Grandcat having extended 'sleepover'!

meritaten

SORRY, bit late tonight - I was reading the 'school uniform thread' with interest and didn't notice the time!
Aw nonnie - my DDs friend has a cat called Kevin who isn't 'speaking' to her today! he blames her for all the racket last night!

I think Barnes is ok now - earlier today he inspected his toy basket carefully and chose a small 'Kick toy'! and had a really good knock down fight with it! which he obviously won! Yay for Barnes! in fact, he knocked the stuffing out of it - Literally! I don't know whether to 'Patch it up' or bin it!lol,

he is still spending more time 'at my side' than behind my head in his usual spot. but, if he is playing with his toys again I am satisfied he isn't 'permanently traumatised'.
Usually the night after the 5th is still 'fireworks night' - but its chucking it down...............so its been quiet. not that it affects Barnes, but myself! a spent rocket narrowly missed me last night when I went for my late ciggy!
I hate to admit this - but the only time 'the family' can get together for a firework celebration is Sunday afternoon - so we have our party then up my mums.
I don't buy fireworks - I do the food.
this year I am making
Pea and Ham soup (veggie GD1 will get some 'Pea Soup' put aside for her before I add the ham - and we made a small amount when she slept over and she thought it 'lush'!)
Burgers
Hot Dogs
Cherry Pie (a treat for DIL who LOVES my cherry pie despite hating cherries!) this is the DIL who is actually on her due date on Sunday!

Barnes is back on his usual 'cushion pile' and watching TV with OH. so it seems things are back to normal!
thanks everyone for your good wishes for Barnes and myself (I am not sure I am quite over it - I had a nightmare last night that I found Barnes hanging from the upstairs landing bannister!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! stupid really!)

Lifeforms

It's not daft really. Tribbles had a choking fit a few days ago, not sure what it was, but he was hacking, like he had a furby down there, but produced nothing several times except a bit of phlegm eventually. So for the first min I was just waiting for him to be done, then he just kept on going with the hacking, so I went to him and got down next to him and just kept firmly patting his chest area. Didn't produce anything, but he did stop after me doing that several times so I wonder if he had a bit of cat food flake stuck and eventually shifted it.

Mum's (indoor) moggy ended up at the vets on Monday after having a bloody chin/face. She's not the kind of cat that co-operates at all, so the vet kinda found a lump or something on her tongue that had burst, so she was kept in overnight for an anesthetic the next day. Cue lots of worry and such like. Turns out she bit through her tongue somehow. Not entirely sure how that happened, but that was fine. however the vet discovered a very deep pollop on her eardrum/behind it which is why she's had manky annoying ears for a long time. This is despite repeated vet visits about it... not overly impressed. She's a cat with baggage, awful food allergies, stress related instant full body fur loss, had a lot of steroid injections over her life, was rescued from an awful place with total skin allergy and loss etc. Was in rescue centre for well over a year, till we took her, and with love, good food, less stress she's pretty stable (ish). instead of a monthly injection up to the point we took her, the longest we got her to was over a year, but she also has a vet allergy and separation anxiety, and we're looking at her having to have treatment for it at a specialist vet centre ~60 miles up the road. It's a hard decision, she'd be bald in hours, desperately lonely, very upset (think drooling, racing heart), and overworked body, and it's not even somewhere we could visit lots to keep her happy. Not even mentioning the cost of it all. stress.

Nonnie, I am so sorry with not getting back to you. Had so much going on that effort has deserted me a long time ago. I really do want one, and if you can still do one, would look at doing it next week (thurs). If tht's ok, lemme know, and I can get it sorted. (sorry!)

meritaten

I haven't forgotten to post - busy sorting out grandgirls! bbl

meritaten

right - where was I?

