THE CHALLENGE OF A FUTURE WITHOUT Mr 3Dogs ..... but friends will make it possible

MatyMoo

ML, I haven't lost a partner but did lose my Mum and was bereft. The only thing that helped was time. You never forget but you find a way through and can eventually think about them without crying.

As for meals for one, I have lived on my own for years and still can't do it so I gave in and got a freezer so that I can cook for the multitudes and freeze the left overs. Other than that, pasta is you friend!

MandyLou66

Hi all

Hope all are well

Just re-read my post and I put 'thread' instead of post! Still rubbish at this game! am not going to go on, it was just the one 'sorry for me' POST!!!

Virtual hugs always well recieved! Thanks Boult!

Oh Robin, do make the best of your time, although we all love them very much we do not want to join them yet, theres too many people who would miss us too much and thats not fair. I take so much comfort from my little dog and my wonderful children. Keeping busy is good, or just being really lazy and doing nothing at all is also good!

Thanks MatyMoo, omelettes are pretty good to do for one too! Just seems no matter what I cook just seems to get huge and would feed the 5000!! Worst offenders are fish pie, lasagne and stews!!

How you doing Susan? Bloomping Southerners kidnapping you!! Pass the watford gap and they just do what they like!! How is the car doing? i am like you and have Nicks pension money, seems mad that all our lives we had to save and scrimp and now I have this stupid money and don't know what to do with it! Old habits die hard though, there's still not a bit of meat in my freezer that doesn't have a reduced sticker on it!!

Have done some 'firsts', sons b/day card just from Mum (hardest), found the right hole in the car for anti-freeze! (ok), helped my 80yr old Dad set up a new wireless router!! (bl**dy nightmare), and I can now use the lawnmower and change the grass cutting length!

Take care all

ML xxx

kerri_gt

MandyLou66 wrote: »

Have done some 'firsts', sons b/day card just from Mum (hardest), found the right hole in the car for anti-freeze! (ok), helped my 80yr old Dad set up a new wireless router!! (bl**dy nightmare), and I can now use the lawnmower and change the grass cutting length!

Take care all

ML xxx

Oi, less of that about us Southeners :rotfl:

Sounds like you've been really busy Mandy, if you can get through the first card then anything else is a doddle :grouphug: xxx

3Dogs

Evening/morning/wahtever it is for you

Lovely to see your post MandyLou and that you are getting on with things, as we have to do. I still wrote' from Dad and Susan' on stepson's wedding card as I wanted to make the point that Alan was there with them and wwished them all the happiness in the world, b today I wrote card out for g-niece who is 11 tomorrow and almost put 'Susan & Alan' but just stopped myself in time As you say, not used to having money. It seemed like we were getting money thrown at us when Alan was ill, and of course I now have his pension money like you, to back me up. However, I have now found out that the weekly Bereavement Allowance of £105.95 which I have only just started to receive :mad: will actually replace my £75 ESA, rather than being on top of it. My ESA was due to stop on 7th November anyway, victim of their new 12 month rule :mad:, but I did think that, as the two benefits are contribution based, I would receive both of them. So backdated benefit received on Wednesday was for the balance between the too benefits, rather than 13 weeks of £105.95. With already receiving my Civil Service ill-health pension, I am not due any other money, so no Housing Benefit or Council Tax benefit, even now Bereavement Benefit sorted :mad: Just one more thing sent to try us

I am glad that you are sorting out those little jobs we previously took for granted too Mandy. I've had my share too

Robin, as you say, we can just keep busy to banish the loneliness. Good luck with the Probate paperwork hun

I had a mini-meltdown after my last post, late on the Monday evening. Dogs are weeing in the house after their month in the kennels and I'd just seen Bess weeing in the hall, so got upset with her and mopped it all up she does big big wees for a little dog :eek: I settled down with a bottle of fruit cider when they tried to jump on my lap and I pushed them dowwn, resulting in my full bottle of cider going flying, all over table and floor, and the wall too. I was staring at it all screaming 'I can't do this' 'I don't know what to do' and crying my eyes out. Eventually, I mopped it all up with towels and put them in to wash, then got myself another cider. Poor dogs were just looking at me as if I was a mad woman, so had to give them both a cuddle to show I still loved them. I went to bed soon after and did sleep, so was ok in the morning

But the clutter in the house is getting to me, as ever. I have been doing a little bit a day and have shuffled the content of kitchen cupboards around quite a bit and cleared the worktops a bit more, plus emptied a couple of bags of glitch stash and stored them properly. I still have mice in the house, so got some new stronger traps and set them last night. Bingo, caught one at 3.30 this morning in the kitchen, so got rid of that and set the trap again. When I got back from the shops about 6pm today, I checked the traps and another mouse was caught in the trap in my store cupboard. As I found that one, another one was scuttling about, and getting rid of the dead moue, I set the trap again, and caught the other one about 20 minutes later. So, I've caught 3 mice today with these better traps. Much better results than with the cheapo ones which the mice could take the bait off without tripping the spring most times :eek: So I can recommend the pair of Advanced Mouse Traps for £3.98 at B&Q :j I am going to keep a couple of traps baited in case more about or if more come into house later on

