My New Bedroom Photos at Last

I took some photos of my newly decorated bedroom at last, I hope you like them.

 

I think the wine colour against the white wallpaper looks quite effective. The floral decoration on the duvet cover is satin and has little pink glass beads on it.

 

I`ve always wanted a metal headboard and I fell in love with this one.

I bought the table lamps today. They light up by touch control which is very handy.

 

Because we have a floor to ceiling mirrored sliding door in our wardrobe it gives the effect of the room being much bigger than it is.

Well I hope you`ve all had a nice day. As for me I`m really pleased the week is over as I`m on holiday from work all next week....ah bliss! Take care and have a great weekend. :o)

 

 

 

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Bed Linen and Sofas

I`m sorry I haven`t made an entry for the last few days,  I been very lazy or perhaps I should say tired all week.  I`ve been rushing around after work looking for the last few finishing touches for my newly decorated bedroom and I`m almost there, just the bedside lamps to buy and that`s it. Yesterday after many a fruitless search I found the sheets and pillowcases to match the new duvet cover and can you believe I found the exact colour that I was looking for and in a half price sale too. I was getting to the point where I almost couldn`t care less what colour it was, sky blue pink with mauve spots would have done for all I cared...lol! I slept so well last night that I didn`t notice if the earthquake had happened or not. Some people I spoke to felt it but I was so comfy in my lovely bedroom...lol!

Anyway, Jim laid the carpet yesterday and I made up the bed with the new linen and tidied up the upstairs of the house. It`s so nice to get my home back to the way I like it without tripping over something that shouldn`t really be there!  Talking of which, Jim did exactly that the other day and his toe turned black. He said it was agony at the time and I was worried that he had broken it, luckily the pain subsided and it looks much worse than it is with the bruising spreading across the top of his foot. He really has done a wonderful job of the bedroom though and he is very proud of his efforts. When I get the new lamps on Friday I`ll take photos of the room and show them off to you.

I`ve been doing a bit of gardening, not much but I hope to do more next week when I have some leave from work. I just want to tidy up so I can see properly what plants have come through from last year and what haven`t. There are lots of tete a tete daffodils in flower in the back garden and I have two terracotta pots of them on the front door step. I think daffs are cheerful little flowers whether in the garden or as cut flowers indoors. As the weather is still Spring like lots of flowers are coming up early. There is a downside though and that is for some of them its far too soon and a sharp frost can do a lot of damage. I have a clematis "Armandii" which has a pretty white flower with a beautiful scent, however it`s covered in buds but is a month ahead of itself and only some of them many buds have flowered, the rest have gone brown and died. So much for the lovely scent...sigh. The magnolia tree is starting to flower and you can bet the flowers will be blown away by the March winds we are certain to have. I have decided I don`t like global warming and would like the seasons back thank you very much!

At the weekend Kerry and Slava are staying the weekend. They are going out to dinner Saturday night and will stay for dinner on Mother`s Day. On Wednesday afternoon I`m going to Kerry`s to stay until Saturday, Jim will join us after work the next day. It will be nice to spend a couple of days going out and about with Kerry and Roman because as you know I don`t see as much of them as I used to. Roman rings me almost everyday to tell what he`s been doing. Today he was telling me about school and that he had lunch there. He knows which button to press on the phone to get through to my number so Kerry has to watch him or he`d be forever on the phone...lol! Kerry had her new sofas delivered today, she should have got them on Friday was furious when the delivery van didn`t turn up. Apparently "they were stuck in traffic and ran out of time" though that didn`t make Kerry feel any better since she didn`t have anywhere to sit in her living room. I can`t believe they made her wait until today to deliver them and had it been me they would have been delivered the next morning or else...grrrrr!

Well that`s it from me for today, I hope you had a lovely day, take care. :o)

 

 

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It`s Finished at Last

 

 

 

At last all Jim`s hard work has paid off and the bedroom walls look lovely now, painting the walls white certainly did the trick. The new carpet has arrived and is lying on the stairway as there is no room to put it anywhere else. In the next couple of days the curtain pole will go up and the new electric sockets and light switches will be fitted. Hopefully we`ll be back in our own room very soon and I can put everything back where it belongs, I can`t stand untidinesss even if it is in a good cause.

