April/May Reads

 So here we are at the end of yet another month and here I am again late as usual.  It won't surprise you to know that my end of year reports at school always said 'If only Mitzi applied herself more she would produce great things, must try harder'.  That seems to have followed me through life and at nearly 60 isn't likely to change really is it. 

My April and May reads are a mixed bag of good and no so good.  

Starting with Jodi Picoult's 'The Book of Two Ways' 

Dawn is a death doula, and spends her life helping people make the final transition peacefully.

But when the plane she's on plummets, she finds herself thinking not of the perfect life she has, but the life she was forced to abandon fifteen years ago - when she left behind a career in Egyptology, and a man she loved.

Against the odds, she survives, and the airline offers her a ticket to wherever she needs to get to - but the answer to that question suddenly seems uncertain.

As the path of her life forks in two very different directions, Dawn must confront questions she's never truly asked: what does a well-lived life look like? What do we leave behind when we go? And do we make our choices, or do our choices make us?

Two possible futures. One impossible choice.

I am normally a great fan of Jodi Picoult books and have read most but not all.  As with a lot of very established authors sometimes they have a real winner that before you even get half way through you can imagine being made into that Hollywood blockbuster sadly for me this isn't one of them. It seemed to blurr between the past and the present and at times I was left not knowing whether I was in the past or the present.  I also felt in part it got a little far fetched.  Knowing you had a family at home would the first thing you did when you survived a plan crash be to get on to a plane to take you to a country you left 15 years previously to try and salve your conscience of the past.  Not sure it would be my first thought that's for sure. 

I then moved onto the latest in the Vera Stanhope books 'The Darkest Evening' .  I have made it one of my challenges to read all the Vera books hopefully this year but I've still got quite a few to go. 

Driving home during a swirling blizzard, Vera Stanhope's only thought is to get there quickly.

But the snow is so heavy, she becomes disoriented and loses her way. Ploughing on, she sees a car slewed off the road ahead of her. With the driver's door open, Vera assumes the driver has sought shelter but when she inspects the car she is shocked to find a young toddler strapped in the back seat.

Afraid they will freeze, Vera takes the child and drives on, arriving at Brockburn, a run-down stately home she immediately recognizes as the house her father Hector grew up in.

Inside Brockburn a party is in full swing, with music and laughter to herald the coming Christmas. But outside in the snow, a young woman lies dead and Vera knows immediately she has a new case. Could this woman be the child's mother, and if so, what happened to her?

Sometimes there is nothing better than to immerse yourself in an Ann Cleeves novel especially as the weather we have been having has felt more like winter than approaching summer of late.  I really enjoyed The Dark Evening which is the ninth novel of the series.  You got to know a little bit more about Vera's past and that of her fathers.  There are subtle differences between the novels and the TV series and if they go on to make this one into the TV drama it will be interesting to see how they make those changes. 

Into May and I turned my attention to a book that has been sitting patiently on my bedside table waiting for me to pick it up to read. 

Two women, bound by a child, and a secret that will change everything . . .

London, 1754. Six years after leaving her illegitimate daughter Clara at London's Foundling Hospital, Bess Bright returns to reclaim the child she has never known. Dreading the worst, that Clara has died in care, Bess is astonished to be told she has already claimed her. Her life is turned upside down as she tries to find out who has taken her little girl - and why.

Less than a mile from Bess's lodgings in the city, in a quiet, gloomy townhouse on the edge of London, a young widow has not left the house in a decade. When her close friend - an ambitious young doctor at the Foundling Hospital - persuades her to hire a nursemaid for her daughter, she is hesitant to welcome someone new into her home and her life. But her past is threatening to catch up with her and tear her carefully constructed world apart.

