This is a secret.....

...so shhhh, don't tell anyone else for it may well come to nothing.... but there is a possibility, note the word possibility, that we might have found a new addition to our family.

Don't hold your breath mind, it is very early days, much could go awry between here and 'bringing home'!

How to give a cat a pill

1. Pick up cat and cradle it in the crook of your left arm as if holding a
baby. Position right forefinger and thumb on either side of cat's mouth
and gently apply pressure to cheeks while holding pill in right hand. As
cat opens mouth, pop pill into mouth. Allow cat to close mouth and
swallow.

2. Retrieve pill from floor and cat from behind sofa. Cradle cat in left
arm and repeat process.

3. Retrieve cat from bedroom, and throw soggy pill away.

4. Take new pill from foil wrap, cradle cat in left arm, holding rear paws
tightly with left hand. Force jaws open and push pill to back of mouth
with right forefinger. Hold mouth shut for a count of ten.

5. Retrieve pill from goldfish bowl and cat from top of wardrobe. Call
spouse from garden.

6. Kneel on floor with cat wedged firmly between knees, hold front and
rear paws. Ignore low growls emitted by cat. Get spouse to hold head
firmly with one hand while forcing wooden ruler into mouth. Drop pill down
ruler and rub cat's throat vigorously.

7. Retrieve cat from curtain rail, get another pill from foil wrap. Make
note to buy new ruler and repair curtains. Carefully sweep shattered
figurines and vases from hearth and set to one side for gluing later.

8. Wrap cat in large towel and get spouse to lie on cat with head just
visible from below armpit. Put pill in end of drinking straw, force mouth
open with pencil and blow down drinking straw.

9. Check label to make sure pill not harmful to humans, drink one beer to
take taste away. Apply Band-Aid to spouse's forearm and remove blood from
carpet with cold water and soap.

10. Retrieve cat from neighbor's shed. Get another pill. Open another
beer. Place cat in cupboard, and close door on to neck, to leave head
showing. Force mouth open with dessert spoon. Flick pill down throat with
elastic band.

11. Fetch screwdriver from garage and put cupboard door back on hinges.
Drink beer. Fetch bottle of scotch. Pour shot, drink. Apply cold compress
to cheek and check records for date of last tetanus shot. Apply whiskey
compress to cheek to disinfect. Toss back another shot. Throw Tee shirt
away and fetch new one from bedroom.

12. Call fire department to retrieve the cat from across the road.
Apologize to neighbor who crashed into fence while swerving to avoid cat.
Take last pill from foil wrap.

13. Tie the little bastard's front paws to rear paws with garden twine and
bind tightly to leg of dining table, find heavy-duty pruning gloves from
shed. Push pill into mouth followed by large piece of filet steak. Be
rough about it. Hold head vertically and pour 2 pints of water down throat
to wash pill down.

14. Consume remainder of scotch. Get spouse to drive you to the emergency
room, sit quietly while doctor stitches fingers and forearm and removes
pill remnants from right eye. Call furniture shop on way home to order new
table.


How To Give A Dog A Pill.

Click HERE.

With parents like this.....

...some children just don't stand a chance!

Forced as I was to make a hasty visit to the supermarket as I escaped from work this evening, biscuits, I forgot to get biscuits at lunch time, one can't spend a whole evening biscuit-less, I found myself as ever stood in a queue to pay, Oh joy!

I read the CD and DVD covers in close proximity, resisted a spur of the moment purchase, yes 'Mr marketing man' we know your game, had a quick flick through 'Hello', just to remind myself how addictive dreadful it is I hasten to add and then found myself suddenly riveted by a conversation going on ahead of me at the checkout.

Bear in mind I was in Kwik Save, not good I know, but as the only competition nearby is barely an improvement I bite the bullet from time to time and tolerate perishables that can barely struggle to their sell by date let alone the use by date without becoming toxic, and the 'minimalist' display of items offered for sale on almost empty shelves. Hell, when are we going to be honored with the presence of a Sainsburys or Waitrose, ok likely never but I can dream!

But I digress. So here I am in a Kwik Save queue and ahead of me is a conversation being conducted a high decibel level between the cashier and a twenty something chav in full, if slightly tatty regalia. Shell suit, expensive training shoes, baseball cap and enough bling to stop 'Mr T' dead in his tracks, all in evidence.

The pair obviously knew one another a little and 'friendly cashier lady' had made the fatal mistake of asking after the welfare of 'chav woman's' small army of offspring, none of whom where in attendance. Chav woman began to extol the virtues of her two daughters at great length and with little concern for the cashiers now dwindling lack of interest in the conversation.

I won't bore you with the majority of inane banter that went on whilst she packed her goods at an extremely slow speed, oblivious of the ever growing queue in her wake, for most of it centered around calling them 'little buggers' or 'little bastards' and cackling horrifically at her own humour. Where I began to really prick up my ears was when I heard her say how well she thought the older daughter might fare once she begins school, a reasonably imminent event apparently. Her pride, as one would expect, was not in her child having mastered her alphabet early, being able to count to a number beyond that of her peers or of showing some other early intellectual ability, no, it was something entirely different.

