What a difference a week makes.

Sadly,  just as I thought Shaggy was improving, he took a real turn for the worse and we have unfortunately lost him today.  He'd been up and down all week really but over the weekend he deteriorated to the point where he was having seizures and collapsing and losing control of his bladder.  He was struggling to breathe and we had to make that decision that all pet owners fear and dread.  We stayed with him whilst he went to sleep and although we are all heart-broken and will miss him terribly, we know we made the right choice.  I thought I would dedicate this week's post to Shaggy, in pictures, when he was in his prime.

Looking good there Shaggy

At Robin Hood's Bay with Mason and me

A Life on the Ocean Wave!

Paddling

Having a good old shake after all the paddling

Run free at the Rainbow Bridge Shaggy.

Is it finished yet?

My Red 'jeans Cardigan that is.  The short answer is NO.  The longer version involves descriptions of flu-like symptoms, snotty nose, hacking cough, being off work sick and generally not having the energy to do much in the way of knitting.  Actually, the knitting bit is finished, I need to sew in the ends, get a button and then I'll be wearing it.  On the whole I have enjoyed knitting it as much as I did the last one but it has got a bit tiresome towards the end and I'm looking forward to starting something new.

Last Saturday, amidst the aforementioned flu-like symptoms, I took Michael back to Uni in York.  We went and did some grocery shopping first, then drove through to York in the afternoon.  On arrival, I noticed that most other students being dropped off by parents/friends/whoever, seemed to have all their belongings in only one or two bags or suitcases.  Why then did we have a car-load of belongings and shopping that would see a small third world village right for the next 3 months?  I have come to the conclusion that my son is a pack-rat.

It's been fun and games with the dog this week...well, not really but that's one of those odd figures of speech we use isn't it?  Anyhow, the background is that Shaggy has been limping quite badly since before Christmas and I had been to the vets with him who said she thought he might have arthritis and gave him some medication which seems to have eased it a bit.  Whilst Michael was home, Shaggy spent most of his time upstairs and apparently forgot to eat (the Vet thinks he may have Altzheimers too - more on that in another post I think!).  I hadn't really seen much of him, being up in Michael's room as he was, so was quite shocked to see him looking even thinner than before and seeming very frail.  He wouldn't eat his normal dry food, so it was off to Pets at Home to buy special 'Senior' food, wet stuff in pouches that is easier to digest apparently.  You'll be happy to hear that he is now eating again...quite enthusiastically as it happens.  My purse however is not so happy as this other food is quite a bit more expensive than Bakers Complete!  Together with the regular cost of the medicines that he will need to take for the rest of his life, he's turning into a bit of an expense.   What can you do though?  We love him, which is just as well because he has been a real pest this week.

Here he is asleep, with his tongue sticking out as he does nowadays.  He does look funny when he wakes suddenly and looks up with his tongue poking out at us.

"I might look asleep, but just look at the tongue out in concentration, the ear pricked up alert to potential intruders. "]

Post-a-week 2011 Challenge.

I've decided that I'm going to take part in Dailypost's  postaweek2011 challenge and blog every week during 2011.  Sometimes it may be difficult to think of what to say but I'll use the resources on the dailypost site for inspiration if necessary.  Sometimes I may have so much to tell you that I post more than once in a week (I doubt that though as I'm not the world's most prolific blogger!)

I hope anyone who reads my posts will encourage me along the way with some comments.

So, here it is, the first of my regular weekly posts just to get me started.

First up - my new shoes.  These arrived at work in today's post from Hottershoes.  The brown ones are Navajo in Tan combi and the boots are Verdi in Black Croc.  I already have a pair of these in brown croc and I can walk miles in them, they fit like gloves.

Seriously, Hotter do the comfiest shoes in the whole world.  I've never been a shoe fanatic because I can't wear fashion shoes with high heels, they just hurt me too much.  Comfy shoes are not usually anything to get excited about so in the past, I have tended to get a pair and keep them till they're falling apart and then I have to buy more.  Since discovering Hotter, I now love shoes.  They're not high fashion, high heels but then again that's not really me anyhow.  They are however good quality and stylish and most important of all, I feel good in them and that makes them worth every penny in my eyes.