Stacey Halls is a new author to me and I had heard great things about her first novel the Familiars, which I am currently working my way through as my June read. The Foundling  is Stacey Halls second novel and so far I enjoyed it more than her first but as I am only just into the first 50 pages I suspect there is a lot more to come as yet. I have visited the Foundling museum in London albeit many years ago now.  I also have a friend whose ancestor was left at the foundling hospital as a baby and in true Oliver Twist style the name he ended up with was not the name he was given at birth.   Anyway back to the book.  It was a really good read and I was found book in hand at every given moment, even whilst cooking the dinner and you would find me with book in one had a wooden spoon in the other.  It also made me wonder as a mum of four, if I had ever been in that desperate situation where I had to leave a child at the foundling hospital with the intention of returning to reclaim them when circumstances allowed only to find that they had been given a new home, a home I could never provide would the maternal pull be that strong that you would want to get them back no matter what or would you want your child to have all those things you could not provide.  It definitely gave you food for thought.  

And for my last selection of the month. Yes it is another Vera Stanhope this time novel number 2 in the series Two Tales.

They thought she was a murderer. But now she’s a victim . . .

Ten years ago fifteen-year-old Abigail Mantel was murdered, her cold body discovered lying in a ditch. Her father’s girlfriend was found guilty of the crime. Now, evidence has emerged that proves her innocence and means that Abigail’s killer still roams free.

Abigail’s best friend at the time of the murder has now returned to the East Yorkshire village of Elvet to raise her young family. Shocked by the new revelations, she begins to realize that she didn’t know her friend as well as she thought . . .

Detective Inspector Vera Stanhope is tasked with uncovering the truth and, as her new inquiries stoke up past secrets the villagers will lie to protect, she must find out which lies will bring her to the killer.

It didn't take me long to match the novel to the tv drama and although there were some subtle differences to the book the TV drama didn't stray too far away from the novel.  Its a while since I have watch any of the tv series so I have forgotten most the story lines but part of the pleasure in reading them is to see what changes have been made for tv.  There are times when I do wish I had read them all before ITV made them into a series.  Either way I still enjoyed it and have already downloaded book 3 for when the mood takes me. 

So there we are a mixed bag and three I would definitely recommend the fourth not so much unless you are an ardent fan of Ms Picoult and have to read everything she has ever written.

The sun has finally seemed to have put its hat on and brought us some nice weather.  Wonder how long it will be before everyone is complaining that  its too hot and we need it to rain for the plants. 

As always take care 

Mx

A little light supper: Leek, Mushroom and Lemon Risotto [V]

 

I always thought risotto was beyond my capabilities with all that adding a ladleful at a time business but I have found that I quite enjoy making it these days,  especially if I just want something that isn't too complicated and something that can be made relatively quickly.  Its usually one of those go to meals that if I know we've got a busy day, I get all the ingredients ready in advance and when I'm ready I can cook relatively quickly. By quickly I mean it's one of those meals I can make whilst enjoying a glass of wine, cooks perks of course and usually by the time I have consumed the wine the risotto is ready and yes there is usually a second glass to go with it.    It is also one of those meals that lends itself to be eaten al fresco if the weather allows and when we can finally have friends and family over again its one that doesn't keep you away from your guests for too long.  

Serves 4          

8oz trimmed leeks

8oz mushrooms

2 ribs of celery chopped

1 cup of frozen pees

2 tbsp of olive oil

3 garlic cloves crushed

6 tbsp of butter

1 large onion diced

2 cups of Arborio rice

1.5 litres of vegetable stock

Grated zest and juice of one lemon

2/3 cup of freshly grated parmesan cheese

¼ cup of freshly chopped chives and parsley

Salt & freshly ground black pepper

 

1.       Slice the leeks lengthwise and roughly chop. Wipe the mushrooms to remove any soil and roughly chop.

2.       Heat the oil in a large saucepan and cook the garlic for 1 minute. Add the leeks, mushrooms and celery and plenty of seasoning and cook over a medium heat for about 10 minutes or until softened.  Add the frozen peas and cook for a further 1-2 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside.

