One year on.

Fifteenth of December was the first anniversary of us being here in this new house. It is so strange; in some ways it seems to have flown by and it is hard to believe that a whole year has gone. At the same time it feels as if we have been here forever.  Just one year ago we were still in our old house in the city.  One year ago we were so stressed out not knowing if we were coming or going.

What I can tell you is that we are so happy that we were able to move.  We loved our old house and it served us well for 25 years. It was a large, family home and we had happy times there with our 5 children.  My memory is full of those good times and I will always be grateful that we had that home.  That said I have not once been back and I have no desire to do so. Home is here now and I love it.

Village life is different.  You know your neighbours here and they know your every move! I knew my immediate neighbours in the old house but hardly ever saw them.  It is quiet here.  I LOVE that.  We have to plan more here as I can't just walk to a supermarket any more.  There is the village post office store which sells essentials but that isn't quite the same thing.   However Julie who owns the post office knows who we are and chats to us and saves our magazines. You don't get that in the big supermarkets.

We have achieved a lot since we moved in. (much is still to be done!)  Do you remember those first photos that I showed you half way through January?  Do you remember we had no internet until half way through January!  We have been looking around us this weekend and patting ourselves on the back for what we have completed so far. Inside, the 2 main things were the living room and our wardrobes.

The living room has undergone a transformation. It was the room in most need.  When we moved in it had blue and white striped wall paper with bright yellow paintwork.  The carpet was a revolting, faded, blue floral affair.  The fireplace had blue tiles and horrid white painted wood.    It was not a good look.  We also had mismatched furniture that we had borrowed whilst we waited for our new suite.  Turned out we had to wait until April.

These photos above taken last Christmas show the awfulness!

Today it is painted in neutrals with a neutral carpet.  The fireplace has been transformed with black granite and  beautiful sweet chestnut wood that Simon spent hours working on.  Even the curtains in there are finally finished!  My blood sweat and tears went in to them.

Another major difference is our own bedroom.  We had no wardrobes when we moved here as our old house had them built in.  Simon did them many years ago.  For months and months all our stuff was on a hanging rail while Simon built us new ones.  From the outside they are simple mirrored sliding doors but the inside is all custom made to suit our needs.  He did a great job.  Technically it isn't quite finished as the part above needs to be painted.

Outside we have changed the look of the front by removing the huge Rosemary bushes that were preventing anyone from getting to the front door.   We have hung many hanging baskets.  We have built a small shed at the end of the back garden for the garden tools and bikes.  Of course we had all the fencing replaced along the right side of the garden after the dog incident!  That involved the removal of all those leylandi trees.  It looks very different.  Then there is the garage extension!  That huge thing ceratinly makes that side of the garden look different! It is finished now.  Well mostly!  He still has to insulate the roof.  He is currently moving stuff over from the barn that he rents.  Think he is hoping to get it all moved during the school Christmas holidays.

I mentioned earlier that there is much still to do. The priorities for 2013 are mainly the garden outside and painting the kitchen and redecorating our bedroom inside.  The garden needs a lot of work.  We didn't grow any vegetables this year.  First priority is to get the end of the garden fenced off so that the dogs will not be able to get into  the veggie growing part.  Once we have it fenced then we need to get the ground cleared  and rotavated in preparation.   I also want to prioritise getting that area down the side of the house paved.  It is currently gravel.  It is the area that I referred to as Simon's building yard when he was doing the garage.

Right now of course nothing much is being done as Christmas is just over a week away. I don't feel organised or ready for it.  Last year we managed to move in, unpack  and get ready for Christmas in just 9 days when the family arrived so I guess I can do it this year.   It is a quieter one this year.  There will be ourselves and Saskia and Verity and Steve for dinner.  I expect Coralie may come by in the late afternoon but not for long as she is doing the night shift.  Wonder how many Christmas babies she will get?  Josh is having dinner with Sam so I expect we will go down to see them for a few hours.

