Keep In!

When I was a child, I used to think that the railings round some graves were to keep the occupants in.

There are quite a few yew trees in the cemetery which isn’t unusual. They are a common sight in churchyards and graveyards. No one really knows why. Do they cleanse, purify and protect the dead? Who knows?

Well I think they’re yew – Common Yew or Irish Yew? I don’t know.

Everything feels muted in fog. I like it. I like the way it makes you feel isolated from the rest of the world.

I like to see the webs of spiders twinkly with moisture. Not so keen on the occupants though.

Some of my family are in this cemetery. I don’t think I’ll join them. 

No, I’m not hoping for immortality – I’m thinking more along the lines of the green cemetery out near the woods.

Hm, what sort of tree would I have planted on me? Well I’d like an oak and it would be kind of nice to have it grown from an acorn from the tree in my garden.

Apparently they will try to plant the tree of your choice, but ultimately the decision will be made by The Management.

Well now I have a picture of Ron and Ron – The Management - presiding over the burials!

As Miranda’s mum would say, “Such fun.”

Black Cats

Did you know that black cats in rescues are often the last to be homed? Some never find a forever home.

Why? I don’t get it.

Gizmo – or Gizzie the Mo – or Gizzie - or Mo – grew up to be the most beautiful cat. He would lie in your arms like a baby and he used to talk – chitter and squawk – standing up on his back legs and stretching up his arms.

He used to frighten me to death, chirruping at me from the roof of the house!

Six years ago at the age of fourteen, he died in his sleep. He’d shown no signs of illness at all.

Funny, lovely, crazy little puss!

What’s not to love?

You can read more about the difficulty of rehoming black cats at Catchat.

And this one isn't totally black, but he's beautiful - Huggy - our feral cat from many years ago. Kitten without a clue. Didn't even know how to wash himself until my lovely ginger cat, Leo, taught him how. He came to us infested with worms and fleas and was a bit whiffy, but he grew into a huge, cuddly cat. He certainly lived up to his name!

Why Dress Up?

My mum shared every family occasion with us, from birthdays to Easter so when she died in 2003 we were left with a terrible void. We were sad every day, but felt it particularly at family celebrations.

My daughter took me out on Mother’s Day that year, driving me round the countryside, just the two of us. At her wedding, I kept thinking my mum should have been there to see her get married. I’m not going to go on about it because anyone who has lost their mum knows that the sadness seems endless.

I don’t know why, but I decided we should all dress up for Halloween and we all set about sorting out costumes. It was just us, the family, at home. We’d never done anything like it before and it seemed to lift us for a while. Here was something that had no memories. It wasn’t a conscious thing, but there you go.

The daft thing is, that over the years it has become one of the things that reminds me of my mum, because it was the first thing we did that had no memories attached.

When I was a child my mum used to go out on her broomstick at Halloween until all the twigs fell out and she was grounded. Well that’s what she told me anyway and as she was a witch, I believed her.

She used to have a little witch hanging up in the front room window and my cousin wrote a poem about her witchery and made it into a little booklet.

So that’s what the dressing up at Halloween is all about anyway. Among others we’ve had the Osbournes, Indiana Jones, Adam Ant, Obi Wan Kenobi, Jack Charlton, Jack Sparrow – and now we have Little People to join in, it’s even better.

And while I was looking for Halloween pictures, I found this one of Sammy – it was taken on a mobile phone and not great, but it is one of my favourite ones of him taken before he got so ill. He couldn’t believe the cheek of the dove sitting on the windowsill right under his nose!

He really was the most easy going, sweet natured cat and that was the only time I ever saw him look cross.

Roses, Caulis and Rain

I’ve just finished making my outfit for Halloween – now all I need is an invite out somewhere. Hello… anyone..?

This is the fabric I used. I made a tunic from a pattern I got free with Prima.

And this is what I shall be eating for my dinner tonight. I saw it when we stopped off at Rookery Farm for some veg and I couldn’t resist.

The purple colour is caused by an antioxidant, anthocyanin, which is also present in red wine.

Just waiting for it to stop raining so I can take Mr Bones out. Here he is next to my chair – raring to go as you can see, bless him.

Curvy Indy

I did Indy’s blood glucose curve on Sunday. It wasn’t without its hiccups, but we got there even if he now has multiple piercings in his ears.

I just want to say he’s been an absolute sweetheart through all this. Sitting still while I do the hourly tests for one thing, because if he didn’t sit still, it would make it very difficult to get the tiny blob of blood onto the tiny test area on the strips.

I thought his curve looked odd, but when I showed Tom he said it was very good for this stage in things and he has reduced his insulin dose again. I’ll do another curve in a fortnight and we’ll see how it is looking then.

So that’s the good news - plus he's put on a little more weight, also good.

Bad news, my email program Windows Live Mail decided to delete ALL my storage folders. All efforts to restore my lost folders have met with failure and I’ve now come to terms with the fact that they’ve gone forever.

