured that I will do my best for her. I am coming to terms with the fact that sometimes things happen like this, animals can be born with hereditary conditions just like humans can. She was lucky enough to come into our rescue with her four kittens, I decided to give her a home after the kittens went to their new homes, now it's up to me to look after her . 

This is the chaos at tightwad Towers in the morning. I am the first to stir from my bed, but before I can get the coffee on the go, I have to open the back door and let the kids out. As you can see, the place looks a mess. Rocky has been out for a pee, Bugsy had a quick look outside but soon came back in when the white stuff landed on him, he didn't like that, and Mayze couldn't be bothered and stayed where she was. 

The newspaper is spread around because Bugsy was prone to bringing up his food. That problem is now solved through a change in diet, with smaller portions and more frequent meals. I leave the paper there just in case of accidents. 

Next they demand food, so I serve up a bowl for each of them from the extensive menu available, ha ha. Talk about pampering. I have usually put the bed away by this time, but this morning Mayze absolutely refuses to get up. Bugsy gazes contentedly at the gas fire in the hope of getting a tan.  

Heidi has decided not to join in with the crowd, preferring the quiet of the kitchen. She is still a bit sad, but hopefully she will pick up a bit once the tablets start to kick in. She was camping out in the bath, but now has found a better place in a basket on the worktop. I have had to move my things out of the way to a different part of the kitchen.

Normally they would all go outside for a mooch round, but none of them fancied it this morning. A quick pee for Rocky and straight back in. Don't like this white stuff. You may not be able to see the flakes falling, at this stage they were quite small. 

Half an hour later.....

And an hour later......we all decided to stay indoors.

The snow became quite heavy and I thought the best thing I can do is go to the shops and get a few bits of shopping to make sure I have enough in case we are snowed in. I also needed to go to Tesco to take a phone back for a refund. It turns out that I didn't need a new phone after all, I needed a new sim card, which was sent out in the post from Talk Mobile. I had to ring them up and get the number changed back to the old one, the number that everyone else has in their phone. The man was very helpful and that was a success, but I have lost my contact list so now I am asking everyone to text me so I can start a new list. 

My lunch today, which I have just scoffed. The boiled eggs and spinach came in a little pot from Tesco, 13p instead of £1.25. I have another one for tomorrow's lunch. Tomatoes were 7p for six, instead of 69p. Two kinds of cheese, not yellow sticker, and couscous which I made yesterday. It was chuffin lovely. 

Well the snow has now stopped and it's beginning to melt. I hope we don't get any more. I have been getting on with sewing, the picture is coming along nicely, it shouldn't be too long before it's finished. I am liking the fact that it is smaller than what I usually make, so won't take as much time up. More shopping bags on the production line, using up the roses fabric which was given to me.

I'll get off now, a scruffy little dog is looking at me willing me to get off my bum and take him out. I can't resist that gorgeous face.

Have a nice weekend. Catch up soon. Thanks for popping in.
Toodle pip.