Sunday Visits

I always try and find time each Sunday to pay a visit to my local animal sanctuary PAWS to show my support and cuddle every thing I can get my hands on! They do coffee, tea and cake on a Sunday, so I’m usually to be found sitting on a bench in their garden putting away a cupcake (or two). A couple of the resident pussycats have cottoned on to this, so now I have to share my cake with Misty, Felix and Handsome. They like the sponge bit of the cakes.

This is Misty a one-eyed Tortie.

I don’t know what her story is but she has been living there for some time. She gets a bit bad tempered sometimes but from observing her it seems to be when she can’t see anyone coming from her blind side. She tends to lash out if she’s taken by surprise and who can blame her. Now I only have to say “cake” to her and she follows me up the garden to get her reward. She’s quite a character.

 

 

I’m not sure of the name of this absolutely huge fluffy black and white cat, but suffice to say he was taking up most of the bench I wanted to sit on and wasn’t moving for anyone. I squidged myself on to the end. Cat 90% of seat, human 10%.

 

 

Another rose for you. It’s not one of my own, I snapped this in a garden centre. I was taken with how big it was and the two tone petals.

 

 

It’s called Rosa “Silver Jubilee”. BTW this image is straight from the camera, no messing with the saturation in Photoshop. It’s like someone has been splodging the leaves with paint. It’s on my list for future acquisition!

 

As everybody else has been doing them I thought I’d have a go at making crochet owls. I finished a batch of them this afternoon and took them outside to photograph them. I’m sure the neighbours thought I’d lost it.

 

I think they make a cute little family. They were certainly fun to make. I might even give them names – maybe I am losing it!!

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx

Garlands and Gardenias

I am so pleased with this Gardenia plant. It’s now coming into bloom.

 

 

 

Last year I went on a ‘behind the scenes’ tour of my local garden centre which is part of The Garden Centre Group.

It was very interesting seeing how they grow the plants for their nurseries, the irrigation, temperature control etc. The nursery manager was so enthusiastic about all the plants, it really shone through in his talk. At the end of the tour we were allowed to take home a plant of our choosing for free. I picked Gardenia jas. Kleim’s Hardy. It was a relatively new plant to the centre and the one I picked was really tiny. The manager told me to keep it in a pot indoors during the winter and to let it stand on the patio during the summer. I’ve followed his instructions and now have a lovely plant in bloom with loads more buds to come out. The vanilla scent is wonderful too.

 

I was inspired by the lovely Tricia from SimplyStitcheduk to make a flower garland for my stall at the Brent Lodge Summer Fayre at the end of August. I’m really pleased at how it’s turned out.

 

 

It seems these days that every post has to include a pussy cat photograph and this post is no exception, here is a pic of dangerous Daisy taking in a few rays and generally being good which is very unusual for her as she generally lives up to the Naughty Tortie reputation.

 

 

And of course Tabikat. I usually like to take photos with my cats making eye contact but for some reason I’ve gone for this one. See what you think.

 

 

Slainte,

 

Linda xxx

I never thought I could, but I did!

Way back in May I posted about finally getting the hang of a difficult (to me) crochet stitch. I knew it would take a while to complete my project and there were times where I seriously doubted that I’d finish it but here it is in all it’s finished glory!!

 

 

It is more of a jacket now than a cardi as I was a bit over eager with the length! I like the long length and when the weather turns a bit cooler I’ll be swaggering around in it. At the moment it’s too hot to swagger or do anything. I’m full of beans early in the morning these days, charging around like a mad thing but as the day gets hotter my energy gradually ebbs away to a full stop. I feel such a woose, I guess we Brits are not used to such high temperatures especially after such a freezing cold winter. In fact there times during the last winter that I thought I would never be warm again in this country and that I have to go and sit in the middle of the Sahara for a week to defrost my bones.

 

Crocheting doesn’t take much energy and is very portable, so I have been finding shady (as in cool, not dodgy) places to crochet some summer bunting and flowers and things for my Etsy shop

 

 

 

More of my lovely roses have started blooming. This is a beautiful Gallica rose “Cardinal Richelieu”. It’s fast becoming my pride and joy!

 

 

Isn’t it beautiful? I’m out every day sniffing and admiring it.

 

I’ve decided to rename the stray tabby cat I’ve recently adopted. I had named him Ben but he mustn’t have liked that as he ignored every mention of it. So he is now “Tabikat” and he actually does come when called. He gets admired every day as well but not sniffed!

 

 

One final thing, please, please, please remember to put water out for your local wildlife. So many poor animals are ending up in wildlife sanctuaries severely dehydrated during this hot spell.

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx

Goodbye to Jasmine

I can’t believe I’m writing this so soon after Frisco’s passing.

 

 

This is Jasmine or Jazzy for short. She was diagnosed with several tumours today and sadly I had to once again make the decision to let go a much loved pussycat. Jazzy would have been 14 next month. She was a rescue kitten.

 

 

Oddly enough she was the only cat that I didn’t choose for myself. I had rung the local cat rescue shelter and asked if they had any kittens and the lady described Jasmine. The next day she brought round this adorable fluffy kitten who sat so quietly in her cat basket while I signed the adoption papers. I don’t think Carol had driven even to the end of my road when this ‘adorable’ kitten was straight out of the cat basket and up the net curtains.  Swinging on the curtains was to remain a hobby of hers until she got too heavy for them.

