from

I saw this at Danielles blog and borrowed it, I hope she does not mind.

Outside My Window…

I keep looking across the road, hoping, expecting, knowing I won’t see Gracie trotting along from the bungalow across the way, over the road, and sauntering up our driveway.

I am thinking…

How much I love and miss her.

I am also thinking…

I wonder who has done the murder in the Agatha Christie mystery I’m listening too on CD.  I’m not telling you which one it is, or who the suspects are, nor will I spoil the plot.  See I’m a good girl.

I am thankful for…

Having had Grace and Noah with us, they were both such special cats, and even if Gracie never comes back she, like Noah, knew that they were loved every single minute they were here.

From the kitchen…

The sound of the washing machine.  Lucy, having been to her toilet in the bathroom twice, we moved the kitty litty tray there, but she missed.  Bless her.  So some of the over spill from the wash basket is in the washer sooner than we planned.

I am wearing…

Jeans and a tee shirt and my yellow hand knitted socks.

I am creating…

I was creating socks in my head, but since Gracie went missing the plans have sort of fluttered away.  I’m sure I’ll get my sock knitting plans back on track again, they are just not there at the moment.

I am going…

To get a cup of tea

I am reading…

Knitting patterns.  I’m knitting for my craft lady, and I have some more work coming soon.

I am hoping…

To get the childs jumper out of the way this week, have a day to knit what I want to knit, and start on the second jumper before the “deadline” work hits.

I am hearing…

The washing machine, and Asher giving the occasional grunt from his basket, and snoring.

From the book I’m going to read next…

“When we met she must have been in her forties, but in a certain light she could have been fourteen or four hundred - though when I say ‘light’ I perhaps mean that subtle light of the mind, which casts as many shadows as it illuminates but in the right conditions can reveal a person’s being more accurately than the most powerful beam.”

The Other Side of You by Salley Vickers

Around the house…

More washing needs doing, and I need to clean the bathroom, it’s not my favourite job.

One of my favorite things…

My silver earrings that I’m looking forward to wearing once my ears are healed.  They are well worn, but beautiful, and had been my favourite earrings for some time.

A Few Plans For The Rest Of The Week…

I’ll miss Pilates this week, as Andrew and I have our twice a year blood tests on Friday at the doctors.  Look after Lucy, and make posters to put up with a photograph of Grace on them.  Read a little.

lucy

Well Lucy had a good night, she found her way, with a bit of help I think into Lynnys room.  She slept on the bed.

We gave her a bath in lukewarm water this morning, and dried her off with towels and a cuddle.  She did not seem to mind.  I expect she felt better without a coat full of dirt and gooey stuff on her back.  We brushed her gently and lots of old fur and matted bits of fur have come out.  She looks so much better for being cleaner and her coat less straggly.

She has been eating a little and often, which is what the vet suggested.

I rang the lovely lady from the local cat re homing centre, who we got Kira from.  She said that if we ring her after we’ve seen the vets again in a week, she’ll see what we can do if the bills are going to be high.  She said she could get the tests and treatment done.

I told her that we were happy keeping her in the short term, it depended if Gracie came back.  We’d be happy fostering her for as long as we could afford it, but could not say that we would have her in the long term.

Also we’ve no idea if Gracie would get on with her, Asher and Kira are just tolerating her, they have had too many changes in too short a time.

We just have to wait and see what happens.

guest

We have a guest staying with us, no idea for how long.

She’s an old lady, and a poorly old lady.  She has a thyroid problem, hyperthyroidism, which means that she’s really thin, and probably does not feel very well.

We’ve called her Lucy.

This photograph makes her look much better than she is in real life.  Her fur is mattied and coming out in handfuls, she needs worming and fleeing.

The vet says she’s about 10 years old and no spring chicken.  We put a collar on her and she did not even bat an eyelid.  We think she’s been used to wearing a collar, and is so soft and friendly that she has obviously been with a family.  We wonder if when the people who had her found out that she was ill, then they just abandoned her.

It really is totally heart breaking.  I only hope that we can afford to keep her, we know the cost of vets bills.  If we could not, then we’d never abandon her, we’d take her to a really good cats shelter for re homing.

horcurx socks

Some knitting content.

I sent the socks to my friend and she got them, so I can post photographs of them here now.

Pattern Horcrux socks by Susan Lawrence.

Yarn Chi Bamboo and Merino mix by The Natural Dye Studio

Colour Silver Moon

Needles 2.5mm

Still no Gracie, Lynny is taking it harder than I am, Gracie was always her cat more than mine, where as her brother Noah was mine from the second we set eyes on each other.

We’d all love to give her a hug and a tickle.

still no gracie

No sign of Gracie, we’ve asked neighbours to look out for her, check sheds and garages, etc.  Been over the fields twice.  And Andrew and Lynny checked the bypass that runs the other side of the fields.

We were worried that even though she’s frightened by cars perhaps she was chased up the bank and onto the road, but they could not see her around or on the verges.  So that is a relief.

I was up till 4am jumping up at every sound and rushing to the door.  It rained over night and again this morning, and is cooler.  If she’s holed up somewhere at least she won’t get dehydrated today.

A sort of quiet has set in, a strange kind of stillness.

Andrew said this morning that it was the not knowing what had happened to her was the hard thing.  She is such a home loving cat, loves her biscuits and her basket, and out of all three of them she’d be the last one we’d say was a wanderer.

Lynny found a stray little black girl last night, very like Kira.  Her fur was longer and unkept, and when I stroked her back I could feel each bone in her spine and her hip bones, and her ribs.  I have heard the phrase “just skin and bone” but never felt it before, it made me cry.  Over the space of a few hours she ate a whole tin of cat food, an 8oz can.  Eventually she wanted to leave.

