Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 8

Of Medical Mutterings And #Dogs

Logan is doing a lot better.  In fact, physically he’s completely back to his old self.  He hasn’t been sick since last Saturday morning, and things are... Erm... Working normally again the other end too.

 

I feel like emotionally Logan’s still not entirely back to being his old self yet though.  Mind you, that might partially – if not entirely - be because of how crazy the past few days have been around here, since he was doing a lot better emotionally too before the events of Tuesday evening kicked off.

 

I honestly haven’t got the energy to go in to details, and don’t want to give full details when it’s not entirely my story to tell anyhow, so I’m just going to give you the cliffnotes version of events.

 

My Mam had a health scare that ended with her spending from really late Tuesday night in to late Wednesday evening at the hospital.  Like I said, I won’t go in to details, but let’s just say she’s lucky a friend stopped by when they did, and that the friend got my number from her phone and called me.

 

Anyway, due to the unreliability of ambulance timeframes – and unhelpful operators who apparently don’t understand the concept that being blind means getting from your home five miles away to where the person is might be an issue - I ended up having my Dad help me get Mam to the hospital, and then having him help me bring her dogs back to mine.  Her friend took her home late Wednesday evening, and Dad took me to take the dogs back to her on Thursday afternoon.

 

It was an exhausting couple of days.  Having four dogs ranging in age from almost six years old down to a puppy who has just turned five months in one house was eventful.  Made even more interesting by the fact our place isn’t exactly puppy safe right now due to us being in the middle of de-cluttering.

 

Brynncai (Mam’s five month old Shih tzu) learned a couple of lessons puppies need to learn from older dogs.  Lilie (our almost six year old Westie) and Isabel (Mam’s four year old CavaTzu) were trying to help me keep him in line, and even Logan (my almost four year old CavaPoo) decided Cai needed to be taught a few things.  Things like the fact ears, paws, tails, and… Erm… Other things, are not for chewing.

 

Honestly, other than a couple of calls I made it to with the ACB, and a couple of hours with my Dad before events kicked off on Tuesday, that essentially sums up the events of the past week, since I spent the weekend dealing with Logan being sick, and the rest of the past week dealing with a houseful of dogs while checking in with my Mam at the hospital, and keeping my brothers updated as best I could on what was going on with Mam.  Which, by the way, would have been easier if the doctors at the hospital were updating me properly in the first place, like they said they would, and should have been.  But that’s a rant for another day.

 

I'm tired.  I hurt.  And I'm glad the past week is behind me.  So, all I have left to say is: is it nap time yet?

February 24th 2023 Random Ramblings; #Blogging #WritersLife #Imbolc #ValentinesDay #Cooking #LoomKnitting #Crochet #Pets

For those who might be interested...

 

Smashwords and Draft2Digital now distribute their books to Palace Marketplace, which increases the chances you can get my books via your local library.  You can read more about it in this post on the Smashwords blog.

 

*~*

 

I've created blog lists on my sidebar to keep the blogs I follow in one place so I can (hopefully) remember to check them more often, since I'm no longer getting notifications for most of them.

 

Of course, this idea comes with no guarantees I won't still miss blog posts from time to time, but at least there's a better chance I'll visit the blogs I want to on a fairly regular basis again.  Anyway, there are three of them (as you'll see if you take a look) and they're lists where the most recently updated five blogs show, but you can expand them to see the rest when you want to.

 

If you follow my blog, know I generally visit yours, and don't see your blog on any of the lists, let me know - and drop the link in the comments - so I can add it, please.

 

*~*

 

I'm learning fast that the key to getting anything done is to keep my to-do list for each day short, and rest regularly.  But it's not easy.  It's a constant juggling act between what I need to do, what I want to do, and what my body will let me do.  Not helped by the fact how I'm feeling varies from day to day, and I never know how I'll be doing today - and how much energy I'll have - until the day starts.

  And even on good days I tire easily, which means how I'm feeling could change at some point during the day.

As those who have followed my blog for some time might already know, this isn't actually a new struggle.  It's just that - as those of you who read my post from a couple of weeks ago may remember me saying in that post - it's at the point now where I can't just expect to be able to push through, and I've had to accept that I need to admit to it, as well as reduce my to-do lists for each day.  Which, unfortunately, has also meant reducing the amount of calls I'm involved in via the ACB community.

