Sunday 24 July 2011

Go jump, get rescued!!

Yesterday I travelled across London to Docklands, where I jumped in the river Thames.... to be rescued by a Newfoundland dog called Beau!!

This was a fundraising event for Guide Dogs but it was a little short of people, so I got a last minute call to go and join in to boost numbers.

Now, I've met a lot of dogs in my time of all shapes and sizes, but I'm sure Beau is the biggest I've ever seen! He weighed a massive13.5 stone, which for my American friends translates as 189lb or 85.7kg. (For comparison, my collie Tarka is 14kg and the average Labrador at work is around 30kg.)

Here's a picture of me with Beau, and some video of the jump.



Wednesday 20 July 2011

Chainmaille

I haven't done any chainmaille for ages! The first attempt I made was a byzantine weave and I blogged about it here. My latest effort is an inverted roundmaille, and looks a bit different from the byzantine. I really like it. I've only made a bracelet though. The trouble is that the silver plated jump rings don't last very well, because as the bracelet rubs against the skin the plate wears away exposing the metal underneath. But, sterling silver is very expensive and I don't really like the other options available. I'm waiting for some info on 'silver filled' wire, which might be a suitable in-between.

Here's the roundmaille bracelet. I found a little 'capricorn' charm (my starsign) which I fell in love with, so added that too. (click on the photo for a bigger version to see more detail.)


Sunday 17 July 2011

Oh, I got behind with blogging again!!

Once again, I've got behind with blogging so this will be a bit of a catch up post.

Steam Rally

I mentioned in my last post that I'd been to a steam rally. Well I've been to two now! The weather was good for both of them, warm, but not too hot and not raining! If you've never been to a steam rally, it's basically a field where people display their old steam traction engines. Most rallys now also have old cars and motorbikes too, and are big events with food areas, markets and craft stalls which makes the rally a whole day out. There is an arena, and the engines and other vehicles are brought in so you can see them working and moving around, then they're parked up so you can get close and chat to the owners.


A traction engine built for the fairground.

Ford Anglia. Not the shape I'm used to seing though!

Traction engines - probably for farm type work


Steam roller

A Red Kite came to visit too!


Running

Running is still going well, although I've been struggling with the heat, and I think in future I'm going to have to be more careful about hydration as I'm sure I had a mild heatstroke/dehydration on Monday. It was still about 24degC when we ran, and when I went to bed I had a massive headache. Then I started feeling sick and ended up being ill. The headache intensified too and was extremely painful and I was just starting to wonder if I should be worried, but after I was ill it started to ease off, and in the end I slept ok and I have  been fine since. It was a lot cooler by Friday's track session but I'm going to have to think more carefully about how to run in the warmer weather.


Jewellery

My friend who does jewellery as a business, has started a jewellery club. We've only had one meeting so far, well the second was yesterday but I didn't go. Anyway, I was doing some wire wrapping and finished off a necklace in lime green which was a present for a friend. Lime green is her favourite colour, I'm not sure what she'll wear it with though!! Something black I expect! I was pleased with the necklace, although the photo isn't great.

I'm also trying to get back into chain maille again and am currently having a try at a round maille. I just wish sterling silver wasn't so expensive, the silver plated rings just don't last and I don't like the aluminium ones.

Work

We've got some big changes coming up at work and have got a meeting on the 28th July to tell us what's happening. That's when I find out if I still have a job or not..... I'm fairly confident that my job will be safe, but I'm not complacent as I have been here before, however I do have a couple of other options to think about if I need to. I also did a fundraising event the other weekend. I ended up getting my picture in the local paper with Tex, a dog I trained and who subsequently retired (very) early! He's now been rehomed with one of our volunteers and does a grand job doing talks and fund raising events.


Me and Tex - scanned from the paper hence poor quality!


Annual leave

I'm currently half way through 2 weeks of annual leave. My plan was to have a really good clear out in the house but I've not even finished the kitchen in the first week!! Still, I have made a start which is more than I thought I would! It's that same old chestnut... lack of motivation!! If shops could sell motivation I'd be their best customer!


Pets

They're all fine, Tarka doesn't like being off work because she gets bored, but other than that she's fine. The cats are fine too, Molly is now off all medication and seems to have finally recovered from the cystitis that caused her so much bother earlier in the year.

So that about brings things up to date, Thanks for reading!

Sunday 3 July 2011

Found it!!!...

I finally found the title box!! It was there all along, just it was attached to something else so it blended in and I didn't see it. Anyway, I think that means that I can finally stop harping on about the changes blogger has made, and get back to blogging properly again!

Today I went to a steam rally with my sister and two nephews. It was a warm day but not too sunny, although I still managed some sunburn - will I ever learn? I'll take the pictures off my camera later and will post some then.

Running is going well, it was very hot on Monday and I struggled, but other than that I've had some good runs this week, Friday at the track was almost fun.... almost!! We did an exercise where we all started and finished together regardless of the speed you run. As much as I honestly don't mind being the slowest on the track and everyone is very supportive of me, it's nice just once in a while to not be the last one finishing. And, I even got a compliment which made me smile for quite a while.

Yesterday I went to Costco with my Brother and Sis-in-Law. I bought loads of fruit and some couscous for my lunches this week, I think I'm going to be 'all fruited out' by Friday! I got a large watermelon which I have made a good start on already.... it's lovely!


On Thursday I went to visit the agility club I used to train with. I chose this week because it was the summer club internal competition which meant that people would have time to stop and chat between their runs, rather than trying to chat to people on another night when they were in class. It was nice to see everyone again, but it just re-inforced in my mind that I don't miss agility. Even if I got another dog I don't know if I'd go back to it. I find that very strange since it's been a big part of my life for 15 years!

So, one week ends and another begins, I'm hoping this week flies by though as I'm then on holiday for 2 weeks!!