ONE OF A KIND

'One of a Kind' is how Susan described Edie in Desperate Housewives and that is how I would like to remember my darling Lily.

This is my favourite photo of her. I nicknamed her The Joker after taking it. She was a rescue cat who had had a litter of kittens and 3 different homes before she came to live with me. At first she wasn't really sure where she was living and was always wandering into other people's houses but after a while she settled down and became a permanent fixture on the bed/sofa/window basket/windowsill. I made a promise to her shortly after she came to live with me that she was now in her forever home and I would keep her safe and loved to the end.

A while back she had been diagnosed with feline Dementia and was gradually losing her sense of what it meant to be a cat. She was a bit like a goldfish in a bowl, forgetting that she had eaten 10 seconds ago etc. She became very needy and also forgot what the litter tray was for and that she needed to groom herself. I did resort to bathing her but that was causing us both stress and I was scared that she would go out and forget how to get home.

The vet and I agreed that her time had come and she was given the most dignified of endings - Tanya gave her a fleece blnaket and some Dreamies. So while Lily was happily playing with them she was given an injection to make her fall asleep and then when she was asleep a final injection to send her to heaven. No shaving of paws etc just a little cat gently falling asleep in my arms.

She was 2 when I rescued her and gave me 14 years of utter joy. My heart is in bits.



Slàinte Mhath xxx

Every Morning………

………….without fail at 5.30am!

Slàinte Mhath xxx

Grand Designers

I had a bit of a Couture thing going last weekend and ordered half a dozen books on Haute Couture and Historical Fashion from the library (God bless public libraries).
BTW did you know the difference between Haute Couture and Couture? For a fashion house to call its garments Haute Couture it must follow the rules laid down by the Paris Chamber of Commerce which are -

1. Design made-to-order for private clients, with one or more fittings.
2. Have a workshop (atelier) in Paris that employs at least fifteen people full-time.
3. Each season (i.e. twice a year) present a collection to the Paris press, comprising at least thirty-five runs/exits with outfits for both daytime wear and evening wear.

When selected they then become members of the Chambre Syndicale de la Haute Couture. What an excellent way to keep skilled embroiderers, hat makers etc in work. I wonder if British couturiers do the same sort of thing.

Anyway, back to the books. Whilst leafing through them and salivating over the beautiful outfits I came to the conclusion that modern fashion designers could learn a thing from the old Masters. I fell in love with this coat (made in 1919) from Paul Poiret.

It’s stunning. The cream design down the front is leather filigree and hand sewn to the coat. The collar is fur which is not so nice. I was thinking that something like this could be recreated – machine embroidered design on the front with a thick man made fleece fabric for the collar. The more I looked at it the more I felt the urge to make a tribute coat, so now I am looking around to source fabric and suitable designs for the front………watch this space.

Elsa Schiaparelli also knew a thing or two about embroidery. At the height of her fame in the late 30s to early 40s she was producing beautiful pieces like these. My favourite is the Elephant Embroidery. She was a designer ahead of her time.








Must go now before my sweaty palms ruin these lovely books. Also I’m just about to take delivery of the book “The Collection of the Kyoto Costume Institute.” Be still my beating heart!


Slàinte Mhath xxx

Three Witches

You know at the beginning of Shakespeare’s Macbeth when the evil Witches are seated around their cauldron and chant “When shall we three meet again” with a bit of cackling and overacting thrown in? Well I’ve been experiencing being the victim of a coven of witches recently or that what it feels like! It’s happened a couple of times – I go into the bedroom and there they are – 3 pussycats in a huddle surreptitiously looking over their shoulders at me. Are they keeping warm or planning something? It’s hard to tell.

Mouse Fondue Party

They have such pretty names – Daisy, Lily and Poppy, but that Daisy one could give Einstein a run for his money she’s so intelligent. You can see the cogs going around as she works things out. She is usually the ringleader as she’s the one who knows what the words fish and ham mean, when she hears either of those words she gets excited and goes off to round the other two up, so I end up with three very vocal puddies in the kitchen all yelling for their treats.

The 'Look'

As I write this one is lying on the radiator side of table dangling her paws over the edge  to take advantage of the warm air rising. The other two have me hemmed in on the sofa, one either side of me. It might be some time before I get up as any cat lover will know you try and avoid that pitiful look they give you if you try to move them. With Merlin a huge Tabby I had a few years ago you had to judge it so you got up in that brief window before he realised you were getting up and when he sank his teeth into any exposed body parts. I could really get off the sofa in super quick time when he was around, nowadays it’s been diluted to plea bargaining.

Paw Dangling Practice

I am afraid, very afraid!!!

Slàinte Mhath xxx

First Makes of 2016

I first made this jumper back in the 80s and then lost the pattern. I was thinking about it a year ago and regularly checked all the online second hand sites to see if I could track it down as I remember really enjoying making it (and it was easy!!).

The Original Pingouin Pattern

No  luck until on a whim a couple of weeks ago I had a look at Ebay and lo and behold it was there! Never has the "Buy Button" been pressed so quickly! The seller sent it off straight away and I got clacking and here it is - the 2016 version! I used the Womens' Institute Soft & Cuddly yarn. It seems to be sold only at Hobbycraft, I may be wrong but I haven't seen it anywhere else. Great value at £3 a ball and on sale at the moment at 3 for the price of 2.

