Feline assistance!

It being autumn and all that my mother decided that having got the garden into a suitable state of over-wintering she really ought to get the 'gardening shelf' in the cupboard tidied up before she abandoned it completely for the year...Tilly decided she would 'help'......not!


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All is not as it seems

Having spent most of another weekend back in the saddle riding pillion I feel it is my duty as a woman to point out to all you guys out there that make lewd flattering comments about women in leathers...... that all is not as it seems!

It's winter you see, or at least it's fast heading that way and that means only one thing ...it's damn cold out there. The cold must be fought somehow and the preference is for rather ungainly and certainly not remotely sexy undergarments!

Suffice to say, I pity any poor A&E staff should I ever be unfortunate enough to hit the tarmac (unlikely though it is, the 'guy on the front' is good, believe me I wouldn't be on the back if he weren't) who has to cut me out of my leathers only to find an horrendously ugly exquisite set of thermal underwear, really guys, this is not the stuff of Agent Provocateur!

So chaps (no pun intended), next time you ogle the leather clad rear of a female biker, you might like to bear that delightful visualisation in mind! ;o)

The 'awwww' factor......

...and no, it's not cats!

See HERE.

Well worth a few minutes of your time. :o)

How very remiss of me.....

.....I haven't managed to get online for four whole days, I think that's probably unprecedented in gemmak's-ville! I certainly can't recall not making a connection at all for more than a day or two prior to this moment in time, it's a wonder I didn't wither away in the interim...four whole days is outrageous! ;o)

I have unanswered emails coming out of my ears, I haven't blogged for days and I'm not about to regale you with anything of interest today either, again I seem to be horribly short of time.

So there you have it, another 'non-post'...I really must do better this week!

I would blog....

....this evening but I'm busy 'revisiting' an old hobby!...and no, I'm not going to say what it is, there are those among you who will find it a great source of amusement...... ;o)

One whole Tilly year!

Today is Tilly's first birthday...well really it's a year since I got her, I always do cat birthdays on the date I bring them home, because I never know the actual birth date!

I really didn't think she would still be here with me by today but she is so we're gonna have some cat birthday celebrations...that said I'm not sure quite what because she's had a new bed, toys and a collar in the last week and she doesn't like all the usual 'human food' treats (chicken, tuna etc. she's not interested!!!) most cats would kill for!

Perhaps it will just be a day of her favoured game,'worm catching', extra cuddles and bigger rations of her favourite cat food, one day ignoring her diet can't do any harm, it is her first ever birthday after all and I'm just grateful she's here with me at all. :o)

"Happy birthday Tilly puss".

25 October 2006
25 October 2005

Oh...and she never did grow into her ears! :o)

Thank you......

....to all of you for the kind comments you left on my post, Maybe there is a God after all, last Friday, they were very much appreciated, as has been your unending support over the last five months, when most of the time from time to time my miserable postings must have almost been enough to send you all running for the hills!

Really though, knowing you lot were out there rooting for me made a big difference in some of my darkest moments so again....THANK YOU.....hey, and don't run off just yet please, I imagine there may be a few more ups and downs before I get this chapter in my life completely sorted out! ;o)

So, where am I at now. Well, as you know I have my car, (more yayyyyyyyy's) it may not be worth much in monetary terms but to me it is worth a great deal, not only does it allow me the usual degree of freedom afforded anyone with a vehicle but it is also kinda symbolic for me too. It's about the only material thing I have left to show for thirty years working and to lose even that would have been very difficult. I know my father or some kind soul would have helped me out and I would have acquired new wheels, but this car is mine and for all I am grateful to those that have supported me financially over the last few months, I hated the thought of having to rely on others yet again.

As for Tilly, she may have by default, won a 'stay of execution' but the situation remains unchanged in essence and she will still have to be found a new home before too long, though at the moment I have no idea where and I can't begin to really get my head around it again for a little while. The run up to her previous departure date was one of the most difficult times I have ever gone through and I'm not looking forward to the repeat performance, but on the up side we remain the 'gang of two' for a little while longer now and I will make the most of every minute we have left together.

Next on the agenda is a job, for various reasons it has not been possible to make getting work a top priority until now but the necessity for employment (and money!!!) has shifted up a gear or two in the last week, so the job hunt begins in earnest any day now.

And that's about it, gradually I feel like my life is becoming slightly less of a pigs ear as things that have been hanging over my head since May get sorted out, the Tilly issue is of course the big one for me but somehow I'll get through that too no doubt and who knows.......a year from now I could be anywhere doing anything!

Back in the 'Saddle'

After a good few years of 'temperance' this weekend has involved quite a treat for me. On top of all the recent divine happenings in my life, today has seen my return to the adrenalin fuelled exhilaration that is motorcycling....

Gemmak is back in the Saddle !!!!


This morning, after hooking up with Fletch I went for a 'Spin' on his Africa Twin (Eloisa), riding pillion of course (my feet were eight inches off the ground!).

The weather may have been wet and windy and I may not have been on two wheels for many years, but it was fab and as the saying goes 'It's just like riding a bike'... you never forget how or the buzz riding gives you, once a biker, always a biker... :o)

Maybe there is a God after all!

I can't belive it, this moring in the space of ten minutes I feel as though my life has turned around completely and it's a long long time since I felt so happy.

The reasons?

When the official receiver decided to sieze my car I appealed against the decision, filled in the paperwork, provided letters from professionals in support of my case and crossed my fingers....I just heard that the decision has been reversed, I get to keep my car!!!

Five minutes later the phone rang, it was the lady who was to become Tilly's step mum.......she has changed her mind on the grounds that her current cat is very nervous and would be likely too fazed by an 'interloper'....so whilst I still have to find her a new home, for now we get to stay happily together at least for a little while longer!!!!