Her pride was in her daughters ability in the non academic fields of scratching, biting, and thumping those who challenge her. Not for this woman a concern for the difficulties this may cause both her own daughter and those around her, no worries regarding child from hell's likely exclusion before the age of six and no concern as to how to rid the child of this behaviour....no, chav woman's angle was this: That her daughter will fare well at school, no one will bully her and she will never be the butt of other children's unkindness because, and I quote, "she can already defend herself like a fuckin' goodun and she's only four so by the time she buggers off to school she'll get no fuckin' trouble"

Nice! Heaven help the poor child!

My horror/amazement at this conversation must have been written all over my face, for as delightful chav woman eventually left and I walked up to the cash desk the cashier looked at me with a knowing smile and said "close your mouth you look like a goldfish"! Hell....and I thought I was hiding my amazement so well.

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Summer in gemmak's-ville.....

....seems to have come to a definite end....this of course has an 'up' side for yours truly, for the end of summer means autumn, the end of autumn means winter....and winter of course means, with a little luck.....SNOW! Those of you who have been loyaly visiting for long enough will recall (probably with a big yawn and sigh) last years carrying's on here regarding my love of, and constant wish for, the white stuff....be warned, it is all set to begin again before too long! :o)

Bugger!

Just when you thought you where getting a grip what happens? You find a 'Poppy whisker' under the bed....and yes, I know it's a Poppy whisker, for hers were massively longer than the Ditto version!

Sod's law, inevitable I suppose for a time, little unexpected reminders from out of the blue. I'm sure it's just her way of making absolutely sure we don't forget her....like we could!

:o(

The law of cat!

Law of Cat Inertia
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.

Law of Cat Motion
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

Law of Cat Magnetism
All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

Law of Cat Thermodynamics
Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.

Law of Cat Stretching
A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.

Law of Cat Sleeping
All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved, and as comfortable as possible for the cat.

Law of Cat Elongation
A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it.

Law of Cat Obstruction
A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct the maximum amount of human foot traffic.

Law of Cat Acceleration
A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.

Law of Dinner Table Attendance
Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.

Law of Rug Configuration
No rug may remain in its naturally flat state for very long.

Law of Obedience Resistance
A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's desire for her to do something.

First Law of Energy Conservation
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

Second Law of Energy Conservation
Cats also know that energy can only be stored by a lot of napping.

Law of Refrigerator Observation
If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.

Law of Electric Blanket Attraction
Turn on an electric blanket and a cat will jump into bed at the speed of light.

Law of Random Comfort Seeking
A cat will always seek, and usually take over, the most comfortable spot in any given room.

Law of Bag/Box Occupancy
All bags and boxes in a given room must contain a cat within the earliest possible nanosecond.

Law of Cat Embarrassment
A cat's irritation rises in direct proportion to her embarrassment times the amount of human laughter.

Law of Milk Consumption
A cat will drink his weight in milk, squared, just to show you he can.

Law of Furniture Replacement
A cat's desire to scratch furniture is directly proportional to the cost of the furniture.

Law of Cat Landing
A cat will always land in the softest place possible; often the mid- section of an unsuspecting, reclining human.

Law of Fluid Displacement
A cat immersed in milk will displace her own volume, minus the amount of milk consumed.

Law of Cat Disinterest
A cat's interest level will vary in inverse proportion to the amount of effort a human expends in trying to interest him.

Law of Pill Rejection
Any pill given to a cat has the potential energy to reach escape velocity.

Law of Cat Composition
A cat is composed of Matter + Anti-Matter + It Doesn't Matter.

Seals again

Straight from PG's phone (hence the quality or lack thereof), my seals again! He's currently at the harbour with a client, some job eh?, and there are seven of them, just pottering and drifting around happily.......I wanna be there!

An end to rummaging?

Is this the end of a skill, of an art perfected by women the world over, honed by a lifetime of necessity? Are the days of walking, head down, bumping into unsuspecting passers-by and tripping over one's own feet at last coming to an end? Will we no longer spend inordinate amounts of time with our hands thrust into a dark abyss, are the days of the missing lipstick and apparently 'lost' keys gone forever?

It would seem that all of these activities might soon be a thing of the past, incidents relegated only to the history books, for no longer will we have to upend

our handbag (purse for readers over the pond) onto a table with embarrassment as others look on in utter amazement at items displayed, in frantic search of some necessity of life importance.

Those days are soon to be gone courtesy of a student from Brunel Universtiy who has invented 'Sun Trap', a solar powered handbag! This is an invention of a magnitude never before seen, releasing us all from the daily searching we have long become frustratedly accustomed too. Solar panels on this little gem charge an internal battery and the zipper acts as a switch, hey presto, open your bag and it's lining illuminates for your convenience!

A heaven sent item for women everywhere, the end of a lifetime's rummaging, the end to those nasty surprises lurking, forgotten somewhere in a corner of the bottom-less pit and an end, oh joy, to the days of reaching for one's PDA/pen/CV at an interview or other important meeting and inadvertently hurling a tampon, that has become unknowingly attached, across the room with magnificent aplomb..... to land at some suited and booted gent's feet!

All we need now is to get Ms Kilfidder, to hook up with Louis Vuitton!

Just because.....

Thanks JW

The hunt is on

The Poppy cat is gone, much as I would give anything to have her back I can't, Ditto is requiring peeling off the ceiling most days for lack of a companion to torment and to amuse her and this little flat seems so empty with only the three of us in residence.

