another weekend of Agility :)

Well, 3 Sundays in a row of Agility! WooHoo! We drove up to Derby yesterday for another Winter Series at Capable Canine. This is the first time I've gone to the show. I like the venue a lot. It's a friendly atmosphere and I like their colour theme, Orange and Black (mainly orange!). You don't know how much I like Orange and Yellow :)

Oh, the best thing was the weather is just perfect. Dry and sunny! I was worried that we couldn't get there on Saturday night as the rain hasn't stop and most areas were flooded! Even on Sunday morning, the wind was still howling! I determined to go :)

There is only ONE ring, so you won't miss anything but I found it very crowded on the Finish line. If the courses were set the other way, it won't be too bad but sadly, all the starts and finishes for the entire day is the same. I am not worry about Sizzle and Sipzie but Sonic doesn't like people on top of him and I certainly don't want any dog grab him by mistake at the end of the jump. So, our first run was a nervous one. I have never pick him up and walk him over to start jump before, so he really dislike it. I did ask the people if they can kindly give him some room to finish the last jump, I have to say, the helpers were really good to clear  off the finish area for us but not the people queuing outside the ring waiting to run. The other mistake I made was, I normally let him tug on my sleeve when he finishes the last jump where I can't take a toy in the ring with him. At the first run, soon after he finished the last jump, he grab my sleeve and I've just picked him up worry other dogs might get to him and he was shocked and he struggled to get out of my arm. 

The first run was Sonic's Grade 1 to 3 Agility. It was a very messy run. I have to say I don't like the angle of the jump after the A Frame and also the weave. I think for a baby dog like Sonic, I like a more straight forward course that he can go and have fun. He got fault on the A Frame because he took one less stride due to me stop short and sudden (I know we need to practice more! This seems to be our major problem at the moment). With him can't see the weave, I guess it's a combination of baby mistake and my body was not clear enough for him. Of course, after he went off course, he enjoyed barking than concentrate to finish his course LOL Nutter puppy!

Sonic @ Grade 1-3 Agility: 

Our next run was Sizzle's Grade 4 to 7 Agility. Sizzle can't get his footing right on this surface. In fact, he can't walk properly on the surface! He's slightly tip toeing around the surface, he won't put pressure down too much. This is why he isn't going as his usual speed. Even at this first jump, he took off funnily. He did won the class though :)

Sizzle @ Grade 4-7 Agility:

Well, what can I say about Sipzie? She is getting stronger each time, Her confident is back and she is enjoying agility again. 3 weeks in a row, she is getting her DW perfectly each time. You can see me releasing her quicker each time. Her creeping down plank is getting better each week as well. Hopefully we can work through that this winter. She is missing her A Frame most of the time as she has much longer stride than Sonic. I don't really want to train her to stop at A Frame as I have learned from Sing how much "damage" it can cause if they landed badly at the bottom of the contact point. I just want the weather to dry up so I can put the A Frame out again to practice with her and Sonic!

Sipzie @ Grade 4-7 Agility:

Next up is Sonic's Grade 1 to 3 Jumping. After I review what I did at the Agility with him, I've decided I will go back to the norm and walk him to the start jump and play along the way. He was so much happier that way. From this weekend, I can see our problem is if the jump angle is slightly off, he will miss or not take the jump. This is another winter project to teach him to take the obstacle! He got a 2nd place in this run, very close to the winner's time. I guess if he didn't too busy barking at me and take the last jump, he would have won that easily. Nutter puppy!

Sonic @ Grade 1-3 Jumping:

I don't know why Sizzle cutting off behind me after the tunnel? I have to say I got a bit less confident after the tunnel as I was worried how I should handle the next 2 jumps. Sizzle did ran that well because of my crap handling. Sipzie ran the same course and she ran exactly the way I want to handle with Sizzle as well as her. 

Sizzle @ Grade 4-7 Jumping:

Silly Sipzie missing the weave again. We have been practicing hard at home and she's brilliant at 6 poles or 12 poles. I don't know why she can't do that at competition? 

Sipzie @ Grade 4-7 Jumping: 

The last class was a fun class called "Beat The Judge". The judge will set out a time and seal that in an envelope. The handlers will only when they call out the result. At this course, the judge set out for 40 seconds! This mean the slowest dog wins! Sonic did it in 19 seconds with a refusal at the last jump (again!) and Sipzie did it in 18 seconds! Sizzle did it in 20 seconds but he is the only clear in Grade 1-7! So, he won that class as well :) Poor Sizzle, slowest dog! Hahaha ...

