New Years Resolutions

The tradition of the New Year's Resolutions goes all the way back to 153 B.C. Janus, a mythical king of early Rome was placed at the head of the calendar. With two faces, Janus could look back to the past and forward to the future. Janus became the ancient symbol for resolutions and many Romans looked for forgiveness from their enemies and also exchanged gifts before the beginning of each year.

As with the Romans in our modern society New Year's Eve has always been a time for looking back to the past, and more importantly, forward to the coming year. It's a time to reflect on the changes we want (or need) to make and resolve to follow through on those changes. There are lots of common ones, to lose weight and get fit, spend more time with family and fiends, to quit smoking or drink less. Some people aim to organise finances and get out of debt others want to help others and get more out of life.

I plan to join a club and take up one or two new hobbies. Out here in the middle of nowhere there is not much to do, and I need to make some new friends as the old ones are so far away. (boy do I miss them all) Something I have recently tried and loved was shooting, Dave enjoys it too so we hope to join a gun club and get licensed together.

My official new year resolution is to make more of an effort with myself. Those who know me will know that I love fashion and clothes and often over dress for special events or nights out. In contrast most of the rest of the time I lounge about in the same old jeans with colour vest tops and plain V-neck jumpers, my hair is usually in a low ponytail and I wear minimum, if any, make up. I feel I'm lacking in variety and want to bring some of that beauty and glamour I love so much into my daily life.

Do you have any New Years Resolutions, if so what are they?

Bah Humbug

What did Santa bring you? We were very lucky, with a tumble dryer, a new car and I got a stunning designer cocktail dress. Despite this Dave and I have both felt that Christmas cheer this year seems a bit distant. We can't quite get that festive feeling. It might be because we are not enjoying Christmas with friends and family, because we are in a new house that doesn't quite feel like home yet or maybe because it has come so quickly after our wedding and honeymoon that we have had not time to build up excitement.

What ever the reason we do not have as much Christmas Spirit as there was before. The 25th felt like any other day really, we lounged around, watched TV, a couple of movies and played computer games. Boxing day was much better, we went to Caver Barracks to shoot clay pigeons on the old air field. It was great fun and definitely something I would like to do again : ) We have had a great week but not necessarially because it is Christmas.

I look forward to the weekend too, seeing family and going out for my brothers 21st birthday which is going to be a pretty big deal. Some of my friends have also had changes in their lives late this year, did any of you feel less than Christmassy this time round? Or is it just because as we get older Christmas is losing some of its magic? (which I personally do not believe!)

Next year wont be much different for me either cause Dave will probably be out on tour so I'll be lonesome. I'm still looking forward to a trip away when he does go though, probably Australia and New Zealand so its not all bad : )

Annie

I have learnt a valuable lesson…never trust any of your most prized possessions with a stranger. It sounds obvious doesn't it? But I did it, and now regret it. About 6 months ago in passing I mentioned to Dave that we should look out for an airtight storage box for my bear, Annie. I thought it would not be "becoming" for the bear I have had since a baby to share our marital bed, and she has been on her last legs for a few years, I thought it was time for retirement. He was shocked and suggested instead at getting her fixed up. I knew what I wanted – patch work only with some stuffing as needed. I wanted her to be as much the same as she had the past 15 years, bald, smelly and perfect. I researched a lot of toy restorers and found several "bear hospitals" I found a few people who took personification too far, and others who were far too mechanical and indifferent. I did find one who was sensible but considerate and after a lot of email discussion I sent Annie of for a quote. The restorer said he could patch her up and understood the need for maintaining her character. I knew that once I took the risk she would never be the same again. He offered a reasonable quote and I was excited but had to wait 6 weeks before he started work on her. It took a week to complete the work and he sent her back to me. He sent an email with a photo saying he was "unable to removed the glue from her eyes" which was worrying since I did not want this fixed and had not asked for it. When I opened the box I was horrified. She was stiff and well padded, she had long mohair around her neck, which did not match her 20 year old felted and bald fur. He had cut circles of new fur round her eyes and she looked like a silly panda. Worst of all she smelt like new plastic; Tragic! After reading the past emails I found where he wrote "we never replace old fur only cover it" so I unpicked the patches round her eyes, with relief to find she was the same old Annie underneath. I have also unpicked a few stitches and pulled out some of the excess stuffing, she is still padded but much more movable. That seemed to fix the biggest problems, and at least the long mohair was a good colour match. She still smells odd and new despite being washed twice, so I now plan to remove all of the new stuffing and use what I have always used for my home bear repairs; cotton wool. Hopefully she will be back to some of her old self – but with an actual neck instead of gaping hole ; )

Honeymoon

For those of you thinking of travelling to Thailand I would highly recommend it, I have always admired its thriving Buddhist culture, It’s stunning art and temples, the beautiful jungles and environments, and the glorious animals that live there, the friendly hard working people and its bustling night life. Having now been there I would say those are all true, and then some! The temples are unreal, the elephants majestic, and the people so friendly and open, they are happy to please : ) The only thing that was let down was the honesty of some people, trying to hook you into buying their product although mostly immigrants, but the Thai people are catching on too, they have to keep up.

Bangkok is a bustling and busy city full of life; it seemed to be a content hard working city. I loved the colourful people and the even more colourful street. There is fascinating architecture everywhere and I drank it all in.

