A new addition......

I absolutely, categorically adore my pets. My hubby and I have two cats, three dogs and several horses. And a couple of weeks ago we adopted another horse. Her name is Roxy and she's just beautiful.

After an unsuccessful stint as a racehorse, due to injury, she's now part our of little herd.

 

Along with my 30 year old golden girl Sharnah ......

 

 

And my beautiful boy Zeb......

 

As for the dogs.....here they are, keeping hubby company as he works on his car restoration project (He is restoring an old Holden FJ ute)

 

As for the cats.....here's Candy doing what she does best.....sleeping.

 

And Oscar, doing what he does best.....tormenting the dogs.

 

Over the years I've other additions.....a bird named Curly, a mini pony called Chloe, a house cow named Ginger, a pair of goats called Milly and Billy, a duck called Doc (That I used to take for a walk on a lead) And a list of other dogs and cats that are now at rainbow bridge.

 

I haven't had a Lama, a miniature donkey or a pig yet.....but who knows what the future holds?

 

Do you have a hankering for a certain kind of pet? A poodle? A pony? A python?

 

Oh, and here's a another picture of Boss....the most awesome dog ever.

 

 

My Favourite Things......

By Helen Lacey

I was talking to a friend the other day about things we cherished – things that made us smile, laugh or simply feel good. Like family and friends, our pets, that holiday of a lifetime, the sound of rain on a tin roof. So I had a thought about what were my five favourite things and came up with this list (I’ve left family off this list since that’s a given)

1/ Friends …. This is my writing group and we've been together for 23 years. We don’t get together as much as we used to since we all in different places at the moment, but we catch up as often as we can and have become firm friends. From left - Lesley Millar, Laura O'Connell, Me, Helen Bianchin, CC Coburn & Louise Cusack. 

2/ My horse Zeb…..we’ve been together for six years and I love him to pieces.

3/ The shoreline where I live…..I live on the east coast of Australia at the most southern point of the Great Barrier Reef and it’s a beautiful spot. I never tire of walking my dogs along the beach.

4/ My collectibles….. I love fine china and I collect pink glass. I just love scouring antique stores and yard sales for pink pieces. Here's a pic of some of my little treasures. 

5/ Books....I love books! Particularly category romance books. I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was eleven...there were two I read and I was hooked - Bride At Whangatapu by Robyn Donald and Winds Of Enchantment by Rosalind Brett. Since then I've read hundreds and here is a picture of a some of my all time favourites. 

So, what’s on your list? 

It's Never Too Late . . .

By Helen Lacey

Reading - Destiny Of The Light by Louise Cusack
Watching - Revenge
Listening To - The ocean hitting the rocks

I come from a large Welsh family. I'm the youngest of seven siblings and in such a big brood it's very hard to keep a secret. You tell one person, they whisper it to someone else, of course begging secrecy - heads nod, then calls are made and secrets are told in quiet voices. Wives tell husbands, sisters tell brothers, mothers tell daughters, you get the picture.

A few months back a rumour circulated. My eldest brother was up to something. There were whispers, but nothing confirmed. The main issue, is seemed, was to keep said secret from our eighty three year old mother who's job it is to worry about everything. Now, being the inquisitive sort that I am (I'm a writer, so inquisition is second nature) I asked around and pried the snippet of information from one of my brother-in-law's. My eldest brother (Let's call him EB) was, it seemed, taking flying lessons.

Right. Had EB ever intimated that he had a longing to fly? Maybe. Or had I missed that snippet of information over noisy family get-together's? I discovered that he's having a lesson every week and even considering getting his own areoplane. I wasn't exactly shocked because EB had been a competitive equestrian when he was younger and then there was the motorcycle faze a few years later. He had done interesting things in the past. This was just another interesting fact to add to the pages of of his life,

But it got me thinking about living out dreams. The biggest dream I had in my life was to get published, and now I'm fortunate to be living my dream as a full time author. But what about other dreams? For some it's the dream wedding, having children, owning a home, taking the trip to Tuscany, or grey nomading in the outback. What about the balloon ride, owning a Harley, deep sea fishing, whale watching. So, not only did EB's new venture get me thinking, it made me realize that it really is never too late to seek out adventure, start a hobby or try new things. I have an older sister who learnt to play the saxaphone, cello and double bass years after her kids had grown up and left home. She's also currently studying to be a barrister.