Sizzle @ Beat The Judge: 

Sonic@ Beat The Judge:

Sipzie @ Beat The Judge: 

a ray of sunshine

After so many days (I can't count anymore!!) of heavy rain and mini tornado around us, everywhere is flooding and today we have a day full of sunshine! I got everything ready for a long walk with the shelties, mainly balls and camera. Just before we set off for our much desire walk, I trip and fell with my camera on the tile flooring! Damn it! I broke the UV Filter! Grrr ... otherwise my beloved Canon EOS 500D is perfectly ok! All the photos in this post were taken with the broken filter intact :)

Yesterday, the wind was terrible. I am not sure if I should class that as "mini tornado" but it was so strong that no one can get out of the house. The dogs and I nearly got blown off. Windy Ridge certainly lives up to its name! It was quite scary really with the heavy rain as well. Luckily nothing got damage. 

After I broke my UV Filter, I was in quite a bad mood, I love my camera very much. Thank God it still allow me to take some good photos. I would be really gutted if I can't take any photos as I am not sure when we will have another day like today. 

 handsome daddy Sing by the over filled lake. He wanted to go in swimming but I won't let him and he decided to stay there, hahaha ...

 my handsome country boy, all muddy lol

 Shadow the horse came to check on the shelties and is very interested in Sing's bum!

 Sipzie is so happy to be able to running wild again after her puppies have gone

 Sonic, the sheep whisperer. He is so gentle that the sheep thinks he is FUN

 I love this picture, the shelties look so happy running and playing on The Ridge

 Saturn and Sizzle are like two peas in a pot when playing lol

 cute sheep :)

cheeky Sizzle the weasel :)

Love my Saturn, so handsome and happy eventhough he is so muddy  

 Sonic is the hardest to groom when get muddy but he is so happy, who cares about the mud :)

and these two are up to mischief !

when I see this photo, I can see where Tig and Brooke's look from :)

I like this photo, you can see the moon in the picture in the day light and the shelties playing :)

I've got too many photos, I am hoping to upload to a photostream website. Can anyone suggest a good website?

country life

... is full of rain and mud at the moment. It hasn't stop raining for 2 days and the weather forecast is more rain to come! Poor dogs didn't get to go out for long walks this week, we only do 2 very short walks just to stretch their legs and a quick toilet trip. The wind is like 100mph, poor Seny nearly got blown off The Ridge! We have 7 very muddy shelties everyday. Actually Sen is not too bad, I wonder is it because she is mainly black and you can't quite see the mud on her but Sonic is the worst! He ran around the field a lot and he don't care about puddles of anything. Saturn is equally bad. Seagull just carefully walk around the field trying to avoid any puddles. If it is too wet, he just stop there and wait for us to come back. Sing, Sizzle and Sipzie aren't too bad at all. 

The shelties are now back to rainy days trick training, I am "secretly" polishing some Obedience Heelwork with Sing and Saturn, I am hoping to compete with these two boys at the ESSC Obedience show, hopefully. Sing and Saturn are both retired from Agility but their minds are still very active and they wanted to do something. I thought Obedience is probably good to keep their mind busy and physically not to strenuous. Watch this space! BTW, Sing and Samber's baby Brooke did very well with her clever handler Matt. Congratulations and very well done to Matt & Brooke!

My country life has got more excited with the sheep around, I love my sherperding duty. Go out walking and checking on the sheep a couple of times a day has build up a good relationship with them. They trust me and the shelties more now. They would not runaway when they see us coming, in fact, some of them get excited and come even closer. 

Here are some photos of the sheep when they are up on The Ridge. I have posted these photos on my Facebook page but for those who are not on Facebook, here are the sheep: 

more agility show ...

Well, we went to bitz 'N' bobz show on Sunday, it is local to us, only about 10 miles, for once, we don't have to wake up early to go to an agility show! WooHoo! This is the first time I went to the show, I was rather disappointed with the venue. It was too crowded to put 2 rings in such a tiny space. They fenced up a tiny alley for people to walk to the inside ring. The Jumping ring wasn't too bad but the Agility ring was far too crowded with all the contacts equipment. I am so used to plenty of space to handle my dogs and I found the courses were too tight even for a sheltie, especially Sonic. He still struggle to jump the KC medium height comfortably, he really need a lot more space to stride. 

