General Chat

Morning all and evening Kim,

Jane how's Thomas today. I hope you slept ok on the floor with him last night. Thanks for the pics of him you sent. Now we want to see one of were they have shaved the poor little mite.

Hi to Fiona. I am so pleased your now feeling a little better. Take it slowly and don't rush into things too soon. Its lovely to hear from you again after such a long time. Sending love and wishes. <3 <3

Liz great pics of the garden and I do envy you your lupins. They are beautiful. The rabbits ate my new ones but not the old ones bought from the girl up the road. They seem to be really tall ones. I thought all parts of the lupin were poisonous but I think they just seemed to dig them up and thats why I lost them. Your veg garden is looking great and I wish I could have one like that now.

Oh is asking me for something so I better go.

It's good he seems to be comfortable Jane and is still with it enough to know what his tray is for! I'm amazed you got him home in time after the enema!!

Must dash now.........OH is calling!

Just in from shopping! All put away and OH is exhausted!!!
Goodness Jane you'll certainly have a horrendous vets bill when this saga is over!! but I think you said that Thomas was insured?! I bet you'll be glad when tomorrow is over and you can just concentrate on his recovery.
Thanks Mel! The Lupins have taken over a bit!!! In the autumn we shall lift some of them and put them into pots, as I'd like to grow some other flowers as well!! The veg are doing really well though and I picked our first strawberry this morning!!
Not a bad day here, bit humid and not much sun, but I shall be outside this afternoon pottering!!

Can I see your garden pics too Liz? I love Lupins and some are in such lovely bicolours. They are one of the first flowers I remember as mum and dad's bungalow where I lived till I was about age 9 had some beautiful ones as did some of the neighbours gardens. I used to have a strawberry bed years ago and have thought about fixing one above the raised beds to make it easy to pick them.

Well we've been to the fav carvery but it seems far hotter here today than it was yesterday so I'm not sure about going out again just yet. The bead sale at the house with cakes etc is near where I want to go, so I may do it all tomorrow instead.

Our neighbours bungalow is for sale on the website now. I thought we did well to be mostly clutter free with all our paperwork and mess just in the study, but their place is immaculate with few ornaments and not even a book or cd in sight and all the rooms and furniture, except the bathrooms, are the same colours, blue, black, silver and white.

I forgot to mention yesterday that we called in a local newsagent which has parking space at the front. As I drove in there was a woman standing in the middle of where you have to drive talking to a young child, so I had to stop behind her and wait. The gist of what she was saying seemed to be to the effect that the child needed to be careful crossing there due to cars driving along to park. The child was facing us and not surprisingly looking puzzled and her mother had her back to us, oblivious to the fact she'd caused me to have to stop and wait for a few minutes and was doing the very same thing herself, the very thing she was warning the child not to do! Two other young children were leaning on the shop window sucking their lollies as I drove forward to the end space and started to reverse towards the last car parked at the end. She could see I was reversing but still called the children to her to cross on the zebra crossing so it was a good job I was crawling and had my wits about me as they dashed and squeezed through the now narrowing gap behind my reversing car! The mother said nothing to them. As soon as she got to the crossing the young child threw a strop and refused to cross, but, instead of waving on the waiting van driver who had stopped for them to cross and then deal with with the child, she just left the driver waiting and wondering what she was doing for several minutes until he got fed up with the cars that had started to queue behind him and hoot and he carried on across the crossing. OH's face said it all........a disaster waiting to happen! :-S

Jane when I saw your photos of Thomas I just wanted to give him a cuddle. Thankfully you have him insured as the cost could be ongoing for a while. How long will you sleep downstairs with him? Thankfully you got him home before the enema worked.I do hope he isn't in too much discomfort.

Toby made me smile this morning, Marion, our neighbour across the cul de sac was having a new carpet fitted and he decided to make a bed in the road on the off cuts. Not that he was in any danger as the road ends there
Liz I would like to see your garden photos too please.I really like Lupins but so do all the snails and slugs which I have had a lot of in the garden this year and as I don't believe in killing anything I collect them up in a bucket and put them up the outside path among the shrubs and wild flowers.

Thanks Liz! Mel is right and you have some superb Lupins there. :-) Your garden goes fro strength to strength each year as you get it all shipshape. I like the netting you have up on the frame, much stronger than other supports.

Trust Toby to find the carpet offcuts appealing Anne. Maybe he thought outdoors was being carpeted and thought he'd claim 'his' own spot!

