Rantings

My dad is 65 in a few days.  He finished working last night (although he’s not officially retired until 9th May, he had 3 days holiday to take).  As you can tell, it’s quite a special birthday and so I would like to get him a special birthday gift (plus a little retirement gift).  But, what do you get a 65 year old man who’s had everything he ever wanted for previous birthday gifts?  Answers on a postcard to:

Mrs Clueless
Somewhere in the Frozen North
United Kingdom

On a brighter note, I was offered some work a month and a half back by one of the local civic centres.  They asked me if I would be interested in “doing a bit of consultancy work” for them.  Well, that could mean anything, right?  So I arranged a meeting with them and soon discovered that what they wanted me to do was to teach people with learning disabilities how to make, wrap and sell soap, with the intention that it would become a profitable business and these people would eventually be able to draw a wage and stop claiming disability/incapacity benefit.  My initial contract was for 6 weeks but they’ve extended it by another 6.

I wasn’t sure exactly what these people would be like, but after working with them for a month and a half I am having some serious misgivings about this project.  There are so many aspects of a soapmaking business that they simply are not capable of handling.  Somebody is going to have to take care of all the legal aspects of it, such as compliance with cosmetic regulations (you soapers in the USA don’t know how lucky you are), trading standards requirements such as weights & measures and labelling, public liability, record keeping and batch numbers, bookkeeping … the list goes on.

Apart from all of that, I worked out that they would have to produce (and sell) between 700 and 800 bars of soap per week to make it a viable project.  Last Tuesday they had a particularly productive day – they made a grand total of 18 bars of soap.  These people have very short attention spans, they need a stick of dynamite up their arse to get them to put on any burst of speed, and they get bored very easily.  I teach them one day a week and even that is challenging for them.  If you try to get them to hurry up to increase productivity they get upset and start to cry. They really do need to be treated with kid gloves sometimes. Their project is doomed to failure before it’s even started and I’m beginning to feel very disheartened.  However, if we were to carry on one day a week and use it as a craft day, then I’m all for it.  It’s educational and they enjoy themselves immensely. One girl asked me who would teach them after I had finished.  I told her, “No one, because by then you will be experts and will be able to do it on your own”, to which she replied, with big sad eyes, “Then I don’t want to do it anymore.  I only ever want to make soap with you.”

Awwwwwww.

Thanks to Butchieboy for reminding me …
… so here goes.

Some of you who been reading my blog for a while may remember this and this.  We thought that after the court case that would have been it.  Finished.  But we were wrong.

Back in March we received a letter from his solicitor regarding the incident that that the f*****t was claiming for damages and personal injury.  I mean now the whole thing is getting stupid. It’s become completely obviously that he was never interested in justice and possibly even the welfare of his son, but in his bank balance.  Now it makes sense – the whole way he overreacted from the start, the fact he didn’t want to listen to anybody in case they actually talked some sense, the fact he didn’t even try to find out what happened before passing his own judgement (in fact, he still doesn’t know the full story so his conclusion is based entirely on assumption) … he’s so transparent and he’s making himself look very foolish. Even our solicitor said, “Oh for goodness sake!  He’s just after money. His solicitor is the kind that gives our profession a bad name.”  That kind of person disgusts me.  Anyone who will attempt to screw over somebody else just to make a quick buck is amoral, greedy and selfish, they have no respect for anybody else and they certainly can’t have any for themselves.  I suppose I should be thankful that if he wins, the money will be awarded to his son (who will get it when he’s 18), not to him. I don’t want him to get a penny. He deserves nothing from me but a big fat kick up the arse.  Or maybe a lobotomy.

This Live Sience article is well worth a read. I've always had this feeling that antibacterial soaps are not necessarily a good thing.

I have to have one. I simply have to have one of these baths. The copper one. It would be the perfect ornament for my handmade soaps.

Anyone who liked Samerost will just love Samerost2. You must save the canine friend of your little tellytubby-type guy.

Regine blogs about some bizarre taxidermy in the name of art here.  Worth a look if you’re not too freaked out by it all.

PS I will post an update soon … honest!

Other than blogging about silly websites I haven’t really written a serious entry about anything that’s been going on.  So much has happened there’s too much to say in one post, and quite frankly I simply don’t have the time right now.