 

I'm still on the morning crew and crafters admin team.  I'm also still doing the cooking call and hosting sometimes.  I'm just reducing how many calls I'm committing to in a day so as to give myself plenty of time to rest (and potentially deal with other things) as well.  Because, with how drained I've been lately, keeping up with all the calls I was participating in meant I was literally too exhausted to do anything else besides that most days, and pushing myself harder than I should on good days to attempt to make up for it, but actually still not managing to catch up.

 

Maybe now I've done this I can even create a little time - on one of my good days - to work on some of those in progress writing projects I've been meaning to finish.  Can but hope, right?

 

Anyway...

 

We don’t typically do much for holidays anyhow, but with me having my hospital appointment to tire me out on February 2nd, our Imbolc celebrations were basically non-existent.  Well, dinner had a dairy (or, in my case, dairy alternative, since my cheese was dairy-free vegan-friendly cheese) theme to it, so at least we did sort of do a little something.

 

Valentine’s Day is another holiday we don’t make a big fuss about, which involved takeout, like it usually does for us.  Also, Kelly brought me some Trinket the bear slippers, which you can see on my feet with Lilie checking them out in the below photo.

 

 

Unfortunately, Trinket already has some battle scars, since Lilie decided leaving them unattended was an invitation for her to claim one of them, even though they were unattended on the shoe rack, which she knows she’s not meant to take things off of.  Luckily we discovered this before she did too much damage.  But, as I said, Trinket does now have some battle scars from the encounter.

 

*~*

 

I've been wanting to try and make flatbread for a while - had the recipe for who knows how long, and just never tried it - so was glad when it was suggested as a potential thing to make on one of the cooking calls, giving me an excellent excuse to give it a try.  We made it this past Tuesday, and I think it turned out well.  I took a photo of some of mine before I ate it all, so here's the photo:

 

 

Also, I finished a couple of small craft projects.

 

One was this little multi-coloured loom knitted stocking, which I made when I was learning to do a heel for socks.  I was going to make a pair of socks, but I just grabbed a small loom, and I had the wrong one, so it’s too small to be a sock.  I figured it would make a cute holiday decoration though, so added a loop to it with an icord so it could be hung up.  Anyway, here’s a photo:

 

 

The other was this crochet key.  It’s an old-fashioned style key with a heart-shaped piece at the end where you’d attach a ring to hang it up or put it on a keyring.  I did it in white, because that’s the colour the ball of wool I grabbed turned out to be.  Anyway, here’s a photo of it:

 

 *~*

 

Lilie often went to the petshop with us when we lived in Hastings, but – between him being a more nervous dog so needing longer to get used to go out, and lockdown happening shortly after it was time to start taking him places – Logan has never had the opportunity to go to one.  So, when Mam needed to take Cai to be fitted for a harness yesterday, we decided to take the boys to the petshop.

 

Both boys were a bit scared, though Cai especially.  The sight of all the food and toys seemed to help Logan deal with his fear and anxiety.  Not to mention, since most people were crowding around Mam and Cai rather than Logan – since Cai’s a smaller dog, plus clearly still a puppy – they were giving hme and Logan plenty of space, which is what both of us prefer.  Logan’s a big fan of social distancing, and I’m right there with him.

 

I’m actually very proud of Logan.  He was a very good boy.  No accidents in the petshop.  No stealing things from shelves (though he did clearly want, and almost take, a particular treat, which – since it was something I was fine with him having, and we’d planned on buying the dogs something anyhow – we did buy for him).  Also, when there was a point when one of the people who worked there needed to lead me somewhere, so I told Logan to follow her, he followed the woman well for me, despite not having had any guidedog training.

 

Both Logan and I were very glad to get home though, and are still trying to recover from the outing.

 

And, as I’m sure you can imagine, Lilie was incredibly happy when we got home.

 

I’m glad Logan had the experience, and he coped with it better than I thought he would, if I’m totally honest.  But I know Lilie would be much more enthusiastic about the idea of going for another trip to a petshop than Logan would.  I mean, he enjoyed the outing, but he was clearly a lot happier getting home than he was while out at the petshop – there was no wagging of his tail while we were out, but it wagged enthusiastically when we got home, and he spent half the night being sick.