Koh Samui has such a beautiful natural environments and such strong communities. We went climbing up mountains (well more like steep rocky hills!) through jungles and over rock islands, snorkelling in caves and on coral reefs, canoeing round spectacular islands and under the natural outcrops, we saw spectacular waterfalls, stunning views and the most incredible animals. It was great to travel to such a stunning place, the beaches and views are straight of of a post card.

We also met the most fascinating people, the enlightened mahout (well he seemed to know something the rest of us didn’t) cheerful restaurant owners, brilliant lady boy cabaret dancers, friendly call girls – well everyone was friendly – and some pushy sellers, smiling at you the whole time. There were people dancing in the street, herding water buffalo down the road and people loading so much produce onto their mopeds (fruit veg and children!) your thought they would topple over.

A lot of these things you may think you can get in a lot of Asian cities and towns, especially those lucky enough to have thriving tourist trade but for me Thailand really was the land of smiles and I loved every minute.



Ps I’ll be going back in the future to see the “Real” Thailand on the mainland and to explore the less developed towns, hopefully doing some voluntourism of some sort.

Wedding Day

On the 18th of October 2008 I wake up from the best nights sleep I have had in weeks, in my empty room. I had moved house the week before and spent several weeks packing and unpacking, my life in a stressful shambles. That morning I feel glad that it is finished, and then I remember why I am here … my heart sinks into the pit of my stomach, a stomach that is filled with hundreds of churning lead butterflies. Today I am getting married.

The nerves make me feel sick, I retch when brushing my teeth and my hands shake continuously. I feel literally green. When I am sitting in the hairdressers, I cant even read my book, which is usually a welcome form of escapism. I sit and shake in my little chair while everyone around me is cheerful and wishes me well. I feel so very small. I start to think about the excitement that is ahead of me, the massive culmination of so much work, many hours, days and weeks of work that has gone into this one day.

While I am waiting for my mum I realise it is not nerves that make me feel like a sickly twitching wreck but excitement. I am nervous that the plans I worked so hard at will go well, I am nervous at everyone looking at me, I am nervous that it might rain, but I am not nervous about becoming David’s wife. I am excited that we will finally be together. Getting married isn’t doing much for our relationship, we have been together long enough to get over our honeymoon period, we are a domesticated couple of have ups and downs, but getting married still holds something magical. Its like shouting from the rooftops, it is proving to everyone that we really do love each other enough to give up our sense of self. To trust someone enough to give yourself to them and equally to be responsible for another’s life is immense, and that is what I was so excited about.

The bridesmaids were all brilliant, and everyone looked fantastic. I think Dave was stunned by my sparkles! The service was beautiful and the golden sun shone through the window onto the Bride and Groom it looked literally divine, I certainly felt angelic. It’s like floating on clouds! Rev. Neil was fantastic (as if I doubted him) and although some things went wrong it was perfect. I was shaking throughout, but so glad to have Dave at my side knowing we can be together at last. I have never felt like that, it is truly a unique experience. Everyone had so much love and happiness it really made me feel like there is so much good in the world, and you can find it in the faces of friends and family.

When I finally got to sit down I felt exhausted, and the rest of the afternoon and evening flew by like a hazy dream. At the end of that night Dave did not disappoint and fireman carried me over the threshold of our hotel room lol

We both feel that the day wasn’t the best day of our lives, we still have so much to look forward to. We could have improved things but without doing it first we would never have known how to do it differently. We both feel a little disappointed by some things -photographer- but immensely impressed by others – Neil and Tina were both fantastic, Pat’s cake looked brilliantly perfect and everyone made such an effort to wish us well. Over all it was a brilliant brilliant day that was full of so much sunshine, love and happiness. Forgive me for stating the obvious but it is a day I will never forget.

Yozhik and WHS

Wobbly Hedgehog Syndrome (WHS) is a disease found in hedgehogs that is closely related to multiple sclerosis (MS) in humans. The disease is prominent in the domesticated hedgehog, some believe it maybe genetic but there are many theories.

As with MS, WHS slowly degrades the hedgehog's muscle control. This first appears as a wobble while the hedgehog is attempting to stand still, then more and more as he walks and move. As the dieses progresses he will have trouble walking and moving, and start to lose his gross motor skills. Over time, the hedgehog will lose control of all muscles; he will be in considerable pain and discomfort.

There is no known cure for WHS and diagnosis can only be confirmed with an autopsy. Common treatments for MS have shown similar effects in hedgehogs as they do in humans, like vitamin E, which hides the effects of WHS, but does not slow the disease. A resistance to vitamin E will form and the effects of the disease will continue. It is a fatal disease and many owners choose to euthanasia their pets before the symptoms make the hedgehog uncomfortable (in pain).

I have only recently heard of this disease and considering my immense research on APH before and after I adopted Mr Toffee I am surprised it slipped by me. Luckily for Mr T and I there have been no known cases of WHS in Britain, and APH have been breed here for 15 years. That maybe why I haven't heard of it before now, and I'm glad to hear there are no known cases within the population, which means if the disease is genetic that there is little if any chance of Mr Toffee or other UK hogs suffering from it. *Phew* I was quite worried there for a moment! The first time I heard of WHS was after watching a very sad video on you tube, a touching tribute to Yozhik who died of WHS and I highly recommend taking a look (warning it's a tear jerker).