Maisie

Maisie came to live with us when she was just 8 weeks old.  She was the last born of 10 and I remember going to see them all just after they were born. At that age of course, all puppies look the same, little balls of cuddly fluff. I went to see them a couple of times and by the time she was 6 weeks old, some of the pups were already promised to homes. We had decided we wanted a female so that narrowed down our choice. I  had to go and choose myself as Tony was away at sea. I took loads of photos to show him but that was largely unsuccessful because as well as being cuddly and fluffy, puppies are also running round. All I could show Tony was a lot of blurry images. They don't tend to sit still long enough to have their photo taken.  The joy of scooping her up and taking her home was huge.

Maisie at 8 weeks old

Once she was home with us she quickly became part of our family and we have enjoyed 11 years together, travelling all over the place and doing such fun things as sailing, canoeing and cycling. 

Tony fitted a special basket to the back of his bike so she could sit in it on the main roads and then she would run for miles alongside us on the small lanes when we lived in Shropshire. See my previous blog post Bikes

When she was younger we spent a year or so doing agility with the wonderful agility trainer Lee Gibson. 

He was very patient with us and Maisie did do a few clear rounds in some competitions that we entered.

She has never been a chewer or a barker, she lets you know when she wants to go outside and when she wants to go to bed she whines a bit at about 11pm and that means you have to go with her to her cage in the utility room. You have to flatten out her bedding before she’ll get in! 

She has never been keen on other dogs or small children (mind you I’m not too fussed about children either!) but I think that comes from not being used to having them around so she feels it very unusual when her place is invaded by other hounds or the little ones.  When the grandchildren visit she tends to take herself off to the safety of her cage and stays there, venturing out occasionally to check if they are still here.

She knows all her toys and will go and fetch the ‘duck’, the ‘snake’ or her bone when asked to. We have tried to keep away from squeaky toys but thats more because i cant stand the noise of squeaky toys. So any squeaky Christmas presents have usually ended up the cupboard by the first week of January.

She is  a wonderful car traveller too,  accompanying us on our many trips away to places far and wide and of course the many many ferry trips between UK and Ireland as we did up and then finally moved to our new house. There have been times when I have stopped the car and gone and checked to make sure she was in her cage because once she is in her little den we never hear another noise from her.

We said that we wouldn't allow her onto the furniture unless we invited her from time to time when she has cuddles with Tony - they are as thick as thieves sometimes - She is the other woman in his life - they have great conversations cuddled up together on the sofa or lying on the floor.

Healthwise we have been extremely lucky with Maisie- I know other pet owners who max out their pet insurance every year. It wasn’t until about 4 years ago when Maisie hurt her leg jumping over a wall which we didn't realise was so high on the opposite side that she injured her front right leg. Since then she’s had a slight limp and longer walks became shorter and shorter. Rides out on the bike just became rides out with her in the basket. Last year we spent a wonderful sunny day out at Enniscrone, north of our home here in Ireland and we ended up giving her piggy backs on the walk back along the beach to the car.

Going into lockdown we were very happy as it meant we had lots of time to spend in the garden especially with the good weather. We had started to notice that Maisie was sleeping a bit more but we put that down to her being out in the garden, playing ball etc. Also her back legs seemed to give way on her from time to time when she was walking around. She was drinking a lot more water and seemed to have lost weight. 

Towards the end of May, after a couple of weeks of keeping a closer eye on her we decided to make a visit to the vet. He took some blood and we found out that she has diabetes. 

Working with peoples feet I’ve got to know a bit about diabetes plus our son in law has Type 1 diabetes but I never realised that dogs could get it. 

Every day we have to give her an insulin injection after her morning and evening meals. It’s quite simple to do,  just at the back of her neck. She seems to know what’s coming now. The change in her was highly noticeable once we had started her insulin jabs. Her energy levels perked up and we noticed she isn’t drinking as much water as she had been. It took about 3 weeks of trips back and forth to the vets to get the insulin level right.

However it seems diabetes doesn’t come alone. It is only about 8 weeks since her diagnosis and although initially we were pleased that she was ‘back to normal’ chasing the ball in the garden and not wanting to sleep all day, over the past 2 weeks we have realised that she is losing her eyesight. 

Although we had noticed her right eye was a looking a bit milky around Christmas time it wasn’t a hinderance to her. But in the past fortnight we first noticed that when you threw the ball to her right side, she didn’t see it and she had a quick dip in the new shallow pond we had built in the garden. 

And now in the past week the worst has happened. Our poor girl seems to have gone completely blind. A walk down the hallway is now like watching a drunk walking from side to side, bouncing off one wall into the opposite one. As she is going a bit deaf too, when you call her she looks in completely the opposite direction. 

