Marching On

Cheery

This post will be cheery. I've been miserable for too long.

Well, I am still miserable, but if I think cheery thoughts, maybe I will become cheery.

So without further ado, I bring you.....the cheeriness.

1. My birthday present arrived from my parents today. A little early, but 9 whole hours of River Cottage is just what a miserable Mouse needs. That and brownies, and they are in the oven.

2. My cycle has returned to normal. At last.

3. Our newest addition, Ozzy, will be coming home on Saturday. He has had a lot of teeth removed, and is recovering nicely from surgery.

4. Lila is doing well, and is biting a little less. The Boy's class have requested I take her in one afternoon so they can all see her, and I'll take any opportunity to educate kids about good animal care!

5. I have planted all my seeds for a bumper crop. We have:

• carrots;
• potatoes (pink fir apple and maris piper);
• broccoli;
• cabbage;
• cucumber;
• lettuce;
• garlic;
• onions;
• spring onions;
• peas;
• french beans;
• runner beans;
• tomatoes (two kinds);
• peppers;
• leeks;
• courgettes;
• artichokes;
• strawberries;
• gooseberries;
• raspberries;
• chives;
• chillies; and
• a million different herbs.

My orange and lemon trees are doing better now that Charlie has stopped using them as a temporary litter tray. The olives are good too.

6. I have sorted out some easy work for next week. It is half term for the Boy, Valentine's day (14th), Charlie's adoptaversary (15th), my birthday (16th), and the Baron's birthday (18th). So I need an easy week!

7. We only have one more extortionate council tax bill to pay (they forgot to charge us for the first three months we lived here, so we have been paying double to catch up) and one more career development loan payment to make. Then we shall have some more money. Nice!

8. We now have a Boba Fett water feature along side Dart Vader. The fish seem unimpressed.

I think that is enough cheeriness for one evening. I wouldn't want to overdo it!

Extremely close call

The Baron was knocked down by a speeding fork lift truck at work at lunchtime yesterday.

He was thrown a good fifteen feet through the air when it hit him (at about thirty miles an hour) and landed on his side, by the side of the truck where it finally had come to a stop.

He was knocked out on impact.

When he finally came to, he was taken, not to hospital as one might expect, but up to the first aid room to sign various pieces of paperwork. After an hour and a half they finally took him to hospital, which is where I was called from.

After lots of tests, X-rays and observation he was released late night. He has whiplash, scrapes from the forks, mild concussion, and severe bruising around his bones on the right side (which took the impact). He is understandably very sore, and is having a lot of trouble getting around.

He has been signed off indefinitely to heal. The leniency (trust me, this is leniency as opposed to common decency) comes from the fact it was the worst accident to date at the warehouse (and was also witnessed by a large number of staff) and that the driver of the fork lift truck was on his final warning for speeding.

Guess what he is most pissed off about?

The fact he has nary a scrape on his body! There are a couple of scrapes on his back, and that is it.

The doctor said that he must be made of steel to have walked away with so few injuries. It's true. He's never broken a bone in his body, so why start now when you get knocked over?

Very scary few hours.

Apologies for the drama. I wasn't given any information over the phone other than the name of the hospital and the fact that he had been knocked down, and of course I immediately assumed the worst.

The Baron at Buckingham Palace

The Baron at Buckingham Palace.

Unresolved

Firstly, I would like to say that I am pissed as a fart again. I just met up with some old school friends, who I haven't seen in eight years, and we had a really good time. We are going to meet up for a meal next week.

Naturally, one is pregnant (as is every single female I know of my age in real life barring my sister). So now I know two unpregnant women.

I feel so much better. End sarcasm.

The Baron is still somewhat shag-shy now that I am contraception free. Obviously, this isn't an area that he can be tricked into/forced into, but it deeply pisses me off. He has a slightly long record of saying things and then not following through (usually out of laziness) so this wasn't unexpected. I confess to be disappointed.

But I will ride it out.

Cecily kindly answered my question on declawing cats and animal rights.

I admit that I don't understand it and I don't think I will. It is partly cultural, as in we just don't do it here in the UK. Cats come with claws and that is just how it goes.

I'm not sure I would have it any other way. Apart from the fact I feel it is mutiliation, my cats just wouldn't be the same without their claws. My breasts would, since they like bare flesh, but with a toss up between intact skin and feeling their happy feet waking me up in the morning, I know what I would choose every time.

I do believe that if you want intact furniture to the point you would remove the top joint of a creatures toes, then you have no business owning said pet. That is my opinion. Of course, it doesn't necessarily make these people bad owners at all, but I simply disagree with their actions.

