Saturday 29 July 2017

Project 365 week 30

Been a hard going week on the dog front. We thought we had a new dog to give our love to but at the moment it is not to be. Decided to give dog hunting a break until we are both in a better frame of mind. So been quite a stressful week but hoping next week will be a bit more relaxed.

Sunday

The pile of crochet squares is starting to grow.





Monday

Hubby decided to get round to replacing the weed suppressant down the side of the garden. Lilly use to spend hours tearing up and down the side fence playing with next doors dog (who most of the time ignored her and just stood still) and so hopefully the next dog will be trained to stay off this patch but I doubt it.




Tuesday

Finished off the quilt I shared last week. All the edges are now cut and the quilt is washed so some of the fraying has started, will take a few washes for it to come to its finest. This one has the five patterns across each row of six with the edge ones being identical. These quilts will make Christmas presents for Spud and Ziggy.




Wednesday

A very nice prize turned up out of the blue this morning. A load of cake decorating pens and gels and glitters. A very nice home has been found for them.

Finished off the second quilt this morning and have started cutting out the second one, a very similar theme just different patterns on the material.

Bob came for a few hours as he did not want to go shopping with the rest of the family. We played uno roboto but the same game dragged on for the best part of an hour before we gave up and started another game, nobody was getting out. Bob did not want his picture taken for the blog.





Thursday

Been years since I have had an ice cream float drink but time we got back from shopping the ice cream was nicely soft scoop so I made myself one.




Friday

Plenty of stress relieving sewing going on this week. Second quilt now finished. This one is still six squares wide but this time I used six different patterns, last time I used only five, both very nice but think the five looks better as you get more repeats of patterns. the edging is not done yet on this one.




Saturday

I finally got my ophthalmology appointment. Oh boy what a pain that was. My appointment was for 5 to 3, I got called in at 10 to 5, and got out at quarter past.Did take my kindle with me and listened to my audio books and my crocheting and managed to get two squares finished.  I have Ocular Rosacea, Rosacea, blepharitis, and dry eyes. So have got a prescription for tablets to take one a day for three months, and two different eye drops, one to use four times a day for a month and the other to use twice a day for a month. Another appointment in two months.

I asked for a complaint form on the way out, a two hour wait is ridiculous. They either need less patients or more doctors on.





Saturday 22 July 2017

Project 365 week 29

Been a busy old week between one thing and another and apart from popping my head in the door a couple of times I have not seen the grandchildren. Hopefully get chance to rectify that next week.
We have spent time this week looking into finding another little dog to receive the love we were giving to Lilly Plenty of love, time and new experiences to give to another one. Enquired about a few but not suitable for one reason or another.

Sunday

Another applique cushion that was commissioned a while ago ready for uplift on Saturday.Really pleased that I have made the sponsored total for charity that I signed up for. A lot less than many of the others have raised but I am happy with my total of £104. Still got a few on commission for later in the year so will be a bit more to add to it. Every penny helps children in need in my area. You can see my progress here.

Storm the husky all ready for the owner. 






Monday

Fell asleep for two hours this afternoon so amused myself till late on by cutting out and piling up. Making what they call a scrap quilt so cut the fronts, backs and wadding, laid them out and matched and numbered them all ready for sewing.

cut out and organised 





Tuesday

We had been down visiting an Aunt and decided we would pop into Prestwick for a nose round the charity shops and a spot of lunch. But we got snarled up in masses of barely moving traffic. So we decided after only moving approx 400 yds in half an hour to cut up the first side street we could and we stayed in Ayr instead. Ayr actually made the news this evening as the various sets of roadworks scattered around the town centre coupled with it being a very very hot day and half the country heading to the beach the town actually ground to a halt with people stuck for hours.
We went to Spoons for lunch and the burger hubby got was not the one we had ordered but had all sorts of added extras, but he ate it anyway. Then he played with his food.

a burger face at Wetherspoon







Wednesday

Away on a two day training course. Found it interesting and worthwhile. A great learning curve.  Just need the opportunity now to practise what I learnt. An enjoyable few days with some good company. A few other courses in the book that appeal as well.


part of the course work 



Thursday

Back on the training course. Spent my time on the train watching a movie on my kindle both days and doing some crocheting, another four eight inch squares completed.

