Tough (stuff?) times

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What with one thing and another, the last few weeks have been rather difficult and disrupted. I’m equally ready and absolutely not ready at all to get back into some sort of new normality, but with (at least) another two weeks of bathroom renovations to go, I can’t see it being a smooth transition.

Still, I’m really not in the mood to let my mind idle for too long, and so I’ve been throwing myself into doing stuff as much as possible. I’ve got plans for sprucing up the spare room and the kids’ bathroom, but I can’t do that at the moment because they’re two of the most important rooms in the house with the ongoing renovations.

We spent yesterday afternoon rebuilding part of the garden. I’ve been repotting plants and tidying up out there again this morning, fighting – and comprehensively being defeated by – the bergwind and the autumnal leaves. And now, after this blog post and before the afternoon’s footy and this evening’s braai, I intend to hit the Geoguessr website for the first time in over a month.

And should I run out of other stuff to do (unlikely), I do still have about a million photos that need cataloguing. That would likely be a plan for later in the week, though. It might be (and it is) 35oC today, but we’re due for a maximum of 12oC on Thursday.

There’s even talk of lighting a fire simply to keep warm, and not to cook food on. Crazy, crazy times.

Or “Autumn”, as we usually call it.

Sleep well, Beagle dog

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We had to say goodbye to our beagle last night. It was horrible. It still is. But the scan she had yesterday morning showed an aggressive spinal tumour, which wasn’t even visible 5 weeks ago, but which had grown and already spread to her lungs, and there was clearly no option of treatment or recovery. She’d not been well for a while with other stuff, but this was very sudden and unexpected.

We brought her back from the vet, and spent a last afternoon together at home. She lay on her favourite couch, she snorfed all around the back garden, she enjoyed copious amounts of chicken, biltong, and a lot of cheese. A lot of cheese. We all stayed with her all afternoon and gave her all the fuss she could have wanted.

And then we had to let her go. An absolutely devastating experience, but she deserved that respect and she deserved not to struggle or suffer.

It’s always so hard to deal with these things, and it’s important to concentrate on all the happy times we had together. Amongst many other things, I’ll always remember our long weekend walks on the beach in Agulhas – she was the best listener sitting on the rocks by the lagoon – and her ever-willing assistance with the crusts of my Butler’s pizzas.

It’s also worth pointing out that those few hours yesterday afternoon were merely a concentrated version of the life and the love that we had given her. And it wasn’t a one-way street (ok, to be fair, the cheese was): she was the most loving, understanding companion; incredibly gentle and endlessly patient, especially with the kids and their friends. Never judgmental, just always there with unconditional love and a little nuzzle as she slipped her head under your arm and onto your lap.

It was almost eleven years ago that Project Colin began. I wasn’t sure then, but she quickly worked her way into our hearts and lives (and the fridge whenever possible), and the house already feels incredibly empty without her. We’re devasted.

Of course, we have millions of photos and videos of her, but the one above is the one that hangs in the bar, and reminds us to take some time out once in a while, step back from the real world and just relax.

Live life like Colin.

Never forget the seahorse…

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I was scrolling through some old photos on my phone this afternoon, when I came across this…

It’s actually a chicken nugget from a buffet at a birthday party at a restaurant in Kalk Bay, back in April 2022.

But it really does look like a seahorse. Or a knight from a chess set that has crispy, deep-fried pieces.

It was apparently considered remarkable enough at the time to record for posterity. (Alcohol may have been involved.)

And apparently still remarkable enough to make it into a blog post 3 years later. And I’m completely sober at the moment.

Beagle Rollercoaster Confusion Continues

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Not an actual beagle rollercoaster. Although that would be a sight, wouldn’t it?

But no.

Sadly, we’re still struggling with the beagle’s health. And the bigger problem is that no-one can decide exactly what is wrong with her. High temperature, lack of appetite, general floppiness – and yet all her tests keep coming back negative for everything.

She’s been spending time at the vets for the last couple of days, enjoying some lovely IV fluids and antibiotics while they poke and prod as necessary. I took her there this morning, and carried her in, such was her drowsy, weakened state. And when we went to pick her up this evening, the head vet explained to us just how worried they were about Colin’s condition. It was a sobering listen. And then she went to go and get the patient, and we were duly amazed at the perky, waggy-tailed dog that walked out from the back.

Eh?

And then when we got our beagle home, we offered her a piece from the rotisserie chicken (BBQ flavour), we’d got for the family dinner. Long story short, half the chicken (half our dinner) was gone in a few minutes. And some cheese. Some pork biltong. And then some other chicken purposefully bought for – and previously ignored by – the beagle.

The first food she’s had in three days.

Right now, she’s contentedly snoring away on the couch next to me.

I don’t pretend to understand what’s going on. I just want her better.

But for more than 2 days in a row this time.