Last Day in October!

Well I didn't intentionally start out to write a blog post for every day in October, but I did and feel quite pleased with myself as it has given me some focus, even if the subject matter isn't always especially stimulating or interesting.

I'm not sure what November will bring, but I know it is going to be a really busy month for us for many reasons.  Hopefully I will be able to share more of that soon.  Part of that will be having our son home so we will hopefully see quite a bit of him too.  

Today I started work on trying to sort out stuff in our utility/conservatory, sewing room, come lets stuff everything in it room!   I have sorted out quite a bit and now have packed relatively neatly three boxes, one with painting/art books, one with patterns and the other with scrapbook supplies.  Some rubbish and cardboard recycling was also sorted.

I have faffed around a bit with some other things, and folded some washing...oh the excitement!  But it is a job done so that is good.

On Friday last week when my friend came down for the day she brought with her a doll I carved back in 2014 and returned her to me.  I was delighted to have this doll back as out of the nine I had carved, I had only kept my first 'Hitty Madge'.  This was number six, she is a little chunky, but she is making me happy and I have made her a little reversible apron, and last night knitted her a shawl.  Her name is Morag.

This is the back and yes she does have blue and red striped stockings!

I took the dogs on a slightly different route this morning for their walk and was surprised to see how little mileage my phone recorded I had done, so I mapped out the route on Google Maps and it was a lot more.  Clearly my phone underestimates how much I am actually walking, which is quite good as it means I'm doing more than I thought I was.  Always an added bonus.

I succumbed to some Corn bread today for lunch so will be interesting to see if I have any ill effects.  I hope not as I really enjoyed it, but have to be restrained as I'd love to have some more slices!

It is almost 3.30 pm and the sun is going down already.  The days really are drawing in.  Time to feed the guinea pigs and close up their shed for the day.

Words and Walking on Wednesday

Hard to believe this month is almost at an end!  It feels colder today, although while out walking with the my group this morning, I actually had to take my jacket off.  When the sun was on you it felt warm, but there was also a bit of a cold breeze nip in the air.  I  think it has got a bit colder as the day has worn on.

I went on the group walk today but didn't stop for the tea afterwards deciding to come home.  I didn't feel especially like socialising today, no real reason, just wanted to get home.  It was mostly along the roads today (well footpaths along roads) so I didn't enjoy the walk as much as the roads are quite busy.  We did go through the park on the way home, but it was straight through and we didn't get a chance to stop and enjoy it at all.  So no photos of the walk today

Little Percy has never worn a dog coat...we initially bought him one when he was younger as we were advised to, but when we put it on, he refused to move and would turn his head back to look at it either side, and then look up at us as if to say 'If you think I am going outside dressed in this, you have another thing coming.  I am a dog!  I don't wear clothes!'  It was so funny.  However, I have noticed that he has been shivering a bit when out recently so I pulled the dog coat (just a plain black, so nothing silly) out of the drawer and tried it on him again this morning and he wore it quite happily.  I think due to his illness and treatment he doesn't have the muscle tone that he used to have so feels the cold a bit more, so hopefully this will help him. 

After lunch my husband and I took the dogs for a walk over what used to be the golf club.  We have never walked the dogs there before as we didn't know it was now open to the public until recently when I started doing the group walks.  I did take some photos this afternoon as we went at a more leisurely pace enjoying the countryside.

The leaves look so pretty with the different shades.

An old World War Two Pill Box

Such a lovely place to walk.

This old tree is a survivor!  What luck it has not being in our street where the local council have cut down two beautifully healthy and perfectly formed Oak Trees.

I bet many a golf ball got lost in here!

Percy with his coat on.  It could have done with being a tad longer, but the next size up was way too big.

I wasn't sure what this was, so took photos of it.  It is wonky like this!  

Apparently it is a Coal post (or Duty Stone) of which many were erected following the Coal Duties Act of 1851.  If you travelled this way 150 years ago people would have queued up with carts loaded with coal and other supplies and would be found haggling with the tax man at these coal tax posts.

Not the best photo of Stanley by any means...it was very washed out so I had to darken it.  I am sure the settings on my camera have been changed unintentionally as this seems to be happening a lot lately. 

We got home just after four after a pleasant hour or so out.  

I forgot to mention that yesterday when we got home from having lunch out there was an email waiting for me, and finally we had the report we were waiting on.  It wasn't as in-depth as we were expecting, but it was reassuring, so hopefully now other things can progress.

