Pet Pedicure

Killer claws.

Barley, our lovely Lurcher, was in need of a pedicure - or so we thought.
His claws were very long, so long they made a clicking sound when he walked.
So we took him to the vets for a nail trim.

The vets isn't far from our house, so the drive wasn't a problem, and Barley likes being in the car - probably because he's excited to see where we are going.
Poor thing probably wouldn't have been excited had he known where we were going.

Once at the vets we had to wait a while for a couple of other people to have their dogs treated.
We had made an appointment, but the vet was running a little behind schedule.
Barley didn't mind, he was more than happy playing with a very sweet little Jack Russell in the waiting room.

Eventually it was time for Barley to be seen by the vet.
As he's a Lurcher we'd been told to make sure he wore a muzzle whenever we took him to a vet - so he was wearing a muzzle.
As soon as the vet saw Barley she asked why he was muzzled.
We told her that we'd been told that was the correct thing to do when taking a Lurcher to the vet.
She said she'd never heard of it.
Oh well, better safe than sorry.

Barley isn't a vicious dog, so we knew he wouldn't bite the vet, but we decided to leave the muzzle on him while his claws were cut because he likes to get closely involved in everything, so we knew he'd try to help the vet, probably by nibbling his claws or her tools.

Once the vet bent down to examine Barley and his claws, she said they didn't really need a trim, that they were not too long, but that as we were there she'd trim a little bit off of each anyway.
The vet had only trimmed a couple of nails on one of his front paws before Barley let out a loud yelp.
It appeared the vet had cut too low, and made his claw a bit bloody and sore. Poor thing.
We told the vet to leave the rest of his claws, and she agreed, although she did try to snip a bit more for some strange reason.
So, the vet had been correct, Barley did not need his claws clipped. It's a shame she even tried to trim his claws if she was certain they were not too long, then Barley wouldn't have been subjected to the trauma.
He wasn't traumatised, I'm exaggerating, he was fine.
We paid our bill, and then all three of us went for a walk before returning to the car to drive back to the house.
Barley still makes a clicking sound when he walks, but it's not as bad as it was because we've tried to give him a few more walks on hard surfaces to help naturally trim his claws, as advised by the vet - if she was really a vet. kidding!

Once we got back to the house we felt we'd wasted our time, and traumatised Barley, joking, as it turned out to be a pretty pointless appointment.
It's ironic because the only reason we even took Barley to the vet for a claw clipping was from a previous bad experience with a dog and claw cutting.
Many moons ago when Mr.R and I had our first dog together, a beautiful blue Great Dane, we purchased some claw clippers so that we could keep his claws trimmed. Unfortunately it didn't work out, we didn't do a good job - which is why this time we decided to take Barley to the vet for his claw trim, to let the professionals do the job. Oh the irony.

Do you have a dog in your family?
Do you clip his or her claws yourself, or do you get the vet to do it?

NSD Powerball 250Hz Autostart Gyro

NSD Powerball 250Hz Autostart Gyro

I have very weak wrists.
My wrists are so weak, and often painful, that, for example, I even struggle to open a jar, or screw-cap bottle. Thankfully Mr.R is always here to help me.
I haven't always had weak wrists, they used to be strong and pain free. It was the time, and more specifically the work, spent renovating our old house in central London many moons ago that ruined my wrists. The hard work involved all of the usual things that a house renovation requires, including lots of plastering, and re-pointing of the exterior brickwork - which was completed after knocking out the old render with a chisel. It was that work that really damaged my wrists, and they've never fully recovered.

Over the years I have used the basic hand grip wrist strengtheners, but they didn't do much to improve my weak and sore wrists. Although that may be because I wasn't committed to using them regularly.
Recently I decided to start practising yoga again, having not doing any for a few years. Obviously having strong healthy wrists is handy, ha handy, when doing yoga.
So, I thought I'd better try and improve the strength in my wrists before I even thought about a downward dog, let alone actually doing it.

I remembered seeing an article about the Powerball ages ago, so I went straight on Amazon UK, because I knew they'd sell them, to read the reviews.
After looking at the different types of Powerball, and reading lots of reviews, I finally decided on the autostart model. I didn't fancy fiddling about with the other type which involves starting the gyro with a small piece of string.

