More bad news.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 5.
Tears: Lots.
Overall day: 😩

Baggy was up at 5.00am! Clever Bird had arranged a dental appointment for her at 8.00am. This seemed fine at the time because The Domestic Goddess thought she'd be spending time at the holiday cottage - she hadn't banked on it being occupied! So Baggy had a three hour round trip just to go to the dentist! She got back just in time to have a chat with the surveyor who'd been doing the plan (a proper one, as opposed to Creative Clara's sketch, that the solicitor seemed to think was good enough for the Land Registrar!!!! Grrrrrr!!!) for the purchase contract. It turns out that Baggy and Calum will be getting more land than they thought, because the neighbour they're buying part of it from, has put his fence in completely the wrong place. So that was a bit of good news. They needed some.

Furry Mama noticed yesterday that Minty Mutt had some very sore skin near his groin and that the fur on his tummy was coming out. Freda Fretter panicked  that it was either an allergy to his dementia drugs, or worse still mange - which is highly contagious, or maybe something even worse. Furry Mama got Calum to get an emergency appointment at the vet's. They pootled over there for a 4.00pm appointment. An hour, and a lot of tears later, Furry Mama finally got the message just how poorly Minty is. Okay, so he's a German Shepherd, and 10 years 3 months old, which makes him 82 in human years, so he's elderly. However, he looks pretty good for his age, and he's such a beautiful dog that he makes no fuss or complaint about anything really, so Furry Mama didn't realise how bad he's actually got.

1. He has dementia.
2. He has a bad skin complaint, that may or may not be mites. They will find out more tomorrow. But regardless he's on strong antibiotics and an anti-bacterial wash. Plus he'll be having some kind of mite treatment.
3. He is also in serious pain. 😭 So serious that the daily painkiller that he's already on, needs to be supplemented. It's in his spine and his hips and apparently he is struggling.
4. The tumour on his foot, is growing so fast that she thinks it's malignant. It needs to be operated on as quickly as possible, probably in the next fortnight, or it might burst. But he might not be strong enough to survive the operation. 😕
5. The lump in his side is also "dubious".
6. He's got inflamed gums.
7. All in all, he's not a well dog, but at least he has a "strong" heart.

"Is he happy?"
"Well yes, I think so", said Furry Mama through her tears, realising that the vet was wondering if he'd reached the end of his tether.
"I'm sorry, I don't want to upset you. I know he's been with you for ten years."
"It's more than that. He's got me through a lot. I've known him since he was two days old. In fact I wouldn't have got together with Calum if it wasn't for Mint".
"Oh! Maybe I should get a dog".

Hormonal Hannah was shutting Baggy's brain down at this point. All she could think was, how will Furry Mama cope without Mint? Stupid thought, a no point thought.

"So does Mint need this operation on his foot? Or do you think he's not well enough to have it?"
"Well, he does need it. If it gets any bigger it will be inoperable and is likely to burst, which would not be good".
"But do you think he'll be okay?"
"There's always a risk with general anaesthetic, especially with an old dog."
"But he needs the op?"
"Yes".
Furry Mama heard Clever Bird saying, "If he needs the operation, he must have it. And if he doesn't make it, then it wasn't meant to be. At least I wouldn't have to make "the decision" then". Yeah right, because it will be that easy. Baggy started to have one of those out-of-body experiences where nothing seems real. Don't think about it. All is good. Minty Mutt will never die. Minty won't leave Baggy like everyone else in her life does. It's fine. He'll be fine.

No. He won't. And that is selfish.

Furry Mama went to pay the bill. At which point Clever Bird remembered to ask whether the antibiotics were penicillin based. They were. Baggy is allergic. They changed them. Once home Furry Mama fed Mint six pills, wrapped in cream cheese. And bathed, rinsed and dried his poorly skin. Whilst Baggy watched it all from above with Hormonal Hannah who had shut down on all engines. One day at a time. That mutt means the world to Baggy and Calum. They'll be taking him to the beach tomorrow..........

Fingers and (broken) toes crossed.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 7.
Tears: No.
Overall day: 😰

Yesterday was a bit of a write-off really. Baggy was so tired. Creative Clara forgot to mention yesterday that one of the things that went wrong when they were at the holiday cottage the other day was that The Domestic Goddess broke one of Baggy's toes! How you ask? Well The Goddess was vacuuming the ceiling - yes baggees, that is correct, she was vacuuming the ceiling beams to get the spider's webs, when she walked straight into the wooden magazine rack. It hurt. A LOT. Cal was off buying things at the time, so missed the funny colour Baggy's face went with the pain. But he couldn't miss the black toe when he got back. So there has been much hobbling since, which has slowed Baggy down. She can only wear flip-flops on her feet as shoes hurt too much. The heat doesn't exactly help, so yesterday afternoon when Furry Mama decided to have a little lie down on the bed with the Hinge cat, Baggy instantly fell asleep. Calum woke her up four hours later at 8.00pm! 