Edited to add: Logan was still being sick, and also having issues from the other end to the point where he was bleeding, so I took him to the vet, who gave him 1.5ml of an anti-nausea medication called Vetemex Antiemetic while we were there, and has given us something called PROMAX to give him 18ML of once a day for the next couple of days to help settle his stomach and… Erm… Firm things up.  Logan is also on a chicken and rice only diet for a few days.  He seems physically fine, so the theory is it’s all anxiety-based, and the hope is the medication combined with a quiet few days at home will have him back to his old self by Monday.

#Audiobook Now Available For #Holiday #KidLit #Book - "Jelena"

 

 

Humans have forgotten the old ways, and no longer respect nature as they once did, or ask before taking what they want.  They’ve forgotten about nature spirits, and the strength of the bond a dryad shares with their tree.

 

When an excited family come to the woods to choose their Christmas tree, and end up choosing the Frazer Fir to which Jelena is bonded, they make no attempt to warn her to find herself a new tree.  Now all Jelena can do is watch in tearful dismay as her tree is cut down and taken away; feeling its pain through their shared bond as though it were her own.

 

Distraught and in pain, Jelena can do nothing to save her bonded tree.  But she doesn’t have to share its fate; there’s a chance she can save herself.  Will Jelena find the inner strength to survive the experience, and bond with a new tree before it’s too late? Or will she follow her bonded tree to the place where spirits are reborn?

 

*NOTE: this story – while not overly violent or graphic in nature – is not your average cheerful holiday story, so may not be suitable for younger or more sensitive readers.

 

Previously made available in eBook - purchase links for which can be found in this post - as well as in paperback - purchase links for which can be found in this post - "Jelena" is now also available in audio, narrated by Hayley Jude Purcell.

 

To grab your copy, go to Audible, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon Canada, Amazon US, or the Amazon sites for many other countries (I don't know if all Amazon sites carry my books, but I know most do).

 

~

Regardless of your format of choice, if you're on Goodreads and would like to add the book to your shelves, you can find the book's Goodreads page here, where all available formats are listed.

If you buy a copy, I'd really appreciate it if you could leave a review somewhere - either where you brought it, on your blog, on the book's Goodreads page, or anywhere else you happen to review books - and tell your friends, family, or book club members about it.  Remember: reviews and word of mouth help authors sell books, and I appreciate any review, no matter how long or short it may be.

Medical Mutterings, Victor Readers, Audiobook Production, & Author Interviews

I’m so incredibly behind on emails and blog posts it’s not even funny.

 

I’m doing my best to catch up – or, at the very least, not get even more buried under a pile of emails and notifications – but I’ve been dealing with feeling exhausted and unwell constantly lately, which makes it very difficult to do anything.

 

I had an appointment last week (on February 2nd) to see my haematologist to get my levels checked, so had to go have them take the blood for that on January 23rd (they want the blood taken about ten days before the appointment these days, to make sure the results are ready when I get there).

 

My platelets are down a bit again, but not enough that anything needs to be done about it, and everything else is in the normal range.  And, when I say “normal” I mean my normal, which may not be normal for everyone else.

 

This means that – despite the slightly lower platelets - it’s just my body doing what it does, and all I can do is ride it out until I get to one of those times when I have some energy again.  It’s just the way things are.  It’s frustrating, but it’s not unusual for me.  I just don’t usually need to admit to it online, since I can usually keep up enough that it’s not overly noticeable.  But these days I have more I’m trying to keep up with, which makes it harder to pretend those times when my body just insists rest is the priority and everything else can wait are happening, which is the case right now.

 

On a more cheerful note...

 

One of the book formats you can get access to via Bookshareis audio (though often it’s not human narrated audio) and the most readily available digital book format provided by the RNIB Reading Services is daisy audio.

 

My laptop can handle the audiobooks from Bookshare, but I have to play each individual file they’re broken down in to as it finishes, which makes listening while doing anything difficult (and kind of annoying) and I had nothing I could use to listen to the daisy audiobooks on my laptop (though I expect there are things I could get and install if I wanted to use my laptop for them - but I don't).

 

So, I used my birthday and Christmas money towards buying a Victor Reader Stream, which – for those who have never heard of one and don’t know what it is – is a portable device you can use to listen to audiobooks and podcasts.  It will also read out text documents.

 

Now, between my Kindle, my Orbit, and my Victor Reader Stream, I have a portable way to access digital books in almost any format.

 

In other positive news...