No band rehearsal tonight (there wasn't one last week either) so a night in which is nice.  I won't be able to go next week either as my husband has chess (he is in a club) and we don't want to leave the dogs alone with the inevitable loud bangs of fireworks, which we have been having for the last two weeks!

Can't believe our son will be home from his latest four month tour (he is a navigator on a cruise ship)  in just over two weeks.  His wife will be thrilled to have him home, but little does he know we also have a list of jobs to get him to help us do! 

Tuesday Talk.

I didn't feel like going for a walk this morning, I had a little sleep in instead...I had planned on taking the dogs out later in the day, but by the time I had got other chores done, I ran out of daylight.  

We had to go to one of our local garden centres today to sort out our club card as although we had renewed it, and fortunately had the proof, it was saying it was expired when we last went.  Fortunately they managed to sort out the glitch and gave us a refund from the meal we had at the previous time it wasn't working.  We had lunch out which was nice and a welcome distraction.   

I had to post an eBay parcel. Slowly selling things, but only for a few pounds, I do sometimes wonder if it is worth the effort.

I went down the road to have a look at glasses and may have chosen a pair, very different from what I normally have, but should hopefully increase the actual usable field of vision so I can actually use the variofocals for the purposes I want to use them for, i.e. reading music, but also being able to see the conductor... reading books if I want to, without having to move my head, and walking around wearing them.  Same price approximately as the previous place, so still not cheap.  I have gone away to think about it.

I also went to try a bike out that I saw in the local bike shop.  It is second hand, but the sort of bike I have been wanting for a very long time.  You sit upright, there is no downward pressure on the shoulders and arms which will suit me much better.  So I have asked family if they would like to contribute towards it for my Christmas present.  Probably not the best time of year to get one, but it is a very good price, and you don't often see them.

I manged to get a lovely pack of pure wool also which I am really pleased with as it is a thin ply.

Lovely colours!

Monday Mutterings

A couple of lovely pleasant walks this morning, first with the dogs, although it was very cold and frosty out, and then with my walking group.

We walked through some woods.

As well as over what used to be the golf course, but is now a wonderful space to enjoy, although sadly I believe it is earmarked for housing, which will be a real shame as it is currently so beautiful.

A busy day, post office, shopping, a repeat eye test, cleaning out the guinea pigs, and various household chores which I have managed to tick off today's 'To Do' list.  Oh and the electrician is coming to look at the timer!  Yeah!

The afternoon has clouded over which is a shame, I was hoping that the crisp clear blue sky days might last a bit longer.  It might be colder, but it is so much nicer when you have a bright sky.

Still no report despite sending yet another email and phoning up and trying to leave a message....guess what you can't leave a message!  Phoned back later in the afternoon at the time suggested on the answering service and of course no reply.  Starting to feel increasingly peeved off... especially as we are being badgered about the results of the report.  I have tried to explain it is out of our hands.

Sunday Excursion

I went for another walk this afternoon with a different walking group.   We over seven and half miles through some really beautiful countryside.  It was a such lovely afternoon, gorgeous blue sky and relatively mild, although once the sun went down, it got chilly very quickly.  Such a contrast to yesterday which was very dark, grey, wet and windy!  

Some of the photos of today's walk:

A dilapidated house/barn? 

Earlier in this walk, we went through the field where the Highland Cattle are - glad they weren't there when we walked through!

A Folly/Whimsey or Fact?  Who knows, but a bit of fun anyway!

The walk has left me feeling very refreshed and cheerful indeed.  Such a pleasant way to spend a Sunday afternoon which four of us finished off with a cuppa at the local pub. 

Saturday Walk etc.

Feeling increasingly frustrated with waiting.  Waiting for the report we paid for back at the end of September to arrive.  Waiting for the Electrician to turn up to check the timer on our heating and then come and fix it.  Waiting for people to provide the services you have paid for, or are going to be paying for.  Why is it that people nowadays seem to be so slack at providing an efficient service?  

My stomach is churning with the continual uncertainty...which is not helping my internal issues at all.  But it is hard to put it aside and ignore it, even though I am trying.  Especially as the year is zooming along at a very fast pace and we are almost into November already!  But enough of that.

We had a lovely, very brisk walk this morning over a lot of countryside which was really nice.  I got chatting to another New Zealand lady who actually knew the area I used to live in!  We reminisced and also discussed the possibility (albeit probably impractical for me) of doing the Abel Tasman walking track together.  I'd certainly be up for it, but whether I could make it happen is another thing.  Too many variables going against me at the moment unfortunately with the timing of going over.  Normally by now I would have booked my next trip by now, or certainly be thinking about it.   

