Goodbye Jessica, Hello Milo

Saturday was a bit of an odd day.

Firstly, it was my daughter's 18th birthday. (I cant believe how fast she has grown up).

After wishing her happy birthday, we discovered that Jessica our 11 yr old Cavalier King Charles Spaniel had finally got to the day we were dreading. Her heart and cancer was too for her to cope with and a final trip to the vets was needed.

We felt terrible, to have to say goodbye is so hard and to do it on such a special birthday made it even harder. One thing I am truly grateful for is my best friend who came with us to help me at the vet, I could not have done it without her. Thank you Mandy.

So, we are down to 2 dogs, Sheba the GSD and Bubbles the Toy Poodle

A few days earlier, I had mentioned seeing an advert on the customer notice board of a local pet shop. "16 week old Black Labrador Cross for sale". My daughter remembered this and decided that as it was her birthday and we were so sad, this was just the boost we needed. Teenage pester power wins again.

Meet Milo

His owner had bought him for her young daughter, who lost interest in him after a month, so they decided he need a home where he would be appreciated. His dad is a full Labrador and his mum is Labrador cross, we have no idea what the cross is, but as he grows up we might get a few clues.

He is friendly with humans and dogs, doesn't pull on his lead, sits when asked and comes when called (most of the time). He has already had all his puppy vaccinations and been house trained. He is a really affectionate dog and we all fell in love with him straight away.

He is a lively bundle of fun and a joy to watch when off his lead in the fields on our walks. My youngest son is really happy, as now he has a dog he can play games with. Our poodle is too easily scared and the GSD is too attached to me and doesn't want to play very often.

In the 4 days we have had him, he has settled in well and our other dogs (and cats) have accepted him with no real problems. His arrival has brought some renewed life our walks and all the dogs look excited when the leads come out.

I think my daughter may have been right, Milo is just the medicine we needed to brighten everyone up after caring for Jessica through her slow decline. We are all looking forward to years of fun, games and learning as Milo grows up.

Puppy training classes already booked to get us heading in the right direction.

Camping in North Yorkshire

We didn't go on holiday last year, so boys were really peatering for a holiday this year.

I found a quiet campsite called Bunnyland on the edge of the North Yorkshire Moors.

Here are some pics of campsite.

There are gypsy caravans for hire on the campsite, which look really lovely.

The nearest seaside was Saltburn-by-the-Sea, we went there most days. There was a Victorian Funicular which took us from the town to the beach. The main part of the beach was no dogs, but at each end dogs were allowed and all access from the promenade to the beach was via ramps, so my chair had more used this week than it has seen in a long time.

Sheba enjoyed running on the beach, but kept her eye on me all the time and kept returning to me to check I was ok.

The boys braved the sea, but it was very cold. Sheba a chicken and kept running away from the waves

Across the road from the beach, there is a lovely woodland walk, which follows a shallow stream. The footpaths were well set out, so it was easy going in my chair and the boys and Sheba had plenty of chances to paddle.

Back at camp each evening, Sheba headed straight to her bed. She was very well behaved and received lots of fuss and attention from the other campers and the site owners. Whilst on site we didn't need to keep her on a lead as she stayed within our tent and windbreaks.

Whitwick Dog Show

Having had such fun at the Hathern Dog show two weeks ago, Cherie and I decided to enter the girls into the Whitwick dog show today.

We entered more classes this time:

• Prettiest Bitch
• Bitch in best Condition
• Best Rescue Bitch
• A.V. Non Sporting Bitch
• A.V. Open

The weather was cooler than the last show, which was better for the girls. The judges were very thorough, but also very friendly and helpful. The girls were quite excited when we started, but did settle down as we went through the day.

Between us we won 6 rosettes, two 2nds, one 3rd, one 4th, one 5th and one 6th. Which we were really proud of them for. By the end of the day, Sheba also qualified to enter the Best in Show Final too.

Beth and Richard turned up in time to see us both in the last 2 classes and Sheba in the final. Beth and Cherie also took the girls to have a go on the Agility Course. That was really funny, I don't think Sheba could work out what was going on.

We were all tired when we got home, the girls had their tea and both fell asleep, Sheba on sofa next to me and Tia under Mick's feet.

Fun at the Dog Show

We decided to enter Sheba and Tia into an open class at Hathern Dog Rescue Centre's Annual Dog Show.

We had a fun day and the dogs behaved really well once they got over their initial excitement.

This was the first time Sheba has been to a dog show and I was really pleased with her manners. She was friendly to every dog and person that she met and walked nicely with me without getting distracted by everything going on around her.

Cherie and I had fun in the show ring. There were lots of entries for the open class, so we knew we would not get placed, but it was a new experience and the dogs enjoyed being centre of attention.

Here are some photos of Sheba and Tia in the show ring. There are more photos on my Facebook page.

The following are video clips of Sheba walking for the judge, then Tia walking for the judge.

Cousins come to play

May half term, my niece, great nephew and their GSD came to stay for a few days. The boys spent most of their time playing computer games and target practice with BB guns.My niece and I had a great week taking the four dogs out. The following pictures show the dogs having fun.

These were taken in the car on the way home afterwards.

Umbrella Yarn Swift

I have begun to notice that the higher end yarns tend to be sold in skeins and I am also spinning more of my own yarns too. I decided it was time to get a yarn swift.

I told my husband that I wanted a yarn swift and showed him a basic umbrella swift that I had seen for sale on EBay, hoping he might buy it me for a birthday or Christmas.

A few weeks later, he was sitting in his workshop with strips of wood, nuts and bolts, string and elastic cord. The pictures are the result:

I am really pleased with my handmade umbrella swift, it keeps a nice even tension on the yarn as I wind it off and because it opens by sliding the upper ring down, it does not need and form or clamp or lock to stay open. The skein will prevent it opening too much and once all the sides are closed, it just seems to stay closed until I need it again.

I had a flat base rather than a clamp, as I usually place it on the floor when winding my yarn.