Thank you, everyone, for your kind messages. As Mrs Bennet remarks in Pride & Prejudice, ‘those who never complain are never pitied’ which obviously works, so in future I’ll bear that in mind.
This infection is rather wearing, loss of sleep, and a lot of energy going into simply breathing. I haven’t had one as bad as this for years. I shall get through it, but sadly I’ve realised I need to rehome my hens because of the allergic dust from Aubiose and feathers etc. Also, they are yet more animals to care for as well as the dog, and though I have a reliable teenager on tap when we go away, it may not be sustainable long term. However, my good friends Jim and Julia will welcome them with open wings, because they’re now down to a couple of oldies and, getting no eggs, were thinking of buying some new pullets. So mine will go to a super free range home for their natural life, (which, tbh, they might not have enjoyed once they stopped laying if they stayed with me!) And my friends will take the Green Frog coop for them - though being leghorn hybrids they’ve never used it except the nest boxes as they like to roost on a high perch under the run roof instead. So J.and J. will have to attend hen training classes, but I haven’t mentioned this yet,
As for Pippin - when Poppy died, we were both devastated. It’s a major bereavement when you lose a dog like her, one so much part of your life. She was so very special to both of us.
So it’ll be a long grieving process, but if course it raises the question of the wisdom of getting another dog when you’re 82 and going slowly up the stairs, and no longer climbing Glyder Fawr and up over the Castle of the Winds. A dog is for life, a 15year contract potentially. But to us, Poppy was an assistance dog - because of her needs and routines, and because of her sense of humour, and her intuitional response to how we were feeling, she made us get up, go for a walk in all weathers, come for cuddles, chase ducks off the pond, - so part of our despair was the thought that she was our last dog, as well as one of a long line of dogs. But our daughter Sara said ‘Don’t be silly, Mum, it’s essential for you to have a dog, and if in the future you can’t take care of him any longer, I will always give him a home with mine.”
Then we were faced with a long wait to find a Norfolk Terrier puppy, could have been months as they’re a fairly rare breed with small litters - but when I asked Poppy’s breeder, she said that, on the day Poppy died, the people who were booked to take the remaining pup from a litter of two had rung her and asked if she could keep him for another 5 weeks as it wasn't convenient to get him at nine weeks as planned. So she offered him to us instead. He’s related to Poppy - Poppy’s Mum was Pippin’s great grandmother - so it did all fall into place and we had him 10 days after Poppy passed away. We both keep calling him Poppy, somewhat similar name plus nine years of use but with practice it’s mutating to Poppin. The other problem is pronouns. Hard to use ‘he’ rather than ‘she’ - similar to the national cultural change from The Queen to The King, I suppose.
I’m still feeling pretty ill - but Tony is really stepping up and learning to cook, the girls have had a go at him about helping me and I’ve been worried about how he’d cope if I died first when he can’t even work the microwave. He is making good progress. Has learned how to do several dinners, using various functions of my combi oven, and edible results produced, - though having spent ages making a lovely smooth cheese sauce, better than mine would have been, when left to serve it up he poured it over the little cheese soufflés instead of the cauliflower it had actually been destined for. Nouvelle cuisine, and actually very nice. Today we aim to up our game and make a slow cooker full of savoury mince and veg for cottage pie, plus extra portions for the freezer. (However, as he’s gone to bed for a little nap atm, the mince might have to be tomorrow, so we may need to try AutoCook Program 24, Jacket Potatoes, instead.)
He’s not the only one snoozing!
