#Snow Reports, Clutter, And Subscription Boxes

Snow Reports:

We got something like four inches of snow in my area, though only had maybe two or three inches on the ground at any given time.   Then it stuck around for almost a week.  Lilie showed you some of the photos, but here are a couple of the nearby mountains that we also took during the snowy weather:

 

 

*~*

 

Clutter:

Since the end of last year, we've been working on doing some de-cluttering.  If it's not something we have a use for, can see ourselves having a use for, or want to keep for some other reason, we're getting rid of it.  It sounds pretty ruthless, but we've ended up with a lot of stuff we don't really want or need, or were holding on to for sentimental reasons despite knowing doing so was only putting it in the way and making it difficult to organize other stuff (like a dressing table I'd been given, which I wanted to keep even though it wasn't being used and was in the way) and want to get rid of those things so we can properly organize the things we do want or need.

 

Us doing this has made some people who were hoping we'd store things for them unhappy, but that can't be helped.  We're not a storage unit, we don't want to keep living in chaos and clutter, and seeing how we've somehow managed to have an overly cluttered house in less than two years after having managed just fine with a whole lot less space before - I mean, we moved from a flat that was technically listed as a two bedroom, but only because it was a one bedroom that had been turned in to one by putting a kitchenette on the end of the living room and making that room smaller, in to a three bedroom house, so you'd think we wouldn't be buried in stuff - makes us feel we should take steps to change things, even if certain other people would rather we didn't.

 

Anyway, we still have a long way to go, but we're making progress.

The bedroom is essentially sorted (apart from some small tasks like putting the few audiobooks I’m hanging on to in the right order on the shelves, for example).  It actually looks like a bedroom again.

 

Besides that, I've been working on de-cluttering in my office/craft room.  I’ve gotten rid of a stack of craft kits I wasn't really bothered about doing from those I’d acquired from those subscription boxes I was getting, and given away some craft supplies I was hanging on to because they’d been Nan’s, even while knowing there was little to no chance I’d want to use them.  I’ve still got a lot of organizing to do in my office/craft room again now that I’ve gotten rid of that stuff, but now I actually have some space in there to do it.

 

Now to help Kelly tackle his office/gaming room so he can have space to do things in his room too.

 

*~*

Subscription boxes:

Since they closed down, my subscription to The Vegan Kind's lifestyle box was cancelled, and I'm OK with that, because it was starting to not seem worth the money any more due to half the stuff being things I wouldn't eat, so I'd end up giving to others, so I'd been considering stopping it anyway.  Some of the stuff in it was really tasty, but the constant need to make meat-flavored versions of vegan-friendly snacks was spoiling it for me, since I can't stomach the taste of meat.

 

But I personally cancelled my subscriptions to Bird & Blend Tea and Sara-Jane Candles.  Not because of the cost, nor because I wasn't enjoying the stuff.  I was, and I still think them worth the money.  I stopped them because the amount I was getting from them was a lot more than I was making use of each month and my supplies of both tea and candles were piling up.  You can just order stuff from both Bird & Blend Tea and Sara-Jane Candles, so I decided I'd stop my subscriptions, catch up on using what I have on hand, and keep them in mind when I need or want to order more of something later.  In the meantime, my tea cupboard is overflowing with different tea blends, and I could light a candle every day for the next few months without fear of running low on scented candles.  Again, wanting to de-clutter somewhat has played a part here.

Lilie The #Westie And Logan The #Cavapoo Get Groomed + Lilie Goes To The Vet + Some #Snow

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

 

Yes, I know; it’s about time Mummy let me do a post again, isn’t it?

 

~

 

Last week was a really busy one for me.

 

On Wednesday morning the groomer came to visit, so me and Logan got groomed.

 

I’m sure you want to see how totally adorable we are after our haircuts – me especially – so here are photos.  First me, and then Logan, which is the order we got groomed in, since I volunteered to be first.

 

 

~

 

Then, on Thursday, I had to go see the vet to get a checkup to see how I was doing on all my medications.

 

The vet says I’m doing well on them, and is very happy because I now weight 10.2 kilos (about 22.5 lbs) which is 0.2 kilos (about 0.5 lbs) less than I weighed last time I was at the vet.  I’m supposed to be around 10 kilos, so the vet says I’m perfect.  Well, we already knew that, didn’t we? But it’s nice of him to agree.

