Me & My Op….

Well folks, I got back from the hospital a short while ago. I had to go for a Pre- Assessment walk-through.

They took more blood from my arm than I can afford to give! The nurse explained what would happen. Apparently they were hoping to use key-hole surgery, but not now. So I’ll be in for about a week as they are going to have a good look around and cut out all the damaged part in my tummy.

Apparently, all my problems stem from 1985 when I had radio therapy. In those days they used to give you three times as much as you needed. But looking on the bright side, I was very lucky they found this cancerous little lump nestling behind my womb when they spayed me… I mean I had a hysterectomy. If I hadn’t, it wouldn’t have shown up and I’d be dead by now!!!

It is over the last five plus years that I’ve had the most trouble. After this operation, I should be able to build up my appetite and hopefully I will be able to put some weight on. This should give me more energy… May be I’ll be able to find my brain cells that have gone walk-about lately!

Unfortunately, this operation will do nothing for my Diverticulitis, but I should be able to control it better afterwards.

I am going in on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday will be spent clearing me right out! Yuk… I hate going through that, but it will be easier to handle when in the hospital. Then I’m going under the knife on Friday… So fingers crossed folks. I’ll miss you all while I’m away from the internet.

So don’t expect any updates here till I get home after it’s all over.

I’ll be so busy tomorrow… I have to get my things ready to take in with me… Nighties, slippers and wash things.

We also have the decking wood being delivered tomorrow. Then the people are coming on Wednesday to saw the decking and put it round the edge of the pool.

We also have Sky TV etc., being delivered on Wednesday morning. I just hope the man comes before I have to leave for the hospital!

I am not expecting Dave to visit much, what with having High Definition Sky TV and another Grand Prix F1 next weekend! He’ll be too busy playing around. At least he’ll have complete control of the remote while I’m away… I just hope he doesn’t break it before I get home!

You know I said yesterday that he broke our Dyson Animal vacuum cleaner? Well, Chris fixed it so I don’t have to call the man out! I wonder how many other things he’ll break before I get home?

The pool heater is up and running now… Sid the man, finished the work off this morning.

My biggest worry while I’m away is my dogs. I know Chris is here to care for them, but I will miss them so. And Jade will miss me… she always does. I’ll telephone each morning to make sure they are fed and let out… Then again each evening to make sure they have their tea!

Bye for now folks… You all take care of yourselves.

Back From The Vets…

As I said below, I had to take the girls up to the vets to have their stitches out.

Why do I have dogs that go mad with excitement as soon as you walk them through the surgery door? Another dog was sitting down with her owner shaking like a leaf and there was a cat in its carrying cage.

Kate went to say hello to the dog and Jazz pulled to say hello to the owner of the cat. Then they both jumped up at the counter to say hello to the vet nurses.

Neither Titch nor Jade were happy to be left in the car. They had wanted to come in too! Of course it could be that I am always armed with titbits when we are in a vets!

Jazz went to say hello to the little Corgi cross that Kate had greeted when we walked in. The Corgi wasn’t so keen on Jazz and growled at her! Poor Jazz. She doesn’t have a mean streak in her. She was most surprised.

Mind you I’m not that keen on letting my dogs get too close to other dogs in a surgery… After all, they are there for a reason and one never knows if the other dog has an infectious something or other!

Anyway… We were soon called into the surgery for removal of the stitches. In the past, I have always removed any stitches at home, but these only had one knot and were woven in and out of the wound. I couldn’t see how it would pull them all out in one go, so I left it for the vet.

Silly me…! What I didn’t realise was that you just cut the knot off. You don’t pull anything out! Must be a new way of stitching up.

The reason I like to do it at home is that you can catch the dog relaxing and laying down on its back waiting for a tummy tickle. There is no stress that way. I have a pair of special scissors to remove stitches, and a clamp like pair of scissors to pull the stitches out. But they weren’t bothered when the vet did it… but were a bit wriggly as they wanted cuddles!

When we got to our lane, Chris got the dogs out of the back and walked them home along the field. It’s the first proper walk Jazz and Kate have had because of their operations. Luckily, they weren’t that interested in racing each other, just sniffing the hedgerow.

Lefy: Titch and Chris.

Below: Titch, Jade and Katie with Chris.

Below & Right: Chris with the dogs in our lane.

 

Left: Katie running towards me with the others still sniffing around in the lane.

I took the top two photos out of the car window – I was stationary at the time - as I drove the car on to our bungalow. Parked up and walked back into the lane to get the dogs coming home.

I am on cloud nine still. I am just so happy that at last someone is going to try and do something for me. After the operation, I can hopefully go out and eat a proper sized meal and enjoy it with no fear of bringing it up sometime later!

There are – obviously - no promises from the surgeon, but I can at least hope and pray that removing this constriction somewhere in my tummy, I will – hopefully – no longer get these awful swollen tummies which can get very painful and incredibly uncomfortable. They stop me eating. May be afterwards, I will be able to put some weight on.

I do wish I was a chocolate eater or had a sweet tooth! Dave bought me several Easter eggs which are just sitting there. Anyone want some?

Another Hectic Day…

Letter in the post this morning. An appointment for me up at King’s Lynn hospital at 2.25 this afternoon. When I got there, I found there had been a cancelation and they had slipped me in.

The appointment was with the surgeon to see if can do anything to help me with my problems. After chatting and explaining my situation he said he’d have look and see if he can do anything.

He is trying to get me into be operated on next week, or in May. I am so happy. At last someone is going to try and do something for me.

He can’t help the Diverticulitis but he wants to do something about this constriction I have. Hopefully, I’ll be able to eat a proper meal after that. Oh boy, would I like to be able to put some weight on. I am 6 stone (40.5kg) now, and have been for ages.

Woo Hoo… I am so pleased. I just had to share with you my good news!

Now I have to put the girls (Jazz & Kate), into the car and take them up to the vet for their appointment to have their stitches out. Both of their scars have healed up nicely.

What a Week…

Last week was spent doing the swimming pool with Pete’s help. Chris worked with him.

They had stuck the liner around the sides. Here they are discussing laying the felt on the bottom.

It went in quite easily. Behind Pete, there is some coving that Dave said had to go round the the pool underneath the final skin.

