62 and one day

I love my children - although well and truly all adults they are still my children :-)
We had a lovely meal out last night at The Goodsyard in Broadstone, Poole.
http://www.thegoodsyard.com/
It's one of those trendy 30/40 somethings haunt and you pay extra for the status symbol kudos, but the food was lovely! It was my suggestion that they forego buying me presents, and club together to pay for the meal instead. A very enjoyable evening with a constant entertainment form my grandsons :) I cannot believe how much food Jack packed away. He is a slim Jim and always on the go so he burns it off easily. He had a big duck filled spring roll with chilli sauce, followed by a huge dish of salmon and prawn linguini, followed by chocolate fudge cake. I had scallops to start with, followed by the salmon and prawn linguine too. I declined a pud as I was full, but Jack couldn't quite finish his fudge cake so I had the last 2 mouthfuls :). They made James a cheeseburger and chips specially as they usually only do them lunch times. He declined a pudding too. Even little Alex tucked in. He had some garlic bread as a starter, followed by a huge ham and cheese omelette with side salad. Then some chocolate ice cream! I think the boys ate more than anyone :) Craig had a fish pie which was huge and red hot. It looked lovely. Jenny and Di had spatchcock chicken and had a whole chicken between them!
Feeling hungry yet? LOL
The boys had made me some lovely birthday cards :) beautiful writing and drawing!
We have finally agreed a date for a family portrait session! I asked for it for my 60th birthday, but it has taken us this long to agree a date when we'll all be around! So it's the last Saturday in Feb now :)

I am in pain today - for once NOT my knees. Yes they ache as usual but only background pain. The real pain has two sources. One is a nasty mouth ulcer right down low where the gum meets the side wall of my mouth. I was worried it might be turning to an abcess as it is really tender and swollen on my jaw line, but it seems a little better this morning. The other source of pain is my left hand. I turned over in the night to find the dog wedged up against me and, in an effort to not hurt her, I pushed my hand down on the mattress to add leverage. I got this sharp pain in the base of my thumb/palm of my hand which is still there today. It's not swollen but is still painful and I can't grip anything with my thumb. It's probably just a strain or possible a slight sprain and should be ok in a day or two. I can't put my hand down palm flat without pain shooting up my thumb. It's weird. I'm sure nothing's broken. Just strained a tendon or something. Good job I'm right handed. It doesn't stop me typing either as I can move my fingers fine.

It's the great big garden birdwatch this weekend. Do it if you can spare an hour.
http://www.rspb.org.uk/birdwatch/?gclid=CJCesdue36YCFc0e4Qodp1KS1g
I'll be doing mine after lunch. I've printed off my tally sheet. :)

I've got Saturday kitchen on the TV - love that programme. It's nowhere near lunch time but it's making me feel hungry :( Guess another coffee might help stomach think it's had something.
Have a good day whatever you're up to, and enjoy your weekend. x x