Right, I just had to nip to the loo and found that, despite the back door being open for the dogs to get out, Bess has done another big wee by the back door, on newspaper at least, so thankfull for something. This is the problem with them being in the kennels for so much over the last 6 months, with Bess being 8 years old now and seeming to be having bladder problems, and Molly only just getting housetrained and then this sets her back again. Almost like starting again with both of them, encouraging them to go into garden when they wake up, after eating, after sleeping, after playing, etc, and keeping puppy pad or newspaper by the back door They are going into the kennels from 1st Nov to 5th for when Andy and Steve are up here and decorating my hall, then again over the end Nov/start Dec when I am down at Kit's again for long weekend, and then they are booked in again for Christmas/New Year. So I am determined to spend more time at home in the New Year so I can spend time with them and get them retrained Molly is due her 6 month health check at the vets so will talk to them about it, and Bess is due her's in January so will get her checked for bladder problems then

Right, that is me up to date I think. Lots of love to you all x :A

*Robin*

'Morning 3Dogs,
Good to see you posting, but not so great to see what's been happening in your life (((hugs))) as far as frustrations with money and dogs' behaviour is concerned. The DWP 'got' me too with their calculations - but I didn't expect anything before reading your thread so their contribution is still a bonus - and like you I'm also trying to work out how to deal with making the different money streams into an effective income, without wasting it.

But your dogs - sorry I really don't get that; why do they have to go into kennels so that someone can paint your hall? Ok, I'd put mine in the garden while the lower part of the walls were being painted as I like my Daft Dogs the colour the Lord made 'em but there's no way I could justify kennels. True, I left them behind when flying up to visit MIL - but at home with a sitter - and I'd not dream of making an overnight visit to anyone who didn't also welcome my companions..

The truth is, Daft Dogs are keeping me grounded. I need the discipline of looking after them to get through all the wobbly moments - which they recognise; both insist on affection at times when I'm feeling despair, which is a huge help. The spirit inevitably lifts when one dog is wrapped around my feet and the other's trying to get as much of herself onto my lap as possible..

I suppose I'm also avoiding the drop in manners which seems almost inevitable after long stays in kennels - that you are experiencing now. I guess the place you use doesn't give the dogs the option of permanent access to a yard, so they've learned it's ok to toilet inside. Maybe that means the bills are lower; I get charged £55 a day which definitely means the kennel is an emergency solution only.

Your Molly is still in her prime so I do suspect her behaviour is a reaction to kennels; please think again about banishing your dogs so often. The sooner you can get the new family dynamic working properly, the better it will be for you as well as your dogs - am sure of that hun!

ps. Thanks for wishing me well with the paperwork; I've got Probate now, but had to give in and ask my solicitor to sort out transferring the lease of PC's flat. Meanwhile Daft Dogs and I are heading south to start the same process at the holiday cottages.

3Dogs

You've certainly got me thinking there about the dogs Robin and I am so glad that my experience helped you benefot wise

Anyway, good morning guys. I am off out soon a I have my flu jab at 11.30am, then got to go into ton later for my eye test and order new glasses, so will be back on here later

Have a good weekend everyone

Oh, and I caught another mouse at 4am, so, with the one when I got back on Sunday, plus the 3 yesterday, that's 4 gone now

3Dogs [STRIKE]4[/STRIKE] 5 v Mice 0 Ooops 3Dogs needs arithmatic lessons

*Robin*

3Dogs wrote: »

You've certainly got me thinking there about the dogs Robin

Good!

3Dogs wrote: »

Oh, and I caught another mouse at 4am, so, with the one when I got back on Sunday, plus the 3 yesterday, that's 4 gone now

3Dogs 4 v Mice 0

..Problem I can see here is that your team consists of you [one person] as your dogs presumably aren't interested? Whereas the mice probably have hundreds on their team!
Don't forget to look for - and block - their access points or you'll be setting traps all winter.

3Dogs

*Robin* wrote: »

Problem I can see here is that your team consists of you [one person] as your dogs presumably aren't interested? Whereas the mice probably have hundreds on their team!
Don't forget to look for - and block - their access points or you'll be setting traps all winter.

:rotfl: :rotfl: no, the dogs aren't that bothered really, though they do scuttle about and get excited if they hear a mouse about. I did read that you would never have mice in your house if you have a Cairn Terrier, and Molly is half Cairn, but she hasn't caught any. Next door's cat Amy is a great mouser, she often brings dead mice in for him and I find dead ones outside on the grass and by the car. Perhaps I should borroww her

I am going to ring the Council/Housing Asssoc on Monday to see if they will come out and block any gaps for me

I've just had the dogs out for a walk and it is getting quite nice out there, with the sun now making an apprearance :eek:

Aesop

*Robin* wrote: »

Don't forget to look for - and block - their access points or you'll be setting traps all winter.

I block access points, and they just make new ones to get into our house.

the problem we think is our neighbour with building stuff in the corner of his garden. Think they are nesting there, and finding gaps into under the house, then look for gaps to squeeze through. I would have to take up all the carpet and put metal all over the floor to block all potential holes.

boultdj

If you find where the mice are coming in, remember it only has to be the size of a pencil, then put wire wool in it and then put a skim over paste on top, it cut's their mouth's when they chew it and like us, don't like pain, so if you can do that it does put 'em off quite a bit, and the only reason I know that is because I got the little devil's when I lived in the flat and that's what the pest contol bloke told me to do if they came back.



Gggerrrrrr! to 'them' messing your money around.

And I'll remember me manner's:o Hello Everyone.