Goodbye 2014

Another year nearly gone, they certainly whizz by faster as you get older. This year has been a quiet one for me really. I purposely did not do much travelling as I knew I'd need money for the next U2 tour. I did miss going away, I still get itchy feet once I've been home around three months and so have had cabin fever a few times this year! But the two short breaks I did have were lovely, I ticked something off my bucket list when I visited Stockholm in the summer. It was a place I've wanted to visit since my mid-teens and it didn't disappoint, such a beautiful city. The other short trip was to Bordeaux to celebrate my friend Debbi's official 50th birthday and we had a wonderful time and got to learn lots about wine making (and drinking) too!

The First Photo I Saw of Seamus

The highlight of my year was getting my new dog Seamus. I'd decided I wanted another dachshund and twice nearly got a rescue dog and, through no fault of mine, both times it didn't happen. The day after the second rescue fell through I saw lovely dachshund puppies advertised and I reserved one. I picked him up two weeks later and he has been a joy, very laid back and confident and rarely barks, unusual for a dachshund, but good as my other dachshund Pepsi can bark for two! Seamus makes me smile every day and is a sweet, loving boy and I now have a lovely canine gang.

Another highlight was my longest and closest friend got the all clear from breast cancer which was such a wonderful day and a huge relief. Health is everything really. You can have all the money in the world but if you haven't got your health that doesn't matter. I am lucky in that I am healthy, got minor problems like anyone my age would have, but nothing serious and I thanks heaven for that.

Biggest excitement was the new U2 album, Songs of Innocence and the tour announcement. It was a long time coming but worth the wait, U2 did what I've always wanted them to do - go back to their own Irish roots to look at how that formed them as people and as a band. I've always hoped for an album like this because I feel that the very fact they are Irish (or to be more accurate in the case of Edge and Adam) grew up in Ireland, is what makes them a special band. The result is a deeply personal, and at times moving, album that often lays Bono's soul bare as much of the lyrical content relates to his experiences. I always admire people who can do that, it's not an easy thing to open up innermost feelings like that to the

wide world. Lyrically too it is fantastic, some of the best for a long time. I was so glad that this album captured my heart again as the last few albums have been good but nothing special and I was drifting off a little, thinking they were past putting out an album would be able to excite and capture my heart again. But I was proved wrong, U2 can still surprise and delight me and I feel this album is very much for longtime fans like me, we understand where they are coming from with it. Now I can't wait to hear the new songs performed live because they always grow and develop in that setting. People have moaned about it being put in their Itunes purchases, but they didn't have to download it did they? Also, I have just got a new android phone and in the music app were quite a few songs that I had not put there that I could download if I wanted and had to delete, so it is a common thing.

Next year will be a busier one for me travel-wise, already got trips to London and Glasgow organised to see U2 and will be going to Dublin for shows there when they are announced. I will also be having a short break in Scotland with my cousin in the spring so lots to look forward to and I'll be writing about much of it here.

Thank you for reading my blog, and I wish you a happy and healthy 2015!

Puppies, Theatre and Birthdays

Dear me I've been a bit neglectful of my blog this month, so thought I'd make another April entry so I have at least two this month!

Seamus is thriving, he's grown so much! He and Pepsi are great friend now and enjoy tiring each other out racing about the living room and play fighting. Ellie is still a bit wary and I have to watch she doesn't stand on the little fellow as she is such a klutz lol.

Seamus has attended puppy class and was very confident and at ease from the start. He is intelligent, walks well on the lead and is getting better with house-training.

I had forgotten how much work a puppy is though, they are a real commitment and you need patience and more patience. But it is all worthwhile, Seamus is a joy and I love him to bits.

Inbetween looking after my puppy I have started a new job within the firm I work for and it is ok. I now have a two week rolling rota so know exactly what I'll be working unlike the previous job. So I think it has been a good move.

I went to see Dancing at Lughnasa by Brian Friel at The Theatre by the Lake in Keswick the other week. It's a play I've wanted to see for a long time. It is set in a kitchen of the home of five very different unmarried sisters, their disgraced priest brother recently returned from Africa and Michael the illegitimate son of Chris, one of the sisters. Michael as a man looking back to 1936 is the narrator. Not a lot happens on the surface and as they go about their repetitive lives, there is much repression and restraint. But beneath this there is passion that occasionally shows itself as it does when the women, even the self righteous matriarch Kate, movingly dance wildly to music coming from Marconi, as they called their radio. Little happens, yet, everything is changing.  It is a touching, deep play that has many themes that intertwine that I feel I would like to see it again to fully appreciate it.