Needless to say, after getting everything sorted and the new skin put on, it wouldn’t lay flat and tight. All the coving had to be removed and then the new skin fitted well !

Here you can see that the bottom isn’t laying flat at all!

 

 

Dave isn’t really helping… But – bless him – he thinks he is! He is at least trying.

I took over as it was easier if someone held the weight of the liner up so Pete could tuck it in.

Needless to say, it all had to come out to take the coving out. Then it all lay flat.

No… we don’t keep a chair in the pool! Pete is screwing in the drain covering and used it for his tools as we had to have a little water covering the bottom of the pool.

Note it is now all laying flat, thank goodness. He had welly boots on but his hands were freezing. The water was very cold.

Here’s Dave in his usual position of watching the others working.

It took ages to fill up the pool, but it’s all done now. Just waiting for the electrician to come next week to fix the heating up for us.

The heater has to sit outside the poly tunnel so that air circulates.

You can see the pipes that lead into the tunnel. On instructions from Dave (the supervisor), Pete and Chris stuck all the pipes into their respective elbows with glue. There are several inside the tunnel. They cost 75p through the internet… Then the water pump was switched on.

It turned out that Dearly Beloved had told Chris and Pete wrong and the sand from the filter was flowing back into the pool. Chris had to take all the pipe work apart and redo it all. The elbows cost £2.50 in the local shop and there are about 6 or 8 of them. Again, Dave is lucky to have survived till Easter. I could - yet again - have strangled him on behalf of Chris and Pete!

Dave Has Survived Till Today…

He’s been fine for a good few day… Weeks even. But he’s been a little ‘high’, in my opinion, over the last few days. I am sure it’s when his sugar levels are high (he’s insulin dependant Diabetic). He drives me up the wall when he’s like that… Singing (out of tune), dropping things and not concentrating on anything you try to say to him.

Last night I tried to sort his PC out. He was having trouble with some emails. It’s not easy sorting out a PC when someone is breathing down your neck and saying “I’ve done that… and that… What are you trying to do now?” And a whole lot more… I lost it and got up and said “Fix it yourself!” Then went to my bedroom for an early night.

I’ve had a bad tummy on and off for the last week. That’s why I haven’t written a blog up. I just haven’t been able to concentrate.

Dave was up first this morning. Well, he wasn’t up first. I had been up for a couple of hours and made a coffee and fed the dogs and let them out. But I then went back into my bedroom and rested. Around ten I went through to the living room to find Dave having a little trouble breathing. He’s been coughing quite a lot lately. He does get phlegm on his chest. It put him in hospital last January.

I watched him. He was rather short of breath. He had a tightness across his chest, but he was nowhere near as bad as he has been. I popped into my bedroom and took my tablets (to bind me), and put him in the car and drove him up to A & E.  They saw him straight away. I think I was right to drive him straight up. The hospital is 20 minutes away. An ambulance can take over half an hour to get to us sometimes. I would have dialed 999 if he had any chest pains or needed oxygen. He’s had that many Angina attacks, we both know when it’s serious.

I keep his over-night bag at the ready as I know - sooner or later – he’ll have a trip to hospital. All I had to gather was his prescription list of tablets and his tablets and insulin.

After running some tests on him and taking bloods, then an X-Ray, they decided to keep him in and sent him to MAU (Medical Assessment Unit) ward. I came home.

Around 7.00pm I got a phone call… ‘Please could I bring his glasses up and his Ipod.’ I had just put some food on to eat. Never mind… I can eat when I got home later. I got Chris to drive me up.

Here he is sitting on the side of his bed looking a great deal better than he had this morning. They are keeping him in for a day or two so they can check his bloods every 12 hours.

He had been chatting away to a lovely elderly lady in the next bed. Her husband who is 94, and her son were visiting. We had them laughing with me threatening Dave that he should behave himself because I wanted to go home and have some rest with him safe in hospital… I did not want to be driving up and down to King’s Lynn a couple of times a day!

I got hoime and had a little rice and chicken to eat, then wrote this.

So I am off to bed now. It’s been a hectic day.

Had The Girls Spayed Today…

After dropping Katie and Jazz off at the vets this morning, I managed to sit here till noon before phoning to find out how they were. Not one minute went by that I wasn’t thinking about them and trying not to worry.

When I dropped them off my vet said he’d do them first and that I could pick them up at lunch time. There was no way I could wait till the end of surgery in the afternoon to get them. I’d have collapsed with worry!

So I rang. ‘Katie has woken up and is fine. She was done first.’ The receptionist told me. ‘Jazz was second and hasn’t really woken up properly yet. Ring back in an hour…’

Dave had heard my part of the conversation and as soon as I hung up, he asked: ‘How much…? I mean, how are they.’ Now isn’t that just a typical man? ‘How much?’ I could have strangled him.

I sat here and would have bitten my nails to the quick if I still bit them. Instead I half smoked myself to death instead! Then at ten to one, Chris and I got in the car, leaving Jade and Titch here at home, and set off to collect the girls. As we walked in, the receptionist said ‘The vets aren’t here at the minute, so there’s no one to sign the girls out. But you can come through and see them.’

We followed her into the kennel area and I opened Jazzie’s cage door and climbed in and sat with her. Chris did the same with Katie.

Katie was well awake and ready to leave. Jazz was still very dopy and hardly opened an eye to acknowledge I was there! After about a quarter of an hour, she slowly stood up and turned her back on me and lay down again, shutting her eyes. She was sulking… Her mummy had left here there and gone away! How evil is that? I could feel her saying.

We had plenty of time to chat to the trainee vet nurse and another young girl on work experience. Eventually the vets arrived back from their lunch. One of them gave first Kate, then Jazz a thorough examination, checking temperatures and signed them free to go home.

Chris carried Katie out and the vet nurse carried Jazz out for me. We popped them in the back of the car and drove home. Chris carried them into the house. Jazz in her usual place on the settee beside where I sit here on my laptop, and Kate in the chair he sits in.

Katie relaxing after her op.

Jazz, resting on the settee after her op.  

Next appointment is on Friday just to check all is well.

Dave bit his tongue and resisted asking me how much the bill came to. I think he thought it safest that way! So I told him. ‘That was cheaper than I expected.’ he said! It must have hurt him to say that! A fiver would have been too much normally!