I would rather see cats declawed than put down for lack of a home. I really would, and I speak as someone with three rescue cats. But I stil believe that at the end of the day that cats deserve their claws.

And I am off to bed to sleep off an obscene number of double Bacardi's and Coke. Work tomorrow. Good night.

My plan

First things first.

Puppy! Meeting Lila was great. All the puppies were full of mischief and spent the visit trying to eat my jumper. They all look like little bears and I can't wait to bring her home. The cats probably could wait a lifetime for that.

Back to my Plan.

I go back to work tomorrow. I took some extra holiday so that I could get things done around the house after the holidays. My Plan was:

Paint the spare room - done.

Clean the house (top to bottom) - done.

Get up to date with the washing and keep it that way - done.

Make a list of all the food/bathroom/household supplies we have - done.

Sort out our filing system (monster task) - done.

Sort out a music practice schedule - done and started.

Create an exercise schedule - done but not started. Still getting rid of this cold.

Note down all of my books - done. That took forever!

Sort out my freezer - done.

Deal with all my work files - done.

Sort out my home office supplies - done. And I hoard this stuff so there was a lot.

Clear my To Do file of paperwork - all bills paid. The Baron's speeding ticket dealt with.

Register the cat's micro-chips - finally done. Thankfully I didn't lose any.

Set up my 2005 calendar - done.

Spend some time with the Boy - done lots of that.

Tidy and re-organise the cupboard under the stairs.

Watch Jerry Springer - the Opera - done. It was v funny, and I have some great new insults.

I suspect going back to work will be a nice rest.

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas!!!!

I have my hat on, the presents are opened (the Baron's parents gave him nose hair trimmers!) and the turkey is cooked.

Nothing else is, but never mind.

It is five minutes to the Queen's speech

My parents are here, and I am as pissed as a fucking fart.

So Merry Christmas!!!!!

The Boy

The Boy was in one of his sweet moods this evening. He cuddled up to me to read his school book, and stayed there to watch the Simpsons.

Every so often he would pat my hand and tell me that he loved me very much.

I love my little nephew.

One year old!

Happy Blogversary to me!

One year old today.

Peace and Quiet

Harvey is prowling around upstairs in my bedroom. I can hear him knocking my candlesticks around. He is happy.

Frankie is fast asleep on my giant stuffed rottweiler. I hope that is a good omen for the new puppy.

Ellie is in the conservatory watching the goldfish outside. I light the pond for her every night, she likes it that much. She sits on the cat tree and talks to them.

Charlie is glaring at me. He hates my laptop, as he feels my lap is for him and him alone.

Willow is eating. If she isn't eating, she is sleeping. She is an easy cat.

Hollie is currently hiding in the mechanism of the chairbed. She likes the foam.

The Baron is working late.

It is quiet.

There are no street lights at all in our village, and as a result it is dark. We have been using our telescope most evenings since we moved here. I have no idea what I am looking at, but it is fun. I've seen lots of shooting stars this evening. I am going to join the library and get some books out on astronomy.

I have my vegetable garden all planned out. My herbs are starting in the kitchen, my lemons and peppers in the conservatory. My orange tree is ordered and on its way, and I am expecting my lime tree to follow very shortly. The Baron doesn't know yet - it is a surprise for our anniversary tomorrow.

We plan to start the garden this weekend. There is so much to clear up and get rid of, before we can start preparing the beds. We have been looking forward to having a garden for so long, and now we can start work on the garden we have talked about for so long.

I love this quiet time in the evenings. It feels so much relaxing in this house - almost as though the extra room in the house is giving me extra room to think. I can play my instruments whenever I want without disturbing anyone else. I finally have my piano back after nearly five years. I'm not as good as I used to be though.

I have just ordered some rare breed meat from an online farm shop. I am planning a huge roast dinner at the weekend to thank my family for all the help they have given with this move. I also got some traditional bacon from the same rare breed. I am looking forward to my Sunday bacon sandwich in bed now!

I now have room for all of my books. I have several thousand books, some of which I haven't seen in nearly five years. I had to store them in the loft of my parents house. I love to sit and read in the conservatory, with a cup of tea and a cat. It is so nice.

Hope everyone else is having as nice an evening as I am having. Peace and quiet to you all!

Nearly there

We've nearly finished the packing. The house is empty, yet filled to bursting with boxes. Five days to go.

The cats are in feline heaven - they think we have spent all this time crafting a playground for them. Every open box houses a cat. Every box bears the scar of a cat attack, be it teeth or claws.

Keeps them amused.