On boxing day the whole family is going to Verity and Steve's house........ except us.  We have been told by the vet not to leave Alfie for any longer than 2 hours.  Verity and Steve live in Cambridge so it will take us that long to get there!  For the first time ever it will be just me and Simon and the dogs for boxing day.  I'm sure we will find some way to amuse ourselves!

Alfie update

My boy is poorly.  The tests that he had yesterday have shown that he has a urate stone in his bladder. It is the size of an orange.  No wonder the poor boy is having wee problems.  They drew off over a litre of fluid from his bladder.  Urate stones are unique to Dalmatians.  They have a genetic problem that means they cannot process uric acid.  We have always been aware of this problem and they have always had a low protein diet.

Yesterday the plan was to have him back in today to operate to remove it.  However as he is 13 years old they were quite concerned about how he would stand up to the surgery.  So they have sought advice from the college of veterinary surgeons and it has been decided that the best course of action right now is to use a special prescription diet which has good results with breaking down these kind of stones.

This is not the normal suvite type of stone which is made up of  minerals.  Apparently this kind of stone is possible to break down.  It will take several months because it is so large.  They say we should see an improvement in around a week.  The diet is Hills U/D and is incredibly expensive.  Around £80 for a 12 kilo sack.  The vet seems to think that our insurance will pay got it.  I hope so as we can do without adding more expenditure to our monthly bills now we are on less income.

Simon is bringing the food home this afternoon so I just hope he will eat it.  He cannot have anything else at all.  No treats, no biscuits, no chews and definitely no chicken and rice. The poor boy won't know what has hit him.  He will continue with the antibiotics and pain killers for the next few months.  I will speak to the vet next Friday to let her know how he is and if all is going OK then they will see him just after Christmas to do another scan to see what is happening.   If he will not eat the food or anything goes wrong then the operation will have to be carried out.  It is a last resort.

I haven't had to be Mrs Mop today.  He is managing small wees outside.  He is not currently leaking when he lays down but this will probably return.  It was caused by his bladder being so full. In anticipation of further problems I have ordered some brolly sheets which should arrive tomorrow. These are designed for the beds of incontinent people.  They have a fabric upper layer with an inner core to draw away any moisture and a water proof backing.  They kind of work like a babies nappy.  They are nice and big so will cover all his normal bedding or I can put one on the sofa when he wants to sit with Simon.  They are washable and can be tumble dried too.

So,all in all it could have been much worse.  This is bad but hopefully he will get better.  He is currently sleeping peacefully next to Simon.  

I will try to get back on her over the weekend but no doubt as usual it will be busy.  I shall be helping at the dog rescue kennels in the morning.

Mrs Mop

Mrs Mop.  That is what I am today. My poor Alfie is still not making any improvement. He is happy enough in himself and doesn't seem to have pain.  He did do a slightly bigger wee first thing this morning but since then it is just a dribble. Unfortunately he is constantly dribbling.  I have mostly kept him in the kitchen and utility room which makes him unhappy although I am here with him.  Any thought of going up in my sewing room has been out of the question.

I have been mopping the floor every half an hour and the mop is permanently in bleach. I have washed several lots of his bedding because when he goes to sleep he constantly leaks. I have got some incontinence pads from when Rosie was poorly just before she passed away.  Last night Alfie tore it up!  In the rest of the house plastic sheeting is the order of the day!  On the sofa last night we had a plastic water proof mattress cover with his blanket on top and then the incontinence pad just so he could sit with his Dad as he likes to do in the evening.

The vet is concerned as the antibiotics should be working by now.  She thinks there could be an underlying cause that we are missing so he is going in tomorrow for scans.  They will have to sedate him as he is a big baby.  He will be there all day.  Simon will take him in on his way to work and pick him up at 3pm. I will have a day of worry.

In the meantime I have been researching doggie nappies (diapers) online as I am worried that this could be ongoing.  You can get disposable ones and also fabric, washable ones that have liner pads.  Some people say they use normal baby nappies with a hole cut in for the tail.  I have phoned Simon to ask him  to get some on the way home.  It may well afford a temporary solution.