3.       Add 2 tbsp of the butter and cook the onion over a medium heat for about 5 minutes.

4.       Stir in the rice and cook for 1 minute. Add a ladleful of stock to the pan and cook gently, stirring occasionally, until all the liquid has been absorbed.

5.       Stir in more liquid as each ladleful is absorbed; this should take 20-25 minutes. The risotto will turn thick and creamy; the rice should be tender but not sticky.

6.       Just before serving stir in the leeks, mushrooms, celery and remaining butter, grated lemon zest and juice, half the parmesan cheese and the herbs.

7.       Adjust the seasoning and serve, sprinkled with the remaining parmesan and herbs. Serve with lemon wedges.

Now the big kids have all but flown there is invariably leftovers and this risotto lends itself to freezing or if you have access to a microwave at your place of work you could take it and  heat it up for your lunch.

Enjoy

Mx

March Reads

 Good morning all on this rather nippy  but sunny Easter Sunday morning.  The sun has got their hat on but by bunkum its cold outside this morning with even a touch of frost, so I thought I pop in here and tell you about my March reads instead.

As our little crafting group can't meet up at the moment due to COVID 19 restrictions we thought it might be nice to include a book club as part of our little gang as we can take our time reading the selected book and then have a zoom meeting to discuss and of course there may be a little glass of something and some chocolate involved in these meet ups, but that's ok isn't it?

So last month we reviewed our first book which was Kate Mosse 'The Burning Chambers' which was released in 2019 and a hefty 608 pages, this is Book 1 of a trilogy of books following the love story of Minou and Piet and their lives during war torn France. The second in the trilogy 'The City of Tears' was released in February 2021 with  slightly less pages at 455 was the first recommendation for the group to read, but many of us felt that we would need to read the first book first in order to get the feel of the characters and how they all fell into place within the story and I think we all agreed having now read The City of Tears that this was the right decision to take.  

The City of Tears is based some 10 years from where we left Minou and Piet, they are now married and have two children of their own.  The Wars of Religion continue across France and those who once were your friends and neighbours have now become your enemies.  A wedding is to take place between the Catholic crown and the Huguenot King in a bid to bring balance and peace to France. Minou, Piet and their family receive an invitation to the wedding and although Minou has her reservations about attending it is decided they should go,  but what they cannot know is that their oldest enemy Vidal will also be there. Within days of the marriage and on the eve of the feast of St. Bartholomew Minou's family will be scattered to the four winds when violence breaks out within the city and unbeknown to Minou  one of her beloved children will be lost after sneaking out of the house alone,  disappeared without a trace.  Minou and Piet search for their child but when a bloodstained bonnet is found they fear the worse and make the hardest decision of their lives, to leave France to find refuge in Amsterdam. In the City of Tears we find the family fighting to stay together whist they continue to try and find out what happened to their missing child. Minou and Piet torture themselves everyday not knowing if they are alive or dead. If alive where have they been all this time and who has been looking after them and if dead the one things neither can contemplate, what happened to them and where is their last resting place.

I am not a huge fan of Kate Mosse novels the period of history she likes to write about, especially French history is not a period of history I know anything about and therefore I wouldn't know if it was factually accurate or not.   I have read a couple of her other novels in the past, they have all been beautifully written with a good command of language and the text tends to flow through the storyline very well.  I thought the City of Tears a better storyline than The Burning Chambers but for me personally I am glad that I decided to read the first in the series to get the background of all the characters and to a certain extent you could easily loose elements of the characters and their stories if you haven't read the first.   

I would recommend this series of books and I will definitely read the third when it is released. 

Now for my second book of March, which isn't a novel at all but worthy of a mention none the less.  I was given a copy of 'The Boy, the mole, the Fox and the Horse' as a birthday present and I have to say it is a book I have absolutely fallen in love with.  I had seen posters in various places of Charlie Mackesy's work before especially during lockdown as he has produced quite a few for the NHS over the past twelve months.  He released his book in October 2019 so I don't know why I hadn't discovered it before.