Today they've been over to the holiday cottage to make sure everything is as perfect as it can be for the first ever guests. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah! The lawns needed cutting again. The pots needed watering again. Covers needed taking off the outdoor furniture. Patios needed sweeping. But the caretaker/cleaner had cleaned, and made the toilet roll look fancy, and the cooker look sparkly. The house looked lovely. So now if Freda Fretter could just stop worrying about it, all would be well!

Fresh flowers. Hand-made soap. Breakfast hamper. Doggy biscuits. Sunshine. Fingers crossed.

Freda Fretter now doesn't wish to hear a peep from the cottage for a week, unless it's the caretaker phoning to say that the guests loved the place! Now it's time to cross bits for a good first review! But Calum and Baggy have done everything they can, so Hormonal Hannah will just have to keep a lid on her emotions until there's news. At least Creative Clara has a week to improve her information pack, get a budget spreadsheet written, and concentrate on her Realuv shop, for her next vintage fair in ten days time. Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah - again! Baggy sometimes thinks that just maybe she has taken too much on. However, it's great to be busy and it's great that the cottage is now officially earning some money!

https://www.holidaycottages.co.uk/east-of-england/suffolk/blossom-cottage

It's real!............................................

Sorry, sorry, sorry!

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 8.
Tears: No.
Overall day: 😤

So sorry again baggees for Creative Clara's absence for the last few days. Nothing is wrong though. In fact it's good stuff. Having been over to the holiday cottage again on Friday or Saturday, (Hormonal Hannah can't even remember when), on Saturday afternoon Baggy got a phone message asking if she would accept a booking at the holiday cottage on Wednesday. Yes baggees, this Wednesday, for a week.  Of course, she phoned back and said "yes", then panicked. She called the florist to organise flowers. Phoned the farm shop to organise "welcome" breakfast food. Called the laundry company to arrange a laundry service. Waited for the e-mail confirming the booking to arrive. Freda Fretter started to worry when it didn't arrive, that she hadn't called back soon enough. An e-mail finally came in the evening confirming a booking. Clever Bird hadn't even started compiling the Information Pack at this point. She started writing things for it at 3.00pm on Saturday - ate her supper while still typing, suddenly realised that it was gone 1 o'clock in the morning! Went to bed. No blog.

On Sunday, as The Domestic Goddess had gone AWOL ever since Calum got poorly, Calum decided that he couldn't stand the state of the house any longer, and turned into a Domestic God while Baggy slept on. When she eventually emerged, The Goddess was guilt-tripped into helping him. As she was putting a five-foot pile of washing away (that The Domestic Goddess had at least washed, but then not bothered putting away!), Baggy heard the "Toot" of a steam engine. Clever Bird suddenly realised that it was the village fete and classic car rally. Baggy wanted to go and show support, as they are the newbies in the village. Plus some friends were popping round, and it would be fun to meet there. Clever Bird decided that they should make a proper effort and take Billy Bob Jalopy along.

Clara finally remembered to take a photo when it had all packed up. But at least she took one. It was such a hot day that it was almost unbearable in the heat. Furry Mama decided that she'd best walk Minty home again. Classic cars kept leaving as well, so Cal decided to fill one of the gaps with Dodgy-truck.

It wasn't this big a gap at the time! 😌 By the time they got home again in the evening, Creative Clara had to get back to her information pack. Being a perfectionist is a bit of a pain. It was 1 o'clock again when she stopped. No blog!

Yesterday, they had to go to the holiday cottage to get it properly ready for its Wednesday guests. First Clara needed to go the the library and get everything printed off for her Information Pack. Their archaic printer meant that it took ages. Then Freda Fretter realised that she was missing one file - all the tourist information and recommendations of where to visit. It was 11.00am. The library was closing at noon. Clara ran out and told Cal and Minty. They headed back home again. Would the lap top boot up? Would it heck? Hormonal Hannah got more stressed by the second. Thirty minutes later they were all whizzing back to the library.

