Friday 1 January 2016

It has begun.

As another old year bites the dust a new one begins.   Let's all hope that it is better in world terms than the last one was.

Here the damp. sunny weather has given way this morning to a frost (minus two so nothing to brag about) and a dull, dismal sky with no sign of the sun.   The kind of day to sit by the wood burner.

One of the good things about New Year's Eve get-togethers (we always host a small dinner party) is that there is always plenty left to eat for lunch on New Year's Day.

Last night I did a vegetarian casoulet for my son, a fish pie for friend W and me (I do this every year, it has become a tradition now) and beef in beef for the farmer and for K.   This lunch time I had more fish pie with left-over veggies and the farmer had beef in beer with veggies.   There was then plenty of blackberry, raspberry and apple crumble and ice cream left for pud (diet starts tomorrow).

Now (after spending a while unblocking the sink for me!!) the farmer is doing the jig saw of Van Gogh's Bedroom at Arles (I enjoyed the 'busy' bit but am useless at wood-block tiled floors where every piece looks the same.   The trouble is for me that the farmer goes entirely on shape and doesn't need to look at the picture on the cover of the box, whereas I need the lid in my hand for every piece.   We love doing jigsaws in the Winter and had three for Christmas, so plenty to keep us going.

Do you make resolutions?   If so I would love to hear what they are.   I no longer do make them, although I seem to remember that last year I did resolve to have eyes and ears tested - and I did carry this out.

Tess disgraced herself by doing a wee on the sitting room carpet while we were waiting for our guests to arrive last evening.    She seems to get stressed when she senses people are coming and that is when she does it.    She has had several such incidents lately - maybe she is getting old and can't stand upset.  (She is eight).   Has anyone found any way of stopping it - she does know she has done wrong and looks terribly shame-faced when I find it.   But wee is almost impossible to remove from carpets even if treated straight away.

My next job is to transfer all birthdays to the calendar for 2016 - this year our calendar (which the farmer had for Christmas) is a calendar of cattle breeds - a nice change.   Must go and do it right now.   Enjoy a relaxing day.

24 comments:

Dawn said...

The Calendars are sitting there waiting for me to transfer over some info, While I wasnt unblocking the sink I was cleaning out the soot box and give the flue a sweep today it always seems to be my job. No resolutions here but lots of list making and plans.

mrsnesbitt said...

Wee on carpets - agree difficult to totally get rid of - we only buy cheap carpets now following an incident 20 years ago involving the very thing. I was acting deputy head teacher and used the extra bonus to save up for a very expensive carpet ...need I say more? Happy New Year. Dx

Joanne Noragon said...

My granddaughter goes entirely on shape, too. I've seen her put puzzles together upside down. I mean, blank side facing.
Have you tried club soda to remove the stain? Don't know, I've just been told.

donna baker said...

Pat, I have had two dogs with this problem. One, because of her age, couldn't hold it and the vet had some pills that helped. The second was diabetic and had those treatments. I do have to keep pee pads down, but she uses them. I was in the vet one day, when a dog that looks like Tess, had just had 44 bladder stones removed. Best to take her to the vet and rule out anything that could be serious. They do sometime develop habits or traits caused by anxiety; my weenie fears doors creaking in the wind now and the grandchildren coming over. I haven't had to medicate her yet though. Thank you for recommending CIDER WITH ROSIE. I had never heard of the author and so enjoyed the lush, descriptive prose of a bygone time.

Wilma said...

No resolutions for me, just carry on. We had an elderly cat with kidney problems and he peed throughout the house on our fitted carpets. I used Resolve brand carpet cleaner in a spray bottle. It worked very well for odor and stains. The key is to blot up all the liquid that you possible can before you apply the spray.

Your dinner party sounds lovely, as do the leftovers!

Terry and Linda said...

Happy New Year, my farming friends from across the pond! I love visiting your farm!

Linda

Elizabeth said...

Happy New Year!
How lovely to have fish pie which I love but Robert doesn't!

Such fun to do jigsaws together - and how interesting that you and David have such different styles - so true for all
of us I think.

I think dog 'wee wee pads" are probably worth it -
probably excitement! Skippy, our previous dog, used to leak when told off - so we used to avoid talking firmly to him.
Grandkiddies coming in tomorrow for our 40th wedding anniversary.
In sort of ruby theme I'm having ham (well pinkish...!) and making red cupcakes for them to decorate.
I suppose I could do beetroot but don't like it!

Rachel Phillips said...

I have never made a New Years Resolution in my life. I do jigsaws for calming purposes. When we sold the farm I did one a week for 52 weeks to relieve the stress, all purchased from charity shops for about £1 each. I only do Ravensburger ones now because they are the best cut ones and interlocking. Happy New Year.

Gerry Snape said...

Happy new year Pat....only resolution is to paint and refresh the dining room.
Too late to be thinking of any improvements to my body!!!

Gwil W said...

Happy New Year to you and your dog. Hope she wasn't disturbed by the pyrotechnics.
Like you I don't make resolutions anymore. A few promises to myself, but certainly they are not resolute. I am allowed to fail.

Bovey Belle said...

I am in x-stitch mood but would love to do a jigsaw - several people have mentioned them recently. My mum used to love doing them to. As for the little "accident", I have got a very good spray from Pets Are Us or some similar place, which works for cats and I expect would work for dogs (or there is probably a doggy version).

No resolutions here, apart from the obvious eat fewer carbs and try and walk more (but the weather has hardly been conducive to that or I would have been out daily).

Heather said...