As a horse owner  it's amazing how many people say to me, "Oh, I'd love to ride a horse." And then I hear someone talk about how they did one of those bridge walks and I think, I wish I wasn't afraid of heights. So learning about EB's new adventure made me add a few things to my own bucket list. Nothing too daring - horse rides along the beach are about as adventurous as I get.

Although, if my sixty something brother can dream of wings, maybe the bridge walk isn't too far out of my reach.

Have you achieved a life long dream recently, or are you still adding things to your list of dreams?

Two Steps Forward . . . . One Step Back.

Reading - The Castaway Bride by Kandy Shepard
Listening to - Hits of the 80's (tragic)
Watching - Deadwood

Ever had something happen in you life where you feel like it’s an ongoing challenge? You know, those things where no matter what you do, and end never seems like it’s in sight. I’m currently in the middle of one of those things.

As you might know, I’m a passionate and dedicated horse owner. My husband and I have eight horses of varying breeds and ages. About six months ago one of our horses, Angel, sustained a serious injury on her leg. It was in the worst possible place and at the time seemed insurmountable. I was devastated, as she is a sweet natured beautiful big chestnut Thoroughbred and the granddaughter of a champion race horse called Octagonal. Pedigree aside, we knew the injury was the worst we’d seen. The vet came out, gave us the options and we had to make a hard decision. We were either in, or out. So we decided to give it a go and see if we could get her well. This meant a week of intravenous penicillin, plus daily painkillers, and once the first week was up, a twice daily dose of powdered anti-biotic and anti inflammatory meds. And bandages – poultice, cotton wool wrap, elastic bandage and crepe cover bandage – changed every two days. She also had to be confined in a small stall in my backyard to limit movement to the injury and fed twice a day to maintain her weight.

The first month was hard going – with numerous vet call outs and several bouts of lameness. But gradually we saw some improvement.  We took photographs every time the bandage came off and sent them to the vet for updates. We continued with the medicine and the feeding. And slowly, she started to improve. Six long months later we were sure we’d come to the point where the bandage could come off, as the wound was now almost healed. But then a few weeks ago, we had a major setback. During a bad electrical storm she spooked and tore the injury. Then came x-rays, more medication, and more bandaging. It set us back three months.

But the whole situation has made me think about choices and how we sometimes naturally push forward with things even though it might seem hopeless. Much like a writer keeps writing through rejections and set backs. Or how a parent keeps parenting even when the kids make them crazy. Or how a brand new puppy owner keeps putting down that newspaper, knowing the pooch will one day get it right. There’s satisfaction in trying when the odds are stacked against success. Perhaps because it makes the reward so much sweeter.

And Angel? Well, she’s still in my backyard, still munching on grain and whinnying for more when I go outside to hang out the washing.

So, have you ever beaten insurmountable odds? I’d love to hear your stories.

Catwalk Wednesday

Name - My name is Calvin Cool Consent . . . but people call me Cal

Abode - I live in a big paddock with my mum Cassie and two other horses

Human Slave - Helen Lacey

Likes - I like dinner time and morning time when I can run around really fast and kick up my back legs

Dislikes I don't like the Plovers who swoop at me sometimes when I get to close to their nest. And I don't like ducks either. I really don't think I like any birds cos' they poop on my back sometimes.

Ambition - to grow up and become a good cutting and team penning horse for my human slaves' DH

Sociable or Aloof - Mum says I'm very sociable. And my human slaves are always brushing me and picking up my feet and telling me how cute I am.

Favourite Pastime - Listening to my mum tell me stories about when she was a racehorse and used to win lots of races

Best Friend - my best friend is Red, he's a big chestnut Thoroughbred that also belongs to my human slave and he plays with me when my mum won't because she's old and cranky(am I allowed to call my mum old?)

What do you like to sharpen your claws on - I don't think I have claws. . . . I better ask my mum.

*****

WANTED: Your Pet!!
Lovecats wants YOUR pet to feature on its Catwalk Wednesday.
Interested? Email Mel at
Melteshco@yahoo.com.au