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You are here: Home / 2012 / Archives for November 2012

Archives for November 2012

Feeding an aging dog

November 26, 2012 by Jen

A peaceful moment. Day 296/366.

Our dog is about 15 years old (the one on the right pictured above). I’m not exactly sure of her age because when I got her, her then owner was a bit vague about her age – 2-2.5 years he thought. I don’t know if I ever said on this blog before but he committed suicide a few years after giving us Monty which was awful to hear and I’m glad she was spared from losing him in that way. Although she did lose him when we got her didn’t she?

Monty has had 13 years with me, and 11 years with my son and I hate to say this, but I think she might be lucky to make it past the end of the year.

Pretty much since I got her I’ve been buying her dog food from Bucket of Beef and she’s normally devoured it in a very short amount of time. In the last few weeks she hasn’t wanted it so I’ve had to come up with other sorts of food that she’ll eat.

I tried changing our order to doggy mince but she doesn’t seem too keen on that either. At the moment she’s having cut up bits of chicken or beef from the human food section of the supermarket. I’ve even made instant gravy to pour over the top to warm it up a bit and to add that bit of extra flavour. It seems to be working but she’s still not that interested in eating. She likes eating doggy treats like Smackos and she likes me hand feeding her small pieces of cheese. I’ve even been feeding her twice a day instead of once a day.

I spoke to a vet who euthanases pets in your home. I met this vet at my local oval when she was walking her dogs. She used to work at a clinic but has since left and started her own business. She was fantastic on the phone and pretty much said that I will know when the time comes. Monty’s yearly injections are due around now and I asked if it’s worth getting them done as they’re expensive and I doubt whether she’ll get her year’s worth. The vet said not to worry about it as it will stress her out and she’s still covered from all the previous ones. That makes me doubly glad because I’ve gone off my local vet surgery.

Monty is still following us around the house absolutely everywhere. When she stops doing that and appears to have lost interest in us, or when she physically can’t move around then I’ll know the time has come.

She is very wobbly on her back legs and stumbles all over the place. It’s excruciating to watch her pace back and forth in the lounge before she finally settles down on her mat or on the shag-pile rug. I think she forgets why she came into the room, hence the pacing.

She also wanders up and down the hallway looking in the bedrooms – previously out of bounds – but the rules have been heavily relaxed. And as she’s deaf, telling her to come or go out is hopeless.

I have to lift her into the car if we go out – jumping in is a thing of the past. And walks – even short walks are out now. I do want to take her to the beach one last time but it will have to be one that has a very short walk from the carpark to the beach.

So I continue to sweep up her molting fur, pat her as much as I can and love her heaps while we’ve still got her.

 

 

My Skylanders giveaway closed and winners have been chosen.

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It turns out I can cook scones

November 14, 2012 by Jen

Successful scones. Day 306/366.

Scones. It turns out I can make them. These weren’t for me but for the school fete.

Blowing the thistle seeds. Day 307/366.

Don’t you always have the urge to do this too?

Sometimes I find these notes on my computer. Day 304/366.

He hasn’t learned how to update my Facebook status but I get my own private updates.

Bearded Iris. Day 303/366.

I caught it in time to take a photo. I love these.

I’m joining in for Trish’s Wordless Wednesday. At least I know I’m not alone in my contributions not being wordless.

And I’m doing a Skylanders giveaway.

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Skylander Giants – Review and giveaway

Happy to try out Skylander Giants. Day 298/366.

I’ve been a Spyro fan for a few years now and embraced Skylanders when it was released last year. A year on, and it was another Skylander’s game release – Skylander Giants.

We were lucky enough to be sent a game to review and review it my son and I have both done.

His point of view

Very good puzzle game with being able to move things around so that you can get to the next stage.

I love the fact that they have Skystones. I’d love a real Skystones game.

I like the story and especially the end. I like having to find Kaos (the baddy) and seeing the mischief he gets up to (I’m a bit appalled that he has finished the game just because it means I let him spend a while in front of it, but it is easy to get to the end without having found all the areas and therefore only completing about 30% of the game. If he gets any new characters he will go back and play it more).

I’m not so keen on having two versions of the some characters for the first Skylanders and Skylander Giants.

The Skylander Giants are pretty darn cool! Because they’re big and can lift certain items that others can’t, and do way more damage.

I also like the cards that come with the game.

I rate it 9/10.

My take

I have actually played it and I enjoy it. I’ve found defeating the ‘bosses’ easier so far than I did the first game which I like because I get impatient when things are too hard and get my son to come and help me out. That’s a bit hard when he’s asleep.

I also like the Skystones game aspect within Skylander Giants.

I also like the puzzle aspects of the game. As well as moving things around to get to other levels, there’s finding different areas to find treasure chests and so on. There’s the hero challenges too.

I like that you can use the Skylander characters on Skylander Giants and it’s good that the money I spent on those characters is being put to use on this game without having to fork out heaps more for the new characters. The upgrades they earned in the first game are also recognised in Giants.

The new characters in Skylander Giants

The game features 16 new characters, led by eight Giant Skylanders, who are twice the size of their comrades. The Giants each have exciting new powers and abilities to match their size.  Joining the Giants are eight new classic-sized Skylanders, who also feature never-before-seen powers. Additionally, Skylanders Giants introduces new LightCore Skylanders that glow when on or near the Portal of Power—no batteries required. Fan-favorites from Skylanders Spyro’s Adventure return as Series 2 characters featuring an all new “Wow Pow” upgrade power as well as the choice of more than one upgrade path.