Kerry and Roman visited today and Roman being Roman declared himself to be "much better thank you Nana"   lol!  Kerry says he talks like a little old man, rather like his mother at the same age who we referred to as a little old woman...lol! It seems that nursery school has certainly given him a confidence boost and he never stops talking from the moment he wakes up to the moment he falls asleep. His latest thing is to ask a question and then answer it himself. This afternoon he was drawing a picture, supposedly of Jake. Roman says " That`s not Jake is it?...I don`t think so Nana!" and so it goes on. Considering he`s only 2 1/2 his speech is amazing. Jim always buys him a doughnut when he visits and yesterday he asked over the phone for a blue one.....mmm...says Grandad, " I`ll see what I can do". This morning Jim came home with pink ones which didn`t bother Roman one bit, he just ate it all despite Kerry saying he could only have half...lol!

Yesterday I bought some cyclamen coum to plant around the magnolia tree. I`ve never been able to grow anything there but I was advised by a customer that they should do very well and will spread to cover the area that has been bare for too long. I was going to plant them this afternoon but after Kerry left at 3pm I was tired so it can wait until the weekend weather permitting. I`ve already done a bit of maintenance work outside and I want to do some more now before Spring gets here. If I can get it tidy by then I can see what is coming up from last year and then I can decide whether to add anything to it or leave it alone. As I mentioned before the goldfinches have been eating themselves silly and emptying the feeders every couple off days...well, they have told all their friends where the best eating place in town is and instead of the 10 or so that have been visiting I`m now getting a flock of what must be 30 birds at times. All I can think of is that they must be visiting relatives...lol!  Note to self:  buy more bird food tomorrow.

Yesterday afternoon I collected my new glasses, they are very smart and I really like wearing them. I opted for plastic frames as opposed to wire and they are much better all round. They feel more secure when I`m wearing them unlike my old ones which always felt as they were going to slip off my nose. The only thing is that because my right eye is weaker than my left I`m having to get used to the new prescription and it`s giving me a `fuzzy` head at the moment. I`m sure it won`t last for long though.

I`m trying to get over the cold I caught from Roman, as head colds go this one hasn`t been very bad at all but I just don`t feel right somehow. I feel very tired and my stomach is a bit achy and my neck glands are still swollen, probably just the virus hanging around to annoy me I suppose. Of course Jim has caught it and to make matters worse he feels dreadful too, he does seem to pick up every bug thats going just lately so I hope he gets over this one quickly.

Time to cook myself some dinner, Jim is working so I`m going to see what I can rustle up for myself. Have a lovely evening and take care. :o)

 

 

 

Catching Up

I didn`t think I`d be able to get on to journals today because AOL has been giving me no end of problems the last couple of days. We have just been given an upgrade and our subs. have gone DOWN by £3, too good to be true if you ask me.!  On Sunday evening I couldn`t get online at all and yesterday it took me ages to get a connection. AOL did say that there might be a few `glitches` until the service is sorted out...sigh.

I had an enjoyable weekend at Kerry`s and we did some ground clearing as planned. Unfortunately, the front area of the house which we were working on has a wide spreading weed that has got out of control, so much so that weedkiller is the best option. We have a good one at work that is bio-degradiable and is safe around children and pets. Once the weeds are dead we can dig them into the soil and put new plants in safely.  We visited the local garden centre which, although the same company that I work for, it`s about five times bigger at least. Slava bought some paving slabs and stone edging and with my discount saved himself a lot of money. I will be a regular visitor there for some time, at least until their garden is finished, I will also be buying things for my own garden as they have much more stock than at work because of their size. Slava had already cleared the garden and has now put in the edging and is going to lay the path at the weekend. At the moment he has just finished decorating the living room and has already started on the bedroom. Considering that he has to travel from Hampshire to Heathrow airport every day to work and do all the work at home he is doing remarkably well and Jim and I are very proud of him, we couldn`t wish for a better son-in-law.