Both Kate and Jazz have stayed put and are resting quietly.

The Saga of Titch…

Titch is fine now.

Last Friday, I put the dogs on Arden Grange complete food. I no longer use Pedigree complete since they changed the recipe as it’s full of rubbish now, in my opinion. I have tried two other complete foods but the dogs haven’t like them. I’ve had to add a spoonful of tinned dog food before they would eat it.

So I got Chicken and Rice Arden Grange, and they took to it instantly. No need to  add meat to it. But I didn’t change them over gradually this time. I was very low and in one day, they had a bit of both. Then Titch got the runs. I starved him… He’s the best one at eating that we have. I felt so sorry for him. He was better on Saturday, but got the runs again and on Sunday I found blood. I panicked!

I rang a fiend then managed to get through to the emergency vet… Why do these things always happen at the weekends when vet bills will be double? The vet suggested it might be Colitis, as I suspected, and that I could wait till the morning to see my own vet. Titch was showing no signs of being ill. He was out playing and chasing around with the others on and off during the day.

So Monday morning, Chris and I were down the vet with Titch. He’s all sorted now and is fine. It was Colitis… But it’s been a heavy week paying out for the dogs this week!

The Swimming Pool…

Pete was here when Chris and I got back from the vets this morning, working on re-vamping the pool. Chris got straight to work helping him.

Then Trevor arrived to do the garden. We had two holes that needed filling in where our friend’s dog had had great fun digging away last week. So it was all go here this morning.

I had got up early and taken all the relevant tablets to allow me to get dressed and get on the road and keep going… I just hope I don’t suffer with a swollen tummy later! Fingers crossed.

Peace and quiet at home now as Pete has left. The girls are lying quietly. Jazz hasn’t moved off the settee at all yet. Kate has move a couple of times. She’s far more alert and awake. But they are both fine.

Thanks for your kind thoughts and prayers… I know they helped.

Technorati Tags: Spaying bitches,Colitis,Arden Grange,vets

An Unexpected Visitor…

The last person I expected to see yesterday was my friend Angela (a vicar). She has one of my dogs from the last litter… Charlie, a red and white collie. She does Obedience and Flyball with him.

The first thing she said when she walked in was that my dogs had put weight on since her last visit a month ago! I hate over-weight dogs… You often don’t notice as you see your own dogs every day.  So, from today, they are all on a diet… Not just mummy dog Jade, who always seems to be a little fatter than I like… Though my vet says she’s fine! I’d rather have them on the lean side than on the fat side.

So new rules around here:

1. A lot less titbits please.
2. No left-over food to be given unless I add it to their normal meals and adjust the complete food accordingly!
3. No falling for soft brown eyes looking at you pleadingly to be fed.
4. No cheating when I’m not looking.
5. More exercise for the dogs.

For the last seven years, Angela has been living up the road running a different parish and has now got a job in Scotland. She moved up there at the end of last month. Her and all 10 of her dogs.

One of her dogs – Flite, a lovely bitch – was entered in Breed at Crufts, so she had come back for the show and has been sorting out the old vicarage. 

Flite picked up a third place at Crufts.

Here she is chewing on a bone in my house.

Angela had taken yesterday off to go to her friend Sarah’s to work her two young dogs on sheep. Then popped in to visit me on her way back to where she was staying. She’ll be travelling back up to Scotland next week.

This morning… I woke with a bad tummy (as so often happens these days), and took some tablets to bind me. We were expecting Pete to turn up after ten to fix a small leak we had on a join in a pipe leading up to the shower which he put in a while ago. I did not need to have to kick him out of the bathroom because I needed it!

I enjoy a visit from Pete as he was born and bred in Long Sutton and he knows about everything that is going on around the area. So we get all the latest gossip!

Apparently, there has been a spate of thefts from cars lately. Silly people leaving sat navs and laptops visible in their cars!  More than normal have been broken into. We have a very small police force in this area. I doubt anyone will get their articles returned.

Anyway, Pete fixed the leak and tightened a screw or two. Had a cup of tea, a couple of fags, then arranged when he could come and help get our swimming pool sorted for us.

I managed to dissuade Dave from having a Hot Tub and that re-vamping the swimming pool would be a better idea. Luckily, I won that discussion and we are now putting some heating in the pool. And we are re-lining it as there was a small hole we had to fix each year!  By the time we have done everything, it will have cost nearly as much as a hot tub would have cost!!!

One good thing is that Dearly Beloved did manage – eventually - to get his £500.00 deposit on the hot tub back. That really was pure luck. Normally, a deposit is non-refundable. I think my nagging and teasing was worse to bare than the wroth of the man who took Dave’s deposit! Poor man reluctantly returned the deposit as I think he was sick of Dave nagging him and threatening him with the Small Claims Court!

Pete is off for a short break. He has been very busy lately. Then, if we have everything we need, he’s coming back early next month to sort the pool out.

So I’ve sent dearly beloved on a mission: To get all the things we need to get the pool finished. He hasn’t got the liner or new skin yet. We already have the expensive heater and other odds and sods we need.

I’ve got an article I’ve been asked to write for a magazine, so I must get started.

Have a good weekend Folks… Stay safe.

An Old Friend Phoned…

Yesterday afternoon I got a very unexpected phone call from a young man I have known for a good number years. I have known him so long that since his mother went back to the West Indies to live in the 1980s, I have called him my adopted son.

Since we moved up to the Fens, I haven’t heard from him, though I did bump into him a Crufts a few years ago.

It all started when Robert arrived at Brixton Dog Training Club with his dog Caesar, a yellow Lab. Then he got Raven, a super black GSD (German Shepherd). We trained Obedience and eventually I persuaded Robert to enter  Open shows and compete. He got his first win under me. I remember it today…Raven did a lovely round.

Robert became interested in Instructing and started his own small club in 1986 in South London. He has a natural ability to put people at their ease and is able to help them get the best out of their dogs.

When the concept of Dog Wardens started, Robert applied to our local Lewisham Council and became their first dog warden in 1990. The stories he told me about the sad cases he came across would make me cry at times. I suggested he should write a book about his experiences. I wrote a few articles for dog magazines about his experiences. I got him judging Obedience at a few shows too, but he doesn’t judge now. He’s too busy.

