So proud of our green children

Sashi

I am So Amazed at all the veggies that our garden has produced! We only started the garden 2 or 3 months ago and there are already green beans, loads of rocket and spinach, tomatoes (still green) and LOTS of lettuce! It's truly amazing, I almost can't get over how quickly they have all grown!

Sashi investigating the awesome lettuce!! Mmmmmm.

A feast for the eyes.

Gourd bloom.

But wait, there's more...

Our first bright and beautiful tomatoes :)

I underestimated how fast the veggies could grow and how much space they'd need.

The gourds are taking over!!

Crate success

Crate success

So at last we have a puppy who happily sleeps in the crate, her own space, also known as her den. Many people who are unfamiliar with proper crate training think this idea is very cruel. Understandably so - it looks mean to lock an animal up into a small space!! But the idea is not to confine the pooch in there for ever! The idea is to keep them out of trouble. Therefore out of the pool, out of your cat's hair, off the persian carpets and out of your flower beds. The idea is also not to keep them in there for hours on end. Dogs need mental stimulation, physical exercise and attention! But dogs also love a safe, 'secret' place to sleep. In the crate no beast (including kids) can jump on them from behind, it's a dog's natural instinct to like the crate if introduced to it properly... and clearly our puppy now loves it. She actually prefers the crate over the 3 alternatives... she's got a BIG pillow, a basket cut out from a carboard box with a thick blanket in, and the tile floor which she sometimes prefers because it's cooler to lie on in the hot summer. The crate only has a towel in it, which she sometimes pulls out to lie directly on the newspaper (presumably because it's cooler).

Miss Fussy eater!

Genevieve is up to her old tricks...not finishing all her food. She's certainly not her Mom's child in this respect ;)

First of all she seems to have a very sensitive stomach, but even when it's all 100% she sometimes still refuses to eat all her pellets even though her ribs are starting to show! :(

Where's that ball, I wanna play fetch!

 

 

 

She's growing up so quickly... and getting a little on the lean side :(

I am trying everything I can think of - short of feeding her out of my hand, which she will gladly do by the way!... So she will eat it, she's just not interested in eating it out of her bowl on her own! I am not too certain what to do about this and have written to an expert or 2 for some advice and ideas, since the problem pops up every now and then and I'm quite sure this won't be the last of it.

The Organic Nut house

It took me 5 times longer than usual to get ready for work this morning! First of all I had to take the puppy outside, then I gave her breakfast. Good news - she now eats it all within 20 min. :) Next I had to find Sashi (the cat) and give him antibiotics (he's been sick, but the vet doesn't really know what's wrong?). He spat the pill out on the floor, so I had to repeat the procedure. Then I had to watch the cats eat for 10 min to make sure Sash is eating his food and not getting sick... Last but not least I fed the poor fish, Lang, who is still living in a bucket!! :( And yes, the pond is still not completely fixed up! It has water in now, but the one spout is leaking and I can already see how they're going to mess everything up again and then we have to catch Lang AGAIN! :P So I rather just keep him out of harms way.


I have surrendered to the Suchness of all these people messing around our house and not ever getting it done... however all Suchness is subject to the inevitability of the only true constant (change)... and I blow my top every now and then at the pure uselessness of certain people (eg. the carpenter who arranged for us to open the house so he can install a door to our bathroom, then he arrives without the hinges to actually attach the door to the wall and so he reschedules... this happened 2 weeks ago as u might have guessed he hasn't been back yet to put the door up).  ??? I guess I will also have to accept the fact that not even the new house will ever be flawless. Like everything else in life there will always be a balance between flaws and perfection and without at least one flaw nothing is normal or complete!? Or at least that is what we tell ourselves in order to remain semi-sane and to find enough hope to carry on with life, love, paying tax etc.


At least the cats have started settling a little and are keeping their distance from Jenni, which I truly appreciate! I also have some photos to brag with the super-Fresh produce from our very own organic garden! :) It has been merely 2 months since we started the garden (there was literally NOTHING but weeds and clay before) and she (Mother nature) is already providing wholesome organic produce for the house!! 

