Welcome to Melanie’s October Oracles, which I have to admit is very late! It very nearly didn’t happen, but I have been doing a couple of website updates and artwork blog posts this week, so I thought I’d put something together very quickly to update what’s been happening here.
First of all Lily has had to have a small operation. We found a little lump on her chest near her armpit a few weeks ago. Lily was due to have vaccinations the following week, which was well timed as we saw our favourite vet. We wondered if it was a Lipoma but although the vet said it felt like one, he also said it felt fibrous and a little harder than it perhaps should. So we ultimately decided to have it removed, just in case.
Lily’s Operation
We sedated Lily with tablets the previous night and morning. However when we arrived at the vets, we found that the majority of the staff had come down with some kind of sickness bug. There weren’t enough vets to do the operation, so we took Lily home. The poor thing was pretty out of it for most of the day. She had just started to come to life a bit and we had to sedate her again for the op the following day!
We took her for 8am and felt so sorry for her, but at least she was calm. We went to a little café to have some breakfast as we’d left early, just to kill a bit of time. They finally called us at 12pm and said that her bloods had all come back fine and were about to go ahead with the lump removal. Of course, an anaesthetic is a worry with a dog at any age, however Lily is now 11 and quite an elderly lady.
The vets called us an hour later to say that she was in recovery and she was ok. They said it looked like a fatty lump but it was fibrous inside. The vets were certain they took good margins and had got the entire lump so we were happy. We collected her at 4pm. It was SO good to see her and I think she was on a bit of a high when she saw us and was quite awake. When we arrived home she just slept and hardly moved. Here is a photo of her, bless her little heart.
Lily Getting Better
They told me to feed her chicken and fish… and she soon perked up when I hand fed her that evening! I think if she could speak human, she would completely question why on earth couldn’t she have that every day! The next few days were very quiet so she could rest and recuperate. The vets gave us two post op checks the first 3 days after the op.
The vet nurse told us that although her armpit was still swollen, things were healing well. She could go out for a short 10 minute walk every day. As the wound was on her chest, the harness went over that area. So ideally we needed something soft like a t-shirt that she could wear before we put the harness on. Our clothes were too big.. we did try!! So a quick trip to a local pet chain (Pets At Home) and we found the perfect woollen jumper for her. Fitted her beautifully, looks very smart and was enough padding to stop the harness rubbing on the bandage. Plus it looks quite Christmassy too!
80th Birthday Holidays
Lily’s operation pretty much coincided with a trip to Cornwall which had been planed since the spring. It was my father in laws 80th birthday at the end of October and we had booked a beautiful old Mill via Airbnb. So we only just managed to fit in the first post op check for Lily before we had to travel down to Cornwall. Thankfully Lily is a good traveller and we didn’t hear a peep out of her all the way down. She absolutely adores my in-laws, especially her granddad and so was ecstatic to see them when we arrived. Once stopping at theirs for lunch, we headed to the old Mill which was to be our home for a few days. It was breathtakingly beautiful!
It still had the wheel outside which you can see below, which was in perfect condition. Unsure how the water actually got to the wheel, I’m sure the river must have been somehow diverted away from the wheel in more recent times. The river carries on, in what looks like a very manmade straight line through the owners garden the other side of the mill, which then meanders down to the sea, which was only a short drive away.
You can also see the inner workings of the mill inside too. It was all very tastefully renovated and decorated.
The kitchen was a perfect size and you can see Nicholas exploring when we arrived. It was very tidy at this point as none of the shopping…or wine had arrived yet!
Melanie’s October Oracles
The early mornings and evenings were the best there though, with all the fairy lights and pretty decorations. It was so lovely to relax in. I used to head down at about half 6 in the morning and put the fairy lights on. I’d sit tapping away at my laptop doing website updates with my cuppa in the quiet. Heavenly. Although I say in the quiet…..
The river that flowed in front of the mill was absolutely beautiful. It was however, pretty loud and you could hear a constant rushing of water in the mill the whole time. Not a place for those who don’t like the sound of water and it was loud as the mills windows were only single glazed. I absolutely loved it, it was so calming and what a beautiful sound to drift off to sleep to.
The garden was as pretty as a picture and surrounded by trees which were turning pretty in the autumnal week we were there. Lily was very good, she had to be carried up and down the stairs and we only did little walks with her, but she continued to heal and she kept her bandage on the entire holiday. We all had a lovely time.
Early Morning Rainbows
As you have been reading (in Melanie’s October Oracles so far), life has been a bit chaotic this month with things happening all the time. However I am trying to get back to a bit of normality. I am still running when I get the chance, but I haven’t done as much in the last few months. No races and no regular runs as life has been a little too busy. I am still doing a few training runs though and this particular morning, I was greeted with a full rainbow! How beautiful!
Lily’s Halloween Grooming
Of course Octobers blog can’t go without having a bit of a Halloween theme. Lily’s grooming photo below with a Halloween bow.. how pretty does she look?! This was just before we found her lump on her chest, so before her little op.
Here is a close-up of her with her beautiful shiny eyes! My groomer always does such a good job with her fur.
Melanie’s October Oracles – Halloween Fun
We also had some Halloween fun at our workout class as it fell on Halloween this year. Myself and Harvey dressed up for the occasion. We made our PT jump when we arrived as she was not expecting it. We did feature on her social media that day as best dressed clients! She took these photos of us at the end of the session.
You can see Harvey and I have Battle Ropes over our shoulders. Battle ropes are thick, heavy ropes used for strength conditioning and workouts. We thought they would be great props for our posed Halloween photo!
And finally here is a little video that Harvey and I made, just before our workout session. A 20 second clip to make our friends laugh. Sound up! We hope you enjoy it!
Below is my pumpkin that my dad grew this year. All carved and now chopped up and frozen as Lily LOVES pumpkin!!
We hope that you have enjoyed Melanie’s October Oracles. Have you signed up for our blog emails? Sign up for our blog news below! If you missed last months blog take a look at my September News. It really won’t be long and I will have another post on its way. We are in the middle of portraits to be completed for Christmas so its busy, busy!
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