Pup killed laptop

coffee and toast

I had a skiing one commissioned for my other half. We love it, the funny thing is that Adam captured exactly how we ski in the poster.

I suspect there’ll be another commission at some point……. worth every penny

I have a kenwood Kmix and use it almost every week. For kneading bread I only have it on Speed 1. Also for great for the other baked products such as brownies. I think it’s great and my other half doesn’t regret buying it for me as a present as it most definitely used.

I also looked at Hobart and Ankarsrum but we couldn’t find one for a good price

Puppy has diarrhoea

See my earlier post, Jester was very much an outdoor cat and it would have been a disaster keeping him inside. That fact really made us decide on Option 1.

The outcome will be the same, the difference is the length of time. I would rather have a happier cat for a shorter time than a miserable cat for longer.

Tough decision to make but I would go for option 1

I still miss the Fat Boy – it was 5 years ago on 17th May

Have just done this with our second guide dog puppy who is now 13 weeks old. Classic FM helped him settle but that had been played to him at the breeding centre. He whined and grizzled for 5-10 mins then settled until his bladder woke him up 3-4am. Keep interaction at this time to an absolute minimum and pop him straight back in the crate with the music on and try to go back to sleep. It was a really tough first 2 weeks but his bladder capacity has grown and we can get to at least 6 am most mornings now.

It can help to put a few bits of kibble in his crate at bedtime and also feeding him in there will help him associate it with good things.

I wouldn’t let him have free roam personally, you’ll probably find accidents anywhere and everywhere.

How’s @Muke dog ?

Mason bit through my mobile phone yesterday and has killed it :(

Jester had cancer. The vet was able to biopsy it and said it would be surgery followed by chemo and being an indoor whilst that was going on. It was then an easy decision as he hated being kept indoors and the surgery and chemo weren’t curative. We’d have been doing it for us and not for him.

In the end, from being told there’s a lump and it’s cancer to the final visit was 11 days and we probably hung on too long with that.

It was heartbreaking and I’m filling up now remembering it (5 years ago).

Memrise

fingers crossed @Muke

Hugs from Mason (our guide dog Golden Retriever x German Shepherd puppy)

@Muke

Tell us more

Has to be operated on fairly quickly as it shortens rapidly and then the surgeon cannot reattach it. Generally outcomes are very good but do not push it too hard, too fast. You will be given strict instructions post op – follow them to the letter.

Check out shoulderdoc.co.uk for the post op protocol for distal biceps repair. It is a great resource and will answer a lot of your questions

counting down days

rain grey cold

Thanks for all the helpful replies, definitely going to try language transfer.
I need to get over my dislike of how I sound when I try to speak french but as everyone has reiterated ……it takes time and practice, practice and practice

We’re raising the not so little Herbert – a gorgeous german shepherd.

He’s going to break our hearts when he goes for the next stage of training in 3 months or so but hopefully he’ll make the grade and give a blind person their independence.

Guide dogs have been amazing to work with and we will raise another puppy for them (if they want us to)

another vote for the Hairy Bikers, certainly helped when my other 1/2 did the 5:2 diet

@cchris2lou
If you need/want a lesson in Alpe D’Huez then I would recommend an English guy who works for ESF called Cookie.

He is one of the best (top 3) instructors I have ever had ! We had a private lesson with him, 3 people with very different abilities and all of us had a great lesson, had individual things to work on and he was superb at spotting things to improve.

I cannot recommend him enough !

@boxelder
We’ve been to Sansicario but it was about 18 years ago. At the time it had 1 hotel, 1 restaurant and 1 bar. We had booked for Sestiere but got bumped to Sansicario due to overbooking 3 days before we were due to leave.
I think we saw 1 piste marker all week but I do remember some lovely treelined skiing.
I am sure the place has improved since we were there but it was no sestiere and that made for a bunch of grumpy ski holidaymakers

Thanks Dozofoz, friends who are out in Samoens have just bailed and gone to Chamonix for the final few days of their trip.
We’ll be taking hiking gear out at this rate

Fingers crossed for @tuboflard and @nbt
Our new plans may fall through if work insist I take the leave as planned but hopefully they will be understanding about it.

Well, the New Year did not get off to the expected start. Flaine and the Grand Massif have taken the unprecendent action of closing the resort to day tickets until 6th Jan then they are going to review it on a day by day basis. As we were due to go out on 7th Jan and there is no snow forecast this week we’ve moved the Chunnel booking and I will try and hand back the week of leave.
Luckily we think we’ve managed to get the accommodation for the start of March so we’ll try again then.

