Naughty dog...

We were loving our usual walk the other morning after we had dropped the kids at school.  It's really cooling down here now so it was the perfect time to be walking without getting too hot.

When I turned to head back, I spied something in the distance and knew I was going to have a bit of a problem, especially as I don't generally take a lead with me as I prefer to have my arms firmly in their sockets and attached to my body.

Can you see them? (There are actually 2).

A couple of kangaroos were having a morning snack right beside the road and I kept trying to distract Patch while mentally pleading with the animals to stop gawking at us and hop away.

Eventually he caught their scent and saw them and then he was off with me screeching at him to come back.  Thank goodness they're faster and can hop off into the bush easier so he never catches them but I do dread it if one day he did.

You don't mess with kangaroos as they have sharp claws and can do some damage (I won't go into details).

Thank goodness he did come back fairly quickly this time and I have to say in recent years he has been pretty good and stays with me when I make him.  This time he obviously didn't so there was no treat when we got home.

I hope you are all having a wonderful weekend.

xx Susan

Bath day

Otherwise known as:  How to traumatise your dog day!

Patch gets a hydro bath once every fortnight and our lovely, gentle, happy dog turns into a quivering mess.

He can run through and play in clean puddles, muddy puddles and any kind of puddles in between very happily (next photo case in point), but getting him into his bath is akin to torture.

We are lucky that there are plenty of mobile hydro pet grooming services in our area and Lynda turns up once a fortnight so we don't even have to leave our yard.

The fun begins before she arrives though as I have to work out how to trick Patch.  He KNOWS what day of the fortnight it is too.  Every other day he will come to me happily but on bath day he has some inner radar that tells him what day it is and he refuses to come anywhere near me.

He stays in his favourite spot of all, in the red dirt under the house by the front door (great door bell by the way, especially when strangers turn up and he barks at them right when they reach the steps).  I usually trick him into thinking that we're going for a walk and tie him in the back of the ute so he can't escape.  Then we put the lead on and drag walk him to the trailer when the bath arrives.  

It sounds so easy saying that but it's not.  It's not AT ALL.

Over the years I have tried nearly every trick in the book.  Some have worked but then he remembers what you have done and it won't work the next fortnight.  (Dogs definitely are NOT stupid).

We eventually get him into the bath, often by half dragging him because his bum is firmly stuck to the ground and sprouting strong roots.

Then the nice warm water torture begins and he turns from being a very dirty dog into a lovely and clean, nice smelling white dog again (I'm lucky if he stays like this for one day).

Of course we can't put him through all of that without some kind of treat and for him that's the best part of his bath.  The second he's out he turns into a quivering dog of another kind waiting (not very patiently) for his treat.

I'm pleased to say that Lynda has got away with still having all her fingers again this week.  Honestly, you would think his mother would have taught him some manners :)  

So bath day is done and dusted again and I now have two weeks to think up some more ways to trick him and get him out from under the house next time.

I did take him for a drive afterwards so he's happy now and likes his Mum again.

I hope you are all having a wonderful week.

xx Susan

Slow

Sometimes I really feel like I need to give my life a bit of a re-boot.  

You know when you feel like you've been stuck in a rut for awhile even though you're reasonably busy.  

Well I feel like I've been in that rut and am slowly crawling my way out and I'm doing that by appreciating the normal and everyday things in my life.

Things like my daily walk with the dog.

We go most school days after we've dropped the kidlettes off at their respective schools.  Not only is it good exercise for both of us (I've lost 15 kilos in the last 18 months - yay!), but it's sometimes the only time I really get out of the house during the day.

The weather has been gorgeous lately too which has made for really enjoyable walks and we're into the last month of winter here so the mornings are still cool and the days are lovely and comfortable.  Pretty well perfect really.

We go at a time and place where it's wonderfully quiet and you don't often see anyone else on the track with you.  We do see plenty of golfers out on the nearby course and get to know some of the regulars on their particular day of the week so we're not entirely isolated but the track is ours the majority of the time.

I love going where we go because it also means I don't have to have my boy on a lead.  I don't really feel like being dragged behind him on our walks so he can run and 'open the throttle' as much as he likes and then keep coming back to me which gives him some great extra exercise too.  

It's also some quiet time out in nature where I can recharge my batteries and ponder things over as I plod along.  Sometimes I just want to zone out and listen to music and other times I need the quiet.  It all depends on how I feel and what I need that day.