Kerry and Roman both have middle ear infections and are on antibiotics. The doctor told Kerry that Roman probably infected her even though she`s been suffering from hers for a week now. Apparently in children these infections can lie dormant for a while and it was only yesterday morning that Roman was unwell. Thankfully Roman is much better today, unlike his poor mum who is still in quite a lot of pain. Unfortunately for Kerry she has suffered with her ears all her life and even had to see an ENT professer when she was about six. He told us she has very short ear canals and there isn`t anything that can be done for it. She did grow out of it in her late teens but this infection reminds me of her childhood years when she was so often unwell with her tonsils and/or her ears. She was almost permanently on a low dose antibiotics to try to keep her healthy until her tonsils were removed when she was five.

Jim has painted the bedroom walls white in preparation for the new batch of wallpaper, He intends to hang it tomorrow so fingers crossed that this time it will be there to stay. Yesterday I collected the new curtains and bought a lampshade that matches perfectly. Tomorrow the carpet arrives but it`ll  have to be kept rolled up on the stairs until it can be layed.

It was really busy at work today, so much so that I had to ask someone to open another till because there was a queue of customers, not something I expected at this time of year. Spring bulbs, primroses and primulas are selling well though I`m not at all surprised, how better to cheer yourself up with some pretty flowers in a tub or a basket. While I was out I bought a bowl of hyacinthes that were cheaper than I could buy at work. The one I have in my bathroom is past its best so I can put one of the new ones and place the other two elsewhere, clever eh?

Mmm...I can smell the aroma of the sausage casserole that I have in the oven, it`ll be ready in about ten minutes so I`ll sign off now. Have a nice evening. Bye for now. :o)

 

 

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Wasted Paper

Well I was right, I said winter hadn`t left us yet and today it reappeared with an icy blast. It makes feel cold even thinking about it despite having the central heating on. I won`t mention the weather until the sun shines again...lol!

I should have mentioned the other day that Jake is laid up again, this time with an injured front paw. He has been a bit lame on it for a while but we put it down to arthritis. On Sunday I noticed he was really chewing his paw and he wouldn`t let me look at it, a sure sign that there was something wrong because handling him has never been a problem. On Monday Jim took him to the vet and she found that he had bitten a big chunk out of one of his pads, no wonder it hurt! She thinks he must have had a thorn or some foreign body in it but had chewed it out himself. She gave him a course of antibiotics and told Jim that he mustn`t have any exercise on hard surfaces until its healed for at least several weeks. At the moment he can`t go out at all and must be bored rigid being at home all day. On top of that he has to wear a big Elizabethan collar so he doesn`t chew his paw again.....poor old thing, I wish I could explain it to him.

We had less customers at work today because of the change of weather (sorry, had to mention it...lol!) I did have plenty to do thankfully, saving me from a morning of terminal boredom which is the downside to working at a garden centre in Winter, roll on Spring when we`ll be busy, busy, busy. The time always goes so quickly and we barely have time to draw breath but I love it.  I`ve been mentally planning how I want my garden this year. I decided that I`m going to plant some tall dahlias along with cosmos and gladioli, a bit of a change for me but I`m looking forward to it.

 

I filled the bird feeders this afternoon and swept the discarded seed from the garden path. Those goldfinches may be pretty birds but their table manners are dreadful, they seem to throw as much seed on the ground as they eat. I have a feeling that come the Summer I`m going to find sunflowers springing up all over the place...lol! Those birds are really funny because they sat nearby waiting for the replenished feeders to be hung back in the tree. It didn`t take long for a good flock of them descended along with a few chaffinches, great tits and some starlings, I just hope they`re grateful....lol!

