Introducing Lucy the Borador

Hello

Today I would like to introduce you to the newest member of our family, Lucy the Borador puppy.

I have always wanted my own dog, but when I was living with my parents they wouldn't let me have one and usually you aren't allowed pets if you are in rented accommodation. So when we got the house the first thing I wanted to do was get a dog. Finances were tight and I wanted to see how much things would cost before committing to a dog, so I wasn't expecting to get a dog any time soon. However I happened to mention to my boyfriend how much I wanted a dog and out of the blue he said "Shall I get you one for Christmas?'. I didn't think he was serious, but it turns out he was! So in December I started looking for one. I wanted to get a puppy so that I could bring it up how I wanted and know that there weren't any behavioural issues, as can be the case with rescue animals. I have always liked Border Collies and Labradors and I wanted a dog that would be intelligent so that I could train it beyond the basics and possibly do dog agility with it. 

I found some Border Collie x Labrador puppies (Borador for short) nearby that were very reasonably priced, so we arranged a visit. Out of a litter of nine there were two girls left. One was very shy and the other ran up to us straight away wanting a fuss. I had read that you should pick a confident puppy so we chose the one that came up to us straight away.

We took this picture when we went to view her. She has grown so much since then!

On the 18th December we went to collect her. Within minutes it became clear that she was going to be a travel sick little puppy and the journey home was the longest hour of my life. Once we got her home she quickly recovered from the journey and was running about exploring her new home. We also have two cats which we introduced slowly and Lucy had no problem with (other than loving to chase them!). I was expecting the first night to be very difficult, but as is her way, Lucy was not phased at all by being away from her mum and litter mates.

Within a couple of weeks she had learnt sit and lay. Since then we have taught her crawl, roll over, paw, catch, fetch and spin. She waits at doors and gates until I tell her she can go through and she will come when called. I am also working on teaching her the names of her toys so she can bring a named toy back to me. She is so friendly and will happily roll over in the street for a tummy rub. The best thing is coming home and seeing how happy she is to see me.

Her worst habit by far is eating things she shouldn't. So far she has eaten cat poo, bird poo, a bone, wood, stones, a dead frog, a dead mouse and socks. As much as I try to stop her she is so fast. You think she is just sniffing something and by the time you realise she is actually eating it, its too late. This habit has already resulted in a very costly visit to the vets for a stomach infection. She also hates dogs coming up behind her and trying to sniff her. I don't know where this has come from as she hasn't to my knowledge had an experience that would make her scared.

In terms of the breed traits she has, I would say she has an equal mix of both pure breed's traits. She is very intelligent, athletic and energetic like a collie and very hungry and friendly towards people like a labrador. If she isn't given enough to do she will find her own entertainment, which usually means destroying something she shouldn't. If she gets plenty of exercise then she is very well behaved and entertains herself well with her toys.

Lucy often sits like this on things. Its very cute.

In general she has been a good puppy, but the first couple of months were extremely difficult trying to adjust to the new arrival. She couldn't be left on her own for a minute, unless she was in her pen, it was hard work constantly cleaning up accidents and getting up in the middle of the night to take her outside. There were moments during those months that I wished I hadn't got her. But once she started getting the hang of going to the toilet outside and she started begin able to go through the night without a visit outside it got much easier. Now I can't imagine her not being around and I love her so much. She makes me smile everyday and she is super intelligent. 

I will be doing update posts about Lucy's progress, tips and things I have learnt about raising a puppy and also recommendations for pet things e.g. insurance, food. So stayed tuned!

TTFN! (Woof! from Lucy)

Furniture Customisation

Hello

Today I thought I would write a post about how to customise wooden furniture. The techniques used would apply to any type of wooden furniture that you may want to customise. One of my new favourite hobbies is looking around second hand/antique furniture stores. Whilst doing this I kept seeing really cute wall mounted cupboards. I decided that I would really like one to go in the dining room to go with the traditional look we wanted to achieve. I found a really nice one in a local second hand furniture shop that had the perfect look. The price was £40 but I managed to haggle them down slightly to £36. This is what it looked like.

The first step is to fill in any holes or dents with some wood filler.

The second step is to sand down every surface you are going to paint and any areas that you have filled in with wood filler. This provides a good surface for painting. It should be done with a fine grade sandpaper so you don't get grooves in the wood. It also helps to keep the grain visible. 

Tip: Wrap the sandpaper around a small block of wood. This makes it quicker to do and easier to hold.

The third step is to wipe over where you have sanded with a damp cloth to remove any dust. If you don't do this the paint won't adhere to the wood properly and you won't get a smooth finish. Let the wood dry thoroughly before moving on to step 4.

