Hungry Harvey!

Good morning all,


I hope all is well with you and yours.


As I type this I am listening to the rain hammering down on the windows and feeling grateful that I am indoors and not out in the wet. I had that experience just the other day when I walked the dog. Despite putting on a waterproof jacket and other protective gear, we both got soaked to the skin. We experienced thunder and lightening, two rainbows, sunshine and heavy downpours in the space of half an hour. It was actually quite exhilarating. I thought so anyway and Harvey didn't seem to mind getting drenched in the slightest. All I was left with was a smelly dog and my car still has that 'wet dog' smell now...days later.


Harvey has also had a few bouts of bilious episodes over the last few weeks. Each morning when I come downstairs I am greeted with the usual tail-wagging whirling dervish desperate for food and attention in that order. He has always been the same since we got him as a tiny puppy...food and affection are what keeps him going.
Anyway, once I have let him outside to eat I survey the area around his bed and several times there has been a patch of water/bile/wee...I couldn't tell what to be honest. I was a little concerned and monitored when this happened. it was always overnight, never proper sick, always clear. I wasn't too worried as he seemed fine in himself.... usual 'healthy' appetite, usual energy levels etc.
I took it upon myself to google his symptoms and the consensus of opinion was that the poor thing was desperate for food. He has been so hungry that his tummy has been producing acid and then that makes him sick. the actual explanation is far more involved than that but that is the basics of it.
Now, we do not starve our dog but he has always been on the large side and he will always eat anything at any time and so we have had to be strict with him since he was a puppy. He gets fed first thing in the morning and then again at about 3pm. He has then had his recommended quota for the day.
However, going from 3pm right round until 7..sometimes 8am..the next morning is just too much for him and, when I think about it now, that's a long time to go without food. So, I have been giving him just a little bit extra at about 7.30pm before he goes for his last sojourn of the evening and it seems to have done the trick. No more bile, or similar, to clean up in the mornings before I've even had a cup of tea. Let's hope it continues.


As you may know, Monday saw our Silver wedding anniversary. Yes, hubby and I have been married for 25 years. I still find it amazing that we have been together for so long and been through so much and survived to tell the tale.
We had a really quiet day. He had the day off but I had work in the afternoon. We popped out for a bit of brunch and that was it really. However, our 'children', for want of a better word, excelled themselves and have given us a voucher for a 3 course meal at The Ritz which is wonderful. We are both really looking forward to that. We also had flowers delivered which was lovely and we had lots of cards. I managed to get a request played for hubby on The Ken Bruce show on Radio 2 after hubby was so disappointed about the Steve Wright let down...although he says that we should listen in this week just in case it gets played a week late...ever the optimist. Then we both received emails from Frank Turner....yes, my Frank Turner, the one who I went to see in concert in Oxford just the week before, the one who hubby and I both really like. our youngest daughter had been in touch with him and asked if he could wish us a happy anniversary and, bless him, he did just that. We were both thrilled and delighted that he would have taken the time to contact us and we were very touched that our daughter had been so thoughtful and organised it for us.
Next weekend sees a trip to Edinburgh on the overnight train to celebrate our 25 years together, a stay in a posh hotel and then, at the end of the week, a stay in a lovely hotel overlooking the harbour at Salcombe, a place I have grown to love and where hubby has never been. We are just staying one night but it's my treat to him to say 'thank you' for sticking with me through thick and thin, good times and bad.


There is also the small matter of another grandchild due to be born around that time and the on-going, ever so frustrating house selling and buying saga which is driving me bonkers.


So, that's all for now. Wishing you all a happy and peaceful weekend. I would just like to send extra love to two very special people who have been poorly of late...D and Sam. Stay strong. You are surrounded by people that love you. I hope you are both fully recovered very soon.


Take care one and all.


xxxxx