Rufus

Rufus

14th. May 2003 - 6th. March 2012

Happy Valentine's Day

Not long now until Mike gets home.

A Bit of Colour on a Sparkly Day

Our main computer seems to have developed a virus making it unusable. So I'm on the second computer where I was browsing through some photos this morning. I came across these colourful photos and thought I would use them here.

The morning had a dull and icy start to it.So I waited for it to warm up a bit before taking the hounds out. Sure enough, the sun came out and it was lovely out, even warm, when all wrapped up of course.

After the walk, I then drove to the vets to get some more painkillers for Rufus. I saw the lady vet who treats all our hounds. She is lovely. She said she had just been thinking about Jewel (there is a photo of Jewel on the windowsill behind the receptionists counter), and was wondering how Rufus was. So I updated her.

To get to the vets, we have to travel upriver to Bernkastel and beyond. It's only a matter of about 6 miles. There are some locks on the river in the next village to us, and from then on, all the way to the vets, ice covered the river. Not only ice, but the snow that fell yesterday, making a river of white. It was spectacular, sparkling in the sun. Just a shame I didn't have the camera so I could have shown you.

So instead, I am showing you a bit of colour in the form of this throw that I made last year. These photos are dated the beginning of March, so I guess it's been finished for about a year.

Well I'm hoping the sun continues to shine over the weekend. It makes everything so much more cheery. Hope it's cheery for you, whatever the weather.

A Cold Snap

I took this photo a while back. After having an incredibly mild winter, Mike passed a comment about how we hadn't had a winter. Shortly afterwards we had some frosty mornings. Then about two weeks ago we had a light dusting of snow which has lingered until now in places. And from then on it has just got very cold. There is even ice on the river.

Yesterday afternoon it snowed again. It was bitterly cold when I took the hounds out for their afternoon walk, and there were light flakes of snow. At teatime when I looked out of the window it had snowed properly, not deep, but a proper fall, covering all the surrounding roads. Fortunately, that has thawed in todays sunshine. Last night when I took the hounds out for their walk before bedtime, the moon was full, and even though it was cloudy, it cast a light which together with the snow, made it almost as light as day. I was able to see the surrounding hillsides, right to the top and the other side of the river too. Magical.

Mike flew to the UK yesterday morning, so it's me and the hounds keeping warm together. Mike is keeping his eye on the weather forecast, and told me it is forecast for -20 at the weekend!

Thank you for all your good wishes regarding Rufus. The vet gave him some painkillers, and he seems comfortable. He has a very healthy appetite, his coat is soft and healthy. He doesn't appear to be ill at all. He's usually on the sofa next to me when I'm on the computer. I have to type one handed as he objects when I stop stroking him.

Thank you also for your birthday wishes for my grandson. When I talked to him on the phone, he was most impressed when I told him that people from all round the world wished him a happy birthday.

Mike has the camera with him. So I've been looking to see what photos I can use while he's away. I have one or two already lined up for future posts.

Well it's coming up to afternoon walk time. I need to make sure I get out with the hounds while the sun is still shining. At the moment they are all enjoying an afternoon snooze. Hope you are staying warm where you are.



Just Five Months

These pictures of Rufus and Jess

were taken a couple of weeks ago.

I remember thinking that they reminded me of a Pushmepullyou.

I don't remember being unduly worried about Rufus then,

and yet I think it was about that time that we started having concerns about him.

He had developed a limp.

Similiar to Jewel.

Yesterday, a visit to the vet

confirmed, that like Jewel,

Rufus has bone cancer.

At the moment I'm typing this using one hand.

My other hand is continually stroking Rufus

as he lies next to me on the sofa.

He doesn't like me to take my hand away from him.

Poor lad, so strong and robust.

I think at the moment we are feeling a bit stunned by the news.

In only just over 5 months,

we are looking at losing another of our dear greyhounds.

