So what happened to January? And for that matter February too? Notes from a failed greenie..

Trouble? Me?

Firstly, apologies for being somewhat absent in the blogosphere for the first two months. In January, I talked about my intention to try and reduce our food waste. Then it all went quiet... So how did it go?

Well the intention was there. I went through my cupboard and made lists of things that needed eating up. I cleaned out the fridge and defrosted the freezer. I made soup with left overs. I organised my friend to come and put bait down for the rat that had invaded the compost heap. Then, well, stuff sort of happened. 

The kids left the freezer door open and the freezer frosted up again. Daughter got stressed with college and needed lots of t.l.c. We thought we'd got rid of the rat, so we dug out the remains of the compost heap onto the veggie patch and the roses, but then the puppy managed to find some uneaten bait and thought she'd eat it instead. We had another expensive trip to the vet. (They made her throw up and eat charcoal biscuits and she was fine.) I got fed up with being overwhelmed with washing and started using the tumble dryer, which I hadn't for years.The rabbit got sick. More trips to the vet. The rabbit got worse. Another expensive trip to the vet to dispatch the rabbit to bunny heaven. Stressed out daughter got even more upset.

If trying to live a greener life is a game of snakes and ladders, I think I've slid down more snakes in the last two months than ladders that I climbed last year. So my resolve for March is to get back on those ladders, and to start blogging again.

On the other hand, it has been a good year so far for the vet...

Decorations without buying for Christmas

We've been a bit late with putting up our Christmas decorations this year, but with two days to go, we've finally got it sorted. Normally we love having a real Christmas tree, but I had a problem with that for two reasons. The first is that I would have to buy it and I can't really claim that it's a necessity, but in any case the second reason is that I think the Puppy would try to eat it! So instead of a real tree, we've dusted off an artificial one and put it in the dining room, where the Puppy is only allowed under supervision. But that left the problem of what to put in the sitting room? We had some sprayed silver twigs, but needed something a bit bigger, so I went into the garden to seek inspiration, and there I struck gold. We have two beautiful dogwood bushes with lovely red stems, so I cut half a dozen stems, popped them in a large gold pot on a small table, added fairy lights and decorations, and hey presto - we have a stylish (sort of) Christmas tree that's free, and out of Puppy reach!

Wishing you all a Happy Christmas!

Three good things

Following on from yesterday's blog.

Three good things that I enjoyed yesterday:

Running with and talking to a friend.

Meeting with my book group.

Cuddling the Puppy in the middle of the night. I woke up and had problems going back to sleep, so ended up going downstairs to get a drink and had a cuddle with the puppy. She made me feel much better!


Three good things that happened today:

I met a friend's new puppy. An eight week old Springer spaniel. So sweet! And so tiny compared my puppy who seems enormous now.

Watching our puppy chasing leaves in the wind when I walked her this afternoon.

Having a long talk about serious stuff with my daughter.

Life lessons from a puppy - Don't put off till tomorrow...

It was a grey day yesterday. 

I intended to walk the Puppy round the block before I went out to Oxfam, but I ran out of time. So I gave her a quick chase round the garden and thought I'd do it later.When I got back from Oxfam it was raining. The Puppy doesn't like the rain. I spent 10 minutes cajoling her to walk about 5 yards down the road and then gave up. 

'Fine!' I said. 'You don't like walking in the rain, I'm not enjoying it either, we'll go home.'

Later, when the rain eventually eased, it was dark, and then I realised it was bonfire night. We played with the puppy inside, but she didn't get out for a walk. No problem I thought.

Until this morning.  

This morning was punctuated by  shouts of 'NO!' from various members of the family as Mad Puppy tore round the house, jumping up, playing tug of war with everyone's clothing and generally being annoying. I'm sure I heard the Husband threatening to send her back, but I think we'll let that pass under the circumstances...

I got dressed as quick as I could and took her out for a long dog walk with plenty of running around in the park. We got out first thing before it was too rainy, but the rain came on and we came back wet and bedraggled, but with waggy tails. 

So today's life lesson from a puppy - don't put off exercising till tomorrow when you really should do it today.

Life lessons from a puppy - you must be patient!

Today I was thinking about what I have learnt from my puppy, and definitely the first thing is the need to have patience with her.