We hoped she’d be back this morning, now she knows she’ll be fed, but no sign of her.

I don’t understand how people can abandon cats or animals of any sort.

Thank you for your prayers and best wishes.

Gracie is missing

My darling big girl is missing.

She’s been gone over 24 hours now.  We’ve taken photographs to the neighbours, looked in the fields across the road.

Andrew and Lynny are going round the fields again now it is evening and cooler.  It was really hot when Lynny and I went out this afternoon.

I just want to know where she is, or what has happened to her.

sock blocker

My sock blockers arrived today, all the way from the USA.  They are wonderful.  I’m in love with a pair of sock blockers.

And they have cats on them!

I love them.

Thanks Chapywoman

Rivendell sock in Ice Cloud

tagged

I’ve been tagged by the lovely Dee

1. LAST MOVIE YOU SAW IN A THEATRE?
Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix.

We are planning to go and see the new Narnia film that is out this week.

2. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING?
Just finished the Eternity Ring by Patricia Wentworth and not sure which book to start next.

3. FAVOURITE BOARD GAME?
Scrabble, Andrew usually beats me, but I still like it.  It’s a game to play at the caravan if Andrew can stay awake long enough in the evening.

4. FAVOURITE MAGAZINE?
Ceramic Review and Interweave Knits.

If Andrew were answering it would be Modern Rail

5. FAVOURITE SMELLS?
Cut grass, cat fur when they come in out of a cold and frosty night, chocolate, honeysuckle, lavender, clean bedding.

6. FAVOURITE SOUNDS?
Cats, purring or snoring, or if it’s Asher moaning when he’s settling in his basket.  A good book on audio, birds singing in the morning, my children being happy, Andrew coming home from work.

7. WORST FEELING IN THE WORLD?
Having a child being ill, or husband and wishing you could have what ever it was yourself rather then see them suffer.

8. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU THINK OF WHEN YOU WAKE?
Oh no morning!  Can I have more sleep, can I have my breakfast.

Andrew is very good he gets breakfast in the mornings, he’s more awake than I am.

9. FAVOURITE FAST FOOD PLACE?
We don’t really do fast food.  Though we do have a favorite fish and chip shop, Chaus where were live, we’ve been patrons for over 25 years.

10. FUTURE CHILDS NAME?
At 45 I’m a bit too old for this one.  But I had Ruth penciled in just incase.

11. FINISH THIS STATEMENT-’IF I HAD A LOT OF MONEY I’D……
pay off the mortgage, and have a really good holiday with Andrew, somewhere out of the UK, we’ve never been out of the UK together.

12. DO YOU DRIVE FAST?
I don’t drive at all. So I guess it’s 0 miles per hour

13. DO YOU SLEEP WITH A STUFFED ANIMAL?
We do tend to have cats on the bed, real live ones, much better than any stuffed toys.

14. STORMS-COOL OR SCARY?
I love a good storm, as long as I’m safely indoors.

15. WHAT WAS YOUR FIRST CAR?
We got a Ford Fiesta in 1983 when Andrew got a job that he had to commute to, it’s impossible to get to on public transport, ie there is not any, so we had to have a car.  He’s worked there abouts ever since, so we’ve always needed a car.

16. FAVOURITE DRINK?
Breakfast Tea, even better if it’s Fairtrade

17. FINISH THIS STATEMENT-IF I HAD THE TIME I WOULD…
I have no idea!

18. DO YOU EAT THE STEMS ON BROCCOLI?
Yes

19. IF YOU COULD DYE YOUR HAIR ANY OTHER COLOUR, WHAT WOULD BE YOUR CHOICE?
Red

20. NAME ALL THE DIFFERENT CITIES/TOWNS YOU HAVE LIVED IN?
Leigh, Altona (Victoria, Australia), Leigh

21. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH?
What’s sport?

22. ONE NICE THING ABOUT THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU?
What can I say about the lovely Dee, she’s just lovely.

23. WHATS UNDER YOUR BED?
Loads of stuff, we have too much stuff and too little house.

24. WOULD YOU LIKE TO BE BORN AS YOURSELF AGAIN??
Yes, I could not imagine being anyone other than myself.

25. MORNING PERSON OR NIGHT OWL?
Night owl, Andrew is a morning person.

26. OVER EASY OR SUNNY SIDE UP?
I have no idea what this means, other than it’s something to do with eggs.  I’m not that keen on eggs, I have muesli for breakfast.

27. FAVOURITE PLACE TO RELAX?
On sofa

28. FAVOURITE PIE?
Apple, or cherry, or……

29 FAVORITE ICE CREAM FLAVOUR?
Err, raspberry ripple, mint, chocolate, it depends what I’m feeling like at the time.

30. OF ALL THE PEOPLE YOU HAVE TAGGED, WHO IS THE MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND FIRST?
Most of my close bloggy friends are having a period of non blogging so I don’t think I’ll tag anyone.

If you want to have a go let me know and I’ll come and read yours.

july?

It’s nearly July, where has the year gone?

It’s only two minutes since our 25th Wedding Anniversary over a month ago!

And now all of Lynnys exams are over, and she’s officially left school.

The year really is flying past.

Andrew is feeling much better and will be seeing if he’s up to going to work tomorrow.  He’s had a week off, he must have felt really poorly to have such a long time off.  I can’t remember when he last had so much time off.

And we finally got Asher to the vets for his injections two months late!  Every time we tried to take him he’d had a fight with another cat and had to have antibiotics.  But tonight was the night, and he had his boosters.  He was a good boy and did not try and bite the vet, just growled at him.

When we got to the house we opened the cat basket and let him out.  He had a roam round the car, and then he jumped out through the open window and got to the front door before we did.

she is lovely