 

I just approved the final version of the audio version of my book, "Jelena" a few days ago, so hopefully - assuming it goes through ACX's checks without any issues - that will be available very soon.

Also, I have the link to the other author interview I did in January to share with you.  So, if you'd like to check out my author interview on Writing Works Wonders - the writing podcast and call that's done via the ACB community - you can listen by clicking here.

My Interview On Ann Writes Inspiration's Inspirational Journeys Podcast

I started the year out with a couple of author interviews.

 

One of them, which I did on January 13th 2023, was with fellow author and, Ann Harrison of Ann Writes Inspirations for her "Inspirational Journeys" podcast.

Since it's now live, here are some links to where you can hear it:

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BiSCKgPye2c

Spotify: https://anchor.fm/inspirational-journeys/episodes/Poetry-and-Childrens-books-with-Victoria-Zigler-e1tf0rn

 

And you can check out the show notes on Ann's website by clicking here.

 

It's also now on my Youtube channel here.

#Snow Reports, Clutter, And Subscription Boxes

Snow Reports:

We got something like four inches of snow in my area, though only had maybe two or three inches on the ground at any given time.   Then it stuck around for almost a week.  Lilie showed you some of the photos, but here are a couple of the nearby mountains that we also took during the snowy weather:

 

 

*~*

 

Clutter:

Since the end of last year, we've been working on doing some de-cluttering.  If it's not something we have a use for, can see ourselves having a use for, or want to keep for some other reason, we're getting rid of it.  It sounds pretty ruthless, but we've ended up with a lot of stuff we don't really want or need, or were holding on to for sentimental reasons despite knowing doing so was only putting it in the way and making it difficult to organize other stuff (like a dressing table I'd been given, which I wanted to keep even though it wasn't being used and was in the way) and want to get rid of those things so we can properly organize the things we do want or need.

 

Us doing this has made some people who were hoping we'd store things for them unhappy, but that can't be helped.  We're not a storage unit, we don't want to keep living in chaos and clutter, and seeing how we've somehow managed to have an overly cluttered house in less than two years after having managed just fine with a whole lot less space before - I mean, we moved from a flat that was technically listed as a two bedroom, but only because it was a one bedroom that had been turned in to one by putting a kitchenette on the end of the living room and making that room smaller, in to a three bedroom house, so you'd think we wouldn't be buried in stuff - makes us feel we should take steps to change things, even if certain other people would rather we didn't.

 

Anyway, we still have a long way to go, but we're making progress.

The bedroom is essentially sorted (apart from some small tasks like putting the few audiobooks I’m hanging on to in the right order on the shelves, for example).  It actually looks like a bedroom again.

 

Besides that, I've been working on de-cluttering in my office/craft room.  I’ve gotten rid of a stack of craft kits I wasn't really bothered about doing from those I’d acquired from those subscription boxes I was getting, and given away some craft supplies I was hanging on to because they’d been Nan’s, even while knowing there was little to no chance I’d want to use them.  I’ve still got a lot of organizing to do in my office/craft room again now that I’ve gotten rid of that stuff, but now I actually have some space in there to do it.

 

Now to help Kelly tackle his office/gaming room so he can have space to do things in his room too.

 

*~*

Subscription boxes:

Since they closed down, my subscription to The Vegan Kind's lifestyle box was cancelled, and I'm OK with that, because it was starting to not seem worth the money any more due to half the stuff being things I wouldn't eat, so I'd end up giving to others, so I'd been considering stopping it anyway.  Some of the stuff in it was really tasty, but the constant need to make meat-flavored versions of vegan-friendly snacks was spoiling it for me, since I can't stomach the taste of meat.

 

But I personally cancelled my subscriptions to Bird & Blend Tea and Sara-Jane Candles.  Not because of the cost, nor because I wasn't enjoying the stuff.  I was, and I still think them worth the money.  I stopped them because the amount I was getting from them was a lot more than I was making use of each month and my supplies of both tea and candles were piling up.  You can just order stuff from both Bird & Blend Tea and Sara-Jane Candles, so I decided I'd stop my subscriptions, catch up on using what I have on hand, and keep them in mind when I need or want to order more of something later.  In the meantime, my tea cupboard is overflowing with different tea blends, and I could light a candle every day for the next few months without fear of running low on scented candles.  Again, wanting to de-clutter somewhat has played a part here.