Anyway, I chose the model I wanted, the NSD Powerball 250Hz Autostart Gyro, and placed my order, which arrived quickly.
When I first tried to use the Powerball I couldn't even get it started, let alone keep the gyro spinning - so much for purchasing the 'autostart' model.
I handed the Powerball to Mr.R who immediately got it started and kept it moving for, well, until I asked him to give it to me because I wanted to play too.
I still couldn't get the Powerball to start. I was frustrated. I put the Powerball sitting on the coffee table, intending to try again later. But Barley obviously liked the look of it because he tried to eat it. Actually he tries to eat everything we leave within his reach. Naughty dog. ;) He is also in to yoga, performing several downward dogs every day. I don't think he needs to strengthen his wrists though, so I now make sure to keep the Powerball out of his reach.

Haha! Oops! I am once again going slightly off topic.
So, Powerball, yep, I bought one.
Initially I couldn't get it started, despite having purchased the autostart model. All you have to do to start the autostart model is pull back along a hard surface, or use your thumbs to pull back the gyro.

As I couldn't get my Powerball started I thought I'd watch some YouTube video reviews on the autostart Powerball, so I looked on YouTube and it turned out I only needed to watch one video, because the young guy I first watched showed in good detail how to start, and use the Powerball. Excellent!

By this time I was determined to master the Powerball, and I did.
It took me a few minutes but with a bit of patience and practice I soon had the Powerball moving.
That is to say I had it moving when using my right hand.
My left hand was not so successful. I know my left wrist is considerably weaker than my right wrist, but I was surprised by how much weaker it is.
Anyway, eventually with some more practice and patience, I managed to get the Powerball using my left wrist too.

So, is the NSD Powerball 250Hz Autostart Gyro any good?
I think it is.
The manufacturers say the ''Powerball may be used as an entertaining toy, but at its core is a serious fitness that creates incredible forces to strengthen the forearms, wrists and fingers''.
I am certain that using the Powerball gyro has helped to strengthen my wrists, and ease the pain a little.
I am even more certain that if I used the Powerball every day, or at least once a week I'd be more impressed.
I'm a bit slack at making sure I do anything regularly, and it's been the same with the Powerball.
I have, in honesty, only used it a handful of times since I bought it a few months ago, and yet just those few times, which were all for only a very short time, have definitely helped my wrists.
Once I get the Powerball gyro moving, the small wrist movements required to keep it spinning are surprisingly hard work. Not as hard as renovating an old house, but definitely hard work.
I can only use the Powerball for a few minutes at a time, but even for those short bursts of use I can really feel my muscles working, and not just my wrists. I can feel the muscles in my forearms, biceps, triceps, and even my shoulders.
It's pretty impressive that such an extensive workout can be achieved by just using the Powerball gyro for a few minutes.
So yes, I think the NSD Powerball 250Hz Autostart Gyro is very good, an excellent piece of exercise equipment. It's quite fun too.
If you have weak wrists, or simply want to tone up your arms and shoulders get hold of a Powerball gyro, I think you'll love it.

Have you used the NSD Powerball 250Hz Autostart Gyro?

Spicy Lamb - Secret Recipe, Roasted Curried Potatoes and Parsnips, Coconut and Sultana Basmati Rice, and an Aubergine and Tomato side dish

Spicy Lamb, with Roasted Curried Potatoes and Parsnips, Coconut and Sultana Basmati Rice, and an Aubergine and Tomato side dish :)

Thankfully Mr.R spends a lot of time in our kitchen.
For this I am truly thankful, I love his cooking, it's my favourite food.
Mr.R being happy to do all of the cooking is good, it means I don't have to.
I can cook, but I don't enjoy cooking.
Eating, on the other hand, is something I do enjoy.
Speaking of hands, I have been known to eat with my hands. I don't call it bad manners, I prefer to think of it as eagerness to stuff my face with the delicious food Mr.R has lovingly prepared for me.
Today was a day when I felt my cutlery was not adequate enough, and I couldn't resist using my fingers too. Some food just seems to taste even nicer when eaten using my hands.