Turrets

Yesterday I did a post about my grandson's birthday and used some photos from last year when he and his mum visited us. I hadn't shown these photos previously, which is a shame as we had some lovely visits out and about and took (as usual), loads of photos. So here are more photos from the visit we made to Eltz Castle.

The only disappointment was that they were doing some work on the outside of the castle which spoiled it's appearance. However, it may have spoiled the initial views of the castle, but it couldn't detract from the rest of the visit.

It's a typical fairy tale castle. It's quite small. I get the impression that German people are very proud of this castle. It is privately owned and I think the family live there. We had a guided visit inside the castle, but of course I wasn't allowed to take any photos. The inside is as impressive as it is from the outside.

The reason for making the visit in the first place, was because my daughter remembered visiting the castle as a child with my parents, her brother and me. She had some fond memories of the visit and the holiday. I remember walking along the river to get to the castle and walking through hoards of butterflies. I've never seen so many altogether before or since.

It was a lovely day out. It was quite a hot day, and a paddle in the river below would have been nice, but the effort of walking down to it and then back up would have defeated the purpose of cooling off, so we gave it a miss.

It's such a lovely place to visit, I would certainly go again.

Seven Up

A very Happy Birthday to my Grandson!

Seven years old today!

I can't be with my grandson today, but I'm sure he's enjoying his special day.

The photos I've used on today's post were all taken last June when my daughter and her son visited us here in Germany. I was very proud of my daughter for making the visit as she isn't a keen air traveller. In fact she's had to overcome a fear of flying to make these visits, all the more remarkable that she makes them with her young son. And of course I was very pleased and happy to see them both, excited even. Yes I do still get excited at my age, especially if it's to do with seeing the family.

 The first two photos were taken on a local visit, but these two were taken on a day trip to Eltz Castle.
A great day out.

Maybe I will celebrate an unbirthday day with my grandson this June, or the next time I see him. It will certainly be worth celebrating whenever it is.

Peachy Morning

I enjoyed my walk with the hounds this morning.
It was like spring.

The sky had a lovely peachy hue. I was reminded of some David Hockney paintings I saw a few days ago on the TV. There was lots of colour around, despite it still being winter.

Later in the day I cycled along the river which has started to subside.

Shame that the sun had disappeared by then.

Flood Water

Just to show how much rain we've had lately, I went out with the camera on Friday just to see if I'd won. (See previous post). Yes I did! The river was indeed higher. The river is coming up through the bridge on the road that leads down to the river.

Then again for more pics on Saturday.

Well, there'll be no walking alongside the river here will there?

You can see how the trees are not only surrounded by water, but it's quite deep as well.

It looks quite pretty though.

This road sign is taped to show that the road is flooded up river.

Last year, the floods were higher. The water came right over the road at the bottom where you can see the cars. Today, the water has subsided from how it was when I took these photos at the weekend.

Saturday was Mike's birthday. There are 3 of us Capricorns in the family.
We had a quiet day,
as you can see.

A Sorting Pastime

This morning was very wet, and grey.

With all the rain we've been having lately, the river has flooded over it's banks.

In the next picture you can see the river, it's not usually visible from this point.



So it was a good day to stay inside, warm and dry.  A good day to sort through my fabrics. I've joined Clare's rose star block party. I needed to check whether I had some suitable fabric. I didn't want to have to buy any, and my main stash is still in Sweden.

I had more than I thought I had. I enjoyed sorting through my fabrics. Funnily enough when I took the photos of the fabric this afternoon, the sun was shining.
I've also signed up for Anne's swop. So I need to have a think about what to do for that. I did something similiar sometime ago making ATC's. Whilst checking the ATC's I found a post I did about postcards that I'd forgotten about. I never did frame them.



We've just taken the hounds out for their last walk. We couldn't get along the river because the river is too high. We noticed cars on the road on the opposite bank slowing down and one turning round. That must mean the river has flooded the road on the far side. I think the river will be even higher tomorrow. Mike thinks it will have gone down a bit. It's been very windy today as well.

One Big Happy Family

Happy New Year!