There's a hole in my bucket....

 Winter has arrived here in my corner of the world, although I still think I am the only place in the western hemisphere that has yet to see even the smallest flake of snow but the long, unseasonably warm December has given way to a cold January.  This morning's walk was cold, misty, frosty and beautiful the field stretched out literally further than the eye could see and Defi and Iz both had grey whiskers on their chins as the frost in the air continued to chill everything it touched.  

Like true Golden Retrievers though they still managed to find a patch of mud so it wasn't the clean walk I had imagined first thing!

Down at the bank of the River Wye, Hereford.

My bamboo in the garden an impressive waving focal point is all still and frosty.

The buddleia is frozen in space and time...

I was walking around the garden picking up the dog poo as you do after a good walk and saw my bird feeder hidden amongst the bamboo to protect the birds from the weather and also to stop Defi from trying to get to any tasty treats left out for the birds and it reminded me of C S Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and The Wardrobe, the scene in the book (and the film) when Lucy meets Mr Tumnus under the lamp.  My bird feeder isn't quite a lamp but it just reminded me of that part in the story.

With the cold snap we are now having I have been lighting the fire in the kitchen.  In the evening it throws out lots of lovely light with the smell of burning wood and hot coals that  just make me happy and feel warm.  I got given a truck load - I kid not I don't do anything by half! - of wood from our builder neighbour, back in October time, as he is renovating a large old pub and asked me if I wanted some logs for the fire, of course I said yes and so he got one of his chaps to drop off this load of wood, not so much logs as chunks that need to be chopped smaller and spit and hiss and fly out of the grate rather than the lovely old oak logs I was expecting.  We have an entire garage filled with this wood and so I have to burn it somehow, thank goodness for the cold snap because hubby and son were starting to moan about my filling up the garage!

At least Gordy appreciates my efforts and he is now camped out on the hearth from the moment he can get into the kitchen until I remove him for bed at the end of the day. If the fire isn't lit he sits there looking all morose and sad, when it is lit he lies there flaked out and hot needing to be removed periodically to cool down.  

With an open fire comes the job of cleaning it out, throwing ash and smoke into the air and covering every surface in the room.   Of course that job is mine, so on bended knees I shovel ash into the bucket, try not to breathe at the same time, take the ash outside to the compost heap at the bottom of the garden where the slightest breeze whips the pile in the bucket into a frenzy and covers me in grey matter.   This weekend gone I kept the fire in over night, the old trick of covering the coals with the ash from beneath the grate, I love coming down in the morning and having a warm kitchen in which to drink my first cup of tea.  I didn't think too much about the fire when I went out with the dogs that morning for our walk, it had stayed warm and I assumed had gone out as there was no activity, no spitting of wood, no sparks or light just lovely warmth that flooded the room.  When I got home I decided that before I got too warm and comfortable I would clean out the fire and get it ready for lighting later on in the afternoon.  Good plan, I thought.  Unfortunately I didn't think enough as I shovelled the ash into the plastic bucket that I use to bring the wood in from the garage.  Ash out to compost, quick stop at garage, fill up with wood, back in house.  Multi-tasking.  I am woman!  

So what does happen when you put hot ash into a plastic bucket?  why it melts of course, all over your carpet around the fire leaving little blobs of black sludge when you try and lift the bucket that 'did' contain the ash - did, because now its all streaming out the bottom of said bucket and creating a sandstorm effect before your very eyes, the same eyes that are smarting from the ash and watering causing your nose to twitch and you start sneezing violently making any undisturbed ash fly through the air....  Iz and Defi at this point are at the furthest point of the kitchen (which is a big room!) with Gordy behind them trying to get away from the cloud of dust, the looks on their faces possibly showing their true feelings for my genius-ness but not being able to see through the tears, sneezes and ash I can only guess at their expressions.

The next, immediate, problem is how to get the holey bucket with leaking ash out of the kitchen, through the utility room and out the back door, down the garden to the compost heap without creating more mess?  The answer is simple.  You don't, just you make the mess and trail ash through the house and up the garden path, sneezing as you go.  I did put a piece of newspaper under the bucket and try to keep it there whilst I moved but it was a fruitless fix to an absurdly stupid decision in the first place.