My friend Debbi is 50 this year and like me last year she is having an official and a real birthday. For the official one she has said she wants to go wine tasting in France, what an excellent choice. Really looking forward to celebrating her day in that way, France, good food and wine and great company, perfect!

My New Family Member

As some of you know I lost my 12 year old dachshund Max tragically last October. Recently I felt ready to get another dachshund to keep my wire daxie Pepsi and daxie cross Ellie company. Twice I was very close to adopting a rescue dachshund, but both times, through no fault of my own, they fell through. The last time that happened was on March 16th, then on the 17th I saw dachshund puppies for sale on Facebook and soon my name was down for a gorgeous wire boy!

On March 25th my friend Justyna and I drove through to County Durham to pick up my pup, who was just then ready to go to his new home.  The trip was pleasant, across to Hexham and then onto the A68  through Northumberland and into County Durham, up and down rolling hills with some beautiful big country vistas.

The puppy was gorgeous in real life as he was in the photos and on video I'd seen, I met his lovely mum and dad as well as his human mum!  I had shortlisted three names, (all Irish as I'd bought him on St Patrick's Day), Paddy, Dillon and Seamus and when I saw him I just knew he had to be a Seamus, it was perfect for him. His full title is Seamus O'Sausage, just couldn't resist lol!

I had a first photo taken of Seamus and me before we set off home, unfortunately he is slightly blurred, when he's awake he's never still for long. Seamus was snuggled in a fleecy blanket for the journey home and slept all the way.

Once home I introduced him to Pepsi and Ellie, they were interested in him but I was careful as he was so tiny. He was lively, bright and had a hearty appetite. He also settled remarkably well, with only a little whining in the first 24 hours, pretty amazing since he'd left his siblings and the only home he'd known.

Since then he has been a joy, already in just over a week he has grown and put on weight and is very settled indeed. My other two dogs are getting to know him, though it will take a while for them to get fully used to this crazy little pup tearing around lol! He'll be going to puppy classes soon, there's no doubt he will be the smallest there - however, as with most daxies, he is big on attitude and personality! So, welcome to the family Seamus, you'll get lots of love here and I know you will bring much joy.

Bah Humbug Christmas, 2013 and All That

Well the mad Christmas season is over and I'm glad, I'm a bit "bah humbug" at Christmas. I was maybe a bit more bah humbug this year than usual as I had two event over the festive season. One was that my dog Max went a bit barmy, got really crotchety and bit me! I've never been bitten by any dog I've had and it was a shock. He was generally extremely bad tempered for no apparent reason. Now, my Max has always been a bit of a grump but this was extreme and I knew there must be a physical reason for his behaviour.  So after the holidays I took him to the vet and she diagnosed arthritis in his thoracic vertebrae. I had been worried that maybe he had the dreaded dachshund curse, slipped/herniated discs due tot heir long spine, so I was actually relieved it was something less serious. She gave him a pain-killing jab on the spot and gave me some to give him each day. And I'm pleased to say he is much better, just a bit grumpy occasionally, but not aggressive, poor fellow, he must have been in a lot of pain.

My other Xmas event was sewage coming up through a grate in my garden! Luckily it was only slowly oozing out, but still, not very pleasant! I rang United Utilities and they said what I already knew, if it was a pipe from the apartment it was my responsibility to sort, if it was a main sewer it was theirs, they said they would send someone out to check it out.  After phoning I went to a friend's for a meal and three hours later when I got home all the sewage was gone! Luckily the blockage must have been in the main pipe and they sorted it in record time, thanks United Utilities!

So now it's 2013. I always get quite sentimental at New Year, thinking of the times past and those to come.  It loved ones not with you anymore, and now, especially as I get older, how fast time is passing by.  This year will be a BIG birthday for me and I'm celebrating it in Dublin with a week's stay in Dublin with a small party one night in the gorgeous penthouse of The Clarence Hotel, so looking forward to that!

Another plan for 2013 is to spend New Year in Iceland with my good friend Dianne and her daughter Danielle. It all depends on funds on my part, but I hope to be able to do it, New Year in Iceland seems amazing and I've always wanted to visit that stunning country in mid-winter - very good chance of seeing northern lights too! Besides those two trip I haven't anything else planned but I'm sure things will come about as the year progresses.

But really, what matters is to be happy and healthy, that's my main wish.  Something I've learned through life experiences is to take every opportunity that presents itself, life passes so quickly and once you get into middle age you really don't know what's around the corner, so make the most of every day and, if possible grab every experience life throws at you.  So I hope 2013 will be good for you, and thank you for reading my musings on this blog :)

A Breath of Summer!