 Home-grown organic lettuce from the garden

 Super-easy organic herbs and veggies

Greys: I got left behind in season 5

I think the last time I watched Greys Anatomy was something like over a year ago! I have all the episodes on my hard drive, but I was left behind somewhere in season 5!! That’s how long ago I had time/ or shall I say was lazy enough to just lie and watch series on my own! ;) But last night and this morning I started catching up again – and Oh how wonderful it feels to loaf around the house again till late afternoon in my PJ’s, just like when I used to be single J It’s Awesome! Currently I’m at the episode where O’Mally got driven over by a bus!! And Issy just came back to life after the opp complications – it’s really so intense! I’m crying my eyes out, but it feels so fantastic! J It fascinates me how people, like myself, can find so much joy from watching mindless sh1t like this – but u have to admit, it’s a gripping series!! J

Puppy dreams and hiccups

This is so cute, Jenni's having a very animated puppy dream and her little paws are pacing the air along with soft yelps to encourage them... it sounds almost like when she has hiccups (which happens when she eats her breakfast too fast). Speaking of which, I've been having some trouble with this little food connoisseur...

Sleepy-ness

The breeder gave us a recipe for their "puppy stew", cooked with beef/chicken/tripe mince, rice, lentils and a little green veg. I lovingly made a whole pot full with the beef and tripe mince, cabbage and very little carrot, but little Genevieve had NO interest in eating it. So I made another batch with chicken and beef mince, some spinach, beans and carrot (very small quantities) finely chopped and she still wasn't keen on it.

The Suchness ;)

Jenni Button

Ok, I have calmed down a bit and today I feel just a little more sane! Thank goodness! :)

I have realised that it does not help me at all to panic, it doesn't help to get super stressed about everything. And after all - who can be unhappy on a Saturday, right? ;)

The best solution is to accept the way it is and to just cope with it and maybe even enjoy the fantastic things there are around me! I should relax and only do what is the most important at this point in time and also I have to make time just for myself! VERY Important!!

I feel a little more in control of my life. Puppy house-training is back on schedule. Jenni is such a sweet and well-behaved little puppy-girl :) and she is happy now with her puppy pellets and eats all her food. We were actually able to go out of the house and leave her alone for 2 hours without any crying or misbehaving, she just slept like a baby and happily chewed on her toys when she woke up, waiting till we came back to take her outside. A little angel! :)

Hunny took a couple of stunning pics of her while we played on the lawn, I think that everything might actually be fine! :) *BIG sigh of relief*

Je ne sais quoi, our Beautiful puppy-girl

Oh No! I'm freaking out.

OMG!! What did I do...? :(

Why did I have to INSIST on getting a dog? Right now! I know that we will sort everything out and Jenni is so sweet and well-behaved, she will be all settled in very soon, but I really think this has all happened too soon? 8 Months ago, when I put our name on the puppy waiting-list, I was sure we would be all bored and settled in our new house by now, but I was so wrong! :( There is still so much going on and I feel completely overwhelmed with all the things I have to do... 

The best puppy toy

Just a very short review of which of all the possible puppy toys are Jenn's favourite...


Result: The twigs from our Bushwillow! Go figure :P

I luv my twig.
 

Puppy Love

Besides sharing some of the ins and outs of my life in general one of the main reasons for my blog is to share one of my dreams-come-true. This weekend (6 Feb 2011) we fetched our very own puppy (and very 1st as a couple). Her name is Genevieve (aka Jenni Button or "Je ne sais quoi"), also fondly known as The Poopy :)

Genevieve is a flashy Irish Red Setter, her pedigreed name is Oakdale's Bed o' Roses (Daddy: Apollo of the Chicken Farm, Mommy: Oakdale's Safari Sunset). Such a sweet name, and especially appropriate since our new garden has a couple of wonderful new roses (my very first ever no wait, I lie, I did have a red miniature rose once and it died... hmmmm???).

Anyway, I'm sure a few pictures will be worth more than their 1000 words.

Ain't I just gorgeous...

Some biltong with that pleez.

More gorgeousness.

And so, I enter the blogesphere.

I was complaining to my boyfriend about how extremely busy and overwhelmed I feel with all the 101 things I am supposed to do... then he suggested: why don't you start a blog about it.   o.O Uuuuhmmm...

I am rather certain it was NOT because he found my ear-wigging so fascinating - he probably hoped it would relieve some tension I felt with life, the Universe... and everything (a fascinatingly odd book by the way ;). 

So then I decided Why Not! I'm already so busy with everything I imagine my life's all about - Why not commit myself to even more obligation (Def: things you THINK you have to do) and leapt onto the bandwagon and now here I am. Hunny suggested I call it "My life and I", which I have to say I quite like. However, I thought it better (something I tend to do rather often) to add a little more of my true personality into the mix and call it Why Not.