It is thus that the 'new kitten hunt' will be stepped up from today and searching will begin in earnest. PG and I are both still a little 'iffy' in some respects about a 'new face' but I think until it is done we would remain so forever and whilst Poppy can never be replaced the pleasure in a new family member of small and fluffy stature, I think will be a positive thing.

That said the kitten hunt is turning out to be none too simple a task. Despite unending messages and advertising over the years from the animal rescue charities and vets that there are way too many unwanted kittens homeless and we must all have our cats neutered/spayed, the over abundance seems very much not to be the case in these parts! Can we find a kitten?........can we hell!

We have tried all the local vets, the animal rescue charities, the local press and word of mouth and of course there are plenty of the 'oh, sorry, you just missed one' results but nothing more successful. There have been one or two unsuitable souls, mostly adults with problems but whilst we would love to take on an animal like that we feel it is not fair for Ditto and most are specified as having to reside in a 'one cat' household anyways.

We could of course invest in a 'posh cat', I have never had anything but a 'moggy' thus far but whilst the prospect has it's attractions I don't feel my credit card would see the attraction and besides the cost, pedigrees, I understand are liable to more medical difficulties and a shorter lifespan.....perhaps though we will give into the temptation of a Ragdoll, Scottish Fold, British Blue, Maine Coone or Turkish Van. A first cross would be ideal but again...nada.

And so the hunt is now in full swing, no doubt some small, perfect soul will eventually come our way but I'm a woman.......I want one NOW.....before I feel guilty about Poppy again and change my mind!

Life happens

This is the 21st century, we have control, from the cradle to the grave we make our decisions large and small, we shape our lives, we plot, we plan, everything is within our sphere, our power, we choose our destiny and the choices are many.

Much is grey though some black or white, our destiny chosen, we head toward that place, certain of our goal.

They say don't they, that we make our own luck?

At times life happens, the control is gone, the choices gone, changed or re-arranged, the once straight path, headed to a place we thought we knew becomes a muddied track. Plans made evaporate, ideologies stand challenged by incidents outside our common realm. We stand confused as life's curved balls make tracks toward us, one by one, in certainty still, we catch them deftly, re-plan, re-shape, re-gain control.

One is dropped, no matter, two then three, our minds flail lost, they came unbidden, four then five, control a foreign concept now.

Luck? Luck is not an absolute, luck is not a plan nor destiny, luck is not a tangible gift bestowed, or not, upon us, control is not a power, we have no power, we have no luck......... we have only an attitude of mind.

Life happens.

Amazing flying cats!

I have to admit to thievery from eMusings (thankyou Dave) to bring you this link but these images have to be some of the best, if not the very best cat pictures ever. Well worth a few minutes of your time and guaranteed to make you smile :o)

Rise and shine

There are some benfits to the shorter days and early mornings, being up and out of bed in time to see this is one of them.....I'm still trying to think of the others!

The 'good guys' still exist

I am loathed really to make mention of things financial where the subject of Poppy is concerned but this incident is so unprecedented in my life and so utterly reaffirming of the kindness of human nature in some that I can't let it go by without sharing it.

We seem to live in a corporate world where life is driven by the dollar, the pound or the yen, where little is of consequence other than pecuniary gain and thousands die for the want of a what amounts to s few pence. By comparison what happened in gemmak's-ville yesterday is small but for me it was a rare illustration that happily not everyone sees money as a God.

When PG, heavy hearted, visited the vets yesterday afternoon to collect Poppy's remains and bring her home he was also, as expected, presented with the bill for services rendered. That bill included almost two hours of the vets time on the day he made the journey here to put Poppy to sleep, the drugs involved,and for medical reasons it was not straight forward and required more specialist medications, his travel costs and the costs incurred for her cremation that was carried out by a third party. We had an estimate and that was in the region of £400.

PG collected Poppy and the bill (to be paid 'anytime' was the instruction) and set off for home. Before he drove off he looked at the bill and then called me to confirm what I thought the cost should have been. " they have made a mistake" he said, "this bill is only £137.....I'll go back and let them know" and that he did.

Once back with the vet he explained that a mistake must have been made, our bill was way less than it should have been.The receptionist went to fetch the vet who appeared shaking his head, "no mistake" he said, I have charged you the £100 for Poppy's cremation as charged to us by the third party and £37 for our services and drugs". PG began explaining, thinking that maybe the vet had not recalled our specific case and confused us with someone else, that our bill should include specialist drugs and two hours of the mans time etc. etc. The vet looked at him and said again "no mistake", confused PG began again to protest that we had been under charged. "No", said the vet again....."very rarely have I come across and animal so loved or cared for, I couldn't add to your loss, I felt privileged to be allowed to take care of Poppy in her last hours and have only charged you cost price for the drugs, nothing more, have it on me and I'll hear nothing more about it"!

What a guy! In all seriousness his treatment of Poppy and his manner, his caring and his compassion on the day had been so amazing. He was fantastic, his handling of the sad situation had made it, if such a thing is possible, the most perfect end under the circumstances, we had been so impressed and touched we would have happily paid him any amount and with a smile, and yet, this outstanding individual felt it necessary to offer us even more kindness! The money was not really the issue here for me, the thought and the compassion from a man who until that day had never met us was, the fact that he felt as he did, and took the action he did was extremely touching and in my life at least, not something I have been witness to often, if ever.