Lilie The #Westie And Logan The #Cavapoo Get Groomed + Lilie Goes To The Vet + Some #Snow

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

 

Yes, I know; it’s about time Mummy let me do a post again, isn’t it?

 

~

 

Last week was a really busy one for me.

 

On Wednesday morning the groomer came to visit, so me and Logan got groomed.

 

I’m sure you want to see how totally adorable we are after our haircuts – me especially – so here are photos.  First me, and then Logan, which is the order we got groomed in, since I volunteered to be first.

 

 

~

 

Then, on Thursday, I had to go see the vet to get a checkup to see how I was doing on all my medications.

 

The vet says I’m doing well on them, and is very happy because I now weight 10.2 kilos (about 22.5 lbs) which is 0.2 kilos (about 0.5 lbs) less than I weighed last time I was at the vet.  I’m supposed to be around 10 kilos, so the vet says I’m perfect.  Well, we already knew that, didn’t we? But it’s nice of him to agree.

 

He also changed my pain medication.  He wants to try me on something not so strong for a while to give my liver and kidneys a break from the Mettacam.  So, I’m still having my daily Apoquel tablet and my Recicort ear drops every other day for my skin irritation.  But, instead of 10ml of Mettacam once a day, I’m now having 2ml of Calpol 6+ suspension liquid (which Mummy says to tell you is our version of children’s Tylanol) twice a day.  The vet said it was OK for me to have flavoured, because Calpol is all sugar free, so I have the strawberry one.  I like strawberries, so I’m happy about that.  Well, mostly.  Except on those days I try to make Mummy drop the medication because I don’t feel like taking it.  I don’t do that often though.  Even with the Mettacam I didn’t do that often.  Mostly I’m good about taking my medication (espeailly since I get some hot dog, ham, chicken, or something similar, afterwards).  I just have days when I wish I didn’t have to take medication.

 

~

 

Anyway, the grooming followed by the vet trip tired me out.  Plus, the weather got cold right around when the groomer cut my fur short, so I’ve been snuggling in the big bed with Mummy and Logan.  In fact, here’s a photo of me all tucked in for a nap:

 

 

~

 

A couple of days later we got some snow.

 

Here's a picture of the snow this past Tuesday evening...

 

 

And me and Logan out in it...

 

 

~

 

That’s all for today.

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

Catching Up On #NewYear Celebrations, #Snow Reports, #Dog Photos, And #Crafting Creations

Mostly we don’t bother much about doing anything to see in the new year, but there were fireworks around here (which we didn’t get photos or videos of) and I spent new year’s eve participating in the ACB communityathon.

 

I hosted for it during one of the hours, spoke to highlight some of the events I’m involved with that happen in the community during a couple of the other hours, and just listened to what others had to say during other hours.  It was a long night for me, but it was fun.  Plus, there’s a fundraiser that's held during it, and we raised a good chunk of money to help keep the ACB community going, so that’s definitely a good thing.

 

Yes.  Yes.  I know we’re already basically half way through January.  But I figured, since I hadn't done so, I’d go ahead and tell you about my new year’s eve celebrations anyhow.  Better late than never, right?

Hope you enjoyed whatever you did - if anything - to see in the new year.

 

*~*

 

Speaking of being slow to share things:

 

 I’m slow posting these, because I had a load of other things I wanted to post first.  But we’ve had a little snow a couple of times since the start of December, and I wanted to show you the photos.  I know it’s nothing compared to what some people have had, but I’ll take what I can get when it comes to snow, as those who know me well already know.

 

~

 

The first time we got snow was on December 10th.  It was a light dusting, which was only just enough to frost the ground, and which later turned in to slush and then ice.  But here are some photos we took of it while it was still snow anyhow:

 

 

~

 

Then there was an even lighter dusting of snow on December 16th, which didn’t last long.  But at least it lasted long enough for us to notice it, as well as to get a photo of it…

 

 

And for me to take Lilie and Logan out to see it…

        

 

~

 

They keep predicting more snow.  I’m crossing my fingers the predictions come true.  I always keep hoping.

*~*

 

I also have a couple of photos of Lilie I had yet to show you.

 

~

 

We took these photos of Lilie by the coffee table on December 30th 2022, while we were playing with her in the living room that morning, but I didn't get a chance to share them before now.  So, here they are:

~

 

Also, last week we got the dogs some new beds, because Lilie's leg issue makes it tricky for her to jump on to the metal framed ones we had (which kind of resembled camping beds for dogs, in my opinion).