On Thursday I have a funeral to go to.  As it’s in Welwyn Garden City I will be travelling tomorrow and coming home on Friday.  Once I get home I have a boatload of preparation to do for some consultancy work I’ve taken on starting on Tuesday, so I can’t see me writing anything before then.  I promise when the panic is over I will start bringing you, my readers, up to date.

Until then, take care.

Hatt baby!! Don't forget to watch the flash video!

My husband thinks this is only fair, after all ...

You know those poorly translated instruction manuals you get with new japanese digital cameras and stuff? Well, thise menu just knocks spots off them all!

Thanks to Halla in 2eggs for this link.

Fan-bloody-tastic!!!!!

This isn't real. It can't be real! Oh [insert deity of choice here], please tell me this isn't real!!!

Fab! I just love this crocheted taxidermy! Via We-Make-Money-Not-Art.

A few thoughts please for Sierrajazz, who has suffered a very hard loss recently ...

Grocery Shopping? Take your rubber gloves! Bleeuurrgh!

So, how do you know whether you've bought your loved one the Valentine's gift they want? Well, chances are you you haven't.

A must read if you like browsing through blogs. So utterly silly it's good. :-)

You are Bettie Page

Girl next door with a wild streak You're a famous beauty - with unique look And the people like you are cultish about it

UPDATE: I did this other similar quiz and guess who I was?

Marylin Monroe
You're blonde, curvy, scandalous, and dead by 36.
You spawn conspiracy theories you're so hot.


Pin up queen, or not?
brought to you by Quizilla

I’ve been following this news as it unfolds.  So sad, all those people.  I’m too choked to comment properly.

Ok, so who has been watching Life on Mars? Hubby and I have watched it since the beginning, but everyone I’ve asked hasn’t been watching it! It’s bloody brill! And so many little twists and turns when you least expect it. It just goes to prove to me that Britain makes bloody great films and dramas without having to rely on big budget special effects in order to get bums on seats.

Well done, BBC! Nice one!

Find out here.

Mine is Twisted Whispers.

So, somebody had their laptop stolen. Not only that but they posted details of said laptop on eBay, along with updates as to the police's progress in apprehending the crims. Heh heh!

This is mine:

Well, it seems that the bottle nosed whale that swam up the Thames died of dehydration, muscle damage and loss of kidney function. Poor thing. It was an eleven year old female, just a youngster. She must have been terrified. This makes me so sad. The theory goes that whales sometimes take a wrong turn around the northern headlands of Scotland when migrating, and end up in the North Sea rather than the Atlantic. They then try to correct their course by heading west, and sometimes this leads them up rivers. Poor girl was only trying to find her way back to her family. As whales get their water from the food they eat, and as there wasn’t much to feed a whale in the Thames, she became dehydrated. I feel so sad about all this, but I know that even if the rescue had been a success she would only have swam back upriver. Had they been able to fly her overland and released her off the West coast into the Atlantic then it would likely have been success, so maybe it’s better this way.

On a brighter note, I heard that the watering can that was used to keep her wet is likely to sell (if it hasn’t already) for £15,000, with the money going to the British Divers Marine Life Rescue.

Thanks to John Scalzi for this little snippet of humour.

I’ve just got back from the hospital.

Some of who’ve read my blog for a while will know that I have plantar fasciitis.  It started a few years back soon after I had bought a new pair of walking boots.  Salamon boots, they were.  They had good arch supports and lifted the toes allowing a good rocking motion when striding forward.  I started having pain in my feet very soon after starting to wear them.  However, I was told to persevere as it was because they were a new type of insole that I was not used to.

Pah!  I should have got my money back straight away.  Having been to see a physiotherapist, I now know that it is likely that boots have caused all my pain, that the tendon along the sole of my foot has stretched so much that I now have fallen arches, plantar fasciitis in both heels, and poor gait and posture.  I feel so angry.

I took advice and stuck with the boots.  I took the doctor’s advice and did exercises that made it worse.  I had a steroid injection which was given using an old method (straight into the bottom of my heel) which is very painful and was described by the physio as ‘barbaric’ when it could have been given in the side of the heel which is less traumatic.  I paid good money to see an orthotist who told me to wear high heels!!  Is it any wonder I’m quickly losing faith in so called experts?!

It turns out that my feet will never get back to normal.  The damage is done.  “Welcome to the world of fallen arches.”  Yeah, thanks, mate.  He did say, however, that I can be pain free and lead a normal life using a combination of treatments.  If this is the case, then why have I suffered with painful feet for the past 2 years or more?  Why the hell wasn’t I referred before now?  I’m pleased that the physiotherapist realises that I might still need to be referred further to the podiatrist.  At last, someone who can admit when they may not be able to help!

