Today I shall be Mainly...

[Gloria]

Have a virtual social distancing hug Stanley.()

[Stanley]

Thanks Gloria, that was a nice thought and appreciated. I have done shed matters and am about to take Jack for a walk.....



Here are the fruits of this morning's endeavours. 4 bearings paired and matched and ready for the next stages.

[Marilyn]

He will be ok, Gloria. A tough old buggar...but he might need a few sleeps. He will get back to us when he can...

[Stanley]

Well, that's all done and dusted. I suppose this ought to be on Pets corner.... Gillian knew why I was there, she's been expecting me. All on lockdown so I just gave her the lead and she took him off to deal with him straight away but not before we had a good cry and she said some nice things about the miracles I had worked with him. So that's it, the end of an era, no more dogs for me, it's too stressful parting from them and as Susan is dogless now I can't give her the responsibility if I should die because she has always said she'd look after my dog.
On a purely mercenary note, £116.47. No more vet's bills.
Don't worry, I am OK, just had a stiff whisky and no point going to bed, I think vacuuming is indicated..... To be honest, an enormous weight off my shoulders, it had become 24X7 nursing.

[PanBiker]

So sorry to hear that Stanley but you know you have done the best for him.

[Wendyf]

Well done Stanley, a tough decision but it had to be done.

[Stanley]

Thanks to you both. As I have often said, it's the price you have to pay for unconditional love. (I've had a stiff whisky!)

[Marilyn]

Sad/strange you had to social distance at the end. We don’t think of these things do we?
Sleep now, and sleep as long as you need.
No commitments for you today, old boy. Just go at your own pace.

[Stanley]

[Cathy]

Oh so sorry Stanley, nothing else to say.
Sad, sad sad.
RIP Jack

[plaques]

Such a shame. I was probably the last of the One Guy brigade to have his boots sniffed by him.

[Stanley]

Gillian has just rung to say he went exceptionally quietly, she is convinced he was ready and I did right to take him in. Reassuring, she is a good woman and I trust her implicitly. Onward and upwards!

[chinatyke]

Oh so sorry Stanley, nothing else to say.
Sad, sad sad.
RIP Jack

Very sorry to hear that Stanley. You've done your best for him - Jack couldn't have been better looked after.

[Stanley]

Thanks to all of you.
Here's a laugh for you. I didn't vacuum. instead I did a spell of de-Jacking, drinking bowl and feeding bowl banned. Hairy blanket off the front room sofa and cushion binned and replaced by a hairless blanket. Then as my mind went to vacuuming I realised that something came first. I brought in the shippon brush and cleaned the carpet where my computer chair sits with detergent and boiling water and brushed it hard. Then I mopped it and the vinyl with hot water and black stable disinfectant (because I like the smell of it!). It's not perfect but it looks a lot cleaner. Vacuuming can come tomorrow. I feel quite good about that. Onward and upward! (I am not sat here being miserable....) I've arranged with Susan to come and pick up Jack's biscuits and dog chews, she knows people with dogs. (Oh, and poo bags as well!)

[Cathy]

All sounds normal Stanley and yes the vacuuming can wait, you’ll be finding his hair for a while yet.

[Gloria]

Virtual hug again Stanley.()

[Sue]

So sorry Stanley, I seem to have missed some vital information about Jack , and I feel very remiss that I have. As with Gloria, virtual hugs.

[Sue]

Just read Pets corner I wasn’t aware. I don’t read Pets Corner as we don’t have any pets these days. What a sad situation , so sorry Stanley. I would have known if you had put it on the Today I shall....

[Marilyn]

Hubby has an eye test again this morning ( I am not sure if it is for Glaucoma...but he says it is like playing Star Wars, whatever that means but no drops needed this time), so I shall pop to the Patchwork shop. If there is no elastic to be had, I shall ask if they have any cloth tape ( I have a bit of that but not enough). In the old days, we used to call it mortuary tape, as it was the kind of thing used to tie big toes together on corpses. That should be soft enough around ears, and straps at the back can be tied to take any pressure off the ears. I would prefer a combination of the elastic and tape. I can’t justify toggles for so many masks...
I have dismantled a lovely box that I use for my sewing threads. The glue was going anyway, so I helped it along. I want to re- cover it now it is dismantled. I shall need fabric and spray adhesive ( possibly some thin wadding too, just to enhance it also. I have just checked remaining funds in the purse and don’t think I can stretch to all that today though!)
Not much else planned for today. It would be nice if I could get what I need and sit and hand sew. Weather has been wild and woolly for days, with almost constant rain all night. No let up this morning. ( thankfully, hubby has some work to keep him focused, so he is not mooching about with a face like a wet weekend).