The only other thing that I have done today is to go with Lisa and Jess to Ellie's school nativity and carol concert. It was held in the big abbey church in Bourne.  I have never been in there before.  It is really big and quite impressive.  I might go and have a look round another time. Th children were lovely. I really enjoyed it.  Ellie had the role of a star and a very good one she was to.  In fact the only one.......THE ONE!  You know the one that guides the wise men.  She stood in the pulpit in her star costume the whole time.   Jessie enjoyed it too and tried to join in with the singing. She is just so cute.

I am still hoping that I might be able to go to Evans first school nativity but as it is held in the school hall they only allow 2 people per child and Coralie is hoping that John will get time of work to go with her.  We'll see.

Got to go now, Alfie needs to go out.

Catching up......yet again.

Oh dear all my good intentions of daily blogging have gone out the window once again.  It is a week since I have been here.  Well a week since my last blog.  I have been here, late at night, reading and occasionally, when I have been able to engage my brain, I have even left a comment.  How on earth did I find time to work years ago?  There is just not enough hours in my day. I need double length days. 

In my last blog I said I would tell you about my weekend.  That is not this weekend just gone but the one before!   We had a busy, busy time.  Saturday was our wedding anniversary.  33 years and counting.  I am proud of that.  I still love him just as much as I did on that day 33 years ago....most of the time!  Some days I could quite cheerfully strangle him! I guess that is a marriage.

Anyway, Saturday was a busy day.  The Christmas lights were being turned on in our nearest town of Bourne and it is quite a big event for a small market town.  They have a fair (albeit a small one!) and lots of stalls and the like.  The Three Counties dog rescue had a charity stall selling bric a brac  and the new calender for 2013 plus the Christmas cards.  They also had a tombola.  As well as the stall they had tin collectors out all day too.

Simon took me to the kennels first thing as normal.  It was a bitterly cold day.  He then went off to help the ladies set up the stall.  There was a need for man power!  Once that was done he came back to the kennels to collect Molly the Beagle who was doing 2 hours of tin collecting with him.  He returned at lunch time looking very, very cold.  I changed my coat and boots in the car as there wasn't time to go home.  Simon and I were manning the stall from 2pm to 4pm.  The stall was on the corner of the arcade and the wind whistles down there.  We were absolutely frozen.  We ended up staying until nearly half four as the people taking over from us were late.  

Our plan had been to go home and get washed and changed to go out for an anniversary meal.  We didn't.  We were both so cold we just couldn't face going out again.  We ended up having sausages and mash in front of the fire!  I seem to remember a few glasses of the red stuff too.  We agreed to go out the next day........Sunday.

Sunday was a nice lazy kind of day with Simon in his garage and me sewing.  I had a nice bath, put on my make up and glad rags and we set off at 6pm heading to our favourite local pub, the Bull at Rippingale a nearby village.  I had already planned what I was going to have.  A dish called drunken chicken.  I LOVE it.  Guess what?  They were closed!!!  WTH?  Never seen them closed before.  We decided to come back to Morton and go to our own local pub called the Five Bells.  We haven't been there yet despite trying out the pubs in other villages.  Not sure why we haven't yet tried out own as it has a good reputation.  Guess what?  they were open but they do not serve food on a Sunday night, only lunch time!  WTH?

OK now what to do?  We sat in the car park pondering and finally settled on the Three Bells at Edenham which is a village about 7 miles away.   We have been there twice in the summer and it was really good.  We were getting hungry by now so we made haste through the lanes.  Guess what?  We couldn't freakin believe it.......It was closed.  What is it out here in the Fens?  Does no one go out to eat on a Sunday night? 

We decided to cut our losses and just go home.  We came home through Bourne and as we were coming down to the main roundabout we both remembered that the new pub on the corner was due to open on the 2nd of December........  TODAY!  YES, lets go there.  NO.  It actually was opening on the third, the following day!   We went home.  I can't remember now what we ate but I think there were a few more glasses of the red stuff!

