One Third Of The Way Through Winter

The last walks of the year, the last walks of the decade. 

We set off round the quarry where the boat crash landed some years ago ...

... then down to the tunnel where the mountain smurfs hibernate. 

The girls stopped to admire the Xmas tree decorated perfectly by mother nature. 

A quick cuppa at Aunties Cottage .. 

... and down to the magical wishing tree

 before a pint in the crowded Shepherd's arms..... 

Happy New Year, Blwyddyn Newydd Dda - get out there and look at what you have around you, love it, live it, imagine it and enjoy it. We are so blessed. 

Healing Paws

This morning I was itchy and emotional again. My head can't cope with this damned roller coaster .. it really is time to get off it! It was a stunning morning of sunshine and blue skies and I decided on Llyn Cop for everyone, but as I loaded the van I could see the black cloud coming over the valley and towards Cilgwyn. So a last minute change and I decided to do my first two walks over this side of the mountain and was blessed with stunning Winter weather. I'm not sure if it's me that more observant or are we getting more dramatically beautiful skies this Winter? There really is beauty in every season. 

 For the third walk I did go over to Llyn Cop and at times it was like a completely different day, it was cold there with low cloud which at times the sun was able to break through. Still we had a great time, no matter how heavy my heart Ross and Kaiah and their antics always manage to make me smile. The entertainer and the naughty mini angel sure were on full form!  

By the time I'd walked everyone it was getting on for 1pm  and as we returned for home cloud and mist engulfed the mountain. Now it's drizzling and visibility is very poor .. but we don't care we all had a great time on our respective walks and we are all now happy to have a lazy afternoon by the fire. 

Remember Your A Womble

To whom it may concern - Today I became a womble and I clearer up your mess. The McDonalds bag of rubbish you left on the mountain on Xmas Eve had split open, the pringles cartons, Lucozade and milk shake bottles had scattered all over our beautiful mountain. I cleaned it up for you, took it home and got rid of it .. no need to thank me but shame on you!

Not Being Morbid

Just saying hello to them all as I walked passed. As they were mates Riley is with Louis and Tali doesn't have a stone as she was cremated and is still watching over us all in the house!

Around And About

Before out "Family" Xmas dinner

 Looks like the roller coaster is going down again!

Sleep

Asha slept all night last night. So I guess her belly is finally settling. I feel so guilty giving the others treats and not letting her have any. Mind you I've made sure there was a bland alternative and as long as she gets food she's happy!

I'm finding the dog bedding constantly on the floor these days. Someone young but not so little has found his way up there and now considers it the place to be. Steve and I went into the CPL shop in Caernarfon yesterday and I found myself telling the assistant of a cat charity that I had five lovely cats and a black twat! 😛 Luckily she saw the humor and just said "I see the love!" OMG too true .. Luther is so naughty, but so funny and so lovable, it just all depends on the mood you catch him in.
There are other developments here this morning. I'm not getting excited as the roller coaster has gone down twice already .. I'll wait and see if things stay level for a few days before getting excited.

Melanie Panayiotou

George Michael's sister Melanie Panayiotou has died at the age of 55 - exactly three years since his death on Christmas Day 2016. Hairdresser Melanie was found at her home on Wednesday December 25 by her older sister Yioda Panayiotou in a heartbreakingly tragic twist.

Llandudno Critiques

2 Stanley  Bibby. Silkenwood Poldark of Blanik. Another dog of similar age to winner,dark and proportionate head, good length of neck, strong front, correct rounded toes, good coat moved well. 

1 Stanley. Lokean of Blanik ShCM. Five years old dog of good substance. Good head ears carried erect, good depth of chest,good solid bone and an alert expression. Did not settle on the move.

*****

I can't dispute his negative comment on Loki - he was a tit! 

