Spanish Christmas tree

 This is a photo of our tree in Spain which I left behind including all the decorations. Wish now I had brought the decorations home. They were built up over many years and they will be hard to replace but it might be fun buying them. I remember I bought a lot of them in the January sales so I suppose it was a bit of a hodgepodge but it always looked good. This year I am sticking to red and gold but thinking next year to go for blue and silver. The main thing is I have the tree so I can go for whatever I fancy. Ken loves the tree and where I was thinking Christmas Day would be just another day maybe I can make it a bit special. In Spain there were parties on the run up and on the day we had people to dinner. Now with Ken’s health problems it will be just us but hopefully I can still make a effort.

Stage two

 So far I have added some red baubles but have some gold ones coming but not until next week so it will be slow progress. Wish now I had brought my decorations back from Spain each year the tree there was overloaded.

Christmas Tree

 Andy, Ken’s friend and our gardener took me to our local garden center to buy a Christmas tree so I bought this prelit tree. Andy erected it. I think it has all sorts of sequences to the lights but haven’t tried them yet.. I also bought some baubles which I will hang but will take time doing it. I am not sure I have it at the best angle for each layer and think the manufacturer could put slots so it could be shown to its best advantage, anyway so far this is the best I have come up with. 

I don’t feel a bit like Christmas but think I should make an effort for Ken. Last year we didn’t do anything, our first year for years that we weren’t in Spain where we always had a tree and friends to Christmas dinner.  This year I am making an effort I am not sure we will ever be able to create the excitement of Christmas past but at least we are making the effort. Ken loves the tree, he is in a lot of pain so has gone up to bed so I will start to decorate it so when he comes down tomorrow he will see it. I have ordered more baubles but they will take some time to come so it will be slow progress. I haven’t yet found something for top, in Spain we had a star. I am looking on line, when I was a child it was always a fairy doll but don’t want that, maybe an angel or another star.

Phone call

Sky in her favorite spot, she seems to be coping well after the loss of Shula for which I am grateful, I am not so sure about Ken or myself. 

Since Ken’s diagnoses of likely Parkinson’s disease and although the neurologist consultant wrote to the doctors surgery regarding the monitoring of  the prescribed medication we heard nothing. I did after a few weeks ring the surgery and a locum rang me back only to tell me it was nothing to do with them and I should get back to the neurologist which I had consulted privately. I referred him to the letter which was sent to the surgery of which I had a copy but he suggested I ring the number on the letter despite the fact that I explained that was just for his secretary who had no contact except to make appointments and bill for his services he was not interested. Since then Ken has had a couple of falls which I have managed except the last one where he fell in the bedroom and couldn’t get up. I covered him up and we waited a couple of  hours hoping he would regain enough strength to get on the bed but that didn’t happen and he started to ramble so I rang for an ambulance which of course didn’t come. They did ring back to see if he was conscious  but didn’t seem concerned that he was rambling. I was a bit annoyed at this point and asked why someone in the street managed to have an ambulance at least four times a week for well over an hour when it was just because she was old, lonely and depressed but we had waited hours. Finally between us Ken managed to crawl into bed and I stood the ambulance down. Much to my surprise an NHS  team arrived, they did check Ken and said they would refer the matter to our doctors surgery, re the medication review also if there was help available if he fell for which I was quite prepared to pay.  

Long and short of it I had a call this morning from the doctors surgery and we went through the whole sorry saga and we have agreed on a slow increase of Ken’s medication which I will need to monitor for side effects but know I can ring for advice. The problem of help if he falls and I can’t manage they are looking into, as am I. The phone call has helped no end knowing that I may get some help and we are not totally alone coping with it.

  

Sleepy head

 My little dog is almost totally deaf as she doesn’t even hear the doorbell these days.

We had a late night delivery from Tesco’s which she totally slept through.  I use to hate the barking when the delivery van arrived and even before they walked up the drive  I was alerted. and had to tell them NO which they both observed. Never needed to turn on my burglar alarm system which was most annoying if you forgot and walked downstairs before turning it off but now it is necessarily because we have lost our best protection our dogs who barked. 

Every day I am reminded of how much I miss Shula, breakfast she would stand wagging her tail wherever you were (still in bed). Evening meal the same, she had an inbuilt clock. Little dog Sky never seemed bothered and the first week after we lost Shula we had a problem getting to her to eat but now she has her own system, she whines and if you ignore her it becomes vocal. Before we had Sky Shula never barked but she learnt from Sky and she had a large bark, we were lucky that we just had just had to say no to silent them. Now the little dog has come into her own, when she wants to go out she whines when before Shula would just stand before you you wagging her tail sometimes not even follow the little dog out, now the little dog seems to have a voice of her own.

Life after Shula

 What do you do when you can’t sleep and your mind runs riot. I have tried watching television but can’t consecrate. Reading which once helped isn’t now. I remember at such times brushing Shula and silly dog loved it. I have tried with Sky but she really doesn’t want it. I am back to flicking through the TV or can write on here

I don’t think I have the energy to create a new blog so this is Life After Shula which is not easy because for the last fourteen years she was my consent companion. She was the reason why we have Sky, my reason to go out walking and everything good in my life. 

I remember the first day when we brought her home she had weed herself and puked up in the car, she just lay on the terrace and I just sat and watched her for about four hours while she slept. When she woke she crept about and encountered Pippa one of our cats and started to bark, I told her no and she retreated to her basket. We were ever vigilant watching when she needed to wee we took her outside and when she went we praised her so ended up being able to tell her when and where to go. She was the most loving dog ever, so miss her.