 

He also changed my pain medication.  He wants to try me on something not so strong for a while to give my liver and kidneys a break from the Mettacam.  So, I’m still having my daily Apoquel tablet and my Recicort ear drops every other day for my skin irritation.  But, instead of 10ml of Mettacam once a day, I’m now having 2ml of Calpol 6+ suspension liquid (which Mummy says to tell you is our version of children’s Tylanol) twice a day.  The vet said it was OK for me to have flavoured, because Calpol is all sugar free, so I have the strawberry one.  I like strawberries, so I’m happy about that.  Well, mostly.  Except on those days I try to make Mummy drop the medication because I don’t feel like taking it.  I don’t do that often though.  Even with the Mettacam I didn’t do that often.  Mostly I’m good about taking my medication (espeailly since I get some hot dog, ham, chicken, or something similar, afterwards).  I just have days when I wish I didn’t have to take medication.

 

~

 

Anyway, the grooming followed by the vet trip tired me out.  Plus, the weather got cold right around when the groomer cut my fur short, so I’ve been snuggling in the big bed with Mummy and Logan.  In fact, here’s a photo of me all tucked in for a nap:

 

 

~

 

A couple of days later we got some snow.

 

Here's a picture of the snow this past Tuesday evening...

 

 

And me and Logan out in it...

 

 

~

 

That’s all for today.

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

Catching Up On #NewYear Celebrations, #Snow Reports, #Dog Photos, And #Crafting Creations

Mostly we don’t bother much about doing anything to see in the new year, but there were fireworks around here (which we didn’t get photos or videos of) and I spent new year’s eve participating in the ACB communityathon.

 

I hosted for it during one of the hours, spoke to highlight some of the events I’m involved with that happen in the community during a couple of the other hours, and just listened to what others had to say during other hours.  It was a long night for me, but it was fun.  Plus, there’s a fundraiser that's held during it, and we raised a good chunk of money to help keep the ACB community going, so that’s definitely a good thing.

 

Yes.  Yes.  I know we’re already basically half way through January.  But I figured, since I hadn't done so, I’d go ahead and tell you about my new year’s eve celebrations anyhow.  Better late than never, right?

Hope you enjoyed whatever you did - if anything - to see in the new year.

 

*~*

 

Speaking of being slow to share things:

 

 I’m slow posting these, because I had a load of other things I wanted to post first.  But we’ve had a little snow a couple of times since the start of December, and I wanted to show you the photos.  I know it’s nothing compared to what some people have had, but I’ll take what I can get when it comes to snow, as those who know me well already know.

 

~

 

The first time we got snow was on December 10^th.  It was a light dusting, which was only just enough to frost the ground, and which later turned in to slush and then ice.  But here are some photos we took of it while it was still snow anyhow:

 

 

~

 

Then there was an even lighter dusting of snow on December 16^th, which didn’t last long.  But at least it lasted long enough for us to notice it, as well as to get a photo of it…

 

 

And for me to take Lilie and Logan out to see it…

        

 

~

 

They keep predicting more snow.  I’m crossing my fingers the predictions come true.  I always keep hoping.

*~*

 

I also have a couple of photos of Lilie I had yet to show you.

 

~

 

We took these photos of Lilie by the coffee table on December 30th 2022, while we were playing with her in the living room that morning, but I didn't get a chance to share them before now.  So, here they are:

~

 

Also, last week we got the dogs some new beds, because Lilie's leg issue makes it tricky for her to jump on to the metal framed ones we had (which kind of resembled camping beds for dogs, in my opinion).

 

We'd brought the other ones because we were having trouble finding baskets big enough that they could share if they wanted to, but when I was looking for baskets to make it easier on Lilie, I found the large dog baskets I'd been looking for in the first place, so I grabbed a couple to replace their old beds.

 

Here's a photo of Lilie trying one of them out:

 

Since I never get the cushion things for the baskets (due to not being sure if Lilie has outgrown her puppy habit of shredding those, them not being easy to wash, and them costing almost as much as the basket itself) they usually have a pile of blankets in their beds, so there should have been more of them in that basket.  But I was washing the pet blankets before letting them go in the new beds, and those were all I'd managed to get washed and dried in time to have them in that basket before bed time.  Lilie seemed to consider it enough for the time being, so that's the main thing.  The rest of the blankets for that basket will have been added by the time you're reading this though.
 

*~*

Lastly, I have a couple of completed craft projects to show you.

The first is this little loom knitted drawstring bag:

And the other is this crocheted snowman hat toilet roll cover:

The holly leaves weren't officially part of the pattern, but I'd learned to do them for the dogs' holiday collars, thought they'd be a cute addition, so added them because I felt like making and adding them.