Any failing faith in human nature has been truly restored in gemmak's-ville.

Friday's feast (63)

Appetizer
Name something someone has done lately that impressed you.

My friend came back to work 3 days after surgery for breast cancer.

Soup

Do you have any relaxing rituals? If so, what are they?

Nope....got none.

Salad
If you could spend the winter season somewhere other than your current location, where would you choose to stay?

Somewhere in the US that has lots of snow....kill two birds with one stone, see the US and get decent snow!

Main Course
When was the last time you had dinner out, and what was the name of the restaurant?

Three or four weeks ago in London, don't recall the name of the place.....but it was yummy!

Dessert
If you had a boat, what would you name it?

Lord knows....'Merganser' maybe

Coming home

The Poppy Cat came home today, or at least her ashes did, in a tiny wooden box with her name engraved on the lid.

A very sad day in gemmak's-ville......



~ Sleep tight Poppy cat ~

Dontcha just hate it when.......

...your best attempts to rescue a bad day from degenerating into a complete disaster are thwarted by the realisation, as you dip a tentative toe into the big, fat, bubble and fragrance filled bath you have treated yourself too and placed lit candles all around, that 'someone' has commadeered all the hot water earlier and not switched it back on to re-heat!

But dontcha just love it when, languishing in what you know are now bravely thinking of as an Icelandic plunge pool, that will do you some marvelous good if it doesn't stop your heart first, you discover that the elegant and posh bottle of shower gel looking good on the side isn't so elegant after all and to your juvenile amusement and delight it makes a 'farting' sound each time in draws in air to fill the void just made from your last squeeze!

Bathroom blues

Have I missed something? Did some body of intellectuals discover a new life-rule I missed? Did parliament pass a law that passed me by? It would seem so, for it appears that a large proportion of the inhabitants of the town in which the store I work is situated, have acquired a God given right to a free bathroom of the standard offered by Harrods!

It is a small point about the 'smallest room' but one that has long miffed me. As a company we provide public bathrooms for our customers, please note the 'for our customers' phrase here, because that point seems to have become lost in the mists of time and in most stores, and certainly mine it has become the 'convenience of choice' for shoppers from almost every outlet for miles, any passers-by, kids out of school, truck drivers, in fact every man and his uncle!


This we can live with, it may be a little annoying to have hordes of people trundling back and forth from the designated area without so much as noticing that they are actually in a store where strangely we hope to sell our product but what drives me nuts is the attitude displayed by so many!

Not happy that we provide the convenience they want bells on it. How many times I wonder have I spent inordinate amounts of time sorting out complaints regarding the sometimes less than perfect bathroom? and yes, I agree, it is not always a picture of harmony in there but I can't be responsible for how others behave.

Each day this 'utility' undergoes an all systems go professional overhaul and at the start of business it is pristine and pretty smelling, rarely does it last, you do not what to know the manner in which some human beings(?) behave, nor the states of disrepair and disorder that emerge over a day! How people can behave in such a fashion is beyond me but they do and that in turn results in the 'complainers'. There are those who merely and appropriately inform me that the situation is 'less than pleasant', there are those who ask why we don't provide baby changing facilities, those that whisper, embarrassed, that the toilet roll has expired and then there are those that just take the piss (no pun intended)!

Excuse me but this is a public bathroom, we do our best against sometimes incredibly unpleasant and sickening odds but it is free, we are retailers not nursemaids, we cannot and do not guarantee you that everything will be in perfect working order 24/7, we do not provide every permutation of soap, hand drying equipment, flushing mechanisms, flowers on the side, 'video while you use' options, wide ranging 'suit everyone' water temperatures and we certainly can't control how individuals behave whilst they avail themselves of the facility!

You would not (well you might if you have ever worked in retail) believe the complaints and abuse I am faced with! When will Joe Public realise that I am not a cleaner, though I do my best when forced, I am not there to run to the closest supermarket and provide you with the soap product you find most acceptable, I can't prevent those that do, and really they do, from stealing the toilet roll, I am not a plumber, heating engineer, locksmith or medical examiner (don't go there) and to be quite frank I am not your offspring's nursemaid, nor do I really care any longer if you find any goddamn thing unacceptable about the bathroom, it is not my fault, you do not have a right to shout at me, threaten me, assume I am some lesser being than yourself, order me to clean up after some less than 'fragrant soul' or talk to me like I am intellectually challenged! None of these are what I am paid to do, I will assist you all I can but if all else fails I will close the bathroom down then you can't bloody winge about it's condition! Oh, of course, silly me, you will indeed complain about just that situation for that is what you do....complain....unendingly!

FFS, please, this is a store, I am a customer service and checkout supervisor, I am not time served in any of the above listed trades, I will do what I can but you do not have a God given right for my employer or myself to guarantee you use of a perfect bathroom day and night Sunday through Monday! Deal with it! Don't like it? Go elsewhere....ah I forgot....there is nowhere else to go...ok, well go complain to someone else about it, I do not control town planning....or maybe I do!

