When the new member's section on the site launched last month, I had big plans. The very first thing I was going to do was beef up the freebie section, which is now only available to members, with a free project or two and (hopefully) a new free stack.

Then, within days of the member's section going live, things in the real world overtook those in the online one. And the online one, including my plans for Template Repo, took a back seat.

Now, I'm not going to over-dramatise things. Some people out there have real issues in life, and the things that have taken over my little world are utterly insignificant compared to what many deal with daily. Nonetheless, when you get a pile of hurdles put in front of you, no matter how small, when you hadn't planned for them, they can trip you up.

Aside from some mundane dull "I'm getting old, and stuff is starting to fall off" personal nonsense (it's OK, nothing has fallen off!) I've been having dog trouble.

Anyone that has dealings with me will know I'm a dog lover. They'll know this cus I rarely miss the opportunity to talk about them (like this post). I have a habit of visiting the local rescue centre and never leaving empty-handed. So at the moment, I've three, Ollie the chihuahua cross (pictured), Bea the Papillion and Bonnie the Lhasa Apso cross.

Incredibly, within five days, two of them completely ruptured one of their cruciate ligaments, which is a ligament that makes their back leg knees work. This isn't the first time I've experienced this with this, Ollie has already had one fixed (it was why he ended up in the rescue centre), and Jack, a dog no longer with us, also had one go on him.

So to cut a long story short, I've gone from day to day web work with a bit of dog time on the side to being a day to day dog nurse with a bit of web work on the side. And, of course, everything web-related has suffered.

As of today, both have now had reconstructive surgery and are in immediate recovery. This is a difficult time for them, as the reconstruction can only be done once. If they jump or get too lively, they can rip out the pins and bolts now holding the leg together, further damaging the bone and so effectively rendering them legless for the rest of their lives.

To matters worse, they have to be up and about to keep them and the new leg active to reduce the onset of arthritis and keep the blood flowing well into the joint.

So I'm following them around the house, making sure they stay calm and not jumping etc.

For Bonnie, this is easy; she's a lazy old thing. But if anyone has ever tried to stop a chihuahua from being mad, you'll know that's a challenge!

So as I say, all this and a few other things are keeping me back from getting the TR members area updated. And for that, I apologise. Hopefully, things will return to normal(ish) in the coming weeks.

Thanks for your patience.

Steve.

PS: The picture is Oliie after the op, feeling sorry for himself.