Houston, We Have a Problem!

We've had our current PC for nearly 3 years now and in that time we've never had to re-install anything, it's chugged along merrily but over time, it's got slower and slower. On Friday night I decided to do something about it, something we had to every 6 months on the old PC, insert the system restore disk!

We've both done this so many times we didn't think we would have any problems, how wrong we were! I had got all the required disks together before starting and backed up all the photo's and stuff we wanted to keep. I had, however, forgotten about the set up disk for the Speedtouch 330 ADSL modem. I inserted the restore CD and got everything as it was when we originally bought the PC then left it at that as it was getting late.

Saturday morning came and the first thing to install was the BT connection software, I did that and it was at that point I realized we were missing a disk. We searched the house from the loft to the garden shed but the little box that the modem came in was nowhere to be found. The air turned blue at that point but we did eventually calm down and I managed to nip out and download the required modem driver onto a disk.

I wiped the PC again and started from scratch, installed the modem driver but when asked to plug in the modem, even though XP installed it, the set up wizard wouldn't continue, it just said the modem wasn't there and to check the connections etc. The modem diagnostics showed that the modem was functioning correctly but the ADSL synchronization was pending.

That's as far as we got, despite being on the phone to BT India all day Saturday who were about as much use as chocolate fireguard. They even suggested using the XP backup point feature to restore to when the internet was working. I tried explaining that since we've used the system restore CD 4 times today, the only backup point is 3.30pm, it was no use though, since the answer was not on their list, it didn't compute and we were back to "peas kick on tart".

BT are sending us a new set-up CD out in the post which should arrive mid week, we're not sure which one it is, we asked for a CD for the modem, it wouldn't surprise me if ABBA's Greatest Hits turned up.

Paul.

Sasha's First Walk

We had a friend stay over on Friday night and despite the usual tipples plus the sampling of Sambuca, we surfaced early on Saturday for a shopping trip in and around town. Debbie got a few goodies for the house and I spent my Birthday money on a DVD re-writer and Donkey King Country 3 for the Game Boy. During a very chilled afternoon we watched Batman Begins which was fantastic, we're going to have to get up to date with the film watching, we've not been to Blockbusters for 6 months!

On Sunday, we finally got to take Sasha out for her first walk, just around the village and over the field. She did really well despite Lolly getting everyone in a tangle every 10 seconds! We spent so much time untangling, we hardly had chance to take any pictures.

Back at the ranch, the three of them collapsed on the sofa for a couple of hours and after a bite to eat, so did we.

Paul.

Approaching Milestone

Another year older today and at 36, the milestone of 40 isn't looking as far away as it used to! I've got loads of cool stuff this morning and I'm off shopping at the weekend for a DVD re-writer for the computer and probably another game for the Game Boy Micro Debbie bought me for Christmas.

Being an old codger I suppose the games I should be getting for the Game Boy should be crown green bowling, golf or fishing but the spring chicken in me still prefers hurtling round a race track or shooting those pesky tie fighters while using the force (whisky and coke between you and me).

I hope the game shop isn't as busy as it was over Christmas, there's nowt worse when trying to find a decent game amid the hundreds of Pokemon titles fending off six year olds and their parents! I think after this purchase, to save embarrassment and money, I'll try buying on-line for once.

Paul.

Leave The Circus Alone

Lollypop was feeling much better last night so a trip to the vet is on hold for the moment, we'll see how he gets on today, he's still not one hundred percent but it was nice to see him jumping around again.

This morning on GMTV, they were highlighting the issue of animals performing in a circus. Now there isn't usually anything in the news that we care that much about but where animals are concerned we do have an opinion.

We feel that these animals that have been bourne into circus life should be left right where they are, it's not ideal by any stretch of the imagination but by all accounts, they do seem to be well cared for. I'm sure that we, as an animal loving nation have some of the tightest regulations in the world and as long as these regulations are being met, what is the problem?

What does rile us is the fact that so much effort has been put into highlighting this when efforts could have been better spent on looking after the welfare of the thousands of pets in the country that are being abandoned, starved, beaten, burnt, poisoned, made to fight, drowned, hanged, mutilated, tortured, stabbed and shot at!

Paul.

Lolly Under The Weather Again

Well, the new year's resolution isn't off to a very good start, it can't be helped though, Lollypop isn't feeling so good again and has been sick a couple of times through the night. If he's no better tonight we'll have to take him to the vets to be checked out. We're not sure what has caused it but he does tend to chew things to bits and swallow if you try to get anything out of his mouth.