Gutted

@thegeneralist
He thinks the scarpas are 29.5 but will check to make sure. Both are fairly narrow and both are moldable.
Mine ski boots on the other hand are 21.5. Try finding them in ski shops :(

Last night was jambalaya and stollen for pud
Selection of beers from Tiny rebel and vocation

Tonight vegan cottage pie (Nick Knowles recipe – lovely)
Beers – Vocation, Siren and home brew

@thegeneralist – what size are you?
We have 2 pairs of lightly used touring boots – Scarpa Freedom and Technica cochise being the other
…..

@aberdeenlune
My tipple of choice for livening up mince pies is Sloe Gin…..

Skiing as a single is hideously expensive. The last time I did it I got a last minute place with a Skivolution (company in Courchevel run by Dave Beatty) at a reduced rate. If you say you are prepared to share the room then you don’t pay the supplement. If there is another single, same sex traveller then you’ll share with a stranger and if not then you get the room to yourself. The lessons were included in the cost of the chalet so I had people to ski with. Very fortunate as the group took me under their wing and I skied with them outside of the lessons too. It was a great trip.
You could try club med ….

I ski on the female version of the Nordica enforcer and it is a very capable ski for all terrain and most conditions (mine is 93 I think under foot so the middle variant). It most definitely would not suit a beginner but if you are a bit heavier/stronger/experienced then it is great.
Elan ripstick is something to consider too, its a bit softer than the enforcer. For powder delight I tried rossignol sky 7 – they were ridiculously good in soft stuff to the point where I thought I was Candide’s older sister. Awful on piste, especially in hard conditions.
I love the look of black crows and a friend has just bought a pair, she’s very happy.
My other half skis Blizzard Brahmas – he’s getting on well with them (they are a bit less stiff than his previous nordica NRGY).
So many to choose from ….so little time to ski

We’ve been changing our wheels in winter for years now. Had steel wheels and winter tyres for the subaru and now have a spare wheel set and winter tyres for the Ateca. No one drove up the hill we live on last Monday and 2 cars had been abandoned at the bottom of it on Monday morning,

We keep an eye on the temperature and make a decision which weekend in December to change them. As with others, we have got better and better at making the change. They are cleaned up, treads checked and stored in the garage in between. Currently have dunlop winter sports and if that is overkill living in Essex then I will add that we drive to the French Alps every year for skiing.

It does seem a faff until there is bad weather then you realise just what a game changer they are.
The tyres stored in the garage seem to have no issues other than perhaps a slight loss of tyre pressure, no problems with the tyre perishing

Stuffed turkey thighs, roast potatoes and parsnips, carrots, broccoli and sprouts with pancetta
Pudding is home made stollen

Dog walk 6am

Saw no one

About 6cm in Brentwood – the town will now shut down

No one seems able to drive in the snow here

I used Paul Hollywood’s recipe as a starter but soaked the fruit in rum, you will need more flour if you do this. Made it with lidl’s mixed cranberries and golden raisins. Spices wise I went for mixed spice, cloves, cardamon and a dash of cinnamon
I baked it 10 degrees less than he said with a sheet of tinfoil over it for 40 mins then 20 mins with the tin foil off otherwise it is too dark for me.
Be patient with proving it, it takes ages

Jambalaya followed by the last of my home made stollen of the season.

Had to reassure my other half that I will make another before Christmas – there’s 1/2 pack of marzipan to use up ;)

Jealous of Fasthaggis

It’s cold out

I did it for my Fad’s estate – it wasn’t that difficult but equally the ta threshold was not exceeded.
I would do it again, the probate office were really helpful

I “enhance” shop brought mince meat with sloe gin – seems to get positive feedback (they all get eaten)

Stollen is getting made tomorrow – fingers crossed for a good one

Mini pork pies are always a little disappointing with too much pastry and not enough filling.

My homemade apple chutney has been a revelation when paired with a regular sized pork pie. Still have 2 full jars left so it may last until Christmas

I have mons Royale (lovely), norrona (also lovely), ortovox (equally lovely) and falke (just not quite as lovely). Top tip for Norrona is to sign up to their outlet – just expensive rather than 2nd mortgage territory.

I have a bella tech mons royale that has a perforated back which is just fantastic touring/walking with a rucksack. The other mons royales tops are a more relaxed fit but the bella tech is more of an athletic fit.

Try absolute snow for some Black Friday action