My son, as predicted, came in, rolled his eyes, left in the car and returned an hour later with a metal bucket.

Gordy has given up with fires and resorted to checking out if porridge is on the menu for breakfast....

January's Spring Clean.

 Blowing the dust of my blog is just one of the areas I have been Spring cleaning in my life since we stepped into 2016. The kids are still refusing to leave home and now even talk about the high cost of rent and how they have an easier time at home with servants... that would be me then, chief washer upper, clothes picker upper, clothes washer, hoover pusher, but not shopper or cook as those skills still elude me.  One of my new ideas for this brand new year, is to learn to cook, last year (2015) I actually conquered the intricacies of cooking an omelette and to date I have cooked at least three, one of which my son actually said was good.  He was starving at the time, been at work for 12 hours and was chilled to the bone and just wanting food, but I will take my cooking compliments where I can get them.

Last week I got stuck into clearing the wardrobe, ten years of piling 'stuff' in a walk in triple doored cupboard of a wardrobe, in a modern house it would be called the small bedroom.  I love this space and have used it to store an air-con unit my husband insisted on getting back in 2008 (or so) which was probably only used that one summer and since been stored due to lack of summer heat.  On top of the air con unit is Aslan, a massive handmade (6ft with tail) lion that was made for me when I was a child and I refuse to throw away so Aslan has been carted from one side to the country to another and stuffed in a variety of wardrobes and under beds.

Charley at 17

Charley approx 1 year old.

With Aslan and other stuffed toys I can't part with including my kids first teddies from when they were small, is shoes, camping equipment, a plastic skeleton for Halloween, the carved wooden elephant chair with the rattan seat my husband inherited from his Grandmother when she died, thought to be worth something but its one of those 'pick one up from eBay for £50 on a good day pieces of furniture....  old canvas' from my painting days amongst the discarded dog hairs that are embarrassingly large balls of hairy dust and the big box of photos and things that I have kept from the early 1990's when my kids were born.  The first paintings, old school reports and lots of photos of my daughter (and son!) which show her off to be the ugly bug she was as a baby.  Charley, my daughter, was helping me sort through the wardrobe, she was instrumental in getting me to throw away most of my clothes that were outdated, threadbare, washed out and seriously tired.  She moaned at me a lot that day for not wearing the lovely collection of clothes she has brought for me over the last 12 months, her being the shopper of the family.  We laughed at her in the photos, covered in chocolate, sat in the washing basket, or my favourite of her in the garden trug looking miserable and fed up - she still hates being outdoors in the fresh air doing jobs around the garden and at 20 can honestly say she has never cut the grass!  That saying, ugly baby beautiful child, is right from an ugly bug she did turn out ok.

Some one cute and dribbly just laughed and laughed... and kept out of the way of any clearing out. 

 Gordy plays a huge part in my life as does Teeko, Izabel and Defi, both the latter having been in the wars this week, Iz has a black eye from a fight down at the river (which she didn't start) and Defi managed to catch his nail on one of his front paws the following day and has been limping, when you stand near the treat box,  when he thinks he might get some sympathy.

Teeko has been snoozing on top of the fish tank letting the heat warm his old bones.

So this blog is going to about them and me, what we get up too, the trials and tribulations of living with an older cat, a cat with special needs, one dog with separation anxiety and the other that loves to roll in ..... stuff!

Until next time from Dust, Dribble and Dog hairs, long may the hoover suck! 

The Trout Trainers

You know the type; the Sunday morning, dog trainers with their clean wellys and posh body warmers from a named and labelled brand.  They stand there in a circle with their over weight pooches talking amongst themselves about how dogs should behave and throwing dirty looks over to the rest of us walkers in scruffy clothes, our dogs running with each other, chasing balls, rolling in cow pats and wet grass, barking in delight and having a great time, their muscles lean and toned, whilst we, those in scruffs, laugh and walk, whistling and calling our much loved pets and generally enjoying the weather; whether it be sun shine or rain or deep snow with icicles hanging from branches and glowing from within whilst we walk in thick jumpers and hats, obviously on those days the Trout Trainers are not out and about, they only do fine weather.

