150 The Australian Women’s Weekly|OCTOBER 2019
Unabletostand,it wastouchand
gofora weekorso.Medical
interventionwasrequiredtogetLucy
backonherwobblyfeet,butthere
werepost-operativecomplications.
“I’mreallysorry,”saidSarahthe
farmvetafterLucywentunderthe
knifetofixherknobbledknees,“but
she’shada badreactiontothe
antibioticsandhasn’twokenupfrom
theanaesthetic.She’scurrentlyon
oxygenin intensivecare.”
Myfirstthoughtwastoprayfor
divineinterventionforLucyandher
$500lambshanks;mysecondwasthat
myhusbandwouldblowhisfoo-foo
valvewhenhesawthevetbill.But
whenLucywaswellenoughtobe
discharged, he picked her up and later
fashionedhera pe ̄pi podoutofpillows
in whichshesleptat thefootof ourbed.
“Petsinspiremanydifferenttypesof
behaviourin theirowners,mostly
rangingfromadorationtoridiculous
obsessiveness,”wroteSheherazade
Goldsmith,authorofA Sliceofthe
GoodLife, oneofmyfavourite
beginner’sguidestoself-sufficiency.
I’mguiltyonbothcounts.
LucyandMaisyarecurrentlybeing
trainedtodotricksfortreats– a
handfulofCocoPopsora cheese
crackertonibbleon– butwhenthey
havefulfilledtheirAgDayobligations
andgonetolivewithourfree-range
flock,I reckonit mightjustbetimeto
takea triptothe SPCA for some
kittens.AWWPETportraits
lBabylambsrequirebottle
feedingevery3-4hoursso
I decidedtowhileawaythehours
in betweenthoselate-nightfeeds
witha crossstitchproject.This
wasa goodideain theory,but
I wasa teenagerthelasttime I
completedanembroidery
samplerandI havetoconfess
thatmyeyesightain’twhatit used
tobe!If youcannolongerseeto
threada needlebylamplight,I’d
recommendbuyinga hands-free
magnifierheadsetfromcraft
storessuchasSpotlight.
lMystitchingskillsalsoleavea
lottobedesired,butit doesn’t
matter.Moderncrossstitch
enthusiastscelebratecreativity
overmeticulousneedlework.
lThere’snoneedtoformally
frameyourdesignoncompletion
either;it’strendythesedaysto
simplywallmountyourwork
insidethesamewoodenhoops
soldtokeepthefabric tight while
you’restitching.
lIf youprefertostitchtoa pattern,
NewZealandcrossstitchartist
CherryParker(cherryparker.co.nz)
hasseveralsheep-themedkitsin
herKiwianacollection,available
from sewing and craft stores.Lynda’s project