So there I am, Tilly having performed her usual 5am alarm function, sitting in the garden (this is a non smoking house), cup of excellent strong coffee in one hand and a cigarette in the other trying to haul myself into some semblance of normal brain activity. The birds sung sweetly, the sun shone, Tilly was lying by my feet purring gently and everything seemed right with my little world at least for a few minutes.
And then suddenly from nowhere came a shower of water, it rained down onto my slowly wakening head without warning, extinguished the cigarette and ran in little cold dribbles down my back.
This was no ordinary shower! You have to understand three things. Firstly the patio here is situated directly under my parents bedroom window, secondly my father has a wicked sense of humour and thirdly he is considerably less than fond of cats. It is not in essence the cats themselves, more that my mother adores birds and feeds them voraciously....the connection is obvious, cats and birds are not good bedfellows!
To this end, my father has a very large syringe always ready charged with water with which, for amusement, he occasionally takes a 'pot shot' at any bird killing cats that dare to stray into his garden early in the morning.
You can guess the rest I'm sure. Having spied me loitering in a state of only semi consciousness at such an early hour below the window, he decided it might be a 'helpful' move to assist in my waking efforts by providing me with an instant cold shower!
Revenge will be mine! ;o)
Friday, 16 June 2006
Thursday, 15 June 2006
Dream the impossible dream
To dream the impossible dream
To fight the unbeatable foe
To bear with unbearable sorrow
To run where the brave dare not go
To right the unrightable wrong
To love pure and chaste from afar
To try when your arms are too weary
To reach the unreachable star
This is my quest
To follow that star
No matter how hopeless
No matter how far
To fight for the right
Without question or pause
To be willing to march into Hell
For a heavenly cause
And I know if I'll only be true
To this glorious quest
That my heart will lie peaceful and calm
When I'm laid to my rest
And the world will be better for this
That one (wo)man, scorned and covered with scars
Still strove with (her) his last ounce of courage
To reach the unreachable star
The Impossible Dream ~ by Joe Darion
Wednesday, 14 June 2006
Gemmak Designs is closed
Sadly my new lifestyle means that I am no longer able to give proper attention to 'gemmak designs' and as a consequence, with immediate effect I will be closing it's doors for the foreseeable future.
I have to admit to feeling kinda sentimental about it and not a little sad but for now I really just don't have the time or facility that I need to dedicate to it. It was a big part of my life for over a year, right back to the good old days when Lisa and I ran it as Design-a-blog, through to it's tranformation to what it is today when Lisa had to leave due to her own change in circumstances.
So that's it, the end of a small era, at least for now. Maybe I will be able to resurrect it again at some point but for now gemmak designs had closed it's doors for the last time.
I have to admit to feeling kinda sentimental about it and not a little sad but for now I really just don't have the time or facility that I need to dedicate to it. It was a big part of my life for over a year, right back to the good old days when Lisa and I ran it as Design-a-blog, through to it's tranformation to what it is today when Lisa had to leave due to her own change in circumstances.
So that's it, the end of a small era, at least for now. Maybe I will be able to resurrect it again at some point but for now gemmak designs had closed it's doors for the last time.
Tuesday, 13 June 2006
Tilly in town!
So, I thought this morning, as Tilly performed her usual 5am alarm function (and I swore quietly to myself, ok maybe not so quietly) that it is about time I updated you on her progress, for all this upheaval has also affected her.
In the first instance she deserves a small medal for her new found ability to travel! Never having been in a car for longer than ten minutes previously, she behaved marvelously on the ten hour drive to London the day I departed. She cried for perhaps the first few minutes and then not a sound did she utter, other than to purr when we stopped and she was released from her carrier to stretch her little legs and have a cuddle.
Fly hunting
Once arrived at my parents (at something well past midnight) she was a little confused, new people, new place and no Ditto to torment. It took her maybe a week to really begin to find her suburban feet, a week of crying every time I left the room and a week of looking slightly lost and confused at times but she's now beginning to really settle in. She has her new routines in place, she has discovered that my mother is easy to manipulate with a 'certain look', she has an old child's high chair positioned by the window (there are no sills) so she can watch the birds to her hearts content, she has already procured her own little places in the sun and on the sofa and I, having decided it was time she learnt to go out and play and having completed two weeks of 'familiarization' on a harness, yesterday, took the bull by the horns and let her 'out to play' alone, albeit with my heart in my mouth.
