Update

Well, I'm feeling much better after the horrific event that was The Coil (I believe it is worthy of capital letters). The pain has subsided considerably and I made it into work the day after the procedure (aren't I the trooper?) - although I did spend most of the day wondering if perhaps my return was a little hasty. I drove into work that day and the £18 it cost to park in Bristol did not bother me this time! The thought of walking to and from work was less than appealing! Still, today I feel ok, and the coil is proving its efficacy as I still won't let Gareth anywhere near me! It is kinda 50% his fault, if you think about it...

Recoil in horror

After several weeks of discussion with Gareth, we decided that we would try the coil as a contraceptive. We have tried a plethora of other options but none seemed particulary satisfatory. For example, when I tried the pill I made Dexter seem quite social, but at least he was fictional. My poor husband had to put up with my precarious mood-swings and generally narky state for several years before we gave up on it!

So, this morning we trundled off to the doctors to have the coil fitted. I had done some research online concerning the procedure and I admit that I scared myself somewhat by the traumatic horror stories I read; the coil is a small T-shaped device that sits in the opening of the uterus, so the obvious direction of insertion is through the cervix, which is designed to let things out, not in, so you can imagine the kind of trauma people reported! However, once rational had re-established itself I realised that the majority of cases were pretty straight-forward if perhaps uncomfortable.

I should have been alerted at the presence of a trainee doctor, and especially more nervous that it would be she who performed the procedure. However, in my rather too trusting state (read "white-coat syndrone") I thought nothing of it. Once all the formalities were out the way (i.e. the health questions and feeling my uterus, of which the trainee asked "has anyone ever told you that your uterous tilts backwards?" Not quite sure if this was complimentary or not, I replied to the negtive) I proceeded to the strip-below-the-waist stage of the whole process. Fine, no worries so far. Then a trolley was wheeled over to the bed with an array of foot long instruments (including what looked like scissors)in their sterile wrapping. Hmmm. Feeling less confident now. I then lay back whilst they got things into position - I'll save you the details - and my confidence returned. Sure, a little uncomfortable, but no pain. Then came the biggest understatement I think I've ever heard: "This may pinch a little but it's the worst part." I began to identify two falicies with this statement quite quickly. The first was that the pinch was more like having a vicious little rat biting your cerix, and it sure as hell wasn't the worst part! As the trainee appeared to be having some problems in orientating herself, the clamp was removed and thankfully some anaesthetic was applied to the instrument before trying again. Now it just felt like a pinch! The process was quite lengthy, and I don't really know what the issue was, but there was still something not going quite right regarding the coils placement, so the trained doctor got involved and eventually managed to sort things out (although she to was having difficulty).
The main thing I do remember throughout all this is being rather embarrassed at my complete wussiness! At one point I felt quite heady like I was going to pass out.

Once it was all over, the doctor informed me that the coil is immediately effective. Too damn right! Because sure as Hell nothing else is going up there! I ended up phoning in sick for work, which I hate doing, but the cramping was atrocious and still keeps coming in waves despite loading up on painkillers. I think it was the right decision to call in sick - I felt like I was in a state of shock for the rest of the day.

Dog club pub quiz

It was the dog club's pub quiz on Tuesday and so 18 dogs along with their owners congregated at the Cross House (a lovely country pub in Doynton) and spent a good part of the evening huddled under umbrellas whilst sat on damp wooden benches. Despite the need for more clement weather, everyone seemed to enjoy themselves. A couple of the 'lower tog' type of dogs did appear somewhat put out by the drizzle, but the majority did not seem to notice the weather. The latter classification included Tangent who was rather thrilled by his outing. He is a very social dog which can get him in some trouble. For example Freddy, the merle collie, who took a rather amorous shine to Tangent. It was quite amusing seeing Tangent reversing under the bench when he saw Freddy approach!
The quiz itself was good fun. I was in the aptly named 'Underdogs' team who proudly came last (despite covertly cheating with someone's mobile!) The questions were of a canine nature and some were quite vague - i.e. how did the Romans use 'hair of the dog' as a hangover cure? Apparently they ate the singed hair. Nice.
The teams were not above dirty tactics, the most effective of which was bringing two 8 week old white German Shepherd puppies to use as a distraction... The quiz questions were soon forgotten while cooing over these gorgeous pups! unfortunately I did not think to bring my camera, hence the somewhat barren post.

Cycopath

As I was walking back from work, today I was disappointed to observe yet another irresponsible dog owner. This person was cycling on the road whilst their dog trotted along beside them, off-lead, on the pavement. Initially it seemed a very obedient dog until they approached some traffic lights and the cyclist duly stopped at the red light. The dog waited at heel until a dog walker on the pavement approached. The 'cyclist-dog' promptly strode over to said dog walker ignoring the persistant calls of 'sit!' from its owner. It only resumed its place at the cyclist's side once the lights had turned green and the cyclist was moving.
I don't care how obedient you think your dog is; you cannot trust it to stay with you indefinately regardless of how perfect its recalls etc. are in a controlled environment. There are so many stimuli that cannot be conditioned, would you really want to expose your dog to a temptation when in an environment that is unsafe? Leave the hard-core training to the those that know what they are doing - namely the police, army and that ilk.
Anyway, thats my rant-of-the-day over!

Mend and make do

I think I have found the source of the occasional pitying look I've observed in my colleagues. Last Thursday at work I discovered a gaping 4" gap in the sleeve of my jumper. I have no idea how long it's been there, but my work-mates must think I go home to eat cold beans out of the can beside the paltry light of a single candle! Suffice to say I have now placed my wounded jumper on the pile of items requiring suturing.

Erratum to Baby Frogs

I should probably point out that my clumsy phrasing of 'interfer with...' doesn't mean I have a Kermit fetish.

Baby frogs!

Despite regulary stumbling upon the fornicating frogs and swiftly leaving after mumbling my embarrassed apolgies, I was still surprised when I found these tiny frogs in the pond. I had seen the tadpoles breaking the surface of the water several times, but came upon several of these guys sat on the exposed pond liner (its not the best constructed pond). Being the ardent zoologist I am, I naturally had to interfere with and scoop them onto my hands for a photo shoot:

Baby frogs - Although isn't a baby frog a

tadpole? I guess these are just small adults.

Or midgets.