As I`m going to Kerry`s on Saturday I`m going to do the ironing tomorrow instead of Sunday, I was going to do it today but decided it could wait another day...sigh. We`ve had a set back with the decorating, Jim finished papering the bedroom and it looked great, initially. However, once it was nearly dry we realised that the wallpaper wasn`t thick enough to cover some blemishes that were on the wall. So yesterday afternoon the new wallpaper came down again, much quicker than it went up. :o(  Jim is now going to paint the walls with white emulsion before wallpapering again, it`s just a shame that his hard work (and money!) has gone to waste. We are going to buy more of the same paper because we both really like it and we don`t want to settle for something else. On the plus side I managed to find a new duvet set in the colours I wanted. I couldn`t find a thing in the shops so I trawled the internet and found just the thing last evening, that`s one more thing out of the way. I still have to find a lampshade and two bedside table lamps and that will be that, though I doubt I find them online.

That`s it from me today, if AOL lets me I`ll be reading your journals, if not well...I`ll keep trying!  Take and Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

PS:  Happy St. Valentine`s Day!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Another Luvverly Day

The weather has been wonderful again today, very warm and sunny with clear blue skies after a cold and frosty start. Sorry if I sound like the weatherman but we are getting unbelievable weather for the time of year and we could be forgiven for thinking that Spring is well and truly here....but I`m certain its not and I`m sure it`s going to become far more seasonal in the next day or too. Anyway for the time being I`m enjoying it along with everyone else though I draw the line when it comes to wearing shorts and t-shirts. Some brave or foolhardy souls however, are doing just that, its not THAT hot!

We had a lovely day on Sunday when the family came round for dinner. I love to spoil them as I don`t see them as often as I`d like. Roman was his usual happy go lucky self, Danny quiet and slightly moody, he works far too hard and does too many hours at work, I just hope the company appreciate him.  Kerry and Slava were thrilled with the Dragon plant which they are going to put in their hallway.  Apparently Slava has cleared the garden of all the roots Kerry and I were going to dig up at the weekend. I must admit to saying a silent prayer of thanks because it saves us both from getting backaches and we can concentrate on clearing the small open plan garden at the front of the house instead. Good old Slava, he`s saved the day!

Yesterday afternoon Jim and I went shopping for wallpaper etc. for our bedroom. Not only did we get the wallpaper but we also found a nice carpet, some lovely wine coloured spun silk curtains and a curtain pole. Jim is almost finished hanging the paper as I`m writing this and has done a really good job of it too.The carpet should arrive next week as will the curtains too, when the job is completely finished I`ll take some photos to show you. This afternoon after a very busy morning at work I had an appointment with the optician. My only pair of glasses, (shop bought) are about to fall to pieces so I decided I need some proper ones before they do. I went to Specsavers like the advert said and I got a really good deal. I don`t even have to pay for the eye test because there is glaucoma in my family. I`d always given the information to the optician in the past but I still had to pay for my test, now I know I don`t have to and even better they will test me annually just to make sure my eyes are healthy. I bought two pairs of really nice glasses for the price of one and, as we are in the HSA we receive back half of what we pay, can`t be bad eh!  I did look around for bedroom accessories ie. duvet covers, lampshades etc. but didn`t see anything that I really like, never mind though it can wait, I won`t spend money on something I`m not 100% sure of. I didn`t get home and have any lunch until after 3.30pm, I was famished though I had indulged in a Cadbury`s Creme egg while driving home..my poor car steering wheel is all sticky now....lol!

By the way, our friend Jeannette of Jeannette`s Jottings is taking a break from the computer for a while, don`t worry she`s not ill just taking a well-earned break. Perhaps that`s something we all should do from time to time.  I for one spend far more time than I should online, as far as I`m concerned I`m hopelessly addicted to this virtual world!

Anyway my friends, time I had my evening meal. Take care and Bye Bye for now. :o)

 

 

 

 

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Oh What a Lovely Day!

It`s been a wonderful day weather wise, sunny and warm with clear skies and bright sunshine, it really seems as though Spring has well and truly sprung. It was very warm at work and the customers were flocking in to buy their plants. We sold loads of primula and primroses as well as shrubs such as camelias and rhodos. I just hope the camelias are well covered up at night because I wouldn`t be surprised if there was a frost tonight. I wouldn`t mind betting that although the weather is lovely at the moment Winter is still waiting around the corner ready to pounce when when we think were safe.