Trout Trainers?

Well, they all look like they have been slapped in the face with a wet fish, their scowling faces set in a downward tilt from years of looking down their noses at us mear pet owners.

The group that frequents the river walk on a Sunday morning has become smaller, hopefully those other members realizing that you can't train an over weight puppy who only wants to run and jump and play not learn to sit at heel and have the joy of life replaced by some sour faced old hag telling him that life is about learning and all fun is cancelled.

There was a time I would put my dogs on leads to walk past, but now I don't, call me rebellious but I can't stand to see dogs, over weight and joyless; my dogs might not be the most obedient of the year but we have rules, I like them to play nicely, be friendly and have waggy tails, they know that the first rule of the house is make sure they get the best spot on the sofa before any one else, take up as much room on the bed and when 'she in charge' aka me, looks like she is going to blow a gasket because we are not listening, run to heel, sit, look up with butter wouldn't melt adoring brown eyes and the smallest tail tip wag will guarantee complete success in winning her over.

So I let mine run forward and join the over weight black Labrador puppy, he could only have been 12 months old, this morning.  Defi always does the introductions perfectly, I am very proud of his manners.  He goes as close as possible, without encroaching on space, and lies down, his tail swishing from side to side in the leaves, the Lab puppy, joyous in the fact another hound is there and offering to chase, bounds over, leaving the Trout Trainers scowling in disgust at his lack of obedience and their failure to lasso him with his lead in time, and within seconds the two dogs are charging round and round the group threatening to knock them all down, whilst I call over, friendly like, 'don't they love to play, shame he is a bit like a bull in a china shop'.  I like to throw that out there as it makes the Trout Trainers all band together in fear of getting their immaculate attire the slightest bit hairy or muddy, as I walk past with Iz trotting faithfully behind me, her smile wide on her face as her ball is between her teeth, her flowing coat and toned tummy belying  the fact she is now 8 years old and not the 3 or 4 year old she looks.  Sadly the quick charge with Defi and the puppy was short lived as they failed to get far enough away before the youngster was lasso'ed and fun was curtailed.  I call Defi and walk away knowing that the looks directed at my back from the Trout Trainers are shooting to kill, whilst the puppy, his tongue pink and panting looks at Defi's retreating tail with a smile on his little pudgy face.

But I get the last laugh.  I walk down the lanes with two happy, contented, walked, toned, well behaved Golden Retriever pet dogs, whilst they have to over take me in their cars with the dog that has figured out that you can defy the authorities and have a bit of fun!

You can train dogs that young, I certainly started training Iz as soon as she came to live with us at 8 weeks, all the other dogs as soon as they arrive (they have all been re-homes or rescues except for Iz) but you have to let the dog have fun first and burn off some energy, then they will sit, walk to heel and whatever else you ask them to do.  Fun and training together make happy, well adjusted, friendly dogs that have some manners at least.

Until next Sunday then.

31 days and Blogtoberfest

So this whole introduce yourself thing, odd I had to do that last night at my writing group, we had a wonderful chap come to talk, a retired actor and director of theatre productions as well as some television back in the days when TV was brand new.  He was a fabulous chap with twinkly blue eyes and a sense of humour.  I do love hearing stories so I was transfixed on his life, not more so when he told of doing 2am feeds with his son whilst on the phone to a writer and discussing plays, obviously earing brownie points from both parties and having a contented baby to boot, so, we had to introduce ourselves and I falter, as normal.

October; I have signed up to do the Blogtoberfest, organized by Shells in the Bush and also 31 Days and as soon as I figure out how to download and add buttons I will do that.  So, the first thing you learn about me is that I am computer daft! 

I make glass lampwork beads, those with bums and those with petals, a Jekyll and Hyde character in female form, I have a grown up side, flowers and a childlike side, bums and eyeballs.

 

Pink Lily flowers in glass.  SOLD.

