Saturday 25 February 2012

sad news

Today we had to make the sad decision to put our cat Lucy to sleep, yesterday her legs started collapsing on her and today the vet told us there was nothing they could do for her and it was best to let her go peacefully now than let her suffer.
I have written another blog about what happened but I don't want to upset people so if you would rather not read it please don't, I just wanted to write down what had happened for myself.
It is the blog before this so just avoid it if you don't want to read it
thanks Andie x

Sad day

Today is a very sad day. This morning we had to make the decision to put our beautiful cat Lucy to sleep. Late yesterday afternoon I found her laid in the kitchen in an odd position and in an odd place I thought she looked like she had collapsed and was really worried about her. She did get up and eventually walked but was very slow and kept sitting down so I was very worried. After a while she got up onto the sofa and sat on my knee so I thought maybe she was ok and I was just worrying about her.
We have been worried about her recently and keeping a close eye on her as she went blind at the beginning of the year and was still getting used to finding her way around. The vet thought this was due to raised blood pressure causing her retinas to detach suddenly because she suspected she had hypothyroidism. Other than this and a bit of arthritis she thought she was ok for her age  so didn't want to prescribe any tretment for the hypothyroidism unless she showed any other symptoms due to her age.
She suffered a setback on Sunday when she must have bumped into something while we were out shopping and ended up with the equivalent of a black eye. It was very runny and sticky when we came home so we bathed it and took her to the vet on monday which is where we were told what must have happened. She had been getting a bit lost and confused occasionally and when I told the vet this she said it was the start of dementia and she sometimes would forget and lose her map for where things were in her mind for a little bit and so this was probably how she had bumped into something and hurt her eye. We were given anti inflamatory eye drops for her and she was ok for a few days until yesterday.
Later on yesterday after she had got down from my knee she was walking round the room when her back legs gave way and she fell over, she laid where she was for a while and after a little while she would get up and walk a bit but then would either sit down for a little while or fall over again, her back legs would give way and her front legs slid too and she didnt seem to be able to correct them. We rang the vets but couldn't get an appointment until this morning so we had a worrying evening keeping an eye on her and wondering what was wrong with her.
She spent most of the evening on her bed but just before bedtime came in for a sit on Pauls knee for a little while. Everytime she got up we thought ooh maybe she'll be ok but still worried things werent right. I also noticed her eye had gone red which worried me so we didn't put her drops in just in case they had upset her eye and because we didn't want to distress her doing it. When we put her to bed last night she got up to her litter tray and for a drink without collapsing but she sat down a few times on the way back and was wobbling by the time she reached her bed so we knew she still wan't right.
At the vets today we explained what had happened and she put her down on the floor to see her walk but Lucy couldn't stand, again her legs just splayed out from under her. The vet examined her and said she thought it was a neurological problem and judging by the way she placed her front legs on the table it was quite high up and affecting her front legs too. She said the lession was probably in her brain and when she looked at her red eye she said it was blood in her eye and she had bled into it. It was heartbreaking news for us as she said there was really nothing they could do for her now and the best thing for us to do was to let her go to sleep. She said she wouldnt have been aware of what was wrong and so wouldnt have been in pain but there was really nothing they could do for her now. I don't think she would have lasted much longer and the vet said it would be best to let her go peacefully now and not let her suffer. I picked her up and she cuddle into me and the vet put her to sleep in my arms.
I'm sorry if this has been upsetting for anyone to read. I just wanted to put it down somewhere as we are heartbroken, she's been with us for 19 years, most of our married lives and we'll  miss her terribly.

Sunday 19 February 2012

coooooooooooeeeeeee

Hello all I was just about to go to bed when I remebered I'd not done my blog, I really am not doing well with remebering to do it yet.
My exciting news this week is I booked my first Andies Accessories stall at a craft fair. The fair is on the 10th of march so I need to get myself organised.Even though I did a few fairs with my jewellery a couple of years ago its  a new venue and I've never done one with my accessories so I'm nervous and excited. I'm starting to think of how to layout my stall and what to put on it and what I need to make.
Craftingwise this week started off as another cushion week as I'd had a couple of orders for personalised cushion at the end of last week and I made them up early this week . The first was for a seven year old who liked fish and was to have her name on it, between me and the customer we came up with a design on blue fabric with two felt clown type fish on. The second cushion was for a baby and my customer wanted his name and date of birth on plus a lion and a giraffe in a similar style to the fish cushion I'd done.


On Wednesday hubby and I went for our haircutting and found out it would be the last time our lovely hairdresser Kathy will cut our hair as she is leaving hairdressing in a couple of weeks. She has been having back problems for quite a while and had been thinking she couldn't continue in hairdressing standing stretching etc for another 20 years when an opportunity came up for her to buy a vintage clothes shop business nearby. I'm pleased for Kathy as it sounds a lovely exciting time for her and off course although a shop is hard work she wont have to stand and stretch in the same way all day everyday anymore so hopefully her back will benefit I will miss her though, she's a lovely lady who makes you feel really comfortable and we have some lovely chats.She shared the hairdressing business with another lady who is going to carry on so in future Leslie will be doing our hair, at least we don't have to look around for a new place to go but still I'm sad kathy is going.
On wednesday evening I had a go at making a little chick felt creme egg cover a little like the knitted ones, I'm not sure if i'll keep it the same style or tweak it a bit yet but I thought if I can get them okay I might make more to sell online and maybe take some to the craft fair.


Thursday and friday have mainly been housewifey days spent mostly cleaning and ironing but I did get time for a little crafting in the evenings and made a couple of little mini heart hangers with lavender in the middle heart and a couple of bookmarks.I also cut out fabric for a few more hearts and bookmarks.