I've been crocheting a little too.  Not as much as I would like as I'm STILL working on Miss R's blanket that I started at the beginning of the year.  (She's in High school now so I've decided to drop the 'Little' from Little Miss R).

Somedays it feels like a bit of a slog to pick up the crochet hook and do a few rows and crochet should NEVER, ever be a slog.  It's something I enjoy and I've decided lately to stop feeling guilty because I'm taking some time for me to sit down and do something I love.

The fact that my girl has been cold and is harassing me to finish her blanket might also have something to do with that as well. :) 

I am happy to say that I'm over three-quarters of the way through it so hopefully it won't be too much longer now.  

I'll keep you updated on the progress as blogging a little more regularly is another of those 'me' things that I want to do to help me get out of my rut.  

Just thinking about and remembering to take some photos has already changed how I'm looking at my life again so we'll see what other changes will come about over the next few weeks.  I sometimes find that when you decide to do something and make a conscious effort to change something in your life then it can be like a rolling stone gathering momentum.

I hope you all enjoy your weekend and the coming week.  Our family have plans to do some things with friends from England who are out holidaying at the moment.  They have a boy the same age as Master M and the kids all get along wonderfully so they're looking forward to spending time together.

xx Susan

December...... so far

Somehow December seems to be sneaking past quite quickly. 

 

It started in a flurry of activity as the final days of the school year came and went.

 

Then we had lovely hubby's birthday which he was actually home to celebrate this year.  (Bought cakes though as I had been in a frenzy cooking a million mini Christmas cupcakes for class parties at school.  I just didn't have the time or energy to make a birthday cake as well.  Bad me...I know :) )

 

 

 

 

We have had a graduation.

 

Little Miss R has now finished primary school and is off to high school next year.

 

How on earth did that happen so fast!

 

 

I even got the chance to get a rare photo of my family.

 

 

 

The school holidays have been very homey so far as we haven't really had any outings. 

 

There have been sleepovers though with Cousin R coming to stay for a couple of nights. 

 

THAT has made it an extremely noisy house as three children chatting and getting excited constantly can make you want to walk around with ear plugs in most of the time.

 

I love the movie time snap of them all bundled up together and focused on the goings on in movie land.  So sweet.

 

 

 

There has been Christmas tree decorating. 

 

It all starts off with them carefully placing decorations and then when they start getting bored (which happens quite quickly), everything gets thrown on.  As a result it looks a bit like some creature has barfed up tinsel onto the tree!

 

We love it though and it's making the house nice and festive.

 

 

 

We've also put up the battery operated lights again which I bought last year. 

 

I really love this garland across the top of the tv cabinet.  There's something so magical about fairy lights and I find it quite extraordinary that a few little lights can bring so much happiness and content.

 

 

 

They also have a great practical side as we had a pretty huge storm whip through here on Saturday.  There was A LOT of damage not far from our home with a whole strip of trees uprooted, roads blocked, property damaged and power lines down over the roads and along the train lines. 

 

It was a mess and the clean up has been huge but we dodged the worst of it which was good.

 

We lost power for nearly 12 hours (others around town lost it for 24 or more hours) and luckily we had just finished dinner when it went out.  That's when the fairy lights came in handy as the kidlettes and I sat in the lounge room listening to the window rattling thunder and the bright flashes of lightning. 

 

There was also a game of Harry Potter trivial pursuit in which I got my butt whipped by Little Miss R.  I have come to realise that even though I've read the books years ago, I don't know a lot about the movies.

 

 

Another birthday has been celebrated.  This time it was my Mum's birthday and we all went out for lunch.  (no photos of this though).

 

Patch has been a bit sad lately too.

 

We don't seem to walk as often during the school holidays.  I know I should take the kidlettes with me, and I do sometimes when I think they need to get out more, but the walks are usually for me.  They're often my de-stress time and sometimes the only chance for quiet time I get.

 

Hubby's been home the last couple of days so we've had a happy Mum and a very happy dog.  I swear that he's had a smile on his face the whole time he's running and sniffing and piddling.  That dog squirts on everything.

 

 

We're nearly halfway through December and hubby goes back to work today.  He won't be back until just before Christmas so I'm going to have to work out what I need to do before Christmas and try and get organised and get things done soon.  That way I won't be in a panic and do things at the last minute when hubby gets home.