Robert got interesting in behaviour training and went on every course he could to expand his knowledge and skills. I am very proud that he never stopped learning. Since those days he’s helped a great many people with their dogs.

I was not surprised to switch on my TV one day to watch a new programme called ‘Dog Borstall’ to find that Robert was one of the three trainers. I was so proud of him and later searched the Internet to try and find his email address to write and congratulate him.

Here he is with three GSDs. His name is Robert Alleyne.

Back to the phone call… I was really thrilled to hear his voice on the other end. He told me he never got that email I sent a few years ago. I really should have emailed again or put pen to paper and written or just phoned him. Mind you, I didn’t know if he’d moved? If I’d bothered to phone or write I’d have found out that he hadn’t!

We spent an hour and a half chatting about everything. I cried as he told me how he lost Caesar and Raven and I told him about the dogs he knew that I had lost since we last saw each other.

Robert has written a book now. Titled ‘The Trouble-Free Dog’. To quote from the blurb: Robert…. ‘teaches you how to communicate with your dog. Having acquired this skill, you will then be able to prevent worrying behavioral problems occurring or solve those your dog already has. However, as well as dealing with your pet's psychological needs, the book also covers all the physical aspects of caring for your dog: from maintaining him in good health to the legal responsibilities of being a dog owner. Also included are numerous informative and entertaining case histories which demonstrate the wide variety of problems that can actually occur.’

I haven’t read the book yet but Robert promises to bring a copy up for me when he visits us soon.

You can order the book from Robert Hale, the Publishers. £9.99

 

Technorati Tags: Robert Alleyne,Dog Borstall,The Trouble-Free Dog

My Hospital Appointment…

At last the day of my appointment to see the Consultant has arrived… The appointment was for 10.00am. Not a good time of day for me… Just a little too early without getting up extra early to make myself ‘safe’ to leave the house.

I must have started worrying about it on Friday. And as I’ve said before, stress can bring on a bad bout of visits to the bathroom! I sat watching Crufts live on my PC for most of the day, then in the afternoon all hell let lose, tummy wise. I had to dose myself up and then got such a swollen tummy, I just didn’t feel like eating much. I had had a small pie around midday, as usual then a bit of pasta late. Not enough to keep a mouse alive.

Bad Saturday & Sunday night… I went off to bed and managed to rest and fall asleep for a short while, then woke feeling very sick. So it was trips to the bathroom. Unfortunately, I wasn’t sick. I’d have felt a lot better if I had been! Got up on the Sunday morning and was sick! I felt a little better then, but was dreadfully tired as I hadn’t had much sleep during two nights.

On the PC watching Crufts for most of the two days. My son Danny was coming up on Saturday, but I put him off as I was just not feeling well. I rang him on Saturday morning after Chris, bless him, had done a great deal of extra housework!

Crufts…

I am so impressed with the coverage that the Kennel Club have given. I have managed to see far more of Crufts than if I’d been there all four days, as is usual. As you may know, the BBC pulled out of filming this year. In my opinion, that is the best thing that they could have done. We wouldn’t have had the continual coverage all four days, if they had been there. We’ve never had coverage online before.

The BBC used to get some celeb presenters, half of which didn’t know one end of a dog from another, and film five minutes of this and that. You ended up with four hours on four nights of just a taster of what was going on, interspersed with chit chat as the presenters made sure they had their faces on camera half the time. They were generally asking silly questions that were totally irrelevant and showed their ignorance of dogs.

During the ‘live’ coverage we have had people who knew what they were talking about commentating on the events.

I have paid my £9.99 to be able to watch Video On Demand where I can catch up on all that I didn’t see. I watched  the Main Arena Events ‘live’ for free.  All the Obedience Events were put up the following day to watch V.O.D. So watched some in the evenings.

Back to my problems…

Sunday night I went to bed early... Unfortunately, my tummy woke me unexpectedly at 3.00am. It was twenty past before I could get back into my bedroom to take some tablets to bind me. Then I awoke with a start at 5.30am and had to rush through to the bathroom again! Took a couple more tablets and lay down again. Dave woke me at just gone eight… I hadn’t fed the dogs! He made me a coffee – I fed the dogs – then ran a bath. Then I took a couple more tablets. Oh dear… I am going to suffer with a swollen tummy after all these tablets, but I dare not leave the house unless I feel safe.

We needed to leave by nine to give us time to park up at the hospital and find the right department. Dave went out and warmed up the engine. I let him drive. Big mistake… I’ve not let him drive me for months, and yet again, he’s forgotten how to use the indicators. I so annoys me! Men!!!

I got out at the hospital main entrance and left him to park up. He noticed that someone was about to leave a Disabled spot in front of the hospital, but failed to notice a woman waiting to go in the spot when the car had backed out. I was standing quite near at the main entrance finishing off my last ciggie, so I saw it all.

Dave pulled up behind the car that was about to reverse out which meant the woman waiting was beside him… but she was sort of parked very near the left curb. She didn’t have her indicator on to indicate she wanted to turn into the parking spot when the car came out. So I don’t blame Dave for not noticing her at first. But she then pulled out into the road… Two more cars came up and had to stop behind Dave as there was no longer room for them to drive through. Silly woman!

I saw the reversing lights go on on our car… Luckily, the car behind noticed and also began to reverse slowly as the end car driver woke up and also began to move! Dave had to reverse up a bit to let the car out of the spot!

Then he drove straight in, leaving the poor woman to swear at him from her driving seat! I did feel a bit sorry for her as she had been there first, but you’d never have realised she wanted the parking spot from her position on the road. She had been where people stop to let passengers out of cars.

We went into the Foyer… I asked where my department was. I was told it was at the other end of the hospital. Luckily, we had left plenty of time. Off we set… Dave stopping a couple of times to get his breath back and once for a sit down. Got to the right place to be told I should go back near the main entrance. Here we go…!

We did manage to get back the whole way we had just walked and I booked in. My doctor was running late! What’s new???

Found a couple of seats together. The place was packed out. I got chatting to a lovely lady in her 40s with similar problems to mine. She was with her mother. I did feel for her being so young, with similar problems to me. You sort of expect things to start deteriorating with your body as you get older. I was fit as a fiddle in my 40s, working and training my dogs and walking them for miles. Then competing or judging each weekend and driving all over the UK to where the shows were.

