Hello 2025!

Let us not start as we mean to go on, at least, on Missy's behalf? 6 days in and we're nearly over the worst of a paw injury. It's partly my own fault, I was caught out by the bad weather and hadn't shaved her paws in time, and I know from past experience fluffy paws attract salt and grit and cause sores.

Still. Thorough washing and bed rest and she's almost as good as new. So a minor hiccup to he new year.

It's been good otherwise. We started the year sledging. And I've finished my first project of the year - I put the rest on hold for a "me" project and, whilst quite loud, I am pleased with how it's turned out. 

Here's a little sneak peek:

I've almost finished rewatching the classic 90s Gargoyles and I've blown the dust off my knitting needles and have started a jumper for Missy. If I am to embrace my inner grandma, then my child needs knitwear!

And that's me. I've also started a cross stitch journal, that I aim to share on here each month as a way to hold myself accountable. I feel a good crafting year coming up!

And hopefully a good year for adventures too, we have lots of plans in motion - but let's wait for the snow to pass first!

Until next update!

Girl Down on the Girls Weekend

So... You may have been wondering why no post last week?

We spotted a lump on her leg Sunday at 10am, she was in the vets for 10.20am and by end of play Tuesday, was sporting her least favourite accessory. 

Since she was going under, we got the flesh tags under her arm removed too, so needless to say, she's a very unhappy puppy.

This weekend was a spontaneously planned girls weekend - with a month to wait, I thought we'd be fine and nothing could go wrong. 

Famous last words. 

The plan had been a sneaky 2 night stay near Loch Lomond. Two girls needing an escape from the rat race and a pup on the look out for adventure. Hubby had planned an errands weekend with his brother, so Missy being out the way and having fun elsewhere was an ideal scenario. 

I'll be honest, it took all my strength to admit that she was better to stay home. She would be happier in her own space and it would be better for my friend and I to not have to worry about over walking her. 

By midday Friday I still wasn't packed. I was hugging Missy on the sofa debating if it was worth going or not because, whilst hubby is 110% capable of looking after Missy, I was lamenting the thought of abandoning her.

I did go in the end. And I'm glad I did. It was a quiet, low stress weekend where we just chatted away, played board games and worked on our sewing. 

We did manage to leave the hot tub (my fellow mermaid found this just as hard as I) and we visited Geilston Gardens and did the Sweenys Loch cruises. 

Ironically, both are dog friendly. 

The gardens were outstanding. In full bloom, we saw every colour imaginable. Bees were aplenty and bird song filled the air. A beautiful morning. 

The cruise was good fun too. The audio tour was informative, but didn't go on too much, so we could chat away and enjoy the gentle motion of the ship. My friend is into her mindfulness, and it was good to slow the pace down and just enjoy the moment as we sailed through the gateway to the Highlands and watched the landscape change to mountains. 

There was more laughter, good food and good company.

A fine way to spend the weekend, even if I did insist on buying Missy some treats as an apology for leaving her!

Here's hoping her 10 day check on Thursday goes well and there will some short and sweet adventures next weekend. 

December Day

We've had a quiet week. We'll, it's been a disastrous week. Missy has sprained her pinkie toe which has caused her to hobble - she's racking up the ailments this winter, clearly making up for lost time! One day this week I found myself cleaning her ears, giving her eyedrops as she wasn't opening one (suspect it was a bit of grit, she was immediately the better and its not returned), painkillers and cream on her toes. Whoever said mongrels are less prone to ailments than pedigrees never met Missy! 

On top of that, hubby has fractured his toe. The lengths a man will go to to avoid working black Friday (which didn't work as he still had to go in, but did office stuff instead of being on the shop floor). I have threatened him (playfully) with eye and ear drops as he seems keen to emulate Missys condition. Either way, it's made life awkward as I now have to do both dog walks, so this week is going to involve a lot of 5am get ups so I have time to walk her before going into work. 

Needless to say, there has been much snuggling under duvets to avoid the cold weather and poor luck. Thankfully we had some time this morning for December Day. 

So let me explain, hands up who has a family tradition that when mentioned, everyone thinks your crazy? In my household, that tradition is December Day. Held on or as close to the first of December as possible, my hubby and I exchange gifts. Now let me explain before you think I'm crazy or totally wrapped up in the commercialised mess that is Christmas, we swap Christmas themed gifts. I collect the ravensburg Christmas jigsaws, and theres no point getting a jigsaw of santa on the day when you aren't going to have time for another week to touch it. Then there are Christmas movies, cds, books, all things you want on the run up to Christmas. It all started one year when hubby asked his mother for JRR Tolkiens "letters from father Christmas". He was super pleased to receive it Christmas day but by the middle of January when our lives had calmed down enough to start it, we were definitely not in the mood for it! So, that's why we do December day.

Missy is above us in such festivities, but did get excited for her advent calander, so I'll call it a win win! 

I'm sewing news, it's all gone to the dogs this week:

(See what I did there?) 

These are the Christmas pressies for all the doggies in the family - most of it is stuff I was already making for the craft fair, and I felt a dog tote bag to put it all in would go down brilliantly. And don't worry, the cats haven't been left out:

I think it's safe to say that I do overindulge Missys furry cousins! 

Next week is due to be very busy, I just hope my invalids will be up for it! I'll tell you more next week! 