But, as someone promised me she would, ok I knew that but hey I'm her mum I worry, she came home all by herself! Success! She had a ball, it seems that her hunting skills have yet to progress further than small insects but small insects can be immense fun for a small cat!
Famous last words I know, I'm not tempting fate but it's looking good. It seems Tilly's naturalisation is almost complete and whilst I'm sure her new home all still seems a little odd to her now and again, she is well on the way to learning to be a town cat.
In the first instance she deserves a small medal for her new found ability to travel! Never having been in a car for longer than ten minutes previously, she behaved marvelously on the ten hour drive to London the day I departed. She cried for perhaps the first few minutes and then not a sound did she utter, other than to purr when we stopped and she was released from her carrier to stretch her little legs and have a cuddle.
Once arrived at my parents (at something well past midnight) she was a little confused, new people, new place and no Ditto to torment. It took her maybe a week to really begin to find her suburban feet, a week of crying every time I left the room and a week of looking slightly lost and confused at times but she's now beginning to really settle in. She has her new routines in place, she has discovered that my mother is easy to manipulate with a 'certain look', she has an old child's high chair positioned by the window (there are no sills) so she can watch the birds to her hearts content, she has already procured her own little places in the sun and on the sofa and I, having decided it was time she learnt to go out and play and having completed two weeks of 'familiarization' on a harness, yesterday, took the bull by the horns and let her 'out to play' alone, albeit with my heart in my mouth.
But, as someone promised me she would, ok I knew that but hey I'm her mum I worry, she came home all by herself! Success! She had a ball, it seems that her hunting skills have yet to progress further than small insects but small insects can be immense fun for a small cat!
Famous last words I know, I'm not tempting fate but it's looking good. It seems Tilly's naturalisation is almost complete and whilst I'm sure her new home all still seems a little odd to her now and again, she is well on the way to learning to be a town cat.
Monday, 12 June 2006
Sunset in suburbia
Ok....so the scenery might not be as stunning as that in Scotland but here in the South we still manage sunsets. :o)
Monday, 5 June 2006
First things first
It goes without saying that the last ten days of my life haven't been the easiest I have lived through, the emotional impact of my decision to leave Scotland doesn't need elaboration, we have all been there to one degree or another and it's never fun but it is something we learn to deal with over time.
The practical aspects of my move are however more pressing, the emotional stuff will carry on loitering in the background for a time but my lack of a job, the fact that I have about £20 to my name, a scary level of debt to deal with and no home to call my own require that I 'pull my finger out', and quite rapidly.
Money is an odd thing. Had someone asked me prior to now if would I mind others funding my life I would have joked and said 'hell.. no, feel free', the reality is very different...I hate it, I hate that I am completely dependent on others to pay for absolutely anything I need, I hate that I can't make my own decisions and I hate that I have found myself in that situation at all. All that said I am of course very lucky that I have people prepared to help me right now, where I would be without them doesn't bear thinking about and I will be eternally grateful for their practical and emotional support.....but it doesn't stop me hating it!
And so that's what this week is about....finding myself some suitable employment, or even unsuitable for that matter, anything is better than nothing from where I'm standing! On the up side now I'm back in the 'big city' there is a far greater chance that I will be able to persuade someone that I am employable, at least in the short term, Scotland may have been beautiful, it may have been many positive things but it sure as hell wasn't the place to be if you need to find work fast!
The practical aspects of my move are however more pressing, the emotional stuff will carry on loitering in the background for a time but my lack of a job, the fact that I have about £20 to my name, a scary level of debt to deal with and no home to call my own require that I 'pull my finger out', and quite rapidly.