I got a warm welcome from the doctor when it was eventually my time. I was called in an hour and ten minutes late! He actually apologized for the delay and for having to give me such an early morning appointment. He said he’d been worried about me. I’d like to believe he had given me a second thought… but I doubt it with the number of patients he has!

He has recommended that I see a surgeon for keyhole surgery. To put a camera down my throat to see if there is any way to take care of this blockage/constriction. I told him I hadn’t eaten anything other than a couple of small pies over two days. I told him I hadn’t had much sleep either… I don’t think I left anything out. He really did seem to remember what I’d told him the last time I’d seen him… OK. He’d read up on my notes! But it is nice to feel that the doctor does know quite a bit about you.

So fingers crossed I don’t have to wait too long to see a surgeon. I was told it should be in the next 3 or 4 weeks. I do hope so. I really am a little worried about my weight. I am nearly 6 stone. Far too slim for me… I look like a stick woman. Stand sideways and I can hide behind a broom handle!

I promised to let friends know how things went with my appointment. Now I am going back to finish watching the fantastic videos the Kennel Club have done of Crufts. Who knows, may be next year I’ll be able to go again?

Crufts Starts Tomorrow…

Once again, I am unable to go to Crufts this year. This is due to my health. The last time I went, a couple of years ago, wasn’t much fun. I left home on the Wednesday as usual, to book into the hotel. Then nipped over to the NEC to help DTW (Dog Training Weekly), set up their Stand.

I also tended to do my main ‘dog’ shopping on Wednesday too. Keith and Hazel run Petneeds, and have a large stand where you can buy everything you might need, especially if you work a dog. Through the year they go to most Obedience Shows with a stand. They have supported us for years and I’ve known them since they first started. I don’t get to the shows now, so the time I see them is at Crufts. However, you can order stuff from them through their web site now. Thank goodness.

My last visit wasn’t pleasant for me. Each morning I had a very bad tummy and had to spend a considerable time in the bathroom of the hotel I was staying in. This meant I arrived at the NEC very much later each day than I would normally. So I missed the Parade and all the early rounds.

I don’t know why I was so bad, but I know that stress can bring on a bad bout. I wasn’t stressed… or was I? I love every minute of Crufts. I get to meet up with people I’ve known for years. I love watching the Obedience Championships, the Team Events and the World Cup. I take photos and make notes on the rounds and use these for an article for the magazine. I often get to meet some of the Celebs that attend.

One year I had a long chat with Rolf Harris and met his wife. He really is a lovely man. Dearly Beloved used to take photos for me and he took  several of Rolf… I must dig them out sometime!

I always met Wendy Richard on a stand too. I was very sorry to hear that she died on the 26th February.

I met Katie Boyle and one year Sir John Mills and his wife were there.

That was funny. Obviously, there were a considerable number of journalists surrounding him. You couldn’t get near him. So, with my little camera hanging around my neck and little tape recorder in my hand, I bent down and crawled on my hands and knees between the legs of everyone. I ended up right in front of them both and held out my mic and asked him a question. He took my mic and spoke into it, answering all other questions leaving my hands free to take photos. I was so proud to have met him and his wife. Can’t remember the year now with out digging out loads of papers and photos!

There have been many other interesting people I have met and interviews at Crufts. There is something special about Celebs who support Crufts as they can do a lot of good for dogs in general.

This Year at Crufts…

As I said, I can’t go… I just dare not risk it. I began writing this and suddenly had to stop to rush to the bathroom. Just knowing I’m going to miss it all again, is depressing for me.

But I will try and give you all the URL links that might interest you. First of all, if you would like to see a small write up and photo of each of the dogs competing in the Obedience Championships, click here…

Scroll down that page for a list of the Inter Regional Judge and the teams and the World Cup teams. I will also put a link up to the results at the end of each day.

As you may know, the BBC will not be filming at Crufts this year. But I understand that the Crufts Web Site will have a link to what is happening on YouTube. I suspect this will be mostly Breed Classes. We may have to pay something to watch any Obedience. I’ll let you know when I find out for sure.

Warning….

Animal Rights and PETA are planning to disrupt Crufts in various ways. I have also heard that they are now planning to approach cars with dogs in on there way to the NEC. Please be aware of this. They plan to let dogs out of the cars to free them. They say a dog run over is better off dead than being shown.

So if you are going to Crufts with your dog (or dogs), please keep a keen eye on them at all times. Don’t leave them on the benches alone at any time. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

Good Luck if you are competing.

Technorati Tags: Crufts,The Kennel Club,ObedienceUK,Obedience Championships,Team Events,World Cup,Sir John Mills,Katie Boyle,Wendy Richard,Rolf Harris,Dogs

Back To a Restore Point…

The other day I downloaded a Mahjong game to trial. It is the only game I have downloaded to try out on this laptop but I noticed the next day that Internet pages were taking a little longer to load up. I didn’t give it much thought… may be the ‘net was busy?

After a couple of days and after the trial period had expired, pages were still a little slower than normal… So I went to Control Panel and deleted/uninstalled from the programme.

Afterwards I noticed that an icon was still on my desktop so I just deleted it. But I wondered why it had remained after deleting properly? I know these things happen and that programmes often leave ‘things’ even when you think you’ve removed the original programme.

Now… a couple of days on, I see that pages are still slower to load than normal so I thought I’d go back to a restore point. It was Dearly Beloved’s suggestion. I would normally ignore any suggestion he made as regards a PC due to the dreadful mishaps he manages to make on his PC. But I thought he had a good point and it was worth giving it a try.

It’s not easy finding anything on Vista… It’s easy once you can find what you want… Finding it is the problem…Anyway, I got there. And I managed to go back further than just 5 days, which is what was displaying. I went back to the beginning of the month.

So for the next hour, I sat here waiting. Waiting for the restore point and re-booting. Then updating Windows Live… another long wait. Then I thought I had better check for Windows updates as I’d had several over the last month. Another length of time waiting for the updates and once again, re-booting.

Fingers crossed that things are back to normal now… I am not sure yet as I stopped to write this!