 

Seal on the sea shore.  SOLD.

Guelder Rose and Lavender on eBay.com

As well as glass, I have two dogs, Izabel and Defi my Golden Retrievers that are with me all day and help me look after my little cat with brain damage who is an internet star with his own column in Cat World Magazine every month.  Here he is with my daughter.

and my three amigos together... my daughter is a photography student currently studying her degree course and she let me have this photo below.

So that's me. 

I love to write, about what happens to Gordy and also everything and anything that pops into my head, I am finding my own style with the writing and enjoying the journey.

I live in Hereford, UK amongst rolling fields and moo-ing cows and watch pigs snuffling in the mud from my bedroom window, I share my home with my two grown up kids that I fear will just never leave, everyone tells me I will miss them when they have gone, its the 'gone' bit that they don't seem to want to do! and my husband, he that supports and loves me, even though I don't shop, or cook, in fact banned from both as I let woman kind down in those departments, thankfully he is excellent in both so we have food in the fridge and no one is starving.

There is a few people on the Blogtoberfest this year click on Shells in the Bush blog to find other participants, and for the 31 Days writing just search until I figure out the button thing!! 

 

 

Another year older.

 Well, that's another birthday done and dusted, another year gained and probably a few more pounds in weight due to the meal out and a beautiful collection of plants and flowers dotted around the kitchen and the living room...oh yes and decorating is to commence!

 

My birthday was yesterday, Sunday 9th March and I won't tell you how old I was but I am now well into middle age! 

 

I had a lovely visitors, my mother and my step dad came from Lincoln to Hereford to celebrate with us and to take us out for a meal.  I worked out that the last birthday I spent with my mum was when I was around 9 or 10, she shed a few tears on this one, but as I pointed out to her life throws us experiences and we learn from them, if my life had gone differently I wouldn't have met my husband had my kids or have a shed I love at the bottom of the garden where I make my glass flowers and animals.  I am happy to be at this age and where I am now, the road might have been rocky getting here, but, I got here in one piece.

 

 It was a wonderful birthday and I was lucky to share it with my mum, whom after many years of being estranged we are enjoying meeting up and having our experiences together as adults...einough of being maudlin....I can't wait to meet up at the Ashmolean Museum in Oxford as soon as possible, I only made it half way round the museum on my last visit so it will be fabulous to go there with mum and Bob (step dad).

 

As well as some beautiful flowers that now adorn my dusty window sill in the kitchen, my mum made me this embroidered sampler....

 

The complete alphabet in tiny tiny embroidery stitches, each letter decorated with a flower that begins with that letter, the outside edge has a beautiful border of ivy leaves dancing around the letters.  This photo isn't a patch on the real thing, its really beautiful.  Its beautifully framed too and behind glass, all done by my step dad Bob.

 

The photograph below shows a close up of my initials L M, Lupins and Marigolds.

 

When my mum and Bob went back to their B&B to change for our meal out, I wandered around the house with my sampler looking for some where to put it.  I decided on above the fireplace in the kitchen.  I spend a lot of time in the kitchen...not cooking!...on the laptop and beading at the table and I wanted it somewhere I could see it often.  We live in our kitchen its a huge space and although we have a fireplace in the living room we only use the kitchen one.  So I was just about ready to take down the pictures that are up there already and relocate them, when my husband said 'before you do that I will buy the paint and we will decorate the walls its desperately in need of decorating in here and we have been putting it off for years, we will do it this week' he says.

 

Thanks Mum!! 

 

It will look nice when the decorating is done.. just got to get on with it!

 



Gordy might not have much to do with visitors but the upset to his routine has seen him comatose today and snoring.

 

Iz and Defi managed to behave, just, Defi did jump in a big muddy puddle this morning on the walk when I did ask him not too so it was a quick shower with the hose for him, he does love visitors and constantly seeks a pat on the head and a fuss, my mothers lovely black trousers had layers of golden hair on them as they left. 

 

 Its nap time for our Iz, look at those tired eyes!

 

Even Defi has only made it to the dog bed, which is a first he usually is on the other end of the sofa to Iz.