So now we are learning new things, how to live with and help a blind dog.

We decided not to make the house like an obstacle course so we don't leave things lying around - Tony will be happy that I am finally putting my shoes away. Everything has to stay in the same place. But she has to learn her way around the house again. She walks  round, banging into things, and sits looking into space, it is very upsetting.

However we are all learning things.

Tony has invested in 2 different essential oils Lavender and Eucalyptus. After some online reading he decided to help Maisie around the house with some scents. So small pieces of adhesive felt squares have had either Lavender or Eucalyptus oil applied to them and stuck to various places at Maisie nose height around the house. Eucalyptus oil has been designated as the negative oil so is on felt squares in danger areas, like cupboard corners and lavender oil is the positive oil on squares at doorways and so on. 

It will take a while for Maisie to hopefully associate each smell with either bumping her nose or getting through safely.

We have found ourselves bent over clapping loudly in front of her to guide her too - as her hearing was not great now anyway - it means we are being a lot louder in the house. I have also relented and bought her a squeaky toy, she loves it and has made up her own game of pushing it under the coffee table and then expecting us to retrieve it.

We are lucky that we have a large garden for Maisie to explore but that comes with hazards too such as the pond and some stone steps so we have decided to invest in an extendable lead which we attach to her harness which she always wore on walks. 

This means we can help her across from the house to the grass and she can roam freely but with us helping her not bump  into too many things. She has already got to know the different surfaces that there are so from the back door is a short smooth path, leading to gravel, which leads to a kerb on to the grass.  It’s been heartbreaking to watch her trip up the kerb or walk picking up her feet high in readiness to the kerb so hopefully by walking out with her will help her.

Another thing she does now is lie in the most strangest of places but of course she doesn’t really know that, its just to us it looks strange that she is lying in the middle of the room instead of up against the wall as she would have in the past.

We have made tentative enquiries about cataract operations for dogs - they do exist but we don't know how successful they could be. We found out a year or so ago that with age she has developed a heart murmur so that may exclude her from being able to have a general anaesthetic.  

We are truly shocked by just how quickly she has lost her sight and it must be a shock to her too - trying to understand this sudden black that has descended to her world.  I have shed many tears this past week, as she bumps her way around the place. However she is still a member of our family so she will get all the care and attention she needs. 

Bike Buffet

Last week hubby and I decided to join the local bike buffet.  I had seen an advert on the book of face about it and decided it looked like it could be fun.

I called a few days before to book our place and was told that there were only about 10 people booked so far so imagine our surprise when we turned up and there were a few more than that  45 to be precise!
So what’s a bike buffet?
Well the idea is that you cycle from pub to pub and eat a different course at each place.

We drove to the Westport town hall which was the starting point and got our bikes out ready. We were greeted first of all with Mocktails and had a chance to eye up who else would be cycling with us. There were couples and friends and families, kids on their own bikes or sitting in a seat at the back of mum or dad.

We were asked to choose what starter we wanted from a choice of three and then we set off to our first pub/restaurant. Although the first part of the cycle was through the town we found ourselves quite quickly onto the The Great Western Greenway cycle track. It was a lovely chance to take in the local views and it was part of the track that we hadn’t cycled before. Also it wasn’t a race so people chatted as we went along. 

We arrived at our first stop off place - The Coast bar. We were guided up to a lovely dining room with views over the quay and it was nice to sit down on tables of 6-8 people, eat our starters and chat to other diners/cyclists.

Once we had finished our starters we set off again. Our route took us through the grounds of Westport House so away from any traffic. 
We stopped for our main course in the grounds of Westport house at Gracys, a pizzeria. Once again we sat at tables of 6 people and were served beautiful tasty pizzas, chips and salad. We chose to sit with different people so we could meet new people. There was also some live Irish music which was great to listen to as we chatted and ate our food. 

We set off again through the grounds of the house and then onto the main street of Westport to our final destination for our desserts - Clew Bay Hotel. 

By the time we had finished our desserts it was getting dark so we set off back to our van and went home. We thoroughly enjoyed this experience, it was a great way to meet new people, try out different restaurants and explore a little bit more of our new home area. We felt it was great value for money at only €20. I would definitely go on one again. Apparently they are run every year, once a month during the summer months and generally the venues change every month.