I've entered three dogs, Sonic, Sizzle and Sipzie. Each one of them have 4 runs each, and yes, I have 12 runs and that should warm me up in this freezing cold weather! Sonic is in the Grade 2-3 group and Sizzle & Sipzie are in the Grade 4-7 group. This is a bit like the UKA setting, they set up the course, all the heights walk the same course at the same time and the jumps move up and down. They have micro, small, medium, standard and large heights. Sizzle is in small and Sonic & Sipzie are in medium. 

Sonic and I didn't gel very well this weekend. His first run was Agility 1. I didn't handle this course well as I walk the wrong course. Oops! I went to walk the Jumping course as they put up the ring number wrong! I should have read the ring plan carefully in future! I only have a chance to walk the course once and my worried was the jump after the DW which I got fault for! Duh! Otherwise, I think Sonic work beautifully consider how tight the course is. 

Sonic @ Agility 1:

Sonic's second run was the Jumping course. My handling was so poorly that he nearly took the wrong jump. I should have trust him more on the tunnel and stand upright that gives me better position for handling the obstacles ahead but sadly, I didn't, so he probably read from my body that he should turn right instead of left but he took my verbal command so well, Bless him! Such responsive boy, but sadly he dropped the pole before taking the weave. Entirely my fault! Later, I went to check his time to give me an idea what kind of time frame he is in to find that he was given an elimination! I wasn't happy and I questioned them. Apparently, the girl that did the scoresheet told me that was a 5 fault written on with no time; so when she went out to ask the scrimer, she said it was an "E". Honestly, I was furious. Not that I care about the prize but I knew we only have the 5 on the pole, but why an E? Good job that Colin video us and I show them the video to proof that we didn't go off course! At the end, the secretary granted us a joint 2nd place as the presentation been presented and gave him a random time of 33 seconds. She said to me, your dog is not slow, so 33 seconds is good. I thought to myself, if Sonic did that in 33 seconds, I will probably call it a slow dog! When we got home, I used the video editor to trim the start and finish, he did that around 26-27 seconds. That's more like it. Grrr ...

Sonic @ Jumping:

Well, Sonic's next 2 classes when horribly wrong :( He got stuck in the car for all morning and he was so wound up! He just can't stop barking! I find this Agility 2 course very challenging, I think it is a hard one for the baby dogs, especially Grade 2-3? The weave entry was tough and the way I handled it is for me to be able to catch up at the end as the next two jumps are not in line. Sadly, I probably block his view to see the pole and he nearly took the jump in front of me. I guess I was curving out from the wing that he came with me. Just a baby mistakes really. 

Sonic @ Agility 2:

When I looked back at this video, I can see that I am a lazy handler :( I should have put another step forward to help with the tunnel but I didn't. Poor Sonic was tumble in the first tunnel. When he ran into the first tunnel, he was tumbled that I saw his bum in the exit; I can see he got disorientated a bit but then he got naughty about the tunnels :) more tunneling work! Well, Sonic won this class with 5 faults!

Sonic @ Steeplechase:

Sipzie did some good work, although she got very naughty in her first run! I don't know why she can't see the weave pole and keep taking the wrong jump :) I am really pleased that she did her 2o/2o on the DW. WooHoo! At least our hardwork paid off. Although I like her not to creep down the plank but we will keep practicing. 

Sipzie @ Agility 1:

Sipzie got a 2nd place in the Jumping. I don't think we did well enough. She was actually being careful and not being her crazy fast self. I think showing her treat in the queue is a bad thing but the place is crowded that she was too busy sniffing around, so I used the treat to lure her which is a bad move!

Sipzie @ Jumping:

I think Sipzie ran very well in this Agility. The way I handled her into the weave entry has gave me a bad position for the next obstacle but I can't handle her the way I handle Sizzle, Sizzle is much better in finding the entry where Sipzie is still learning. I am hoping with the 6 poles, she will not keep popping out like she did in 12 poles. It is very hard that you don't want a dog to think they are wrong all the time. Of course, I was in such a bad position that I didn't pull her enough for the jump but she did good though.