It is 128 pages of beautiful illustrations and text that no matter what sort of a day you are having you will find something within those pages to lift your spirits and enable you to face whatever is ahead.

I love this book so much that it has become my go to gift for family and friends this year and each recipient so far has fallen in love with it as much as I have and one friend has also introduced it to her 94 year old dad who each day lets the book fall open on a page and keeps the words with him all day. I think that's lovely that a father and daughter have something to share in this way. 

Now those who know me well know that I also get through one Christmas and immediately start planning on gifts for the next.  Well I can tell you for those who haven't received a copy for their birthday they will be receiving one for Christmas this year and yes I know we are only just into April but I don't think it's ever too early to start thinking about these things.  I am very much thinking for the girls of the family that a book hamper with a copy of Charlie's book and some treats for a cold winters evening is definitely something worth considering. 

I am going to leave you all with this last helping from Charlie's book its definitely something I think we could all admit to struggling to ask for at times.

Enjoy your Sunday one & all

Mx

Reading time and a little bit of comfort

 

Good morning from a wet and rather windy Leicestershire.  The clocks have gone forward so Spring has now officially sprung, although if you looked out of  my window this morning you wouldn't think so.

Like a lot of us my projects and photographs this one has ended up on more than one social media site and a lady from one of the cross stitching groups I belong to recently asked me how I put together my cross stitch reading pillow as she would like to make something similar for her son.  I know I have shown you all this Newton's Law cross stich before but I didn't write a post on making the pillow.

Now as you all know I am very much a novice and I am learning as I go along and tell myself only I know where the imperfections are.  Anyhow rather than trying to add details to a facebook post I thought I would write it here and then anyone can find it should they wish to and I can put a link in the post for the lady who asked me to follow.  

So here goes.  Firstly it doesn't have to be  a particular type of cross stitch that is used. You can use any cross stitch big or small as long as you can make it fit to your cushion.  You can also use any type of cross stich fabric whether it is aida or evenweave. With this cross stitch I used the 14 ct. Aida that was supplied with the kit. What I always recommend if you are using a cross stich to make a pillow is that once you have completed it and have washed and pressed it that you add an iron on interfacing to the back of your work.  This will hold your stitches in place and protects your cross stitch.  I have written about this and you can find the details under  my hints and tips section here  

Although you don't need to line the whole cushion I do recommend that you line the cross stitch area as this is going to form the pocket of you reading pillow and is going to get the most use with books or a kindle being placed inside on numerous occasions and again this will protect your cross stich. 

In this instance I made an envelope cushion so the next steps are really about making sure you have your all your pieces and then the construction of the cushion.

If you are making an envelope cushion once you have measured out your cushion you should have:

1. The front pocket of you cushion in this case your cross stitch.  Now this cross stitch wasn't quite big enough to fit across the cushion so I decided to put a border around it and again this will  give it a big of extra protection but I did this before adding the lining as you will want the lining to cover the whole of the inside of the pocket. 

2/You will have your front piece which is in this case is the floral material.

3. Your two back pieces to make your envelope remembering that the bottom piece will be longer than the top so that you get our envelope.

From the picture above you can see I have sewn the bottom of the piece of the back and the bottom of your pocket to the front piece and the sewn the top of the front and back pieces together.  Now you can add a bit of the contrast fabric along the top of the bottom back piece as a trimming  to finish it off but you don't have to. This fabric had quite raw edge that frayed so it needed something covering the edge to prevent it from doing it.

So you should now be able to see how your cushion is going to come together you just have to make sure your pocket is placed correctly or if like me on a previous project I found the pocket was inside out when I turned it all through.  As you can see by doing it this way that my pocket is the right way around. 

And as a second check I will pin everything together so I can make sure I am happy with the overall look before turning inside out  re-pinning and sewing together.

Hopefully at the end of all your efforts you should end up with a reading pillow that looks like this.  