Money is an odd thing. Had someone asked me prior to now if would I mind others funding my life I would have joked and said 'hell.. no, feel free', the reality is very different...I hate it, I hate that I am completely dependent on others to pay for absolutely anything I need, I hate that I can't make my own decisions and I hate that I have found myself in that situation at all. All that said I am of course very lucky that I have people prepared to help me right now, where I would be without them doesn't bear thinking about and I will be eternally grateful for their practical and emotional support.....but it doesn't stop me hating it!
And so that's what this week is about....finding myself some suitable employment, or even unsuitable for that matter, anything is better than nothing from where I'm standing! On the up side now I'm back in the 'big city' there is a far greater chance that I will be able to persuade someone that I am employable, at least in the short term, Scotland may have been beautiful, it may have been many positive things but it sure as hell wasn't the place to be if you need to find work fast!
Wednesday, 31 May 2006
gemmak is back
After a week of silence on the blog that promised you a post everyday for a second year I felt it was about time I showed my virtual face, at least by way of some small explanation.
Sadly last week PG and myself went our separate ways, he remains in Scotland whilst I have moved to my parents for the time being, near to London.
It is not appropriate or fair that I regale you with the details, suffice to say it has been a very difficult week for all concerned and I can only imagine it will remain so for a some time yet, but as a good friend once said to me, 'shit happens' and with a positive attitude I'm sure things will eventually sort themselves out for both of us.
That said, I currently have no job, no money and no home to call my own, but I do have the support of my family, a few very good friends (thank you, you know who you are) and Tilly.....PG has Ditto.
Now it's time to regroup and start over, I don't know where life will take me from here and I can't promise a post every day for the time being..... but I'll do my best to get something here when I can and gradually I hope this little patch in the blogosphere will get back to some semblance of normality.
So that's it, a very sad and difficult week but life goes on.
Thank you to all of you who left comments (temporarily removed) and mailed me with your words of support and thank you for loyally keep checking back here in my absence.
Laters.....
Sadly last week PG and myself went our separate ways, he remains in Scotland whilst I have moved to my parents for the time being, near to London.
It is not appropriate or fair that I regale you with the details, suffice to say it has been a very difficult week for all concerned and I can only imagine it will remain so for a some time yet, but as a good friend once said to me, 'shit happens' and with a positive attitude I'm sure things will eventually sort themselves out for both of us.
That said, I currently have no job, no money and no home to call my own, but I do have the support of my family, a few very good friends (thank you, you know who you are) and Tilly.....PG has Ditto.
Now it's time to regroup and start over, I don't know where life will take me from here and I can't promise a post every day for the time being..... but I'll do my best to get something here when I can and gradually I hope this little patch in the blogosphere will get back to some semblance of normality.
So that's it, a very sad and difficult week but life goes on.
Thank you to all of you who left comments (temporarily removed) and mailed me with your words of support and thank you for loyally keep checking back here in my absence.
Laters.....
Saturday, 27 May 2006
Thursday, 25 May 2006
Where's Ditto?
It has been commented on that there is precious little of Ditto mentioned here of late and that is true, for despite being very much alive and well, two things have contributed to her lack of appearance here. Number one, spring has sprung and in true Ditto fashion she chooses to spend most of her day protecting her territory, taking in the spring air and finding less than delightful 'gifts' to be bestowed at my feet on her return....half a mouse being the latest! Ugh. She is still a little less than enamored of wind than she might be but the lure of the great outdoors, as a rule, now outweighs any lingering fear!
At night of course she is incarcerated indoors with the second reason you have heard less of her shennegins recently, 'hell kitten', the now infamous Tilly, who despite our best efforts to pay equal amounts of attention to both, has a habit of finding mischievous and downright naughty ways to demand our attention and therefore make her way more often here!
Ditto, in comparison, now seems very well behaved, she is heading toward her fifth (human not cat years) birthday and is, at least when inside, genteel and quiet when considered alongside Tilly. She potters about for the most part or sleeps off her days patrolling and keeps madam in some sort of order should she overstep the 'sisterhood' mark. For friends they still are, despite Tilly's constant tormenting and harassing over the last six months.