Arghhhh!

Enough said!

(Click to enlarge)

A very desirable address

This area in Scotland is not short of beautiful places to live, in fact it would be harder to find somewhere unpleasant but yesterday at work I had cause to take a customers address and was immediately drawn into a conversation, nosey as I am!

This couple's address was Bamburgh Castle, Northumberland, but they weren't it's owners. It seems that a few years ago a number of apartments were fashioned from original parts of the building and
are now rented to anyone deemed suitable and with the appropriately comfortable income, for comfortable it needs to be at approx. £2000 pcm. That may not be too surprising a sum in a city nowadays but here it is. As a comparison, the rent we pay for our 200 year old apartment in the middle of the beautiful countryside, complete with all 'mod cons', original features and 18 inch stone walls is £170pcm!

That said, if money were not object I could fancy the address 'Bamburgh Castle' and to wake up to those views overlooking the ocean and Lindisfarne must be almost priceless. There is of course a drawback, ain't there always, these apartments come complete with 'sitting tenants' and we are not taking those that a court order can evict!

Believe that stuff or not, of the couple I spoke too, who appeared to be perfectly normal professional '30 somethings', the lady seemed to be without doubt or concern that she regularly sees two young children among one or two other odd 'sightings', her partner however had not. I am skeptic, to put it mildly, where paranormal happenings are concerned but I'm none the less a little unsure if I would like uninvited visitors thrown in with the views and desirable address at £2000 pcm!

Living my dream

If ever there was something you should read it is this, Blackrat's most recent post!


Blackrat & Lt. Comdr. Henry Mitchell. © Blackrat.

I have long held a dream, that dream is to fly in a Harrier, a privilege only afforded to a very few highly trained individuals. Those of you familiar with Someone Else's life, Blackrat's unequalled blog, will know that he lives a life from time to time that always reduces me to obscene levels of envy, he has experienced almost all of the things most of us can only dream of, from having cars and motorcycles to die for at his disposal, to flying a Tornado and Hawk, all the ultimate big boys toys he has managed, through tenacity and determination, to find a way to experience.

This time all of those have been surpassed, this time it was my ultimate experience and whilst I will never get to do it myself his writing will put you right there, as close as you're ever going to get without actually doing it, everything from experiencing the famed vectored thrust and a 'touch and go' to taking the controls himself, utterly amazing......you just have to read this!

*With special thanks to BR for permission and image.

These boots aren't made for walking!

Don't panic, I am most certainly not about to break into song... that I would not wish on even my greatest enemy!

I do however seem to have found myself 'voluteered' to take part in a local charity walk that has been organised by Cancer Research UK to raise funds specifically for work on breast cancer. Given my previous posts regarding my friend who is currently suffering the effects of this disease there is no need for me to explain why this cause is foremost in my mind right now.

And so it is, that having been volunteered I applied for a days leave from work, fully expecting to have my request turned down, requests for annual leave at my place of work are not often met with a positive response! On the contrary it was granted and it looks like I now have to stagger, doubtless in high and cold winds, around the designated route. Ok, so I admit, this is only an 8km walk, in my youth I completed a 20 mile version every year....but that was in my youth and these little legs *pointing downwards* nowadays do their level best to avoid walking 8 meters, nevermind 8 km.

Hey ho, the route is a nice one, we are fortunate to have stunning views to take in along our way and if we are lucky enough not to encounter inclement conditions it should be a quite nice morning. If the weather turns out to be truly British and unpleasant then walking historic town walls that are but a stones throw from the North Sea could be er 'interesting'.

Whatever, it's a good cause, it's not really so far and I might even make a few bob along the way....talking of which, if you fancy sponsoring me a penny or two look out for a donations button in the next few days! ;o)

Or if you happen to be close by you could join in!

Can anyone tell me.....

...are avocados actually supposed to last as long as three weeks?!

I have a passion for these odd looking green things, so much so that I bought one three weeks ago....... and then promptly 'lost' it in the fridge (some passion), this evening it became found quite by chance. Hmmmm, I thought, I could fancy that but it has to be growing some dangerous, noxious bug or bacteria after so long awol.

Resist it I couldn't and tentatively cut it open, much to my surprise it looked normal, well as normal as an avocado can, it even smelled normal, I hesitated a moment then out with the mayo and ...........hell, it tasted normal!

Am I going to live to regret this moment of greed and stupidity I wonder?!

There is precious little.......

....attractive about the prospect of getting up at 5am on a Saturday and driving into work, particularly on a morning when for the first time this season it is still dark and the temperature is below 5 degrees.

It is however quite some compensation when an hour later you swing your car onto the road and drive for twelve miles into this magnificent sunrise!


My apologies for the picture quality, most remiss though it was of me I just didn't think to pick up my camera on my way out to work and consequently had to rely on my phone. I did consider turning round and driving home again to fetch the 'real' camera but time was at a premium...... having already hit 'snooze' once too often!

Ok....... so where is she?

It seems that 'small cat' might finally have realised that she who provided entertainment by way of something to stalk, pounce on, chase and torment, namely Poppy, is missing and is not merely away for a short holiday!