This particular reading pillow was a birthday present for a friend and colleagues birthday and the squeals were very loud when she opened it and it now sits in pride of place in her cottage along side her blanket I had made for her a couple of years before. 

You don't have to make an envelope style cushion its really whatever you prefer.  At the time when I made this one I wasn't that confident in putting in a zip I always had a fear that I would break the needle. I have since now conquered that fear too and quite happily add zips to my cushions.

These two were Christmas presents for my partner and son in law this year. The fabric I bought off Amazon as a fat quarter and I cut the fabric so that I could make a pocket and top piece and I added a bit of ribbon as a trimming to finish off the pocket.  Now what you can't see is that the top piece of the fabric is joined to a plain piece to make the inside of the pocket so that once the pocket is placed it looks like one continuous piece of fabric.  Its 100% cotton but I still lined the inside of the pocket due to the wear and tear its going to get with all the books that will be put inside it.  

I think they make great gifts and even though we are only just coming into spring time I don't think it is ever too early to be thinking a head about  birthday or Christmas presents.  Dare I say I am working on a few things already for this year. 

Hope some of you will find this helpful 

Mx

NB:  I tend to use an 18" cushion for my reading cushions. 

January/February Reads

 

Good afternoon to you all.  I realised last night as I turned the last page of my latest read that I have been sharing with you the books I have been reading since the start of the New Year.  With the house move etc towards the end of last year I lost my reading mojo a bit as life was just so crazy.  Anyway now things have settled back down and we are into the New Year I downloaded a book by one of my favourite authors Amanda Prowse only this time it was in collaboration with her son Josiah Hartley.  

Amanda is not just a writer she regularly appears on radio and is a panelist on the Jeremy Vine Show, she is such a lovely lady but you do have to beware that if you have an unusual name like mine then you could potentially end up in one of her books.  Not me personally but the use of my name.  All that aside its very true that none of us knows what is going on behind closed doors do we and someone can appear the life and soul of the party for the most part and this I think has been very true of Amanda. 

Little did any of us know at the time that Amanda's son Josh had been suffering with depression to the point that he didn't believe his presence on this here earth was worth while and contemplated finding away out.  As someone who has lost a member of my own family to suicide I could totally understand how this made Amanda and her family feel.  The Boy Between is their account of how they dealt with what life threw at them and how they have now come out of the other side of those dark days.  It is an interesting read seeing both their prospective on those times.  Josh is very open about how his depression encased him and how he didn't always feel that his family and friends got it. And for Amanda well as a mum you always want everything to be rosy in your garden don't you and when its not we do that mum thing of trying to fix everything when in reality there are times in all our lives not just those of our children when there just isn't a big enough tube of superglue to hold everything together.  

I would certainly recommend this book especially if you know of someone who is currently in the same situation as a family or in supporting a friend who may be going through this. 

My next read was The Burning Chambers.  I belong to a local crafting group and we used to meet up every couple of weeks but obviously with COVID we have not been able to do so since last summer. After Christmas we decided it might be nice to add into the mix a book club to our endeavor's so names of books were thrown into the mix and the recommended book was a Kate Mosse novel The City of Tears which was due out mid February. Then I discovered it is the second in a trilogy and if course my OCD brain said I should read the first in the trilogy first. I didn't intend for the whole group to do this but none the less they all decided we should start with the first book which we did, some are still reading it where as others have already got to the end but no matter we will all wait until we are done to start the second one.   Kate Mosse isn't normally one of my go to authors but sometimes it's good to take yourself out of your comfort zone isn't it.  Her books are so well written and she has a way with language that others do not. The books are set in the sixteenth century and French history, not something I know a whole lot about.   Essentially within all the conspiracies, betrayals and the adventures of war the underlying story is that of a love story between a young catholic girl, with a secret to her past and a young Huguenot convert and through all the advertises of life their love remains.  There is obviously a lot more to it than that as the book was just under 600 pages split into three parts and essentially a very good read.   To my surprise I did enjoy this book and I am looking forward to reading the sequel but I definitely made the right decision in reading this one first as it gives you a lot of background to the characters, of which their is a list at the front of the book to help keep track of them all, and of their story which may leave you at a disadvantage if you were to go straight to the second book.  It has also been one of Kindles 99p deals which is always appealing in itself. 