[Stanley]

That's a test to identify any lazy patches in your retina Maz.
Thanks again to all of you. It's a cleaner, quieter world!
Sue, like Gillian said yesterday, not even my nursing abilities could get him over this one. Very similar to dementia.
I shall be in the shed being diverted by a grinding wheel that arrived yesterday. (The courier was built in the same shipyard as Kev!)
On dog hair Cathy.... If my experience with terriers is anything to go by the hairs are terribly persistent. I swear that short coat Jack Russell hairs have hooks on them. Patterdale hairs may be a bit better.

[Marilyn]

I didn’t have to go to the Patchwork shop. I tracked through our local supermarket once more, and they had re-stocked. So I am cooking with gas, as they say. Also found the cloth tape I wanted too.
We popped out this afternoon and bought a new mattress. See if that helps the Sciatica...

[Sue]

Morning

Its a new day Stanley, and poor Jack is no longer suffering. You will be for a while as he was a good friend and companion, but obviously also hard work. Glad you got the elastic Maz. My toggle kit was not really toggles, more silicone tubes that grip the elastic rope. There were 200 toggles and 10 m of the rope elastic, but obviously for your masks you would have needed two kits and that would have been expensive.

As for the mattress we bought a new one when I had my slipped disc. I remember buying one in the shop and the salesman insisted I lie on each one and try and get off it . We went for the one that felt comfortable and I could get off. Its the best mattress we have ever had and not the most expensive either. Whenever we get back from France I have that ‘aaahhh’ feeling when we go to bed. Talking of buying furniture , not only did we buy a new sofa the other day but we also bought a new nest of tables. We wanted mahogany as the rest of our furniture is mahogany but few people seem to sell it these days. I eventually found a few online as none of our local furniture shops had anything suitable. Light oak seems to be the thing, but it just wouldn’t go with anything we have and we can’t afford to replace everything. Anyway we have a traditional glass topped coffee table mahogany table with two tables underneath. Its looking very bashed and battered after continuous use for many a long year, 30? After searching I managed to find a smaller more modern looking set. I found the same set from three suppliers ranging from nearly £200 down to £55. It was definitely the same set, same named piece, manufacturers, description, photo everything. We ordered the cheapest. All were on 3-5 weeks delivery except the cheapest which is arriving today from AMAZON . How can they do those prices , with free delivery.

Yesterday was a sewing day again, and washing towels. Needless to say I had dried the towels in the drier and then the sun came out. It remained much sunnier than expected all day . We couldn't go for a walk as Bob was busy in the afternoon still clearing his friends workshop. This morning looks damp but the rain isn’t forecast till this afternoon. We can’t go out for a walk today as we are expecting delivery of our tables. I am completely undecided as to what I shall do. I still have a bag of art work to sort and may continue with that, it may uncover something suitable for my Christmas card project.

Have a good day everyone

[Marilyn]

We have been married nearly 25 years Sue, and I can’t tell you if this is our fifth or sixth mattress! But...we slept in our son’s guest room on my birthday night ( we gave him our old bed, that had a recently purchased mattress on it) and it was “heaven” despite the fact it was only a double bed, and we now sleep in a King bed. I wanted the same firmness, no pillow top, and I don’t want to sink in to anything. We both agreed that our one night’s stay at my sons, was the perfect mattress, despite the bed now being way too small. So when I laid on one in the showroom, I declared “ this is the one!”. I wasn’t talked into upgrades or pillow tops by anyone. Three weeks until delivery, and Febby simply paid the bill. ( they did try to talk me into a £3000 mattress for my Sciatica, but I wouldn’t have a bar of it. I know when my pain is relieved.)
I must have laid myself on 30 + beds today. Most were an instant NO...others I was open to, but when you find the “ah...this is it” one, you will likely be happily surprised that it doesn’t have to be the dearest.

[Stanley]

Dead right Sue and strange territory but I think I'm doing OK. The main thing I am noticing is that everything is somehow cleaner and tidier. Partly because I have been working at it but because Jack isn't an added complication, as you say, he has been very hard work these last few weeks. Very strange without him of course but that will ease with the passage of time.



Two hours work on the grinder and an improvement but not perfect. I have come to the conclusion there's an imbalance deep in the machine and I can live with it. Certainly a lot better than it was!
I have to hang my duvet covers to dry and had decided that my second sleep would be on top of the bed with no duvets and I'd sort it this afternoon. Then a message from Susan God bless her, she's going to call in when she finishes her shift and put the covers on for me, she wants to help. Lovely, I can live with that!
You may be wondering about my walks. I have done them exactly as I would have done with Jack. I am determined to maintain that level of walking as well as my other light exercise just getting on with life and the shed!
Right, get the washing out of the machine and then a second sleep.....

[Tripps]

We wanted mahogany as the rest of our furniture is mahogany but few people seem to sell it these days

I'm a fan of dark furniture, and it's definitely out of favour at the moment . I like Stag Minstrel, and the best source is Gumtree, though you have to be patient and have a vehicle which will carry the stuff.