Afternoon All
What a muggy day it is,Its feeling really oppressive now so maybe we will be getting the thunder that is forecast.
Thomas is all lovely dovey at the moment.Little does he know what's in store for tomorrow :-S.We will have to leave here about 6.45 at the latest I reckon as the rusg hour will be starting and if there are any major problems on the roads like today we need to give ourselves plenty of time.I have to be there for 8.10.They rang about getting the insurance claim started.So I think everything is in order.As I said earlier the Vet says it is likey to be around £800..We are already up to £430 at the Vet here in Kettering.I think our excess is £60 plus a £25 fee for the vets do do the claim.

I will NOT be sleeping downstairs again tonight !.I need to get a reasonable night as I don't know if I will be back downstairs at night after his op.I hope he sleeps on his proper bed tonight and not in the litter tray again.That was so weird,and it can't have been very comfy.He has eaten a bit of food today and had some Cat milk,so that is good.He has lost a fair bit of weight even after just 3 days.So it is no food after midnight now but he can have water.
I am so pleased that Chris can come with me in the morning as he is of the the Patchings Art Show in the afternoon ..If I do pick Thomas up tomorrow eve Fitz will come with me.
Got to go ...my friend from Cornwall is on the phone.

I shall be thinking of you tomorrow Jane and good luck for Thomas with his op. I don't blame you sleeping in your own bed tonight as you will need a good rest to get up that early. Arn't vets bills enormous now. Thats when I am glad we don't have any pets that have to go to the vets.

Done the shopping and all put away quie early so had a potter about. Oh was out mowing the top field when I came home and he did'nt see me come in.

Chris will be turning off the router soon as we have Thunder and Lightening. It sounds like it is getting closer :-S

Best wishes for tomorrow Jane. <3 It is an early start, but you will catch the commuters so it's better to not arrive hot and flustered about being late. I hope you will be able to bring him home after so it will be familiar for him.

I'm off to bed now. I couldn't sleep last night so went and fetched some paperwork to do till 3.00am. At least the time wasn't wasted! :-)

Thats a very early start for you Jane , i hope all goes well for Thomas tomorrow and that you will be able to bring him home <3

Thanks everyone. :-)..I am just going to get Thomas into the crate .Have put his tray in and a little bowl of water .
Night Night. xx

Morning All

Well we are just off now.Fingers crossed the roads are good this morning,
It is going to be another lovely hot day .Just getting butterflies in my tum now :-S

BBL

Morning Jane & Everyone

I hope you got Thomas to the vets in good time and he is now in safe hands. Fingers crossed all goes well for him and he will soon be back home with you. I will be thinking of him and you of course.

Very warm and humid here already, I am waiting for the plumber to call to fix the flush in the bathroom toilet he is due between 8 & 10am so Amy will have to wait for her walk. I am going to prepare the cottage pie ready for tonight, it will save doing it later.

Morning all and evening Kim,

Very warm here but no sunshine yet.

Thinking of Thomas today and Jane and Chris. He's in good hands and hopefully be better when you get him back.

Just having some toast before going off to the dentists about these new teeth that don't fit at all.

The unexpected death of Muhammad Ali & his probable early promotion to Sainthood - or so it appears by the massive & kindly wall-to-wall coverage by the media - highlights many of the great man's positive persona without delving too much into some of his youthful actions. But the strength of his character allowed him to admit his youthful wrongdoing. And which of us has never made a mistake or come to a rash judgement based on inadequate data?

For those of us lucky enough to have a job these days, we should count our blessings. Nevertheless, the chances are that we may be unlucky enough to have a boss who drives his underlings a little crazy. For me, the hardest thing about having a boss is their apparent inability or unwillingness to admit they are human too & liable to be wrong occasionally - much the same reluctance as UK Government Ministers adhere to!

For some reason, hard-nosed brass-necked bosses seem to feel that if they own up to making a mistake, we, the employees, might consider their leadership as weak as shamrock tea. But, the late great Ali proved to himself & to the world, owning up to errors & mistakes, made him the strong & admired pugilist he eventually demonstrated to be.

So then we find ourselves doing what the Americans describe in their own New York slack-jawed fashion as ‘managing up’ - using all the social skills & workplace experience, trying to find a diplomatic way to explain to this arrogant self-opinionated boss who is making life a misery by dumping all his error-streaked pooh on our desk, that it's ok to be wrong now & again. The world will not come to an end there & then. Anyway, infallibility is a very restricted Godly enhancement.

Given that we all accept & generally respect each other's errors, I've always been fascinated by the terror that authority has of admitting mistakes. From a pretty early age, we realise that everyone blots their copybook; that the issue is not so much about whether we make a mistake, but rather how we deal with it followed by that much over-used expression - 'lessons have been learnt'. It's pretty basic stuff & yet world leaders aren't fond of saying ‘Oops, sorry!’