Yesterday Kerry and Roman came over in the afternoon. Later we all went to the park where Roman proceeded to get covered in mud, hence the pyjama bottoms while his trousers were in the wash. Now I only see him about once a fortnight he seems to get bigger and more grown up each time I see him, when I got home from work it was "NANA!  you`re home....kiss!"  If I wasn`t already happy at seeing him I certainly was now. He told me all about his morning at play school and that he had done a painting for me. He told me all about his mid morning snack, apple and milk today and Carole one of the helpers there. According to her Roman mixes really well with other children and is a pleasure to have around. Not long agao he wasn`t very confident around other children and was quite wary of them, now there`s no stopping him. It seems that moving to Hampshire has done the whole family a world of good and we are both happy for them.

This is the Dragon plant that I bought for Kerry this afternoon, she likes the little one that I have on my kitchen windowsill and I know she wants a large plant to stand on the floor in her hallway so I`ve killedtwo birds with one stone so to speak. Also I bought Roman a little nest box to put in the garden, he loves to watch the birds and I know he`d love it if some of them used it.  On Sunday Kerry, Slava, Roman and Danny will be here for dinner,  though Jim is working and will miss out on the festivities.

It`s all arranged, next weekend I`m going to Kerry`s for the weekend while Jim stays here and does the wall papering. Kerry and I will get stuck into clearing the roots from the garden so we can prepare an area where the lawn will go. Also we are going to pay a visit to the local garden centre where we can price up all the things we are going to need once we get started. The garden centre is a branch of the company that I work for so I can get discount there, much easier than buying things from work and taking them all the way to Kerry`s house. This way she can choose her own plants and I can help her with them, lending advice where I can.

I just can`t resist watching the birds feed in my garden. I sit there at the window for ages and have to almost drag myself away, it`s so relaxing watching them. This afternoon in amongst the flock of goldfinches was this solitary chaffinch. He just sat there as if he was sunbathing for almost twenty minutes while the goldfinches ignored him while they concentrated on eating everything they could. Being a ground feeder he didn`t go near the feeders but I`ll bet he`ll be back later to eat the seeds that the goldfinches had dropped on the garden path. Because the weather is so nice I hung some washing on the line when I got home. I`ve just been outside to check it and it`s almost dry, not only that but it smells lovely, much nicer than if it had been in the drier.

Oh yes, how could I forget. Jake chased off an intruder this morning. I was in the kitchen at 6am and I heard something heavy hit the ground outside the back door. Then I heard Jake growl then bark really ferociously and then I heard something go back over the fence at speed. Whoever it was won`t be back in a hurry. I told Jim about it and he said it was probably a cat so I`d better warn you all. If you see a cat that looks as though it weighs about 14st, don`t open the door...lol!

Right, its time for a coffee so I`ll say goodbye for now. Have a great weekend and take care. :o)

 

 

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Photos and Thanks

Hello everyone,

I`ve got a few photos to share that I took today, I hope you like them.

I love daffodils, they brighten up the dullest day and they certainly cheer me up. This wide necked glass vase is just perfect for a large bunch of them.

 

When I took this photo of my white orchid I didn`t realise that the sun streaming through the window would look so effective. I really like the result.

 

The same orchid in close up.

 

My Indian Runner duck Quackers and an incidental vase of chrysanthemums. Quackers is very friendly and likes posing for photos...lol!

This plants sits on my kitchen window ledge. I didn`t get this one from work but from IKEA instead and for half the price. It should grow into a very large plant that I can eventually stand on the floor.

I bought this orchid from IKEA as well as the white one I showed you earlier. Again they were much cheaper than the ones at work and excellent quality too.

Close up.

