Tuesday, November 30, 2010

What's been happening?





Almost a month since the last Blog!! I can't believe I've left it that long. probably because not a lot has been happening - not interesting stuff anyway.
We've been to a couple of shows - Wilmslow and NAWS - enjoyed both, had some lovely courses to run, but came away with nothing despite some outstanding work from Boy Bryn (and some c**p work from me...) We've had another training session with Lucy Osborne which was great fun - lots of laughter at these sessions, and lots of work too - we worked on distance handling which Bryn and I love doing, so I was fairly relaxed for a change.
The camper is supposed to be going in today to have the glitches from new sorted, but the battery has completely died (one of the glitches is the way it is losing power so quickly) and the camper has decided that it will not open its doors even for the manual key rather than the electronic one. 'They' are coming out to pop the bonnet from underneath, jump start it and take it back to the service garage to be dealt with. In theory, that is, because the country has ground to a halt with the worst November snows in millions of years - or something like that. I have to admit that I wouldn't want to try to get the camper off my drive with about 4 inches of uncleared snow on the road - it's pretty tight at the best of times, and I am used to doing it. I certainly wouldn't want to drive it down and up steep winding hills to the service garage in these conditons - it's virtually brand new!! I'd hate it to skid or slip or whatever.
My parents have moved rooms in the Nursing Home and the change seems to be going well. Weather conditions permitting, my dad's new purpose-made wheel chair should arrive this week, which should make life a lot more comfortable for him, and make getting out and about more feasible, we hope.
Snowing again now - I think the only thing to do is to take the dogs for a lovely snowy winter walk - get all of our systems operating properly!! Yay!!

Monday, November 01, 2010

The best of times....the worst of times...

Well, not quite either, but certainly a very enjoyable time once again at our NAWS show - first this season, and with a number of changes to the organisation which will, I think, make things run a lot more smoothly in future. Lovely to see old and new friends with smiling faces, and a packed cafe for the presentations.
But the bad times were in the background too. My elderly (90 & 91 year old) parents are currently living in a Nursing Home that is not, IMO, meeting its stated standards. Now, my parents might be physically frailer than they were, but they are in full possession of their faculties and know when they are being sold short! This weekend was particularly bad for them as there were so few staff on site - just 2 on Saturday for all the frail residents. And, as the Home is so far away from me, all I can do at the weekend (no managers on site either!) is worry, get angry and frustrated - as do my parents.
Sunday, show day, was supposed to be a release for me from worrying about them. Instead, next door's cat arrived in my garden at 5.45am, just as I was letting my dogs out to toilet, and in the ensuring rumpus my hand got gashed open. With a show to run I couldn't go to A&E for several hours wait, but I knew we had at least 4 nurses at the show (!) and one of those did indeed patch me up a bit later. But, unknown to me until I got him out of the car to compete, Bryn had gone lame in the rumpus too, so cage rest for him! He is going to the vets tomorrow for his boosters, so I'll get him checked over at the same time. Several of us think it is a pulled muscle in his front leg - when I hoisted him over my shoulder during the rumpus probably!
Then a really enjoyable show with lots of new dogs doing particularly well. Everyone pitched in to pack away, and the carpark was almost empty when I discovered that my car battery was flat. Luckily the few people who were still around managed to give me enough of a push to get it going, but by the time I got home I really wasn't in the mood for all the neighbourhood children to turn up on my doorstep - 'Trick or Treat!'
Things, as they say, can only get better....Can't they??
Edited to add: Bryn's lameness is down to an abscess starting from a puncture wound (!) so both of us are now on antibiotics. Must make sure they don't get mixed up! LOL!