The other day I mentioned that I had a photo album of my dogs but I also have lots of pictures not in albums. The pictures here were taken about fourteen years ago. Jack the Manchester terrier (deceased), Doobry toy apricot poodle and Perkins a blotched tabby cat (deceased). They all got on really well and would often sit together - the cat was in charge of course.
We would often end up all sitting together like this, Perkins always had first choice of where to sit, then Jack, then Doobry. I had no choice!!!
If I wasn't available to sit on these two would lie on the floor.
I have lots of pictures of my first two dogs that I will show another day.
While I was looking at these pictures it reminded me of how much work we were doing on the house at that time.
Graham working on the kitchen, what a mess! It nearly drove us round the bend.
Me cutting out the wall to make a doorway for the new, upstairs, bathroom.
The stud wall we built when we converted part of a bedroom for the bathroom. Apart from plumbing we did all this sort of work ourselves.
The house is now nothing like it was when we first lived here. We've done a lot of work on it. It was built in 1908 so takes quite a bit of maintenance. When we moved here it had been 'modernized' quite badly so needed a lot of work doing. We put the bathroom upstairs and changed the downstairs bathroom to a wc and laundry room and moved an internal wall so that there is an annexe to the kitchen for my fridge/freezer and further storage cupboards, replaced all the windows and external doors, replaced the floor boards in the main bedroom and built fitted cupboards and wardrobes, installed central heating, replaced the roof and did tons of other stuff. I still don't count it as finished though. Currently we have a problem with a leak over the bay window, I think rain is getting between the rendering and the bricks (why it was rendered I'll never understand). What attracted me to this particular house was that it had a proper entrance hall, the kitchen was big compared to a lot of houses of this type and the size of the garden. The garden is one of those really long, narrow types, it's split into several sections, the back door patio then a gravelled area where my greenhouse is, a slabbed patio, a lawned area with flower borders and old apple tree, the shed and garage area, then my veg plot area. Also it is a few minutes walk from a fairly decent shopping area and our doctor is about two minutes walk away. There is a very good bus service too. All in all it's a great place to live.
4 comments:
friends in furry packages are definitely the best kind :o) Your lap must have felt so bare when Jack and Perkins left you. I love that Perkins was top cat when it came to the seating arrangements!
Do you still have Doobry then?
Do you look back at your 'in progress' photos and wonder how you achieved so much? We marvel at what our house was like when we moved in and did all the DIY ourselves because we didn't have a bean to rub together to pay anyone else. Such a feeling of satisfaction and really important to create a home you love living in.
Nic - Yes, we still have Doobry, he was a pup in those pictures, he's been a great little dog. I miss Jack and Perkins, I cried a lot over Perkins, he was such a nice boy.
When I think about the amount of work we did ourselves I'm not surprised I'm a physical wreck!!! We had to do most of it ourselves because it was the only way we could afford it too.
I'm amazed at the relationship your animals shared with each other and with you. Pets are such a blessing in my book.
I'm also amazed at the amount of work you and Graham accomplished! Yes, I can see why you would have a bad back. ;) It has been much the same for my husband and I. It seems we just do not know when to stop! God's Peace, Melissa
Hi Ann, it's a shame WP and Blogger comments don't talk to each other. I never remember to look back at replies!
Cats certainly steal your heart. I can't bear the thought that our fluff balls will leave us one day, especially as they're siblings so they'll all grow old at the same time. At least they've had a good start and are in fine health so we'll aim for a feline record for longevity I think!
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