Lastly was another of my favourite authors Dani Atkins. She is not the most prolific of writers but when she releases a book I always know its going to be a good one and will cause me to have many late nights as I loose myself within the pages or in this case into my kindle and in doing so I loose all track of time and then glance at the clock to see that I have read way too long and have to be up at 5am the next morning for work.  Her latest offering again has been on the kindle deals at 99p.  A Sky Full of Stars is the story of a young couple and their son. They are a very close knit family and Connor is the centre of their world.  Lisa goes off to work one morning and is involved in a fatal accident leaving her family bereft. Alex is trying to deal with his own grief whilst trying to comfort his young son and finds it hard to keep on top of things.  The one positive from Lisa's death is people she was able to help as a result and the bond that is formed with one particular recipient of that help.  Each chapter alternates between Alex and Molly and tells their stories around those people that Lisa helped and how their lives have changed for the better since.  It is a beautifully written book and I would highly recommend it but with a definite mascara warning attached.  And of course chocolate always helps. 

So there we are those are my offerings for January and February and I will let you know how I get on with the sequel to The Burning Chambers next month if I have managed to finish it as I think it may be another 500 page novel from Ms Mosse.  

Take care & stay safe that light is surely coming around the corner at the end of that tunnel. 

Mx

A weekend project

I cross stitched these beautiful carousel horses two or three years ago but never got around to taking them to the framers. This weekend I was looking for a project and decided that they would look lovely as cushions. Posh cushions obviously that no one will be able to touch or sit against.  I have a spare double sofa bed in my craft room/office and now I can see them every time I work from home or every time I'm in my craft room.   They fit perfectly into a size 18 cushion and the matching material compliments them perfectly. 

They are part of the Fantasy Horse collection produced by Cross My Heart Incorporated. The booklet is possibly out of print now as my copy is twenty or thirty years old but I have seen copies for sale on eBay and Etsy for reasonable money. There are some truly beautiful charts contained within this book and I would certainly love to stitch the  Pegasus and Unicorn. 

It just goes to show that cross stitching is one hobby and collecting charts and kits is an entirely different hobby altogether. I quite often joke with D that I'm not sure I have enough years left to live in order to stitch all the charts in my collection. But then I never admit to him just how many there are and of course all the while I have breath in my body it won't stop me collecting more. 

Mx

For my old school pal

Covid has affected all of us in so many different ways.  For some of us our lives have not really been that badly affected.  The sun still comes up and the sun still goes down.  For me I have continued to work throughout the pandemic and unlike a lot of people I will still have a job at the end of it so I most certainly do consider myself  luckier than an awful lot of people. 

We have all got used to the fact that we have to socially distance and that we may have to choose the right time to go to the supermarket so that we are not stood in queues for what seems like hours.   We have all had to become a little more tolerant of others and the new fashion accessory is now a face covering, and not let us forget that the new catch phrase for the so many of us 'You're still on mute'.

I doubt that any of us thought that one year on from when Covid 19 was first mentioned that we would still be in the midst of such an awful situation and no matter who you talk to they all have an opinion on how the pandemic should of been handled by the government and what to do with those who continually break the lockdown rules.  I  wonder if people are just becoming fatigued with it all now. Even though we now have the vaccines it was always going to take time to reach everyone.  Again I was fortunate as a keyworker to receive my first vaccine at the beginning of January and have my appointment booked for the 16th March for my second.  

All this aside that is not why I have posted the photograph above.  Like many of us I still have friends from my secondary school days and we have been through a lot in the last 45 + years and sometimes we drift a part but when it matters we are always there at the end of the phone.  