 

We'd brought the other ones because we were having trouble finding baskets big enough that they could share if they wanted to, but when I was looking for baskets to make it easier on Lilie, I found the large dog baskets I'd been looking for in the first place, so I grabbed a couple to replace their old beds.

 

Here's a photo of Lilie trying one of them out:

 

Since I never get the cushion things for the baskets (due to not being sure if Lilie has outgrown her puppy habit of shredding those, them not being easy to wash, and them costing almost as much as the basket itself) they usually have a pile of blankets in their beds, so there should have been more of them in that basket.  But I was washing the pet blankets before letting them go in the new beds, and those were all I'd managed to get washed and dried in time to have them in that basket before bed time.  Lilie seemed to consider it enough for the time being, so that's the main thing.  The rest of the blankets for that basket will have been added by the time you're reading this though.
 

*~*

Lastly, I have a couple of completed craft projects to show you.

The first is this little loom knitted drawstring bag:

And the other is this crocheted snowman hat toilet roll cover:

The holly leaves weren't officially part of the pattern, but I'd learned to do them for the dogs' holiday collars, thought they'd be a cute addition, so added them because I felt like making and adding them.

Looking Back At 2022 & Ahead To 2023

 

~Above photo shows Logan the Cavapoo on the back of the sofa, and was taken on December 30th 2022.

 

I know we're already almost a week in to January, but I wanted to post about my holiday celebrations first.  Now though, it's time to take a look back at 2022, and start thinking about the coming year.

*~*

I kept my goal list for 2022 practically non-existent.  Other than my plan to read 52 books as part of the Goodreads reading challenge, my plan for 2022 was to see where the year took me, and enjoy as many hygge moments throughout the year as possible; hygge being my word for 2022.

So, how did that work out?? 

2022 was an eventful year, and I never could have predicted how it turned out.  I think though, other than us losing the last of the rodent gang, Mollie the chinchilla, during the first half of the year (in April, to be exact) and some rough times healthwise (in particular dental disasters with infections that had me with mouth pain for a couple of months) it was a pretty good year.  I mean, there were definitely some rather stressful parts of it I'd like to forget, but there was enough of the good to stop me dwelling on those things, and to make me feel like 2022 wasn't too bad of a year.  Certainly not one of the best I've had, but most definitely not one of the worst either.

Unfortunately, though my website is now more up to date, writing took a bit of a backseat, with my only publications for this year being the "Poetry Treasures" and "Stand Together" anthologies I was involved with.  And I have yet to finish getting "Pawfect Pet Poems" and "Jelena" made available in audio (though both are listed on ACX in various stages of production).  I've been slowly working on writing things I plan to publish in the future, but writing sessions have been few and far between, and none of my works in progress ended up being finished in 2022, let alone published.  I'd hoped to have at least published one of them at some point during 2022, but I won't publish anything until it's ready and, as it stands at the moment, nothing new is even finished being written, let alone ready for publication.

However, that doesn't mean I didn't have a busy year.

 

I started getting involved with ACB (American Council of the Blind) Zoom calls in 2021, but ended up more involved than I ever could have imagined even wanting to be.  I'm now a trained Zoom host and Clubhouse moderator, and do both things regularly for ACB calls.  I've hosted for conventions and community-a-thons, helped teach skills with cooking and crafting, and am finishing up the year not only as an active participant and host, but also an ACB member at large, as well as a member of the ACB Crafters admin team, and part of the ACB Presents The Daily Schedule morning crew.  Not to mention, I've gotten to know some people through my work with the ACB who I now consider good friends.  I'm not a big fan of socializing usually, but apparently my reluctance to socialize doesn't extend to people who live inside my computer and phone.

Did I embrace my word of "Hygge" in 2022?Well, there were definitely times when I did.  Times when I put self care first, enjoyed a hygge moment by myself, with the petkids, or even with another person.  But I feel like I didn't embrace the concept as fully as I planned to.  I feel like I could have done more to make 2022 a hygge year for me.  Maybe I'd feel like that no matter how many hygge moments I enjoyed? Maybe I really could have done more? Who knows.  Either way, I feel like I was only partially successful in embracing my word for the year.  But a partial success is still a success, right? And I'll take what I can get when it comes to successes.

