For My Blogging Friends

A small taste of what has been happening around here in the last few weeks - not the usual sweetness and light...

1.   A major flea infestation, courtesy of our two great hunters, Bennie & Sparky.

Because I am super-sensitive to chemicals

and because I don't like to subject my pets to chemical drenches,

it has been a long, hard, battle.

Apparently, I am irresistible to the little blighters.

Fingers crossed, I think the problem has finally been sorted.

*   *   *

2.   During all of this 

my 92 year old aunt started to need more care and attention.

As she lives almost an hour away from us

each dash down to help her has taken a minimum of three hours

out of an already busy day.

Eventually, we persuaded her to have a home visit from the doctor.

She was prescribed antibiotics.

Failed to take them,

(spat them out into a tissue and hid them from her carers)

and suffered a fall as she was feeling so ill

due to an untreated infection.

Since then it has been chaos with her,

and for her.

We have had emergency calls, falls, paramedics,

extra nursing, 

more paramedics.

Finally, a hospital admission.

The news is not good, 

she has some serious problems.

Given her age, they are not likely to be treatable.

She is terrified of dying.

She is terrified of going into care.

She is my problem

as 

I am her next-of-kin.

*  *  *

3.  Bright spots in my life.

They have kept me sane.

Well, these are the first three.

Despite it all, we managed to fit in a couple of days visiting our youngest grandson.

It was wonderful.

*   *   *

Meanwhile, back at home, these two cheeky little tykes 

never fail to make us smile with their antics

and their love.

Two little grub-monsters, taking a break from gardening

and after a face-painting session.

*   *   *

4.   My beautiful cat, Bennie is lost.

We took Toby Too, Sparky and Bennie to a local cattery

so that we could spend two days with young Archer and his mum and dad.

I won't go into the details, but she was lost at the cattery.

We called and called, 

searched high and low.

She has been missing for a week now.

Sparky is distraught, 

and so am I.

Sparky is able to express those emotions which I am struggling to keep inside,
crying won't bring her back.

x

A Postcard from Shanghai and Notes from Home

Most of this is for Jonny and Ming Ming...snippets of family news and garden views.

The postcards arrived this afternoon, Ming Ming.

Both are wonderful, a lovely surprise - thank you very much.

This one is Davina's - isn't it absolutely beautiful?

Mine is a wonderful tiger, believed to be capable of warding off bad evils and ensuring safety and health.

Perfect!

The honeysuckle hedge is fabulous right now, I wish you could smell that heavenly scent.

Each year I have to do battle with two gardeners,

they would love to get rid of it,

I fight like a tiger to keep it!

The potato vine which I planted last year is looking very beautiful, 

simple white flowers which sparkle like little stars.

The vegetable and fruit gardens are doing really well,

I'll show you some photographs next time.

There should be plenty of vegetables for you to choose from

when you come home, Ming Ming.

Meanwhile ...

Sparky and Toby Too have become firm friends

and regularly snuggle up together.

Bennie prefers to sleep alone,

here she is on my work table after a night on the tiles.

This next photograph will interest you, Jonny.

Ta-da!

The new bit of wall and the gate have been completed.

TT is a little perplexed - he used to chase his ball along that part of the garden.

We put the latch on this side, thinking that it would be difficult for Francesca

to open it.. Ha!   She simply climbs on the lower support

 reaches over, unlatches it and swings in.

So much for privacy!

I have finished painting the bureau and a couple of small cupboards,

my next project is to redecorate the bathroom,

I just need to find the time and energy.

As we mentioned, your Auntie Nick is not at all well.

I went against her wishes today

and had the doctor pay her a home visit.

She should be in hospital, but refuses to go.

The best I can do is arrange some extra home care.

It seems inadequate.

End of life care is a disgrace.

Every time the telephone rings I brace myself for bad news.

Speak to you tomorrow.

xxxx

Invitation from Shanghai

The wedding party invitations have arrived

from Shanghai.

They were sent airmail,

but took so long to arrive that we began

to think they were on a

slow boat from
China.

Ming Ming and Jonathan chose them very carefully,

there is a lot of symbolism

and
beautiful detailing,
even wax and a special seal for the envelopes.

The happy couple were married on February 14th this year,

in Ming Ming's home district.

It was a very quiet affair.

No wedding dress,

no friends or relatives

no party.

They will be coming home during the summer

so we are throwing a party

for their friends

and
relatives we see all too rarely
these days.

It will be an opportunity for us to 

properly welcome the lovely Ming Ming into our family.

Can't wait.

x

Curls and the Horse

The bureau is looking quite different now, although there is still a lot of work to be done.   

To say that I am enjoying the process would be an understatement.

I was busy working on it this afternoon when this little girl came to visit.  

     Her hair is a riot of curls and always makes me think of the rhyme by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow...

"There was a little girl, 

Who had a little curl, 

Right in the middle of her forehead.   

When she was good

She was very, very good

But when she was bad she was horrid."

My lips are sealed as to whether or not this applies to Frankie.

She may be just two years old

but she is already horse-mad

(just like her Gran)

She adores this old chap,

Arnold, 

who lives just along the lane.

We filled our pockets with apples and carrots

and paid him a visit.

Although he can be a little rough with adults

he is a perfect gentleman 

whenever the children feed him.

His lips are soft and delicate

as he takes his treats.

