Th e Month of July...

...is nearing the end, and so is my holidays. I have in all fairness another week to go, but I am already starting to feel a slight end-of-holiday-blues. 3 weeks just isn't enough...
The first week pretty much rained away, second week has been fab, and third week has started with a rainy day. Hopefully it will change, so I can get another few days of basking in the sun.
With the apartment doing a very good sauna-imitation, it is a bit hard on us all, dogs included, as there is no getting away from the stuffyness. I do hope that today will bring a good old thunderstorm to clear the air.

Last week, on Wednesday, we headed up north to Hälsingland to spend a couple of day in the tranquility of my bestest friend Tess' home Åsen. She met us on the yard with her new buddy Torsten on a lead rope. Torsten is a white goat whom she's looking after for a year or so. He was in dire need of some socialisation and good manners, so Tess takes him for a walk on the lead every day. Ashiki thought he was a weird-looking, but really cool, dog and tried to engage the goat in playing. Torsten on the other hand, had no intention what so ever of playing. That was Ashiki's first meeting with all the strange creatures on the yard, which includes Kasper the Donkey, Rosa the Shetland pony, 3 horses, 4 pigs, a number of cats and of course Atlas, Vilse, Luna and Tingeling - the dogs. Let's just say he didn't require an awful lot of walking for the 2 days we were there, he sorted out the getting exercise bit all by himself.
He also got aquainted with the electric fence. Twice. Not a favourite!
While Ashiki had great fun with all his new friends, the human party did a lot of talking, laughing, playing cards, eating, fishing, swimming (only me, and only once in a rather chilly lake. But oh so lovely), eating, and the compulsory bit of crying involved in finding new pieces to the puzzle that is the self. Not always pleasent, but always needed and very much loved.
We headed away on Friday, roughly 1,5 hours delayed due to personal belongings on walkabout, and headed straight to Smedsbo for a birthday party for Jocke. A couple of hours later we arrived at home, unloaded the car (why does it always look like we've been away for at least a month,judging from the amount of stuff we've packed??) and had a long longed for shower. The dogs were delighed to be together again, after Abi's and Zassi's mini-holiday at my parent's.

On another note; my tummy is growing at a healthy rate and with it it's inhabitant Baby H or Knyttet. I have started to experience the limitations a pregnancy brings. Sunbathing while lying on the tummy on only a towel for instance, is no longer comfortable for two reasons - the bump that curves the spine in an umfamiliar way, and - foremost - a very annoyed Baby H making it very clear that the pressure of my body weight is NOT pleasent.
Bending forward is not quite as easy as it used to be. Sitting slightly bent forward with the laptop on the coffe table sets off a series of very demanding kicks, as does certain stretching poses I've used for years. I yield to the demands, and realise that my body is no longer only my own.
I have also realised that 3 dogs, an infant and a pram in combination with 3 flights of stairs and no lift, is not a great combination. We have thus started looking for another apartment, preferably on the ground floor.

On a doggy note....
har jag legat vansinnigt lågt på sistone. Vad i hela friden hände med mina intentioner att det skulle bli massor av hundträning under semestern??? Visst, värmen har väl satt sina begränsningar, men va fasen...!
Känner det lite som att jag satt ett "måste" eller "borde" framför träning, och då sparkar hela jag bakut lixom. Lite time för mental omläggning.
Hur som haver, så var vi häromdagen i alla fall ut till Sharon för lite hjälp. Ashiki var långt ifrån på hugget, bilåkning är fortfarande inte riktigt hans forte, men vi fick lite hjälp med hur jag ska gå vidare i alla fall, och det känns skönt. Jag har ju lite svårt att tänka vidare, och veta riktigt när och framförallt hur jag ska ta nästa steg, så hjälpen jag får är guld värd.
En av de saker jag måste jobba massor med är belöningen, för just nu känner jag att jag är ungefär lika rolig som en dörrmatta, och det är ju inte direkt bra. Måste även få till det här med att belöna med kamp/lek, vilket inte alls kommer sig naturligt för mig, tyvärr. Dessutom är jag helt vansinnigt fumlig när det gäller att få fram leksaken, så Ashiki hinner med både 2, 3 och 7 saker innan den förbenade leksaken kommer fram. Suck....
Ja ja, vi gör ett nytt försök idag, utrustade med allsköns godbitar (förmodligen inkluderat köttfärs) och leksaker i alla möjliga fickor (med hopp om att faktiskt lyckas få fram dem inom 5 minuter... ;))