One such friend has recently been through what is possibly the toughest time she will ever endure and yet she has done so with the utmost dignity.    This particular friend had been with her partner for the best part of 15 years and having not had the best of relationships with her first husband it was lovely to see her find her soul mate.  They were your typical Darby and Joan.  It was at Christmas that Covid found its way to their door and the whole family went on to have positive tests.  For my friend and her daughter they just felt like they had a really heavy cold and although fatigued recovered well.  Unfortunately her partner seemed to be taking a bit longer to recover. He went into hospital just after Christmas with Covid related complications.  On no less than two occasions she was told he wasn't likely to recover but we all hoped that he may just turn that corner and seemed to be doing well.  Sadly whilst an inpatient they also ran some other tests and discovered that he had got advanced bowel cancer and once again she was given the devastating news that her lovely man would not be returning home. They had talked about getting married but just not taken that final step.  Having received such news plans were made in just three days and they married in ITU on the 23rd January this year not knowing just how long they would have as man and wife.   Sadly her lovely man passed away on February 4th with his new wife of just 10 days by his side.  

I know on these occasions most people would send flowers I wanted something that she could keep by her side and not fade away as flowers do.   I have long been an admirer of the works of Teresa Wentzler, she has created some of the most beautiful charts for cross stitch. Due to her own health she has now withdrawn from designing and in the world of cross stitch some of her charts are much sought after.  She did however make some free charts which are still available on her website here and this little Celtic Cross is just one of them.  It's stitched on 28 count evenweave and is 54 stitches high by 44 stitches wide and contains both cross stitches and specialty stitches as well as mill hill beads.  It took very little time to stitch and I finished it off by making it into a wall hanging. She contacted me this morning to say it had arrived and what a beautiful gift.   

Although I was raised C/E I can't say I have much of a faith anymore, although I hope there is that ethereal place that we all go to once we have done our time on this particular journey.   I completely understand that need to have that solace.  I hope this little Celtic cross will give her that comfort in the days ahead and the life she must continue without her soulmate by her side. 

Stay safe one & all and maybe give those closest to you an extra big hug because we never know what is around that next corner do we. 

Mx

Another hole left in my heart

April 2011 - January 2021

It is with a very heavy heart that we said goodbye to our beautiful boy Buster Black Magic. He came to us in 2014 as a rescue and in a pretty poor state.  Instead of being taken to the groomers they had tried trimming his beautiful coat with scissors.  His beautiful ears were so matted that he looked like Princess Leia and had ulcers which were hidden underneath all that fur were so bad that he had to be treated with antibiotics in the hope that we could save his ears from amputation.

Despite all that he rallied and became the most beautiful boy and the most gentle soul.  He was my little shadow and my best friend. 

We had long known that his health was taking a down turn.  Cavaliers are known for developing heart conditions as they get older and Buster already had a grade 3 mummer when he came to us nearly seven years ago.   Over the last few years he had been put on medication and with each passing year that medication had to be increased or changed.  Just before Christmas he had started to pave the pathway in letting us know that his time was near but he still enjoyed a short walk and big cuddles especially on a Sunday morning. 

It was whilst I was at work that I call from D to say that Buster had fainted in the kitchen and taken a few minutes to come too, frightening the life out of D.  He was calling to let me know that he was taking him to an emergency appointment at the vets and would give me a call when he knew what was happening.  As we have so  many times with Mr B over the past year we ended the call with 'what ever decision you need to make you know you have my full support'.  On this particular occasion again he rallied and returned home but on this occasion the vet had stipulated going out for walks was no longer an option and that we were now on borrowed time and that he would not be with us much longer and to prepare ourselves that just like Monty he may just go at anytime. 

Over the weekend he showed us he still  had a zest for life but by the Sunday evening his breathing had changed and was much more laboured than it had been previously.  Neither of us got much sleep that night and by the Monday morning D had made the decision that it was time to call the vets. 

