Denta Fresh Chews

Last week, a parcel dropped through my letterbox. I wondered what it could possibly be as I wasn't expecting anything. You may remember back in February, I wrote a review about Joint Treat Bones which Archie had tried. It turns out that the company who make these, VetVits, have added to their range and they asked me if Archie would like to try one of their new products, Denta Fresh Chews.

Along with a pack of chews, the company sent me some information about the product as well as information about canine oral health. As with most things, prevention is better than cure, so it's only sensible that dogs should have their teeth and gums looked after.

The smell of the Denta Fresh Chews is quite similar to smokey bacon. It obviously smells appetising to Archie as there was no hesitation from him, as soon as he was offered one he was chewing. Denta Fresh Chews have a triple action, Zeolite which is a specialist abrasive aids food removal and so helps to keep teeth clean and gums healthy. The texture and shape of the chew aids teeth cleaning and works on the hardest to reach areas. DentaSpark HMP is a unique and advanced mineral that helps to reduce plaque formation.

Archie isn't keen on having his teeth cleaned in the usual manner, but I can tell by his funny face whilst he's chewing that the Denta Fresh Chew is getting in to all the areas that he doesn't like a toothbrush to go.

Denta Fresh Chews are available in two sizes tailored to an individual dog's size and the cost is £7.45 for 28 Small/Medium Chews or £8.45 for 28 Large Chews. You can tell that Archie was impressed, I don't think it'll be any problem to keep his teeth clean with these.

VetVits also make products for cats and horses as well as dogs so do take a look at their website.

I should just mention that the product was sent to me free of charge but I have not been paid for writing this review.

Eleanor's Bedroom

It was Easter when we decorated Eleanor's bedroom, and I've been meaning to show you how it turned out for some time but I'm only just getting round to it now.

I should have really taken some pictures before it was decorated so that you could see the difference. It was a very girly pink room, pink walls with a Laura Ashley frieze, pink carpet and Laura Ashley bedding and accessories. It was a lovely little girls room, but as Eleanor is now fourteen, she wanted something more grown up.

The bedroom used to be tiny, just enough room for a bed and not much else, but we had it extended a number of years ago and now there's plenty of room for Eleanor to have her own space.

Eleanor chose everything for her room herself, starting with Soft Ochre for the walls. She wanted a chocolate brown carpet, one which her feet would sink in to when she stepped out of bed, and I have to say it is a lovely thick carpet.

The bedding which Eleanor chose from Dunelm is lovely, it's something I would have chosen myself.

This is the view from the other direction. The fitted wardrobes were installed when we had the room extended and they give Eleanor plenty of room for all her clothes. I know fitted furniture isn't fashionable now, but it serves it's purpose.

I wanted to show you the view from the other direction too, but the photo's come out quite dark. I'm sure it gives you some idea though.

You can see that Eleanor has the over stairs bulkhead in her room. This made her original bedroom before it was extended even smaller as it's essentially wasted space. Eleanor treated herself to a television and dvd player with pocket money she had saved, so this has been wall mounted above the bulkhead.

I love this wall mounted dvd holder which we found in Ikea for just a few pounds. It's hung on the wall in between the bulkhead and the wardrobe, and makes use of what would only be wasted space.

There's a bedside table which matches the fitted furniture. Eleanor uses the drawers to store all her school books and school work. She has her iPod docking station on the table along with a very clever lamp which turns on and off with a touch to it's base.

Eleanor loves all things giraffe and she has quite a collection now. She displays some things on her shelves, and of course, there's the big giraffe cushion which sleeps on her bed.

The top shelf has all manner of things on it, cuddly toys, ornaments, money box, pen, rubber, even some baby bootees as well as many other things.

The bottom shelf has mostly cuddly toys, as well as a photo in a frame and a magnet. The aerial for the tv is also on this shelf.

One of the things I love in Eleanor's room is the dressing table mirror. Mick is the manager of a glass factory, and he designed it then got one of the machinists to make it up.

It's quite hard to photograph, but it has a frosted outer edge adorned with hearts and stars.

The jewellery box which my mum and dad bought for Eleanor one Christmas sits on the dressing table, along with bottles of perfume and other toiletries.

I hope you've enjoyed seeing Eleanor's bedroom. I just wish it was this tidy all the time.

Filling The Freezer

I've done a bit of batch cooking today. I like to have some easy meals in the freezer so that if I'm short of time or I don't feel much like cooking, there's something to fall back on.

With the colder evenings, I've been craving comfort food, so I've made some cottage pies, lasagne and a minced beef pie. I also save some of the lasagne bolognaise separate as Eleanor likes it as a sauce instead of it being layered with pasta and white sauce.

It's good to have some meals prepared, I just need to do some vegetables to go with the cottage pies or minced beef pie, or some garlic bread to go with the lasagne.

I'm sure you can tell that I'm not back in to my healthy eating regime yet, I just don't seem able to get myself motivated. I think it's important to really want to do something before you embark on it though, otherwise you'll just end up giving up. The weight I lost earlier on in the year is starting to creep back on so it's important that I get back on board soon.

Now, what to make for tea.

On My Own

It was Eleanor's birthday in July and when asked what she would like for her present, she replied another session in the recording studio, so that's what she got. We made the booking for yesterday and she thoroughly enjoyed it.

