Cats

As friends and regular readers will know we lost our beautiful little cat Rookie to cancer back in the summer. She was 19 so had a long life full of love and happiness. We wanted to wait a while until we thought about getting another cat, especially as we were getting married in the autumn

and going on honeymoon.

When we got back from our honeymoon in early December I got in touch with a local cat rehoming and adoption charity called RATS The lady from RATS came out to vet us in our home, always stressful even though I know we have a lovely home in a very quiet location. Anyway, she said we could adopt a cat from them but they weren't taking many cats on over the Christmas period so their fosterer could have a break. We'd need to wait until the New Year.

Then on Tuesday night we got a phone call from Stuart, Jason's brother to say he had two lovely tabby cats who needed a home would we be interested? Yes of course we said!

So pictured left are the 2 gorgeous tabbies which Stuart and Vicky brought round for us on Wednesday. The picture was taken on Wednesday when the cats had not been here too long. Once we let them out of the kitchen to explore the downstairs and upstairs hallways they decided that they liked the look of the top of our stairs where the hall turns down to the bathroom!

They are brother and sister and under 2.

They were originally Vicky's brother's cats but he needed to re-home them due to family circumstances. We are just so pleased that we are able to give them both a good home!

Jason has had his heart set on finding a beautiful sleek cat and then giving him the ironic name of Lumpy (I can't say I was keen on this name one bit!) The lovely larger male tabby certainly fits the bill being handsome and sleek so he is now Lumpy. (I sometimes call him Lord Humphrey Lumpyton; he's very distinguished looking as you'll see from the photo of him below, stretched out on the end of the bed!)

He is the braver of the two cats and loves exploring and climbing on things, he also loves watching out of the windows.

He really looks after his little sister though, even

licking her face sometimes :-) On the first day they curled up together in front of the bathroom door for the afternoon and had a well earned nap as you can see above!

Lumpy's little sister was harder for me to name. I really wanted her to have an unusual name which summed her up. After two days of wracking my brain and rejecting "Estella" (It would only work if Lumpy was called Pip) I decided to call her Kasumi which is Japanese for misty or hazy.

As you can see from this picture Kasumi is a misty colour and certainly can appear and disappear as quickly as sea mist!

Although she is slightly more timid at the moment than her brother she still loves exploring and in the evening will appear on the rug in the living room to play with her catnip toys. She loves stalking the mouse and then pouncing on him and throwing him about in the air. She also loves being stoked and having her tummy rubbed, though she'll grab your hand and hold on to it fast if you let her.

Today we opened up our smallest spare room for them to explore (we're just introducing to them to new rooms very slowly so they don't get overwhelmed.) It's my laundry room usually so has a clothes horse in it which they both enjoyed exploring. Lumpy likes the wide window sill - which he can spread out in and watch the garden from.

Lumpy is already King of the living room, rolling on the rug or guarding the french doors as you can see in the picture here. Both cats are really loving and although they are still getting used to

us and the new house they want lots of cuddles and fuss. I can tell that they are gong to provide us with endless fun and affection and I feel privileged to share our home with two such beautiful and loving animals.

Not blogging for a while

Sorry for not having blogged for a while. It's not as if I don't have a lot to blog about. There was the last week of our honeymoon in Miami and then our wedding celebration with family once we got back. Unfortunately I've not been feeling very well over the last 2 weeks.

My left eye, the one operated on twice this year, flared up again both red and painful. My consultant saw it and put me back on the steroid eye drops. But the real problem is depression. To be honest I've stopped looking for reasons why my depression and anxiety flare up. I know that the last time we got home from a  big holiday I was very unwell. In fact it was that bout of anxiety and depression which caused me to finally seek proper help, which in turn lead me to change my life style. I started working part time, I then started up my own business so I'd have control over my work and we moved house out of London to somewhere quieter.

I certainly don't regret those changes I had to make the changes. But now my anxiety and depression seem to be focussed on the fact that I don't have any structure to my life, that I'm working from home most of the time and not interacting with others. I feel isolated not having a car and living outside of London with out a car is difficult for me. Many of the places I'd like to visit around here can't be accessed by public transport and those that can the public transport stops running at 5PM! I think having a car and Jason being able to drive me around to places at the weekend has really made me realise how different things would be for me if I could drive. Something up until now I have never been bothered about. In London you're better off with out a car!

But I don't want to moan and make my blog an unhappy place. I've been very open on the blog about my mental health so I thought it was only right that I explained that the reason I've not been blogging lately is because I am feeling anxious and depressed again. I'll just have to ride this one out for a while I think. I'm seeing my CBT nurse on the 9th January.

Alligators and Thanksgiving

Earlier in the week we went on a trip to the Everglades to see alligators and a boat trip around Miami. We were driven about all day in a little mini bus.

We went on a airboat trip around the Everglades and saw a few alligators including babies out in the river. (The Everglades aren't a swamp as such but a series of rivers apparently) the airboat went quite fast in places and I was a bit scared.