Sorry To Go On About It

This blog is basically a diary, it is a place for me to write about life at Blanik. Sometimes I indulge in self pity that maybe I'd be too embarrassed to share and deal with otherwise. This is not a place for judgment or criticism, writing it helps me deal with it, it's often gives me solutions, be they temporary or permanent. So please feel free to by pass this post, well any post that displeases you and please rejoin on a more positive moment.
It's late night jaffa cakes and tea again ... though I'm physically exhausted I can't seem to find the off switch to my thoughts and dreams. I've been crying again, shit I should be able to move on, but the roller coaster ride with Sammi is not helping. I swear my heart hurts, I feel an ache in the pit of my stomach that as I've said before I can only compare to loss. I wanted it so much that in the quieter moments I can't seem to think of anything else. Oh hell I know what I have, so much love, so much joy from a large and lovely family of canine and feline "kids."  I am also truly blessed to live with, love and be loved by the best man I could ever imagine would cross my path, but it doesn't take away from the sadness, the disappointment and the longing to be there again watching new life. It is for me the most magical experience and it feels like forever since my heart was filled with that joy.
Remember the Welsh saying "pawb ai fys lle mai ddolur." We all have our own challenges in life, stress with work, stress with family with vehicles with health .. we all face our own dilemmas and disappointments. No one can say my sadness is greater or lesser than theirs. What upsets me greatly maybe of no consequence to the next man, and vice versa. There is no point telling me to "get a life" or to move on because if I could believe you me I would. Don't get me wrong I'm not in a permanent state of sadness or depression, something comes along and just sets me off again. So many beautiful puppy pictures on Facebook .. yes I admit I'm jealous, but not in a nasty way it's just because I'm so sad and needy.
I should try and go back to bed, but lying there with my thought I just get worse. I plan and organise thing, have conversations with stud dog owners and vets, plan routes ... Oh and I scratch, my eczema is off the scale. Anxiety and stress have always cause my eczema to flare up, which then creates more anxiety and stress, which then leads to more eczema flare-ups. ... but again there is nothing I can do about it .. I do no not choose this, it is what it is and until somehow I'm able to move past it I have to live through it and to be fair it's not even a month since my dreams were completely dashed is it!
Come on Sammi .. you at least could help me out a little here my angel....

Boxing Day Walks

As is tradition on Boxing day I guess, everyone is walking the mountain with their dogs, their kids and their grandmother. Ahhh .. Ok I do understand but what I'll never ever understand is the selfish need to leave empty bottles and pringles boxes scattered around our lovely mountain. Dirty, filthy bastards take your rubbish home .. and no I do not apologise for the profanity's because I mean them from the bottom of my heart. It angers me so so much. 

 Yet again mother nature puts on a fantastic show of lights and clouds

On Xmas Day In The Morning

On Xmas eve we went to bed at around 11pm and watched a bit of telly .. lights went off and we soon snoozed off. But just after 1pm Asha was shouting and I got up and let her out. I followed her out with a torch .. as you do in the cold and dark in the middle of Winter, and yes that she had diarrhea. A combination of mud, sheep shit and that disgusting bone she'd found on the walk I thought. Anyway I went back to bed and just after 4am she started again. Steve let her out and again we tried to settle for the night. That is when Sammi started to create, I ignored her for a while and then thought I better let her out. Surprise surprise she didn't want to go and jumped about with great excitement. I went back to bed, within minutes I heard the bedroom door creak .. I said to Steve .. there's a cat in here .. No, it's not possible we conclude .. and then we heard the purring, Steve put the lights on and there was Junior. But how? Well after letting Sammi out I'd locked the outside door, yes turned the key but in the dark I hadn't closed the door properly. Well that's a first, what a wally! The lights went off again, I had barely closed my eyes when Nico poked me with his cold wet nose .. "Go to bed Nico!" Off he went, but he started he heave and I was off out of bed again. Bless him he had tried to tell me! As soon as the light went off again I could hear Sammi's winging and after some ridiculous giggling from the two of us I got up again and gave her a mouthful of verbal abuse, made a cuppa and went back to bed. It was after 5am by then ... we eventually settled to sleep but just after 6am Sammi started again. I put my head under the duvet and knackered I managed to ignored her. Maybe I shouldn't have, when we got up I realised Asha had been sick. Trust me this is not normality, usually the troops sleep all night without a murmur .. until the Kaiah alarm goes off between 8 and 8.15am that is of course!
Last night Asha got me up again, it was sometime between 1am and 2am, but she did need to go. She's been on white fish and potato yesterday and this morning so hopefully things will settle now. Without putting a muzzle on her it is impossible to stop her foraging and eating on walks .. I guess we just all have to live with the consequences!!!!

Misty

Sad news came on Xmas Eve that dear Misty had gone over to rainbow bridge. I decided not to post it until today .. Xmas day is hard enough as it is! Misty was a lovely girl and I got involved with her rescue and rehoming, then looking after her when her new owner was away for a while. She will be missed. 

Mist with our Finlay in 2011. 

RIP My Lovely

Christmas Day Walks

A HUGE thank you to all our lovely friends and family for the cards, gifts and messages. Did my usual walks this morning then cooked lunch, lazy afternoon ahead I think. Thanks again all. xxx

The Pogues - Fairytale Of New York (Official Video)

It just had to be didn't it - The Xmas Classic of my era and many others no doubt!

Back At Twll Braich

Getting over from the fields that we are not sure we should be in back onto the track at the side of Twll Braich we all need to climb over a large lump of slate. It's a big square lump, the likes of you could never move. I gave it no thought yesterday with the Young Guns as they flew over it, but today Jezi really struggled. You know sometimes I think she think too much about these things and that is why she struggles. Basically with Nico well gone I had to almost throw her over.
As I walked towards it again with

the bitches I decided to call them back and wait so I could be on hand to help Asha should she need it. Need it? Need it? My arse, she was over and gone before I considered it further! So why is Jezi, over three years younger struggling? Is it mind over matter or does she have some early aches and pains? It is a possibility that she is not as fit as the others at the same age isn't it. I'll monitor her carefully and put her on Glucosamine and chondroitin should I be suspicious that old age is creeping up on her sooner than maybe it should! It would be unfair and unkind not to start helping her now if she needs it and of course we would all benefit in the end. I'll have to keep a close eye for anything else that may indicate some discomfort.

