Had a good experience at the Bootham & Southowram Methodist Church Christmas Fayre, and sold enough pots to be able to pay cash for a curry tonight, delivered of course.
Enjoying a bit of telly and a few glasses of Malbec now.
Lydia is quite relaxed. She’s had a dental stick and was eyeing up my wine but I do know where to draw the line.
Just finished watching Celebrity Traitors on demand. Don’t know what to watch next but I expect I’ll find something eventually.
Good to know that I don’t have to get up early tomorrow morning. A few more glasses of wine later . . .
It was damp this morning, but mild and bright, when Lydia and I set off to the dog field that I’d booked for us; not too early.
We hadn’t been to this particular dog field for a while, as I know Lydia likes to race cars that pass on the other side of the fence of another dog park that I take her to, and it gives her a good workout. It’s good to have a change though, and she was wearing her happy legs as she sniffed and mooched about the field that we went to today.
Once home, with Lydia nudging her breakfast ball around the lounge, I reheated chips from last night’s fish supper for my own breakfast, giving them just short of 2 minutes at full power in the microwave. They were sizzling and tasty, topped off with a light sprinkling of salt and vinegar and a splash of salad cream. A strong cup of tea completed my morning meal and I then went back to bed to rest for a while, to ensure that I’ll have enough energy reserves for more painting that I’m planning on doing tomorrow.
Suitably rested, I went out and bought in some groceries. Somehow, as I was carrying the bags into the house, I dropped a container of milk, which split, spilling milk all over the floor. So, I set to, soaking it up with towels and mopping the floor before putting the shopping away. I managed to get some of the milk in a jug before it was all lost so, hey, no point in crying over spilt milk!
I decided to enter a poetry competition – who knows, I might just win – and chose three that have not previously been published by me or anywhere else.
As it’s Halloween, at Trev’s suggestion I bought some sweets as treats to give out in case we get any ‘trick or treat’ callers tonight. We haven’t had them here on previous years but you never know, so I have put them in a jar by the door, ready, just in case.
I’m doing an easy tea tonight: prepared spinach and ricotta tortellini with a simple tomato sauce that I’m making myself. I’ve chopped up and fried an onion till soft, added some chopped garlic and a tin of chopped tomatoes, plus a vegetable stock cube – chopped into small pieces – a splash each of soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce, a good squirt of tomato puree and a small sprinkling of brown sugar, to just take the edge off the tartness of the tomatoes. It’s bubbling away now and I’ll finish it by using a hand-held blender to make it smooth. I think it should be tasty and nutritious along with the pasta.
Having unloaded and reloaded the dishwasher and set the towels that I used to soak up the milk on a wash, I feel fairly up to date with what I need to do today so I think another rest is in order.
Lydia is lying by the back door. I’ll see if she wants to go outside for a while before I go upstairs.
Up, showered and dressed before 9am, I had a couple of cups of tea before heading out with Lydia.
Seeing a horse and rider coming towards us at one point during our walk, I headed down into a dip, slipping on to my arse and scrambling up the other side, Lydia following on the way down and leading on the way up.
We had cover behind some trees but she was still aware of the horse and rider as they passed. I was so proud of her, as I encouraged her to “sit” – with a treat-reward, of course – and then “wait”, repeating this a few times so that she didn’t have to wait too long between treat-rewards. She didn’t bark or lunge at all, and we waited a few moments before doing the dip and up again back to where we were before – again with me on my bum for the ‘down’ bit.
Later in the morning I did another tip run, clearing stuff out of the garage. There’s more to do but it was a good load off my mind.
After a short rest I changed my, by now, muddy trousers, put on some make-up, made sure my hair was OK, then went out to see my friend M. We went out for coffee and scones, to a Morrisons café which offers great value, lovely scones and refillable mugs of coffee. The company and conversation were the best bit though. M. has a heart of gold.
After doing some shopping on the way home, giving Lydia her tea and putting the dinner in the oven – a chicken with vegetables, all roasted together in a dish – I did the final preparations for taking some pots to a small gallery tomorrow – the Dovecot Gallery in Styrrup near Doncaster. They are to be featured in their Christmas show/sale, so it’s good to be prepared well in advance.
They are small pots, and not perfectly formed by any means, but hopefully that is all part of their appeal. We shall see.
Lydia’s enjoying some ‘Lydi juice’ – chicken broth – as the final course for her tea, which has included cooked chicken drum fillets, her main course of BARF[i]-based dried pellets and a raw chicken wing.
Trev is preparing our tea – soup made with some leftovers from earlier in the week plus some additional fresh vegetables and other ingredients, to help keep us healthy. It will also taste good.
It took me a while to work out a diet for Lydia that suited her needs and was practical, and the one we’ve arrived at does seem to work.
I change the flavour of her dried food regularly, because none of us want to eat the same things all the time, and I occasionally change brands. The website ‘www.allaboutdogfood’ offers helpful information with comparisons available for content and cost. I was also fortunate to be given some advice from our local dog food supplier, and I feel confident that Lydia does have a good quality balanced diet which – also important – she enjoys. She is by no means a fussy eater and also enjoys treats such as dental sticks, pieces of carrot, banana, apple, pear and peach.
Trev and I generally have a healthy diet, eating little in the way of processed food and plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables. I’m conscious of keeping my cholesterol intake down and don’t find this difficult at all. Tomorrow, Trev is having a steak while I’m having some salmon. Hardly what I would call ‘hardship’.
We also like our treats and, I think, all the better for being occasional rather than every day. We do have some ice cream lined up for later, and I can feel a nice glass of red wine coming on …
[i] Biologically appropriate raw food; all good quality ingredients with high protein content and superfood additions, to help keep her healthy
The sun came out again today, so Lydia enjoyed a bit of outside time in the yard, as well as our morning walk.
My meditation before the walk felt deeper, somehow. I can’t find any other words to describe it at the moment, but will just acknowledge that there was a change, and continue with the practice.
Other than that, it’s just been a domestic day, stocking up on shopping, putting it away, giving Lydia a raw lamb rib as a special treat.
Trev returns; Lydia’s tail wags. We order a Chinese and watch a bit of telly. It’s good just to relax into a Sunday evening.
Lydia and I seem to have had a bit of a breakthrough in terms of how we manage encounters with dogs and moving vehicles while out walking.
While I’ve been using positive reinforcement with her for over three and a half years, I’ve most recently been practising this with a “sit” and “wait” command combination. I’ve also been asking her to “sit” and “wait” before we go out of the back door and again before we go out of the back gate. She’s been getting really used to this and will now often do an impromptu sit before we go through the door.
Using the same “sit” and “wait” combination is now starting to work with her when we see a dog – from a distance – and also when we’re on a road and have cars passing by. I hold her on a short lead, reward her immediately for the “sit” and reward the “wait” providing she doesn’t bark or lunge. I also add a lot of reassurance and extra treats and praise afterwards, as I know her fears are still triggered by these experiences, but it does feel like a big step forward. We’re both doing our best to learn and I hope that we can continue to build on this.
I’ve had to do a lot of learning in my life, including a lot of hard life lessons. Learning can be a good way of avoiding being taught (self-management rule no. 35).
It was also good to see a field of still-flowering sunflowers when we were out today. It may be September, but there are still signs of summer.
Glad About 
You must be logged in to post a comment.