Well. I don't seem to have any time anymore to blog!

So yet again, I will have to do a roundup of what's been going on...

We now have 3 dogs in the house, Jasper, Ben and Taggy; our sometime lodger. It can get complicated, but as long as the Hubs doesn’t interfere we have a  routine. Ben and Tag can share the settee, as long as Ben doesn’t sit on Tag. Jasper only shares if no one touches him. Jasper eats alone, he mumps if another dog so much as looks at his food. Ben and Tag eat in the kitchen, with Ben near the gate as Tag eats slowly. Water bowls are re-filled regularly, I need bigger bowls! Jasper and Tag play-fight together, Ben is not allowed to join in as his weak back legs mean he sometimes falls and the other two don’t like him landing on them. If the Hubs plays rough with Jasper, Ben will step in to ‘protect’ the Hubs. Tag won’t have either of the other two near Theo, she growls at them from a safe distance, usually without bothering to get off the settee. All the dogs love the kids, but are NOT to be left alone with them. And the garden has (hopefully) been Jasper-proofed, so no more upsetting the neighbours. Yay!

Istnofret appears to be pregnant, although I have to wait and see what happens with that. Both ferrets are currently enjoying a chicken carcass. We got two  meals out of the meat, and there will be nothing left at all by tomorrow morning.

The Hubs went to work a couple of hours early today, because he couldn’t cope with the kids any longer. Louis was at nursery all morning and Hannah at school all day! He realises what I have to put up with when Louis starts gibbering, or when he does his ‘I want’. I have to admit that I left him to do this afternoon’s school run while I groomed a friend’s dog and then took my bike down to the bike shop for a cuppa (the cuppa was for me, not the bike…).

On Sunday night we went to the Hubs boss’s house for a drink and a meal. The new boss is, well, ‘nice’ isn’t a word I would label him with to be honest, but there’s something about him that I like a lot. We had a chat while the Hubs was otherwise engaged, and I’m very pleased to say that we both think along the same lines.

I promise to try to blog a bit more often, and get round your spaces more too.

My herbs grow in a big, heavy stoneware trough and never need much tending. The chives, mint and thyme just keep on growing and flowering, coming back nice and strong each spring. The basil always needs replacing because I use it too fast and it doesn’t get chance to grow properly. And for some reason my rosemary has died off.

I left them in peace because they don’t harm my plants and probably do me a service by keeping down the small flies that might damage the herbs. The only thing is that Louis is very sensitive to things like ants and flies, and they seem to like the taste of him. But I think that if the ants are left alone there is no reason he should get bitten and at least they aren’t in the house or even all over the yard.

I shall have to go to a garden centre soon to get some more herbs to fill up the empty spaces in my trough; it should be brimming with colours, textures and scents. I suppose the children will have to come with me to approve each one…

Firstly a quick catch up of our 50's night out last week. We had a great night, a lovely Chinese meal then onto some bars and a club for a night of dancing. The outfits got us a lot of attention but even when I managed to pull a rather lovely young man somehow a fat, sweaty bloke got in between us and tried dancing with me. We moved to another room of the club then!

So, onto this week. More accurately, yesterday. i went to Thornberry Sanctuary to have a chat as I hadn’t spoken to the staff since I had Reggie put down. I was immediately offered another dog, but asked to bring Jasper to meet him today.

The meeting went well, and now we have a great, ugly four-legged lump in the house. He is about 10 years old with a wobbly back end and a lovely nature. He has already screamed at Jasper because he wanted a toy and tried ‘hugging’ the children. Oops…

And he smells, but that is easily remedied. So, meet Ben.

Oh, and one last thing. I dyed my hair blue. Now it matches my bike leathers!

glitter-graphics.com

 She's a gray speckled pony who was abandoned by her owners when Katrina hit southern Louisiana, USA . She spent weeks on her own before finally being rescued and taken to a farm where abandoned animals were stockpiled. While there, she was attacked by a pit bull terrier, and almost died. Her gnawed right front leg became infected and her vet went to LSU for help. But LSU was overwhelmed, and this pony was a welfare case. You know how that goes.
But after surgeon Rustin Moore met Molly, he changed his mind. He saw how the pony was careful to lie down on different sides so she didn't seem to get sores, and how she allowed people to handle her. She protected her injured leg. She constantly shifted her weight, and didn't overload her good leg. She was a smart pony with a serious survival ethic.
Moore agreed to remove her leg below the knee and a temporary artificial limb was built. Molly walked out of the clinic and her story really begins there.
This was the right horse and the right owner,' Moore insists. Molly happened to be a one-in-a-million patient. She's tough as nails, but sweet, and she was willing to cope with pain. She made it obvious she understood (that) she was in trouble. The other important factor, according to Moore , is having a truly committed and compliant owner who is dedicated to providing the daily care required over the lifetime of the horse.
Molly's story turns into a parable for life in post-Katrina Louisiana . The little pony gained weight, her mane felt a comb. A human prosthesis designer built her a leg.
The prosthetic has given Molly a whole new life, Allison Barca DVM, Molly's regular vet, reports. And she asks for it! She will put her little limb out, and come to you and let you know that she wants you to put it on. Sometimes she wants you to take it off too.' And sometimes, Molly gets away from Barca. 'It can be pretty bad when you can't catch a three-legged horse', she laughs.

Molly's most recent prosthesis has a smiley face embossed in it.. Wherever Molly goes, she leaves a smiley hoof print behind.
Most important of all, Molly has a job now. Kay, the rescue farm owner, started taking Molly to shelters, hospitals, nursing homes, rehabilitation centers. Anywhere she thought that people needed hope. Wherever Molly went, she showed people her pluck. She inspired people. And she had a good time doing it.
'It's obvious to me that Molly had a bigger role to play in life', Moore said, 'She survived the hurricane, she survived a horrible injury, and now she is giving hope to others.' 'She's not back to normal,' Barca concluded, 'but she's going to be better. To me, she could be a symbol for New Orleans itself.'

glitter-graphics.com