Sipzie @ Agility 2:

Not sure why Sipzie didn't go into the tunnel, she is a tunnel crazy! She also had a tumbled in the same tunnel that Sonic tumbled earlier. 

Sipzie @ Steeplechase:

Sizzle got a 2nd in this Agility run, he was so close with the winner's time. I guess I lost time after the weave, he thought he was going to take the jump but I called him back and then have to pull him through the gap which he has eyes on it :). It was good though. I struggled with the tight course again, I need more space!

Sizzle @ Agility 1:

Ah, naughty Sizzle, I wonder why he pop out of the weave poles? I know I was looking at the wrong end of the tunnel but not sure my body is showing too much of it? Hehehe ... I did the "funny turn" correctly :) We learned a lot of this "funny turn" at the new Club and I am struggling with it!

Sizzle @ Jumping: 

Sizzle won this class :), I don't think there are many clear rounds on this course. The weave entry and the jump after the weave caught too many dogs/handlers! I don't think I can handle it better other way. 

Sizzle @ Agility 2:

I think with all my dogs went into the wrong end of the tunnels, it got to be my handling problems!!

Sizzle @ Steeplechase:

agility show

Life has been hectic in the last few days. We finally sold the house in London (WooHoo!). We only have a couple of days' time to go and clear up; so you can imagine I've been driving between London and Midlands, trying to take stuff back to here. The Removal Company has made a mess! They've sent three removal vans (YES!) and still they leave some items behind and the worst thing is those items are by the door and they are big! How the removal man missed it and Colin missed it, only God knows! Anyway ... stressed over and I am going to enjoy my new "dream" home from now on ...

Agility slowly back on track again. I am loving it and the shelties must have been missing the game too. One thing, moved up to the Midlands meaning that I have to re-select the shows I can go to from scratch. The shows I used to go to are a bit too far to travel now ...

I've entered a UKA show with Sonic and Sizzle. Sonic desperately need some ring experience. All my other shelties have more ring experienced that him when they were about his age. Sadly, due to the big move, a lot of things have to be put on hold. I don't think this will do them any harm, in fact, it is good to give them a break. They came back even more enthusiasm!

Sonic and Sizzle were both entered 4 classes each, Agility, Jumping, Gambler & Steeplechase. I've also entered Sipzie on the day for Agility, Jumping and Steeplechase. As I've entered the show so early in the year and I wasn't sure if Sipzie has finished with her puppies. I like UKA because you can enter on the day although they are going to increase the late entry next January. 

Sonic surprised me what he can do since we went back to training three weeks ago. I always thought he is very clingy just like his daddy Sing when running a course. He is so much faster than Sing, so keeping up with him is hard work and I do not want him to wait for me. 

As we have entered 4 runs with him, I've decided to run 2 in NFC (Not For Competition); his first run was Beginners Agility. I've left the toy at the finishing line, sadly it was put in a box, so the reward was a bit late but he got the reward at the end anyway. Our only tiny mistake was the cross behind. I was too far ahead and the cross behind wasn't pretty and he didn't take the jump after that. This is a baby mistake but that will be our homework. 

I really like this photo of Sonic over the DW plank. He is so powerful and strong and enthusiastic as well :)

Sonic, Beginners Agility (excuse Sipzie barking in the background):

His second run was the Beginners Jumping, I've decided to go for a competition run. I am very pleased that he ran ahead of me, the only downside is that my cue and command were a bit too late so he turned like a tank :) He did won the class though :)

Sonic, Beginners Jumping:

His third run was the Beginners Gambler, I ran this as for competition. He missed the 11th pole the first time round it, I didn't want to put him back; when he did the second time, it was perfect, so I was very happy. This is not a smooth round at all, a lot of hip-cups. I should have treated this as NFC with the toy in the ring but too late. I've learned. He did the Gambler and Q-ed! Clever puppy!

Sonic, Beginners Gambler:

After the messy round in the Gambler, I decided to run the Steeplechase in NFC with toy in the ring. Sonic ran the course really well and smooth, I decided to chuck the ball over the last jump for him. Wasn't that a big mistake? He missed out the last jump and chase for his ball! Silly me!

Sonic, Beginners Steepelchase:

He was so tired after that. His first run was first thing in the morning; then he has to wait for a long time before the 2nd, 3rd and 4th run all came at the same time! I am very proud of my baby boy. 

