Frosty Days

This is Bobbie taking a little excercise in the garden yesterday. It was very cold and the frost was thick, even in the afternoon.

I sat out with her for about an hour in the sun shine. The sky was clear and beautiful :0)

Today was even colder. The ice in my bucket is an inch thick and the hosepipe is frozen solid!




This afternoon we drove down by the resevoir and it looked beautiful with the white frosty trees and the mist hovering over the water. I don't know if you can make it out in this photo. I also found this perfectly frozen spiderweb.


Gary got his EEG results today and they're all clear as expected. That means he's not allowed to get his driving licence back until he's been a year free of fits. :0(

Bobbie Video

Here's a little video of Bobbie. :0)

She's doing better at night now. We have discovered that we can have a peaceful evening if we put her on our bed. She sleeps all evening on her back with her stumpy legs in the air! Then at bedtime we just pop her into her crate and into Livvie's room. Livvie baracades her into a little space so that she can step out of her crate if she wants to for a pee or a poop. Two nights running Bobbie has created because she's pooped and wants me to change the paper. When the paper is changed she settles down to sleep again.

Gary's EEG At Last!

Today, after I had my radiotherapy we went to get Gary's EEG. It was a last minute cancellation appointment so we only found out about it yesterday. We arrived an hour early because the cancer hospital is a few minutes walk away from the hosital where Gary had his appointment. There were two hours between our appointments so we killed an hour in a cafe and then wandered over to The Royal Hallamshire Hospital for Gary. Luckily they saw Gary straight away. I asked if I could take photos and the nurse didn't mind. So here's what they did to him:

The nurse attached a rubber 'hairnet' and then placed little connector blocks under it that connected to Gary's scalp with a special gel. Once she had done this she clipped wires to them. It probably took about 20 minutes.

These wires were connected to the machine that could pick up Gary's brain waves.

Gary was then asked to lay on a couch as some of the tests might bring on a seizure. The tests were quite simple. First he had to close his eyes for two minutes and then open them for two minutes while the nurse took readings. I assume this was to gauge normal brain function. Then he had to do deep breathing for 3 minutes in order to make him hyper-ventilate. Then they flashed strobe lighting in his eyes at various speeds. Luckily/unluckily (depends on which way you look at it) it didn't bring on a fit. Being NHS, Gary won't find out the results for up to six weeks! Oh well, seeing as they probably won't even find anything I suppose it doesn't really matter!

My Name Is Bobbie, Pleased To Meet You!

This is Bobbie, my new Shih Tzu baby girl. She was born on 17th December and she came home with us yesterday. Look at that little face, it looks like she's been smacked with a frying pan!!!

I'm sure she's going to be a beautiful little doggie, but for now she's very hard work what with my back paining me so much. Oh well, it's all my own fault! :0)

Last night, because we knew she'd cry, we put her in her little cage with her bed, then we put the cage with the door open in the shower and then we closed the shower door. She SCREAMED the place down! She would have woken the whole street so we took her in her cage upstairs next to our bed where she continued to scream. In the end Livvie came in and took her into her bedroom becuase se sleeps with a light on. Bobbie was better but continued to cry on and off in the night. Livvie was able to sleep through most of it. I was up at midnight trawling the web for puppy training advice! It would seem that most people say that you have to ignore the crying and screaming and that the baby will eventually get that I won't come running every time.

This is me at 7.30am after being woken by a poo covered puppy. Look at my pained expression! Me and Livvie had to bath her and then I had to hand wash her bed.

It's so difficult getting anything done with a puppy in the house. I had to get Livvie to look after Bobbie while I washed, made the bed and did the chores. Thank goodness Livvie's off school this week! It's also handy because I am having a week of radiotherapy on my back and of course Livvie can doggy-sit. I'll put a video on later of her little stubby legs and waddling bum. :0)

Happy Birthday To Me!

It was my 38th birthday yesterday and I got some lovely cards and presents. Gary took the day off to spend time with me and at 7.20am Livvie woke us both with a cup of tea and all my cards. Then she came in with a home made chocolate and banana cake with lighted candles. After this I was treated to a very loud rendition of Happy Birthday To You accompanied by the drums from her bedroom next door!

Here's Livvie's home made card. Isn't it lovely?