For the first week not a sign did she give that she felt anything was amiss, not a sniff, no investigation of Poppy's usual haunts, nothing, from the moment Poppy departed Ditto's little life was for her completely unchanged. The last day or two however her behaviour seems to have changed somewhat, she has been seen wandering around the flat slightly aimlessly, she won't go out, or at least only for very brief periods and she has, by her standards, become somewhat clingy. She is most certainly not poorly, her appetite is more than fine, her colour is good and her temperature is normal but something about her has changed just a little. Hell, she has even made half hearted attempts at playing with her toys, an activity usually met with disdain, afterall tormenting 'old puss' was much more fun! It seems that perhaps Ditto is now wondering where poppy has got to and her little face looks really quite confused.

Something will have to be done and that something is likely to be a new kitten. We always knew we would get another, it's just a matter of timing, we can never replace Poppy but we can have the pleasure of another little feline personality. Whilst I am still not sure if it is too soon PG is convinced that to have a kitten to love and take care of will be good for us and hopefully, once the initial 'territorial spats' have passed it will be company for Ditto. Afterall he insists, we are a 'two cat family'.

Maybe.....some days I want one now, others I still feel it is too soon, we'll see but at least I have got through two whole days now with only one small snivel!

Friday's feast (62)

Appetizer
Do your closer friends tend to be male or female? Why do you think that is?

Uh? I don't choose my friends by gender, if we are friends we are friends, gender's not an issue

Soup
If you could wake up tomorrow with a new talent, what would it be?

To be able to sing.

Salad
Name a household cleaning item that you would recommend to others.

Water!

Main Course
What do you strive for in life?

Sanity!

Dessert
On a scale of 1-10 with 10 being highest, how funny do you consider yourself?

Four.

How to manage your money!

Perusing the blogosphere an evening or two ago I came upon a post from Dr Rob documenting his frustrating endeavors when trying to secure a refund from his bank of charges something in excess of £80, the apparently 'reasonable' charge levied against him for going less than £1 overdrawn!

We have all been there one way or another, banks are one of life's burdens that we carry from the cradle to the grave. The dictatorial, condescending and superior attitude of bank staff is something we should be taught to deal with from our earliest school days, so that we are ready armed with suitable anger management skills for the future, but we are of course not. Instead we go out into the big wide world utterly naive as to the 'reasonable policies' many of our major financial institutions are going to face us with over the remainder of our lives.

All this reminded me of an incident many years ago when, green as grass, I attended, with my then husband, for a meeting we had been summoned too at a city centre branch of Nat West in Manchester. Life would never be the same again.

The building was an imposing one, high ceilings, mahogany panelling, deep blue carpet, big red leather chairs and at all of 20 years old, it being my first summons to see the head honcho and all that, I was a big little bit worried as to what came next.

We were ushered by an underling into the hushed inner sanctum and seated on one side of a rather too large desk. The sin wcommitteded and that had resulted in our now being seated nervously awaiting our fate, was to become overdrawn..... by £25!

After some delay the esteemed manger of this institution arrived, somewhat un-punctually and introduced herself curty before sitting down and going for the jugular without any further ado. This was some scary lady, she was at least 5'11'' and bore a greater physical resemblance to a rugby player than the average mousey bank manager....and she took no prisoners!

Having severely reprimanded us for a crime of such severity she set about trying to find ways for us to never again fall into the heinous and totally unacceptable situation of overdraft again. This is where things became a little surreal and whilst life was not controlled by political correctness then, as it is now, I found myself completely incredulous at some of her suggestions and one in particular.

We sat like naughty school children making a list of items we purchased at the grocery store on a weekly basis as instructed. Her plan, she explained, was to go through it item by item and make suggestions for savings! She had already issued us with the standard warning of the great wrath of the bank Gods raining down on us..... and was now into the humiliation phase.

We duly compiled our list and having gone through it at length she asked did I not every buy 'feminine protection'? Well of course I said but I hadn't thought to add those to the list, my mind was racing at this point...what on earth did it matter, it is after all an essential. Of course she had an angle and it was this. I'm sorry guys if you are squeamish on this topic but what followed was so horribly ridiculous it is worth repetition.

What brand did I buy she asked, uh? thought I, but decided best to be upfront and told her, Tampax, this met with instant disapproval. Her arguement was this and it was put most forcefully.

Apparently I was wasting precious money in my extravagant monthly purchase of tampons and I should mend my ways poste haste!!!!! She went on to explain, for all the world like I was actually going to do as she said, that tampons were (and probably still are) subject to V.A.T. and therefor an unecessary expense, whereas certain basic brands of pads were not. She expained further that when V.A.T. had begun to be levied on 'luxury items' tampons had been deemed a luxury (no doubt a man thought that little gem up) but so as to not penalise we women they had decided that a basic version of 'feminine protection' should be V.A.T. free (how kind) and thereby give us a choice....some choice! I questioned her further, only to discover that the frugal brand she was referring too was the delightfully 'quaint' and archaic 'belt system'...something I don't think anyone had seen much past my mothers teenage years, but which were apparently still availabe I was assured.

Thankfully I am not easily embarrassed but I still recall as clear as if it were yesterday my incredulity that I was sitting in a bank managers office and really hearing all this nonsense , I just couldn't belive my ears and what's more, in retrospect I am even more amazed that I sat there and listened!