 

I may have to call on family to help out with the kidlettes and make a mad dash up the coast or somewhere.  We'll see.

 

I hope your December is going well and isn't too stressful.

 

xx Susan

 

 

 

 



Just because

I was going through some of my photos today and came across some of May with her brother's and sister's before she came to live with us.

So sweet and making me feel better because I took her to the vet today to get her needles.  I think I handled my kids needles better!

xx Susan

A little bit of random....

My days lately have been filled with decluttering and sorting.

 

I'm getting my craft room in order and going through everything to see what I do and don't need and also making sure I can find it easier.

 

 

 

I've got two bigger bookshelves from my sister that I'm FILLING with lots of crafty things.  I also realised just how much yarn I have now that I have it on display and it's much easier to get to.

 

 

 

All the plastic boxes that I had full of yarn things and fabric are now empty and everything's out where I can see it.  I figure if I can see it I'm more likely to use it up and I can think about what I'm going to do with it while I'm working on other projects.

 

On a completely different note, Patch has a favourite spot on these really hot days.  Once he's let out of his enclosure and put on the chain he goes straight to the barbeque and there he stays for most of these hot days.

I'm not sure what he's going to do when he grows a bit bigger as there's no way he'll fit under the barbeque then.
 

As the kidlettes are getting older and keeping themselves occupied in various ways, I'm able to make a little nest on my bed and get a few things done myself.

I'm still working on my blanket and hook away when I get the chance (in between checking on Master M and making sure he's not destroying something else).
 

 

I've also got some sewing on the go as well and yesterday unpicked some of it while sitting in my nest in the air conditioning.  The cricket and tennis is on so I have that on the tv and can happily spend my days pottering.

The next few days are continuing to be scorchers so the air conditioning will go on soon and the crafty indoor stuff will begin again (for kidlettes as well).

I've got some patterns and more material to cut out so I'll set that up on my bed in a little while and get to it.

Then later this afternoon we'll head out to my sister's for a swim to cool off which has been a bit of a ritual lately.  We didn't go yesterday and I got completely hounded by the kids.  I don't think I'll get away with it today, besides, I'm loving the cooling dip too.

Hope you're all having a great week.

xx Susan

A weekend away

I still can't seem to upload photos to blogger via the usual method but I found out, quite by accident, that I can upload photos from Picasa! I'm sure most of you knew that but it was a pleasant surprise for me to find this out.

 

That means I get to share our weekend away with you now and not have to wait until the problem gets fixed.

 

As I mentioned in a previous post, we went away to hubby's Aunty Rob's for the weekend. 

 

 We didn't take the camper trailer this time as one of the shockies needs fixing or something so we swarmed into the house for some noisy fun. 

Grandad was there for the weekend too as Aunty Rob is his little sister.  The kidlettes absolutely loved spending time with him as we don't see him as often as we used to these days.

Almost as soon as we arrive I grab my camera and go wandering about the place,

 

 

 

It was quite greenish over there this time and some of the trees were beautiful in full bloom.
 

 

The side garden was flourishing too.
 

 

 

We took Patch with us and he LOVED the freedom of being able to run.  So much space meant he was a happy dog.

 

 

The kidlettes loved being able to run around with him too and it wore them out so they slept well each night.
 

Getting to know Aunty Rob's 3 dogs ended up not being much of a problem.  There were a few nips but they got on fairly well with no fights or anything which was a relief.  Patch is a pretty calm, casual, easygoing dog.
 

 

 One big change since we were last there is the other house that's now in the yard.
 

 

The two houses will eventually be joined together to make one big rambling farmhouse.

 

 

 

The below view used to be of  a paddock and next time we go over those windows will be doors and there'll be another room in the middle there joining the two houses.
 

 

I'll post again in the next few days and let you know the real reason we headed over this time.  It wasn't all relaxing.  Well it wasn't for hubby anyway!

xx Susan

We are now a family of 5

Meet Patch.

 

 

He's 11 weeks old and from the litter that my brother's dog had.

 

It would seem it was 3 against 1 to get a dog.  I was obviously the one. We'll see how I cope when hubby goes back to work tomorrow.

 

 

A wolfhound/staghound cross dog is not what  I would normally choose, especially with our small yard.  He is lovely though with soulful brown eyes and he seems to want to follow me around.  I think he's worked out in a short time who'll be looking after him!

 

xx Susan