My Ellie

You arrived at our home at three months old, a tiny ball of black fluff.  So small you would have fit in a pint glass.  My first memory of you is being on the phone to mum while she brought you home for the first time, telling me all about you and then saying "The little bugger just nipped me!".

You had never nipped anyone before or since, but knowing your personality as I do now, I think that it was you saying "I may be tiny, but I am the boss now!" and you really were.  We belonged to you, not the other way around.  We used to joke that you were the queen and we were your minions.  Just as you deserved.

Your favourite places were rugs.  You used to roll all over each one of them in the house, your legs flailing in the air like a little horse.  I still walk into a room and expect to see you rolling around the floor like a lunatic.

You didn't like to go for a walk, often hiding behind my legs or looking up at me with those big beautiful eyes which practically said "Mummy, don't make me".  You won the battle most of the time because who could resist you?  Certainly not me.  You loved to run for a ball however, your dancing around for it earned you one of your first nicknames, Dancing Dora.

I have had and have known many dogs in my life.  None like you. I have loved every dog and pet we have had over the years, but none took hold of my heart like you did.  You decided that love was not enough, it was adoration that you wanted; and it is what you received.  It had been a very long time since I gave someone my whole heart, but you had all of it.

You had more personality than any dog I have ever known.  You had a truly unique character and really could do everything to communicate except actually speak.

I have so many memories of you.  The way that you always have a part of you touching mum when you slept, either on the back of her chair or on the bed.  The way when you slept on the floor you slept near her slippers.

Your expression of indignation when you would see Rosie on my bed.  The way you kept moving down the hall, sitting down every few steps with an incensed glare at me and Rosie.  You practically shouted "Oi!  That's my mummy!  She is mine!".

The way you would come to my door at night.  I would open the door and then  have to follow you, with you looking back to make sure I was complying as you went to the front door or to the sitting room, because you wanted to play on the rug with me.  I cannot count how many hugs and kisses I gave you on that rug over the years.  Millions.

You used to love being sung to.  So many times I would pick you up in my arms, you would position yourself so that you were perfectly comfortable, using me like an chair arm.  I would sing to you the song that mum used to sing to me when I was a little girl "You are my sunshine".  You were.

Your name was Ellie, but to me, you were Sausage Monkey.  I am not really sure how the name came about, maybe because your body was like a little sausage and you were a monkey.  But I called you Sausage Monkey more than than I called you Ellie.  You answered to either.

You gave us such much joy, love, fun and laughter every single day and we both loved you so very very much.

When you became ill, you were so strong and a little fighter.  Your spirit radiated out of you.

For such a small dog, you have left such a massive hole in our lives and in our hearts.  A piece of mine went with you, my little girl.  You will be missed every day and you will never be replaced. A dog as unique and wonderful as you never could be.

I cannot say goodbye.  The words will not come.  Instead I will say what I always used to say to you at night.

Night night sausa monkey, momma loves you.

The Goggle Box

After seven years of faithful service, my bedroom television has finally given up on me.  The DVD player no longer works and the picture was terrible (bought before HD so not great to begin with) and so the quest is on to find some new bedroom tech.

Times have evolved greatly in terms of what you can purchase, particularly in terms of size and picture quality.  The typical 19 inch cube like televisions have moved on to larger flat screen versions and the picture quality has improved by leaps and bounds.  From ordinary SDTV we have moved to to HDTV and now, the latest innovation is 4KTV with the likes of the Panasonic Viera range.

Photo Credit

When buying a new television, it is always useful to read to the latest tech blogs and check out the best TVs that you can buy within your budget range.  There are so many different types of television that you can buy, dependent on what you are looking for and the services you want it to provide.

When it comes to buying a television for a bedroom, often, you want it to be a multi tasker.  Are you a gamer?  Are you a Netflix addict?  Will you use it in collaboration with your laptop?  Do you want to connect to the internet?

All of these options can be catered for and given that the price of technology has come down in recent years, the cost of what you want is not going to burden your purse too heavily.

For me, I am a film buff.  I love watching films, either through my Freeview or on DVD.  Netflix will be my next port of call, I can no longer resist its calling.  With this is mind I have gone for a larger television, 32 inches which is the largest that I can have within my space capacities.

HD is a must given the amount of films that I watch and I can only imagine how great some of my old favourites are going to look like on a much larger screen with much better resolution.  Avatar, Lord of the Rings, Star Trek, the Fast & the Furious series; all will be getting a dusting off and a marathon film weekend will be happening soon!