Neeaarrgh!  Someone stop me before I throttle someone!

We are both ill today.  We went to my parent’s house for dinner yesterday evening and this morning we were both up early with bad tummies.  I shan’t go into details, suffice it to say that I’m going back to bed now for a while.  Sorry, Mam, but it really could only have been the dinner.  :-(

Well, I’m shuffling painfully off to dog training class in half and hour. The pooch has been upgraded from the foundation course (designed for dogs over 1 year old with no formal training) to the bronze class, because he’s just too bloody good for them!! He he. That’s my boy!

UPDATE: The little git was horrible. He started off well, but when a husky misbehaved and ran up to him he didn't like it being in his face and got aggressive with it. After that, he wouldn't concentrate on what he was supposed to be doing and just generally disgraced himself. I'm not at all pleased. He is going to have to get his act together over the next few weeks, or he's not going to pass the exam and he'll get a big kick up the bum from me, because I'm not spending another £57 to take him through the course again! Grrr!

Ouch.  My feet hurt so badly.

I’ve been out this evening (I don’t usually go out on a Saturday night) and there were no seats to be had in Chicago Rock.  The place was full, and I had to stand the whole evening.  I have a problem with my feet.  I was diagnosed with Plantar Fasciitis in my left foot a while back, and had a cortisone injection in it.  Now I have the same thing in my right foot, and not only that, but I have generalised pain all over both my feet, especially over the top of the instep and up the lateral side, and in my ankles.  This comes on gradually after I have been on my feet for more than 10 minutes at a time.  So, I’m sure you can imagine the pain I’m in now.  I’m sitting with my feet up on the settee, typing this on my laptop, and my feet are still throbbing, especially in the joints in all of my toes.  I just wish I knew what it was.

Still, I have a physiotherapy appointment on Tuesday morning, so we’ll see what they say.  Personally, I think I should have been referred to the musculo-skeletal clinic in the beginning, but then, what the hell do I know?  I’m just the patient!  Pah!

So sad. I had really hoped that the whale might make it back out to sea, but it was not meant to be. Still, I can't help but wonder if we had done things differently the outcome might not have been so tragic ...

We went to see Thunder in concert at the City Hall last night.  Yes, that’s what a couple of saddo’s we are.  Most of the fans were greying ex-rockers who dug out their old leather bike jackets, dusted them off, then tried to squeeze into that and their old worn jeans.  At times I felt quite embarrassed to be there.  Then, when the band came on, the lead singer looked exactly the same and danced like my dad!  Aarrgh!

Well, I swallowed my pride and decided to make the best of it, so I screamed and clapped and sang along with everybody else.  It wasn’t so bad after that.  LOL

Newcastle 0-1 Blackburn

Pah!

Whale spotted in central London. Thanks to vanillasky for pointing me to the online article.

A blog worth browsing through. Some very interesting stuff. I personally like the USB coffee warmer, but I'm also thinking of taking part in swirlygirl's 52 figments.

Yes, I got fed up with the harbour template provided by Blogger and went googling  for something new.  I have a few I really like, so I may just be chopping and changing for a while!  In fact, it’s made me want to try my hand at designing my own, but not just yet.  There are so many other things I want to do first.  Anyway, I like these pink tulips, but watch out for a dark coffee template (literally) which I’ll be using at times depending on my mood!  Ha ha!    

Just in case anyone is wondering what the heck is going on with the appearance of my blog … fear not!  I’m just playing around with the templates because I got a bit bored with the old one.  No doubt it’ll be back to its old self when I realise I don’t really like any of the others!!

It's good to see someone is showing a bit of common sense!

Woo hoo!!!!! What more can I say?

Traumatised.

That’s me.  I need a few extra psychotherapy sessions just to get over the last 3 minutes.  I won’t be able to sleep for weeks.

If you want to know what’s caused my considerable distress, lookee here.  Please folks, protect your kids from this kind of material.

Don’t blame me for finding this … blame Monsieur Scalzi.

Testing … testing …

Anyone used this Blogger for Word plugin thingy?  I’m just giving it a go right now.  I’m not a big Word fan at the best of times, and have been posting most stuff via email, which works well, but I sometimes find I have to edit the post from Blogger online to sort out any formatting issues.  Phooey!    