Good news that your son was able to join you for your supper party.
I like the sound of your jigsaw puzzle. I go by shape but need the picture too.
I don't make resolutions but am working on taking more exercise and hoping to get fitter.
It might be a good thing to get Tess checked by the vet in case there is a physical reason for her accidents.
The weather is quite quiet at present - does that mean that storm Gertrude has changed her mind? Keep warm, dry and safe.

jinxxxygirl said...

I decided this year my resolution is to 'Live Life to the Fullest'... and that encompasses alot of things i think... it can mean anything i want it to mean.. so how can i fail.. :)

Between you and me Pat i was secretly relieved when hubby came up allergic to dogs... oh about 10 years ago... I have had my share of cleaning up after animals as i seem to be the only one to do it... everyone else enjoys them and i clean up the messes... We have a cat but he (Jinx) but he is 10 years old and very well behaved and tidy. I have no tricks but i found it best to spend extra time with a sponge and soak up all you possible can ... then the Resolve cleaner someone mentioned works well and then after it dries a final touch of Febreeze for Pets seems to take care of it... But not a fun job... i know.

Mary said...

No resolutions, but I have picked a word for the year - I must do a post on it later.
Your New Year's Eve sounded awesome - I love fish pie and have memories of my mum always having one waiting in the oven each time I arrived home in England on visits. Those were the days I loved and looked forward to, and now miss so much since she died.
I just mailed a puzzle to my cousin in Devon - she loves doing them. While awaiting her cancer treatment to start in Bristol this month I thought a new one would help to calm her nerves a bit hopefully.

Sending wishes for this new year - hopefully it will be kinder around the world, and gentle to all of us who can count so many new years in our personal history books!

Love and hugs - Mary

Coppa's girl said...

No resolutions here, either, I never seem to keep them longer than a couple of days.
Our youngest Lab., although housetrained, has occasionally christened the living room rugs, though she doesn't do it anywhere else in the house. We think, because they are made from some dense, curly, man made fibre, she thinks they are grass ! We recently bought a Vax carpet cleaner from Amazon, and cleaner specifically for pets, which removes stains and odours. I've used it in a spray bottle, rather than the machine, and it seems to work well.

angryparsnip said...

Your dinner sounds lovely.
No resolutions
I have a few ideas and things that I want to do and must do this year...
Once a week, weather permitting sit out in my backyard and sketch my view of the mountains.
Work harder at mobility and having new cat-scans done so I can better understand the damage.
Hire a cleaner for the home, getting to hard to clean by myself.
Usual must do "things" but no resolutions.

As for Tess's problem.
Our Scotty Kirbey use to wee when people would come to the door. So much excitement.
We told everyone to ignore her for a little while then she would calm down. She did and then grew out of it.

If the vet says Tess is fine then maybe keep her calm while you are getting ready for a party.
Crate her with a blanket over the top and sides so she is calm. Then let her out when everything is done.
I will look up the spray daughter uses that you buy at the pet store. Resolve works great too.
Bit as everyone said sponge up as much wee as you can first.

cheers, parsnip and thehamish

Doc said...

Never have made resolutions that way I never let anyone or myself down.

Simon Douglas Thompson said...

Never make specific resolutions, it's just about trying to live as well as I can

Frances said...

Dear Weaver, I wish you and yours a very Happy New Year, and will make my own list of intentions, rather than resolutions, I did this last year and think I benefitted from having a backdoor open during the twelve months.

I smiled as I read about Tess and the carpet, and the prior commenters' suggestions. I would love to have a dog, but am reluctant to take on that responsibility while living in a small city apartment..even if Central Park is close by. Perhaps I'll find a way to mesh my desire with reality in the New Year.

Fish Pie! I would have loved to have had a serving. Following traditional Southern New Year's traditions, I prepared my versionof black eyed peas yesterday, had that dish for supper on 12/31, and then after working today...yes, on New Year's Day...I came home to have some delicious leftovers of that supposed lucky legume.

xo

Robin Mac said...

No resolutions here either Pat.
I love the sound of your fish pie, my mother used to make a lovely fish pie when we were children, but my husband dislikes fish so of course we never have it! I am so glad your son was able to join in the festivities.
I used to love doing jigsaws, using both shape and pictures. I haven 't tried one since my eye problems, must have another go to see if I can put it together.
Happy New Year with better weather to come I hope.

Cro Magnon said...

Just like every other year I must lose a bit of weight. This isn't really a 'resolution' as such, just a practical necessity. I must, also, eat more fish, your Fish Pie sounds delicious.

thelma said...

No resolutions for me this year. My daughter's dog wore a funny (small) looking nappy last night just in case, so presumably such things are on the market ;). Lucy (who hates the rain) has piddled on the vinyl floor in the kitchen a couple of times. What we need is summer and doors that open to the garden for the dogs, it is raining again this morning!

Bless said...

Happy New Year to you and your family. Your New Year's Eve dinner sounds lovely. I did make some resolutions, this year! Basically, they are: Attain good health (I'm undergoing cancer treatments), Procrastinate less, Be more organized, Be thankful, Be more balanced.

Dartford Warbler said...

Wishing you and The Farmer, and all your family a good, happy and healthy New Year.

Re: Tess...... two friends of mine have bitches who are a bit "leaky" following neutering operations in their early lives. Both take some sort of medication from the vet which helps to control this. Maybe the vet could sort something out for Tess?

Thank you Pat, for commenting so kindly on my "regenerated" blog. I really hope I can keep up the momentum as a New Year`s resolution!