Went for a walk round the fishery after tea. Spotted some nice clovers, and whilst photographing them I spotted a vole. Whilst I was hunting in the grass to try and get a photo ( he got away) I spotted dozens of tiny tiny frogs.

tiny frog on hubby's hand, not much bigger than you thumb nail 




Friday

Managed to fit in some evening and early morning sewing. Got six rows done so far.

the scrap quilt starts to take effect





Saturday

Yeehhh a win..... not a big win but a win none the less. Designed for decorating cakes, but I am sure they would also make stencils to draw round for using in my applique.

some birds from kit box 




Saturday 15 July 2017

Project 365 week 28

Been a week of getting my head round last week. Not saying things are great but my mind is in a better place than it was. Have accepted we did what was for the best and the initial grief is easing, but still miss her. Spent the weekend and the early part of the week mindlessly crocheting squares. Not a lot of wastage if things went wrong and easy to bin, and took much less concentration than applique or sewing.

Sunday
We had bought a few picture frames in B&M with the voucher I won, so we printed off two pictures to go into them. They are actually silver but did not come out well.





Monday

Brought in the first of the home grown strawberries.




Tuesday

Got a phone call this morning to say Lilly was ready to be picked up. So she is home, up on the bookcase half way up the stairs next to Shorty, her predecessor.






Wednesday

Yesterday was SIL1's birthday. So as they had a voucher for a local eatery from Christmas they had not used I volunteered to watch the children while they went for a meal. We went to the park for over an hour and a half and then went back to read some books.
Amazing just how much the twins have grown up in the last six months. They went off and played with a nursery pal and had a lot of fun. Quite difficult to watch the three of them and handy that the twins were happy to play with a friend which made it easier to push Spud in a swing and run around after her, she never stopped.

Here they were collecting sticks and making a pile of them.







Thursday

DD1 phoned to say she was feeling crap and had not slept much over night. So she phoned to see if I would watch them so she could go back to bed. So we went to the library and the park. The twins are currently coming out of nappies so we came back cos Dinky had an accident. So after a clean up we went and played in the garden for a while.

We had been given a voucher for a meal that somebody could not use so we had a meal out. The meal was very very nice, the staff were brilliant and the surroundings very pleasant.









Friday

Made a lovely mixed fruit crumble for tea time. Served it up with some very very delicious dairy free ice cream. It is anything but soft scoop so takes a good ten or fifteen minutes to be able to spoon it out of the tub.








Saturday

I also bought these when I was in B&M. We do not have a lot of smaller mugs, I drink mine from a large cup but some of our visitors don't like them. I liked these two.






Saturday 8 July 2017

Project 365 week 27.

I thought long and hard before writing this weeks post. But then I thought this is what my blog is about, me, my life and my week, and this has been that week.
Hope you have all brought your tissues with you cos you are going to need them. It has been the most awful week going and I just wish it had not happened but it has.

Sunday.

Lillys cough is back. Not as bad as it was before but it is back. She is struggling and unable to get up on the furniture. Needing a hand to get on the couch and in and out the door to the garden.

Finished a quilt for a friends little girls first birthday.




Monday
Poor Lilly is shuddering and shaking with every intake of breath. her whole body from head to toe. I know when she is not feeling well she is like a toddler - wants her mummy.....
Been trying to get hold of the vet school in Glasgow to arrange her appointment for next week. Emailed them today with the latest update as I really need to speak to somebody. They phoned me back and spoke to me have arranged for us to take her in on Wednesday for an update and more blood tests with a view to being done on Thursday. Their machine is fully booked for Tuesday and down for maintenance on Wednesday so first they can fit  us in.
Took her along to our vet tonight to get something to help her with her breathing until she can be seen.





Tuesday

Hubby had a hospital appointment this morning, and as it involved eye drops he could not drive himself home, so Lilly and I went and stayed in the car. Did not want to leave her home alone under the circumstances.  Looking at photos like this in comparison to ones we took say a month ago makes me realise how much she has aged in a very short space of time.




