Henry Update

We took Henry back to the vet and while there’s no doubt that he’s pretty poorly, he seems a very more spritely dog than he was this time last week. He is much more like his old self, and while we haven’t seen him playing, he’s been told off for barking and has wandered down to wait for me after classes, which are typical Henry behaviours. We’re going back next week and by then we’ll know a little more about whether things are getting worse, staying the same or getting better. There are things that they can do to remove the lump on his leg, as I think it is a pocket of fluid. However as these would be uncomfortable for Henry at the least, and that as he doesn’t seem to be worried about the lump on his leg, it doesn’t seem fair to put him through any unnecessary discomfort. Henry’s appetite has come back and he’s eating well, which must help.

We are still getting mushrooms from our mushroom block. Ian remarked that they were a slightly different colour, darker to the earlier ones, and was a little concerned that they’d become contaminated. A worry that deepened when he cooked them and they turned blue. A nasty moment that dispersed when he looked over and saw that I had been dying wool – blue. Oooops.I’ve made a mental note not to use our cooking implements for dying wool in the future…

I was dying wool as I had a jumper that I knitted from silk a few years ago and it stretched. I made it from silk waste, which is bits of silk strands which don’t get processed when the silk is unwound from the cacoons. It is an absolute labour of love to prepare the waste for spinning, and not something I will be in a hurry to do again! I have to wash the silk carefully to remove the natural gum from the silk worm, then dye it, then card it to try and get the silk fibres laying flat, then spin it – and then knit it. The jumper stretched because I didn’t do a good job of carding it, and the fibres were still scrunched up when I spun it and they stretched out over time. So, having decided to unpick the jumper I thought I’d redye the silk, and I’m quite pleased with the result, even if Ian thought that the mushrooms were severely contaminated!

We went to the craft store in Llerena to meet the people who are in charge of the seven stores. I thought we were just meeting them, however it turned out that they wanted to take the rest of the jewellery into their Caceres and Trujillo store. As we are now members of the association, we can take part in some of their exhibitions and shows around Extremadura. I don’t think we’ll take advantage of this – particularly not the invitation to take part in a craft show at the large matanzas – where they slaughter pigs and turn them into meat leaving only the skin and teeth at the end of the day. Most people have their own matanza in garages, however there are also big exhibition ones which are weekend celebrations, for instance in Llerena where the whole square turns into a butchery and there are other stalls and activities – including craft shows. But I think we’ll give it a miss!