Grandgirls are squabbling a lot tonight - they will be taken to bed in ten minutes! then Barnes can sneak in and settle down with them - he is nowhere to be seen at the moment - I think they are getting on his nerves, lol.
with a bit of luck the stern talking to I just gave them will give me time to post!
Barnes has been himself all day today - but destroyed another 'kicktoy'! hmmmmm Cat Therapy - sounds like a good idea to me! but, I think I had better 'stock up on them tomorrow when I do a 'Barney Shop'!
he is drinking and eating normally and seems to be fine!

he was a bit peeed off with me that I didn't switch the rain off this morning! gave me The Glare when I showed him that it was hammering down! so he went back up to bed!
phone been going off all day as the village Taffia has been in overdrive.
That 'Cannibal' murder was in a village less than two miles away! and of course everyone knows someone from there - my own son was in school with one of the Williams brothers and they are friends. in fact, the one my son knows is the only decent one in the family. even the mother is a right piece of work. so he did sort of know matthew Williams too. and I know the Yemm family too - went to school with her grandmother and one of her grandmothers brothers was a classmate of OH - who was a lovely girl from a very respectable family.
Sorry - but its all people can talk about here - and being a collection of small villages, many people are either related to, or know, either the victim or the murderer. I have passed that 'hostel' more times than I can count when my son lived in that village.

I am trying to think of an appropriate sympathy card - but nothing sounds 'right'. (I handmake them - I just cannot get my head round the 'circumstances' and everything I think of sounds 'trite')

nonnie44

I wondered if it would have been near you but didn't expect it to be that near! How horrific for the poor girl and for her family, that is just something that you would never expect to happen but nowadays there just seems to be a lot of evil in the world

I'm sure the family will appreciate the card no matter what is written in it and I know you'll make a lovely card for them.

Hope you have a great day on Sunday with the family and I can't wait to hear the news of the new baby! xx

meritaten

nonnie - its the second time this week my blood has ran cold! First reports said it was a halfway house in Bargoed, Blackwood - and I thought 'What'? first of all there isn't a Halfway in Bargoed and Bargoed isn't Bargoed, Blackwood! its Bargoed, Caerphilly so knowing there is a Halfway in Argoed I knew it had to be there.

Rumours were flying yesterday - but I thought it was 'exaggeration' - yet it was true! these are 'close knit' communities - you probably have similar where you are. I could walk over to Argoed, up over the fields (trespassing - but everyone does it) in about 20 minutes. its about 5 mins by car. my son used to live at the other end of the village.
I think we are all in shock - we have had murders in the past - but this, this is so horrible nobody I have spoken to can get their heads round it.
I also hope it wasn't the nice policewoman I know who is usually on duty on the weekends - she was so lovely when my son was attacked. she administered first aid and made sure he was breathing because he was unconscious. she even visited him on her day off to see if he was ok! sorry - will shut up now before I give you nightmares and think life in the valleys is fraught with danger! it isn't really!

meritaten

What happened to last nights post? I made sure I posted. and it doesn't seem to be here! arggh! I hate Windows 8!

today was hectic! not only did I have the grandgirls to lunch - GS1 phoned OH and invited himself and his mum and sis! oh gawd - get another pan out and do extra veg! good thing I had bought a nice lump of beef as a 'treat' - hoping it would provide leftovers for sarnies etc.
Barnes was pleased to see the grandkids - 'TREATS' galore! while I am in the kitchen making the veg stretch.
its been quite a nice day today - so he has had lots of garden time. 'You' doesn't seem to be in bedroom window so much - so a quick glance up and Barnes goes and does his 'perimeter check'. with a nibble at the Astilbe as he goes past.
he spent a bit of time down at the gate - then got bored and came in. destroyed another 'kicktoy' and headed off upstairs for a nap.
then lunch - I served Barnes first - then us, and he went out to see if 'You' was there - obviously not, as he then headed back in again. the kids played with him for a while (balls and toys everywhere!) and we all trooped off up mums. For the firework party! I am tired just thinking about it - no effin way would I want to work in a burger van! jeez its hard work! especially when you have a dotty mum wanting to engage you in conversation - while you are trying to remember how many people wanted cheeseburgers/hotdogs/plain burgers/burgers with onions/hotdogs with onions/burgers with gherkins and cheese/burgers with gherkins no cheese! oh and could GS1 have a burger with no cheese, no fried onion, and no bun! rofl.good thing I bought double the amount of cups for the soup - I had to double up the cups and wrap a napkin round them - but they all said the homemade pea and ham soup was gorgeous.
and the cherry pie went down well! along with the jam tart I made from the pastry 'scraps'.
Great party!
Barnes was waiting impatiently for his supper - I was LATE! he wasn't happy. to reinforce his message he watched TV with OH and condescended to eat his supper at about 8.00pm
I didn't see ONE firework!
no matter - nature has just provided a lovely thunder and lightening storm! rather spectacular!