I also found time on thursday while eating my lunch to do a bit of fabric shopping which arrived yesterday so now I cant wait to use it.

Well you're more or less upto date now with my not very exciting life girls so I'll say night night now thanks for reading Andie xx

Saturday 11 February 2012

Cushion week

Hello girls me again and this week on time yippeeeeeeeeeeee.yay. So I hope everybody is well, (Chrissy I hope your bug has left the building now) I hope you are all able to get out and about and aren't snowed in.
Luckily we haven't had much snow here in Barnsley which is good as I don't like it, sorry for those who like it, but to me it just causes too much trouble for us as a country, we just can't cope with it. It brings power lines down, makes roads impassible, causes road surfaces to crack, causes peoples pipes to freeze, build ups of snow on fragile roofs can cause them to break under the weight, people slip and break bones on it, the thaw can cause flooding, ooh and no end of other problems we seem to have.I know it can look pretty sometimes and its fun to make a snowman, go sledging and things but everytime I hear there's a chance of it I panic and dread it. So there you go there's my bah humbug bit.
I had worried that last weekends snow might stop me meeting my friend from Chesterfield for our planned  trip to Meadowhall on Monday but luckily even though she had more snow than us  the roads near her  were fine so we both made it for our shopping trip and it was a fun day.
This week on the crafting front I've been making cushions. On wednesday I felt like getting the machine out and sewing so thats what I did. It had a fab day in the kitchen singing away to my cds while I revved away on the sewing machine, making 4 cushions.




Well it was fab till my machine went wrong and started stitching really loose underneath. I had a good old fiddle tryed all the things suggested when I googled the problem but in the end I had to give up and pack it away unfixed,
On thursday I was thinking I may have to buy a new machine especially as I'd had a request for a personalised cushion for a customer so I decided to have one last look at it on thursday evening, fiddled a bit more and somehow got it working again, not sure how long for but it seems ok now. Touch wood it keeps working as I have that cushion to stitch up now the applique is done on the front and also I now have another one to make which was requested on friday by another customer.
In other news our nephew Matt who's been living with us for the last few years came back from his trip to  Australia today. We went to the airport this morning for him, sign in hand which my mum pinched as soon as we got there lol. After a 26 hour travelling time where he didn't manage hardly any sleep and a 10 hour time difference he arrived very tired but chatty and giddy. It reminded me of when he used to come and stay as a kid and he'd get overtired and be running around in chatty giddy mode before zonking out which he did at about teatime today. I don't know if he'll stay asleep overnight or end up awake and prowling round in the middle of the night.
Right well hubby has nodded off on the sofa now and is merrily snoring and heavy breathing away so I think I'll go now and ship him off to bed.
Ooh almost forgot I also made a little friend for Dotty my felt dolly I made last week, her name is Freda

Sunday 5 February 2012

Oops one week in and I nearly forgot to write my blog this week

Hi blogettes nearly forgot to write my blog entry this week, not a good start is it. I only decided to start again trying to write at least one entry a week last saturday and already i'm a day late oopsy daisy.
Hubby will tell you I'm always late for everything, well I'm not ALWAYS late, but quite often I'm on the last push no matter how early I plan to be ready something always comes up n delays me.
Anyway here I am with this weeks entry, ooh that makes me think of listening to the charts on the radio when I was young '' and in at number one its this weeks new entry 'oops nearly forgot my blog'''
So what have I been upto this week? As usual not a lot of housework :0 shock horror yes I know I'm a lazy housewife. Quite a bit of sewing :) yippee and some shopping :):) double yippee.
I started my week off with a bit of shopping from Julies new website. I saw a fantastic little cottage pincushion on her blog which was iresistable so I went over to her new website and bought it quick before someone else bet me to it. It came early  this week and is gorgeous, at the moment its displayed on a shelf in the kitchen next to my teapot with the teacozy Jacqui knitted me last year.
mines the blue one

On sunday evening I made a little lavender filled bear, it was a bit of a pain as its only small and turning it out the right way and getting the lavender in all the small limbs was awkward but I do like him.

On Monday I couldn't decide what to have a go at there were so many things I fancied doing and I couldn't decide but then I popped on facebook and someone had asked for a cushion and a heart decoration making so there it was decided for me which is good because decissions along with punctuality and housework are not my strong point lol.

I had another order via facebook this week too but the items were ready made so I didn't need to sew them.
On tuesday my mum came over and we spent the day knitting and chatting we're both knitting baby blankets despite the fact neither of us have any babies.
On wednesday I made a lavender bunny and bird as friends for lavender ted they are both much easier than ted to make.


Then I decided to try another ted, well three attempts later they were all in the bin and no more teddies were made and I'm not sure if they will ever be.
Thursday and friday beside doing some housework and the dreaded ironing were spent getting together some stock for the shop that has some of my jewellery on display and taking it in. It was ncie to see Jan the shop owner again and have a catch up but I don't know how long I'll keep on taking things in cos I still think i'll give up with the jewellery soon.
Yesterday we went shopping as I needed some more cushion filling, some white cotton material  and I also bought a few fleece throws which I use for cushion covers etc.
Then last night I decided to try making a little felt dolly that I had been given a pattern for out of an old magazine a friend of my mum had found. The longest part was the hair as I figured out how to attach it and get it to come round and over her face but I did enjoy making her and think I'll probably make more. I don't know what I'll do with them though if I make them as I don't really think people will want to buy them and I'm a bit old for dolls.

Right so there you go girls thats my week and another long rambly blog done. Hope everyone is well and not snowed in, we only have a thin covering nothing to write home about.