As for my reading goal: it was a slow reading year for me, but I did manage to read 52 books in 2022.  If you want to see what I read, you can see my year in books here.  Yes, it does take you to Goodreads, but you don't have to be a member to check it out.  It's just the easiest way for me to share all the information about what I read, which books I enjoyed and which I didn't, etc, since I record those things on Goodreads throughout the year when it's fresher in my mind.  So, for those who want to know what I read, and what I thought of those books, please check out that link to my year in books.

~

Now it's the start of another year.  We're starting 2023, and most people are setting goals and resolutions.  Or maybe picking words for the year.  But after some serious thought, I decided I didn't want to be among them.

 

So, that's why, other than setting my reading goal on Goodreads to 52 books again, I’m not making any any goals or plans for the coming year.  I’m not even picking a word for 2023.  There were some goals and words I considered, and there are some things I hope will happen in 2023.  But I ultimately decided I’m just going to forget about trying to make goals I may or may not be able to achieve, not worry about deciding on which of the words is right for me, and just see where the year takes me.

 

It just feels like the right way forward for me.

 

If you want to see where 2023 takes me, make sure you check back here each Friday for my weekly blog posts.

 

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How about you? How was your 2022? Did you have any goals or resolutions? Did you have a word for the year? Do you have any of those things for 2023? Whatever the case, I'd love to hear about it in the comments, so please share.

A Festive #Pet Photoshoot & Celebrating The #Holidays - #Dogs #Westie #Cavapoo #Cavatzu #ShihTzu #Tortoise #WinterSolstice #Christmas

This year my holiday celebrations kicked off with the ACB Crafters holiday party on December 17th.  There was crafting, a few doorprizes, fun questions, and a chance to share what we got for the holiday gift exchange (which we signed up for if we wanted to be a part of back in October).

 

My gift exchange partner got me some great stuff.  I got a needle knitting size Gage, a crochet hook size Gage, a selection box of some of my favourite brand of vegan chocolate, and this bamboo wind chime:

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On December 19th we did a puppy holiday photo shoot.  Since it wasn't just our dogs but also my Mam’s, and all of them were excited by the attention (though perhaps not entirely enthusiastic about the outfits) it ended up being a team effort between me, Kelly, and Mam.  I was in charge of dressing dogs in outfits and attempting to persuade them to stay where we wanted them for the shots, while Mam and Kelly tried to get the photos before they got bored of staying still and ran off to play with the others.  It was fun but challenging, and we didn't get all the shots we'd hoped for (like group shots) but they did well, and we did get most of the shots we'd hoped for, so I'd call it a successful puppy holiday photo shoot.

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There were four dogs, since my Mam got an early Christmas gift for herself in the form of a Shih Tzu puppy she’s named Brynncai.  At the time these photos were taken Cai was somewhere between 11 and 12 weeks old.  And here he is, complete with a festive bow around his neck:

 

And, just because Kelly took it, here's a shot of me cuddling him:

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For anyone not familiar with the furry members of the family: the other three dogs were our almost six year old Westie, Lilie, my almost four year old Cavapoo, Logan, and Mam’s four year old Cavatzu, Isabel.

 

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I made all four dogs matching festive collars.  I needle knitted red collars, crocheted three little green holly leaves to sew to each, and then added three little red bells as the holly berries on each collar.  So we got photos of each of the dogs in their matching collars and a Santa hat.  And here they are, from oldest to youngest…

 

Lilie:

 

Isabel:

 

Logan:

 

Cai:

 

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We also had outfits for the three oldest dogs.  Again, I’ll share them from oldest to youngest.

 

Lilie had an elf outfit.  She wore this one last year too, but this year she’s wearing the festive collar I made her with it instead of one of her holiday bandanas, has little clips with tiny Christmas trees on them in her fur near her ears, and isn’t wearing the snowflake doggy legwarmers she wore with it last year.  Anyway, here’s our little Westie elf:

Izi had an angel outfit.  It has a little tutu, a pair of angel wings, and a little halo that rests on top of her head.  She’s also wearing her festive collar.  Anyway, here’s Isabel the angel:

 

Logan had a reindeer outfit this year.  It goes over him like a doggy coat to make it look like he’s a reindeer in harness.  There’s even a hood with antlers on it.  He’s also wearing the festive collar I made him.  Anyway, here’s Logan the black-nosed reindeer:

 

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We didn't have a doggy outfit small enough to fit Cai, so instead we turned him in to the early Christmas gift he is for my Mam, and put him in a stocking.  So, here he is:

 

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Artemis had dug in for a nap by the time we were done with the dogs' photos, so the tortoise's holiday photo had to wait.  Kelly and I ended up taking it the following day.  So, here's Artemis' holiday photo, which shows the tortoise among some tinsel (you may be able to see bits and pieces of some other holiday decorations in the shot, but it's mostly just the tortoise and the tinsel).