Any advice will be gratefully received…

Technorati Tags: Internet running slow,downloading updates

Trimming The Dog’s Nails…

Stood, sat sitting here on the settee with Jade lying beside me upside down having a kip and her tummy tickled, I realised it was about time I cut her nails! In fact, the other three needed their nails done too. I don’t mind doing it, but Jade hates having it done and there is generally a bit of a struggle.

Luckily, my grooming box was beside the settee, so I reached over and got the clippers out, being careful not to disturb Jade too much. If she woke and saw them in my hand, she’d have jumped off the settee and gone and hidden under my bed or somewhere equally in accessible.

I quietly unclipped the bit that holds the clippers shut and got a firm grip on the handles. Jade is a dog that doesn’t really like her paws stroked, but she was quite relaxed and let me gently hold one. I managed to get the fur out of the way on one of the middle toes on a front leg and clipped! She hardly noticed what I was doing.

She cottoned on after the next nail, but didn’t rush off. I got the two middle nails clipped on both her front feet. Then she made her escape. I was so pleased that she had remained so calm I gave her a titbit. I thought I’d leave the other nails till I had someone to help hold her with me.

Next to get on the settee was Jazz. I had left the clippers out and handy to reach. Jazz stretched out and exposed her tummy to be tickled… and I made my move. She never blinked an eye and I got all her nails done quickly between cuddles.

Katie was next. She lay on her back and I did both her back feet nails… Then one on the front when she’d had enough. Chris came in to help hold her and cuddle her and I got the rest done easily.

Titch was next. He’s a big strong boy but such a baby. He buried his head in my lap which made it awkward to get to his nails… Chris came to the rescue and held him. I got them all done. His nails only needed tipping. They weren’t too bad at all.

Titbits all round. It was getting late so I thought I’d finish Jade off today sometime. I don’t know why she hates it so much. I’ve never cut too far and had her bleed. She just hates it.

I’m a firm believer that if you teach a puppy to accept you handling their feet and tipping the ends of their nails, it makes life a lot less stressful when you need to trim the hair from between the toes and around the pads and clip the nails when they are older. Collies need their feet trimmed. Short haired dogs don’t necessarily.

I’ve had Jade since a 6 weeks old pup… Titch, Jazz and Katie, I bred, so have tipped their nails and trimmed the fur from when they were babies. Katie went to a new owner but she was here at lot when the man was working. So she’s no trouble really either.

Why Titch should make such a fuss, I don’t know? He is such a big softy. If you say ‘Show me!’, and go to check his ear or his teeth or a paw. He will keep perfectly still till you release him. But pick up the nail clippers and it’s a different story. He behaved a little like an ostrich… trying to bury its head in the sand. Under your arm in Titch’s case!

Technorati Tags: dogs,nail trimming

Wrong Date Again…!

Last night I went to town clearing the kitchen. Emptying the dish washer and filling it up and  putting it on. Then I sorted some things out and wiped all the surfaces leaving the place looking great.

Chris vacuumed the carpet in the sitting room last thing so it would be free of dog hairs in the morning.

We were expecting a new nurse to arrive to meet Dave at 11am. Apparently she is a heart specialist or something. She keeps an eye on people with heart problems in and around our area. As she hadn’t met Dave, she wanted to introduce her self. Hence my panic to get the house sorted and looking reasonable clean.

This morning, I really wanted to turn over in bed and go back to sleep. But I got up as usual and fed the dogs. Why does one feel extra tired when you know you have to get up?

I got dressed and sorted the couple of things kindly left on the side in the kitchen. No one else realises that we have a sink with a bowl in it and constant hot water and washing up liquid. So it’s not hard to wash just one bowl… or is it? Seems in this house that since having a dish washer, no one knows how to wash up by hand any more!

So I cleared the sink and picked up a duster to go over the surfaces in the sitting room. Then turned a chair a bit for the nurse to sit in. The chair was facing the TV and if she was going to sit in it, she needed to be facing the room and us.

Then I made a coffee for me and Chris and a tea for Dave and sat down and booted up my laptop.

I read the emails and Janice had sent a joke that I transferred over to my Spaces Blog. Then went to put it on my Blogger site. Nothing appeared on the page? It looked like all my blogs had been wiped away except for the right hand side bar. Most odd?

Dave was sitting in his chair and had commented that the nurse was 10 minutes late…

The phone rang. Must be the nurse asking how to get to us. I answered… I have won a cruise around the Caribbean.  How lucky am I? But I didn’t have time to speak to the caller so I put the phone down.

“Ahum…” grunted Dave reading a letter. “The nurse is due next Wednesday… Not today!”

I took a deep breath and locked my mouth shut and sat on my hands to prevent myself strangling him.

Looking on the bright side (if there is one), I am sitting in a room free of dog hairs… This won’t last long!

Back to publishing my Blogger blog. I was at a loss as to what had happened and the thought went through my mind that someone had hacked into it and erased all my blogs.

The other odd thing about today was that when I logged on and tried to download my emails I was asked to sign in. Normally, Windows Mail just downloads instantly.

I had also been asked to sign into Messenger. Normally that logs on as soon as I boot up.

When I went to switch off last night, I had a Windows up-date so let it do it before closing the lid of the laptop. I thought may be that had something to do with everything this morning… All this signing in.

Do you remember all the passwords you use for different programmes? I sure as ‘ell don’t! Years ago, I always used the same password but was soon advised that it was not a good idea! So I’ve stopped doing that… Which means I can never remember what password I have used for which programme!

Anyway… I digress! Back to publishing the post. I write my blogs on Windows Live Writer… have done for ages. Then publish, one after the other, to my two blogs.

Back to being asked for my password again on Blogger. I had got my saved page up from my Favourites this time and tried signing in… That worked and up came what they call the ‘Dashboard’. So I tried posting again. No luck!

I closed everything and started again… Was asked for my password… again… and popped in the first one I had tried… and hey presto! It worked. I must have typed it wrong the first time. Silly me! I published and all was well this time.

Now what else can go wrong today?

Snow Again…

Is this not typical of this country? The writing at the top of the picture says:

Dear Boss,

I can’t come into work today. When I woke up this morning there was 20 inches of snow outside my back door. I took the photo to prove it to you.

Hopefully I will be in tomorrow after the snow has melted.