We managed to finish most of our walk before it started to rain which was good, because the afternoon was very wet indeed!

The afternoon was spent doing some knitting mainly and I got a few little things finished which is good. 

Before I knew it, the evening was basically over and now it is time for bed.

A Friend on Friday

I managed to walk the dogs this morning before the rain came down which was good as it has been pretty damp and horrible weather wise the rest of the day.  Percy seemed to cope with the walk pretty much as normal which was good as well. 

These fungi are near our cherry tree so I took a photo of them.

They look so smooth and shiny with the morning dew/dampness on them.

There are still brave roses coming out in bloom.  But I don't know for how much longer.  I bet they will be pretty much ruined by the end of the weekend.

I picked up a couple of quite small pyrex dishes from the CS the other day.  This one matches a set I have, and now that there is just the two of us these smaller dishes are quite useful for cooking things in.

My friend came to visit today.  I haven't seen her in months and months.  So we had a good catch up and chin wag.  It was a lot of fun...although my throat feels a little hoarse now.

We still haven't had the report we were told would be emailed through yesterday afternoon which is frustrating as we are being badgered by someone else about it, but it is out of our control. 

Well I think I am going to have to go and put the heating on.... still having to do it manually as the Electrician hasn't turned up or responded to my messages either!    It is starting to feel rather chilly!

Have a great weekend.

Thursday 24th October

Gosh a pretty miserable day today weather wise.  Fortunately I managed to take Stanley out for his walk before the rain came down.

We picked up Percy late this afternoon.  I have to say I was very disappointed with the vets this time.  They hadn't given his food that I package up for him each time he stays in for his overnight treatments.  We stick to his diet for health reasons after he had the seizures and liver problems last year, so it is important that he maintains this diet, especially when having treatment so if there are any side effects, we know it isn't a different diet!  We also feel that the 'over examine'.  She mentioned how he got grumpy with them the second time they palpated his spine.  Why do they have to do it more than once?  He is such a friendly well mannered dog, we don't want him to start becoming irritable with people.  There were a few other niggly things as well...so after his next session in six weeks time, we might see if our regular vet can administer the chemo instead.  There will be more continuity that way.  Each time we have been in to the Vet Hospital we have seen someone different and I think they have students watching and examining at times as well.

Over and out for now.

Wandering and Working on Wednesday

Percy was dropped off at the Veterinary Hospital first thing this morning for his five weekly round of chemo.  They are supposed to be extending the duration between treatments this time, but we have asked them to speak to the cardiologist with regards to the steroids and his heart murmur.  If there is a likelihood that they are causing it then we want the steroid dose reduced more rapidly.  We have been recording his at rest respiratory rate and the vet was very pleased with that which is good.  It is heart breaking leaving him there each time.  

I went for my group walk this morning which was very pleasant, although unfortunately not as nice weather as we had yesterday.  It was such a gorgeous day yesterday with a lovely clear blue sky.  I thought typical, on the days the group walk isn't on we have a fabulous day!  I think I could probably duplicate the walk we did today now...  It is mostly over fields which is really nice.

My daughter in law recommended a hair treatment that my son had bought her, so I ordered that and it arrived today, so looking forward to trying it.  

I also ordered a lamp that goes round your neck which I hope will be useful in the evenings and during darker days when sewing, knitting etc.  I will report back once I have used it!

The other day I pulled out the wooden doll I had started carving, gosh, a long time ago now.  This is how she was left.

 Some grain has appeared since I first started carving her, which is a bit of a nuisance as it is down her face on one side... which goes against my 'symmetrical' leanings.  I've been waiting for a day when it has been dry enough to sit outside and do some more work on her.  This afternoon I also had the time so made a start.

I got a bit carried away with the carving on the shoulders of her arms and they have ended up thinner than I wanted, so now I need to thin down the rest of her arms.  It is so easy to just carve a little too much off!  I used some carving knives I have as well as the dremel.  Turns out the dremel is not nice to my nerve pain. Now I know why I had stopped carving her!  My right arm from the top to the bottom, and the side of my ribs is now tingling, and has been for some time, with pain running down the arm as well.  Hopefully it will ease up soon.  

I find the faces extremely hard to do...  I was reasonably pleased with how it was starting to look when a bit of her lips shaved away, so I had to start again!

Still quite a bit of work to do on her before she will be ready for her final sanding and painting, but she is starting to look a bit more like I want her to.