slipping

Is it really nearly a week since I last blogged? Sorry!
Updates on Honey - she is still doing well and I have stopped using the muzzle as she has been leaving her leg alone, apart from the usual clean up/wash lick she does all over. I was due to take her back to the vet yesterday and all the pin holes were dry and clean when I went out in the morning. I had lunch out with John at Wetherspoons in Poole. I had their lovely chicken tikka masala with naan, 2 poppadoms, curry, rice and chutney. It was lovely! I digress.. I got back home in a bit of a rush to get out with Honey to the vet. It was literally in the front door, put on Honey's collar and lead and back out of the door and off to the vet. However... Honey had decided today was the day she'd give her pinned leg some attention! She had been licking away at just one pin hole and made it very pink! I told the vet she had just done it and he checked it out thoroughly. There was no sign of pus or inflammation but the fact she had been licking it worried him  so she is on extended anti-biotics and back on anti-inflammatory pain killers. It all looked fine last night when I did the nightly wash with Hibiscrub and applied anti-septic cream so maybe she was just a bit too intense with her washing yesterday. I am watching it and her!
Tomorrow I complete another year of my life and the old yearometer clocks up one more. Some days being 60 something feels ancient when I hear of people dying about my age or younger! Then I remember my lovely Mum made it to 92 with a crumbling body but not too bad a mind. Yes she had memory lapses but a string of TIAs over the years had lost small bits of memory. She was still really alert mentally and in full working order until her final stroke.
I'm not sure I want to live another 30 years but 15-20 would be good. I'd love to make it to be a great grandma! Jack is nearly 10 and Alex rising 6 so it's not an impossible dream. I'm not sure I want 20 years of pain though!
My daughter keeps saying she forgets how old I am and still thinks of me as 40 something which is probably more my mental age :) But then I think every person has some part of their persona that doesn't age. We all keep an element of the child we once were in us. Who hasn't had the urge to kick a pile of leaves? or run into the shallows at the beach? or build a sand castle? Of course it's for the children/grandchildren, isn't it?
I think letting a bit of your inner child loose at times is good for you. Do you remember how big a Knickerbocker Glory seemed as a child - some places still do them you know! They don't seem as daunting as an adult or maybe they make them smaller nowadays, but have one at least once a year! I totally embarrassed my daughter once when driving through Poole town centre with a couple of her friends in the back on our way to dropping them off on Poole Quay. I 'forgot' the windows were down as it was a warm summer's evening (remember those? ) and as we passed a small group of young lads (about 20-24yrs) I went "phwawwww look at those tight buns" just a little too loudly! They turned round and just saw Jen and her friends who died of embarrassment! She never said if they bumped into them later or not LOL. I do enjoy embarrassing the kids now :) like I said, you never totally lose the inner child.
I am worried my daughter is going into premature middle age though. She likes Cotton Traders clothes! Having said that they do good quality clothing at reasonable prices, and especially half price offers.
OMG!! Gino di Campo is on TV naked! Cooking on ITV's Good Morning with a very embarrassed Holly Willoughby and a cool Phil Schofield. Gino has a lovely body (what we can see of it) So funny! They raised the worktop for decency LMAO. Oh that man is delicious! Forget the food!
*puts hormone filled teenager feelings back in their box*
We are having a chnge this year for my birthday tomorrow. Usually the kids get annoyed trying to find presents for me they can afford, and I have to express delight at what I am given even if it's not 'quite' what I'd hoped for. We usually all go out for a meal (7 of us) and I pay as a treat to them all. In other words it's hassle and expense all round. So I had a brainwave that they forget presents this year and just share the bill for the meal between them. I get a lovely evening out with all my family which I love, plus some good food,without it costing me a fortune and they don't have to worry about buying me a present. They each pay for their own meal and a bit of mine. Won't break the bank and I get good memories that don't cost me a fortune! I just hope the restaurant we've picked has enough choices on the menu to provide something for all. The boys are pretty good at eating a variety of things, Jen can be picky but is usually ok, James can have a burger and chips or scampi and chips, and the rest of us eat anything. A lovely birthday celebration! :)
62! Bugger!

TGIF

TGIF? well to be truthful Friday is pretty much like most other days for me. I know people who work really look forward to the weekend for time off, but other than the fact I don't see my daughter now until Sunday night, it's all the same to me.

My phone has hardly stopped ringing for the last 20 hours. I had a nasty experience when I dropped into the vet's to collect the prescription for Honey's ointment to keep her pin holes free from infection. As I came out through the doorway I heard a loud bang and saw my car lurch. The stupid woman parked across the road in the car park had reversed straight into my car! She was turning but not quickly enough and clobbered my empty parked car on the diagonal. She smashed in her rear bumper on the off side corner and badly dented my rear door (estate car) and caught the corner of my bumber section too. She was in a Nissan X Trail (4x4 type) and her bumper was much higher than mine so she hit my body work rather than my bumper. The irony is she is a police woman! She was off duty and driving her husband's car so maybe she forgot how long and wide it is. Anyway my insurance company have started proceedings and I've had calls from them to tell me what they've done, calls from Enterprise Cars who will be providing a replacement car while my is fixed, two from their head office then two from the local Enterprise place. I've also had calls from the woman's insurance company offering help. Today I finally got a call from the body shop people to arrange an assessment inspection of my car. Guess when is the earliest they can do it? Monday 31st January! There has been an avalanche of minor and major crunches in the last 2 weeks and this place is the main crash repair centre for the area so they are snowed under. Hey ho! at least my car is usable and the door locks and unlocks ok so it's secure. Just got a big dent in it and paint work damaged, with a small dent in the bumper panel too. I took my car through the car wash yesterday too and gave it an extra wax treatment, maybe the woman was dazzled by the shine LOL

The good news is that Honey is doing well. Her leg is clean and dry although the bandages around her metal work are looking a bit grubby. I put the antibacterial/antiseptic ointment around the pin holes at night and it's all looking good.

