How bitterness destroys

In the past few years I have met some wonderful people through blogging. I've shared their ups & downs. Loaned a shoulder when they needed to lean and have had the same support given back to me 10 fold and I thank you all for that.

How sad it is when someone seeks to destroy the happiness of others, well this is for one such person, may you find enough peace to get on with your own life, bitterness never built anything it destroys with a passion. May this person find peace in their life, your lies can't hurt me because the truth always outs in the end.

Getting back to normality, things on the dog rescue front are as busy as ever, we like all other rescues world wide are expecting our numbers to increase over the few weeks as puppies are bought for Christmas and the older dogs pushed out. More foster dogs have come through my home since I last posted. Each one has been a joy to have here,all have found loving homes. One in particular, Alfred, a blind, abused and elderly Shiddie boy has moved on but to a permanent foster home. He stole all our hearts with his wonderful character, everyone who meets him falls in love with him. Kelly his permanent foster Mum runs her own business designing and making designer knitted dog coats. She, her family and her dogs have taken Alfred into their hearts and he is thriving, his hair has now grown back and he's doing well. Kelly's children, dogs, cats and chickens all accepted him as if he'd always been there, thank you Kelly.

Don't you think his coat is great another beautiful one made by Kelly. Apart from a fantastic foster home the vet Kelly uses specialises in eye disease. He most probably will have to have his eye removed at a later date but his life will be as comfortable as it is possible to make it.

On the renovation front things are progressing gradually, now Neil has taken flexi retirement he has more time to do the things needing doing. The garden was a big job, the summer house is still waiting for curtains, my fault! but we've enjoyed many happy hours in it this summer. I'm just sorry there's no heating down there or I'd be sat in there lol.

The other summer house which Neil turned into a dog room was being used as storage but is being emptied gradually. We're waiting for the chaps to come back to build the steps up to the conservatory, it's decorated, floor down and the chap is coming to measure for blinds. It's so light and airy, brilliant place to sit for my first cuppa of the day.

I have a new 4 legged baby, no not a furry one it's my new Dhlongi range cooker, I love it!! The kitchen is finished I'm so pleased with the workmenship, the builders were great and even made me a cupboard where the designer had placed a block off. They said it was wasted storage space so turned it into a cupboard, lovely men they were ;o).

I got up this morning to the smell of baking, Neil had got up early so was baking cheese biscuits mmm. I have been able to get back to baking my own bread which I enjoy. Son in law Andrew helped Neil lay the kitchen and conservatory floor.

Decorating the living room is next, we both love creams and browns so it will have muted colours on the wall. My stitched samplers line most walls but I found a beautiful shabby chic mirror for over the small fire we have so that will be hung later. The bedrooms have been decorated, mine is finished but the front room is still waiting for the curtain rail to be put up and the laminate floor laid.

The next big job is the bathroom, thankfully you can get a b/room suite under £500 from Wickes, B&Q and Homebase so it'll just be having it installed and the tiling. Downstairs cloakroom needs painting so not a big job. We're trying to get it all sorted because we want to be able to go off to our bolt hole at the coast and not worry about jobs needing doing at home.

We have always wanted a holiday home, we couldn't afford a bricks and mortar one so decided to look at static caravans. We didn't want to travel far so opted for the Lincolnshire coast, we found a lovely site which has owner only vans on it, there's a wine bar but nothing else. The grounds are immaculate and the whole site is kept clean and tidy. It has a beautiful fishing lake for those who like fishing, this is situated just behind our van.

We love it, it only takes a couple of hours to get there, the dogs love having the run of the beach although I think we'll have to find a dog friendly one in the summer. We spent quite a bit of time there in the few weeks from buying it to the season finishing November 13th. We're having a balcony built just outside the door so the dogs can sit outside without taking themselves for a walk ;o). There's also a large patio for us to put seating and a bbq on in the summer.

It's so nice to have somewhere to go to get away, we're really looking forward to spending time down there this year. The other beauty of it is our 'kids' and grandchildren will be able to enjoy it too.

I've managed to catch up on some of my favourite blogs there are so many talented ladies out there in blogger land. Margaret is one of these viewing her blog is always a pleasure she does the most amazing projects, so beautiful. Please take a moment to visit her blog you won't be disappointed I promise you.

Take care and I hope 2012 is good to you all

Hugs Peg xx

Bear with me

Please bear with me and I'll explain the presence of this little girl soon. I've been really busy over the past few weeks overseeing the changes we've made to house & garden. Dh, daughter and grandson have worked so hard putting our accumalative ideas into place. I'm not being lazy just can't do the things I used to anymore.