The forth and final step is to paint it. The paint I have used is Homebase Home of Colour satin wood paint in the colour Duck Egg. This is the paint I have used on all the woodwork in the room so it will tie everything together nicely. Its best to use a wood paint, but if you want to match a wall colour you can use that emulsion paint, but you will need to apply a couple of layers of clear varnish afterwards to protect it.

You want to use smooth even strokes and keep an eye on any edges or joins for drops or build up of paint as you go. If you do this then you can correct them before the paint dries. I painted the whole cupboard with two coats and did a third on the outside surfaces. The number of coats you need will depend on the type of paint and what colour you are using or painting over. I didn't need to sand mine in between coats, but if you are a bit of a messy painter it may be worth doing a light sand between coats. But makes sure to wipe the surface as before, between layers.

 

And its complete!

Finishing Touches....

I added a couple of small hooks that I got from Homebase. The owls and heart are Christmas decorations from the local garden centre and the candle is a Yankee Small Jar in the fragrance Pineapple Cilantro. I got this purely because of the colour as it matches the green on the wallpaper. It does smell lovely too!

I'm really pleased with the results and its matches the other woodwork perfectly. Its a big improvement on the grubby cupboard I started with.

TTFN and good luck with your own furniture customisation projects!

An Unexpected Welcome Gift

Hello

A few weeks ago we got a very pleasant surprise from our mortgage company Nationwide. A large box of new home goodies arrived on our doorstep. We had no idea it was coming, but it contained some very useful items.

Inside there were cleaning products, toilet rolls, kitchen rolls, bin bags...

 ...Everything you need for a cup of tea...

...and some lovely Baylis and Harding hand washes.

It was such a lovely surprise and very thoughtful. So thank you very much Nationwide.

Moving

Hello

Sorry for the blogging hiatus. I have had a very hectic two weeks moving into my new home! As you would expect it wasn't a fun experience. Even the prospect of it being OUR home didn't reduce the stress and exhaustion. But we are in and unpacked now. Phew!

We had been told we could pick up the keys on friday so we got up early and packed our remaining stuff and filled both cars up with as many boxes as we could. We then got a call saying the keys could be picked up at 11am. Which was brilliant as I have heard horror stories of people waiting all day in their removal vans to be able to pick up the keys. The estate agent was only a minute away from the house, so we didn't have to wait much longer to see out new home.

The first thing we did was look around everywhere properly. I had a lovely surprise when I opened the cupboard in the bedroom, to find a wardrobe large enough for all my clothes and shoes. This frees up space and also means I can sell my old wardrobe for some much needed cash! We unpacked the car, then my boyfriend went to get more stuff. We had decided it would be easier to paint the living room before we brought all the large furniture over. So while he was getting more smaller boxes I started decorating. In hindsight this might not have been the best idea as it made the whole process more drawn out and exhausting. We had chosen a colour called 'Roasted Red' which on the label looked like a nice darkish red. To go with it I had chosen a light grey. This idea may sound whacky but I had seen it in one of the paint swatch books you can get in DIY shops and it looked lovely. So I started painting and immediately hated the 'red'. It wasn't actually a red, but more of a burnt orange. I hate orange! Stupidly we hadn't bought testers first, but went straight to the big pots. So that was £18 wasted! Anyhoo I carried on with the grey and resolved to go to Homebase the next day and get a 'proper' red.

The next day we moved over some smaller boxes and I went to Homebase to get another red paint. This time I got tester and found the perfect true bright red (crazy I know but wait until you see it finished). So I carried on painting with some help from my sister. After painting 3 walls and leaving the other grey, we decided that that didn't work either so I painted over that in red. Another pot of paint wasted! The finished look is really nice and very cosy. All the big stuff had been moved by this point so this was our first night sleeping in our new home.

Unfortunately we didn't have an oven and had a lot of trouble finding one that would be delivered quickly (there's only so long you can eat hot food purely from a microwave). We wanted to get an electric cooker but the wiring was not in place to have it fitted so we have had to get a gas oven. I'm gutted about this as I hate gas. I think is so dangerous and its much more temperamental getting the temperature right. But at least we now have everything we need to live comfortably.

A month later we have one room decorated and have nearly finished another room, and everything is unpacked. I've also done some work in the garden and bought some pots. Each day we do a bit more work and it gets a bit more like the home we want it to be.

TTFN!

Finally! Some Good News!

Hello

Yesterday we finally received the news we have been waiting two and a half months for. We have got a moving date! Yippee! Next week we will be picking up the keys to our new home. I cannot tell you how awful the wait has been. We have been trying to save money so that we can decorate and buy new furniture so we have barely been out anywhere. I started packing a couple of weeks ago so our flat is full of boxes. The worst part has been knowing that life is going to be very busy and stressful while we move, but not know when it is going to be happening. So it just prolongs the stress even more. But it will all be worth it when we pick up the keys.

TTFN!