The Sun Has Got His Hat On!

Thursday. 6.30 a.m. Yesterday evening I fell asleep on my bed. I think it's a combination of getting up early and the heat in this place. How many times have I mentioned it? Currently, it's 77ºF. , according to my digital thermometer. You would say, I'm sure, far too warm, considering we're in the middle of summer, with outside temperatures fairly high. But I digress.) I woke suddenly and looked at my watch, though it was morning, and got ready to go out, including taking Alfie out. We were walking along the path beside Strudwick Drive, towards Oldbrook Green, and I saw children playing football. I thought, 'shouldn't they be at school?' Well, at around 6.45 p.m., no, they shouldn't. By the time I got back indoors and poured out some cereal into a bowl and sat and watched television (with the BBC News channel on.) I realized my mistake! Only a few hours too early. Crazy! Goodness knows what Alfie thought.

I'm considering buying a spray which is supposed to calm dogs who have anxiety. I'm going to go to Pets At Home this morning and give it a go. You can also get a gadget which you plug into an electric Power point, rather like the gadget which we used to have when we lived at the house in Eaglestone which gave off a rather pleasant aroma. You put a gel capsule into it which, when the thing heated, produced a vapour. I think the thing I'm mentioning must be similar. Anything to solve the situation with Alfie is fine by me.

5.30 p.m. I've been to the Oaktree Centre to set up the playgroup. It's not difficult, but pushing the trolleys around with the chairs stacked on them can be quite tiring. I'm also back on the Genesis team, setting up Sunday services, but I won't be involved for a few weeks yet. Just one Sunday a month. Mid-morning, I'm part of a Bible study. I have used the Version Bible app on my iPhone as it's easy enough to use, but the other week I took my Living Application Bible, but I found it far too big to sit on my lap, so I looked for an N.I.V. (New International Version) on the internet. I eventually found one. Quite difficult to find a straightforward one which wasn't a) bright pink b) fluffy c) covered in flowers or non-appealing in some other way. It's ordered from a website called Eden. 

Later, having finished at the Oaktree Centre, I drove across Milton Keynes to the retail park where Pets At Home is situated. I looked down the shelves where the doggy medications were. I could have bought a diffuser which plugs in and you put the calming essential oils in it and, as it heats up, a gentle mist is released, similar to the scented oils that we used to use when we lived in Eaglestone. The only problem is, on the package, it suggests plugging it in at floor level. Which is out of the question here, because all the power points in this flat are halfway up the wall and not at floor level. So, I choose a spray bottle and will give that a try.

Friday.8.20 a.m. I started using the spray yesterday evening. You have to spray a small amount on surfaces, particularly soft furnishings. So, every couple of hours I have sprayed onto the sofa and Alfie's bed. I think it might be working, as he seems to be quite calm. Let's just hope that it keeps on working. Which is one of the reasons I started using it well before Sunday afternoon, to give it a chance to work.

Sunny and Bright!

Monday. 6.25 a.m. Yet another bright and sunny morning, but still fairly chilly when I went out onto Strudwick Drive with Alfie just before 6 o'clock. I had my red Regatta fleece on because it wasn't warm enough without.

Spent some time putting writing into word processing. It is really boring, because the creative part has already been done. I've made a few adjustments to what I had already written, but the rest is as I originally wrote in pencil.

Excitement! I've cleaned the bathroom floor! Woopee! Just thought you'd like to know. 'Such fun!' as the mother of the Miranda Hart character says in the 'Miranda' sitcom on BBC television, played by Patricia Hodge.

It still appears to be bright and sunny, but rain is expected later.

Tuesday. 1.50 a.m. Not exactly sure what the weather is doing at the moment. I can't hear any wind howling outside, or rain on the windows. It's another case of waking up and not getting back to sleep. I read my daily devotional 'Bible In One Year with Nicky Gumble' which I have on the Bible app, You Version. I have been using this for a couple of years now. 

Later. 9.40 a.m. The weather is somewhat undecided. It was raining earlier but it is dry at the moment.

I have just returned from taking Alfie out. I have a fairly good idea when he needs to go out as he starts staring at me and sits on the sofa next to me with a very determined look on his face. The other night he came in to the bedroom and got on the bed and was shaking and looking quite odd. I didn't pick up on what he waned quickly enough and the poor little dog did a mess on the bathroom floor. Yesterday morning he was sick on the floor. Easily wiped up, but it's unusual for him to need emergency exit in the middle of the night.

We walked down Strudwick Drive as usual. As we approached the crossing onto Oldbrook Green I saw a youth walking a large tan-coloured dog in the direction of the skate park. Alfie was sniffing around as usual and I had intended to walk in the same direction as the youth with the dog. I didn't take much notice as Alfie did his pooh which I picked up with the boo bag and eventually put it in the bin just beyond the skate park. Then a man walked into the Green from the primary school crossing. with what looked like a black spaniel, but I couldn't see clearly from where I was at that distance. The youth let his dog off it's lead and it went for the little black dog. It looked quite severe and the owner of the black dog separated the two dogs and he appeared to tell of the youth because of the bigger dog's behaviour. The youth put his dog on it's lead and appeared to walk away and the man with the other dog walked off in the opposite direction, but then the youth let his dog off it's lead AGAIN, but it went to attack the other dog with a certain amount of viciousness and the little black spaniel made a horrible amount of noise. The separated the dogs again and AGAIN the youth got a telling off from the man with the black dog. It was at this point that I decided it wasn't safe to walk Alfie in that direction and anywhere near the big tan dog, so we walked back toward the crossing and back along Strudwick Drive. Looking back I could see the youth had picked up his dog to carry, but I don't think he could have carried it far because of it's size and wait. I think it was some sort of cross breed, probably had a bit of Alsation or Doberman Pincher in it's make-up, probably one of the larger breeds which are used as guard dogs or perhaps used by the services, the army or police force. Whatever it was, it should be muzzled in public when near other dogs. Also, not socialised when a puppy.