Summertime!

Sung by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong, this has to be one of my favourite songs of all time. Never fails to make my skin tingle however many times I listen to it. And it is a perfect song for a heatwave.

Also perfect for hot weather, for the rest of the summer my novellas, Buckets and Spades

and Hell and High Water

will be at the special price of 77p each on Amazon. They will also be at the lowest set price in all other countries.

Fizz says It’s too darned hot for dogs like me! Yes, that's right, when she isn't being Shere Khan, she thinks she's a springer spaniel.

1976 / 2013

I remember 1976. I was still a teenager. Life was good and the sun was hot.

We had an invasion of ladybirds and some said they would bite you to get moisture from your body. I can’t say I was ever bitten or that I knew anyone else who was – but I do remember being decorated in ladybirds for much of that summer!

Also I got my first kittens in 1976.

Leo…

And Star...

I got two as company for each other as I was out at work all day and I’d nip home in my lunch break to feed them. I’ll never forget coming down the road to see them both swinging on my net curtains. Bless. They loved to watch the world go by and I knew the time would come when I’d have to let them out into the big wide world.

Star was dumb and couldn’t make a sound, but he could purr with the best of them. He was a very affectionate and loving little chap and he had a magnificent tail! 

He went missing when he was a year old and we never saw him again. The local newspaper even did a piece about him, but to no avail.

Leo was bereft without Star. Enter Huggy, orphaned feral kitten who hadn’t a clue when it came to personal hygiene.

But Leo took care of him and taught him the ways of a cat.

And Huggy fixed Leo’s broken heart.

Huggy was beautiful, but always had that wild streak and he used to stay away for days on end until eventually he stopped coming home. I used to see him sometimes and he always looked healthy and content.

So, once again we have a heatwave + kitten = windows shut!

We’re all roasting. When Fizz goes to sleep, we rush round opening all the windows. I’ll be glad when she can start going outside… except I know I won’t, because I’ll be worrying until she comes home!

How grown up is she looking now?

If you like stories about animals (and their people), you might like You Can’t Love a Stranger and Other Stories which will be at the special price of 77p Amazon UK and also on special on Amazon for the next week. (Note to Indy: I still managed to get a photo of you and Tilly in amongst all these cats!)

Stay cool!

Summer Loving!

Summer Loving for 99c/77p 

Read more about this fantastic offer at the Minxes of Romance.

I’m thrilled to be part of this special promotion of six ebooks each at the special price of 99c from Amazon and 77p from Amazon UK which lasts until the 18th July.

The books are:

Aimee Duffy & Michelle Smart - Once Upon a Twist 

Once Upon a Twist is available from Amazon and Amazon UK

Claire Robyns - How To Love a Princess

How to Love a Princess is available from Amazon and Amazon UK

Suzanna Ross - Hidden Heartache

Hidden Heartache is available from Amazon and Amazon UK

Gina Rossi - To Hear You Smile

To Hear You Smile is available from Amazon and Amazon UK

Rae Summers - Let's Misbehave

Let's Misbehave is available from Amazon and Amazon UK

Teresa Ashby - Love on Ice

Love on Ice is available from Amazon and Amazon UK

So go on, treat yourself to one, or maybe all six!

As I said at the start of this post, you can find out more and find some tasty excerpts to tempt you over at the Minxes Blog.

Happy Reading!

Shopping for Donations!

For years I’ve shopped through a third party on the internet, gathering up points until I have enough to get myself a voucher. I used to spend my points on Amazon vouchers, then when they were no longer offered, I had Marks and Spencer vouchers instead.

But recently I heard through Hillside Animal Sanctuary about a site called Easyfundraising. So I signed up and now when I shop, I go through them.

You choose which charity benefits and I chose Hillside and it’s amazing how quickly those donations add up.

In other news… Fizz turned something off under the desk which turned my internet off, but I didn’t realise and tried to restart my computer thinking something had gone wrong with it – only it came up with the reboot thing… There followed a mildly hysterical few minutes until a male person who knows about computers came to my rescue.

She likes my bed and showing off her spotty tum.

And I think she gets tired of posing.

But she is mega cute.

Summer Fun and Crazy Juice

Yesterday I went to see two of my grandchildren take part in a carnival. There were about 1000 children gathered on the green, plus families.

I loved it. There was a wonderful atmosphere and the children were brilliant.

We walked with them along the procession route which took them through old Harwich and along the Quayside and back to the green.

There were drums and singing and the kids were so enthusiastic – it was lovely.

And their school won the prize for best performance.

Even Queen Victoria turned up.

Fizz had her second lot of vaccinations in the morning. I think they vaccinated her with Crazy Juice. Midnight last night she was still jumping about all over me – turning the bedside light on and off, knocking things over, beating me up…

And she woke me up at 6 this morning, face in my face, purring like mad. Time for breakfast!

I found her in Isabel’s doll’s house the other day rearranging the furniture after I’d taken a balloon away from her. I'd heard her banging about on the landing and when I eventually went to investigate she was battering a balloon up and down. 

How did she manage not to puncture it?!

Oh and I found a feather for her. I’ve never known a cat that didn’t like to play with a feather. She ran away from it. I’m hoping this is a good sign!

Call me old fashioned...

The last day of June has been glorious.

We nipped down to Harwich to see the 1953 flood exhibition in the Guildhall. It was very interesting and looking at the old photos and newspaper reports was incredibly moving. I’ve blogged before about what happened to my own family in the flood here.

If you're down that way, the exhibition will be open again next weekend 6th/7th July between 2.30 and 4.30 pm and it's free to go in.

Wish I’d taken a photo of the lovely ladies in their 1950s dresses! You’ll have to take my word for it how pretty they all looked.

Passed the fish and chip shop afterwards and….

Well you’ve got to haven’t you? And we sat on the seafront to eat them.

And had a look at the piano on the beach.

It’s all part of the Harwich Festival of the Arts and you can read more about it here and here.

Now call me old fashioned, but when I heard they’d put a piano on the beach to be left at the mercy of the elements I was appalled. I thought it was an awful idea. Musical instruments should be cherished and cared for, but…

There was something rather nice about sitting down there watching the boats in the sunshine while someone played the piano on the beach.

And while we were sitting there, a Spitfire flew right over us. If my fingers hadn't been so greasy I'd have taken a photo, but by the time I'd wiped them clean, it had gone.

Day 22...

In the Big Brother Indy House.

Fizz has had her first trip to the vet and her first set of vaccinations.

She was very brave I must say and didn’t make any fuss. In fact, she is a pretty steady young lady who doesn’t like the vacuum cleaner much (who does?) but isn’t afraid of anything else – except the catnip mouse which for some reason continues to terrify her.

Sometimes she sleeps on my pillow and likes to wake me up in the early hours by kicking the back of my head and eating my hair.

My legs are lacerated. I’m hoping she soon learns about sheathing her claws – although so far she’s been mostly gentle with everyone else, especially the Little People.

She likes watching telly and has tried to jump into it a couple of times. Is she embarrassed after she slithers down the screen and lands on the floor? No – she just goes round to look behind it to see why she couldn’t jump into it. She likes to try and catch the little blue light that goes round and round on the Sky box when we’re watching something we’ve recorded.

And she can – and does - get onto the dining table with ease.

She’s growing – I’m sure she’s doubled in size - and she trots round behind Indy like a little shadow.