What are you all up to

Tough one moulesy, we lost 2 dogs in the space of 12 months, we have just returned from the site where we had to take the decision to have Rufs put to sleep, now we have the aweful dilema of do we take on another dog or not, i am resisting the temptation mainly for practical reasons, e.g. since my OH had her stroke she is not well balanced and i fear walking a dog for her may not be possible so most of the walking would be down to me and although i cycle and swim a lot, walking for me is not great since i had both knees replaced, we are both in our 70's, i am 77 and although i consider myself to be very fit who knows just how fit i will be in 10 years time, and then there is the cost element, in Rufs last few days it cost us £1700 for various test and then the final end treatment, ok we had insurance but this is very expensive and policies are full of get out clauses as to why they will not pay etc.

miss not having a dog, very much, but when i look out on those cold wet windy mornings and think, thank goodness we do not have a dog to walk. Surprisingly the boot of the Sorento is still made up for Rufs and we still have all his indoor beds & toys, feeding bowls, is this telling us something ? 

Moulesy, you and your wife gave Lady the most wonderful, caring life that she could have hoped for if she had been able to ask you and you've proved by your actions that you've given her dignity in her passing.

Our obligations to our pets extend to not only providing them with a safe and loveable environment to live in but to think of the pets needs first and foremost when coming to a decision to end their suffering or save them from suffering further. Unfortunately too many owners do not think this way but you both can be proud of your role as guardians. Still tough to handle but you've done the right thing by Lady. Best wishes.

Thank you all for your kind thoughts.

If you would like to go for a walk round our farm, sit down, put your headphones on and click onto Countrystride. Sit, relax and listen for an hour.

Countrystride at Strickley

Sorry to hear your news M

We arrived on site here near Stirling early afternoon not very bright but quite warm site is quite busy it is bank holiday weekend though. We had a lovely meal at the on site pub here which was excellent and a couple of pints. Now back at the van not much planned tonight just a couple of pints in the van and watch the telly.

Hope everyone else has a nice weekend 

Goldie, that was a wonderful listen. Thank you.

I don't know about sit and relax. I listened whilst I cleared 2 weeks, more to come!, of fine dust from our well used rooms. But it certainly helped me along and made the house look presentable for my brother and sister in law's visit tomorrow.

I generally listen to countryside, and when I saw the title of this episode I did wonder if it was 'you'. I hadn't listened until now.

We now have a door back on the bathroom, I've given the bathroom a whizz over for now. Looks lovely, but very echoy 🤣. Cloakroom now empty of useful facilities and walls almost tiled. When it's all done I'll 😱🫣 spring clean all through...... Hopefully they'll be another week 🤣🤣.

Had a  fabulous guided tour of Buckden Tower with our WI this afternoon. Was once the Bishop of Lincoln summer Palace. Katherine, using their spelling, of Aragon was there for a year before going to Kimbolton. Came into private ownership in 19th century, now belongs to the Catholic missionary.  I grew up very near Leez Priory in Essex, now a wedding venue . Lots of similarities. Both worth a visit uf your in the areas. I also went into the even earlier church next door.

It finally got warmer and we saw some blue sky!

Right enough respite,must tidy up and find a crust - I'm certainly not cooking now 😉

Very sorry to hear your news Moulesy. I remember tales of Lady from even before you first got Ralph. They are one of the family and always very missed. Not easy to make that decision or do what needs to be done, the last act of love. 

Annual eye test today. Proved to be fairly expensive. Having said that the current ones are two years old and recently one of the arms decided to part company with the frame! Rather than a Jack Duckworth repair I used super glue which seemed to work quite well! For the new ones, rather than the traditional tortoiseshell frames I have gone for a fairly bright blue. Probably end up looking like Christopher Biggins, but I felt like a change!!!!

After a nice lunch in JL we went down to the Electrical Appliance Department. We had our kitchen redone about 4 years ago and decided to have an integrated fridge/freezer. Whilst looking very nice we have not been that happy with the performance of the fridge part as it seems to create too much moisture. For many years we have had freestanding completely frost free products where this just was not a problem. So we started to think about swapping it for a new one only to discover that all integrated models seem only to be the same as we already have. To change to a Bosch model would cost about £900 including installation.  So the dilemma is just to put up with what we have or rip out the housing and go back to a free standing model which we are reluctant to do. 

David

We both are so sorry to hear your news,  Moulesy, she was a lovely dog and we know just how much you all will miss her company on your walks. 

Things have been pretty hectic the last 2/3 weeks, could do with a rest!

DD has not ordered a new car yet as she is swithering over a few of the options she would like to add, plus the initial preferred dealer has gone very quiet on the price.    Instead we have been kept busy with this flat of hers.

She has had the place professionally cleaned, now looking much better, and we have been working our way round the various things that need to be done in the correct order.    I have spent a few days lifting the old laminate flooring in the lounge and hallway, and the flooring in the kitchen, plus removing the old beading on the downstairs laminate, as it is good enough to keep but the beading needs to be replaced.

Last weekend we took most of the rubbish to the local tip in 2 loads, and now I am working on removing the glue that had been used so the skirting will be clean for the painter.  Today I was removing various hooks and screws from the walls and filling holes, taking down curtain poles and light fittings, but there is still a lot to deal with.

Tomorrow DD will come with me to help, and make sure I am doing the right things, Daddy will be looking after the boys, and OH will drive us there and pick us up later as parking is very difficult.

The damaged window has been checked over by a joiner and pronounced OK after adjustment, so that has saved a lot of  hassle, and money, the painter has visited to see what needs to be done and prepare his quote, OH is making lists of things to be purchased, and DD is trying to decide on the new flooring, which I will lay after the painting has been done, and working out when to order the new fridge/freezer and when to organise the removal of the old one.  There is also a dishwasher to be re-installed as the tenants did not want it. That is currently stored in our utility room.

At this rate I cannot see the place being ready to put on the market until late July as we are all off to visit my sister in Norway once school stops for the summer, and that date is now just a month away, but we will see how things go.