Due to Covid restrictions D was met at the car and Buster taken into the practice for an examination by his vet Dr Nigel.  When D was called in for his consultation he said B was very chilled and relaxed.  They talked over what was best for Buster and sadly D had to make the decision that it was time for Buster to go and find Monty over Rainbow Bridge. D said the vets were fantastic they have been dealing with us as a family for over 10 years and know all the boys inside and out and D said the nurses were just as upset as he was.  We collected his ashes on Friday.  He is now back home sat alongside  Monty.  No longer with us in body but very much still with us in spirit.    

As with all our boys they have all come with their own little stories and have been much loved and a huge part of our family.  Saying goodbye to a pet is one of the hardest decisions  I think you ever have to make in life and it never gets any easier that's for sure. Selfishly I would of like him to be with us forever but  in the end they rely on us to make the big decisions for them and it has to be the right one for them and not what is best for us. 

So fly high my beautiful boy and enjoy meeting up with Monty and chasing dreams. 

Mx

 

 

Happy New Year to one & all. I didn't want you all to think I had completely disappeared off the face of the earth and those of you who follow me on facebook and instagram will know I have still been around over the past few months. 

 A lot happened over the summer months of 2020 and not just with continued COVID restrictions. The biggest change was that we had to move house. We had been renting an old farm house for the past three and a half years and always thought we would be there until it was time to downsize, not that I think D will ever be ready for that, but unfortunately peoples circumstances change and our landlords sadly had to take the decision to sell due to their own circumstances. It threw us into a bit of turmoil as finding somewhere to accommodate us and three dogs was to prove quite a difficult task. By the end of the summer I was really becoming quite despondent as everywhere we had looked at either was totally unsuitable or had 15 couples after one property and then it was whether they would accept the furry paws.

 At the same time blogger had made lots of changes to their layouts which were proving to be difficult to get to grips with on my very ancient laptop, and it got to a point where something had to give and so I made the decision to put blogger on the back burner for a while. 

 Thankfully we have found lovely new place to live which is in the heart of a very small village in Leicestershire. The heart being the local village pub it would seem,  which is obviously closed at present due COVID and we look forward to the day those restrictions are lifted. It seems a very friendly village and the neighbours we have met have been lovely and it is a very dog friendly village and every household seems to have at least one dog so although we can't mix at the moment we are at least able to say a cordial good morning or afternoon whilst out for a stroll with the boys.

 I say house it is actually a barn conversion and D is already onto finding out as much of the history of the place as he can. The majority of the property is all on one level which is great for D's back and mobility issues and the L shaped building makes the place a bit of a Tardis with the bedrooms being the old stables at one end and the kitchen and living space at the other. The teenager of the family is very happy as he has taken over the loft space as his domain and now feels he has his own loft space apartment which is great for him and his independence. We seem to have filled the place already and at times it seems like we have been here for a lot longer than 2 months and it is really starting to feel like home. 

Now we are more settled I will get my act together and share with you the projects I have been working on over the past six months. There could be quite a lot to catch up on but that will give me something to focus on. 

 I thought today was as good a day as any to pop in and say hi and wish you all a happy New Year  as today is my birthday and I turn yet another year older but not necessarily any the wiser. For the last two years I have been ill on my birthday and spent the day in bed poorly and not celebrated at all. This year I am thankfully well, at my age we don't really go in for big celebrations which is just as well as like so many I will be celebrating a lockdown birthday this year. I have been fortunate that I have avoided COVID over the past year  when so many others have been affected and so many have lost their lives. but we now have sight of a vaccine program. Being a keyworker I have been fortunate to have had my first dose of the vaccine last week with the second dose due in March. The scientists have always said that they thought it would take two years to get this virus under control and to have a vaccine available and as we all know we are now in the grips of a second wave and a new strain making an appearance. There are times when I cannot see a light at the end of the tunnel especially as so many still choose to flout the rules but lets hope that 2021 will start and bring us a brighter future before too long. In the meantime, take care and stay safe one and all. 

 Mx