So, next time some condescending young upstart on the phone quotes bank policy at you chapter and verse in their best 'I'm going to make you feel very very small today sir' tone, just remember....it could be a whole lot worse!

Lord knows what her suggestion would be if she could see my now unenviably large overdraft!

Stupidity!

© Who knows but not mine!

You know you want to!

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Not a care in the world

'Small cat' has more than mastered the art of the afternoon nap!

Realities and practicalities

The realities of life are sometimes not quite as we would wish and the practicalities even less so. It seems that now and again a situation arises that isn't anything like we would plan it but just cannot be avoided.

I couldn't post this until now but as the week has gone on things have got a little easier where Poppy's death is concerned and so today I can.... and today is the appropriate day to do so.

Those of you who are squeamish might like to abandon this post at this point, I promise there is no 'blood and guts' but it is a little less than a delightful situation and I can be a little direct.

It is a week today since Poppy was put to sleep and as a consequence it is not likely to be the easiest day for us but the anniversary is not the sole reason. It is compounded by another situation that is not one we had ever imagined or anticipate but has made the last week more difficult in a strange way

Poppy it seems died at a very inopportune time, in fact, to be precise about 3 hours too late. Apparently out here in the sticks all services, even those we are not aware of, are affected to some degree by logistics and deliveries to and from anywhere are few and far between in comparison to a town, this also includes pet crematoriums it seems!

Long before last Wednesday we had decided that when the time came Poppy would be cremated individually Yes you have a choice! For those of you who have never had to deal with this, there is a whole business in pet 'funeral' arrangements and that includes everything from oak caskets and marble headstones to burial plots. We don't have a garden to lay her to rest in and so cremation seemed the best solution. I couldn't bear to think of her just 'going off' and not knowing where she had ended up and so, like gemmak, whilst we couldn't consider the 'big hoo ha cat funeral' kind of affair we decide on a single cremation and to receive her remains back to scatter somewhere nice. This is usually completed within a week.

Not in this case, in our case (wouldn't you know it) the pet crematorium had just made their 'pick up' from our local vets, who incidentally are wonderful, three hours before Poppy died....and only visit once a week! This is where it has been particularly difficult for us....for a week we have known that she is still in the vets just a few miles away, still looking like Poppy, still as she was when we last saw her. The temptation to go and see her one last time has been strong though we knew that for reasons that I won't go into here, it would not be wise. Had she been taken away sooner it would have been so much easier but today, finally, she will be moved and I'm kinda dreading it and relieved all at the same time. Knowing she is no longer so physically close will be easier.

It will be another week now at best, until we get her back and can find a nice place to finally say goodbye....damn logistics!

If it wasn't all such a palaver and so sad it could almost be funny!

September sunset

(Clickable)

Nothing, nowt, nada!

So, the morning rolled on into afternoon and now the afternoon is all but over and still nothing, nowt, nada.......my head is completely devoid of anything, let alone sharp or clever ideas as to the content of today's post! Ok, so not much change there then I hear you say but usually I manage to drag some crumb up from the depths of what today is behaving like over scrambled egg, however lame it may be but today....not a hope!

Life is contrary is it not, there are days when two or three posts are easy, there have even been 'five post days' intermittently, so why on a day like today is there nothing, just a big empty space where my brain should be?

It is thus that this will have to do for today......a 'nothing' post is the best I can offer unless of course some earth shattering event takes place in gemmak's-ville in the next few hours, though all things considered, the small fact that I live in the middle of a field with cows for company included, I feel news items of earth shattering importance are unlikely in the immediate future!

Surely it can't be long now until my 'post a day' challenge is over and just once in a while I can have a day off..........

Does anyone know.....

...the whereabouts of the wonderful Truewillow, the url of her blog 'The Sum Total of Me' now goes to a page that is certainly not hers! :o(

Go see......anyone who knows TW knows that this is not her.

If anyone has any idea where she has gone too I would be very grateful for the information, even if it is only to let me know that she is ok.

I have mailed her but thus far no reply, though it hasn't been long.

*EDIT*:

Phew! Truewillow is found, she has moved 'home' and you can find her HERE :o)

Truly, utterly, amazing

I will apologise before I begin for 'banging on' about this again but I can't leave it unsaid, it needs to be reiterated, or at least I need to re-iterate it even if you don't need to hear it!

I have been truly and utterly amazed by the response from friends both in the blogosphere and in the 'real' world to Poppy's recent and sad departure from our lives. This little old cat and her 'mum' seem to have been far more cared and thought about than I could ever have imagined and the support I have found myself to be the recipient of has been staggering.

Too many people mailed me or commented with their thoughts and words of support to begin to mention them all, and many I think would prefer not to be mentioned by name anyways but I genuinely don't think I would have staggered through the last few days anything like as well without everyone's kindness.

Two people in particular took the brunt of it, aside of course from PG, and listened and responded to what can only be described as my depressing emails unendingly, sometimes at almost minute by minute intervals. Not once did either of them tell me to shut up and not once were they not 'there' for me. I am a 'talker' I need to talk about stuff that is hurting me and out here in the middle of nowhere that isn't always easy, the cows are fab but their listening skills leave a little to be desired! To those two people, and I hope they know who they are, the biggest thank you, your allowing me to gabble on almost obsessively about Poppy's situation made a very real and positive difference to how I got through last week.