This one is from Tina. All the little concertina presents open to reveal peel offs inside them.

And here's Leeta's. Isn't it a gorgeous colour scheme? :0)

As I said, Livvie made me a cake. Mum got me something and I'm not telling you what as it's for making presents and I don't know who I'm going to make for so it's a secret! Babs and Mo gave me some squidlies which I'm saving with my other birthday money for a trip to the NEC in March. Mo also bought me a gorgeous lighted twig sculpture thingy. You stand it in a vase and it lights up with tiny LED lights. :0)

Emily bought me an exquisite gift box with a collection of red fabrics in it. I have a project in mind for that already.

Gary bought me 20 local craft lessons. I shall be:

*Making bags & boxes from card

*Using Fimo modelling clays as card toppers and embellishments

*Using paper folding for decoration

*Creating a variety of cards using different techniques

*Working wit mulberry papers

*Scrapbooking techniques

*Decorative painting used as embellishments for paper and cards

For me the classes are as much about getting out and meeting people as learning new techniques. I am very much looking forward to the classes which start in April. :0)

I broke my strict diet for a Pizza Hut lunch and shall try and claw back some points during the rest of the week.

We didn't do much as I have had a very bad back these past few weeks and couldn't stand a day out, but I'm sure we'll make up for it another time!

Cusworth Hall - Doncaster's Brightest Jewel

We had a lovely magical mystery tour. First we ended up at a country house in Leeds which was the wrong one! It was wrong, because Mo intended to take us to another one that was free to get in. By a process of elimination we eventually found it. Cusworth Hall in Doncaster.

Even on a rainy day it looks impressive as you drive up to it. Built in the 1740's it is a typical imposing country house of that period. I forget the year, but the owner, Lord Battie-Wrightson died a premature death and having no eligible heir at that time it was left to his wife (his son and daughter were young at the time). This was the heyday of the house and 36 servants were employed. Mrs. Battie-Wrightson was well known for her lavish entertaining and was famous for her fancy dress balls. When her son Robert reached the age of 21 a huge party was given and all the servants were given the day off to attend. They got Harrods to cater for it. The house then passed onto the son Robert. Unfortunately his mother was dismayed by Robert's marriage to a publican's daughter. The ill fated marriage didn't last long and Robert started a long lasting affair with his house keeper. Over the years, Robert frittered away his fortune on wine and women and when he died in 1952 the crippling death duties meant his sister had to sell the entire contents of the Hall. It fell into disrepair until 1961 (I think) when it was sold to....er...let me look that bit up...Doncaster Rural District Council. Last year the hall underwent a £7.5 million restoration which means it is now lottery funded and free to get in. Tah-dah! I remembered most of that myself. :0)

When we arrived we went and had a lovely lunch in the cutest tea rooms you have ever seen. It looks like it was originally a stable and it has cobbled floors. The walls are all damp and there's a roaring fire in the corner. Absolutely gorgeous.

Then we went 'below stairs' in the old house to the kitchens. I tell you what, I wouldn't mind a kitchen like this, even now! It's certainly a very workable kitchen and somewhere where I'd want to cook all day. Look at that range!

Then there was the wash room which I wasn't so keen on! It looks like very hard work to me.

There are displays of all washing machines and implements through the years and guess what I spied mum? A Flatley Dryer! I immediately remembered it from my childhood. Do you remember the clicking noise it used to make as it sat on the landing?

There are lots of displays including babies things, toys, dresses, leisure and sports and the like which was all very interesting. We had the whole house to ourselves apart from two other couples. There was also a religious section which housed an amazing tiny chapel. I must say it smelled very peculiar, but then these places always do.

Mo almost fell over backwards trying to get a good look at the amazing ceilings!

Outside of the chapel we found this. It is made from an early form of plastic and looks to be hand carved. I was mesmerized by it. It is of the Lord's Prayer and I would LOVE to own it. Behind the 3D scroll work is different coloured silks.

This photo does not do it justice. I couldn't get a good picture as it was behind glass. I WANT IT!

So there you have it, our day out at Cusworth Hall in Doncaster. There are lots more pictures here: http://www.cusworth-hall.co.uk/

Trying a Video From My New Camera....

Testing, testing, one two three! This how Livvie looks these days. :0)