Local Affairs

When I got back from Ireland at the end of August I was coming back to life without one of my jobs. For the past 2 years I have been working part time as a call handler for the local police force. It involved answering emergency 999 calls and non emergency 101 calls and dealing with them as appropriate. I initially took the job so i had some extra income to put towards our Ireland project. I must admit it was the type of job that i had always wondered what it was like to do. I had seen the TV programmes about this type of job and suppose i thought it would be exciting to give it a try. The application process for such a job including training took 6 months and then i was in at the deep end answering all sort of calls from serious road traffic accidents and assaults through to people reporting quite petty things such as complaints that a neighbour has moved their recycling bin again! I have to say that i was totally blown away and completely surprised by what people call the police about. 
In all cases you have to remain calm, professional and polite which in some circumstances is hard and there have been times when i had to terminate the call, with warning. 

Ready and waiting for a call

I thoroughly enjoyed the job and met and worked with some wonderful people. 
I have calmed people down and got the information i was after in super quick time, I have helped return lost pets, spoken to people who want to end their lives and managed to stop them from doing it, plus dealt with 'regular' callers, those who use the police call handlers as someone to talk to about not very much and sorted out arguments about mobile phones.
Do some of these jobs warrant police response - probably not but when some people have nowhere else to turn then it comes down to a police call handler having a chat with them and try and resolve the issues. 
Yes I have felt upset by some of what i have heard and laughed at other situations.
Anyway after 2 years I decided that I would quit and dedicate a bit more time to my foot patients and also the long term plan of getting to Ireland permanently. I looked forward to some free time.

So when I got home, within 2 weeks i had signed up to take part in a drama production in November. There is a group locally called the Stretton Players who do 2 productions a year. I have never been involved with them before but I saw an ad on Facebook saying they were looking for females to take part in their next production. I answered and got the part. Rehearsals took place twice a week and three performances were scheduled for 17-19 November. 
The play was 'Local Affairs' by Richard Harris. It is set in the 1980's and revolves around three couples who have recently moved onto a new housing development. Norma and Charles – he’s a doctor – are in their mid-40s. He is mostly concerned with devising outfits for a fancy dress party they are due to attend, while she is more interested in planning her new kitchen. Hilary and David are late 30s. He is a supermarket executive and she is in business. During the course of the play, they have David’s mother, Mrs Hinson, staying. She and Hilary cannot stand each other but both try very hard not to show it. The third couple, Susan and Keith are younger, late 20s. They have young twins and this is the first time they have been parted from them. They are supposed to be having a romantic weekend, but Susan can’t stop worrying about the children and Keith, is more concerned with his beloved motor bike. There are two smaller parts, Peter, a doctor colleague of Charles’ who is also going to the fancy dress party and Katy, mid-20s, an ex-girlfriend of Keith’s who has recently split up from her partner and is rather hysterical.
The play follows the humorous activities in each of the three households until as the play moves towards its climax all come together round at Norma and Charles’ house.

I had the great part of Hilary. We had great fun rehearsing and then going into the hall where we would be performing and seeing all the hard work that the set builders had been doing.  

Me and my stage husband David - my character has just
 returned home from a health farm and is as yet unaware
 that her dreaded mother in law has been staying

Me, my husband and the dreaded mother in law

Round at our neighbours

It was thoroughly good fun and we were lucky to have full houses at each performance. There was lots of laughter from us and the audience! 

So will I get another chance before moving to Ireland, I hope so. And I need to start looking for a drama group to join in Ireland.

Enjoying our surroundings

We are coming to the end of our trip to Ireland. I always feel sad leaving, it does feel like home now. 

This trip we had decided to take things a bit easier as it is so tempting to jump straight into work here and we had both been really busy working at home before leaving for Ireland. We really wanted a break. 

We had a few days on our own and then we had some visitors come to stay.

Terry is my godfather and he and his wife Pat came out to visit. I was really surprised that Terry had never been to Ireland before as he is a very experienced cyclist and walker and  I would have thought that it would have been a place he would have pursued one or both pastimes. We prayed for good weather and we were very lucky.

We had one full day entertaining our guests before we welcomed some more. My mum and Dad and a couple of their friends Mark and Gaynor, had been doing a tour of the northern part of Ireland in their motor home and they came to join us for the weekend. We had warned our neighbours to expose the two large motor homes to arrive and as we looked out from out house down towards the village we spied the two vehicles appear by the church and then slowly make their way up towards out house. At the same time we got a phone call from our neighbour - he had been out tending his sheep and had also seen them, he just wanted to let us know they were on their way.

Our house became full with people and it was lovely, Hubby and I enjoy entertaining and it was lovely to hear people in the house and hear their exclamations about the wonderful views, One good thing is that even with eight adults staying in the house it never felt overcrowded - there is plenty of space for everyone, I love it.

We had organised a meal out on the first night and then the second night we had planned a BBQ. We had studied the weather forecast very carefully all week and hoped that it held out true. We had brought a new BBQ over from the UK so the day before me and Terry had spent a couple of  hours together assembling it. Luckily it stayed dry and we also invited our neighbours up so we had a great night, people came in when it got a bit chilly outside and we ended up round the table playing daft board games. We had a real laugh.