Once at the cottage the Domestic Goddess and Gloria Gardener leapt into action. Plants had shrivelled in the heat. There were dead flies everywhere. Then Cal's repairs to the shower doors failed, when The Goddess tried to scrub them. Off to buy screws. And a new lightbulb for the spare bedroom. And bags to put the spare bedding/dirty laundry in. They decided to grab a burger. Baggy checked her phone. "Ooooooo, we've got another booking Calum".
"That's good".
Baggy checked it. "Oh! It's the one for Wednesday. So what's the other one?" Quick look. "Oh, it's two weeks on Friday. That means we've got three weeks in a row". Panic. So much for being broken in gently! Don't panic Baggy.

When they got back to the cottage, Clara put her Information Pack together. It hadn't printed properly. Baggy the perfectionist was annoyed, but it will do for now. She can redo it later. But other stuff just kept going wrong. Let's just say that they finally got home again at 11.30pm last night. Cheese on toast. Baggy checked her phone. "Crumbs Calum, there's another booking!" So the current state of play is this Wednesday to next Wednesday. Thursday empty. Next Friday to the following Friday. Then that Friday to the following Friday. Then (currently) a week empty. Then Friday to Friday. There is also another booking in September. Yee-hah, dibbedy dah! No blog.

So apologies again baggees, but Baggy has been a tad frantic.........

Creative Clara has been creating.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Yellow.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 1.
Tears: No.
Overall day: 😤

Furry Mama once again needed to take number one furry back over to the Doctor's and the Dentist's today, so Baggy was up four hours earlier than she has been for the last few days. As she also had Minty Mutt with her, Baggy sat outside a little village cafe with him, while Cal went to see the Doctor. He looked very serious when he came out and Freda Fretter started to panic a bit. "Okay?"
"Yes, but I can't go back to work yet".
"That's not good. Are you not any better?"
"Yes much, but......."
Long story short, he is much better, but because he still has the remains of the chest infection he's not getting enough oxygen (SAT's are now 98%), so whenever he does anything slightly energetic, he gets breathless and dizzy. Not well enough to go back to work for at least another week. Various instructions to follow to try and clear it up properly. Psychic Ploppo has Baggy's fingers crossed.

Next stop the holiday cottage! Lawns to cut (again). Hedges to cut (again). Pots to water (again). Just as well Gloria really is a happy gardener these days. Suffolk friends to show round - they loved it and were very complimentary which was lovely to hear, after all The Domestic Goddess and Cal's efforts. It was praise indeed, as the friends are Victoria Connelly (the best-selling author) and her husband Roy Connelly, the landscape artist, two incredibly talented, creative people. Victoria was taking photos to put on her Instagram, Creative Clara was chuffed.

 

If you want to see the latest photos and blurb baggees, just visit www.holidaycottages.co.uk and look for Blossom Cottage in Assington, Suffolk. 😀

Gardens tidied, Baggy took Calum to his dental appointment - another very painful hour long appointment. While she waited Baggy took Creative Clara off to the shops. Reed diffuser bought for the holiday cottage. Little cards and stickers bought for Clara to make "Welcome" cards for the guests to go in their arrival pressies. Cappuccino and a cheese scone munched by Hormonal Hannah, before Baggy went and collected (a once again whoozy from the anesthetic he's allergic to) Calum!

He sat in the holiday cottage letting the painkillers work while The Domestic Goddess put all Gloria Gardener's things away. Once Cal was no longer in agony, Baggy drove them all home. As the puddy tats had been out all day, they were more than happy to see them home. While The Goddess took the washing off the line, Hinge went and curled up with Minty who had collapsed in an exhausted heap in the shade of the table. He wasn't the only thing that had collapsed! Gloria's pot plants were looking more than a little wilted - yet more watering ensued.........

Failure always feels bad.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Blue.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 1.
Tears: No.
Overall day:  😪

Furry Mama made Baggy stay up until midnight last night, so that she could feed the little baby mouse. By then Clever Bird had done research on t'internet and discovered that the little fellow also needed to be kept very warm, 100 deg. Fahrenheit warm, so Furry Mama dug out one of those oat warmer-thingies that you heat up in the microwave and wrapped it round the margarine tub. She had also discovered that you have to make the little baby poo and wee, by rubbing his tummy and bits every time he was fed. Okay, job done - so far so good. Baggy went to bed and set her alarm for 2.30am. Freda Fretter started to worry that this was possibly half-an-hour later than it should have been, Clever bird decided to change it, but she must have fallen straight to sleep, because next thing Baggy knew, the alarm was doing its thing. Furry Mama stumbled downstairs to check the little mouse in his margarine tub on top of the high fridge (out of the way of the cats). She was horrified to see him hanging motionless on the trim on top of the fridge door! Hormonal Hannah panicked, but amazingly he was still alive - but he was freezing cold. Furry Mama was very upset and could not work out how on earth the tiny, blind baby had got out of the margarine tub.