 

I had the best birthday and spent it with lovely people eating nice food chatting and laughing and we won't mention the awful birthday photos of me, Bob tells me I have an expressive face....he was just being kind!!

 

 

Grow your Blog event January 2014

 

I am determined to use my blog better this year so I have joined up to Grow my Blog with 2 Bags Full 

 

To begin with we have to introduce ourselves, so a bit of waffling with a few pictures...I can do that...so why am I doing it last minute as always? 

 

To help me do this quick I am going to do it with pictures and few words, I am that woman of a few words ask anyone...except the husband and the kids and really anyone that knows me!

 

 

That me above...ahem...ok so its not, that is my youngest, my beautiful daughter who turned 18 at Christmas, I looked like this about 20 odd years ago if you squinted and wore dark glasses!

 

This is Defi.  He is my youngest Golden Retriever at 4 in February, he has been with us for 3 yrs now and is a mummys boy who walks around with a comfort blankie and loves cuddles.

 

This is my Izabel, and is why I am Izzybeads.  She is the only dog we have ever had from a puppy, and is the last puppy, boy they are hard work!  I am a rescue and rehome house all the way!!  Izabel is gorgeous but she does prefer the dirty and matted look no amount of grooming and care can make this dog stay fluffy and clean!

Ok, this one is me, but is 20 yrs...or so...ago.  I am with my boys, my beautiful faithful Ricky, the German Shepherd, and my son, the same son that turned 20 at Christmas...yes I know Christmas babies, but then my birthday is March.....the joke is on me! 

 

The daily walk.  I took this photo last week, the mist was low over the river - that's the River Wye just to the right of the picture - and the sun was trying to burn through, was a glorious morning walk.

 

For those that don't know the River Wye is in Hereford in the UK.  I live 5 mins walk from this beauty spot.

 



What do I do?  Well, I draw, you can find my prints at Canine Cavern as well as some of my beads and bits.  More about those in a minute.  My first love of art was drawing, I have doodled my way into my....later years....I have no formal training just a love of doing.

 



My current love.  Glass!  I love glass I love to sculpt it.  Originally I wanted to be more realistic in my glass work, but everything came out whimsy so I stopped trying to change it and went with the flow, everything I make is designed to brighten your day and make you smile.

 



 

My glass is sold in my Etsy shop Izzybeads

 

My beads are designed to display as sculptures but I also make them to wear, sometimes I just get a bit carried away and keep adding sticky out bits!

 



 

 

 

Really there is not much to tell about me, I am a wife of 20 yrs with a very supportive husband, a mother of now grown children although they still live at home and make more mess now than when they were little and I create...well it keeps me out of trouble!

 

 

 We have always had animals.  We had chooks (chickens) until Foxy Loxy came and ate them, we live very rural here in beautiful Herefordshire surrounded by farmland, its idyllic and peaceful.  I am a real home body that can't cook!  My husband does all the cooking and shopping as I am completely rubbish at that, but I do occasionally run the hoover round and in the summer I grow veggies and tend our big garden with the help of my furry four paws.

 

Our newest recruit to the house is our Gordy.  Yes that's him in the washing machine, he uses it like a hamster uses a wheel.  Our Gordy is a bit of a celebrity, he has a huge following on FB, he is my beautiful boy, my British Shorthaired Black and Silver Tabby cat...and he has brain damage.  Gordy has been with us now for 5 months and is the baby of the house loved and adored by us all he doesn't have good balance and falls off of everything, he has no fear so can do silly things like sit on the cooker when its hot or try and sit in the coal fire, and he dribbles..alot...but as you can see we love him anyway, all of us.  He claim to fame is that he was featured in the January edition of Cat World, he is a real life superstar!

 

This picture is just because I like it!

 

So that's me Laney of Izzybeads

 

 

You can find me around the web, on my Facebook page in my Etsy shop and hopefully more often here!

 

Now I am off to have a look at the other Grow your bloggers.

 

Laney x

 

List of other bloggers involved in the Grow your Blog event are found here

 

Vicki 2 Bags Full