In the garden area we now have the longed for summer house, all the area is paved leading to less high maintenance. Our small storage shed had a repair and repaint. We bought another summer house which now houses my grooming table so I'm able to clip the dogs making less after clip work than it was. I've had to refuse the offer from friends to clip their dogs too I do mine when I can so am not under pressure. The dog room also houses their food etc. Dh also filled another of my dreams, I've always wanted a garden swing, we saw one when out shopping before the garden was finished so he bought it for me. Aren't I a lucky girl, well old bird :o)

I have always wanted a conservatory and have waited just over 30 yrs for one, finally we have one. Because we are limited on space it isn't massive but I love it. The workmen were great and a pleasure to have around, the quality of their work was excellent. Dh just has to paint the two small areas of wall which were plastered, now we've agreed on the colour, and lay whichever flooring we decide to choose. We're not going with ceramic tiles due to it being to cold in the winter. I want to be able to use it all year round. It will either be laminate/wood or a good quality cushion floor.

My bedroom has had a makeover and I absolutely LOVE it, my daughter has worked really hard, the blind and curtains were put up yesterday so photos can be taken soon. The front bedroom just needs the blind and curtains putting up, carpet laid then this too is finished. On the 10th of August Dh and SIL are off back to Spain with his brother for a 10 day break, BIL lives out there. Whilst the men are gone the stairs, landing and hall, the living room and downstairs loo will all be repainted. The dining room recently had it's makeover, the kitchen will be done later this yr. My new large stove is sitting patiently in the garage ready to be installed, this is the beauty of having a Dh who loves to cook, he too fell in love with the idea of a large stove ;o). At the moment he's undecided whether to have a complete new kitchen or just replace the stove, which will mean I lose 2 cupboards, have new worktops and paint the cupboard doors. The bathroom will be done later also.

Dh is taking flexi retirement at the end of the summer so he wants to get everything done before then. It will mean he works Mon/Tues/Wed for 6am-9.30am then 3pm-6pm on those days and is off Thurs/Fri/Sat & Sunday. He's wanting to be able to relax in the garden or take off walking somewhere for the day or when he and friends go climbing for the weekend he can leave Thurs instead of Friday teatime. He can then do all this without feeling guilty that there's work to be done at home.

I'm not worried he'll be under my feet all the time bored out of his brain, he has a lot of hobbies, especially photography. Unfortunately he doesn't drive so I'll have to be his driver but he's happy to be dropped off for the day.

I have a lot of sewing to get done but certainly have enough fabric in my stash to choose from. There are at least 4 patchwork quilts need backing andfinishing off. I still have to complete the Angel of Spring xstitch for my framing lady. I haven't been able to xstitch for a few weeks my hands have been to swollen but I'll get to it as and when I can she isn't in a hurry. I have a lot of samplers I've stitched which are sat waiting for the hall to be completed so they can be put up too.

It's been a hectic few weeks but oh so worth it, I've sourced all additions through some of my favourite stores Ikea, B&Q, Wickes, Dunhelm, Wilkinsons and through ebay, freecycle, flea markets & carboot sales. Oooh I've loved it LOL.

Enjoy your day

hugs Peg x

My apologies again

For not keeping my blog up to date, life hasn't been to kind to me for the past few weeks so everything has been on hold but I'm fighting my way out of the cobwebs. I hope to post and put up some photos in the next few days.

I have been visiting some new blogs you know there are some great blogs out there. I've also visited a few of my favourites and not been disappointed. I have been slimming down the demands on my time so I hope to have more time for me and the things I love doing.

The picture at the top is of our new addition to our family, Millie Moppet is an 18mths old Shih Tzu girl. Like my others I absolutely adore her even though she keeps us and the others on our toes LOL.

Will chat to you later, take care and have a great weekend.

hugs Peg xx

An update

The photo above is of my babies all snuggle up on the rug, I love each and every one of them.

Firstly I'm sure you'll all be happy to hear Beethoven wasn't long in his second foster home. A couple who lived not to far away from his foster home fell in love with him, he's now enjoying his retirement home down south as an only dog.

There have been several dogs who've stayed with us since, mainly Shih Tzus, Harry a gorgeous boy who is now living with his new Mum & Dad in Nottingham and the beautiful Buster who worked his way into dh's heart. He had a super character, not a bad bone in him, his temperament was superb, his new Mum is totally besotted by him and who can blame her. He's now living in the Midlands.

