AndThisLittlePig said New Year New Hope

Hey I'm back... well I hope I am... going to try anyway.

So 2013 the year that was, and is never to be repeated.

So a recap, little or no stitching, the mojo just wasn't there, any stitching will be a big improvement on last year.

April was the month of the big dog fight, in which Meah came of second, third, fourth and fifth best, that's how many drains she had in.

August will never be look on again in the same way, after loosing Evie, Podge and Ava.

November wasn't ready to let Meah off without another major medical event. In brief I came home late from work one evening to find her with a very swollen eye, I suspected an infection, so gave her some pain killers left over from her fight, and took her to the Vets early the next morning.

Well my Meah likes to be different glaucoma, only I could have a dog who at five and half has glaucoma, there were really no options but to remove the eye. So Meah who is also called Moo is now also called The Pirate Ahhh :@

No gory photos we had enough of them last time, but I will say she came through it with flying colours.

No. No photos please.

Yes that is blue in the other eye, she will go blind, and I have already made the decision that if her remaining eye "blows" than I will be letting her go. It sounds awful I know... dogs can live blind etc, and if she had a different personality/temperament it would be fine, but she just doesn't like other dogs, even when she had two perfectly good eyes, she is spoilt rotten and high strung. Every day is a blessing and I hope she is round for many years to come, to continue being spoilt.

So not all of 2013 was sh!t, it ended well on December 30 my beautiful Quincy whelped four beautiful puppies.

All girls, can you believe it! Their father Frank, is one of Evie's many sons, he is also Podge's younger brother, and little Ava's litter brother.

Quincy just loves them.

And they love her...

I can't pick a favourite, nor can I choose names, the chocolate girl will be staying and one of the black and tan girls as well, if I can ever decide... Little chocolate is more than likely going to be called Maude, until I change my mind again.

Want some lovely old-fashioned names, in a non-doggy way :@ And no Lilly/Milly/Tilly names, Quincy's first daughter who I kept ended up being christened Pippie, which I will admit in the end was just like calling her puppy, her litter sister was called Lilly by her new people, and her brother Billy. You can see where I am going.

There was one other addition to the household in 2013, a rescue Dachshund called Katie (Mum named her) she had a silly name and didn't answer to it anyway. Skin and bone, was surrender to the local pound (shelter) 9-10 months old for biting the children was the description. Well I ask you, if you were starving, and had 5 yes 5 kids at you all day you'd bite. Well she doesn't bite she just hadn't been taught not to, she was just treating the kids like puppies. I will get you a photo if I ever get her to sit still long, she is a very happy girl, and loves Pip... well unless there is food involved, but she is learning.

So turning over a new leaf, new year, puppies to watch grow and love, make time for stitching and try to just enjoy life each day at it comes.

So until next time... Libbie :@
With The Pirate Meah Moo, Quincy, Katie, Pippie plus Four

ATLP said Pumpkins for Cathey

Imagine my surprise when on a whim I checked in on my blog, and wondered what all this "Pumpkins for Cathey" posts were about.

Daffy you are one fine Cat and a wonderful person and friend!

So happy blogoversary Cathey we all love and think about you, your DH and Junior.

Two pumpkin finishes, both are wonderful to stitch.

Country Cottage Needleworks - Pumpkin Cottage 

Little House Needleworks Pumpkin Hollow

Until next time... :@ LiBBiE in Oz

Devastation

The heading alone will tell you this isn't going to be good.

I've been gone from blogging and cross stitch for several months, just real life and such. I am yet to stitch a single stitch this year, and can see that going on for the foreseeable future. I stop in and check out my groups occasionally and a few blogs.

But things in my life have come to a screeching halt, my devastation and grief is so raw. Below will explain to some degree I still can't fathom it in my mind.

What you are about to read was written nearly a month ago in the early hours of the morning on one of many sleepless nights...

Please understand if I don't respond.

The Innocent
Evie, Ava, Podge

These are the faces of the innocent. Look at them and you tell me what harm have they ever done?

Every year around this time between August and September I take a week off work and come to Tamworth to visit my parents. My dogs always come with me. Evie, Quincy, Podge and this year little Ava.

For a week these spoilt four get to rough it a little in the country. They get to live in a big enclosed run with a kennel and plenty of blankets.

With early morning runs before the chooks are let out. Town dogs and chooks don't mix.