Look at me

 Sky checking to see if we are watching her after having a bark though the window.

Little dog Sky

 Since Shula died we have had new furniture, it was ordered before we lost Shula and for the first few days Sky avoided getting up to look out of the window which she did all time. We are not sure if this was down to missing Shula or because the furniture was new, the latter I think. I have noticed that where in the past she followed me about a lot but was quite content to stay in a room without me if Shula was there now she follows me everywhere. So far I haven’t had to leave her but will have to at some stage, hopefully  she will realise that I am coming back and not panic. When I first had Shula and had to leave her I had all sorts of toys, rolla balls with food in to distract her and she learned that we would be back. Sky has never been interested in food or toys so that is not going to be an option, well we will cross that bridge when we have to.

Shula and Pippa

 I am so missing Shula, looking back at old photos she had an obsession with the cat in the early days which Pippa didn’t appreciate, Shula wanted to play but Pippa was long past that stage. Pippa just sat while Shula danced about. I worried that Pippa might take a swipe at her but she never did, eventually Shula calmed down and they would both settle either end of the sofa, not friends exactly but companions.

Shula

My beautiful Shula died yesterday. She hadn’t been too well for awhile but always rallied and loved eating but yesterday she collapsed and couldn’t get up. The decision that no one wants to make had to be taken. I still have my little dog Sky and think I will update on her progress. She has been very quiet and was a bit distressed this morning but I have been distracting her and she is calm now and sleeping. I am not sure how long this blog will continue but it is away to just say how much I loved her and the cats in my life, also little dog Sky.

Me

 When I started this blog it was just to chart the life of our little rescue dog Shula and I think it has done that. In the early days it was all about her progress and how she adapted to life as a pet dog. Getting used to cats, walking on a lead and house training all which she quickly adapted to. She was frightened to leave the premises on our first visit outside wanting to head home but as each day we walked a little further she gained confidence. Watching this little dog grow in confidence and enjoy life has been the best thing, she has the best temperament ever, she loves people, other dogs and cats, mostly she loves food. What can I say, it has been a privilege to have this little rescue in my life and I hope it continues.

Shula and Sky

Walk about in the nature reserve. We are so lucky to have this on our doorstep.

 

Ken

 Ken has been diagnosed with likely Parkinson’s disease. There is no clinical test for Parkinson’s so it is down to tests and then if the diagnosis is Parkinson’s it depends on whether he responds to the treatment which can be slow progress. So far the treatment has stopped the tremors so I think we can say the diagnosis is accurate. Everyone with this disease is different so there is no easy progress. We have taken the attitude that there are worse things and will make the best life we can as we always have. 

We have had a fantastic life moving to Dorset, retiring early and sailing round the Med, buying our house there and all our cats and adopting Shula which was why I started the blog. Things are very different now Brexit has put paid to the villa in Spain so we are back in the UK. Shula who was 14 last January is suffering with her joints and has all sorts of lumps and bumps. In Spain with her vet there we had an agreement that we would look after her until she was in pain or couldn’t go on. In the UK I have no such agreement, every time I go they want a blood test, this test or that test it is all down to money so I have stopped going I will have to make the decision when she can’t go on. I blame dog insurance which has hiked the price. 

Little dog Sky is deaf and blind in one eye but is doing fine. She is still nervous in new situations but in her own home she is a little tyrant and one happy little dog.

 Shula and Sky sleeping which is what they do most of the time these days.

Wednesday

My week has not been good.  Ken’s health has deteriorated, he is overdue for a vitamin B12 injection so maybe that’s the problem. We seem at the moment to be dominated by hospital and doctors appointments.  The weather in July was really awful and I am really missing the sun. I think for the foreseeable future all holidays in the sun will have to be put on hold.

I think the dogs are missing our walks in the sun in Spain here we are battling with the rain.

Today

 Ken’s health is not good we are waiting on doctors appointments. Shula is now over 14 and is suffering from a few stiff joints. All she seems now is interesting in food. She has lumps and bumps, when we were in Spain our vet there accepted she had fatty  lumps. To Rafa it wasn’t about profit it was about quality of life. UK vets seem to be about how much they can make. I know they paid loads for their training but from my reason experience their charges are extremely expensive. When I was a kid we had dogs and cats and most of us could afford a visit to the vet but now you need to be rich to own a dog or cat. I think pet insurance has added to the bill.

 My little dog Sky. This is her favorite place looking through the window watching people pass by. She is quite happy with the neighbours and rarely barks if they walk past.  When people she doesn’t recognize walk by she barks, we have noticed she barks louder if they have a hat on. If anyone walks up the drive she runs barking to the front door with Shula in hot pursuit, I have to say Shula’s bark is a lot louder. I know we could stop them but I am not sure I want to. When Shula was our only dog she never barked, my friend when we were in Spain said she should bark, people need to know you have a dog. We are detached so their barking doesn’t bother our neighbours.  Shula’s hearing is acute so if anyone tried to break in she would hear them, the only time she really barked before we had Sky was when we thought we had an intruder in the garden in Spain. I think they are the best burglar alarm you can have.

 We are back in the UK Ken’s health plus Brexit and transporting the dogs has made it impossible to live between the two.  I am sure we will miss our winters in Spain but Ken’s health a well being has to take president. Little dog loves it she sits watching at the window.

 

 Not sure it’s is going to work or if I can publish photos of the dogs but will try