Pink Pingouin Sweater

My embroidery machine has been revving up for 2016 and the result is this knitting bag I made for my friend Gladys's birthday. She sent me a very clever 'thank you' poem in return. 42,000 stitches! Gulp!

The Gladys Bag

And for those days when you wake up and think I really need a pair of jeggings with a giraffe wearing a scarf embroidered on one leg (and I can't even blame the chemo drugs!)

Giraffe Jeggings

I had a follow up call from the Radiotherapy Centre to see how I'd coped with the side effects (apparently the peak of the side effects comes 2 weeks after the end of treatment). I was so happy to tell the radiotherapist that I haven't suffered any side effects at all. The redness over my wound and neck has almost faded away and I haven't suffered from fatigue at all. In fact I think my energy has increased which is good as Clarkson my beloved bicycle (I do miss Top Gear) and I have been giving my legs one heck of a work out up and down the beautiful country lanes around here.

Clarkson

Slàinte Mhath xxx

Summing Up 2015

I laughed and cried a lot in 2015. In January it was basically a case of “Happy New Year, you’ve got Breast Cancer.”

The things that made me laugh which I’m glad to say far outnumbered the crying bits. I will be for ever grateful to the wonderful lady who set up the FB group March Marvels. The love and support from that group of Super Hero women kept me going during my darkest hours.


The brilliant friendly group of dog walkers in my local cafe who were with me on my journey through the year, always with words of support and available dogs to pat!

Wonderful neighbours who turned up at my door with kitchen towels, bags of apples, excess fruit and veg from their gardens & allotments, just incredible.

Having various pieces of writing published including having my work read by Stephen King. What an honour!!

The ladies at the radiotherapy centre who made everything soooooo easy to get through. I have a phobia about masks over my face and the treatment involved wearing a noseclip and breathing through a tube and holding my breath for over 30 seconds five times per treatment (I had 15). I did it and as a by product I am now considering learning to snorkel!!

My cats who instinctively knew when I needed cheering up and would keep me company when I couldn’t get up from the bed or sofa.

Friends who treated me to fab days out, the odd bottle of wine, encouraged me to keep up with the writing, made me laugh till my sides couldn’t take it anymore.

Online friends who through their lovely messages of support on this blog have a special little niche in my heart.

My local crafts shop where we would have in depth discussions on the merits of Dr Who and Sherlock (of which there are several!).

A bit of a short summing up I know, but Wishing You All a Fab Chrissie and the Most Wonderful of New Years in 2016.

Slàinte Mhath xxx

Why I Love Charing Cross Road

The main reason I love Charing X is because Foyles bookshop lives there.


I could live there - free Wi-Fi, a lovely clean cafe with gorgeous eats and floor upon floor filled with books on every conceivable subject.





While having a coffee there last week I decided I needed to get to the Creative Writing section. I found it literally straight across and down the stairs from where I was sitting. It made me wonder if they’ve realised that siting it there would be a good business decision as probably half the people in the cafe are drinking coffee and busily typing the ‘Next Great British Novel’.

Scanning the shelves I found this book ‘The Amazing Story Generator’.

It’s a writing prompt book where all the pages are split into 3 pieces and you can mix and match them.


I hope I didn’t disturb the rather serious lady next to me with my snorting and giggling as I haphazardly created such gems as
“Suffering from incessant hallucinations, a computer hacker goes on a blind date”
or
“A thousand years from now, a night watchman joins the Mafia”
I’m currently challenging myself with this one, “With only a week to live, an old lady with twenty cats is transported to another galaxy!”

This is one reason why there will always be bookshops no matter how big Amazon gets. I think ‘flickability’ is what will ultimately save bricks and mortar shops. Even Amazon’s ‘look inside’ does not stack up against having a book in your hand and flicking through the pages. I probably wouldn’t even have seen my story generator book on amazon, but I saw it straight away on the shelf, picked it up and had 10 minutes of good concentrated flicking and of course I bought it. I had to, it appealed to my sense of humour. At the same time I bought Terry Pratchett’s last Discworld novel “The Shepherd’s Crown”. Yes, I could have bought it cheaper online, but it was there, displayed front and centre and it was the first day of publication. As readers will know I’m a huge fan of the inimitable Sir Terry and the memory of buying his last book at Foyles will stay with me forever. Similarly despite having bought hundreds of books online over the years I only have memories of one purchase. It was in the mid-90s and I was making my very first international internet purchase. I bought ‘Your Money or Your Life’ by Joe Dominguez from Barnes & Noble in New York and cheering when it all went through smoothly. Incidentally spending money online did get easier as time went on – too easy and forgettable!

But my ‘in person’ book purchases were all memorable. I vividly remember queuing for hours outside a Horsham bookshop waiting to buy Sir Terry’s ‘Thief of Time’ with him there in person to sign it. The bookshop staff kept us fed with big boxes of sweets being passed up and down the queue.


Or the time Alan Titchmarsh regaled me at a book signing with anecdotes about his mate Russell Harty. I remember chatting to the beautifully elegant Bruce Oldfield about his book on fashion. He was my favourite designer at the time and I’m sure I was almost walking out backwards and curtseying at the same time!



How can you have experiences like these without bookshops? A YouTube video of an author signing just doesn’t cut it. Getting back to Charing X there are also glorious dusty second-hand bookshops on the road and a wonderful musical instrument shop selling mainly guitars. More flickability with some strumability thrown in for good measure. Note to self, Ukulele practice is long overdue!

Slàinte Mhath xxx xxx