Yaaaayyyyyyyy :o))))

It's been a long time since I danced around the room like a fool, full of glee or shed a happy tear, I feel like I've just had the weight of the world lifted off my shoulders, I had no idea until now just how miserable I had been feeling and for however long it lasts it's fab!

Yipeeeeeeeeee, yayyyyyyyyyy, hurahhhhhhhh!!!!! :o))))

Something for the weekend

I have a feeling that in my 'dotage' I may have blogged this before, my memory fails me....but it's worthy of a second showing in any case! heh.

Oh how we cat parents know just how much this sums up 'cattitude'. :o)

Loser!

So guys, that little amusement behind us and it's onto the weekend, we made it to another friday at last and the weekend bekons, this one holds promise, hey weekends are always good..... I'm gone, have yourselves a fab one. :o)

A happy day

It's been kind of an odd day today, all bits and pieces, a little stressful but a happy day and happy days are something one can never have too many of. Maybe, just maybe this is the start of a change of fortune in gemmak's-ville.... but I won't start counting my chickens just yet!

So what made my day a happy one?

Firstly, massive 'CONGRATULATIONS' to a friend who today 'made the grade' in style, and with determination achieved an important goal. Hey...very well done you, you know who you are.

Secondly, Poppy cat would have been 18 years old today ....happy memories of a happy cat.

Thirdly, there has been a small hiccup in the business of Tilly's rehoming (more another day perhaps but don't get too excited, she still has to go) which means I get to keep her for another 10 days. :o) I'm not sure that having geared myself up and stressed myself out so severely for her departure tomorrow, that I want to go all through it again but in the immediacy, if 10 days is all I can get then for now it's a bonus and I'll take it thankyouverymuch!

...and finally, my day began at approx. 5am (thankyou not Tilly), by reading this post which raised my spirits immediately and which if you can spare a few moments to read is well worth the time :o)

Fat cat!

Tilly has become something of a handful of late now and again, it's inherent in her colouring, tortoiseshell and white cats are renowned for being feisty and 'madam' is no exception.

This has manifested itself in her apparent enjoyment at taking more than the odd 'swipe' in the direction of any passing individual, usually my mother, the result being a too frequent drawing of blood! Now whilst my mother is a patient woman this 'amusing Tilly activity' has worn a little thin and so under advice from the vet we decided to clip the very end off her claws. I have done this many times before to Gemma and Poppy, both of whom were furniture destroyers, I foresaw no problem, indeed Tilly had it done a few times in her early days when she became a little over zealous with Ditto.


Things were not to work out as I had planned, Tilly was having none of it and despite the best attempts at everything from kind, gentle words of encouragement to the more necessary arm and hand protection for both myself in the 'trimming' position and my father in 'holding' position, the only result was one angry cat and more blood drawn!

And so...this evening I ventured to the vets to have the job done professionally, having warned the attending physician in advance of Tilly's somewhat lively temperament....you know what happened of course, not a sound did she utter, not one attempt at an escape from the clutches of the vet, no howling, no spitting, the picture of perfect cat sat there on the table as good as gold and had all twenty toes attended too without so much as a murmur in no more than an instant!!

Never work with children or animals eh?

However, things were not to go without a very minor hitch for her. Whilst she was there the vet decided to give her a 'once over' and declared, having completed the poking and prodding procedures (to a still remarkably well behaved Tilly)....that she is too fat and needs to begin some pussy weight watching activities!!

Thus it was that home we went, having been issued with a special bag of diet feline food and with our tails ever so slightly between our legs.......there is going to be one fat small cat more than a little disgruntled at tea time, when her favourite menu, in it's usual portion size, fails to appear!

Brighton ~ A day of escape

So Friday the 13th promised to run to form when my previously mentioned two hour journey became extended to almost four, this time not courtesy, as usual, of the M25 but of my brakes choosing to present with a problem I thought had been rectified many months back. Brake calipers just aren't intended to remain in the 'on' position permanently, mine have a habit of doing so on occasion though, requiring frequent 'cooling down' stops and hence the extended journey time!

Oh, and on the subject of the 13th, I had a rather scary peculiar 'run in' with a very odd guy in a cafe en route but I won't go into that, suffice to say I think 'care in the community' is probably an appropriate phrase here...why do they always pick me to hit on??

But I digress, it is Saturday that is of note. Saturday it was decided on impulse would be a day out to Brighton,

a place that I have long had an affection for. A town of eclectic and diverse experiences, a place always it seems of relaxation, of escaping, of feeling at one with life.

This town on the south coast has everything, the vibrance of London, beautiful regency architecture, a very cosmopolitan ambiance, a place where one is allowed to be oneself, whatever

that may be and enjoy anything from the grand sight of the Royal Pavillion, to a stroll on the traditional and twinkling light festooned pier with it's constant ringing of fruit machines and music, to a relaxing meander around 'The lanes' with their heady mix of alternative retail, equally alternative inhabitants and on an unusually warm October Saturday, a pavement cafe culture one could happily lose a whole day immersed in.

Lunch was Yaki Soba (That's Japanese fried noodles to you and me)at E-Kagen, dinner at a 60's American diner and the interim time spent just wandering and drinking good coffee, enjoying the atmosphere and reveling in a day of utter escapism.

Oh and for added interest I found the perfect job, 'fudge maker'
(I'm sure there must be a technical term but I'm damned if I know it)


at Roly's fudge, yes, this guy really spends all day making this stuff....and I ran (not literally) into Zoe Ball for those who like to spot the not so famous!

A fabulous day, one I will remember for a long, long time to come, the trials and tribulations of my day to day life seemed a million miles away..... and should I win the lottery, Brighton would have to be about number one on my list of places I would like to live in the UK.

What is it....

....about cats and boxes?!



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