Wednesday

Took her to Glasgow, her breathing is very noisy, her respiratory  rate is high and her temperature is up as well. She has been on antibiotics for three weeks so should not be any infection. She has no energy to stand poor wee thing and just flops on to the floor or up next to one of us. They wanted to keep her in overnight so she was there for the morning but we insisted on taking her home. Did not like the idea of her being stuck in a cage overnight totally miserable in pains and shivering, she deserved better than that. Especially as we expected it may well be her last night on earth. We stopped at the supermarket and bought some liver for her hoping she would eat and a breakfast pack for our tea. She enjoyed some fried liver and a bit of black pudding and haggis not really healthy but not doing much harm at this stage.




Thursday

We left here just after 6am to avoid the traffic and make sure we were there for 8am. Actually got there for about 7.30 but had we left half an hour later would have hit much more traffic. We had signed all the forms yesterday so just a few details to go through.
Our plan had been to hang around Glasgow, have a breakfast and do some shopping but we could not focus on anything but her and so headed back to sit in the car park at the vet school.
Her procedure was booked for 11am and they phoned us before quarter past to say the cancer must have been aggressive it had spread massively and she maybe had a day or two left to live. It was in her lymph nodes as well as much bigger in both lungs. They offered us the choice to take her home and spoil her for a day before taking her to our own vet.
One very hard decision had to be made. I knew if I took her home I would not be able to spoil her. How could I? she was not really interested in eating? could barely walk or stand? the wag was about gone from her tail and the shine had gone from her eyes. She would not have survived until her appointment next week, but at least by her scan being redone we saw the damage and the spread.
She would pick up on our stress and I am not sure I would have had the strength to take her the next day to our own vet. So we sat and cried and pondered and discussed like we never have before and decided not to bring her home, to put her to sleep where she was and to leave her with them for cremation.  We knew we were doing the right thing by her by putting her to sleep. We will bring her home once she is cremated.
To say it was horrible is a massive understatement. I owed it to her to be there, to cuddle her to the end, to talk to her and give her a kiss. I stayed with her for about ten minutes after she went.
How I drove back from Glasgow I don't know but we got home safely.
It is hard enough when they are old. but she still technically should of had half her life ahead of her still. I am glad we had the pet insurance and could give her the best, though the best was never going to be any good.





Friday

No waggy tail or licks this morning, no dog on the stairs to greet me when I came in. This empty house lark is no fun.



DD2, SIL and Ziggy were down for an overnight stay before heading up to his mum and dads. His dad is not keeping well and sadly it is only a matter of time.


Saturday,

Ziggy was having fun playing with a bag of bricks that next door had handed in, she does not have any of these at home so has taken them away with her.
The postman came to the door with a parcel but there was no little dog to woof when he knocked. This is going to take a lot of getting use to.
Yes the dog bed is still in the corner.






Saturday 1 July 2017

Project 365 week 26

Well this is it, half way through the year already. Have had DD2 down with Ziggy for the week as time she goes on holiday it will be time for her to go back to work so last week she will get a chance for a while.


Sunday

No overtime today so had some time to spend with Ziggy. Every bird is a quack, so here she is watching the quacks. Did get some lovely video as well.




Monday

Granddad was amusing Ziggy with nursery rhymes and songs on the tablet.




Tuesday

DD3 and SIL3 came for tea, and she read Ziggy's bedtime stories.






Wednesday

Granddad was amusing Ziggy, or was he amusing himself?  They had a tea party for monkey but didn't invite monkey. Ziggy did have a hat on but it kept falling off.
DD2 took Ziggy swimming this afternoon, I watched, and then we went for a wander round the shops in Troon. You get a better quality of charity shop in Troon.






Thursday

Babysitting the four youngest while DD1 took Fifi to an appointment. It was raining hard so we were stuck in. We turned the tv off and spent the time reading books and playing silly games. Making up our own nursery rhymes and singing nonsense songs. I use the term singing very loosely but the kids did not seem to care.

Here they were sat on the back of the couch playing humpty dumpty and falling off as and when they felt like it. I had been sat next to Spud and holding her hand so she could fall as well, just in a much more controlled manner.






Friday

Things continue to improve between the dogs. Have had a few wee growls from Lilly and one failed attempt at a leap off the couch at him. But if he stays more than two feet away she is ok with him.





Saturday

Had joined in with a twitter chat the other day. Luckily enough to be one of the winners of £25 of B&M vouchers. Will have fun looking round the shop hopefully next week.