UPDATE:  Oh cool! It works!!  He he!

Thanks Amy! I think that as well as getting to know folks a bit better, they're also a great way to get your blog advertised!! LOL



Four jobs you have had in your life:
Admin assistant, catering assistant, veterinary nurse, quality administrator

Four movies you would watch over and over:
Any of the LOTR movies, The African Queen, Blithe Spirit, Close Encounters

Four places you have lived:
Felling (Gateshead), Washington, Birtley, Pelton

Four TV shows you love to watch:
Ray Mears's Extreme Survival, Nigella Bites, Farscape, Star Trek

Four places you have been on vacation:
Norway, Denmark, France, Greece

Four websites I visit daily:
By The Way...
glittyknittykitty
LiveScience.com
we make money not art

Four of my favourite foods:
Chocolate, noodles, warm fresh bread, roast chicken

Four places I would rather be right now:
Kefalonia, in bed, in a hot bath, socialising in a coffee shop with friends

Four bloggers I am tagging:
This is so sad, I know, but I only know two folks with blogs, so ...

Amy - http://amylovespeccarys.blogspot.com/ (dunno if I'm allowed to tag the person who tagged me)
glittrgirl - www.glittyknittykitty.com/

Twenty seven ... yes, you heard correctly, twenty seven new species found in one area! I mean we may find the odd new species every so often, but 27 in one go?! Wow!

Early man was hunted by birds ... well, the tables have turned somewhat, eh? It's usually the blokes that pursue the birds (chics to any Merkans reading this) here!

Arthur C Clarke's 'Newspad' Finally Arrives. Yay! I always did say this guy was a prophet! Way to go, Arty! Oh, and well done to Sony as well.

I've been decorating the kitchen today. Painting the skirting and door frames. I'll do the doors and window frame tomorrow. Possibly, I'll even do the walls in emulsion tomorrow as well, but more than likely that'll get left till the day after. My feet hurt. My back hurts. My neck hurts. And I have to take The Boy to his training class tomorrow evening. [sigh]

So, right now, I'm going to open a bottle of beer, put my feet up and watch an episode or two of Farscape! Blue vegetables rule! Yeah!

This is truly macabre! Books bound in human skin! Eurgh!

This is just incredible. what an achievment! Someone has actually made a dolls house and is an exact replica of Bag End ... yes the home of Bilbo and later Frodo Baggins of Hobbiton! Go on, have a look! Plenty of photos.

Ok, so who remembers this wonderful, wonderful series? :-)

Fantastic! How to make your house look less drab on the outside!

I thought this knitting pattern for a slit throat choker was rather cool ... thanks go to my big sis for pointing me to this website!

Yes, I need to try my hand at a new skill. I've decided it's going to be cheese making. I made some rather tasty breakfast rolls yesterday and took them to my Mam's to have with the butternut squash and roasted sweetcorn soup we had as the starter. I remember thinking, "some homemade cheese would be nice with this homemade bread", and the idea was born.

So, now I have to try to find out what I need and how to make it! I used to have the link to a site that sold cheesemaking supplies and I ordered some annatto[1] seeds to colour my soap from them, so I hope I still have it (the link, not the annatto).

[1] a natural colouring used to make yellow/orange cheese

Ideas, anyone? ;-)

I hurt my back yesterday. I was emptying the car of big lumps of old carpet and underlay that I'd taken up to the tip/incinerator and something went ping/wrench/grind. I managed to drive home, but by the time I got home it was stiffening up. I took some painkillers and lay down, then got up when they were working and had a hot bath to try to loosen up the muscles. It's not so bad today. Not so much a sharp pain as an achy muscle feeling all over my lower back. It does jab at me when I stand/sit/attempt to bend down/go to the toilet etc, but I suppose I'll have to suffer it till it heals on it's own. :-( It's taken me absolutely ages to do a little bit of housework.

I think maybe I'll go and have another hot bath. :-) With candles and scented oils. And lots and lots of bubbles. :-) I suppose there are some good things about having a bad back. I can relax without feeling guilty about it.

Some of you who read my blog may also be readers of my friend Amy's blog (link over there <----- to the left). She's been away for a while ... split up with her other half and got a place of her own. Unfortunately, this left her without a computer or internet access, but Santa was good to her and she's now back blogging again as usual. So, head on over and read what's been happening! See ya there!