Anyway, as I have just uploaded a blog post about the cold, wet, and generally depressing weather we've experienced today, (I included lots of pretty flower photos to that blog post so it's not all gloomy), I thought I'd write about something much more enjoyable. Food!

Today Mr.R cooked us a seriously good lunch.
Actually Mr.R makes us good food every day, but, being a meat lover, our lunch today was especially tasty. Lamb!

Having been blown-about by the wind, and battered by the cold on our dog walk this morning with Barley our rescue Lurcher, I decided to go back to bed when we returned to the house.
That decision turned out to be an excellent one, as when I woke up, just before lunchtime, I came downstairs to be greeted by the tastebud tingling aroma of spices, and roast lamb.
Oh my God! It smelt so good.

After a while, when I'd woken up properly it was time for Mr.R to dish-up.
We do own a dining table, and we do eat our meals while sitting at it, but today the crappy depressing weather meant we felt like dining casually, by which I mean we sat on the sofa to eat our lunch.

Mr.R had been cooking up a storm, weather reference not intended, in the kitchen all morning. But our lunch was actually in the early stages of preparation last night, when Mr.R ground lots of spices, which he soaked in oil for a while before smothering the leg of lamb in the spicy concoction.
The lamb was left to marinate overnight.
Today Mr.R roasted the spicy lamb.
He served it with coconut and sultana basmati rice, roasted curried potatoes and parsnips, and an aubergine and tomato side dish.
Delicious!
Seriously Delicious! And the perfect meal to beat the Winter blues.

The photos definitely do not do the spicy lamb justice, my only excuse is that as soon as I saw it I wanted to eat it, not waste time faffing about photographing it.

Are you a lamb lover?

Winter Blues - in March

Winter Blues - in March

At the beginning of this month, March, the weather forecasters said the rest of this month was going to be lovely and warm.
Since they said this, the weather has changed from mild, buds on trees beginning to open, birds chirping happily, and various other signs of the start of warmer weather, to, well, to Winter.

Since I heard the good news about this March being an unusually warm and sunny March, it has been the exact opposite.
Our early morning dog walk, Barley our Lurcher likes to wake us up at the crack of dawn - bless him, had seen us dressed in big jackets, hats, scarves, and gloves, but the first few days of March were so lovely that we'd happily left our Winter wear behind, and gone out without the hats, scarves, and gloves. Even Barley had swapped his thick Winter coat for his lighter-weight one.

Unfortunately the weather forecasters got it wrong, and each day since the lovely warm weather was forecast, it has been getting more and more Wintery.
Last night it turned very cold, and this morning Mr.R, Barley, and me were all wrapped up in our full Winter clobber before we headed out for our morning walk.

I'm very pleased we did decide to wrap up warm because it was seriously cold outside.
The wind was blowing a gale, the sea was very noisy with huge waves crashing against the shoreline as we walked across the fields along the coast.
Thankfully we'd finished our morning dog walk, and returned to the house before the rain started.
Since we came back to the house, the weather has not improved, in fact it has been much worse, with stronger wind, rain, hailstones, thunder, and lightening. So much for a lovely warm March.
I'm not looking forward to going out this evening for a walk with Barley. I think I may stay in doors, and let Mr.R brave the bad weather.

When we were out walking this morning I briefly thought about shooting a few photos, and a bit of video of the scenery, but I wasn't keen on taking my hands out of my pockets, let alone removing my gloves.
So rather than dull, depressing photos of the crappy weather, I thought I'd cheer myself up by looking through some of our old photos.
It wasn't long before I found loads of bright and colourful photos of flowers, which is why I thought I'd blog about the weather. Plus I'm English, so grumbling about the weather comes naturally.
I enjoyed flicking through some of our old photos, just looking at them cheered me up immensely, and hopefully, whatever weather you're experiencing, the photos will brighten your day a little bit too.

I like flowers, not so much when they're in a vase in the home because it makes me feel sad, but outside in the soil where they can live happy lives under sunny blue skies.
All of these photos were taken during our previous life in France.

