Saturday 28th June

This will end up being a jumbled, mixed up, random blog, full of bits of useless information with a smattering of highly intelligent facts......or not....

Did you know that the word avocado is from ahuacatl which means 'testicle' in Nahuatl, the language of the Aztecs. This is probably due to their shape and the fact they grow in pairs.... I used to quite like avocados...

Last Sunday just after I posted the blog and feeling particularly tired I headed off to bed. Imagine my dismay when taking out my earrings to find I only had one, and they only happened to be my very best diamond/sapphire earrings that hubby had given me 25 years ago... I was gutted, and tried to think where I might have lost it. The fact that I had been to keep Fit, tennis, and had a swim in the sea during the course of the day did not exactly narrow down my search area.

Waking up on Monday and still a bit miserable, I thought I might head down to the beach with the dog and have a look in the stones...like that wasn't a really stupid idea, but desperate times. It did occur to me when I found myself on the beach, down on my hands and knees talking to myself at 7:30am as I sifted through the site that I had been the night before ( no the tide hadn't been up high enough), that a) I wasn't going to find it and b) thats why we have insurance.

A few weeks ago when I was at work the class I worked in had an assembly which was all about "friends". It was lovely, with good ideas about helping others, and using lots of very special ingredients for a cake! I couldn't help but bring some of the 'sayings' home with me- here are a few:-

50g of smiles
a sprinkling of cheerfulness
I litre of sharing
a teaspoonful of helpfulness
3 heaped tablespoons of laughter
a pinch of happiness
I handful of kindness
2 spoonfuls of gentleness
lots of love

Reckon thats a pretty good mix, enough to get me through the next few weeks perhaps? Im starting to get a bit twitchy about the whole operation thing, I'd forgotten about the 6 week recovery time, no driving, no sport, no doing anything much I guess. Except ordering my family around, and feeling sorry for myself. Actually its not going to be like that at ALL, because Im going to be positive and happy and pleased that the Marsden are going ahead with this op as I do not want anything remotely nasty growing inside me thanks!

Weve got a long day on Tuesday in London with a clinic appointment in the morning and pre surgery assessments in the afternoon, but at least its not so bad with two of you. I'm thinking up a list of questions to ask the consultants already.

Dont forget I have WIMBLEDON to look forward to next weekend, hurrah! We fly out late on Friday night, tickets for court no 1 on Saturday and centre court  ( the finals) on Sunday- get in!!!!

My poor Jess had to spend a day and a night at the vets yesterday.. we did miss her so much the house was soooo empty. Silly dog had a 'hair ball' stuck in her colon, (probably rabbit fur) and it had caused her to have an inflamed pancreas... and thats not good...

Pancreatitis in Dogs

The pancreas is part of the endocrine and digestive system, which is integral for the digestion of foods, producing the enzymes that digest food, and producing insulin. When a condition occurs to cause inflammation of the pancreas, the flow of enzymes into the digestive tract can become disrupted, forcing the enzymes out of the pancreas and into the abdominal area.

If this occurs, the digestive enzymes will begin to break down fat and proteins in the other organs, as well as in the pancreas. In effect, the body begins to digest itself. Because of their proximity to the pancreas, the kidney and liver can also be affected when this progression takes place, and the abdomen will become inflamed, and possibly infected as well. If bleeding occurs in the pancreas, shock, and even death can follow. 

Inflammation of the pancreas (or pancreatitis) often progresses rapidly in dogs, but can often be treated without any permanent damage to the organ. However, if pancreatitis goes long-term without treatment, severe organ, and even brain damage can occur.

This blog wouldnt be the same without a few photos...

Billy the hunter?

Fish supper with good friends....

And to finish tonight on an amusing note? Thursday night I went to put away a pair of earrings and what did I find in my jewelry box, yes, the missing earring......I must have taken one earring out, put it in the box, and later on went into the bathroom and took the other one out, forgetting I'd already removed one, "This is seriously worrying" was the statement my husband uttered when I told him!