To be fair to politicians though, as I'm sure we always are, the media have made it almost impossible for some to admit they were wrong. By pursuing both the innocent & guilty with equal eager vigour, the exhausted journalists of rolling 24/7 TV news have to come up with stories, never-ending stories, rolling stories that generate other story strands, until it doesn't matter who said or did what to whom, whatever happened or why, because facts are the least important issue between each TV commercial break.

So in the context of cable newsrooms, it doesn't matter if somebody did or did not admit to making a mistake. All that matters is the story. The 'plebgate' incident in Downing Street a few years back is a good example of exploding headlines ignited by a silly fellow & his wobbly bicycle.

Finally & off topic, remember that indelible ink & poor spelling are a dangerous combination in any language. So, I promise to learn lessons from any mistake(s) I have made in this pathetic mishmash.

PS: Cassius Clay/Muhammad Ali - gone but not forgotten in this Millennium at least.

My Australian cousin will be here by 11.30 and is staying the night with us, and I'm really looking forward to seeing her.
Hope everything goes well today Jane. I'll be thinking of you. Good luck at the Dentist too Mel. I'd be having strong words with them if it were me, or even be considering going to another Practice. They seem to have let you down very badly.

Morning all

It's a bit cooler here now which is better for me as I don't like it to hot. I managed to get a big job done in the garden yesterday but it took me until after 11pm to finish so I didn't manage to get online.

It sounds like you only just made it back home with Thomas Jane, hope all goes well for his op today.

I'd like to see a pic of your garden Liz. I have some Lupins in our garden but they are only small, Sandra loves them even if she does have to go down the garden a bit to see them properly. She has had loads of strawberries this year. I grow them in pots in the greenhouse so the birds can't get to them before her, they are doing much better than last year, but then that's probably because it's been so much warmer. Our tomatoes are doing much better than last year too, so hopefully we'll get lots of them too.

I've lost my connection three times this morning so I'm going to post this now incase it happens again, be back later if I can <3

Gill you must be getting thoroughly fed up with that router of yours now.I hope it doesn't give up on you completely.

I reckon Thomas will probaly be under the knife now :-(..I shall get a call between 2 and 3 to let me know if I can go and pick him up and then take him to the Animal hospital .Well it is a vets really but they have staff at night to look after Operation cases that have to stay in. Fitz will come with me to collect Thomas and he can sit in the back with him.I can see I am going to have a right old time from tomorrow onwards.Just trying to give meds is going to be a nightmare,and I have to do some physio too :-S.He will have to get moving on his leg as soon as possible .I was thinking that maybe one of those cat harnesses might be an idea,so I can take him in the garden for excersise but without worrying about him disappearing on me. Whether that will work I have no idea,but it may be worth trying.

Mel I do hope you can finally get these teeth of yours sorted today.It must be so uncomfortable and maybe sore with them not fitting properly.

Liz.I hope you have a wonderful time with your Cousin from Oz.At least you have good weather for the visit :-D

I have got the big fan on beside me here as it is so muggy.Last night I had one on all night beside the bed.

David thank you for your email...I remember about your cat being mauled :-(.Glad to hear she recovered from that.Is she a house cat now as she is too scared to go out or does Ellen feel happier keeping her indoors?

I have to iron a few shirts now,and it will only be a few as it is too hot for ironing.

Afternoon All,

I bet you will find it hard to concentrate till you pick Thomas up Jane. That is a good idea about using a harness to help him take the weight off his hip as he uses his legs. In fact, in view of what's happened with Thomas, it would be a good idea for anyone with a cat to get it used to a harness, just in case.

Mel, what a game you have had with your teeth! I do hope they can get them right for you this time.

Gill, you were busy in the garden if you were still working away till 11.pm! I couldn't do that anymore.........I have to have regular rests when I do jobs now!
:-) Have you spoken to your provider yet? They should be able to get a new router to you quickly.

Liz, it will be great to see your cousin. I bet you will have lots to chat about!

I called at the bead place this morning and was there ages chatting away. The lady's hubby got me some nice cold lemon squash that went down nicely with some home made apple and sultana cake! In addition to some beads in colours I don't have, I also got some nice copper charms of sea shells and a seahorse to make a simple holiday bracelet with. I wish I'd got 2 more of the pointed seashells as I realise now that they would make lovely earrings.

I see the new Kate Humble prog starts tonight about rescue dogs that have been trained as helper dogs for people with disabilities. I must record it.

I called in one of the local nurseries earlier and bought another post like I have the tomatoes in. I also bought some mixed Snapdragons to plant around the gooseberry bush at the top of the garden. :-)

OH has gone to the first of 2 meetings now so I think I will sort out our mugs in the kitchen cupboard. I bought some new ones and now they won't all fit in there, but some are ready for the dustbin anyway.