They run and play in the crisp morning air, smelling things I'm sure they dream all year of doing. Horse and cow manure, the chooks and the ducks. Maybe even pick up the scent of a rabbit or a fox.

Before being safely locked back up. Secure.

Well on Sunday 4 August, everything was not safe. A person or persons unknown had thrown baits over the front boundary fence of my parent's and neighbouring property.

At 1pm we received a phone call from the frantic neighbour one of her dogs was dead, the other dying, the second dog died on the way to the vets, were our dogs alright?

I never gave a second thought to my girls they were safe and secure.

They were already dead.

The horror of finding them Sunday afternoon in their pen, their bodies cold, unmoving, stiff will haunt me for the rest of my life. And my poor Quincy had spent the day with her friends. She had watched them die.

Imagine her as she went from body to body confused as they would not respond to her, as they grew cold where they had always been warm, someone to wrap around and sleep.

So to this person, some will call you an animal, but you are wholly a human being, animals don't poison each other.

I don't live in Tamworth, my dogs don't live in Tamworth I don't know if you did this because some dog or dogs in the area was annoying you. I do know that baiting is never an option.

If you didn't want to contact the owner, a note in a mailbox is an easy thing. A simple "keep your dog at home" or "your dog barks all night, all day". If you didn't know who owned the dog or the dog was allowed to go on unchecked phone the Council Ranger.

Or maybe you thought it would be fun to see how many dogs you could kill.

In either case I can't help you. You are a sick, twisted individual as the police officer told me, "people do bad things."

Family and friends have told me that karma will get you, karma doesn't help me, Evie, Podge and Ava or my poor heartbroken Quincy.

But let me tell you what you have done. You have murdered my dogs, you planned this with the intention of killing, well you did my dogs are dead, the neighbours dogs are dead.

Evie was five years old, she had lived with me for three years, and she loved unconditionally from the moment she came into my home. Evie never hurt a soul, she certainly never hurt you.

Podge two and a half, as my mother said, 'Could you have picked a worse name?' But she was Podge from the moment she was born, don't know where it came from, she was and will always be Poddy Podge.

Little Ava nine months, loved by everyone bright and happy in only the way a puppy can be, and her big sister Podge was the best thing ever.

Podge and Ava will never again chase each other in the back yard, around the car, zip through the pot plants, past the clothesline and back again, while Evie and Quincy sat in the sun watching them.

Ava loved strawberries, always in my strawberry patch, Podge helping, I suppose I will have strawberries now.
None of them will ever again wrap themselves around my neck and snuggle in.

This is what you have done, I hope you can live with the five lives you took on Sunday 4 August, your life will go on, so will mine but with a very big hole.

I have in the past always said 'going home' to visit my parents. I have never lived in Tamworth, but it is where my parents live so it was going home. Now Tamworth will always be the place where my dogs were murdered.

I hope you are proud of what you have done, so proud that you will step forward and take ownership of this malicious act, it won't bring my girls back.

But I doubt it as you are a spineless, gutless individual and a lot of other words that can't be printed, I do hate you, but mostly I pity you, a poor pathetic excuse of a human being.

And This Little Pig said Long Time

Warning some of the photos below are distressing!

Yes this is my first post for 2013, and to say it has not been a great start is an understatement :-(

It started at the end of 2012, with a lot of things going on family wise, I was extremely late for an Exchange, on the Friendly Stitchers group, but thanks to wonderful Owners/Mods Gillie & Mouse an a great exchange partner Lynda I completed the exchange very late, and received a beautiful ornament in return.

Haven't stitch one single stitch in 2013, not a one! Haven't blogged, haven't even had the chance or shamefully the desire to read blogs. Hardly taken a photo, and definitely no Cow Day Wednesday.

And I have left a give-away hanging.

Just this last week the desire has started to return, flipped around a few blogs, tried to catch up group emails, the fingers have started to itch, and thought must finalize the naming of the 'Baby' give-away.

Well on Wednesday my day, my week, my month went to hell in a hand basket.

Don't they look so innocent Podge, Baby, Quincy and Evie, like butter won't melt in their mouths.

Wednesday evening was like any other, home after work, the girls all out for a run, and thanks to daylight savings, a chance to mow before we got even more rain, (4 1/2 inches in the last 48 hours alone, river in flood at the moment).

Below is the result of what has been brewing for the last three months, again I will warn you not pretty, but everyone is fine or going to be.