Cheeky Boy Pepsi!

We've had a lovely couple of summery days, 21 degrees (my perfect temp!), sunshine, gentle breeze. Suddenly people are wearing their bright summer clothes, having barbecues and picnics - we Brits know how to make the most of EVERY (rare this year) good summer's day lol! I was getting morose at seeing autumn clothes appearing in the shops AND Christmas cards!!  Can you believe it Christmas cards in early august ridiculous.

I've been for a lovely walk in Rickerby Park with the boys earlier, we all enjoyed it.  It felt like we'd actually had a summer, nature had that lazy, ripe stillness of a high summer day, basking in the rich fertility of the season, I could almost forget the weeks of rain, almost.  I just love that feel of a mid-summer day, which reminds me I must go looking for brambles soon;

I like walking in this large park, even when it is busy it does not feel crowded. It is almost in the centre of the city flanked on one side by the River Eden, yet it has cattle freely wandering about and grazing, not many places the size of Carlisle can boast that!  I had to laugh as one of the cows decided to wipe her snout on a convenient parked car as I was passing by!

River Eden in Rickerby Park

The boys were the usual child magnet, and I had a couple of little girls come across to see the dogs as I walked along. I think small children relate to small dogs because they always love my boys.

The Cow Beside the Car She Cleaned her Snout on LOL!

I bumped into someone I worked with years ago (Irish Tom, some of you will know him!) and we had a good chat and relished the fact we were retired from the stressful jobs we had.

I really enjoyed having a lovely, long relaxing walk again, something the weather has put the reins on these last few weeks, let's hope I get the chance to do more before the winter sets in.

Irresistible!

I found this photo on one of my favourite websites, The Long and the Short of it All, aren't they just irresistible?   You can read the story behind the photo here, some bribery for posing for the photo was involved LOL!

Paw Rest

My older dog Max is on paw rest!  I noticed this morning that he was limping a bit, so this afternoon took him to the vet.  She said it seemed to be a strain.  I immediately felt guilty as it probably happened as a result of the long walks we've been taking these last few days (£21 for a five minute consultation, I should have been a vet). Poor Max, but then he is 70 in human years.  He should be fine after having a little rest for a few days and no more very long walks.  So it'll be Pepsi and me hitting the road for the treks in future.

Glorious Summer and Memories

We've been having some great weather these past few days, very warm and sunny.  I was working this morning, but shortly getting home I went out for a walk with the dogs.  There's just something so relaxing about walking with dogs, you are kind of in harmony with your pets.  Plus you always get into conversation with some other dog walker you meet on the way as you immediately have something in common.  I've just got a new pedometer, one that actually works properly, and was using that for the first time.  I can't stand gyms etc, but need to exercise more, so I'm aiming to do a proper walk every day as part of my weight loss regime.

It was a lovely walk, the birds singing, happy as us humans to have the good weather, the hedges seemed alive with the chattering of sparrows!  The trees had that gorgeous, fresh green hue of early summer and buttercups gave a bright yellow hue to many of the fields.  On a summer day like this in England there's no better place to be - shame we don't get more of this weather though!

The area I walked in was around the hospital that I used to work at - the main Victorian hospital is gone, there are just a few parts left, now turned into exclusive apartments amongst newly built houses.  I often walk through there, but I must have felt nostalgic today because I was thinking of all the memories held in that area- where I spent much of my nursing career.  I must say they were mainly happy memories, I loved my job until red tape and staff shortages made it impossible to do the job as well as I wanted to.  It was slightly scary to think that the small boarded up building that was the "school", as they called it then, was where I began my training almost 34 years ago, yikes!!!

It's almost three years since I retired from nursing now, and I know I left at the right time for me.  I have a couple of small jobs that still involve caring, but there is no stress, and I have the time to enjoy other things in my life, like walking 1.6 miles with Pepsi and Max!

Dachshund Lost In Tornado-Related Wreck Found 5 Weeks Later

Just shows how resilient these little dogs are!

The Long and Short of it All: A Dachshund Dog News Magazine: Dachshund Lost In Tornado-Related Wreck Found 5 We...: "With tornadoes devastating much of the United States this spring, it's awesome to hear a story of hope when there is such despair. Excerp..."

Autumn's Definitely Here

If Max stands still enough he blends in with
the autumn colours!

Well I can't sleep tonight so I thought I'd write a bit on my blog.  Yesterday was a real autumn day, cool, the trees not yet stripped bare, but the wind whisking up the leaves that have fallen and twirling them in the air, the orange/brown/red/russet tones of the season all around.  I used to hate this time of year when things were dying, preparing for the long sleep of winter, but now I don't really mind it, the colours are beautiful and the cool air bracing and I enjoyed being out with the dogs.

