Thanks James I am very proud of the way my family has adapted but then I would expect them to as we have brought our kids up to say that family comes first ( no one else in this world will look after you, help you and love you the way we do) and so we are very close. And as for me, well, it was no choice really it just had to be done.
Actually most of the time I enjoy having my mum live with us.
Hubby has accepted the situation because he knows that if his mum needed help we would look after her the same way and I spent a long time nursing his dad through cancer at his house, washing, toileting, feeding him, checking his meds, liaising with the doctors and MacMillan nurses etc and finally washing him and laying him out.
Ian I think you are right in that it is harder for the family of a dementia sufferer than it is for themselves as they really don't realise whats happening. My hope for my mum is that she doesn't ever know shes dieing.
Good luck getting that opportunity but remember sometimes you have to MAKE that opportunity.
4 Acres Helen?? You already have a smallholding.
There are loads of ways to make money Helen, just think outside the box for a while and I'm sure you will come up with some I haven't.
Les picked me up at the A1 as we planned but it was much, much later than origally planned so we set off for Norfolk at 1.30pm.
It was a nice ride down there through Suffolk, beautiful contryside.
We got to where the sat nav said it was and it was down this tiny 1 track lane and Les phoned the people at Gulliver's geese cos he wouldn't listen to me when I said "Its just there Les." The stock man from GG came out and waved at us as we were approx 10 feet away from the gate, AS I HAD SAID!!! Why don't hubby's listen about directions??
We had to wait outside the gate (infection controll) whilst the geese were packaged up for us in egg boxes ( egg boxes are 3ft by 3ft) with a little straw in to keep the geese comfy. Once we had put the boxes into the stock trailer we had room for 5 more so we came home with 25. 3 were in the back of the van.
It was a 3 hour journey back to NK and the geese had settled well all the journey and apart from the odd 'hiss' when we went over a rough patch we didn't even know we had them.
On the journey back to NK we had Ozzi Osbourne as the 'voice', we put in the sat nav that we wanted the quickest route home. I think Ozzie was drunk!!! He sent us up little dirt tracks and we doubled back on ourselves to Grantham way several times.
I shouted at Ozzie at one point cos my bum had gone numb with sitting for so long and he then didn't say anything to us for about 50 miles??? Oh and he sent us right thought the middle of Lincoln so I had agreat view of Lincoln Cathedral!!! Can sat navs get the hump?
We got home about 9.30 and carried the boxes straight to the shed in the goose area and had to tip them out as they liked the boxes so much lol. Son and Smiley had put down fresh water and non additive chicken grower pellets plus lots of deep straw. We left them to settle in for the night locked in the shed.
The next morning after waiting for a few hours for them to come out of the shed i went in and scooted them out amid lots of hissing lol.
I phoned Stacy at Melton to ask more about feeding geese (I did do my research but just couldn't remember) and the Slimbridge website said the give them wheat at the bottom of a water bucket and as we had some for the chickens I did it. So far they haven't eaten any but its done every day for them. We had to give them sharp sand and ground uo shells to help them grind up the grass that they are meant to eat thought the summer. We bought a large builders trug for the outside water as they drink a lot.
The geese are funny creatures, they just stand around in one spot all day and thats all they do, so far.
Before I went to NK this time I picked up from our local (Melton) CWG the heptovac plus, syringes and 24 needles, wormer's for the feral cats, Stronghold for the dogs fleas and non medicated chicken grower pellets as things are cheaper in Melton but the stuff still cost me £68. I forgot the sheep lick.
So the cats are worm free and the dogs are flea free.
I was a little worried about injecting the lambs as I didn't know how tough the skin was. I filled the syringe with 2ml and a new needle for each lamb and Les picked up the lambs for me and I grabbed some skin at the side of the neck and injected there. After doing 3 that way and not getting much loose skin easily I decided as these lambs are breeder lambs it didn't matter if the meat was marked with the injection so I injected in the hind leg. Much easier.
After Les being really snotty with me for something that wasn't my fault ( I even once got the blame for him righting a car off when I was 30 miles away as he said he was thinking about me!!!) last week he apologised by buying me 20 tons of topsoil for my raised beds. Now how do I get him to actually make the raised beds? lol
I know Les must be very, very tired as he doesn't and hasn't taken a day off in 8 weeks. As well as doing the building work hes looking after the 'lads' and the making sure the animals are OK and they have enough food etc plus hes ferrying the 'lads' back and forth to Melton, sometimes driving 560 miles in a weekend.
I asked around about builders, electricians etc as I said I would and I found a woman who does up houses for a living same as we do and she has given me a list of her workers and at £10 per hour for skilled guys we wont have to ferry our guys from Melton.
Whilst asking around I also got to know Grimsby's stalker lol. Ill tell you later about that.
The house now has 5 bedrooms and the first fixings (electrics) are going in this week ready for the plaster at the weekend.
We went to a car boot near us last week and cos it was so very hot on Sunday we didn't go all the way round.Not many bargains to be had either!
I saw one stall had got a few leaflets cards advertising a handyman and so got talking to him and like an idiot I told him which property we had bought. I took his leaflet but never planned to have him do any work cos he wanted £10 per hour and thats a lot for a guy that can only change plugs! That 'skill' was mentioned on his leaflet lol
Anyway whilst Les was out on Saturday this handy man appeared inside the gate just by my house saying he has come for a look around?
I slowly backed away from where he was standing and opened the house door to let the sheps out and held one in each hand (by their collars).
Both were crouched down ready to spring if I needed defending and growling and barking with their ruffs up all along their backs. The sheps knew I was scared. He took one look at the dogs and asked if they would bite My reply was "They don't only bite they chew!" He left, but it did shake me up and I closed the big gates.
What the hell was he thinking about? Coming for a look around indeed!!!
This Sunday we went to a different car boot at a garden centre near us but again it was too hot to walk around but I did buy a few things and the 'thing' I liked best was a cuddly sheep for Alfie. It was brand new and only a quid. Bargain!
I bought a walking stick too so that I can guide the geese and hook the walking stick handle around their neck if needed.
We went to Morrisons for breakfast after the car boot and while in there I asked if we could have the stale bread and veg for the pigs but the guy said he couldn't cos of the law.( Funnily enough in the local paper this week there was a councillor drinking orange juice made from out of date oranges as part of 'going green and recycling' so i think Ill try the supermarket he was at next week as they cant hide behind the Law after that article.
Les had a sleep when we got back to Nk at about 1.30pm and I woke him at 3pm to drive me home to Melton. Les is drinking so much energy and keep awake drink that its worrying me now. Les stayed at Melton only long enough to have a coffee and a shower before driving back to NK.
We were driving home when the England match was on so Les never did get to watch it and no radio station had coverage either.
The animals are ok and that boar recovered without antibiotics as the vet never rang me back. I tried to get antibiotics from our vet in Melton and he said he couldn't cos he hasn't seen the pigs. This vet usually acts as my pharmacist when I need anything and I dose/inject my fish and dogs. I couldn't even try to fool (lie?) the vet as dogs and koi use Baytril and thats the one pigs DONT use.
The bottom half of that gilts tail has fallen off so I was right in saying that I think the tail was dead. Martyn has sprayed the stump with the purple stuff just in case of fly strike and infection.
Which reminds me, aren't there a lot of flys about this year? There was so many on the ceiling Les wondered if the HARA folk had hidden a body up there. So now we play dodge with fly papers dangling from every ceiling. I must remember to buy that plastic fly thing for doorways.
I'm not going back to NK this weekend but i willget updates daily and keep you all informed.