meritaten

Me and barnes have had a lovely quiet day! He has decided to take up permanent residence on my right hand side on the settee - its not very convenient, as I now have to put my pattern, wool, scissors and ruler on the little coffee table on my LEFT hand side! oh well, its worth the sacrifice I suppose. just feels unnatural, and I have inadvertently 'goosed' barnes by automatically trying to grab the scissors with my right hand. Much to his surprise! Indignant YOWWWLLLL!

we played 'catchthedreamies' earlier and he was amazing! he only fumbled one or two and actually managed to catch a couple in his mouth like a dog! or was my aim improving? not sure about that, lol.

I think I have said this before? but I do LOVE Mondays! our laziest of lazy days! and NO, still no new granddaughter ...................but, she cant stay there forever, as I reminded DIL yesterday - poor girl has been 'HUGE' during this pregnancy and I think she is rather fed up now! I honestly don't know whether to txt each morning asking 'any signs' or if its better to let her/Son contact me when she does go into labour - I can remember getting really annoyed with one neighbour who asked 'haven't you had it yet'? when overdue with No2 son ' and I snapped 'Yes - but I've decided pregnancy is a good look for me, and THIS is a cushion'!

nonnie44

That was very quick thinking of you with the cushion comment! There is nothing worse than waiting for the big arrival, fingers crossed it won't be too long....and that goes for the labour too:D

meritaten

I got up this morning and despite Barnes being rather 'affectionate' for once - had this deep feeling of 'foreboding'. I then got a phone call just after lunch, to tell me my cousin had passed away. and to my shame, I felt relief! I was just so worried that there was something wrong with my DIL and the baby! cousin had been very ill for some time and we knew he wasn't going to recover. Is that TOO awful of me!
Barnes seemed to sense 'something was up' with me - he kept by my side and kept putting a comforting paw on my arm or my thigh. after the phone call though, he was happy to go out in garden for a few minutes then come back in, then go back out, and come back in. I wonder if you can purchase revolving patio doors?
I wasn't really in the mood for 'play' but decided to play catchthedreamies with him after his G&T as usual - and he just sat there! Nope, he wasn't playing! just scarfed up the fallen ones after I gave up.
a cat who is 'hypersensitive' to my feelings! my dogs would pick up on them - but not used to having a cat that does!
the grandgirls came in - and boy were they 'hyper' today! very excited about Friday because they have just been told they can dress up as either superheroes or Pudsey! sorry but I am going to swear here...........!!!!!!!!!! that's just two days notice!!!!!!!!!! typical of the school to think you have superhero costumes in the wardrobe! or a Pudsey one! I found a chiffon chair wrap my sister had given me, which has provided JUST enough Pink material for three capes for the girls, and told them to ask mum to buy pink tights and they can wear their swimming cosssies on top. I now have to finish making the capes tomorrow. oh and Barnes caught the excitement too and kept attacking the material when I was working on it! then running round the room, and up the stairs and down again! even C commented that 'Barnes must have been at the catnip'!