Last night we had an inch of snow fall in large flakes. It was so beautiful. The dogs had a great time playing and rolling around in it. They all came in white where the snow had settled on their backs. But at least they weren’t muddy! Just wet.

Last weeks snow… Friday morning is the day the rubbish is collected. Well… it’s the day it is generally collected. Not last week. I wonder why? I mentioned that we had had some snow, but not that much that a vehicle couldn’t get down our lane. We had no trouble driving up or down it. Nor did the lorries from the lorry park down the other end.

But obviously, our rubbish disposal truck found it just too much!

We had more snow last night. Not a lot, but about an inch. It is melting fast this morning as the sun is out. Hubby went down to the surgery earlier for his bloods to be taken… and our dustbins are still not emptied! And it’s a week later. Obviously too dangerous for the drivers in the snow again? OMG… I give up.

Yesterday we had a nice surprise… A week ago we ordered some more oil. I can’t be without my central heating and the tank was getting a bit low. Dearly beloved phoned around and settled on a firm called ‘WCF Fuels – Eastern’.

For 2000 kerosene it was going to be £700.00 odd. It isn’t cheap now. The day before delivery Dave got an email from the firm. As they had four other customers to deliver to in the surrounding area, they were deducting £100.00 off the bill.

What a pleasant surprise, especially in this day and age with our economic climate where other firms are going out of business. If you live in their area, I suggest you give them a try if you need more oil. The snow didn’t stop them coming to us!

Think I’ll have to hook up the trailer and take our rubbish up to the council tip myself! I’ve got more stuff that can go up at the same time… I’ve been meaning to take it.

Smash & Grab… The other evening Dave did something he doesn’t often do. He actually got up off his backside and took his plate out to the kitchen when he’d finished eating!

Then there was an almighty smash as he went to save it from falling on the kitchen stone tiled floor. He missed! There were only about three large pieces. The rest was tiny little shards that had managed to spread over the entire kitchen floor. I got up to look… I couldn’t believe how it had scattered.

I rushed for the hoover as Dave stood there in his socks, mouth agape! Wish I’d taken a photo… Couldn’t as the battery is flat – remember?

The biggest problem was keeping the dogs off the area and Dave who was by now walking around picking up small shards of china on the bottom of his socks. Men!!!

After I’d yelled at him a few times to get out of the way… I did manage to clear it all up with no cut paws (most important), or cut feet, in Dave’s case.

Battery Charger… We had to order a charger for the camera… I never did find the old one. Don’t think we actually had one. Something similar, but this camera’s battery didn’t fit in it. It arrived yesterday so I can now take some photos. A bit late to take the dogs in the snow now as most of it has melted already!

Snow, Wet & Slushy…

Woke up yesterday to a beautiful white clean looking garden with snow everywhere. It always looks so lovely before there are foot prints over it.

The dogs popped out for their first widdle of the day except little Jazz. She stood on the kitchen step – turned to look at me – as if ask 'who painted the patio white?’ A little encouragement, and she stepped into the snow. She has seen it before but only about once, I think.

I went in to get their breakfast ready for when I called them in. Then I stood looking out of the window. All four dogs were having so much fun chasing eachother around the place. When I opened the back door, they all bounced in for their food.

Later in the day when they were taken out, it was a pleasure to bring in dogs with just wet feet and not muddy from top to tail…

This morning, I trimmed up all the fur between their toes. They hate getting balls of snow on their feet. It can make it hard to walk. I put my warmest coat on, a pair of gloves, put the camera in my pocket and set off for a walk with two of them. Jade and Jazz.

Chris has taken Titch and Katie off in his car. He’d gone shopping. He’ll run them when he gets back, or will stop somewhere before he brings them home.

The two girls and I got going. My lane outside the bungalow is really wet and muddy looking though the ground is quite solid under foot. But there had been several lorries and a tractor of two up and down so it looked dirty.

I turned into the fields to walk up by our local Gun Club. No one was out shooting. The girls were sniffing around and running here, there and everywhere. Thoroughly enjoying themselves. I took the camera out of my pocket and put it on… The screen went black? ‘Oh no!’ I had let the battery go flat. So no pics of the dogs playing I am afraid.

Here is a video of a friend of mine taking her collies for a walk last Tuesday. Wendy has a lovely place not too far away from me. About an hour away. She runs regular training days and helps raise money for our ObedienceUK Fund. The field the dogs start off running in is hers… then through the gate at the end and she’s in the woods.

I hope you enjoy the video.

Birthday Girls…

Today is the birthday of my Jazz & Katie and the rest of the litter. They are 5 today… Goodness how time flies! It seems like only last week that Jade produced 6 beautiful puppies. 4 boys and two girls.

Jade had an easy pregnancy but for the first time, I had her scanned to see how many puppies she might be having. I was told there were at least 7 and possibly 8 in there! So after the 6th pup was born with no sign of another coming, I gave her a little run around the garden, hopefully, to get her started again.

Nothing happened as she settled down to feed the babies. I rang my vet asking him if he could pop out and check her for me. It’s better to be safe than sorry.

He arrived shortly afterwards and told me there weren’t any more puppies waiting to be born. I knew this really but had worried unnecessarily because of the scan.

This was the third Border Collie litter I had bred. Previously, I had bred several German Shepherd litters, so I did have experience. I would never waste the money again for a scan as it cost me, not only the cost of the scan, but the cost of calling my vet out too. If I remember rightly, it was the weekend when prices are always higher!

They were a lovely litter, as the first litter had been. I always enjoy rearing puppies. I never leave them. Jade gave birth in the whelping box erected in what we call the PC room. I used our put-you-up bed beside the box. If I had gone and slept in my bedroom, Jade would have followed me in there when I went to bed! It’s her normal sleeping place.

All went well as I was able to sit at my desktop and get on the internet and keep a close eye on things.

Once I start feeding, Jade looks at me and says: ‘You can look after them now!’ She was so good though. I’d feed them and get them drinking goats milk, but Jade would give them an extra feed when I asked her to. She also tried to do all the cleaning up!

By the time they were eating solid food, I was able to start playing with them. I always keep lots of assorted toys around, all with different textures, for them to get used to. It wasn’t long before I was able to play gentle tuggies with them. They all learnt their names and would come when called.

