A crossroads

I'm at a mini crossroad today. I started preparing for this change on the weekend and tomorrow I dive right in. From tomorrow, five days a week until early next year, I'll be writing my book. The two days I don't write I'll be at my voluntary job. There may be days ahead when I can't manage five days blog writing. My blog will continue, I have no doubt about that, but some days I might be missing. I hope you understand and bear with me. I am very fortunate to have Hanno here to help, we will be working through this change together, and our lives will continue here as normal, just with a bit more tapping away on the keyboard.

Julia asked yesterday about dogs in the garden. Most of you know we have Alice, a beautiful Airedale Terrier. Her aunt Rosie died last August. We have been sharing our home with Rosie and Alice for over 12 years now and I can tell you they've never dug in the garden, never jumped over any fence, never chased the chooks, and for the most part, except that time they ran into the bush and came back covered in black ticks, they've been a joy to have here. I think a lot of behavioural problems come from certain breeds of dog being kept in inappropriate conditions. Some dogs have to run, some have to herd and round up, some have to sit on a lap to watch TV ; - ). When they can't do those things they develop bad habits that are difficult to change. Airedales don't jump fences, they hate jumping, so putting up a little picket fence around our garden was enough to keep them out, we fed them our own homemade dog food and treats which kept them in good health for many years and we spent time with them. I think toys will depend on the type of dog you have, Julia. Some dogs love to catch a ball, some dogs want to go for a walk every day, some like following you around like a shadow.

The beautiful Alice is 12 years old now, she's deaf but still very healthy. She is lost without Rosie and needs to be with us all the time. She follows Hanno around in the yard and sleeps on a soft bed near the kitchen now. She is such a joy, I can't imagine life without her. We have just started to look around for another dog. We've decided to get a Welsh Terrier this time. They look like Airedales but are smaller. Alice is sitting beside me as I type this and every time I turn my head to look at her, she wags her tail. :- )

Some of you may remember that I started knitting a bag sometime last year. Well, that bag turned into something else. I needed the needles for another project so I cast off and looked at what I had for a couple of hours. Then I added a lining and now I have a very serviceable holder for my candles. Please don't ask me for the pattern, it is just something I made up as I went.

I wonder if this has happened to you in the past. The other day, Hanno and I were talking about preparing the garden for the wedding. I said we needed some seating so that the older folk could sit and rest during the ceremony. We talked about bringing a garden bench from the back yard to the front and to provide chairs on the front verandah, but still, we needed more benches right in the garden.

The next day Hanno said he had seen some garden benches out on the road for the hard rubbish pickup. He hooked up the trailer and half an hour later we had two old benches, aching for a repair job. They're sturdy, but need the wooden planks replaced and a paint job. Hanno started that job yesterday. How often have we said we need something, and there it is! Does that happen to you as well?

I want to thank you for the wonderful interaction with my blog, especially over these past few weeks. The warm and tender comments on the blog anniversary, supporting my advertisers, the dish towel and hot pad swap just finished, and your visits here all contribute to the wonderful feeling of friendship and community that has developed. Tomorrow I'll be writing about the batch of soap I made last weekend. If you have any questions, I'll try to answer them. So until then, take care, everyone.