Ever wondered where all the spoons go? Click on the image for more.

I bet you were wondering where I'd got to, weren't you?!

[fx: tumbleweed blows across the desert]

Ok, so perhaps not, but I'll post a quick update anyway, whether you like it or not.

After the awful incident with the neighbour, I took a serious downhill decline. Some of you may know I've been battling depression for some years, and this sent me into one hell of a nose-dive. I considered killing myself on more than one occasion, which, when I think back now sounds so silly, but it was far from it at the time. I was so deeply saddened and shocked that my dog had gone for someone in the first place, but then to be treated not like someone who had made a mistake but like a hardened criminal who deserved the worst the law could hand out was just beyond me. We sought the opinions of two independent animal behaviourists who both said that he was not a dangerous dog, and indeed one of them suggested that he had in fact exhibited typical herding behaviour and not out and out aggression, and suggested that we attend formal training classes with him so that we are always in control of that behaviour. The court hearing was on 8th December. The magistrate saw sense and fined us the minimum that the court can and sent us away. That's it. It's over with and finished. The idiot can't take it further and have our dog destroyed no matter how much he wants to. He will get a piddly £50 compensation out of it, which he'll probably be really insulted by because, to be honest I thought that money is what he was after all along. I mean, nobody goes on the way he did unless he had an ulterior motive.

On a lighter note, we spent New Year in Whitby. This is the first year that there has been a gothic weekend organised for New Year in Whitby, and it seemed to go down very well indeed. On New Year's Eve we were given a tour of the cellars below the Metropole and shown the old smuggler's tunnel which leads out to the cliffs. New Year's Day we had a very nice meal followed by party games, and of course every night there was partying and dancing till the wee hours. We came home yesterday and I felt like I could sleep for a week.

Right, I need a cuppa and I'm still washing clothes from the weekend, so I'll finish here for now and post another update in a while.

Catch you later.

The dog behaviourist came on Saturday. She did some work with Sonny, then asked if there was a field nearby where we could do some long leash work. I said I didn't want to walk past that bloke's house but she assured me that he wouldn't say or do anything, and besides she was with us. So off we went. Boy was she wrong. Out the house they came (him and his wife) and started shouting and bawling at us. He kept saying that he was personally going to make sure that the dog was put to sleep and told the behaviourist that she was wasting her time because the dog was going to be dead soon. Ian warned him that if anything did happen to Sonny he would be in trouble (with the police) and the guy started bracing himself shouting "what did you say?" and making threatening advances towards Ian. His wife claimed that her son had been mauled by our dog (he had been nipped through his clothing ... didn't even draw blood) and complained that they hadn't even had an apology. To be honest, if my dog had mauled the boy I'd have taken him to be put to sleep myself immediately. I told her that her husband hadn't even given us a chance to apologise. As soon as we opened our front door to him he started with the bullying and threatening tactics. She said we'd had all week to come and apologise and I said I was steering well clear because he'd behaved like a psycho and frightened me. Then the bloke said to me "just you wait, I'm going to show you what real fear is". The behavourist was trying to reason with them, too, but they wouldn't listen to anything she had to say and told her she didn't know what she was talking about.

I no longer feel safe in my own home. I'm having serious panic attacks and I'm just a bag of nerves. The police should be visiting us again either this afternoon or this evening. Someone advised me to keep a diary of events. These are known as temporaneous notes and are admissable evidence, apparently. Let's face it this guy is going to end up with a civil harrassment case haunting him if this doesn't get sorted soon. We are doing everything above board, and are doing all that can be reasonably expected of us to ensure this never happens again. Having our dog killed for giving the boy some bruises is not reasonable. I will fight the bastard every step of the way.

It used to be that home was the only safe place to be. Anyone who has suffered anxiety/depression with associated agoraphobia will know what I'm talking about. One avoids situations which bring on panic attacks, such as being pushed about by crowds in the shops down to stupid things like answering the phone or front door. It escalates so that one's world becomes smaller and smaller, till eventually the only safe place is the chair you're sitting in and still the panic attacks don't go.

It's taken me a long, long time (several years) to work through this, and with the help of an absolutely brilliant psychotherapist over the past year I'm well on the way to leading a normal life ... so much so that I was starting to seriously think about trying to get back into work.