She tried to warm him up while she fed him warm cat's milk (ironic that), and reheated the oatmeal-thingy. She decided to put the oatmeal-thingy in a big mixing bowl and then put the margarine tub in the middle of it. Just to make sure he couldn't get out again, Clever Bird put a loose lid over the top. Baggy went back to bed saying a little prayer that he'd be okay. Furry Mama reset the alarm for 4.30am. But Baggy couldn't get back to sleep. Furry Mama was imagining what kind of home she'd buy the little chap, who by now, Creative Clara had rather stupidly named Topo Gigio. By the time Baggy fell back to sleep, she'd married him off and had visions of new generations of baby field mice. The alarm knocked her from her happy fantasies. Baggy found her way back downstairs, all optimistic that everything would be well. It wasn't. Topo Gigio wasn't. Freda Fretter can't decide who to blame for this, but Topo Gigio appeared to have been cooked! He was dead, but very warm. Steamed mouse? Furry Mama was really upset and felt very guilty, she'd been so sure that she could save the little chap. She'd failed. But failure, Clever Bird realises and Calum stated this morning, was pretty inevitable from the moment that the cats got the little fellow. It was probably because he got so cold that he actually died. But that just made Hannah feel worse - Clever bird should have made sure that Furry mama secured him in the tub. Well, at least Furry Mama tried to save him even though she did fail, and realistically, feeding Topo every two hours for at least the next two weeks would have probably finished Baggy off. She'd already realised that she would have to take him with her tomorrow when she takes number one furry to the doctor's, the holiday cottage and the dentist's.

First thing this morning Furry Mama buried Topo Gigio next to Derek-the-dove while Pychic Ploppo said a few words for him. It became clear at this point just what an effect Baggy's happy pills have on her. Before she started taking them, this whole episode would have had her in a sobbing mess. Today, although she was genuinely upset that she's failed Topo and she felt like crying, there was not a tear to be shed. Clever Bird is not actually convinced that this is necessarily a good thing. But maybe it is, bawling your eyes out over a baby mouse probably isn't "normal". But still, it hurts a lot that she couldn't save the little chap. But better to have failed than not to have tried in the first place...................

Newborns.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Blue.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 3.
Tears: Yes.
Pancakes (Yes/No): Who cares?
Syns (Baggy is allowed 8-15): Clever Bird blames Hormonal Hannah, but Baggy has stopped counting, as if you hadn't guessed that baggees!
Weight in her terrifying naked state (Stones and pounds): It is what it is!
Overall day:  😊

What a glorious summer day! Best remember it - they don't happen often in England. Number one furry was up early this morning (7.00am), which is much more like him, so Baggy is optimistic that he's finally on the mend! Baggy on the other hand, despite going to bed early, didn't get up until 10.30, when Calum brought her a cup of tea. She woke up to all her furries which was lovely. Even Minty Mutt was on the bed. When she wandered downstairs, she wondered where Cal was, only to realise he was in the garage, trying to reclaim it once again. This was good for two reasons 1) Baggy's sick of it being a mess and 2) Cal must definitely be feeling better.

Baggy woke up The Domestic Goddess to help him. It was a slow process because neither Cal or Baggy have much strength. It was also a slow process because a lot of the boxes that needed to be sorted out were Baggy's Dad's. There were also all kinds of things squirrelled away by him - old wallpaper, bits of carpet, Baggy's toy sailing yacht, model planes he'd made, tins of nails, tins of screws, tins of nuts-and-bolts etc etc. Baggy fell apart when she untied little bits of string that her Dad had tied round some old carpet. She always misses him, but of course it's Father's Day this weekend and it was on Father's Day (17th June) five years ago, that she found her Dad dead in his house - now her house of course. It's hard for Baggy not to think about it sometimes, but equally, although upsetting, it is quite comforting for Hormonal Hannah to have so many memories of him around her all the time. Creative Clara very carefully retied the reef knots in the old string and shed a few tears, while telling her Dad that she missed him.

The Domestic Goddess kept Cal and Baggy supplied with drinks, but when she went to make lunch she realised that she was out of milk and had no bread. Baggy took her to the village farm shop, Suffolk-style to get some, (and cake).

