Walking the Dogs and Visiting the Canal

Weather wise it was a nothing day....no sun, no wind, no rain, not hot, not cold so a perfect day to walk the dogs at http://www.appledown.co.uk/  . First on the list is....

Toby

Toby is good with children and house trained, a typical Spaniel full of go, he was left at a kennels while his owners went on holiday and was never collected.Why owners are not honest and say they can't cope I don't know, a lovely dog looking for a good home.

Next was

Tiffany

Tiffany loves her walks,with a few tit bits in my pocket she stops pulling on the lead and I get her full attention. She has a bit of a cough but is nothing to worry about as this can soon be corrected.

For the second time I find I am walking

Sparkle

I walked Sparkle over a month ago so she is still waiting for a good owner. On the way round on her walk something must have worried her as she refused to move halfway round, I think the dogs being trained in the centre ring must have spooked her but a tit bit and encouragement got her going again.

I find using my small camera to try and take pictures of the dogs is a nightmare, hanging on with one hand to the lead and with the other getting the dog in focus and composing the shot.When I get time I will use my big camera with somebody else leading the dog which would be much better.

After my exercise I drove to http://www.canalholidays.co.uk/ on the Grand Union Canal but being a dull day it was not much good for pictures so this is all I managed before I had to get back home.

Next week I'll be in caring mode due to the sitters holiday so no outing for me that week.

Dog Afraid of the Vets



Reducing the Height of a Beech Hedge

Not wanting to wobble about on a pair of step ladders to trim my beech hedge I thought now is the time to cut the top back before the birds start nesting and the sap starts to rise in the wood.

Picture before starting to trim.

Start of the height reduction

View further away.

View of partial and complete height reduction

View from above after trimming.

Completed trimming.

This is the second time I have done this as the hedge gets higher and higher each year even after cutting. It may look drastic from the top view but after a couple of years this grows back to give a nice low hedge.

No dog walking this week as we had the diabetic nurse team in this morning.



Now If I Won The Lottery

A nice Tug for sale at http://rugbyboats.co.uk/ 

Dogs,Narrowboats,Swans & Ice

Today I had my four hour rest a week from caring so I continued my dog walking at http://www.appledown.co.uk/ and took three out for half an hour each.

The first one was called

Kia



She suffers from separation anxiety so any prospective owner would not be able to leave her for more than an hour otherwise the furniture gets chewed. A lovely dog and walks well on the lead.

Next was

Polly

She is a very nervous dog and would need a quiet home with a calm and friendly owner.

Lastly there was

Brandy

His name was very apt as I needed one after he pulled me round the exercise field, the opposite temperament to Polly, a dog who thinks he's in charge but after some training I'm sure he would behave himself.

After handing him back I took off to http://www.canalholidays.co.uk/ which is the home of The Wyvern Shipping Co.Ltd at Linslade, Leighton Buzzard near bridge 126.

Unfortunately the tea shop was closed for winter and all the toilets were shut due to the pipes freezing in the latest cold weather. As you can see in the above picture there is still ice in and around the narrowboats but is thawing, I can't wait for spring.

This little fellow was glad to see someone and posed for his picture.

The waste disposal point needs attention.

Well that's my four hours done this week, now where did I leave my bike!

Completed Picture of Narrowboat and Cottage



Whitney Houston

 

      R.I.P

Forever the World's Best Female Artist



Narrowboat Moors Up in My Jigsaw Puzzle

Did a bit more to the puzzle this morning and now you can start to see my dream unfolding.

I will use  jigsaw puzzle glue when complete and then mount it it a picture frame.

The Jigsaw Puzzle Glue is very easy to use. Simply spread the glue evenly over the picture side of the puzzle using the sponge nozzle at the top of the bottle. The conserver dries in one hour.

Last night the temperature went down to   - 7 deg C

Jigsaw Puzzle to Clear the Mind with Dreams of Narrowboats and Cottages

I started this jigsaw puzzle today with a view of taking my mind off of my caring roll and being so cold outside I thought it was a good time to start.This is a picture of my dream if I won the lottery. It's only partially done but will be of interest to narrowboaters when complete. I'll post a picture when it's finished.



