Hello Out There! It has been a While

Well Hello EVERYONE out there in the lovely WA multiverse. How are you all doing?
It has been ages since I posted here on WA and in fact I have not logged on for over a month.
Lock Down has been a very strange time for me in the UK. I have had my usual mixture of illness and work.
I am furloughed off from my actual day job until at least JULY which came as a bit of a shock to my system. Of course my wife saw this as an opportunity to give me loads of work to do.
I have completely painted the outside of the house and then removed and replaced all the decking at the rear of my garden. It is fair to say I have been busy.
I lost my dog kidney Disease back in March and this knocked me a bit because, he was my best friend.
Last week I actually rescued a new dog through Kent Greyhound Rescue.
His Name is Podge and he was part of a pair of brother who were bred to race. He is pictured here with my youngest son Sam. I don't know what happened to them but, both brothers had their rear legs Broken at the Hock. Podge is with me now and his operation was quite simple. Unfortunately this was not the case for Rodge as his injury was much worse and the operation cost £3500 to fix his leg and he will need expensive ongoing treatment. If, you want to donate to his care then there is a link on my pet site.
It Is StrangeI always find it odd. The reasons that we used to stop us from being productive. Over the last year I have given out much advice and support to all of my friends and contacts on WA and yet I still let life steer me away from my goal. Before, I knew it I went from 3 posts a day to 1 every couple of weeks.
I am normally a very positive personThis is very true I am normally a live wire who gets things done but, this year kind of ripped the world away from me.
Hopefully you have all found ways to stay positive and keep working.
You may be aware that my main niche is MTB and my website is now getting over 100 hits each month. As I was off work I decided to do something that I had never done before and build myself a bike from scratch.
This bike may not look like much to the uneducated eye but, it is very special. This is a steel framed DM trailstar and it has lots of custom parts. It goes very fast over rough terrain and I was so proud of myself for building it from frame up. I now almost have enough spares to build another bike.
It is nuts how much time and money I have invested in this bike. I stuck with a hard tail frame as I am very heavy and I love the rough ride.
Although I have not been on WA for a while, I have been there in the background working hard on all of my projects.
It is very important that we keep our goals in sight. We nee to aim and know what we intend to do. Hopefully I can now start to concentrate on my online business and maybe even drop a few posts on here as well.
Thanks for reading and have a great day.
It's obvious you love(d) him and I'm so sorry for your loss. We've been through it a few times over the years and it's always a dreadful time.
My Jack Russell, Ruby, is 10 now and though she's still a little fire cracker I dread the day when we lose her.
We've had Bedlington/Greyhound crosses before and they're lovely dogs so well done on going down the rescue route. Personally I don't understand the idea of paying thousands for designer breeds when the rescue shelters are full of pups looking for a home.
Oh, and welcome back to the platform...here's to chatting more again.
Cheers mate, have a great day!
Mark
Jeff
Building a bike from scratch sounds like a major task, besides house painting and renewing decking, not to mention another dog.
With everything else done now you are clear to get back to your sites and WA.
It's great to see you back on the platform again. Jeff and I were wondering what happened to you.
Welcome to Rodge and Poge! It is a noble thing you did to 1) take both dogs and not leave one behind and 2) take them with their injuries. Most people would not do this. They just wouldn't accept the responsibility or the cost involved. I tip my hat and my ❤❤ to you for doing the selfless thing.
Welcome back to WA World!
Barbara
Mark, welcome back my friend, your presence was sorely missed.
Tough times to be sure, and it's understandable about your absence. I truly am glad to hear from you and that you are well.
I'm sorry for your loss, but glad that you rescued a loving soul. Podge is beautiful and I know that two hearts have come together. Your bike looks great! Not all gems are diamonds, but beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Good job on a super bike.
Stay well my friend. Nice to have you back
Greg