Sunday's events, however, seem to have had a major impact on my progress, but not in the way in which you might think. I'm starting to have anxiety attacks when I'm IN THE HOUSE on my own. After the threats we received at our front door on Sunday I no longer feel safe and can't wait to get out of the house in the morning. Today I spent the day at Ian's shop helping out, but when it became time to go home I started fretting and worrying about it. I was having palpitations, trembling and feeling nauseous. I had a pain in my chest and I was fighting back the urge to yell and sob and run away. It was just awful.

I did, however, overcome it, said goodbye to Ian and drove home as calmly as possible. Now I'm home it's not so bad, but the anger I now feel is almost overwhelming. I doubt if the bloke would give toss how much of an effect he's had on me, but I'm so angry all I want to do is go and smash his effing head in! No, don't worry, I'd never do it, but I've never felt rage as powerful as this in my whole life. If only I had some way of venting it. Maybe I should take up boxing ... waddya think? ;-)

Haven't been on for a while, but I've had a really stressful day and I'm just so chewed up I can't sleep, so I just had to let some of it out, so I'll say sorry in advance for boring you ...

Today, my dog bit a child. :-( Nothing serious, just a couple of nips ... didn't even go through his clothing, but that's not the point. He went for an eleven year old child. I feel so shocked and ashamed, I just want a big hole to open up in the ground and swallow me. I apologised to the boy, and a neighbour took him in (the boy had come to visit the neighbour's son when my dog rushed out of his own garden and into the neighbours') and said he would let his dad know. I said we would be in all day so he could come and talk to us about it.

Well, sure enough, he turned up, didn't even give us a chance to apologise and try to make amends, just told us he was calling the police and if they didn't order us to put Sonny to sleep he would come back and cut his throat. Needless to say, I was utterly shocked and just stood there at the door staring at him in disbelief. Once the door was closed I started crying again and shaking uncontrollably. That guy really really scared me.

Now, I know Sonny has problems, but I had no idea it was anywhere near as bad as this. We've only had him a few months, he came from a rescue place, and as well as being immaciated, he showed all the signs of being beaten and abused. He has some neuroses which we have been working on. He's been doing really well with his obedience training, and towards everyone else we know he is friendly and affectionate, so naturally, this came as a huge shock. And on top of that I had vicious threats from the boy's father.

Well, I phoned my cousin's house. Her husband is a policeman, and spoke to him, asking for advice. Or rather, I bubbled and wept while trying to speak coherently. He was very understanding and said that it didn't work that way, that he had no right to demand Sonny be destroyed, that the police did not have the power to order he be euthanised, and that the chances are it wouldn't even go to court. The boy sustained minor injuries, and in all his years in the police he had not known of one case like this that crown prosecution took up.

At worst we might get a fine, but more than likely we would get letter stating that we be required to ensure that he be more properly secured in future. Fair enough. I take full responsibility for my dog's actions and I agree he was dangerously out of control in a public place. He also said we should ring the police as well, to report the incident (which we are required to do so anyway) but to also tell them of the man's threats.

Well, a while later, the police arrived. He'd already been to talk to the boy and his father and took a statement. He'd also told the man that because he had made those threats that if anything happened to Sonny there would be arrests made at his house. Apparently the guy apologised to the officer for his conduct, but of course we can't expect an apology. Let's face it, he didn't get one from us ... he never gave us a chance! (To be truthful, I feel his son deserves the apology, not him.) We had to go down to the station to be interviewed on audio tape.

After the interview, the officer told us what the boy had put on his statement, and, as eleven year olds are apt to do, he had embellished his story somewhat! Apparently, Sonny latched onto his leg and violently shook his head for 10 seconds before having a go at the other leg! Now, I can't get angry at the boy, he'd had a nasty shock and maybe that is how he perceived it, but his dad saw those wounds (minor abrasions caused by friction from the fabric of his clothing and bruising from the pressure of the nips) and yet he believed what his son told him, and that's what really gets to me! Everyone else is in the wrong and of course his son is such an angel he just wouldn't tell a wee lie! I understand that he was angry and being protective over his boy, but really! Doesn't he realise he's just making himself appear really really stupid?

Anyway, the policeman told us that we seemed like sensible people who were already taking steps to correct Sonny's behaviour and had plans to install a larger gate and a crate for Sonny, and we had contacted a dog behaviourist for help, and that he really didn't think anything was going to come of it. Now we just have to wait and see.

Incidentally, the dog therapist is costing us £240. Just don't ask where the money is coming from because we don't know yet. But something has to be done. Money can be replaced. Sonny can't.