By this time, I had transferred them into the conservatory which had a wooden floor and two doors that opened out to the patio. The weather was quite mild so they began to use outside to do their business.

I also took them out in the car twice, down to our friends house. They had close relatives to my dogs. Also, as they didn’t run their dogs on common land, on the second visit the pups were allowed out into their garden to explore.

The reason I take my puppies out in my car is to get them used to travelling to help when they go off to their new homes. I also had to visit the Animal Health Trust near Newmarket to have their eyes and hearing tested at 6 weeks, before they left home.

As it turned out, we had a long day down at the AHT, so I was glad they were happy in the car. It seemed that everyone in the area had a litter to be screened!

Eventually, most left home between 7 and 8 weeks. They were all going to experienced BC handlers, so I was happy. But it didn’t stop me crying my eyes out as they left home!

I kept Jazz from the litter, so I still had one, which helped. Our friends had Katie. They lived a half an hours journey away and they visited us a couple of times a week, or we drove down to them.

Charlie, the red and white boy, had picked his owner… Angela. We call her the Vicar of Dibley as she is a vicar and doesn’t live far away.

Having said that, as I write this, she is about to move up to Scotland to do her vicaring in a new parish up there. So I won’t see Charlie much when she leaves at the end of this month. Charlie has found his one love… He does Flyball and loves it.

One of the other puppies was Whizz – Whizzie Wizard – who went to a working home. I am very proud of Whizz. He won his way through all the Obedience classes right through to Class C and has now won that class and has a qualifier. One more and he can work Championship C, the very top class. A win in Champ C means he can go to Crufts and compete in the Championships. I am very proud of Whizz and his lovely owner.

My friend’s wife died three years ago, which is why I have Katie back home with me. She was her baby. Katie is here to stay now. I love her so much. She’s settled in as if she had never left home in the first place. But then, she was here most weeks anyway!

I haven’t seen the other two boys… Pity really. I would to. But they live a long way away.  

Happy Birthday to all my babies… I love you and miss you all.

Snow Everywhere …

It tried to snow yesterday without a lot of success… Just small flakes drifting slowly down. This morning we are covered. It’s no more than a covering but down south here in the UK, they are in real trouble. This country comes to a virtual stand-still when we get a little snow. No London buses or Underground trains are running except one that doesn’t go overland at all.

Other countries seem to carry on almost as normal when they get snow… Not the UK. We grind to a halt! How are you coping where you are?

My dogs love the snow, so I’ll take them out shortly after I’ve posted this.

A Lovely Surprise...

After having a good moan in the post below, I popped over to see if anything had happened on my Windows Live Spaces blog. Surprise, surprise...

My oldest friend Sylvia had left a note in my Guest book, saying she had lost my email address. Annoyingly, I don't have her email here on my laptop. It's on my desktop which really needs sorting out and putting back to factory settings. It takes so long to boot up or do anything on it!

I have known Sylvia since the early 1960s. My first husband was a musician and so was hers. He played in in my husband's band. I had my first son Danny, then she had her daughter Louis. I then had my second and last son Christopher.

Life wasn't always very good for me during those times and Sylvia was always there to help pick up the pieces and give me and the boys a bed when I needed one.

A few years later I left and moved up to East Anglia... Shortly afterwards, Sylvia and Louis followed. Then she got married again and ended up living in Barbados. We lost contact till last year when she found me on Spaces.

I do hope she finds me here and leaves a comment below to say so.

Not a Good Morning For Me...

My tummy problems woke me at 5.20am this morning... I was not a happy bunny! Not the time of day I want to be sitting in the bathroom with no time to pop back into my bedroom to take some tablets to bind me! Eventually, about a quarter of an hour later, I managed it.

Sat on the edge of my bed not daring to walk around for fear of an unexpected accident... I find it's easier to sit still staying close to the bathroom when I'm like this. Eventually the pills worked... Well, I hoped they had bound me.

So around 6.00am I made cup of coffee... then went back and sat down. Jade jumped up beside me on the bed to get a cuddle. Bless her... She is always beside me when I'm feeling a little down. She also likes to curl up in a corner in the bathroom when I'm in there! She's always by my feet as she is now while I'm typing this. It wasn't long before I had to take some more tablets... It appears I have to take more to bind me now than I used to. It is all getting so much worse than it used to be. I can't wait for my appointment to come to see the doctor at the hospital.

At 7.00 I did the dogs their breakfast and let them out. Then came on here... Sorry to have a moan. I get like that occasionally... especially if I've had a few days of feeling rough!

The Last Few Days...

I think I am coming to grips with this new place. Have managed to get my photo up with my dogs and the list of blogs I like to keep up with.

Like a good many other people, I was surprised and shocked at the changes Windows Live Spaces had made last week with no warning. I don't think I've read a comment from anyone who likes the new way of doing things. It has become more like Facebook, which isn't for me. I just want a place to blog as a diary of what's happening around me. Somewhere to put up the odd bit of News on Dogs and some humour or jokes. So I've landed here!

Dearly Beloved...
He's had some worrying troubles. For any new readers, he's got heart problems. He's had a quadruple by-pass, one kidney removed and has Diabetes (insulin dependant)... He's also well over weight.

The other day he had a TIA (mini stroke). He was sitting in his chair in a cold sweat, staring into space and just didn't look or react to anything as he would normally. He also appeared to be a little dodgy in his balance. We rang our doctor and I was asked to bring him straight down to the surgery.

After a full and thorough examination they concluded that he had had a TIA.

It's funny, but I am able to keep body and soul together when Dave's not well or there is an emergancy I need to deal with. I've always been like that.

However, yesterday evening (Monday), I payed for it! I have tummy problems* as friends will already know... and all hell let lose! I spent most of the evening in the bathroom. I managed to watch three quarters of 'Catastrophe' on Channel 4 with Tony Robinson commentating. It was interesting and the only thing worth watching last night IMO!

I seem to be fine today... fingers crossed!

I've been visiting friends blogs and playing around on here. I've managed to find a photo of me and my dogs to use on here.

I'm on my Laptop and don't have many photos saved on here yet... But will put some up soon.

I have now put a link on my Spaces blog to here. I do hope my friends find me?

* Diveticulitus with some complications.