Up The Farway Tree

Cars and Microchipping...

The garden fete on Sunday was very good, despite the pouring rain! It was one of the wettest days this month and the rain just did not let up...however that didn't seem to prevent a great turn out and they still raised an amazing amount of money. I bought some books (10 for £1..bargain) which will keep me going for a while and spent a silly amount of money buying tickets for the bottle stall. I did eventually win a bottle and then the guy asked if I was old enough to take it. Hmm...I'm 29.

Monday wasn't such a good day when I got up and realised I had a totally flat tyre! I phoned the garage and after waiting all morning on them to call back they finally told me to bring it in. I then waited 2 hours at the garage, only for them to come out and tell me they couldn't find a puncture!! The pressure had been at zero so the only other possible explanation is that someone let my tyre down. I was parked outside Andrews grans at the weekend and I suspect it happened then, as there are a lot of people walking past. I just don't get the mentality of some people. Ahh well, as least it's sorted now. They also took a look at my fan, as I didn't think it was working properly so they have ordered a new part. The joys of second hand cars ;-)

It seems to be otherwise running well though and I was driving mum all around town yesterday on various errands (my foot has been fine for driving). It was really strange actually, as for the past couple of years she has been my chauffeur when I have been too breathless to drive. Now it's me tootling about here there and everywhere, and I love it. I was out and about a few times today...just boring errands like taking the recycling and going to the petshop, but I still love the feeling of freedom when you can just jump in the car and go. Seb came everywhere with me and he loves the new car too....he likes the 5 doors as he can jump in the back himself, instead of being lifted (thrown) onto the back seat.

Speaking of Seb, he had a pretty stressful day yesterday. I decided to get him microchipped, especially in light of his persistent ability to escape. I had a leaflet in the door saying that the dog warden could do this, and I thought this would be ideal as Seb is very scared of the vets so I wanted to avoid that if possible. Well the warden arrived, and Seb greeted her with some suspicion. We weren't off to the best start. He then lay on the floor next to me and appeared to be quite calm, so she decided just to try and get the chip in from that position. It's like a wee gun that fires the chip into the back of the neck and should be quite painless. I was holding Sebs collar but as soon as she put her hand on his neck he went berserk - mouthing and squirming and generally thrashing about. He then screamed and screamed before finally breaking free resulting in a big mark on his neck but no chip! I had to put him on a lead to stop him wandering off and we spent ages trying to scan him to make sure the chip wasn't there...it wasn't. I couldn't believe we were going to have to try again. By this time she had decided it would be best to muzzle him, as he was getting very agitated. He has never bitten anyone in his life, but I suppose you can never say never with any dog. Well, he was having none of it...thrashing his head about and making it near impossible to get the muzzle on. At this point he threw a total tantrum and started screaming like a child...when I say screaming, I don't mean whimpering or howling, I mean actual screaming. Tibbies are renowned for doing this but you have to hear it to believe it. Ironically it sounded like he was saying 'mamma' and kept looking over at me, hoping I would somehow intervene and save him. At this point the warden simply lifted him by the scruff of the neck and held him firmly....he threw his head back and screamed louder but she remained calm and just kept holding him in her arms. He was not getting hurt at all but really was just having a tantrum. It wasn't pleasant to watch but I did understand what she was doing, and to let him go at this point would only let him know that this carry on works! After about 10 minutes he was calm and quiet and she let him down. I decided it would be best for me to leave the room and get mum to hold his head this time, as I think he picks up on the fact I am getting upset. Well, it only took about a minute - he just sat there and allowed them to put the chip in without another noise! A huge fuss over nothing. I was really impressed with the warden and it was a bit like Ceasar Milan (the dog whisperer) on the TV...the ability to get a dog to become submissive to you. She apparently runs dog training classes so I am going to sign Seb up for these, as I think he would benefit from this. He is generally a good dog and knows lots of commands, but he is very wilful and can choose to ignore them if he pleases. Embarrassingly I told the warden that he came on command, and then when I had to call him in from the garden he refused to come! Talk about being shown up. I think he needs to understand that I am actually the owner and he is the dog....we all know however that in reality it's the other way round ;-)

My sinuses have been a wee bit better the last 2 days. I was taking the painkillers as required before and I think because I was letting it get quite sore, it was harder to get on top of the pain. The last couple of days I have just been taking the painkillers every 4 hrs regardless of how sore it is and this seems to be working better. I don't really like taking so many though, but will see how I get on.

I am off to a wedding in Suffolk this weekend, so am flying down to London on Friday morning. I haven't been on a plane for about 3 years so it feels quite strange. I just realised today I needed a letter to explain that I am carrying a nebuliser, lots of drugs and insulin needles etc on the plane. The CF team are kindly sorting this out for me so I should be all set! Just need to get packed tomorrow...I hate packing, although it's a lot easier without oxygen and when you are feeling well enough to get organised. I'll be sure to blog about it next week and hopefully with some photos :-)