 

I want to thank everyone for your kind comments on my entry of yesterday. I read it again today and the whole entry made me cringe....as far as I`m concerned I was wallowing in self pity and I`ll try not to be so self indulgent again. Consider my wrist well and truly slapped...lol! The black dog has run off but not very far....HOWEVER, today has been a happier day, what with the sun has been shining for most of it. I decided as I was paid last week that I would scout around the garden centre in search of a bargain or two. I found a bird house that was reduced by a third and a scented patio rose with pale orangey pink blooms called `Sweet Dream` that was already reduced but with my staff discount it was a steal. A new plant always cheers me up and the new rose is no exception. I will find a nice tub to put it in and stand it outside the kitchen door so that when it flowers the scent can waft into the kitchen.  Anyway, thank you all again. I`m going to catch up with some journals now...oh yes, did you know that Jeannette has a new journal called Make `Em Laugh where you can read and post jokes and funnies, it`s sure to be a winner so why not pop over and visit.  Bye for now. :o)

 

 

 

 

The Black Dog and Goldfinches

Oh dear, I think the black dog is here to torment me again, let me explain. The black dog in my case is when I feel really low spirited. Not to put too finer point on it I`m more than a little depressed at the moment,  why I have no idea because I`ve always been good at dealing with these ups and downs. The last two or three days I`ve felt a bit different than usual and it can only be described as couldn`t care less, never a good thing to be. I`m not sitting here crying but I feel just like Maxine the cartoon character who says exactly what she thinks  so I`ve decided to use some of her graphics as they convey how I feel. Any the wiser?  Never mind nor am I...lol!

 

I`ve been pondering on the fact that in March I turn 56, something that doesn`t bother me to much when you consider the alternative. So am I old or just starting to get old?  Either way that`s what I am and I can`t change it but it`s funny because I don`t feel it apart from a bit of arthritis that I`m keeping at bay....I will not be slowed down by the aches and pains of advancing age!  They do say that fifty is the new forty....who are they trying to kid...lol! Well at least it made me smile.:o)

Talking of aches and pains, you know the ones that I said wouldn`t slow me down? Well I have a really painful shoulder caused most likely from lifting something heavy at work. I am my own worst enemy because I often refuse help because I want to do things myself...note to self. Allow someone to help you or you get what you deserve, you silly old bat!

Now this is a photo that warms my heart. Two little goldfinches on the orange bird feeder. It also helps that I have started to use sunflower hearts instead of mixed seed because last year they seemed to like it. Now we are getting not just the two finches but up to seven at a time and they are eating me out of house and home, even the starlings, robins, chaffinches put together don`t each anywhere near as much.  They sit there for ages just eating, fly away for about five minutes then they are back and start all over again. By rights they should be too fat to get off the ground...lol!

D`you know I`m starting to feel a little better now. I had to stop for a while because Danny arrived and I had dinner to serve and now I`m back I feel just that bit better, hopefully the black dog will be long gone by the morning.

Kerry mentioned to me the other week about going over to her place one weekend when Jim is working so we can get on with the garden so I think I`ll do just that next weekend. I think a bit of hard toil in the garden will do me some good and I can`t let Kerry do it all on her own. She has been digging up roots from the area where the lawn is going to be and even though the garden is small the roots are very big. Slava is decorating at the moment so we`ll leave him to it while we get the garden sorted out..

Talking of decorating, we are in the middle of doing our bedroom at the moment, well Jim has painted the ceiling and inside the wardrobes and glossed the skirting boards. Next week we will be choosing carpet, curtains and wallpaper which is all very well but I have no idea what I want yet, not a clue. I suppose I`ll keep looking until something catches my eye.

Anyway, I`ll say goodnight to you all. Have a lovely evening. :o)

 

 

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Life with Rosie Basset

 

This isn`t Rosie but its the best likeness I could find on the net, Jim has put all the photos in the loft!

I want to tell you about our Basset Hound Rosie. She was such a huge part of our lives in many ways and we learned so much about ourselves during her lifetime.

For some years I had fancied having a basset as a pet, goodness knows why apart from the fact that I though they were cute. Have you ever made a huge misjudgement in your life? Well I have and Rosie, I`m afraid to say was it though it wasn`t altogether her fault...well perhaps some of it.