The photos taken today are taken on the other side of the stunning Twll Braich and you can see Cilgwn mountain in the top two photos. I went further round on the last walk, if you look carefully in the third photo you can see the gable end of out cottage and realise how close we are to the old quarry hole that sits in front of Plas Braich.

Still On S7

Another lovely day to walk with the troops. 

 Jezi and Nico where they have never been before

Naughty I know but the gate was open and there was no sheep, besides we went there yesterday with the young guns so the two older lots had to go today

 I had to include this, Sammi and Ziva are too busy bickering to notice Asha running off with their toy!  

Now I have been here before but I think I was last here with Blade and Nikki's gang. The path has not improved but the views were still phenomenal. All the photos are on Facebook. 

The S9 is here as promised thanks to Tom the DPD man .. the data is currently being transferred from one to the other. I better be able to get my "Hello" notification over or I'll sulk!!!! 

Now Jamie Is Getting It

But secretly I think he's enjoying himself! 

Naughty Boy

He tried his damnedest to get in that attic last night.Please to say he failed. When I say this chap has the devil in him believe you me at that moment he does. He can sweetness and light too but my he's a handful! He's so funny though, as Steve said the names usually shouted in this house are Luther and Ross, both the entertainers! 

Wham! - Last Christmas

Well now you are shocked - I bet you expected this to be my number 1
Not quite, like the single itself in 1984 this makes it to my number 2.

Twll Braich

 Sammi admiring the view

Amazing isn't it

Talking And Learning

A long conversation with the breeder of Sable 2 last night gave food for thought. After disguising that Sammi only had 3 puppies in her last litter she came to the conclusion that we mated her too late, and you know what with hindsight and  knowledge I think she's right. According to the test Sammi would have ovulated on Tuesday afternoon as her result was 11.4 on Tuesday morning. (Most bitches ovulate around 16, but some as early as 13 or as late as 18) At that time the test was sent off and Larry would phone the results through the next day. He told me to mate Sammi on Friday or Saturday morning. Sammi was mated Saturday lunchtime, maybe it was even early afternoon after the initial failures with Ole. But according to the information Idexx now provide bitches should be mated 48 hrs after ovulation, which means we should have mated her on Thursday, Friday at the latest. The way I read it now by Saturday the ova were aging and there was decreased potential for fertility. So yeah, looks like a mistake was made there doesn't it! Anyway with 2 mating's on the table with Sisco should Sammi ever decide to come in season my friend suggests we go just after ovulation and 48 hours later. That sure makes sense to me!

Captain 

The conversation changed to reputable breeders. She had noticed my rant on Facebook and I explained to her that someone local who should know better has bred from an unregistered bitch who has no health tests .. but worse still she has used a dog that I know for a fact is already suffering from HD and getting treatment for it. I just can't get my head around it .. for the life of me I don't understand why anyone would take such risks with the lives of the puppies they produce. Greed or ignorance? Both I'd say! Anyway my friend then told me of a kennel near her where horrendous conditions have caused the loss of lives of puppies, yet this is a licences establishment. I listened and consider whether or not to tell her that when I met my Ex husband he had a dog bred in those kennels, actually no reason not too so I told her. Captain came from this kennel, no wonder he had issues! Crazily I remembered his registered name and his sire, but when we went on to talk about working line GSD's I couldn't remember Loki's bitch line at all! Funny what bits of my brain still function normally and which struggle isn't it!

A Young Blade 

After coming off the phone I went looking for one of the only photos I have of Captain and sent it to my friend.  I also came across this photo of a young Blade and sent her that, we didn't know each other then. Her reply on Blade was flattering. Hey that's not a bad young dog. Well no he was not a bad dog and if you seriously look at this photo then you can see the bits are in the right place, he just needed to fill into the frame - which he did quite beautifully in my opinion. I'm not blinkered I see the faults .. I always have done, and I should if I am to continue improving my line, but hell I do see the good in them too.

Last Photos With The S7

Tomorrow the  Samsung Galaxy S9 is arriving. I'm lucky to have been able to get it on one of the Xmas deals and it will cost £8 a month less than my current S7 - which has been a bloody super phone. Importantly for me on the description it say "Welcome to the camera, reimagined. The Samsung Galaxy S9 gives you the ability to take amazing photos with stunning detail thanks to its Dual Aperture lens which adapts like the human eye. Enjoy superior sound quality with stereo speakers pro-tuned by AKG."

Father Xmas really is coming to Fron after all!