My lost emails include a few that were waiting for replies and some that I had kept for over 10 years including emails from people I loved who are no longer with us. I'd kept them because, like treasured letters, they meant a great deal to me.

But there’s no point crying over lost emails and so I’m not going to! It was my own stupid fault anyway for not realising that my emails were not stored on my computer, but somewhere in the ether.

In other news, I have only stabbed myself once by accident with Indy’s syringe so far – no it wasn’t loaded and yes I bled!

And also here’s a reminder about the Ifakara Bakery Project Writing Competition – read about it at Joanne’s blog here.

Super Sweet Blog Award

Super sweeties Sue and Patsy have nominated me for the Super Sweet Blogging Award.

These are the questions I have to answer.

1.  Cookies or cake? 

Cake and lots of it! The more the merrier – as long as it doesn’t have dried fruit in.

2.  Chocolate or vanilla?  

Chocolate. I’m not a great fan of vanilla.

3.  What is your favourite sweet treat?  

It varies, but at the moment I have a bit of a passion for Lemon Meringue Pie. In fact I fancied it so much, I made one from scratch. I always used to use a packet mix, but I had no packet. But I did have lemons, so make it I did and nice it was too.

4.  When do you crave sweet things most?  

All the time. Tis true I’m afraid.

5.  If you had a sweet nickname what would it be?  

Remember those lovely desserts you used to buy in little tubs? No, not mousses or fools, but Lovelies! I think they were made by Bird’s Eye and beneath the lid there was your chocolate dessert with cream on top. There was nothing to compare with a chocolate Lovely. I have been called Little Lovely so it’s kind of sweet isn’t it? Not that I’m little or lovely these days!

Not sure how many people I should pass this on to, but please take a cake er I mean an award and if you’ve already had one, well take another, why not? It’s free! And just answer the 5 questions above – if you want to of course.

I’m not being lazy by not naming names, well I am, but honestly I started to make a list and it got so long because you’re all lovely, so genuinely, please, take one! Go on go on go on go on go on…..

The Ifakara Bakery Project

Please go along to visit Joanne at A Zigzag Road and read the guest post by Sharon Bradshaw. 

Sharon is raising funds for the Ifakara Bakery Project with, amongst other things, a writing competition. The entry fees for stories and poems are extremely reasonable and it is for such a good cause, please take a look. There is a link at the end of Sharon's post which will give you details of how to enter.

Happy Christmas to Me - and Maybe to You!

I’ve finally succumbed. As I'm always borrowing his Kindle, my beloved has got me one of my own for Christmas. Well he had to give it to me early - to make sure it worked okay!

I was amazed how many books I have collected on there already via Kindle on my PC. Maybe now I'll be able to read some properly!

And while I was browsing the net looking for stuff for Indy, I found his enzyme powder £36 cheaper, syringes £2 cheaper and his dental chews are £1 less for a box. I won’t buy his insulin online though as it has to be handled with care and I’d rather get it from the vet.

So what is this wondrous site? Animed. And guess what – they’re running a competition to win a Kindle Touch. You have to think up a caption for a picture and then hope enough people vote for yours, but even if you don’t win, there are lots of runner up prizes and all approved entries get 5% off their next order. Can't be bad. More details here!

I've entered 

And you’ve probably already heard, but in case you haven’t, the lovely People’s Friend is now on Facebook.

Indy in Print: Dogs Monthly!

About four or five years ago we made the decision to change vets. The ones we see now are a good 25 minute drive away and in a different county, but it is so worth the drive.

I was very concerned about leaving Indy there for another whole day to have his hourly glucose checks, so I went back to see Tom and discussed it with him. He agreed I could do the tests at home and went through the procedure with me – and he gave me some charts to fill in.

So as long as I do it properly, Indy shouldn’t have to spend any time there. It’s not that he has anything against the staff – they are lovely and treat him with utmost kindness. He just doesn’t like being in unfamiliar surroundings and he is such a worrier.

His insulin dose has been reduced and when he’s been on the new dose for at least a week, I’ll do his glucose curve at home. Not sure how much he’s going to like me after I’ve pricked him every hour through a day though! And if I fail and Indy does have to spend the day there, I will be allowed to stay with him.

The article in Dogs Monthly about Indy, "Wasting away" is now in the shops. November issue.

Sisters!

Look at this fabulous award I got from Petronela!

Pretty innit? If you haven’t already, take a look at her gorgeous blog!

I love belonging to a Sisterhood.

I’m supposed to tell you seven things about me (but I doubt there’s anything left to tell so I'll skip that bit) and then pass it on to seven very special sisters.

Well I started to make a list but it went past seven, so please my lovely lady friends (and that includes you, Penny), if you read this and comment below then please accept the award and pass it on as you wish.

I’m not going to go all poetic on you or anything, but it just got me thinking again about what a wonderful, supportive community this is and that includes the chaps!

Happy Autumn - let's hope the season is gentle with us.