Sipzie was in the same classes as Sonic. She is in the Beginners in the performance and Novice in the Steeplechase. Just before we moved, we have not done any Agility with her in the competition, only Jumping. We gone back to train her with 2o/2o on the DW. I wasn't sure what she's going to give me, to run it or to stop? She surprised me by stopping at the bottom. WooHoo! I verbal praise her but she was reluctant to move on to the next obstacle. She was looking for food! Hahaha ... Just as I thought we have nail the weave, she proved me wrong again! Arrrggghhh ... we've done so much weave practice at home lately and every single time, she did that perfectly. But, she can't weave at the show! Sigh ~

She was very good girl to put herself back on the see-saw the second time though. I just loved her craziness!

Sipzie, Beginner Agility (excuse Sizzle's bark in the background):

Well, I am not going to post her Jumping round, she can't weave. I made her weave three times and each time she failed to complete. I can see stress coming through her eyes, so I took her out. Thank God her Steeplechase was not immediately, so she has time to forget the stress. She didn't surprised me she won the class, she really was running very well in that course :)

Sipzie, Novice Steeplechase: 

Well, poor Sizzle hasn't got a good day. Three eliminations out of 4 runs. His first run was the Champ Jumping, I was running over from the Beginners ring and I forgot the course, so we look terrible in co-ordination!

Sizzle, Champ Jumping (excuse Sipzie's bark in the background):

In the Champ Agility, obstacle discrimination let us down. I saw a lot of dogs taking the longer route but I thought it is a good practice to go through the gap as the longer route is taking a lot of time. Surely, we are very poor in obstacle discrimination because we did exactly the same again in the Gambler! BTW, I don't know what spoke him on the DW, he was creeping up the plank. I saw some dogs do that as well! Mmm ...

Sizzle, Champ Agility:

Sizzle did a very nice opening. I am sure he collect quite a lot of points but again, I tried to come through the gap to get a shorter route and he went into the tunnel, so no Gambler no Q :(

Sizzle, Champ Gambler:

It was a long day, our last run was the Champ Steeplechase, again, Sizzle took extra jump LOL.

Sizzle, Champ Steeplechase:

agility update

I really miss Agility! My last Club training was back in June and we have done very little since. I was so glad that one of the Agility Clubs I've contacted in this area has invited me to join them. WooHoo! I was over the moon when I received the email 3 weeks ago. I really can't wait to put my training shoe on!

We started at our new Club three weeks ago, you guess it. I was very rusty with my handling. Sonic needs a lot of work, he can do little sequences but we have a lot to learn. Sizzle was so happy to be able to run again. I can see how happy these two boys are. We've been to training for 2 Sundays now but last Sunday was very wet, so the training was cancelled at the last minute. Yes, we are training outdoor in the field, so it's very cold and wet this time of the year. I am not complaining. I was too happy to be back training. 

here is the little clip of Sonic training:

and this is of little Sizzle: 

I am starting to look up for some winter show to get Sonic ring experienced. He has missed out a lot due to the big move ...

tricky T'day

... NOT!

I struggled to get Sen to play with a toy! When I am at the other end of the toy. She's obviously loves her toys. She is always looking for a toy to play with; if the other shelties have the toys, she would want to pinch it off them or tug with them; but soon I am in the picture, she let go of the toy. I've posted on the facebook to ask for suggestions and advice. I've tried adding long lead/tuggy/rope at the end of a toy to create a distance and the movement of the toy. She started chasing it but never grab hold of the toy. If I were to make funny noises, she found me far more interested than a toy. Basically, I've tried everything I could. I've even get other people to play with her and the result is the same. Soon, there is a human involved, she will not be interested in the toy. If anyone of you out there have a better idea, I would be greatly appreciated. 

She turns 21 weeks old today. She is a funny little girl. She is a bit crazy and like to pull Sonic's tail too! Poor Sonic, I hope he is going to tell her off as his tail is getting slimmer everyday. She and Sipzie have similar personality, or is that the girls? When go out walking, both girls glue to my legs; but when they play, they play so rough. I tried to let the girls play together and the boys together. Gosh! She and Sipzie both play so rough that the boys try to avoid them.