 

 

 

She loved her toys and over the years she ‘killed’ quite a few over and over again.

 

 

As you can see from the pictures she was a very pretty cat and she loved to take care of herself. I was always snapping pics of her. The one above was used in the book How to Have a Happy Cat (page 78). She was paid in tuna. In fact she was the ultimate happy cat, no trouble, interested in everything.

 

 

Meerkat impersonating was her party piece.

 

 

She loved Christmas and was always devising ways of getting the tree to part with its ornaments. She had a bit of a soft spot for Daisy my Tortie and always let Daisy have a share of any treats that she had.

 

 

As she got older, sitting in the sun by the front step became her favourite occupation. It is going to be so weird not to have to step over her anymore.

 

 

Rest in peace my brave little girl xxxxxxx

Strange Tabby Mystery Solved……almost!

I thought I’d post an update on the little stray tabby cat who seems to have adopted me. I took him to my vet to see if they could scan him for a microchip and yes he did have one! His owner was Brighton Cat Welfare. My vet left a message with them to call me and the lovely Julie from Cat Welfare called me yesterday.

It turns out he was originally an un-neutered tom cat living on the streets and breaking into people’s houses and generally making a nuisance of himself. So he was caught and brought to the rescue centre where they had him neutered. As he was semi-feral he was taken on as a stable cat and it was from there that he escaped and travelled the 4 miles to my house. As the ‘owner’ never bothered to report him missing the rescue centre is sending me the adoption papers and the microchip will be transferred to my name. I’m so pleased that I didn’t have to give him back to anyone as I’ve become so fond of him. I do wonder though how he managed to travel and cross 2 A roads to get here. I don’t suppose I’ll ever know the answer to that one.  I’ve named him Ben.

Ben sunbathing

Ben playing with the daisies

Slainte

Linda xx

Dad

 

It’s Father’s Day today in the UK. This is my Dad who sadly passed away in ‘92.

 

 

This lovely gentle man loved animals with a passion, wrote amazing poetry and supported all my crazy schemes with incredible enthusiasm.

 

Second to animals, surfing was the love of his life. He could be seen most days riding the waves down at Whitsand Bay in Cornwall or frequenting Bilbo’s Surf Shop in Newquay. He even gave his surfboards names, his favourite being his longboard Big Whitey.

 

I like to think there is a spot for him in heaven where he is paddling out from a silver sunlit beach into cool blue waters looking for the perfect wave.

 

Rest in Peace Dad xxx

My Desert Island Discs – part two

Welcome to the second instalment of my favourite eight discs. Seems weird writing the word ‘discs’ but it would be even weirder writing Desert Island MP3s. Just doesn’t gel.

 

Jessica by The Allman Brothers Band from the album Brothers and Sisters

 

This is my instrumental ‘classical’ piece. I’ve never tired of listening to it despite BBC’s Top Gear hijacking it. It’s a long track at 7 minutes 28 seconds, but you just go along with the music. Love it!

 

The Ballad of Cursed Anna by Jonathan Kelly from the album Twice Around the Houses

 

I’ve no idea how I got to hear this song, I suspect it was by listening to Radio Luxemburg a long time ago. It’s a beautifully written folk song about a young man who ignores an old man’s warning about the beautiful but cursed Anna and finds himself trapped as a gatekeeper who can only be released when another young man ignores his warnings about her. On Friday nights a few of us used to take our guitars to a wonderful old pub in Donaghadee called Grace Neill’s Bar. You would order the drinks, find a table, sit down and if nobody else was playing you’d simply start strumming. I remember going there with 2 friends Davy and Maurice and we started singing Cursed Anna. For ages before we hadn’t been able to find anyone else that knew the song, but that night when we performed it a couple of groups joined in – bliss!! We made some great friends that night!

 

Crazy Man Michael by Fairport Convention from the album Liege and Lief

 

A beautiful slow folk song performed by the ethereal haunting voice of Sandy Denny. Liege and Lief is my favourite Fairport album and any song performed by Sandy would do but Crazy Man Michael just has that extra little piece of magic. I still listen to it a lot.  So sad that Sandy has left us, but her voice will go on for ever.

 

Sebastian by Steve Harley and Cockney Rebel from the album The Human Menagerie

 

Steve Harley has got one amazing voice and Sebastian highlights just how incredible it is. I don’t know why but this song always reminds me of Venice, masked balls and red velvet cloaks. It’s the sort of song that should be playing in the background while you’re reading The Da Vinci Code. It’s another song that I would belt out at the top of my voice on my lonely beach, especially the line “Somebody called me Sebastian”

 

Book to take with me would be Brewer’s Dictionary of Phrase and Fable. It’s a book you can pick up for a quick browse and before you know it a few happy hours have passed. My luxury would be a couple of tons of ruled writing paper complete with fountain pen and a few gallons of violet coloured ink as I would envisage having enough time to pen the great British novel!

 

Well those are my 8 discs, what would yours be??

 

Slainte

 

Linda xx