I met my friend Christine for lunch in town and, as always, we had a good natter, putting the world to rights.  Tonight I am going out for a Greek meal with two friends I used to work with, time to catch up on all the gossip!  We meet roughly once a month for a meal and each time when I've listened to what they have to say and see how stressed they are I breathe a sigh of relief that I'm not doing that kind of job anymore. And things will only get worse when the government announces all the cuts to the country's budget later this week.

I'm counting down the days until Debbi and I go to Dublin for New Year, 72 to go!  It'll be great to go back, I'm missing the city having only been there for three days earlier in the year. All I can say is roll on!

It's nearly 3am so I suppose I'd better try to get some sleep!  Night night.

Bloody Dogs!

The Crime

(My RADLEY purse!)

The Perpetrator

Max the Dax, butter wouldn't melt eh?

Hudson the Dachshund

Just love this, so funny and Hudson looks just like my Max!

Brrrrrr......... The Big Freeze Continues

It was minus 15 degrees centigrade here last night!  This cold snap just goes on and on, I saw that we were way colder than Iceland yesterday.  I was out walking my dogs and felt a cold I'd not felt before nipping at my face (the only part of me open to the elements).  It's such a palaver getting ready to go out at the moment, putting layers of clothes on, boots, scarf, hat, gloves, then of course coats on the dogs too.  Pepsi and Max, being dachshunds, almost disappear in the snow at times but Pep loves it, Max would be quite happy not to go on walks at the moment.  Being wired-haired the snow collects on Pepsi's tummy and forms snowballs, if I walked him long enough he'd be one big snowball rolling along LOL!  Not the best weather for dachshunds.

But having said that we have had a few days of bright blue skies and sunshine, yesterday's sunset was gorgeous, with wispy baby pink clouds in the blueness.  When I was little, my mum used to say that the angels were baking cakes when there were pink clouds, and it made me think of her when I saw them, she too would have noticed their beauty.  The mountains close to where I live look beautiful cloaked in white.  This kind of weather is severe, but there is also beauty in its austerity.

Apaprently this freakishly cold weather here is due to a static weather depression that is literally sucking in icy air from Siberia right onto us.  And at the moment there is no sign of a let up, we've been shivering our socks off for almost a month now. 

The school where I work is closed, as are most of the schools in this area.  I still have to go in to do my hours though or I wouldn't get paid.  I have been able to get there ok - my car temperature display told me it was -10 centigrade at 4pm today as I drove home, yikes.  Most other things have been cancelled - my voluntary work, meeting friends, Tai Chi, shopping (I'm saving a bit money!) people are only going out if absolutely necessary.  My friend Debbi was supposed to be visiting me this weekend, she lives in the Midlands but it just wasn't feasible for her to come.   The Veuve Cliquot will have to wait in my fridge - we always treat ourselves to a bottle when we meet up.

So it's dark now and the curtains are closed, I've got my cosy PJs, dressing gown and bedsocks on and it's warm and snug in here.  Definitely the best place to be, I'm going to put my feet up, open a bottle of red, eat some nibbles and watch the telly and that's me for the next few hours.  Weather report from Siberian Cumbria ends here.

Dog Emergency!

Got up today, and as usual, I was my normal slow grumpy self (I'm not a morning person as people who know me well can attest to!) I was just about to give the dogs their breakfast when I noticed Pepsi had something in his basket. It was a sleeve of eight Paracetamol tablets and one was missing. Somehow Pepsi had opened my handbag and got it out and eaten one tablet. Well Paracetamol is a highly toxic painkiller, people have been known to die after relatively small overdoses and here was my 4.5 kilo dachshund having eaten a whole tablet! He hadn't had anything to eat either so it would get into his system faster. With my nursing experience I knew that you have a window of time when you can remedy the situation by giving an emetic and an antidote. I rang the vets and was told to bring him in as they would have to make him sick. So I flew up there and he was given the emetic.

I sat outside in the sunshine with him whilst he threw up over and over again. I felt so sorry for him, I could see he was distressed and not sure what was happening. Pepsi is always so bright and happy it was sad to see him like this, but it had to be done.

I went off with a dachshund feeling very sorry for himself, the antidote and a lot poorer - why are vets so expensive? Luckily I can get the nasty smelling antidote into Pepsi ok. The vet says because I got him there fast he will be ok, but it just shows you how easily disasters can happen. Needless to say I have taken the Paracetamol out of my handbag!

World's Oldest Dog!