The vet rang yesterday. It is a histiocytoma after all, so I can now relax. :-)

On a lighter note, Ian came home tonight with Sonny after walking him and told me that he (Sonny) had made his first kill! Aargh! I've never had a dog that killed anything! Biff's caught lots of things but didn't hurt any of them and let them all go once she got bored. Sonny killed a rabbit outright and brought it back to show Ian, but the rotten scone wouldn't bring it home with him!! Harrumph! I'd have brought it home and put it in a pie. I love rabbit. But not Ian. He said he didn't think he could eat anything that he had just seen killed. The daft sod. If that was the case I'd have shared the pie with Sonny.

Some of you who have been reading my blog from before November will know that my beloved seventeen year old pooch, Biff, died quietly in my arms after battling cancer for several months.

Last night, Sonny, my two and a half year old Border Collie dog was playing with Ian when he (Ian!) noticed that he had a lump on his leg. I've just got back from the vet surgery. As he's had breakfast this morning they can't take it off today, so he's got to go back tomorrow morning to have it taken off and sent to the labs. Please keep your fingers crossed that it turns out to be benign. I don't think I could take losing another dog to cancer so soon.

Well, that about wraps it up for the photo entries. I'd just like to say a big thank you to Aris and Lula for making us feel so welcome, and for anyone else wanting to visit Kefalonia, go to Katelios Studios in Katelios!! You won't be disappointed!

The owners of the studios. From right to left: Lula, Georgio, Georgio's girlfriend (never did learn her name), and Aris.

And I don't want you see my sunburned nose, either!

No, I don't want my picture taken!!

A view across to Assos on a clear day.

This is the monastery. Very very pretty.

... and ostriches. Hang on a sec ... ostriches?!! For reasons no doubt only known to the monks, these were kept at the Monastery of Agios Gerasimou.

... wild goats ...

... a gecko ...

... swallowtails ...

.... an swallows ...

There were cute little lizards everywhere!

Our first night there and already we were being introduced to the locals at our front door!

Well, I'm back. Came back on Sunday, actually, but didn't get my photos transferred from camera to PC till now ... you know how it is ... too much laundry and unpacking to do, shopping, family to visit, etc! Our apartment was nice and clean, though basic ... which is all we expected for the money we paid! Still, there was a nice cool pool and a bar, so what more could we ask for? And to top it off, our favourite restaurant, Persa's Taverna, was just over the road. We hired a car for the full two weeks so we got to travel around the island quite a bit. Photos to follow shortly. I guess the only bad thing I have to say about Kefalonia is it has far too many mosquitoes. I'm still taking antihistamines even now!

Well, I'm off on my jollies tomorrow. It's been a while since my last entry, and to be honest I've been so busy washing, ironing and packing, I've been too tired to post an entry the past couple of days anyway. Still, off to the Med I go, to soak up the sun, drink cold beer, and eat lots of my favourite rabbit stifado!

So, enjoy, folks! Behave while I'm gone, and maybe there'll be some interesting photos to show you when I get back!

Toodle-oo!

I'm seriously thinking of building one of these when I go to Kefalonia in a week's time!

Click on the image to go to the website.

My new greenhouse!

It's erected and glazed and nearly all finished! We got this greenhouse for free, so it was quite a bargain. Ian is currently building me shelves and potting tables, and one of them is in use already! I'm so excited ... I have transferred my tomatoes, peppers and chilies to the greenhouse, so we'll see what happens. :-)

On a not so good note ... my new RAM seems to be faulty. The bigger hard drive runs like a dream, but my pooter won't boot up from HD or CDRom when the new RAM is in, so obviously I had to remove it. I'll be leaving in an hour to go to my therapy appointment and will stop off at the repair shop on the way, so I'll keep you posted as to what's happening. Ho hum.

UPDATE: The bloke at the repair shop tried it in my laptop and his own and it did exactly the same thing in both of them ... which is nothing. No booting up, nothing. So he tried another one with exactly the same results. Needless to say, they are going back to the manufacturer, and hopefully he will have one that works for me tomorrow. I'm going over there tomorrow lunch time to pick it up.

Sorry for the quiet period, folks. My hard drive died without warning, so my pooter has been in the pooter hospital having a hard drive transplant and memory enhancement treatment.

It is now recovering, with lots of TLC, and I should be back blogging as usual once I have all my necessary software installed.

TTFN