Honey on a hot summer's day

She is trotting around the house with only a slight limp and is walking faster than me on walks now. If she needs to move faster she lifts the pinned leg and runs on three legs! I am pleased she is using the leg as much as she does. It's keeping her toes flexible and helping keep her shoulder muscles working. She lost about 1.5 kilos in the 2 weeks following her accident and she is slowly putting some back on. She has gained about 0.4 kilos over the last month. I am glad because she was too thin at under 27 kilos. She now looks much better and is just right. I hope to keep her weight around 27.5kg. She is certainly eating well and tells me off if I am late with her breakfast or dinner. Just who's the boss round here? ....looks like her LOL!
As soon as I can get my Bluetooth dongle working on my new PC I will upload the photos off my phone of Honey with her leg. Nothing gruesome so don't worry!

I have no plans for the weekend, other than doing more updates on the Swanage website. It looks as though it will stay dry with little wind so ideal for taking Honey walkies :)
Have a good weekend yourself. xx

Sunday Sunday

Time to draw breath after the folk club night Friday. What a night that was! It is always a bit of a scramble to get to Blandford with the sound gear by 6.45 and get set up and sound checked by 7.45. We had a busy night Friday with superb guests and an opening set from Andy Stone, who's also our sound engineer. Ric Sanders is the main fiddle player with Fairport Convention and he was appearing with Vo Fletcher, a brilliant singer/songwriter/guitarist, and the devine Catherine Howe. She has started singing again after a break since the late 70's. She had a hit record with her song 'Harry' in 1975, winning an Ivor Novello award for it that year. It has become a minor 'classic' since then. Her voice is still lovely and the sympathetic backing of Ric and Vo enhances her velvet tones.

Ooops - slipped into 'publicity mode' for a bit there LOL I'm used to doing press releases and reviews and can get carried away a bit.
It was a grand night's music! and we had a good crowd in. I think everyone enjoyed the night. I certainly did.
We are off to Bournemouth Folk Club tonight for a friend's CD launch party. It should be a good night as loads of people are going. I will take a coat tonight - I was frozen last time I went. But then it wasn't very full and bodies do warm it up.
It's also warmer out tonight so maybe the club won't be so cold. It's one of those venues that's cold in winter and stifling hot in summer :(
James came over for lunch today as usual. Sausages and mash for one! I had a salmon fillet, steamed, with asparagus and mash. Lovely! I used my steamer with potatoes in water at the bottom, asparagus in middle layer, and salmon sitting on a 'boat' of foil to catch its juices in the top bit, with a lid on top. 10 mins for potatoes, then added asparagus and salmon for last 10 mins steaming. Sausages were in the oven. I cooked enough sausages and mash for 2 meals so James had one lot here and took the other home to freeze, for during the week.
Hope you have a good week. xx

Slacking

Sorry I have not been in the mood to blog last couple of days. I had an attack of mondayitis yesterday - I ached, mostly knees, and found it hard to get going and get anything done. Pain is energy sapping somehow. I did manage a few jobs around the house and a bit of shopping.
Do you remember back a few weeks when I told you the saga of the goldfish? Well we have a tank full of gold fish at the moment over-wintering chez nous. They are piggies and eat a lot so we'd run out of fish food. They are used to pond food in stick form. I toddled off to the pet store to get some goldfish food. They had loads. In flake form, and small pots. No good to me. I bought one small jar of flakes to last a few days in case I couldn't get pond sticks. I called into B&Q and found pond sticks there. I bought a big bag of them. It should last out their stay and have some left over to go back to the farm with. So now the fish are adjusting to the different flavour. They seem to be ok with them. Because the tank is really over stocked we have to keep cleaning out the filter and changing the water every 3 days. No, not the whole tank full, just a bucket full out and a fresh bucketful in, that's been standing 2 or 3 days to de-chlorinate. The filter needs de-clogging every 3 days too to keep the oxygenating flow going. Who's fish are they? Well Jen's taking care of them but 3 guesses as to who does most water changes and filter cleans? I leave the feeding up to Jen except at weekends when it's my job. The fish look healthy and lively. I might just get a couple of our own to keep after these go back to the farm troughs. Fish are relaxing to have around.
This afternoon I had the delight of a visitng salesman *sigh* You know the routine. They measure up, get out their price book and do the calculations. This is the 'normal' price. But TODAY we have a 50% discount on offer! Which makes it half that. Doesn't that sound good? (It's still at least twice what you were expecting/hoping for) You hesitate - they get on the blower to their 'manager' who miraculously offers another 10% off. Now it sounds really good compared to the original (rediculous) price, BUT only if you sign up now today! oh BTW this was for flat roofing with the latest wonder surface with a 25 yr guarantee!
Two flipping hours he was here going through further price reductions. I had told him as he stepped out of the car I would not sign anything today.
I want other quotes. Finally got him to agree to holding the offer til tomorrow as I 'had to consult my accountant' about releasing assets to raise the money. I just wanted time to check them out  and their product online. It is over 3 times what I expected to pay for normal felt roof replacement and I am not happy that the final price they quoted me today was realistic. As I will probably not be here when the roof needs doing again and may have moved out before then anyway, I cannot see a good enough reason to spend all that money now.
He wore me out tho. Now I'm knackered!
Bed soon.
Hope you've had a good day. x