High Impact

It's a term that's been used to describe Missy on multiple occasions. 

When she tore her fourth claw in a two month period: high impact injuries. 

After our eighth insurance claim in six months and I was sheepishly commenting that they must think I'm horrid to Missy: No, no, it's all high impact injuries, clearly you take her for lots of walks! 

Being told she had arthritis at 5 years old: not surprising for such a high impact dog.

And now that she has pulled a muscle and is incapable of jumping: it's a high impact injury, age obviously isn't slowing her down!

So Thursday continued my string of bad luck. I got home, took Missy on a quick walk and then had to nip off out again for my hairdresser appointment. She hadn't been left long all told, hubby has a late start on Thursdays, so I was perplexed at how clingy she was when I got back in. I invited her on the sofa, she crouched, squeaked and scrambled awkwardly up the cushions. Then stared at me and whimpered.

I almost died there and then of a broken heart. My instant panic was that this was an arthritis flare up but somehow in both knees. Or maybe her back and hips? 

My friends childhood dog has hip displacia and I could hear her clear as day trying to put on a brave face saying that her dog could no longer get on the sofa. Missy just stayed put, looking morose for the rest of the night whilst I tried to book her into the vets as soon as possible. She wasn't an emergency, at least not by the vets standards, and I had to hone back my helicopter parenting desires and accept Saturday would be the first opportunity to get it checked. I reorganised her dog walk to a visit (my dog walker is always amazing in an emergency) and watched her like a hawk.

She was actually better come Saturday morning having been put on strict short walks and lots of rest (she destroyed her bumblebee toy in protest) and the hubby and I finally put the jigsaw pieces together. It was probably a muscle, she wasn't stretching right. I was the last to see her run and that was trying to get up a tree after a squirrel. 

Typical Missy. 

The vet confirmed a pulled muscle, gave us some really useful advice on using the pain killers and stretches she should do. She recently learned spin and turn which perfectly fit the side stretching requirement and have been told to teach her beg and, once better, bow, for the other muscles in her back and legs. 

That's right guys, Missy needs to do some yoga! Once she's better. Her moping about sore and bored grates on my soul, so I'm praying for a speedy recovery.

As always when I'm stressed and/or stuck in the house, its been baking and sewing this weekend! I've finished all the sponges for my mother's birthday cake (after a detour to Falkirk today to get eggs from my sisters hens) and completed my niece and nephews costumes:

A poodle skirt would not do for Felix, so I made her a "pipistrelle" one instead. And Inkling is going as a punk rocker, so needed some skinny leg tartan trousers. His outfit is all about accessories, so I've cut up an old t-shirt of his into a tank top and will add some braces and some chains (plastic, of course!)

Missy did get out this weekend, we all went to the aqueduct at Muiravonside today and yesterday we did the Linhouse loop. Hopefully a nice quiet week and she'll be in much better shape for our visitors! 

It's probably a good thing she isn't allowed to my mums birthday party - pretty sure she would win best fancy dress! 

A Very Quiet Weekend

Well, this happened:

Lets rewind. My work allows us two volunteer days. After our superb Halloween weekend I took the Monday to help out at our local zoo. Whilst there I helped take up the floor of the porcupines (who were very disgruntled at being kicked out of bed) and then made a gate for a giant bunny (who unlike the porcupines, was glad to see me and kept trying to nibble my ankles). And then I finished the day getting to feed the lemurs:

Pretty epic day, right? Then I got home, clipped the lead on Missys collar to take her out (I'd been crawling about in a porcupine bedroom, goodness knows what I was covered in but I needed a shower so was just going to go straight out) and then spotted this bright red mark on her leg. Well, it was pretty large and down to the meat, so we went straight back inside and I rang the vet for an emergency appointment. Thankfully Missys misspent youth means that I own our own buster collar and so we arrived at the vets. A call to both the hubby and the dog walker has left me with the mystery of how she came to have such a bad cut, but we have all decided that whats probably happened is that it was so deep it didnt bleed (and was therefore not noticed) and then she's worried it open.

So on the vets orders, its been short walks on the lead. We graduated from 5 minutes to 20 after a stitch check and hopefully they'll be out Friday and all will return to normal for the next post! It has meant a quiet weekend for us all (which is never actually a bad thing, I have a bad reputation for burning the candle at both ends with work and adventuring). I decided if we were having  pyjama weekend that Missy should have some pjs too, and here's the end result:

I'm going to say now, I dont like trousers on dogs. I'll put Missy in coats and dresses but the line in the sand has always been at trousers - they look weird and they impact on movement. Well, with a cut to the thigh and a reputation for licking, I was at my wits end. Missy despises the cone of shame and I needed something to act as a deterrent so that I didn't have to stick the cone on her just to boil the kettle, and the hubby suggested a trousers.

I think it works paired with her unicorn t-shirt and they didnt turn out as terribly as I expected (although drafting the pattern took two evenings alone - a dogs natural shape does not lend itself to trousers very well!)

And that's been the weekend. Lots of sewing (photos to come shortly) and cuddles on the sofa. The hubby and I snuck off to the cinema and even managed to get most of the Christmas shopping out the way online, so there's a bonus too!

Fingers crossed the vets give her a clear bill of health on Friday and we can commence with the regular schedule - Maisy, the puppy, had her last jags and kennel cough, so I expect a puppy play date to feature next week!