One of my cats

Sometimes called Gussy goo, also Buss puss, my littlest cat has many nicknames varying depending on my mood. She’s a sweet little cat and likes sticking her claws in my leg. She often gets through to the skin so I have to fend her off. She loves to nuzzle me for a few minutes but doesn’t stay for long. She was a rescue cat, one of about 20 that lived with an old lady, so I don’t think she got much attention and so she’s not that bothered to being fussed. She will sleep on the bed with me but usually gets off again after 20 minutes.

Like all my cats she’s black and white with piercing golden green eyes. A resl character.

I try yoga breathing

How do you relax?

I can’t do this pose!

I’ve been shown how to do box breathing. You sit upright and close your eyes. Breath deeply into your belly…

Basically breathe in for a count of four

Hold your breath for four

Breathe out for four.

Hold your breath for four.

There are other more complex methods of yogic breathing, including alternative nostril breathing. But this technique is easy to follow.

You can carry on doing box breathing till you feel relaxed.

Parking problems.

I live on a steep street with limited parking outside terraced houses. The parking spaces are for residents only or their visitors. As long as you have a pass you should be OK.

Today started OK, I went out for a couple of hours then came back. I was able to park outside my house. I don’t have a disabled bay because I think you have to pay extra for it? Anyway, then I went to the doctors and then the pharmacy. Off to get some shopping from the supermarket because my fridge was empty. Fine..

But when I got home all the spare spaces were taken. I had to park 50 yards up the hill and carry the shopping and medication down, but I managed.

I decided to see if a space became available later. Yes! I walked up the hill, it was getting dark and I drove up and round a roundabout then back down. But I was followed down the hill by another car, it’s headlights dazzling me. As I got near to the space I realised it was too small. So I drove back up to the space I had been in all afternoon. But I know they would need their space, so I knocked on my neighbours door and asked them to move their car a yard or two so I could fit?

By then I was tired and grouchy. But I went up and down the hill again only to see someone else had slotted in the space! But there, lower down, was a smaller parking place?

I decided to try and park up, but I was on the wrong side of the road, driving into oncoming traffic, so round the corner, round the other roundabout. As I was coming back to my street I saw a friend. She helped me by seeing me back into the tiny space. Well sort of. I’m about two feet away from the pavement and my wing mirror is likely to be knocked off.

If one of the cars moves I’ll try and get a better position.

What fun!

Long day

My upstairs stairs window.

My life had been quiet during the last few weeks. Long boring days, my ivy has been growing and I can trace it’s growth in my memory, almost like watching paint dry. I need to get someone in to help.

My brain was frazzled by the heat and now it’s getting cold I’m more interested in keeping warm and cozy. The cats keep me company, either on my lap or on the bed. The last three days have been worse, the skin on my legs is sore and I’m starting a course of antibiotics tomorrow. I think I have a temperature. I’ve been too stationary with not being able to drive so I think I need bucking up a bit. I’ll try and do a bit of walking tomorrow. Fingers crossed I’ll feel more myself soon. X

The church on the hill

Up there on the hill, a sandstone church, dedicated to Saint Thomas.

I was going to enter this photo into our community calendar competition but I’m too late. I couldn’t drive up and take the photo until today so I missed the closing date. I just like the angles and planes of it’s architecture, I have forgotten the name of its designer.

The hill is called Penkhull which means hill Hill. So you could call it hill Hill hill!

I’m admiring the blue sky, I couldn’t see this colour until recently. I’m still amazed at how much my colour vision has been out of whack until I had my surgery. X

Old films

What brings a tear of joy to your eye?

Not Harvey

I haven’t seen it for years, but the film Harvey, starring the inimitable James Stewart makes me so happy. No one else could have played Elwood P Dowd, a rich eccentric who has a puca or celtic spirit in the form of an invisible 6ft 3 and 1/2 in white rabbit walking around with him. Elwood introduces the puca to friends and acquaintances at bars and parties, socialising with them and having a whale of a time.

It’s hard to explain what happens as it’s a complex story. Suffice to say Elwood’s sister and neice get involved when Elwood and Harvey spoil his  nieces wedding party. They plot to get him (Elwood) put into a Sanatorium because they think he’s mad. But Elwood is released when his sister admits to occasionally seeing Harvey too! Plot twists ensue and silly things happen. But it all works out OK… Wikipedia has a good explanation of the story. Look up Harvey (1950’s film) there to get a full explanation.

Spelling…

My friend Esther Chiltons weekly limerick prompt this week was to use the word SPELL somewhere in the five line rhyme. I was rather pleased with what I came up with so here it is…

The witch of the wood cast a spell
But no one could easily tell
For she’d been mistaken
Used the wrong incantation
And turned her broom into a well!

I don’t know

Why do you blog?

I seem to have a lot to say, opinions, thoughts. I’ve recently joined a local writers group. I guess I think my words are worth reading? But that’s just my opinion. I may be boring, I might be showing off.

I have suffered imposter syndrome in the past when I was working. I think blogging helps me feel a little bit validated. Having somewhere to share my thoughts and ideas, to share my art. Something to be remembered by. So that I have an existence outside of these four walls.

I recently looked for family details on the Internet. I am mentioned lots of times because I use lots of social media. But the family? Not much detail. Because their lives were mainly pre Internet…

I still keep on blogging..