Do you like flowers, do you have a favourite flower?

Tap Water. Fluoride. Why does the Government Want to Damage Our Health?

Tap Water. Fluoride. Why does the Government Want to Damage Our Health?

I know I am fortunate to have access to running water in my house.
I know that there are a lot of people in the World who are dying from lack of water.
What I don't know is why our government seems determined to poison us by adding fluoride to our drinking water.

Yet again the subject of fluoride being added to our tap water is in the news.
Today the Daily Telegraph has this article about fluoride in our water -
Fluoride : Just when you thought it was safe to drink the water...
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthadvice/10722701/Fluoride-Just-when-you-thought-it-was-safe-to-drink-the-water....html

This is an issue that I take very seriously. My favourite drink is water.
Although if you looked at my photos you may get the impression my favourite drink is beer and/or wine.
Seriously though, I love to drink water, it is the only drink that quenches my thirst, and the only drink that makes me feel good.
I enjoy drinking tap water, or at least I used to.
When we moved in to our current house, in the North East of England, I noticed that the water was very different to the tap water in London, or in the South in general.
The first thing I noticed was the incredibly strong smell of chlorine. Nasty!
The chlorine is so strong that I felt really unwell whenever I drank the tap water, which was many times a day - as I said, water is my favourite drink.
Anyway, realising I couldn't drink the tap water in our house, I ordered a water filter, which thankfully does get rid of almost all of the chlorine.
It was when I was researching water filters that I looked online to see what other nasties were in our tap water. Rather worryingly I found that fluoride is added to the water in this area.
I also read that it is not common in most of England, and that neither Wales or Scotland add fluoride to their tap water.
Pfff, trust me to have bought a house in an area where fluoride is added to the tap water. :(

For a few months now, I've been wanting to write about tap water, its safety, pesticides, chlorine, metals, fluoride etc. but as with many things I put it off, mainly because it's just too depressing to think about let alone write about.

So this morning when I was reading the Telegraph online, and I read the article about water and fluoride, I saw it as a sign.
I am seriously unhappy, just the thought of the government adding fluoride to all of the drinking water in England is outrageous. They should immediately stop adding it to the areas it's already being added to, not increase it to every area.

A few weeks ago I actually sent a tweet to David Cameron on twitter, telling him to Stop! adding fluoride to our tap water.
I know it was pointless, as politicians don't care about anyone but themselves, but it made me feel better, all be it for just a few seconds after I'd sent my tweet.

Incredulous!
I am so frustrated that despite paying a lot of money for mains water for our house, and being sold 'clean, safe tap water' it is actually nothing of the sort.
Apart from the fluoride, there are a myriad of other nasty substances in the water. I know, because I read the local water boards information about it online. And that's what's scary. The substances they list are very bad, so I dread to think what they omitted from their reports.

Our government seems committed to killing us all, but as I'm trying to stay focused on the topic of fluoride being added, without our consent, to our drinking water, and to not going off on a rant about all of the other ways in which the government is deliberately damaging our health for profit and/or control, I shall leave it there for now.

I truly believe that fluoride is seriously toxic for human health.
But, even if it isn't, and it is actually beneficial for our teeth, adding it to our tap water is completely illogical.
This is the brief comment that I just posted on the Telegraph article.
I commented - Adding fluoride to our tap water shouldn't be allowed. Even if it does help keep teeth healthy, it's nonsense - unless you keep your mouth full of water. We swallow the water we drink, so it's not touching the teeth for very long at all is it? It's just another way for the government to poison us, and we pay a lot of money for unsafe tap water. 
Maybe we should all write to number 10, telling them that we do not want, or need, fluoride in our tap water.

Oh how I wish we lived in a better World, where our governments genuinely cared about us all, and didn't force us to take risks with our health simply by turning on a tap.

I'm interested to hear your thoughts.
Are you as riled-up as I am about fluoride in your tap water?