On our last day together Hubby took our four visitors out for a drive locally, through the Sheaffry Hills, the scenery is really beautiful and is always a place that we like to take visiting guests as it it is so near to our house but also very breathtaking. My Mum and Dad stayed home with me and I did a bit of baking ready for when the hungry travellers returned. We also had some canine visitors, our neighbours dog has just had pups....

 

We had never met my parents friends before as they are people they have met through motorhoming but they were really lovely people. Over the three day they were with us my Dad and his friend Mark were very kind and moved a large pile of stones which had been at the front of  the house of months and months. It was there for the driveway but we had never got round to moving it. Dad had spent a little time the last time he visited moving some of it and this time with the added bonus of a wheelbarrow, he and Mark spent many hours moving it so our driveway looks  so much better,

After they had departed we had a few ore days with Terry and Pat and we enjoyed days out to the beach, the pub to taste some more Guinness and Terry very kindly helped Hubby put up some blinds in the kitchen/diner. Although we have the most lovely views outside and the blinds are up most of the day we feel they really help make the room look a bit more finished.

 

Last time we visited we sprayed the area at the back of our house with roundup so we were hoping that when we came back this time the vegetation would have died enough for us to cut it down and as you can see we have had a busy couple of days clearing the area.

 

Finally we were very excited when we got our wardrobes fitted today. So we can actually hang things up in our bedroom instead of in the other bedrooms. It's a small thing but it certainly helps it feel more like a home. 

 

So on a day when we had rain forecast it had been a completely rain free,  I am currently sat with my feet up enjoying the evening views and watching my neighbour and his very talented sheepdog  taking some sheep up the hill at the back, 

 

From fleece to Yarn.

For quite a while now I have enjoyed knitting and crocheting and generally making things using yarns/wool. I have made things for myself such as jumpers and cardigans

              

I have also enjoyed making stuffed toys and children's clothes

                                            

                                             

                                    

                                                             

Since getting our house in Ireland I have become more interested in sourcing my own yarn and after speaking with our neighbours there who farm sheep and know only too well the fact that the cost of shearing a sheep is more than the price of the fleece.

Sheep need to be sheared but the farmer usually makes a loss in doing so. Our neighbours are fortunate in that they have 3 sons who are all able to shear sheep, in fact two of their sons have won shearing competitions and have very recently represented Ireland in sheep shearing competitions.

I have been very lucky too that in the new house I am able to have a whole room for me to use as a craft room - to me that means all my crafts can live in one room and when I finish at the end of the day I can close the door and leave it and not have to clear away to make room for something else.

Last week I spent a lovely day out in Wales learning a new skill.

The course was entitled Spinning - the basics and I have to say it was a thoroughly enjoyable day. 

I drove about an hour and a half south from where I live to a place not far from Hay on Wye.  My destination was a sheep farm high up in the Brecon Beacons and boy what a view they have.

 

                                                                                                 

Dunja at All in a spin was our host for the day and me and 3 other budding spinners  were definitely in safe hands. She started off explaining about the different types of fleeces there were and we were able to look and feel the fleeces. In fact from the studio we could look out and look at a some of the sheep that the fleeces had come from. 

                             

We then learnt how to prepare the fleeces for spinning, which part of the fleeces were the best and how to wash them.

Then we learnt how to card the fleece. Carding involves separating and straightening sheep’s wool with two brushes so that it can be used to make yarn for knitting. These brushes closely resemble pet hair brushes but are made specifically for preparing wool fibres.

                               

Next we got to grips with a spinning wheel and learnt how to use our feet to spin the wheel and our hands to feed the fleece slowly on and turn it into a single ply yarn. This process took a little while to master and could be likened to trying to rub your stomach at the time as patting the top of your head......it takes a while.

It was a lovely environment to work in and Dunja was incredibly patient with us as we did seem to be slow learners. 

                                    

                           

Once we had managed to fill two bobbins with a single yarn it was time to ply them together to make them resemble  what I would know as 2ply yarn. 

Once this was done and we had each got a bobbin of 2 ply yarn we used a Niddy Noddy to move the yarn from the bobbin into a skein of yarn. What is a niddy noddy? Well Wikipedia explains it perfectly 

"A niddy-noddy (plural niddy-noddies) is a tool used to make skeins from yarn. It consists of a central bar, with crossbars at each end, offset from each other by 90°. The central bar is generally carved to make it easier to hold.

                      

After a really informative day I came away with my own skein of hand spun yarn. I so enjoyed it, I would love to be able to get my own spinning wheel and do some more spinning.