Sat -err-day

What a night! Honey was fast asleep on my bed when I went up. She was right in the middle of the bed! She grumbled like mad when I told her to move. Just whose bed is it anyway? I got her to shift over but her feet were still ominously pointing my way! I should have known it was coming; she had an active dream and soft woofs became louder and the legs and feet started twitching, digging me in the back! I woke her up (how cruel!) and tried to get her to move again (more grumbles). I did try rolling over to move away from her but found myself clinging to the edge of the mattress. This was the final straw. I sat up, woke her up and ordered her to move. She finally stood up and reluctantly moved, going round in circles a few times before settling on a position a bit further down the bed. Finally back to sleep until the postman woke me with a big 'thump' delivering a magazine through the letter box. Postman? 8.30 am? On a Saturday? How come? Every other day of the week we don't see one until about 11 or even as late as 4 some days. But a quiet Saturday and he's up and about early-ish. I decided it was too late to think about dozing off again but I felt tired from a disturbed night.
I got up and headed downstairs after sorting my dirty clothes into whites and non-whites. Hmm looks like 4 loads now :( oops! Probably only 3 loads worth but don't want a mixed load. I put the first load on and popped Jen's damp washing in the machine into the dryer, hanging up a few bits to air dry. My utility room is festooned with washing line so I can dry things indoors that can't be tumbled. It does make getting to the boiler or freezer a bit more difficult - think jungle vines hanging down to trap you :-) It doesn't trouble Honey and she sleeps away the hours curled up in a deep soft duvet under the boiler. Pampered? her? of course!
Time for some lunch now methinks. Bon appetit if you are about to eat yourself. xx

Frizzday

Friday (I think) and Jen is away for the weekend now. It's been another on and off wet day again. More on than off so far today. Dampness gets to my hair and it curls up all by itself :) hence the title - frizzday :)
Honey is doing well. The muzzle stops her licking the wounds and it is looking good. No sign of infection. She is used to having her boot on and off to go out anywhere and stands while I see to it. She slept well last night curled up on her rug on my bed next to me. For once I did not get paws in my back either so we both slept well.
John managed to get an appointment for his blood test for today so I picked him up and dropped him at the hospital. I drove round the block and parked up just round the corner from the hospital, so, when he called to say he was done, I only had 2 minutes drive to collect him from the entrance. A useful move as it was tipping down again! We lunched at the Lord Wimborne (Wetherspoons). I was not in a mood for chips with anything so I went for the lasagne with salad. Just right! Very tasty and not too expensive. John had a nice juicy steak and kidney pud :)
When I got back home I expected Honey to be waiting with legs crossed to go out for a pee but she did not ask to go out. In fact she turned away when I held up the boot and refused to go out in the rain. She started pestering me about an hour later but again refused to out in the garden. I gave her her dinner and THEN she asked to go out LOL
She is now fast asleep on her rug. Full tummy and comfortable :)
Friday night is my soaps night! So no calls between 7 and 9 please :)
Have a good weekend whatever you are up to xxx

What a wet Thursday!