Couldn't resist this story about the world's oldest dog which happens to be a dachshund! As you know I have a soft spot for dachshunds and had to put it on my blog. Happy Birthday Chanel!

Story taken from the New York Post


OLDEST DOG'S A SENIOR WIENER
By ADAM NICHOLS

She's the world's oldest pooch, with 21 years under her collar, but she never learned how to beg.

"She's independent. If she didn't want to do something, she had a look she would give, and she usually got her way," Long Islander Denice Shaughnessy joked of her aging dachshund, Chanel, whose 147th birthday -- in people years -- is today.

Chanel -- named the oldest dog by Guinness World Records last year -- is taking a rare trip from her Port Jefferson Station home to mingle with canine buddies invited to her Manhattan birthday party.

The old girl's red hair faded to white a long time ago. Her cataracts force her to wear special doggie glasses and her bones feel the cold. Her home is kept at a constant 72 degrees. She eats boiled chicken with whole-wheat pasta, and a specially selected soft treat designed for her ancient teeth. And she spends her days relaxing at home, only taking walks in the summer.

"She used to run three miles with me every day," said Shaughnessy, a high-school principal's secretary who adopted Chanel from a Virginia shelter as a 6-week-old pup. "She still enjoys a walk, but now she's carried for a lot of it."

Caught In The Act

Now who could it be that had such fun disemboweling the cushion?!

Weird.....

I had a really odd experience today. I was out walking Pepsi and Max, trying to get Pep to realise its ok to pee outside of the garden, getting colder and colder in this icy weather as he seemed to be interested in everything EXCEPT peeing. Then someone came along with a huge labroador and Max, as he does (small dog syndrome) barked at the totally uninterested dog as if his life depended on it. In the interval where Max caught his breath before starting all over again I heard barking coming from ABOVE me. I looked up and there was a huge crow perched on a lamp post looking back at me. Thinking I was hearing things I walked on. Max continued his verbal assault on the hapless lab and again I heard the barking from on high. I looked up and the saw the crow was barking! I've heard that crows are brilliant imitators but this really was amazing and pretty surreal. Then with a look at me the bird flew off leaving me standing there incredulous at what I'd just heard.

Just thought I'd share that random weird happening in my daily life!

My Boys!

A New Arrival .....Maybe

I always said to myself that once I retired I would get another dog, preferably a greyhound. I used to walk dogs for an animal rescue organisation and many of these dogs were greyhounds, dumped because they were no longer of use racing (they are retired from racing aged 3-5 years in general).

Well at the weekend the Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue had a Meet a Greyhound day at the local Pets At Home store. I talked to Al who runs the organisation and arranged for him to come round to assess me and to talk further about it.

He and Jenni came round accompanied by Gemma, a gorgeous six year old brindle greyhound. She was very sweet and gentle and wasn't bothered by my feisty Dachshund Max. Unfortunately Max was less welcoming, but I really do think it was because he was scared by this huge dog that had entered his territory. He did relax more as the meeting went on.

Al could see no reason why I couldn't have one of their greyhounds, I have a lot of experience with dogs and know how to look after them. So I've been provisionally allocated Gemma, but we all agreed that she and Max are going to need longer to get to know each other to see if Max will fully accept her. So Gemma's foster mother Jenni is going to bring her round and we are going to walk the dogs together and let them spend more time together in my apartment. I hope it works out, it's really up to my Max whether it does!

Here's a photo of Gemma taken from the Dumfriesshire and Cumbria Greyhound Rescue Website

How Cute Is This?

Anyone Want a Dachshund?

Came in today and there was my Dachshund Max to greet me as usual, wagging tail, liquid brown eyes, cold nose nuzzling my ankles. I didn't have much time as I was meeting my cousin for a meal so I thought I'd quickly check my emails. Got my laptop off the sideboard, went to plug it in ...... the cord was in two pieces. There could be only one culprit, and somehow he knew I'd found him out - he was looking at me very sheepishly from his basket, giving me those Disney doe-eyes. I took a deep breath, then took an even deeper one when I checked the price of a new cable and adapter £88!!!! He definitely knew I wasn't happy now, as he was giving me those darting glances and then avoiding eye contact. I had a few evil thoughts, hot dogs crossed my mind, the Animal Refuge .......

He has cost me a lot of money - in his time Max has destroyed a camera, mobile phone, numerous leather purses (he has a real penchant for them) amongst dozens of other things. But, as he very slowly paddled across the room to me, eyeing me carefully, sat on my feet, gave a sigh of contentment, I smiled and leaned down and he turned onto his back and I ticked his tummy. All's forgiven, until the next time.