With our own vets now being a twenty minute drive away, I think we might try Abbey Vets which are just up the road from us, I wonder if they've had six new registrations in one go before!

Paul.

Still Unpacking

Five months after moving in to our new home, we actually got round to unpacking some more boxes on Saturday. The first job was to get some of the boxes into the loft so we could actually get into the spare bedroom so we could actually see the bed. We got a few more things put away but there's still loads more to do. While rummaging around we found the cables to connect the video camera to the DVD recorder so we've been able to get our Christmas footage stored away. Now it's so easy to record from the camera we might just use it more than once a year lol.

We never made it out with the dogs on Sunday, Dad came round for dinner and we spent most of the morning cooking and cleaning. Does playing Star Wars Battlefront for two hours count as cleaning? I did blow the dust of the Playstation which I haven't touched since moving. We'll have to wait until next weekend to take the dogs out in daylight, the meantime, we'll see how our only new year's resolution fares tonight, walkies after work, every day!

Sasha is getting more confident every day, she can just about make it on to the sofa on her own now but while she can manage getting up the stairs in seconds, she won't come back down again. I lost count of the times we herd whining coming from the stairs over the weekend, one little puppy desperate to be rescued. Then within minutes of being brought downstairs, she was back up again!

Paul.

Ready To Face The World

I booked the day off work yesterday to take Sasha to the vets for her second injection, all was going well through the day until after having lunch with Debbie, I checked the appointment time. It was for 3pm as we thought but for Tuesday the 10th, not Wednesday the 11th! When we picked Sasha up a couple of weeks ago, they did say Wednesday I'm sure but then wrote down the 10th on the papers, which we should have checked really.

A quick call to our usual vets resulted in an appointment straight away, Sasha was duly vaccinated early in the afternoon and will be ready to face the world on Sunday. She was a little off colour after the ordeal when we got home, probably just grumpy at being locked in a cage for the journey rather than the injection itself.

We're looking forward to a quick stroll round the local park on Sunday, it's going to be interesting learning how to walk three dogs on two leads!


Paul.

Under The Weather

It was a dreadful weekend weather wise, dark and murky with drizzle the whole time but perfect weather for staying in and spending time with our almost 10 week old puppy Sasha She's coming on in leaps and bounds, racing about everywhere with Lolly, although her preferred method of engagement is an ambush, usually from under the coffee table.

One thing we have noticed over the weekend is that Lollypop seems to have aged a little, he's still clinging on to nutter status but he's definitely calmed down a lot with the arrival of Sasha. He was off colour on Saturday night and Sunday morning but he soon bounced back to life.

We had to take Lucy to the vets on Saturday, she's got an ear infection, not very common in the winter months apparently but the vet said he'd seen quite a few dogs with this complaint over the last week or so. She's got some drops and tablets to take and should be fine in a few days.

We've not had chance to post much lately, not just because we've been taking Sasha outside every ten minutes but also because we've been busy watching Soapstar Superstar and Celebrity Big Brother. There are definitely more celebs in Superstar, Big Brother seems to consist of a who's who of who the 'eck are you! Still, even though the celeb status might be stretched a bit, they're all fruit cakes which seems to be a prerequisite for appearing on the show.

Paul.

Introducing Sasha!

So here we are, a few days into 2006 and already we have a surprise!

Introducing our latest addition to the Snowbabies nut house….. Sasha!

We had talked about getting another puppy before Christmas but plans were put on hold over the festive season because it’s was just too busy here. On Friday we called in to the sanctuary were we adopted both Lucy and Lollypop, not really expecting to be taking anyone home.

Imagine our surprise to find two puppies who both had a remarkable resemblance to Debbie’s beloved Tyler who sadly passed away in November 2002. The only decision to be made was which one, they were both so gorgeous. However, with one puppy being a little quite and knowing how mad Lollypop is, there was only really one choice.

Sasha settled in straight away, having a bit of run around with Lolly on Friday night and in 10 minute spurts during Saturday. Dad came over in the evening to celebrate New Years Eve with us and Sasha slept the whole time lol.

During Sunday and Monday, Lollypop began to find that Sasha is the ideal playmate given his insatiable appetite for a game of tug.

Lucy is taking it all in her stride, she’s never been one for racing about like nutcase Lolly and is quite content to watch on from the comfort of her bed or the sofa.

This years New Year Resolution is walkies, walkies and more walkies!

Paul

Happy New Year

Its a bit late, but here it comes:-

HAPPY NEW YEAR

Hope it bring you all magic, happiness and wealth.

Debbie & Paul