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If you’ve been following my blog for some time, you may already know that Kelly and I celebrate the Winter Solstice.

 

    So, on Solstice Eve we made our holiday meal: honey mustard ham with roast potatoes and carrots for Kelly, herby orange tofu with cranberry sauce, roast potatoes, carrots, and sprouts, for me.  Even the dogs got in on it, with some ham for their dinner (no, not honey mustard… Just plain ham).  We all had leftovers for the following day.

 

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Solstice Eve is even when the Yule Elf (AKA Santa, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle, or whatever name you might know him by) comes to visit at our house, and fills our stockings, which had been set out on the sofa along with the gift bags I made last year, which contained a small gift we’d brought for each other…

 

 

Lilie knows who “Santa Paws” is meant to be.  At least, she knows Santa Paws means new toys and treats, and that me getting out the stockings means she’ll soon get those toys and treats, which is all she really cares about anyhow.  LOL! So she was eager to go see what he’d brought this year, and here’s a video clip to prove it:

 

 

I’m pretty sure Logan wasn’t even sure what everyone was excited about.  He seemed more confused than anything to me.  He soon caught on when I started handing out toys and treats though…

 

 

The dogs got a squeaky sprout toy each, a goose toy that’s part squeaky and crackly plush toy and part rope tuggy each, a whole lot of treats and a  jar of doggy peanut butter to share, and they also each got a Kong treat toy that’s slightly different to the ones we already have for them.  You can hopefully see me giving them the sprout and goose in some of the above photos, but I didn’t get a photo of them with the Kong treat toys.

 

And my Mam brought them a new blanket each, so here are photos of them sat on their new blankets:

 

 

Logan’s photo is a bit blurry.  A combination of artificial lighting and a dog who wasn’t feeling like sitting still.  But I figured I’d share it anyhow, since it’s the only one we got of him sat on his new blanket.

 

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Artemis got a big box of raisins.  Well, big to a Hermman’s Tortoise… It’s really just a little box like you might have in your lunchbox or as a snack on the go.  We didn’t get a photo, but I can tell you for a fact that Artemis is very happy with what Santa Paws brought, and has been enjoying the raisins very much.

 

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As for me… I got more of my favourite kind of vegan chocolate, some mini candy canes, a pink bear wearing a red scarf and Santa hat, which I’m holding up in this next photo:

 

 

I also got a new kind of puzzle toy that’s like a rubix cube with extra sides, and a set of large purple dice from my Dad, the latter of which I can kind of feel the numbers on…

 

 

…Plus some i12 TWS Airpods, and money.

 

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We also got a couple of cards.  Most people didn't do cards this year - me among them, to be honest.  But we did get one from Rita, and another from my Dad.  And here they are:

 

 

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My Mam didn’t make it over for her planned visit with us on Christmas Day, so we did a doorstep gift exchange  (to open later in our own homes) Christmas Eve instead.

 

But we had my Dad over for a couple of hours for some nibbles, a chat, and to exchange gifts on Boxing Day.  My brother, Wayne, was meant to be coming with him, but didn’t end up doing so.

 

Kelly and I are still eating the leftovers from the nibbles we had for company to share with us, since we’d made and brought a few things, and then my Dad brought over some stuff he’d made too.  The savoury stuff went pretty quickly.  It’s the shortbread and sugar cookies I made, and the cookies we’d brought to make those go further.  That’s what we’re still eating.  I suppose it’s good though that it was the savory stuff we all went for first, right?

 

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So, how about you? How did you celebrate the holidays? Get anything nice? More importantly, did you enjoy?

Oh, by the way: if you usually get something from me for Christmas – a card, or something more – and didn’t.  It’s nothing personal.  Apart from the ACB Crafters gift exchange I participated in, I only really worried about my immediate family this year.  I’m no longer sending cards even to family members, and the list of people I’m sending gifts or giving money to now is incredibly short.