Choosing a National Health Dentist. This recommendation made me laugh.

Having started to have a few twinges on a tooth and always going to private dentists I decided why pay at my age for something just as good for a lot cheaper. Looking on the net I looked at a local dentist and read this recommendation from an old fellow who was over the moon with his treatment.

The dentist is a Big Star and the nurse is lovely!!
Robert Smyth visited ........Dental Practice in December 2011

Overall rating
I would recommend to a friend

 How satisfied were you with the outcome of your treatment?
Very satisfied

.How satisfied were you with the information given by the practice on the cost of your NHS treatment?
Very satisfied

.How satisfied were you that the dental practice involved you in decisions about your care?
Very satisfied

.Were you treated with dignity and respect by staff at the practice?
Mostly

.How satisfied were you with the time you had to wait for an appointment?
Very satisfied

What I liked..............
I saw the dentist and nurse, I have to say that the pair of them made me laff so much I almost lost bladder control, which at my age I have to say would be embarrassing. I was looking for an NHS dentist for quite some time and being a pensioner I have to watch my pension as all of you pensioners out there reading this on the interweb will know.

Any way the dentist was so professional and I have to say they really have trained the nurse so well they were kind and attentive and I expect one would have to pay a lot of money for these services, but being on Pensioners Credit it was all included.

Oh how I wish I was 40 years younger, I would have run off with the nurse, anyway I attended for a denture problem and the dentist was so kind they told me I had a fungus growth in my top plate and they would give it a good scrub and put some ointment on the gums to help them heal.

The dentist didn't mess about and got straight down to business.

What could have been improved

I just wish I was younger, but I have had a good life and all. I don't think you could improve on the dentist being ever so professional and the nurse was so good to me. Even offered me a cup of tea.

Its a pity you can't get service like that at the library or the Bingo. As for the Legion well its not what it used to be.

In fact you get more of a social down the ........ Road Dental, that dentist is ever so good.

Any other comments

If the NHS could put a bar, the bingo and the denture place together we would be very happy.

I was told by so many dentists you can't get good nashers on the nash, but the Scottish dentist in ..... Road knocked me up a set in short order.

The nurse said I would look like I should be on the telly with a set of choppers that that nice dentist would make for me, they were ever so good.

The nurse told me I look like a star with my new teeth and all the fungus gone from the top deck.

I was ever so pleased I really was.

............................................................................................................................................................

Ha! Ha!....Needless to say I have booked up next Wednesday to have my teeth sorted and meet that nice young nurse. I deleted which practice it is as you will all want to go there. Dog walking will have to wait till the week after.

Deaf Dog Takes Handler For a Walk

This is Lola my one and only charge for the day as all the other dogs at http://www.appledown.co.uk/ rescue centre had been taken for their walk with a lot having been found homes during the week.
             Lola has been in kennels all her life and is totally deaf, she would like to go to a loving and caring home whose owners have another dog for her to latch onto. Being deaf Lola uses her eyes to take in     the surroundings more than other dogs which makes her very animated on the lead.

Handling a deaf dog is a new experience for me as it's no good giving verbal commands, but of course being a clever dog she knew the signals I gave her when I needed her to stop pulling ahead on the lead. Getting her attention when first out in the field was hopeless, so I let her pull and run about to get rid of the excess energy she had.

After half an hour she slowed down and started to take notice of me especially as I had some treats in my pocket which she immediately latched onto. Gradually I shortened the lead and after a while she walked by the side of me without pulling, so making sure she was looking at me I gave her the thumb up sign which means "good girl" and gave her a good pat, I never had to give the thumbs down sign which meant "bad Girl", once or twice I had to give the "no" sign which is the palm of the hand extended down to the dogs face.

Lola is a lovely dog who needs a companion dog as her ears.

During the summer  http://www.appledown.co.uk/ would like somebody to do some gardening and perhaps painting and woodworking in and around the kennels. I would think this would suit a young person with time to kill or an early retiree with time on their hands. Give them a ring, they would love to hear from you and it's a great spot in the countryside.