I have not teach Sen anything yet, not like me, I know! I want her to get confidence and comfortable with her new surrounding before I started to train her. I have a lot on my plate at the moment, so she gets to enjoy her puppyhood :)

One thing though, I can't get her off the hay! She knows she gets treats for standing/sitting for a photo :) Clever girl! This morning, I wanted to take some pictures of Sing but she keeps getting in the way :)

as usual, family photo!

a quick note on Sing ...

I had a very disappointing visit at the vet today! The vet who supposed to do the operation booked us in himself last Friday when we went to see him. After an uneasy day yesterday worried about Sing and purposely sent him in late this morning ... the nurse told me the Vet is not there today. He wasn't sick or anything but he was at the other branch! I was fuming! They suggested other vets can do the operation but I do not need all that rubbish. The vet supposed to be one of the best vets in the country but now I am not sure about it! Sing got booked in to see the vet in London on Monday and maybe with the new vet on Tuesday ... oh, this is getting very complicated! Poor boy! We weight him this morning, from Friday until today, he lost 0.3kg! 

first frosty walk

Brr ... it's cold out here in the country! It must be minus something this morning when I woke up at 6:30. Our old thermometer still show it is 27c, so it must be too cold that the mercury inside it got frozen, hahaha ... I think we need a new thermometer!

It is so pretty this morning, everywhere I look is a blanket of white stuff. I so wish it is snow but it is just the heavy frost!

this is the view from our bedroom balcony over looking the lakes/pond on the right

 and this one right in front of our bedroom balcony is The Ridge where my shelties studio is :)

beautiful sunrise this morning from the balcony over looking the horse stable/yard on the left

 The KNIGHTs Shelties has to have their group photo taken before they are allow for their walk LOL

Seny is getting good at posing for the group photo :)

Sing's foot is very poorly at the moment. We just can't kick the inflammation away from the poorly paw. All the medication including the very strong steroid cream couldn't help him this time. I've come to the term that amputate the last toe will the only option to help resolve the problem. He is in a lot of discomfort at the moment. He can't stop licking his foot but he is still very strong and tough that wanted to go out walking and playing fetch. I took him to see our new vet last Friday to ask for his opinion. He sounds like a nice vet and he understands agility dogs (phew!); he suggestion is to have a little incision like my previous did last year. He is going to give him a GA; then cut and clean the paw; then take can xRay to see if the amputation is necessary. He is going in for the little op on Thursday, finger crossed for my boy.

Although he is getting very limpy this morning, but he refused to let me carry him all the way. He still enjoy life to full. That's my boy!

these two golden boys made me laugh so much. Sonic is the most tolerate dog in my pack. He plays well with all of them. He just knew how to get them to play with him. This is him teasing Seagull to chase him. 

Oh my lovely Saturn is a true sheepdog. The sheep finally arriving at the Farm last week. We have 150 sheep here at the moment, more to come later. I know Saturn and Sing are my only two shelties that have the herding instinct. I always wanted to give herding a try but I never really put a lot of effort into it, main reason being a lot of people thinks shelties are purely for showing and maybe agility, they are too pretty to work on the farm. Both Sing and Saturn have tried on sheep when they were younger but I never thought they will be still good at it. Saturn has show great interest in the sheep when the first batch arrived early last week. It seems that he just knew what to do. He has been moving the sheep around to different fields, he is gentle yet firm when there are some stubborn one that won't move. I keep forgetting to bring my video camera out to film him moving sheep! This is the first time that I actually took my camera with me, I guess I like the frost :)

 this is Saturn moving the sheep into the further field

 from different angle, he surprised me that he is capable to work with so many sheep at once!

these two are the stubborn ones that would not move with the big group, so Saturn has to come back to move them ...

Saturn is happy now that the two joined the others. Such a great dog!

this is what Saturn do every morning, he likes to move them in two different group and separate them between the lakes/ponds

I really enjoy being a farmer/Shepherdess. I used to scared of sheep and horses but now, they are my best friends! They have so happy to see me every morning. You will be so surprised how friendly the sheep are! I have to start learning their names! Don't laugh! All farmers know all their animals very well! Oh, I used to hate wearing wellies and now I can't go anywhere without them! I started with a pair of croc wellies and they are rubbish when working in the Farm. I now have a good pair and I am loving it! Don't laugh at me when you see me wearing wellies running in the Agility :)

I love my country life so much that I have no time to get on my computer anymore! Sorry if I have not left any comments on friends' blogs but I am still reading my favourite blogs in the evening before I get to bed.