Francesca was enchanted,

again.

    

We have been having internet connection problems (again)

which means that I have not been able to read blogs, answer comments, or write any posts.   

My computer whizz  assures me that the system is now working as it should.   

Time will tell.

x

Legacy from a Viking

Image borrowed from Blackpool Viking Dungeon

I have spent many hours sanding, cleaning and painting the bureau.    Unsurprisingly,  my thoughts have mostly been about the history of it.

I acquired it a few years ago, when I was instructed to get rid of both it, and all the contents.  My aunt was moving into a smaller home and had no need of a bureau, nor was she interested in the contents, she wanted them burnt.

I love it because it belonged to my late uncle.  

He had a hard start in life as his father died very young, leaving his widow with four children and no income.   My uncle had to leave school to earn money to buy food and clothing for his siblings.   His dreams of becoming a priest were just that.    Life was a struggle for them, but they managed.


The habit of frugality never left him, throughout his life the maximum 'pocket money' which he ever allowed himself each week was £5.00.    This bought his occasional pint of beer and enabled him to place some bets on the horses.    He was rather good at that and often won.   I hope he had fun with his winnings.

His other hobby was the game of darts.  He was extremely skilled and won lots of cups and trophies, unsurprisingly, he was on his local pub's team.    At some point, he and my aunt had a falling out over something.   The trophies disappeared and have never been recovered.   His ability to throw darts was also lost, but more of that later.

My uncle and aunt did not have any children of their own, but they were wonderfully generous and indulgent to my brothers and I.    He even helped my mother to nurse me through a bad dose of pneumonia, when I was just 6 weeks old...of course I don't remember that.

Somehow they never quite got the knack of turning a house into a home, perhaps that was why they enjoyed spending so much time at our place.

Uncle John and my mother would cook up a storm of wonderful food while my aunt was pretty good at washing the salad, though she left the tricky bit of slicing and arranging it to someone else!

I digress.   Inside the bureau was a medium-sized cardboard box.   My heart gave an extra beat of excitement as I lifted the lid, for inside were many dozens of letters written by my parents and myself, to my aunt and uncle.    They dated from the early 1960's, when we were living in Hong Kong and then move on to the years we spent in the Western Isles.  

Treasure within treasure.  These old letters, especially the ones with my parents thoughts and their, oh so familiar, handwriting are very special to me.

The dresser I told you about in my previous post is now finished,
and you can catch just a glimpse of the bureau over on the right,
it is about to undergo the next phase of painting...birds, flowers, etc.

So, this once dull piece of furniture (to the right of the photograph)  is now standing proudly in my kitchen.    I think it looks quite Scandinavian in that light grey colour.      The dresser has been completed, the doors and drawers are back in place and I'm pleased with it.

You may be wondering where the Viking bit comes in, well my uncle suffered from clawing of the hands in his later years.  Dupuytren's contracture.  It is believed that this spread through Europe in the wake of Viking invasions and settlements.  The hand deformity meant the end to his darts playing.

Funny to think that my darling uncle, so like a miniature James Bond (being dark and handsome in his younger years)  probably had Viking blood running through  his veins.

Getting Exotic in the Kitchen

Recently our daughter painted an old dresser and suddenly George understood why I had so long wanted to paint our kitchen dresser.   It's nothing special, just an item of furniture which I bought, with my own hard-earned money  just a few months after we married, almost 40 years ago.   In fact I bought two, but I'm not planning on painting the larger one, I like it exactly the way it is.

This is a photograph of the kitchen as it used to be, things have been changed around a little since then, but you can see the dresser on the right.   The nicest thing about it is the leaded glass doors.

Here it is now - still waiting to have the doors and drawers returned, but you get the idea.   I love that gentle splash of colour, it really lifts that corner of the kitchen.      Staying in the kitchen, but just the other side of the doorway, is an old bureau.

It is very plain, ugly, but oh so useful.   George hates it, would happily chop it up for firewood!

It calls to me - I can hear it begging me to paint it.   How can I refuse?   I know exactly what I shall do with it - a few coats of a soft blue/grey/greenish colour for the whole thing, and then the fun can begin.

I am going to indulge myself, do something I have wanted to do for a long time.

Beautiful wallpaper by Gracie Studio for Aerin Laude

I love this Chinoiserie-style, so as soon as I have the basic painting done I'm going to indulge myself and paint all over it with birds and flowers - I'm quite excited about it.

The funny thing is that a few months ago, when I was sorting through my craft cupboard, I almost decided to throw away all my paints, I honestly couldn't imagine myself ever picking up a paintbrush again.

A Milk-White Steed

One slightly misty, moisty morning we spotted
 a unicorn.

image borrowed from sodahead.com

As soon as he saw us he trotted off,
 disappeared into the mist.
I recall posting about it on my old blog
Pear Tree Log
but for some reason I'm unable to find the post.
Spooky!

Ever since that day we have kept a sharp look out for him
for he lives only five minutes drive from here,
not far from where my header
photograph was taken.

We have caught brief glimpses of him on several occasions.
Unfortunately, as soon as I reach for my camera
he turns tail and disappears
at a rate of knots.

Yesterday we saw him quite clearly.
He lifted his head and stared at us
for a long moment
then continued to graze,
 quite unconcerned.

I'm fairly sure he smirked
for
I had forgotten my camera.

x