There were others too, one friend who made an extremely kind and thoughtful offer, something I could never have imagined anyone would do for me, and so many of you who wrote such thoughtful and profound words. Friends have called me, family have worried and cared and a colleague who reads this even warned my boss to be 'kind to me' on my return to work and explained why....and the boss was kind to me, in fact so kind he reduced me to tears again..... but hey,it's a woman thing, contrary as ever!

There are likely people who will never understand how we can feel as we do about the death of a cat and I myself felt some guilt at being so devastated when there were world events such as 'Katrina' still unfolding but if anyone thought it they were kind enough to not say it.

Things have improved some since last week, we are getting more used to Poppy's absence and the horrible initial feeling of sadness is lessening. I can look at her picture now without falling into little bits, I can talk about her and smile and I even watched a video that a friend kindly made for me a few weeks ago and delivered today, without crying....much! I still feel some guilt, I still worry that we might not have made the right decision but it is all slightly less painful than it was a few days ago. There are still one or two things I can't do, I can't blog yet some of what I want to say about her, I can't put her bowl away and I can't remove her bed from it's usual place but in the main things are easier.....and that is in no small part due to 'you lot' and your unending and kind support, whatever form it took.

So again I would like to say a massive and very genuine thank you to you all. :o)

Ever felt like this?

I know it's probably a little 'un-pc' to find this funny so I apologise for any offence but today it made me laugh despite myself :o)

Ellen Simonetti files

Ellen Simonetti, the Delta airlines flight attendant who was sacked on October 29th 2004 for the content of her blog has now filed suit against her ex- employer for wrongful dismissal.

I blogged about Ellen's dismissal and that of others in a similar position at the time and am pleased to see that true to her word she is 'going the distance' and making a stand against actions I believe very strongly to be wrong......the inhibiting of free speech and the 'ownership' of employees by employers.

PRESS RELEASE
September 7, 2005
CONTACT: Kevin D. Fitzpatrick, Jr.
(404) 979-3150

DELTA FLIGHT ATTENDANT/BLOGGER ALLEGES WRONGFUL TERMINATION

On Wednesday, September 7, 2005, Delta flight attendant Ellen Simonetti filed suit against Delta Air Lines, Inc............

read more here.

A little on 'small cat'

'Small cat' seems to have been decidedly un-fazed by the sad goings on this week.

In the first instance I was concerned that when the time came for the dreaded vets visit on Wednesday she might be a little unnerved by it all, cat's being, in theory at least, very sensitive creatures we decided to shut her in another room whilst we concentrated on Poppy. We were also a little concerned that knowing Ditto's 'everything is a game' attitude to life there was a distinct possibility she might just blunder in among Poppy's last few minutes in a very inappropriate manner.

In the event she seems not to be feeling, even slightly, the massive void that PG and I are. Not once has she behaved unusually, not once has she sniffed around in that investigative manner that cats are usually so obvious with, she hasn't attempted to use Poppy's now very vacant bed, nor shown any other sign of feeling that anything whatsoever in her little life has changed!

All to the good, bad enough that PG and I feel as we do without small cat being miserable too, though a tiny part of me would liked to have thought she at least noticed Poppy's absence.

Today was my first day back at work, post 'very sad event' and in all honesty I was dreading it. My first work day routine without Poppy to greet me almost before I had stumbled bleary eyed out of bed, without Poppy sitting in the bathroom 'talking' to me whilst I showered and my first day coming home to a flat devoid of her insistent meowing for some attention the moment I walked through the door.

So it was I set off at 6am telling myself the 'chin up and best foot forward' stuff and deciding I had to find something positive to focus on. My positive focus was that Ditto can now have biscuits and treats, something she could rarely have before because the Poppy cat would thieve them and without teeth then choke. Lunch time I decided was the time to hit the supermarket and find some 'Ditto treats'

The first couple of hours at work were difficult, everytime someone said something kind, or asked how I was, I would begin, despite all attempts otherwise, to snivel. Gah. Eventually I 'got it together' and as the day wore on I discovered that, loathed though I am to admit it, the distraction and company of being at work was a good thing. Add to that Poppy was obviously never at work with me and so it is not a place where I miss her being quite the same.

Lunch time came and I made my way to a supermarket and bought up one of almost every conceivable crunchy and chewy cat treat I could find.

Home time arrived and I set off on my drive in part dreading going home to no Poppy but also looking forward to offering 'small cat' all her new fare. I made it indoors successfully (almost) distracting myself from the lack of Poppy, sat down on the floor with Ditto and began unwrapping her treats.

You know of course what happened don't you. One by one she sniffed, one or two she gave a cursory lick and then she promptly turned her nose up at them all and walked off....not one did she eat! Pffttt.


~ Sleep tight Poppy cat ~

By yesterday afternoon......

.......PG had decided in his wisdom that it was more than appropriate that I get out of this flat for a time....my usual state of 'hermit' was not doing me good, a shoehorn was applied forcibly to my rear, I was ejected from my big fat leather chair in front of this machine without further ado and 'invited', without option, to partake of a 'mystery tour'.

I wasn't enthusiastic but duly complied, only too well aware that sitting moping and sad 24/7 was