It's a bit hazardous frankly, possibly as much for the locals as for Baggy, as she meanders across the road every time she tries to signal, or look over her shoulder, but she got there and back in one piece!

Lunch made and consumed, Baggy put a couple of the chairs from the garage together - both sun loungers. Of course she had to try them out. Big mistake as Hannah immediately started to nod off.

But by this evening some progress had been made. They were just packing things back up for the evening when Furry Mama noticed that Bracket-kat had caught something. She went to investigate, another shrew, another mole, another slow worm, another baby bird? No, this time it was a baby mouse. A teeny-weeny little new born mouse whose eyes weren't even open. Furry Mama was very upset. She persuaded the cats to go in and tried to leave the baby near where she'd found him, but it was very obvious he wouldn't have a hope. He is currently in a margarine tub, snuggled up in a catnip "mouse" being fed a.k.a. half-drowned with cat milk that Furry Mama is attempting to get in his little mouth, every two hours. Four hours later he's still alive, so Furry Mama is perservering. It's going to be a very long night.......................

Grotty got a look in today.

Note to readers (my lovely Baggees): For the avoidance of any doubt - every character in this blog is me!!! No Baggy was harmed in its writing.

Baggy's daily state!
Depression (Black = really bad/Grey = not great/Blue = okay/Yellow = sunny day): Grey.
Anxiety (From 1 = barely any to 10 = gibbering wreck standard): 5.
Tears: No.
Pancakes (Yes/No): 😞.
Syns (Baggy is allowed 8-15): No clue!
Weight in her terrifying naked state (Stones and pounds): Disaster!
Overall day:   😛

Clever Bird is getting as worried about number one furry, as Furry Mama and Freda Fretter are. The man is not well. Every time he thinks that he's okay and decides to do something, he ends up getting dizzy and not able to draw breath.  He didn't even get up until nearly eleven this morning, which is not like him at all. Baggy is very glad that he has to go back to the Doctor's on Friday. She has decided that if he just says, "Oh yes, I'm feeling much better", she will be leaping in like an interfering wife and explain that, "Yes, he is feeling better, but far from okay". Men!

By the time Furry Mama had walked Minty Mutt (on her own, as Cal wasn't up to it), the morning had pretty much gone. Clever Bird phoned the solicitor (again), left another message for her to call Baggy - she didn't. Then a friend turned up for tea and a chat. When he left, Calum said they needed to pop into town. He was right. Picture this baggees, well not too vividly, just vaguely, Baggy sitting on the loo. Then Baggy trying to get off the loo, only to realise that the toilet seat had nipped her bum - or more accurately, it had Baggy's skin in it and it wasn't letting go! Baggy could not stand up. All Calum could do when she yelled him, was laugh. It's only a tiny crack, but a new loo seat was definitely required.

Loo seat bought, Grotty Groom finally got her way over Hormonal Hannah, and Baggy took her to see Wessles! Yay! They were as usual, out munching grass in the sunshine. Grotty grabbed her grooming kit and headed to Wesley' paddock. It's a Catch-22 really. Grotty misses Wesley like mad. She adores that horse and hates it when she doesn't see him, but Hormonal Hannah makes her avoid going. Why? Even Clever Bird can't work that out, but probably because she feels guilty that she's not riding him, schooling and hacking him, so she thinks it's better not to go at all. Crazy. To be fair, Baggy's gang have been so stupid busy that there haven't been that many chances to go. But never mind, Grotty went today. The fact is that Wesley needs to see Grotty as much as she needs to see him, so Hormonal Hannah needs to back off!

Grotty spent over an hour grooming Wes in his paddock. It took well over twenty minutes to get the tangle of all tangles out of his mane where he's been rubbing his neck, but she managed it eventually and put some plaits back in for him. He enjoyed a good scratch and the mint treats that Grotty had. By the time she'd finished, even Hannah was feeling good. Hold that thought Hannah!

Grotty has to spend more time with the lad, not just for his and her sakes, but for Hannah's sake as well. Baggy always, always feels better when she's spent time with her horse. She honestly believes that Wes feels better too. Now that the holiday cottage is pretty much sorted out, perhaps she'll be able to get back to spending time with him every day.

Calum did explain to Wesley that we hadn't been over because we were trying to earn money to keep him and Joey well and safe - he seemed to understand.

He was certainly happy to spend some time with Cal and Grotty.

They left the boys munching and headed for home feeling much better.

Well, at least Baggy was calmer, poor Calum was exhausted again. Early night needed, but Baggy is happy........