Craft Classes And Suzie's First Walk

Three weeks ago me and mum started some mixed art classes. Little did we know, until we arrived for our first class, that we would be working towards a qualification! There are two parts to the 20 week course. At the moment we are doing NCFE Paper Crafting level 1. We are now officially students of Rotherham College and are now entitled to Student Cards which gives us healthy discounts on all sorts of things. After doing this weeks subject 'Paper Quilling', Mum leaned in and asked me 'Do you think anyone ever fails this course?' That set me off giggling as I replied 'You'd have to be some kind of mega idiot to fail!' The course is...how can I put it.....easy on the old grey matter! We're enjoying it though and I guess that's the main thing. :0) Next week is 'Decorative Painting'. I expect that will impress us a bit more as the finished result looks quite good. I'll keep you informed of how we're doing.



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Although Suzie has been allowed to go out for a walk for a week or more, we haven't had much success so far. Livvie took her out a week ago and Suzie point blank refused to walk on the lead so Livvie ended up carrying her for over a mile! Since then however, due to my training schedule, she has been doing reasonable well on the lead so I took mum and dad up on their offer of a dog walk yesterday afternoon. Here's Suzie starting out. There are so many sniffs and smells on the ground, she loved it!:

She walked very well indeed and I was very proud of her. Here's a short video of her playing fetch with mum:

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Puppy Training - Day Four

Well......Suzie is managing to do most of her wee-wees and poops outside, but that's only because I take her out so often. The minute I let my guard down, she does it in the house! I reckon this is going to take far longer than one week. Oh well, I am dedicated to the cause and willing to do this routine for six months if I have to! At least summer is coming up. This morning I was standing in the garden at 6am with the dog on a lead and me in my dressing gown in the pouring rain. You'll also find me there at 11pm with dressing gown on and the addition of a torch. Other training is coming on well though. She's excellent at night, in the bath and when I groom her. She sits on the sink unit (I can't bend down) as good as gold while I tug all the knots out of her moustache and beard. Then she sits patiently while I brush her entire body and then comb her hair and put her top-knot in. She's also good at travelling and when I say 'in you go' she hops into her crate and sits like a good girl while I fasten the door shut.

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Diet -Day Four

I have been stunning, stupendous, incredible, wicked, wonderful and also jolly good so far. I am eating a tonne of fruit and veg and salad and only smattering of anything else. I have been going by the book. I must admit to being hungry most of the time, but that can't be a bad thing to feel after nearly four years of being stuffed! I have to stop feeling sorry for myself and making excuses. I need to lose weight for my own good. I can just imagine how much easier I would be able to get around if I dropped 3-4 stone.

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At the moment I am listening to Livvie and her band having band practice in her little bedroom. It sounds quite good actually. :0) It's very rocky, like every other teen band I've ever heard! :0)

Diet And Puppy Training Day Two

I decided my life was going far too well lately, so I have decided I needed to punish myself. Yesterday I started both a new diet and puppy training. The diet is well overdue. I have now reached 16 st and size 18/20. It's just not good enough. My face is now so fat I look like Squirrel Nutkins hiding nuts in my cheeks! So yesterday was Day One of the Rosemary Connolly GI Jeans Diet. It's alright so far and I'll keep you posted about my successes and failures.

Day One of puppy training was middling. I am beginning to lead train the poppy puppy dog. She hasn't been best pleased about me putting on a lead and dragging her around the garden at all hours of the day and night. I am out there at 7.30am in my dressing gown and throughout the day and again at 11pm. I am using a book called How To Housebreak You Dog In 7 Days.



The basic idea is that the dog is penned in for long stretches of time. Because they don't like to soil their small area they wait for the loo until you let them out. They of course are like humans and pee and poop at certain times of the day and it's up to me to recognise when that will be. So far Suzie has managed one pee and one poop outside. She's a little confused though as she thinks it's correct to do it indoors at the moment. I was wandering around the garden with her on the lead waiting for her to poop and nothing happened. I then let her off the lead to go back indoors for ten minutes and she immediately rushed in and pooped in Emily's bedroom in a panic! I suppose it must be weird pooping outside with the wind whistling round your bum? Anyway, I shall persevere. :0)

Here's Suzie looking very sad in her pen. She wants to come out to play and it's not time yet. 'Look mummy, I'm so sad I even shredded my paper!'



Another thing I am trying to take care of is her constant barking. I am actually getting somewhere with that. I bought these little brass disks. When she barks I throw them noisily near her and it distracts her immediately. If she barks again, I throw them again and so on. I was doing at 6.30am this morning! She is now realising that when she barks these disks come flying from nowhere (I try and hide when I throw them) and she doesn't like it! The barking is much better. I was using a metal tray with a metal cake cooling rack to make noise but that was frightening the hell out of her so I changed to the disks.

Totally changing the subject, here's some Peyote beading I did yesterday:

I put it on the fork for a size comparison. The thread was stretching and the beads are a slightly irregular size so I gave up after 2". However, I have ordered the correct thread stuff and will definitely try again as it is addictive! I want to make a bracelet next.

I Will keep you regularly updated wit the diet, puppy training and beading. :0