Ylva's crafty corner

I have not really done any stitching for weeks now, which is not really strange as Darwin has been really ill. Unfortunately we had to put him to sleep, which we did on Wednesday, 28th February. He died at 3.30pm, and we are devastated. It will be sad to start the New Year without our podgy baby, but as he got so very sick so very quickly, there was nothing we could have done sooner or differently. It was his time, and we have to think that he has gone to a better place. Hubby is doing dinner at the moment, and he came in to me crying as he was chopping meat and that would normally bring Darwin to his feet begging for treats. I have sat sometimes and suddenly just started crying...it is really difficult. We are fortunate that we have baby Pearl and Tara to comfort us. At the moment I have Pearl on my right cuddling...she is adamant to have me stroke her neck, so she looks at me or pushes my hand to make sure she gets her way...Tara is lying beneath the sofa, having finally given up...

So...tonight just about 6.30pm I finished the second (and last for the moment) model stitch for Vicki @ India Grace Designs. I took a 2week(ish) break after having shoulder problems and after Darwin got sick, and only picked it up again on Friday, so I am quite pleased I finished as quickly as I did:) When it comes to Darwin, he is still with us, but is getting weaker day by day. He is not eating anything, and he is now finding it difficult to jump up on the sofa and bed, so we help him up so he does not have to struggle. We want to let him live out his days at home if we can, so we are taking one day at a time keeping an eye on him for any signs of distress. He went into the kitchen this afternoon and had a conversation with Sabeel...normally this would mean that he wants food, but now I think it is more habitual than anything else as he just turns his head away when we put food in front of him. The plan for Christmas was to start packing everything we are not using, so we are p...

Darwin started feeling poorly about two weeks ago, but up until last Friday he was eating, even though he only wanted treats and no regular food. From Friday last week I noticed that he did not eat at all, and he did not even eat any treats. On Monday last week I took him to the vet who checked him out and did some blood tests. They came back normal, apart from some inflammatory signs, so he got an anti-inflammatory shot and I took him back home. The vet said to give him a week to get better. They did weigh him and he was only 5.5kilos. At the last weigh-in in July he was 7.2kilos. That is a lot of loss in a very short period, as he was fine until around 2weeks ago. We took him home, and on the Tuesday he did eat a little bit, and he did have a few bits of soft foods on the Wednesday, but then he was back to not eating. I thought it could possibly be something in his mouth as he did try to eat but food just wound not stay in his mouth. We tried to give him some boiled white fish but...

So, just as I thought it could not get worse...it did... Last night hubby got home just before 6pm, and started on dinner. about 6.20pm I was in the livingroom, the door to the kitchen was closed and hubby had the window open for ventilation...all of a sudden the wind started howling through the chimney and the kitchen door opened...the wind came from nowhere and was so strong it was scary. We heard what sounded like the kitchen roof shaking and rattling, but there was no sign of anything loose, and today there was still nothing wrong. We have seen pictures of so many effects of the storm from around Orkney and around Scotland. Unbelievable... Hubby had to take the bus to work this morning as I did not want to risk getting stuck for hours on the other side of the barriers if they were closed at high tide as I would have had to drive home exactly at high tide...heard afterwards that the barriers had been open, but I still felt glad I stayed home. With my luck they would have closed....

 This was yesterday morning, and as you can see it was low tide and you can see the pier properly:)  This was yesterday afternoon's wind...I was trying to take a picture of the waves reaching my shoes, but was not successful...either the froth (you know what I mean) stopped too far away, or I had to jump backwards...lol  Just look at miss ruffle...how the wind is blowing her fur around...lol (she is eating a carrot...)  So...I was planning on starting on Vicki's modelstitch as you can see on the table, but can't do that without the laptop as the chart and instructions are on it...and there is no space for a laptop when you have a cat on your lap...and I could not put the laptop on the sofa next to me as Tara was flat out on it...so I just sat there watching Transformers...but see below how cumfy Pearl is...her chin on my knee and her legs stretched out to either side of my leg...lol  This morning came with a pretty sky.  I just had to...

So...not easy to sleep last night as the wind was howling through the chimney in the bedroom. Got up this morning and took some pictures, as the tide was high and it is the first time I have seen waves spraying over the road in between the loch and the sea down from us. Not the best pictures, but they do show some spray and waves, and they also show how wet the road was. Now the tide is going out so it is not as bad. Hubby is just getting ready to give Tara a quick walk. She has been having a rest (unwanted) this weekend because of the weather...  I know the windows are a bit grotty, but you can see how wet the road is and how high up the water is.    Just see how the waves come up to the road and lashes over. I have never seen it coming that high up before. I am glad we are at home and not trying to go anywhere in this weather...apart from possibly the shop here in the village. Hubby needs potatoes so I may brave the weather only for that... I am at the...

Ok, it is a needle roll and not a hot dog, but it is soooo slim as I did not read the instructions properly...lol I still like it...it is really pretty:) And I have to end with a pic of Tara with her head squashed up against hubby's foot as he is cuddling up to me watching Ice Road Truckers...lol. She needs to be with us...