Tropical Forest Organic Honey - Review

Tropical Forest Organic Honey

We love honey.
Honey is possibly the best sweet food there is. It's natural, healthy, and seriously good for you. Or maybe it's not?
I've read articles claiming that raw honey is good for health, is antibacterial, helps heal wounds, and is great as an ingredient in a face-mask.
I've also read that it's just sugar and is not a healthy food to eat.
All I know is we like the taste of honey, we believe it to be better for our health than the crappy white granulated sugar that a lot of people eat.
We rarely use sugar, and when we do it's not white sugar, either in hot drinks; tea or coffee, or when cooking, we much prefer to eat honey.

Now we've stopped travelling, boo! and settled down we've been looking for a honey that tastes good and doesn't cost a fortune.
After shopping around we finally found a honey we liked.

As I've mentioned in previous blog posts we buy a lot of things from Amazon UK, and that's where we now purchase our honey, it's called Tropical Forest Organic Honey. It comes in a large tub, 7lbs or 3.18kgs, and costs £20.37.
It's quite a strong tasting honey, and very sweet too. I know honey is a sweet food, but some honeys are sweeter than others.
The Tropical Forest Organic Honey we purchase seems sweeter than most other honey we have eaten.
This is a good thing because it means we only need to use a small amount of it.

Tropical Forest Organic Honey info -
A Fair Trade product from village beekeepers
Harvested from wild bees in the Zambian forests
Cold pressed : high pollen content 
No sugar feeding, antibiotics or varroacides 
No GMO`s for hundreds of miles

I think the majority of our honey consumption is probably in hot drinks. Mr.R loves a jug, or two, of hot coffee ever day, and I'm partial to this too. I also like using honey in my tea; green tea, camomile, and oolong tea are my current favourites.

We also use the Tropical Forest Organic Honey in cooking too. Mr.R uses it when he bakes bread, and various other dishes that require a little sweetening.
I like to add a generous dollop of the honey to my cereal, usually porridge oats, and also it tastes really nice when added to Greek yogurt.
The Tropical Forest Organic Honey we use is so tasty I often just dip a teaspoon in and eat it as is. Delicious!

We like the fact the The Tropical Forest Organic Honey comes in a large 7lb tub, because it means we don't have to buy lots of silly little jars every time we do a supermarket shop.
Obviously the tub is not particularly practical for every day use, so I simply spoon a smaller more manageable amount of the honey in to a glass jar. Perfect!

Raw honey is an odd term isn't it, because isn't most honey raw?
At least it's raw until we add it to hot food or drinks, which then means it's cooked. I realise we may be damaging the honey by adding it to our coffee and tea, but we like the taste.

If you believe all of the many positive things written about honey, you'll know that raw honey which means it hasn't been heat-treated or purified, still contains the full amount of antioxidants and enzymes, and it has antibacterial properties.
If you believe the negative stuff written about honey, then you'll know it's little more than fructose and consuming it may make you fat and rot your teeth.

We believe honey is good, and we're grateful for the bees.
If you're looking for a scrumptious organic honey, that's very reasonably priced I highly recommend Tropical Forest Organic Honey.
You can purchase it from Amazon UK or check-out the website printed on the label www.tropicalforest.com.
Tropicalforest.com is located in Wales, and they sell lots of different honey from various countries.
The label on the honey we purchase from Amazon UK says it comes from Zambia. In the past we've had the same tub of honey but from Ethiopia and Tanzania. All of the honey we've ordered has been seriously good.

Good or bad for health, do you like honey?
What's your favourite honey?

Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum - Review

Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum

It's nice receiving gifts in the post, such as a sample bottle of Bvlgari Omnia Crystaline L'eau de Parfum.
Mr.R had asked Bvlgari for a bottle of Omnia and within a day or two it arrived.

We've had the Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline perfume for a while now, but it wasn't until this afternoon that I opened it to find out how it smelt.

I definitely do know how it smells, because I had a little trouble getting the bottle open, due to its slightly strange shape, and I spilt it everywhere, all over me, the sofa, and the floor.
At least I smell nice now, and so does the sofa, and the living room floor.