We visited several kennels and saw many bitches and dogs, all good pedigree and their puppies much sought after. We went away and decided to read up on the breed to make sure we were doing the right thing. For a year I read extensively until I knew (or thought I did) everything that was there was to know about bassets ie. they are very stubborn, they are good family dogs and great with children despite their mournful expressions and they don`t really suffer from health problems apart from back problems caused by their longer than usual spines and short bandy legs. Oh yes, I thought I knew it all....sigh.

Eventually we collected Rosie in March 1989. Her breeder was well respected lady and was a judge at show, she bred her dogs at her large bungalow and they were all in beautiful condition so we had no cause to worry about her background. She was given a bath before we left and we took her home smelling lovely....something that quickly wore off when her natural hound scent took over. Nobody told us that hounds smell...well `gamey` I suppose and they stay that way, never mind we got used to it after a while.  Rosie decided to say hello to the cats, Hazel loved her and Paddie hated her with a vengence...something that never changed, they spent their lives in conflict with Rosie always losing their manybattles with vicious scratches to prove it but it didn`t stop her trying to make friends...daft dog.

At the time Kerry was about fourteen and Danny eleven and they just adored Rosie. The same Rosie who howled when she was left at home alone, who stole their dinner from their plates and sweets and chewing gum from their pockets. On one occasion she swallowed one of Kerry`s gloves with no ill effects, that dog was a terrible thief and needed watching all the time.

We never:

Left food where she could reach it.

Left doors open just in case she sneaked in and stole something.

Gave her toys, she ate them all.

Bought her a dog bed, she ate the first one.

Allowed her upstairs, she couldn`t get down unaided and she was too heavy to carry.

We always:

Cleaned her ears regularly or they smelled terrible and they got infected.

Bathed her often to try to keep the `gamey` smell at bay.

Opened the windows in the morning whatever the weather for the same reason as above.

Visited the vet regularly for her many operations and to treat her innumerable ailments

Which were:

Contact dermatitis which had to be treated twice daily for her entire life.

Hysterectomy at 13months because of womb infection.

Repeated bouts of cystitus caused by crystals in bladder: I evenended up with my own testing kit so I knew when to get antibiotics.

Operations to treat crystals in bladder ~ failed twice

Extensive dental work and teeth removal (at least five times)

Grass seed removed from foot (twice)

Frequent bouts of colitis, cause not known.

Eye infections.

Anal glands removed, apparently uncommon in large dogs (they are labradors with short legs said one vet)   No they are not!

There were more but I can`t remember the rest!

There were many occasions when Rosie found the scent of a deer and she was gone, calling her was a waste of time because she became deaf once on the trail. The problem was she was rubbish at following the scent and always became hopelessly lost. Many was the time when we heard her howling in the woods but it always took hours to find her. On one occasion we had half a dozen park rangers with walkie talkies helping us find her. Eventually it became to risky to let her off the lead but at least we didn`t have to spend an afternoon tramping through the undergrowth looking for our elusive basset.

By the time Rosie was ten she started to slow down and it was obvious that her back was giving her pain from time to time. One day she fell into a ditch (don`t ask) and became quite poorly for a while, though did I mention that she was also a terrible hyperchondriac and knew how to use her ailments to her best advantage. She become like one of those ladies from the past who took to their chais lounges with `the vapours`. Anyway, Rosie was an expert in that field and with that mournful basset expression it certainly worked for her. By this time we had Hannah who was about at the time. They were great friends but Rosie was the boss through and through. Hannah being the sweetie that she was never crossed her and always did as Rosie said.

The years passed and by the time Rosie was almost thirteen we knew that she didn`t have much longer with us. She hadn`t been for a walk for six months as her back legs didn`t work well but now she was losing interest in everything, even her friend Hannah who fussed over her constantly and who now seemed lost with The Boss.

We said goodbye to Rosie in the August of  2003, Jim and I were heartbroken as were Kerry and Danny. Rosie was not the easiest dog dog we ever had and she was certainly the last basset hound. But, we loved her despite, or maybe because of her faults (I only scratched the surface here). Oh yes, there was only one Rosie Basset.

 

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