Saturday, December 23, 2017

For (a) Wedding and a funeral

Firstly so that no one worries about the funeral part of the title, lets just get that out of the way shall we and then move on.

The funeral was for our wee Max, on November 6th we lost him on the operating table, he was having a lump taken out of his neck, he flatlined and died, we were and still are devastated.
We are now a home without dogs. Some of you may be wondering what happened to Ava, well, I'm afraid that we ended up having her put to sleep, she and Max got to the point that they were fighting every day. It seemed no matter what I tried with her it failed. So when they had a huge fight that left Max needing an emergency visit to the vets, we made the call and had her put down the same day. We spoke to the pound where we got her from and they were unwilling to take her back knowing that she had attacked another dog. So even though it broke my heart doing it, and even though I felt a total failure, it was the right decision. I wasn't about to pass her on to someone else to deal with.
Because of this fight Max had ongoing problems which meant frequent trips to the vets. It was highly likely that the injuries he sustained caused an infection within his body that we just couldn't clear up. His lymph nodes were swollen and as a last resort we decided to go with removal and another biopsy to try and determine exactly what the problem was. We already knew that it was some form of cancer growing. It was during this operation that he died, it was unexpected, although I very nearly brought him home, I had a feeling in my gut. I should have trusted it. The staff at the vets were distraught too, especially the vet, he looked so sad when I went to pick Max up that I just hugged him. I even got a phone call a few days later from one of the veterinary nurses to see how I was doing, which I thought was lovely, they had all been in a fit of gloom too.
The last photos I ever took, the day before he died
 Run free Maxy Moo, we miss you xx

Maybe we'll get another dog at some point but not until after the wedding.
And it's because of the wedding that I've not been blogging, I've just been too busy. Well that and I was just feeling exhausted all the time.
The cause of the exhaustion turned out to be diabetes, so now I have to live with that, gotta watch my sugar intake, such fun, especially at this time of year. Ah well, moving on.
After our visitors left in June, (the last time I made a post) we pretty much hibernated through the winter, it was a wet one.
That last time I blogged about any home improvements was way back in February, here. I can tell you now that a lot has happened since then.
Basically, and the short version is, we put in a new kitchen!! And it's bloody lovely, after we had decorated the family room end and got the new furniture, to be honest the kitchen just looked like shit!
Wanna see some piccy's? Course ya do.....Hold on to your butts, there are shitloads of photos
Joe starts to take out the old kitchen, started 2nd September 2017
 
 A  new double glazed door goes in
 All the Gib board came off
 And Michael had to level the walls by adding new stud work (pink)
 As is the norm with old house, no walls are straight, our was 30mm wider at one end than the other.







 Then we decided to put in a wider, new double glazed window
  New Gib board goes up and gets painted
 New window in

 The pantry door
 New kitchen gets installed on the 22nd November


 Ready for the new flooring to go down




 These Le Mans pull outs are in both corners and are the bees knees!

 As are the pull outs either side of where the new cooker will be


 BIG sink
 Home for the new fridge
 The day after the kitchen went in, the flooring went down



 New fridge and dishwasher are installed
 Using the old cooker while we wait for the new
 BIG fridge
 Cool dishwasher, the top shelf takes all of the cutlery
 Time to start filling the cupboards





 And what goes in all the drawers?








 I now have another cutlery tray in here
 And because the pantry was feeling left out









 My view from the kitchen window
 Flash tap
 You could bathe in this sink
 Then it was time to put all the furniture back











And I think that might do for today. Since I took these photos the new curtains have been put up. I've pics of the garden to show you too as I've been planting like a madwoman, I want the garden looking nice for the wedding next year.

I will leave you there and come back very soon, with yet more photos!

We had our Christmas on Wednesday, Michael & Tash are heading to Hawkes Bay to spent it with her family. And I didn't take a single photo, bugger, ah well it was a lovely dinner.

How ever you choose to spend this holiday season, have a great one and be safe.

See you soon


16 comments:

  1. Shock horror! An update no less!!! Well done on everything. I am sad about both your dogs, having gone through something similar with one of ours too. ALL THE VERY BEST FOR 2018, I am sure it's gunna be awesome. Merry Christmas for Monday Chick.

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    1. I know, did you feel faint! lol Yeah tough decisions eh :( All the best to you too matey, have a good 'un, see you in the New Year xx

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  2. sad to read about your four legged friends, the special ones leave a hole in our hearts. Your home is looking lovely. Here's hoping you get time enjoy it all with weddings and what knot!

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    1. Thanks Leeanne, it's pretty hard eh when you lose them, I hate that part of having pets. Got lots to look forward to xx

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  3. Anonymous7:56 pm

    Hi Sue i am sorry to hear about what happened with your furbabies,my heart goes out to you.
    Wow i am loving your renovations what a beautiful home you have and your kitchen is going to be awesome,merry Xmas and i am now your new follower.xx

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  4. Sorry to hear about the dogs, always a tough decision to make, but the right one. Shame about poor Max though.

    As for the kitchen...I can only drool - so much space!! It is really lovely.

    Wedding? Did I miss this? Whose wedding?

    Have a lovely Christmas, and look after yourself!

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    1. Yeah I'm still having sad moments over him :( I love my new kitchen, never had such a luxurious one, ever!. Michael & Natasha are getting married Dec 1 next year, in the garden here! :D Have a lovely Christmas & New Year x

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  5. Hi Sue, the kitchen is beautiful and your new stove will be the finishing touch! Is is the norm over there not to have upper cabinets in the kitchen? You would very rarely see that over here. You have such a nice big pantry that you probably wouldn't need any!! Merry Christmas and enjoy your nice relaxing day!

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    1. Ah yes the stove! I forgot to add a pic of it :D No usually there are wall cupboards, but I chose not to have them, I can't reach the damn things and also I didn't need them as I have my lovely pantry. Reckon they would have made the kitchen seem too overcrowded too, I like that openness we have. Have a lovely xmas too, best wishes to you and yours x

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  6. Sorry for the loss of your dogs, such a greatloss when the are so close to your heart. Your kitchen looks amazing very light and airy. I'd love a walk in pantry. Have a Merry Christmas.

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    1. Thanks Louise, it's hard not having a dog hear that's for sure, we still have Jinx the cat. Merry Christmas to you and yours

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  7. So sorry to hear about your little dogs, they sure leave a big hole in the heart don't they. Your kitchen reno's look amazing, all the drawers and space in the pantry is fantastic. Hope you have a wonderful Christmas.

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    1. Thanks, they do leave a big hole yes :( I'm so happy with the kitchen, everything works so well. Happy Christmas to you and yours x

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  8. I am welling up reading about the sad loss of your dogs. It is 3 years, yesterday, that we lost our beautiful Labrador, Poppy, to cancer and the vet was also crying as we held her whilst she took her final journey. 7 months later we had our next Labrador put down, a rescue dog who became increasingly difficult and took to biting. So unusual for a Lab but we knew he was unsafe to either keep or re-home. Both leave huge holes in our lives.

    But on the other hand you have MY pantry!! We are starting to build our extension that will become our new kitchen complete with pantry and yours is EXACTLY how I envisage ours to be. Page bookmarked so I can show my other half!

    I don't know if you are interested but I host a monthly blog linky called Going Green on my blog A Green and Rosie Life and I would love it if you would either pop over for a read and/or join in. What-ever you decide I am glad I found your blog and have a wonderful 2018.

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  9. Isn't it horrible saying goodbye to them. I will certainly come over for a look, that's for commenting. Happy New Year.

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