It's been tipping down all morning here and the back garden is a swamp with puddles :-(
Honey has been in and out like a yoyo all morning. Boot and coat on each time, and off again when she came in. I suppose I need the exercise LOL She is now flaked out on the rug.
I have been tweaking the Swanage Festival flyer for this year. I think it is there now and ready for printers. Next meeting Monday so can get the go-ahead from the committee.
Tonight is Wimborne Folk Club, a great sing-around night. Looks like I'll have a car full of friends, Eileen, Ann, Linda and John. Kath's Taxi service :)
Hope it's a good night!
Oooh it looks like it's stopped raining for now so I'm off out while the going is good.
xx

Hump Day

Another Wednesday is nearly over. Today was weird. I woke up at 7 when the bathroom door went 'bump' with Jenny getting up. I rolled over and woke with a start about 8.15. Jenny was long gone (probably arriving at work then) and as I had to take Honey to the vet I needed to get up. Honey was warm and cosy on her duvet on the floor and did not move as I stepped round her. I headed for the bathroom, and she was stll sprawled out on her bed when I came back. I got dressed and headed downstairs for a coffee before I went out. I called and coaxed Honey because I needed her to 'go' in the garden before we went to the vet. She finally emerged doing her 'cat' stretches and stood at the top of the stairs. I just called her and went into the kitchen leaving her to come down by herself. She knows to come down slowly to avoid straining her leg and managed it easily. I popped her 'boot' on and let her out in the garden. She did what she needed to and popped back in. I left her boot on as we were going out soon and finshed drinking my coffee.
I don't know if you are male or female, but you girls will know what I mean when I say I rarely step outside my house without a bit of makeup on. Its usually a stroke of eye shadow and some mascara, sometimes a bit of lip gloss too but that's it. It's enough to make me feel presentable. So a trip to the orthopaedic vet at Ringwood, and seeing the dishy Mark, meant I needed a few more minutes care and attention to my hair than usual and tinted lip gloss!  I popped over and picked up John on the way, as I had intended having a pub lunch with him in Ringwood while Honey was being X-rayed.
When Honey first went there it was in the middle of the icy/snowy spell in early December and took me over an hour to get there and I was 5-10 mins late for the appointment! Today it took 20 mins from John's and we were 20 mins early! As usual the vets were running a bit late so we waited. Honey of course got more attention and lapped it up, acting the aloof princess waiting for the attention she deserved LOL.
Mark came and called us through and had a quick look at Honey's leg. There is no sign of weeping from any of the pin holes and it all looks great. He took her through to sedate her and X-ray her.
As it was a bit early for lunch, John and I decided to head home, but then we remembered there's a Wetherspoons in Ferndown!. So we had brunch! Well I had a breakfast and a coffee and John had a steak and a beer :-) As John needed to get home, I took him home and then went to my house. I knew the vet would call when Honey was awake again so I sat down in front of the tv and dozed off. The phone went and woke me up after 10 mins, but no it wasn't the vet. Some Indian guy trying to persuade me my PC was at risk from hackers and viri and I should subscribe to their protection system. I politely told him I was as protected as I needed to be, and to not call me again! I dozed off again for another 10 mins then the phone went again. This time it was the vet and Honey was all done so what time did I want to collect her? I said 3 o'clock as it was just gone 2 and I need to allow 45 mins to get there even if it would only take 30. I got there early again. They soon brought Honey through and the lovely Mark appeared. As well as X-raying her, they had checked the tightness of the nuts and re-padded the struts with fluorescent pink bandages! Very flashy! So now she has a bare leg with pins going in it with 2 thick fluorescent pink 'bars' either side. The X-ray looked good. The bone grafts are embedding well and the bones are fusing nicely.  The arrangement of pins was impressive on X-ray.  I have to take her back there in 6 weeks for another check up. They did not suggest physiotherapy as she is walking well on 4 legs and, going walkies twice a day, plus daily massaging, should help keep her muscles from wasting yet encouraging the bones to heal. The frame and pins should be out in a couple of months and then she will have a rehabilitation period while the holes in the bones from the screws fill up and the bones return to full strength so we are looking at about 3 months from now before she will be declared back to normal. *sigh* Mark was delighted at her progress so far and so am I. I brought her home and let her sleep before her dinner as she was still a little groggy from the sedation. She ate a good dinner and has slept since.
Honey was born and bred to be a racer and spent a lot of her racing time wearing a muzzle, so wearing one now, to stop her licking her wounds sore again, is not a problem to her or me. She can drink with it on and sleep in it happily and it does stop her getting  at her leg. It is far less distressing than wearing one of those 'lamp shade' Buster collars, and much more effective. She is having a few hours break from wearing it right now because she is lying next to me fast asleep (aww bless).  I think greyhounds sleep about 20 hours out of 24 :-). The other hours are spent out in the garden, eating and drinking, or out for walkies. Tough life eh?
I did a mini roast dinner tonight for Jen and myself. I cooked a duck for me and some chicken for Jen, plus some mini roasted potatoes, parsnips, sweetcorn and gravy. It was tasty. I have 2/3 of the duck left so might have a stir fry tomorrow after I've bought some fresh veg. And maybe duck and hoisin wraps later. I do like duck!
I love live ducks as creatures to enjoy watching, but I have no qualms about eating them too. Same for rabbit. Love to see bunnies around but love a good rabbit stew too.