This time she decided to sing On My Own, a song from Les Miserables. She didn't sing this in the show, it's sung by Eponine, but it's a song she's always loved from her favourite musical.

I thought you might like to hear the recording, so after hours of struggling to get it on YouTube and then on to the blog, and with much help from Eleanor as I wouldn't have had a clue how to do it myself, here it is.

I hope you enjoyed it.

 

Another Finished Blanket

After blogging about the blanket I finished in July, I didn't expect to be showing you another finished blanket quite so soon. My first blanket took over a year to crochet, this one just a month, it's my finished item for August.

It's much smaller than my first blanket, there's only forty two squares, and the squares are smaller too, five rounds instead of six, but I decided to use up the yarn which was left over from my last blanket and this was all that was left.

I actually prefer these squares to the ones in my first blanket. Each of the five rounds are a different colour, whereas the squares in my first blanket were three lots of two rounds of the same colour. The colours were still chosen randomly though.

I've used exactly the same coloured yarns in both blankets but they look totally different. You can see my first blanket in my post of 23rd of August.

So shall I tell you who this new blanket is for? Archie of course. He will have it in his bed this winter to keep him nice and cosy. Talk about a pampered pooch.

But in the meantime he has no intention of letting me put it away.

You could say I'm hooked on making blankets now. I've started a new one, but more on that another time.

Fifty Shades

In August, I finished reading Head Over Heels in the Dales by Gervase Phinn, and then went on to read a trilogy.

Having heard so much in the media about Fifty Shades of Grey by E L James, I thought I would get myself a copy and see what all the fuss was about. I have to admit that I did quite enjoy reading it.

I borrowed the second and third books in the trilogy, Fifty Shades Darker and Fifty Shades Freed. I thought the second book was actually better than the first, but the third was very disappointing. I was actually bored reading it, and it seemed as though the author was just trying to string another book out of the story. I was glad when I eventually finished it.

I've recently picked up another couple of books from the charity shop. The first one is The Saturday Big Tent Wedding Party by Alexander McCall Smith, another tale from The No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency series, and the other is Rebecca by Daphne du Maurier. I've got the film on DVD but have never read the book so I'm looking forward to settling down over winter and getting stuck in.



Elsecar Heritage Centre And Craft Fair

Last Sunday, we had a trip to Elsecar Heritage Centre. Diane from Heartshaped has written about it on her blog in the past, and I'd thought at the time that I must visit.

The buildings which were once the ironworks and colliery workshops of the Earl Fitzwilliam now house exhibitions, antique shops and craft workshops. I had discovered that a craft fair was being held last weekend, so we decided to kill two birds with one stone and visit whilst the craft fair was there.

The craft fair itself was held inside a large hall and was a great event in it's own right. There were so many examples of different crafts and lots of stall holders were only too happy to demonstrate their particular skill.

I enjoyed looking round the permanent shops on the site too. Elsecar Antiques Centre is amazing, so many treasures to explore, and The Craft Box is a crafters dream, I could have spent an absolute fortune in there. There were many other shops too which we enjoyed browsing.

There's a cafe on site too, though we resisted the temptation. It looked very pretty decked out in bunting.

We discovered these paintings on a wall as we were walking round. Very colourful.

The Elsecar Heritage Railway is also here. This is manned by volunteers who undertake everything on the railway from driving the engines to maintaining the track.

After our visit, we crossed the road by the side of the centre in to Elsecar Park, a lovely area for a stroll, with an adjoining reservoir where people can be seen fishing. We were hoping to have a go at pitch and putt but unfortunately, it was closed.

It was another lovely day out. It seems that many different events are held there so I'm sure it's a place we'll go back to.

Back To The Dales

Last Friday saw us back in the Yorkshire Dales again, this time to visit Malham Cove. I absolutely love it in the Yorkshire Dales and never tire of the area, even though we visit it often.

We started off in Malham itself, a small village with a handy car park for walkers and a National Park information centre.

There's a traditional blacksmith's workshop in the village, Malham Smithy. There were lots of items here for the home and garden.

I wonder if the ironwork on this bridge, which we found behind the workshop, was made by the blacksmith. Can you see the decorative kingfisher?

As we walked through the village, a signpost guided us in the right direction.

It wasn't long before we could see Malham Cove in the distance.

This information tells us how the cove was formed many years ago.

It's not a very long walk, and the footpath makes it an easy walk, we even saw people walking with pushchairs. It's good that it's so accessible.

It wasn't long before we were right in front of the cove. There were two climbers on the face, though I don't think you can see them on this picture. It's about 260 feet high, I wouldn't fancy climbing it.

We decided that we would walk up the steps to the side of the cove to reach the top. There's over four hundred steps to climb in total.

You get a great view as you walk up the steps.

On top of the cove is a large area of limestone pavement.

This information board explains how it was formed.

The view from this point is spectacular. You can see the path which we walked down to reach the cove.

We just got back to the car in time before it started to rain, so we decided that we'd head off to Grassington on our way home to have a look around the shops.

I love Grassington, it's such a pretty village with lots of little shops.

Isn't this cottage gorgeous?

I absolutely loved this day out. I don't think you can beat a trip to the Yorkshire Dales.