During the early part of this month I had two little visitors for 6 days, their foster Mum went away on a long weekend art course so they came to stay. They are the most gorgeous little Maltese girls I've ever seen, we loved having them, they fit in really well loved having cuddles, loved going walks. I had two furry hotties beside me whenever I sat down lol.

They're going in for a dental next week and will then be ready for rehoming. They need to go together being dependent on each other. I consider myself so very lucky to have these little characters come into my life and home, I love each and everyone of them. It's a bitter sweet feeling when they leave, sadness at their leaving but happy they have a new loving family to care for them.

We had a few problems in the rescue during late January and have lost several staff members, it meant a lot of hard work for those of us who remained. Not a lot of sleep was had for several weeks but we're now climbing back up and the rescue is going from strength to strength.

There has been some progress on the work front, we had the promise of warm weather over Easter so dh decided to get the garden into order before starting in the house. He's worked so very hard putting in 12hrs a day alongside my daughter and grandsons. The dogs did try helping but their help wasn't appreciated LOL. My daughters little Lhasa girl Cassie came each day with her so joined the pack.

Between them they've completely cleared the garden, uprooted and relaid pavers down the side of the garage. I now have a path from the bottom of the steps from the kitchen to the garage, it was decking but when it rains the decking gets slippy and I've fallen so many times so now my path is none slippy. The small shed at the bottom of the garden has been cleared of all it's rain damaged contents and is now sporting a new roof, new floor, 2 coats of new paint and a new lock. She is now very happy after her makeover and promises to keep everything dry in future.

The fencing has had 2 coats of seagrass coloured paint, I've always been a wood stain girl but fancied something entirely different and I'm really happy with the results. Sam and I painted my bench and I'm looking forward to going through my fabric stash and sewing new cushions for it. Can I have a drum roll please, the summer house is now erected, yeeeeeaaaahhhhh. It is complete, painted in seagrass, locks on and all that needs doing is the painting inside, I'm so happy with it. However it is not in the place we first intended it to be, dh decided to put it near the house so I could use it as a grooming room for the dogs! This will help to get all my grooming tools and equipment out of the house, my new hydrolic grooming table is paid for and on it's way. An electrician is coming to install the electric when we're ready and I am hoping to talk dh into plumbing my dog bath in as well but it's no great problem if he can't. I can now sell my small g/table, I had to downsize so it would fit in my kitchen when in use but now I'll have more room. We have ordered another summerhouse to go at the bottom of the garden as originally planned and the builder called tonight to measure up for the new paved area which is going to make life so much easier for me.

I will post some photos when all the work is completed, I do have some I've taken so far but need to upload them to my laptop.

My stitching is on hold again at the moment I can't get near it, I'm hoping to have the boxes moved asap and get back into my sewing room again.

Until next time, take care and take time for you :o)

hugs Peg x

My Apologies

My apologies to everyone who visits my blog and takes the time to leave kind comments. The past year has been so hectic with the rescue, it has been both heartbreaking seeing all the dogs come into rescue and rewarding seeing the same dogs leave and go to their new, loving homes.

We recently celebrated our 2nd anniversary and in that time we have had just over 800 dogs go through our 'doors'. I have one here at the moment a 12yr old Shih Tzu boy called Beethoven, that's his photo at the top of the page, he's moving to another foster on Sunday who has less dogs. He's used to being with only one other dog, here he's sharing with 7 others.

Sadly Paddington lost his fight in the summer of last year against the debilitating results of several strokes. We hung on clinging to the hope he'd get better but sadly the time came to say goodbye all to quickly. We still miss him, we miss watching him clean his teddies and tell the others off for taking them or having them in their beds without his permission.

I've stuck to my promise to dh and haven't adopted another Shiddie or Lhasa girl although some really beautiful natured little ones have come and gone.

My stitching time took a nose dive and it wasn't until a couple of weeks ago that I decided to make time to stitch. I missed it so much and the priority at the moment is L&L's Angel of Spring which I'm stitching for the lady who frames my stitching. I'm missing my samplers but need to get this stitched as soon as I can. I have so many samplers I want to stitch, I was going through some of my charts the other day and was flabbergasted at the amount of charts I have :0)

We have so many jobs planned for the house this year, my new large cooker, splash back & hood is still in it's boxes in the garage. Our summer house is still awaiting the time to put it together, we need a new bathroom plus new windows & doors. The back garden needs remodeling too. Where all the time will come from to do the projects I've no idea but get done they must.

Well I'm beat and I have to get up early tomorrow so will say buy for now and thank you for reading.

Take care

Peg x