Ditto, I have to say, deserves a cat medal for her tolerance, she has been stalked, 'hunted', pounced upon unendingly, had her ears bitten (in fun I might add), been shoved off the bed unceremoniously on more than a few occasions and still she will allow the perpetrator of these crimes to play on and to snuggle up next to her and fall asleep, when finally their games have worn them out. Not once has a paw been raised in anger.
So that's where Ditto is, a busy little mog, with a large territory to protect, gifts to be found and a small cat to keep in order! :o)
At night of course she is incarcerated indoors with the second reason you have heard less of her shennegins recently, 'hell kitten', the now infamous Tilly, who despite our best efforts to pay equal amounts of attention to both, has a habit of finding mischievous and downright naughty ways to demand our attention and therefore make her way more often here!
Ditto, in comparison, now seems very well behaved, she is heading toward her fifth (human not cat years) birthday and is, at least when inside, genteel and quiet when considered alongside Tilly. She potters about for the most part or sleeps off her days patrolling and keeps madam in some sort of order should she overstep the 'sisterhood' mark. For friends they still are, despite Tilly's constant tormenting and harassing over the last six months.
Ditto, I have to say, deserves a cat medal for her tolerance, she has been stalked, 'hunted', pounced upon unendingly, had her ears bitten (in fun I might add), been shoved off the bed unceremoniously on more than a few occasions and still she will allow the perpetrator of these crimes to play on and to snuggle up next to her and fall asleep, when finally their games have worn them out. Not once has a paw been raised in anger.
So that's where Ditto is, a busy little mog, with a large territory to protect, gifts to be found and a small cat to keep in order! :o)
Wednesday, 24 May 2006
Tuesday, 23 May 2006
Fame @ last.com
On a day when I didn't feel much like smiling, THIS turned up in my mail box and really made me smile :o)
I hope I can call him a friend and a pretty good one at that, I am so proud :o)
Congrats. JW,...... fame at last!
....and for those that want to know more try here.......but be warned, if you venture off the beaten track be it on your own head!
I hope I can call him a friend and a pretty good one at that, I am so proud :o)
Congrats. JW,...... fame at last!
....and for those that want to know more try here.......but be warned, if you venture off the beaten track be it on your own head!
Tagged again
By Lisa.
I am: permanently confused.
I want: not to be.
I wish: it was next year.
I hate: SPIDERS!!!!
I miss: my family, my grandmother and Poppy.
I fear: being alone.
I hear: only what I want to at times!
I wonder: if I'll ever get it all sussed.
I regret: only those things I didn't do.
I am not: tall.
I dance: rarely
I sing in the shower:, I don't sing in the shower,
I cry: too much.
I am not always: as unselfish as I should be.
I make with my hands: wild gesticulations.
I write: Do I?
I confuse: most people...among them myself.
I need: Peace and quiet and chocolate.
I should: listen to my own advice more often.
I start: things with great enthusiasm.
I finish: less than I should.
I'm tagging: Justitia, Wallo and Mick.
I am: permanently confused.
I want: not to be.
I wish: it was next year.
I hate: SPIDERS!!!!
I miss: my family, my grandmother and Poppy.
I fear: being alone.
I hear: only what I want to at times!
I wonder: if I'll ever get it all sussed.
I regret: only those things I didn't do.
I am not: tall.
I dance: rarely
I sing in the shower:, I don't sing in the shower,
I cry: too much.
I am not always: as unselfish as I should be.
I make with my hands: wild gesticulations.
I write: Do I?
I confuse: most people...among them myself.
I need: Peace and quiet and chocolate.
I should: listen to my own advice more often.
I start: things with great enthusiasm.
I finish: less than I should.
I'm tagging: Justitia, Wallo and Mick.
Tilly the hunter!
This tail wagging and squeaking palavar is not over anything you might imagine, not a bird sighted thorugh the window, not a laser light, not even a daddy long legs of any proportion....nope, it's all over the tiniest, minutest fly imaginable!
Monday, 22 May 2006
Whaaat??
All winter I hope for snow....we don't get any, it gets almost to summer, albeit one would be be forgiven for not noticing this last week of constant rain, and what happens...today we have snow forecast!! it's almost June for heavens sake!!
(Click for readable version)
(Click for readable version)
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