I had stopped the mower to empty the catcher, wet grass and all, thank God, and things were very quiet, no one was at the side fence (Meah) watching me... silence... called... no-one came, called again. Then I ran...

This is what greeted me when I ran round to the gate, my poor Meah hobbling through the carport, and not a Long Dog in sight! Above at the Vets, my very wonderful Vets.

Meah stayed overnight, and was operated on Thursday morning, no broken bones, wounds cleaned and stitched, three drains turned out to be four drains, and here she is wearing a compression bandage, to stop the wound under her left front from sucking up air. Picked her up Thursday night. Above is Friday morning.

These next two are today after I took the compression bandage off, oh and four drains became five, found this shoulder one under the bandage.

My Meah is very sore and sorry for herself, I don't blame the Long Dogs, this has been brewing between Meah and Quincy for a couple of months and I left them with no direct supervision for too long, and knowing Meah she started it with a snap or a growl as she ran pass Quincy, that is just her feisty, so when it started Evie more than likely joined in, and while Meah can hold her own against one Long Dog, she can't against two or three, I don't think Podge joined in, but at this point all I can say for sure is that the Baby wasn't involved.. It is pack nature... wolves or dogs this is the order of things, Quincy wants to move up to top dog, and Meah is in her way. Needless to say they will never be allowed all together again... alone... ever!

So the next couple of weeks are going to be very hectic, Meah has her drains out on Monday, her stitches out next Saturday, my Em gets married Saturday as well, she is the closes thing I have to a daughter, the weekend after that I get to help prepare a team of dairy goats to take Sydney Royal Easter Show (major state fair) Then I get to take them to the Show, for five days without Mum, so......

Sometime after Easter I will wind up the Baby Naming Giveaway... yes she does have a name.

Oh and I've hurt my knee.

See you next time... hopefully soon... Libbie in Oz

And This Little Pig said Then There Was One & A Giveaway of Sorts

Yes all my puppies are gone to their new homes, except our little girl. The boys ended up with the following names... Stanley, Frank, Max, Rosco, Cooper and Cruz. For the life of me I cannot come up with a name for her, Puppy and Baby which is what she is being called at the moment.

So I need help, inspiration in naming my little angel, but first some photos to help with your suggestions.

On her new bean bag bed that we made for her today, yes she helped by lying on the foot pedal of my Pfaff

 Are these not the best puppy dog eyes... ever

 I'm Awake

 Going

 Gone

 

Discarding her new toy for an old one of the big girls

 

What? I can play with what I want.

So competition/giveaway, leave a suggestion for her name, and the winning entry will be drawn by the wonderful Meah, will receive the following, a 12" cushion cover with a Dachshund, not the one below, a little dark, will go through my fabric stash and come up with something bright. The winning entry drawn will not necessarily be her name, but really am in desperate need for inspiration.

Will draw in the New Year, 1st or 2nd. So spread the word, don't need to be a follower.... just HELP!!!

Hey DJ, missed you all in the blogging world.

See you next time... LiBBiE in Oz :@

And This Little Pig said Pups & An Exchange

Evie is such a laid back mum.

All of the Magnificent 7 pictured. Can you find them all?

 My black and cream boy, just like his big sister Podge. 

 Podge taking a look over the side of the whelping 

box. My God 6 boys!

 Podge checking out the brothers & sister, under the watchful eye of Evie.

 Two black & creams together.

Friendly Stitchers Fall Exchange this is what I sent to Mary in France.

 

And the beautiful exchange I received from Mary, 

which sits proudly on top of  my bookcase.

Well, I'll try and post tomorrow, but Sue and I are off to see Ben Affleck's new film "Argo", can't wait.

See you next time... LiBBiE in Oz :@

And This Little Pig said Puppies Day 2 & 3 & 5

Yes I am behind, in just about everything, 

the pups are now 9 days, there eyes are 

starting to split and will be starting to open

in the next couple of days. 

Photo above, two days old.

 Mum! Please! People are watching!

 Two days old. 

 Our girl is a little cheeky :@

 Three days old, and all snuggled in together.

It's spring here in Oz, and we are going from high 30's C back down to near 0.

Five days, and yes she is still poking her tongue out.

Meah finally getting a chance to check out the new 

house members, she waited for Evie to go 

out to the little girls room.

I think she believes that if she stares at them long enough...

  

...they will go away :@

So tomorrow will have... wait for it... more puppy photos, and photos of an exchange, received and sent.

See you next time... LiBBiE in Oz