Rubber Hammer anyone?

I am a stage nearer to putting all the junk (sorry tools, decorating stuff, lawnmower etc) back in the garage. I mentioned my plight about no home delivery from Argos for the shelving units I had picked out for the garage and my friend Caroline kindly offered to come and be a sherpa for me. We toddled off to Manchester Fort in my trusty steed (did I mention that a visit to Asda on Thursday has left it with yet another dent this time with green paint?) and managed to get just what I wanted. 2 shelving units and a storage thingie full of little drawers for all the bits and bats of screws, nails and picture hanging hooks etc that I can never find when I want them. We had a little fun as my boot refused to open and we had to thread everything through into the boot from the back seat. yeah for hatchbacks! It was a good job that I had help as the shelving weighed a ton. There is no way I could have carried it to the car. Her son carried one box and Caroline the other. I carried the car keys!

I haven't assembled them as yet as when I read the instructions it calls for a rubber hammer or mallet. I always thought rubber hammers were a joke that you said to new mothers who had crying babies. Tap them on the head with a rubber hammer. I never knew that they actually existed ! I guess my shelves will have to be assembled with a normal hammer as I am not about to go back to buy a rubber hammer just for 2 shelving units. My sherpa friend has said she will try to come back tomorrow for an hour to help me put them together. She could not spare the time to do it today. She did drag me into George but I refused to look at any clothes. I had just spent more than what I should have at Argos so absolutely NO to new clothes for a while.

My shelving units and set of 16 little drawers are bright red (or that's what I ordered I haven't opened them to check yet) and will look quite cheerful in the garage. I still haven't heard from the electrician so I can't assemble anything in the dark as at the moment I only have a temporary cage light that I plug in when I am in the garage.

The dog came in today from his second walk absolutely covered in mud. I am looking forward to being able to bring him in via the garage on days like this. I did manage to get him to stand still whilst I hosepiped his legs and undercarriage. Not a great thing you might think but he is terrified of hose pipes usually so it was a first for him to stand still whilst I did it. I put the hose on a gentle spray setting so as not to scare him. That's the trouble with taking on a rescue dog. You never know quite all that is in their past. He doesn't like hose pipes, sweeping brushes and high visibility jackets - oh and Postmen. He is terribly insecure and is usually superglued to my side whenever possible. Again though I have made great strides with this and he will now stay downstairs whilst I shower or have a bath. For the last 2 weeks when I go to bed he has now started staying downstairs so I think it's a breakthrough that he finally feels happy and this is home. He still ,however, thinks he is a lap dog and it's a bit difficult to knit with a hulking great dog on my knee.I try to gently ease him off me without shouting at him but he manages to get back on again within a couple of minutes. I can't bring myself to shout at him as if I have to raise my voice to him he starts to shiver, slumps down and gives me the sad soulful eyes and I just can't bear it. Yes he rules the roost in this house. Luckily he is a really good dog (usually) and so does not need to be told off very often.