More information about Skylander Giants

Visit the Skylanders website.

The giveaway

I’ve got three prizes for three winners that I’m giving away courtesy of Activision (images below of single characters aren’t necessarily what’s being given away).

  1. 1 x Skylander Giant single character
  2. 1 x LightCore single character
  3. 1 x Battle Pack {includes Chop Chop 2, Shroom Boom and the Dragonfire Cannon which unlocks a new combat arena}

How to enter

Comment on this post to enter by finishing this sentence: I want to add to my Skylander character arsenal because……

The rules

  • Open to Australian residents only.
  • This giveaway closes on Sunday 25 November at midnight.
  • My son will be my co-judge. He’s 11. He wants to enter, but can’t.
  • Subscribe to my blog if you haven’t already. Ok, that’s not a requirement, just a bonus. You’ll see subscribing options on my blog to the right of the screen about halfway down.

Thank you, and good luck.

The winners

My son and I chose these three winners. I will contact via email to notify them and if I don’t hear back from them by the end of Friday 30 November we’ll choose another. Rechose No 3 as they didn’t get back to me. (1 Dec)

  1. Michelle Gray – Skylanders are going to take over the world, or at least a bedroom at my house.
  2. Wendy D – My son and I have stopped playing Pokemon and LOVE SKYLANDER every afternoon after school we allocate an 1 hour to play and I’m getting pretty good. Anders (my son) would get a surprise if we won. I would be the BEST mum!
  3. Jayden -Skylander Giants is the best game ever!
    To stop Playing them, I WILL NEVER!All these prizes are pretty neat,
    To win one would be extra sweet.

    Oneday I will complete the set,
    Think i will end up sending my mum into debt!

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Time – where does it go?

November 11, 2012 by Jen

Time 'a ticking. Day 302/366.

I’m sitting down finally having a moment to myself. This weekend has been full-on and I’m looking forward to a good sleep tonight.

I worked on Friday, arrived home and went and did a quick shop as there was no other time I could go until this afternoon.

I got home from that and took JJ to baseball practise. Normally I hang around but I ducked home to get ready for the workshop I ran yesterday afternoon showing a group  of editors what social media is about and how they can possibly use it. During this the right mouse button on my mouse died and I’m not a fan of the laptop’s mouse so I finished up a bit early and went to Officeworks to get a new on on the way to collect the lad.

I got him home from baseball practise, shoved some food down his gullet and sent him off to Scouts. This gave me time to wash the dishes and tidy up a bit and get ready for the next day.

Off we went early on Saturday morning to cricket, hoping like crazy that all the Adelaide pageant goers hadn’t pinched parking spots we’d need near the parklands. We were in luck.

After cricket we got home, he had a quick shower and we both had a quick bite to eat.

I dropped him off at a friend’s and went into the city for my workshop. I’d worked out which way to get in so I avoided road closures. I completely forgot about this until I arrived at one such road closure and had to go a long way out of my way.

Because I was short on time I parked in a very expensive carpark.

The workshop went down really well from all accounts I’ve heard about and it was a relief to put it behind me.

I picked up the lad afterwards, got home and then a couple of friends rocked up here to rehearse something we’re doing for a friend’s wedding next weekend.

They left. We had dinner. I drank a couple too many probably and went to bed a bit later than I would have liked.

Baseball this morning. Lunch at a bakery on the way to aforementioned friend’s to practise something else for her wedding.

Stopped after that at the pet shop to buy some food for the dog that she will hopefully eat. She’s off her food. Trying not to think about her rapid decline but kind of have to because I don’t want her to starve to death.

Housework ensued and now it’s 6pm and the meat I want to use for meatballs is still mostly frozen. Damn.

I’m off to work tomorrow and hope to relax over the next few days.

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While out one lunch time

November 7, 2012 by Jen

A photo essay of the sculptures in Hindmarsh Square, Adelaide.

For Wordless Wednesday

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Committed

November 5, 2012 by Jen

Enjoying a coffee. Day 301/366.

This is me enjoying a moment away from my son’s commitments over the weekend. Actually this was taken just over a week ago – this is how long it’s taken me to get round to posting it.

Last Monday my son was asking me if he could go to a birthday party disco which was on last night. I answered that I wasn’t sure because I had something on whereupon he told me that I always did what I wanted and didn’t do anything for him.

I lost it at this point. What about Friday night baseball training, then scouts, then Saturday morning cricket, then a friend coming over for a sleepover, then baseball on Sunday morning? Hmm? And I don’t do anything for you? All I do is run around after you.

I walked out, slammed the door and got on the exercise bike and rode like the clappers I was so cross with him.

I tried to remember my hour of respite the day before – a peaceful waterfall.

And the sun hiding behind a tree.

When he started playing baseball this season it clashed with the rest of the school cricket season in that he’d be playing cricket one morning and baseball the  next. So far he seems to be coping with it and not getting too tired or grumpy.

It also means that neither of us get a sleep-in or a morning where we can lounge around in our pajamas for a while with no commitments to speak of. At least baseball sometimes has a bit of a later game and we don’t have to be up too early. They haven’t won a game yet but they’ve improved heaps so if they keep it up I hope they’ll win at least one game for the season.

Oh, and I reshuffled my commitments around yesterday to try and fit in a bit of the school fete and he got to go to his disco where heaps of girls chased him around the hall. A sign of things to come?

And in the meantime I got an invite to a friend’s drinks so we ducked over to his place while JJ was at the disco. Win win.

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