Today I am feeling frustrated because it appears that at the moment, I have a puppy that doesn't much like walking! The first time I took her out, it took us 25 minutes to cover a couple of hundred yards. Everything had to be sniffed and examined, looked at and investigated. I thought that was to be expected on the first walk, but a week later and after several trips out to various places, it is still much the same. 

This morning we spent fifteen minutes and got about a hundred yards, with her being carried for part of it as I felt so frustrated. When we turned round to come home however, she scampered along quite nicely, so we have both come home to think this thing through.

The fact that she is happier to come home rather than walk out makes me think she is still just a bit nervous of the outside world. I guess I just need to persevere with short walks and taking her out often and I will build up her confidence.

So why did I feel so frustrated this morning? In the first couple of weeks I mopped up wees and poos in the house with plenty of patience. Now that she is making good progress towards being house trained, she is trying our patience by chewing everything she can get her paws on. So I am happily prying her jaws open several times a day to remove some small plastic object which she has somehow managed to get hold of.  That is a little frustrating, but hey, she's teething, we can deal with it. So why do I feel so frustrated with the fact that she won't just come out the door and walk?

It is of course, because of my expectations. One of the main reasons that I wanted a dog was because I love walking. Walking is like meditation to me, I love being outside absorbing the sights and sounds of nature around me. I love the rhythm of movement, letting my thoughts flow and eddy around me. It makes me feel really good.

So I wanted a walking buddy. Someone who can come with me to enjoy the great outdoors, or even just meandering through the town, people watching as we go. When I was younger, my grandfather looked after a golden labrador called Clare, and we used to roam around the fields near my grandparents' house together. When I daydream about the happiest parts of my childhood, I am sitting on a bank in a field in the Cotswolds in the sun watching the clouds drift by. And often, leaning against me is the heavy bulk of Clare, smelling a bit doggy and panting slightly as we watch the clouds together.

So, back to today and to a little dog that is now crashed out by my feet as I type. She is of course a small puppy. We aren't quite ready for big adventures just yet, but we will get there. I just need to have a little more patience.

The ultimate decluttering device - get a puppy.

The ultimate declutterer?

I guess I should put in a disclaimer here. In no way am I advocating an irresponsible decision to get a dog on a whim, but rather reflecting on how the decluttering is going so far.  I have come to the realisation that one of the best motivators for tidying up in our household has been puppy ownership!

Three weeks ago, we acquired a new 10 week old Cockapoo puppy. We had been considering getting a dog for quite a while, and having investigated different dog breeds, we had concluded that the family friendly gentle nature of a Cockapoo would suit us. Plus, we hoped she wouldn't try and eat the rabbit like a terrier would.

Having decided on a dog a while ago and having researched the breed, the next question was timing. We had a holiday planned in the summer, so I figured I could start looking  as soon as we returned. A few days after we got back, I started the puppy hunt on Pets4homes, and found a gorgeous looking litter of black cockapoos about an hours drive from us. After exchanging emails and phone calls with the breeder, during which time we both decided the other sounded a responsible adult with high standards of puppy welfare, we eventually met and chose our puppy. Suddenly, after months of thinking about it and planning, we were about to become proud new puppy parents!

Great excitement, followed by the realisation that we needed to puppy proof our house. The day before we got her I found the previously lacking motivation to sort out the boot room at the back of the house. I both tidied and reorganised things so I could move the cat's food and bed up onto the counter in the utility to give her a safe haven out of the puppy's reach. In the rest of the house I have had to ensure that nothing is left on the floor or within easy reach. My pile of clothes that accumulates on a chair beside my bed is now scooped up on a regular basis and tidied away in case she gets hold of something precious. I once lived with a puppy that converted one of my handbags into a clutch bag, so I am taking no chances. The puppy was fairly quiet for the first few days, but now she has been with us for 3 weeks and well settled in she is trying to chew everything.  I spend my days roaming the house with eagle eye trying to detect small tasty objects before she does, and wrestling them out a mouth full of needle sharp teeth when she gets there first.

 The most exciting moment came after we had her a couple of days and my teenage daughter announced that she was going to tidy her room so that the puppy could come in to play. The carpet, once lost to view under a layer of teenage detritus was excavated and even hoovered. So in a few days our bouncy small bundle of fur achieved more than years of effort by a nagging mother.

So a puppy as a decluttering tool? Has its benefits - but she's not completely housetrained yet, so I think on balance she may create more chaos than we have achieved by tidying up. But our home is a bit tidier and more organised, and certainly a lot more fun!