So, what does Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum smell like?
Well, the official blurb says - Notes of Italian Mandarin, Lotus Flower, Orris Concrete, Heliotrope, White Sandalwood, Benzoin from Siam, Musk.
Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum opens with notes of lotus representing a symbol of purity in Asia and juicy mandarin that with its sweet fresh droplets enriches graceful petals. 
The heart is bestowed with a blend of iris root and vanilla heliotrope, wrapping us in a fine, powdery-sensual embrace. 
Heat and creamy shades come from sandalwood, benzoin from Siam and musk, which together create the base of the composition.

I haven't worn the Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum properly yet, I've only experienced the scent from what I spilt all over me.
I think it smells quite nice, light, and very floral.
Once my sample bottle is empty I'm not sure if I'd actually buy a proper full bottle of it though, mainly because despite washing my hands about a hundred times (that's only a very slight exaggeration) my skin still stinks of the perfume, so I think it may be quite overpowering when sprayed on to other areas.
I probably won't wear the Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum at all, I think I'll just splash it on my clothes, rather than my skin.
For a freebie it's not bad.

Have you tried Bvlgari Omnia Crystalline L'eau de Parfum?
What do you think of it?

Lamb Ribs

A few days ago Mr.R popped in to the local butchers to buy some ox hearts and liver for the dog, Barley loves hearts, and liver, well, he loves pretty much all food.
Anyway, as Mr.R stood waiting to be saw the butcher had lamb ribs, in the meat counter, not on his person - that would be weird, so Mr.R bought some ribs for us to nibble on.

In the evening Mr.R bunged the lamb ribs in the oven to roast, no sauce, just plain and simple, and seriously tasty.

As the ribs were finger food, we decided to munch them sitting on the sofa in front of the TV.
We were closely watched by Barley, who seemed most unimpressed that we were gnawing on the bones, making mmm sounds, and licking our fingers while he had no ribs to eat.
We're not cruel, we did save a morsel for Barley which he swallowed so fast I doubt it even touched the sides.

Ribs!
Do you love 'em?

Goodwood Festival of Speed - Memories

Remembering that one time we went to Goodwood Festival of Speed.
Actually we've been several times, this was 2011.

The main focus of the 2011 Goodwood Festival of Speed event was Jaguar who were celebrating 50 years of the E-type.
To mark the occasion there was a huge 28 metre metal sculpture of an E-Type Jaguar, created by Malcolm Sayer.
The Jaguar sculpture was erected on the lawn in front of Goodwood house where everyone, including us, seemed to be crouching down into unnatural and awkward positions hoping to take a good photograph of it.

We especially enjoyed wandering about in the Cartier Style et Luxe enclosure, admiring all of the beautiful vehicles.
There were so many gorgeous cars there, including several E-Type Jaguars, unsurprisingly as Jaguar were celebrating 50 years of the E-Type that year.

Also in the Cartier Style et Luxe enclosure was a gorgeous 1966 Vauxhall XVR and a 1970 SRV, a gullwing Mercedes 300SL, a beast of a machine in the form of a Lamborghini Countach, and an equally stunning Koenigsegg CCX.

Other cars included the seriously cool Adams Probe 16, which featured in the film A Clockwork Orange, a 1996 Lea-Francis 30/230 and 2001 Veritas RS3, and a stunning 1991 Bugatti EB 110 GT.

Also on show was the Buckminster Fuller designed Dymaxion, who’s looks attracted a lot of interest as did a Czechoslovakian 1937 Tatra 77, a 1931 Bentley 4.5 litre Roadster, a 1935 Auburn 851 Speedster, an Arbarth 1500 Biposta BAT 1, and a 1934 Crossley Burney Streamliner from the National Motor Museum.

We loved all of the cars in the Cartier Style et Luxe enclosure, especially the Vauxhall XVR, Lamborghini Countach, the gullwing Mercedes, the Bugatti, the Koenigsegg CCX, and the Adams Probe 16, but we’re not only interested in luxury supercars and high prices, we also loved the lovely little 1959 Austin Seven Mini, and the seriously sweet Fiat 500 which was complete with a wicker picnic basket.

The sun was shining, the sky was blue, the air was full of the smell of petrol - a truly perfect day.

Are you a petrol head?
Have you been to Goodwood?