new puppies

Bad blogger. Bad, bad blogger! What can I say? I was never very good at keeping a diary.

However, I wanted to stop by to tell you about Neka's new puppies. Want to see them and chart their progress? Go here

Yeah, I'll probably start walking again soon & when I do you'll be the first to know. Promise.

a sailing tale

Happy Litha. I'm celebrating with a walk. Well, a little 2.5-miler anyway.

I haven't been blogging so much myself lately (oh, did you notice?) but I have been checking in on what's been going on elsewhere. One of my favorite blogs is The Adventure Blog - Adventure Junkie never seems to miss a great story and this is not my first reference to one of them.

Well, they've done it again. They have this knack of turning up things that give me a yearning I can hardly name. This one about an American estate agent who sailed solo around the world for years on end brought tears to my eyes. Because of the danger? The people and places? The sunrises and sunsets? The boat and water? No, no, no to all of those - and yes to them all as well. Can I sail? Nope. Would I like to be able to sail? Hell, yes. I can so see myself on the Gypsy Soul sailing around the world from one adventure to the next. If my brother is reading this, I bet this speaks to him as well.

Although I could happily do without the shark bite and the machete-wielding maniac. Obviously.

more puppies & puppies no more

Very happy birthday wishes to Neka's puppies who are one year old today. I remember the terror and worry of that night. Not knowing if everything would be ok, whether Neka would know what to do, whether all the puppies would survive, whether my sofa would survive after Neka decided to make a nest of the cushion stuffing.

The sofa didn't survive, but the puppies all did and now I'm hoping Neka is going to produce another healthy brood in two months or so. Ideally she will have 4 or 5, which is a much more manageable number than the 7 she had last time. I'm very fussy about the future homes of the pups as well, and it's easier to find 4 great families than 7. I was so fortunate to find wonderful homes for the last litter, I don't want to push my luck. There is every chance I could inadvertently end up doubling the number of dogs in my pack. I would rather keep too many (and give myself an impossible life in the process!) rather than let a puppy go to a home I wasn't 100% happy with. But I think there are some lovely people holding their breath for good news about this pregnancy.

And in the news today... I've heard of magic mushrooms, but killer fungus? Who knew gardening could be fatal?

on the mend?

Dare I say I think my knee is on the mend. I've been on a couple of short walks and survived a couple of long dog shows and ... so far so good. Phew, it's a relief. So, shall I build back up carefully and slowly or jump right in with a 5-miler? Just kidding!

I'm wondering how it will go now after all this time. Will it be like starting over? The helpful callus that formed on the site of my former blister has now disappeared again. *sigh* Someone please tell me this doesn't mean I'm starting from scratch with that blister thing. I will not walk without good socks. I will not walk without good socks. I will not walk without good socks. I will not... you get the idea.

So while Mr J is away for a couple of days and getting the dogs exercised is all down to me, I think I'll take it quite slow and one at a time. I'm pretty sure a large part of my problem was one particular Lapphund's naughty habit of veering off to the side taking my shoulder practically out of it's socket as he went. That could account for a twisted knee, I'm guessing.

nothing whatsoever to do with walking

So, since you're still around and reading my little blog that I've been neglecting so heinously, go here and check out my friend Jas who has made it to the final of Guitar Idol.

It's too late to influence the outcome of the competition now, as it's all down to the judges on Saturday at the London International Music Show. But we're rooting for him and hoping for the best. He really deserves to win and although it won't be the first such accolade he has won, the judges won't find another guitarist with such a winning combination of talent, good looks and downright nice-ness. Or is that being too twee? Perish the thought I should damn the poor guy with un-cool-ness. Because he's cool. I may not be, but he certainly is. Don't just take my word for it, see for yourself.

Go Jas!

and suddenly it's june

I'm blue. Much of the time between my last post and now I have spent hobbling with a stick. For the first 2 weeks, I couldn't do much more than get from house to car to work and back. Things have improved but I've only been on 2 very short dog walks in all that time.

And, may I say, my "stick" is not even a stick, not remotely like a cane, even. It is the handle from my trolley/grooming table that I take to dog shows. Mr J very cleverly and helpfully produced it for me to support my poor walking efforts. It's approximately the right height and has been extremely useful.

But when, oh when will I be able to walk normally again? And will I ever go stomping all over the countryside again?

A similar thing happened a couple of years ago, but with my wrist. It suddenly became practically useless for no apparent reason (ok, perhaps the reason was I always used that hand to try to control my then-uncontrollable young Finnish Lapphund). Agony if I so much as tried to lift a plate in that hand. It took months for me to get over that damn non-injury and even now it's a little weaker than my other wrist and I sometimes get twinges. So I worry that I may never properly recover from this knee thing. After all, I was able to strap up my wrist and pretty much stop using it until it got better. But I can't exactly stop using my leg.

So, sorry for disappearing. And, I have to say, I'm touched that you've been reading - I had no idea! Thanks.

grindstone

This morning I got back to the walking plan after trading my boots for secateurs these sunny, summery days. Only a month ago I was going out at 6am and there was still frost on the grass where the sun hadn't yet reached. Now I'm out in shorts and sleeveless t-shirt, which is chilly at first but as soon as the sun peeks up over the ridge, it's plenty.

Just about as soon as I set out today, though, I managed to hurt my knee. I have no idea how it happened. I don't remember jarring it or twisting or moving awkwardly at all. But just going along normally and something just went ping right behind my kneecap. Ouch. I guess it will be a ligament or tendon or some other such bit of soft tissue that resides in joints. I have iffy joints from time to time, so I figured I could walk the problem off and kept going, keeping my knee bent for support. 4 or 5 more times on the walk I got another increasingly intense twinge, the worst of which happened when I was a good 2 miles from home, so I changed my plan and limped back the shortcut home.

On the bright side, I did find a very good forked stick that was not only useful for beating back nettles on the overgrown paths, but will also be excellent for propping up my fuchsia.

I seem to have made a full recovery now, luckily, so hopefully it's back to business tomorrow. My joints are not great at the best of times, it's true. I suppose I should be getting more cod liver oil. Ugh. Do you suppose poached salmon would do?

Distance - 4.25 miles
Time - 2 hrs
Dog(s) - Keskiyo
Weather - clear
Could I do another 5? - no