Hello everyone,
I have been MIA for a very long time, I have to admit to have been in a 'dark' place for some time. On Christmas Eve (24th December 2017) in the early hours of the morning we lost our Bearded Collie Sorrell. She had become withdrawn from the rest of the family in the weeks before and was practically living in our bedroom full time. At about 3am on that morning she woke us wanting to go out, we have a veranda outside our French doors from the bedroom (our bedroom is on the ground floor, it is an upside down house), she went out and did her business then collapsed. We got her inside and she had very laboured breathing, I got dressed thinking we would need to get her to an emergency vet, but events took their own turn and with one last huge gasp she was gone. She was fourteen and a half.
Christmas, as you can imagine, wasn't great. We were on our own this year and that was probably for the best.
I struggled after New year, with all the problems we have had with the house since moving, trying to keep it all together, at one point sobbing down the phone to my Stepmom that I didn't want to be here any more. I was extremely fragile and anyone who knows me would say I am strong and always see a way through, not this time.
Then in a cruel twist of fate we lost Bailey our beautiful Beardie Boy. The week beginning 19th February he started really struggling to get up, we had rugs everywhere as our wooden floors were quite slippy. Hubby went to work on the Monday morning and wasn't due home until the Friday (a usual occurrence as he works away from home full time). During the next 48 hours Bailey became unable to get up at all and I was having to help him with a towel under neath him to support him, at this point he was still eating and drinking and going outside for his toileting. I spoke to hubby and we decided this couldn't go on, so I had to make that call and phoned the vets, arranging for them to come to our home, as Bailey hated the vets surgery, no wonder he had been so many times in his lifetime, I arranged for them to come Saturday so Hubby would be home, Bailey was very much 'his boy'. By Friday evening when Hubby got home, I was in shreds, Bailey was very ill. So, on Saturday 24th February exactly two months to the day after we lost Sorrell, Bailey Boy gained his wings, he was two weeks shy of his 14th Birthday.
The grief was immense, I was numb, I couldn't do anything, just getting through each day and almost wishing there wouldn't be another one to follow.
Then one day in April I was scrolling through my Facebook timeline and this picture of a Bearded Collie popped up and it was one of my rescue contacts, Shirley who runs Beardies In Need, posting that this was an 8 month old Beardie Boy looking for a new home through no fault of his own, who had been returned to his breeder. I showed the photo to hubby and he said 'I think you should get him'. After a couple of messages and a phone call we got in the car and drove across the country to near Hull (we are in North Wales) and collected our new Beardie Boy. It turned out that I already knew his breeder (the Bearded Collie world is a very small one) and even stranger still it turns out that this breeder had supplied the first foundation girl Beardie to the breeder we got Bailey from all those years ago, so Merlyn and Bailey are related somehow, it was definitely meant to be. He was called Bobby, but the breeder didn't like that so she had been calling him Dobby, we didn't like either so changed it to Merlyn!
That has to be the best decision we have made ever, Merlyn has mended our broken hearts, he is a big fluffy, bouncy clown, I had forgotten what it was like to have a Beardie puppy, it being 11 years since getting Majik.
So, here he is .......
Sorry for such a long blog post, but if there is anybody still hanging in there with me (doubtful), then I felt I needed to explain. I quite often stumble across someone's blog to find they haven't posted anything for a very long time and I wonder what has happened.
I am going to try and post something at least once a week and hopefully get some people interested in my blog again.
Thank you for listening.
Hello everyone,
I hope you are all well and settled back into some sort of routine after the Christmas festivities.
I have been MIA for ages (sorry), but after my Dad's 80th in November everything just snowballed out of control, Christmas was fast approaching and I wasn't prepared at all. In the end only a very select few received Christmas cards and none of those were hand made (the shame)! Christmas did happen, but most of it was so last minute ~ not at all like me to be wrapping presents on Christmas Eve.
One of the exciting things that took a lot of my time was being asked to be editor of The Midland Branch of the Bearded Collie Club annual magazine 'Chinwag'. I have never done anything like this before and was quite pleased with my first effort.
I have finally (yesterday) ticked the last absolute 'must do' off my list, namely putting my car up for sale. So, I can relax a bit now and catch up with all the other stuff that needs doing.
So, todays share is a Birthday card for an old friend, who I never see, but we still exchange Birthday and Christmas cards (except for last year) lol.
Card Recipe:
Image: Penny Black ~ T for Transparent ~ 'Hello Friend' coloured with Copics
Backing Papers: Kaisercraft ~ 'Bubblegum Hills' Collection
Cardstock: Bazzil Basics
Sentiment: Stampin' Up ~ 'Petite Pairs'
Button and Twine from stash
I am itching to get crafting with my newly acquired stash from Christmas and the sales, so watch this space.
Thank you so much for visiting my little blog today and for any much appreciated comments you may leave.
Luv
Hi everyone,
I hope you are all well and if in the UK enjoying the sunshine!
Today I have a card to share with you which I am so thankful to have made. Over the Bank Holiday weekend here in the UK our lives were sent into turmoil when quite suddenly one of our beloved Beardies became very ill. On the Friday morning my husband went downstairs to be confronted with a kitchen floor covered in blood! I was summoned to the scene and quickly ascertained that it was Sorrell that was in trouble ~ she was huddled up in front of the washing machine in the utility room. I checked her gums and they were very pale. After clearing the mess and washing Sorrell I called the Vets for an appointment.
Once I had explained to the Vet what had happened and she had examined her, the decision was that Sorrell needed to be admitted and be put on a drip to re-hydrate ~ at this point I didn't know what was wrong with her ~ the Vet even mentioned poison!
Over the course of the next 48 hours we waited for numerous phone calls ~ Sorrell had been transferred by ambulance to the main Veterinary Centre in Warwick on Friday evening where there is 24 hour care. She had another 'episode' on the Saturday morning and from what the Vet said it was as bad as the one we had discovered. It started to dawn on us that she might not make it back home at all.
By Sunday morning we were in bits and hanging on the telephone for news, finally the Vet called and said Sorrell had eaten a small amount of chicken and would call later with a progress report. At around 4.30pm the phone rang, the first time it had been out of my hand all day, and Hubby picked up the call ~ Sorrell was coming home!
We went across to pick her up and the Vet said she had had Hemorrhagic Gastroenteritis and having looked this up on the tinter web (as you do) it can be fatal if not treated swiftly. Once home, you would not have known anything had been wrong with Sorrell (except for the pink bandage with purple hearts on that was wrapped around her leg where the IV drip had been) she was bright and alert and VERY hungry!
So, this is the card I made to send to the Vets to say a huge Thank You for saving Sorrell's life.
This wonderful image is from the hugely talented Marianne, it is of her Beardie Mylo and is available to purchase as a digi image ~ thank you Marianne.
CARD RECIPE
Image: Bearded Collie Digi coloured with Copics
Cardstock: Scraps from my scrap box
Sentiment: Bazzill Basics ~ Thank You Rub-On
Pearls: Hobbyhouse 5mm ~ Chocolate Heaven
Well that's all for today, except just a wee picture of our newest family member Holly having breakfast in bed (the sofa).
Thank you for stopping by today and for all the lovely comments you all leave ~ I do enjoy reading them all.