Happy New Year - my poem for the time

Happy New Year

Christmas day has been and gone.

Unwrapping the presents has been done.

Eating far too much for days on end,

Has caused that tight waistband to bend.

Did you really need to drink that wine?

Alka Seltzer will make you fine.

Are you swamped with invitations

To go and share the celebrations?

Maybe you are alone and sad.

Watching others being glad.

Feeling blue and lonely?

Eating a meal for one only.

So make it a party, or not.

With happy memories you've got.

Toast your absent friends.

To good beginnings and ends.

It's just another day

One more along life's way.

Fill it with cheer.

Make it a Happy New Year!

Kathy Dunn      30th December 2010

For Auld Lang Syne...

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope by now you are feeling human again after last night's celebrations. It is many years since I was drunk enough to have a hangover, but my recommended 'cure' is a pint of water BEFORE bed if you can manage it. If you forget, then a pint of water in the morning with a couple of paracetamol. If you prepare in advance, then I recommend you get a packet of Dioralyte from the supermarket or chemist. This is designed for recovery after having a tummy bug and has a mix of sugars, minerals and salts to re-balance the body fluids. A hangover is basically the effects of dehydration by alcohol, so re-hydration is the cure! Trust me - I'm a wise old woman!

I had a very nice time in front of the TV last night. Channel hopping to watch what I wanted to watch without argument. A rather large glass of Baileys coming up to midnight gave me a warm mellow feeling :) I managed to dip in and out of Jool's Hootenanny catching the wonderful Bellowhead and one of my long time favourites, Alison Moyet. I did not recognise her at first as she has slimmed down so much. The voice is unmistakable though.

I loved the London firework display. It was superb! 10/10 to the company who did it. I think it was even better than the Millennium one. I dread to think how much all that 'flash bang poof' cost though. I hope Londoners were told how much of their council tax went up in smoke!

Honey is really getting back into her old routine with a vengeance! We used to have a fairly set routine for walkies time, with dinner on return home. She has started nagging me at 3.30 again which is walkies time - or was, and now is again. A month off does not seem to have upset her body clock at all! We went down the road today and through the alleyway to the main road. The grassy, tree speckled area there is popular with dog walkers but it seems not all are as particular about cleaning up after there dogs as I am. I stepped in some doggy doo hidden by leaves :( not funny when you're wearing textured sole shoes. I scraped off what I could on the longer grass but have had to wash my shoe at home :( With so many brown leaves on the ground it is hard to spot any 'piles'.

Honey enjoys sniffing all the smells with pleasure. I took her down to Baiter yesterday for a short walk around, and to post a message to fellow dog walkers about Honey's accident, and a public thank you to the the lovely couple who helped me. I took a stapler with me to pin up a laminated sheet to the fencing. However when I tried to use it the thing wouldn't work! Typical! However one of my characteristics is a good instinct for mechanical things. They are usually logical and I have a strong sense of logic. I knew there were staples in it so that wasn't the problem. I knew something had to come down to push the staple out and the bit of metal that looked as though it should do the job was not going in the right place. I checked the bits and bent the metal bit a little so it hooked over the end. I tested it then and knew I was on the right track. I bent it a bit more and it slotted into the groove to push the staples out. I clicked it back into place and Lo! it worked! So I didn't have to make a return trip to post my notice! It is neatly stapled to the fence by the car park where dog walkers will see it. I will start walking honey there more regularly after I've seen the orthopedic vet next week. For now she will have to put up with walks down the road and back. Good for her and me! It will be a long time before she's running off the lead at Baiter again. but the weeks will fly by.

I sincerely hope that 2011 brings good health to you all. Without good health everything else becomes difficult. I have a few friends with major health issues at the moment and I hope and pray they come through treatment to continue a pleasurable life. Money makes life easier for many, but if you are facing pain and misery, no amount of money can help. As long as you have enough to keep a roof over your head, and some food on the table, everything else is a bonus.

So here's to 2011. May it be better for you than 2010 in every way!

xxx