We finally went out on Tuesday evening as it is Simon's day off. We went to the new pub which is called the Sugar Mill.  It was very nice and I think we will go there again.  Just remind us not to try going out to eat on a Sunday.   Village life is very different!

On Wednesday I went up to Stevenage to pick up my Dad who was coming to stay for a few days.  I ended up going much later than I had planned as they had snow and Dad was concerned as he had heard on the radio that there was a 2 hour delay on the A1.  After speaking to my brother in law who said that it was fine I finally set off at midday.  You wouldn't believe that I actually did the journey the quickest ever.  Dad and I were back home here by 5pm.  

Dad stayed with us until Saturday.  We had a lovely, lazy time.  Lots of talking and reminiscing.  I gave him Mum's scrap book and he was very pleased with it.  On Friday Coralie and Denise came over for sewing.  My Dad and Denise had never met before so there was a lot of chatting and no sewing got done.  It was nice though and Dad did ask Denise about a few things he is having trouble with.  He has got himself a sewing machine and is getting into quilting.

On Saturday we had a  family dinner for him at a pub in Peterborough.  His 86th birthday is this Thursday so we wanted a family celebration.  My sister and her husband came too.  Unfortunately her children were not able to be there and neither was Saskia as she is currently performing every weekend.  The rest of us had a great time and I think he enjoyed it.   My sister  took him home.  We are a bit concerned that he is insisting on spending Christmas at home on his own.  He says that he will not be alone he will be with Mum....she is buried in the garden.  Well, her ashes are buried in the garden.  I wish he would change his mind but I have to respect his right to do as he wants.  I just keep thinking that this could be his last Christmas and we will have to look back knowing he was alone. 

Yesterday and Sunday were fairly normal weekend days with Simon at home.  He was working in the garage. He is slowly moving stuff over from the barn now. He had to take Alfie to the vet on Sunday as we had noticed that he didn't seem well and was having trouble peeing.  The vet has diagnosed a urine infection and he is on antibiotics and pain  killers.  If he is no better by Saturday he has to go back for a scan of his bladder.  He is not any better so far.   I did some sewing.  I also did all my Christmas cards yesterday  and wrapped a few presents.  Did I mention that I am taking part in a secret Santa thing with my blog friend Kathy?  She is in the Orzaks in Merika.  Basically we each make something and swap with each other.  The idea is to use what you have.  I can't tell you yet what I made as it will spoil it for Kathy but I can confirm that it is right now winging its way over the pond.  I hope she is pleased.

Today is a housework day.  I didn't do much while my Dad was here and of course over the weekend with Simon at home for 3 days I still didn't do much.  I have a massive amount of washing and ironing to catch up on including towels and bed linen.  There is also dog bedding waiting to be done. I have lost count of how many times I have mopped the kitchen floor so far today.  Alfie is "dribbling"!  The mop is out constantly and I am having to disinfect it.   I did make a banana  loaf cake this morning  though so at least that is one good thing done.  Right now I am taking a bit of a break.  It is 2.20pm  and I still have to hoover upstairs. After that I will be nearly done, just ironing as each load of washing comes out of the tumbler.

Simon has a parents evening tonight and won't be in until 7.30pm so I have a bit of extra time before I need to start on dinner.  Think I shall do some sewing when I have finished all my jobs.  I am half way through another bum bag. Must do the binding on Verity's baby quilt too.  

Speaking of Verity...she is still off work.  I can't see her going back to be honest.  She is really suffering.  The flu that she had they have now said is whooping cough and will still be some weeks before it goes away.  It is not that which is keeping her from working though.  She has SPD  (symphysis pubis dysfunction) This is a condition of pregnancy where the pubic bones pull apart.  It is incredibly painful  Coralie had this too.  Verity is currently on crutches and really suffering.  They are saying she could need a wheel chair for the final months. 

OK, time to get back to the grind stone.  Hopefully will try to get back and blog tomorrow.  I am going to Ellie's school carol concert in the morning and I am looking forward to that.