We then saw an animal show, which basically involved a bloke showing us a scorpion, toad, lizard & alligator. I've got more photos on my actual camera but I can't upload those until I get home. Below there should be a photo of a baby alligator. For lunch I had the alligator tail platter. It was like KFC but more chewy. Yep like just about every kind of unusual meat, alligator tastes a bit like chicken!

We were then driven back to Miami to go on our boat trip. The boat took us to see various islands including Fisher and Star island. It was mainly to see the homes of the rich and famous. Jase took lots of pics which I'll link to when we get home. But below is a photo I took of Miami Beach Marina.

When we got back to the hotel we had champagne and chocolate strawberries waiting for us in our room as a honeymoon gift from the hotel.

The next day I unfortunately got food poisoning, probably from the raw eggs in a chocolate mousse I had at a steak restaurant. So spent 24 hours in a lot of pain and unable to eat. The first meal I ate was Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday evening at the hotel. I couldn't eat a great deal but managed to enjoy the Thanksgiving fare especially the mac and cheese. We then watched Charlie Brown, a Thanksgiving TV tradition.

On Black Friday, we went to Macy's shopping. Black Friday is like the US version of our January sales. Anyway Macy's on South Beach wasn't busy and I picked up a few bargains, a red handbag, purple purse, and two pairs of jeans for less than £60!

I still wasn't feeling 100% until today when we went to the News cafe and I managed to eat a lasagne and share a slice of Key Lime Pie with Jase.

Sunset walk

We've had a few lazy days over the weekend and today. We spent Saturday on the hotel's beach. We had sun loungers and umbrella plus waiter service which meant I got to eat a huge hotdog on the beach. We have done a lot of walking around South Beach most days.

Our hotel is hosting the annual NASCAR awards ceremony tonight after this weekends NASCAR final in Miami. I've probably been sitting next to NASCAR drivers maybe even this year's champion but I wouldn't know it! This morning there were NASCAR cars parked out the front of our hotel along with a big broadcast truck.

This evening I went for a walk at sunset through Lumus Park and took the photos below of the view to our hotel, the beach and Ocean Drive.

Tomorrow we're off to the Everglades and a Miami boat trip.

Miami

We arrived safely in Miami 2 days ago. We had a marvellous flight out. The Concord Lounge at Heathrow was very fabulous - waitress service & lovely food. We saw Elvis Costello in the lounge too.

First class on the plane was wonderful the food exceptionally good. I changed into my BA pjs and watched the Rise of the Planet of the Apes.

We arrived in Miami early and had a smooth journey through immigration. The hotel is fantastic. Our room has a private balcony With chairs and table. We overlook the pool and beach. Below are some photos of the beach and views from our room.

My first thought and experiences of Miami Beach and the USA are:

Everything comes with cheese
I saw a fire hydrant shooting gallons of water into a street, just like in a cartoon or US comedy!
The TV is hilarious totally unintentionally - my favourite advert is for "Forever Lazy" a fleece romper suit for adults. The ad says it has "front and back flaps for your convenience!"
Everyone says "You're Welcome" automatically which my niece Lucia would approve of as she always says that too!
I've been in a "yellow taxi."
I've never seen so much art deco in my life - I love art deco so I'm in art deco heaven!
I've eaten a twinkie bought from a drug store and proper American burger from a place called 5 napkin burger (unlike other burgers you need more than one napkin if you eat a burger from 5 napkin - that's right you need 5 napkins!)

After gorgeous weather yesterday we've had rain and wind today. I made the most of the bad weather and booked into the spa for a massage, which was great really relaxing!

Tomorrow the weather is set to improve so it's back to sunshine.

America

I'm writing this while on the plane flying out to Miami so won't upload it until I'm there. I've been very excited about going to Miami. I've been listening to salsa & Latin music to get me in the mood. I've been planning what I'm going to wear on the beach & when people watching. I even got in the mood by drinking mojitos.

What only struck me a day or so ago is that this is my first trip to America, well to the USA part of North America. I decided to make myself a playlist of my favourite US music which has stirred up some interesting feelings and thoughts. The playlist contains 70 songs all guitar based & mostly alternative rock or country / blues. There are reoccurring themes within the songs of motorbikes, travel, oppressive small towns, cowboys, drinking beer and the American Dream. Bob Dylan has the honour of having the most songs on the list. 2 featuring him, one cover (Hendrix's All along the watchtower) and a song by his son (one head lamp.)

Listening to the songs has made me think about what it means to be visiting America? American culture is hard to escape anywhere in the world but in Britain it's almost second nature. I grew up watching Sesame Street and the muppets as well as Scooby Doo and the Flintstones. American music was and is everywhere, as are American films and TV programmes. I even studied American Cinematography at University, my favourite term was the one devoted to the Western. I didn't study British Cinematography the next year. I love British cinema, I wanted it to stay that way so chose not to study it.

I have a Pop culture view of America, formed by the X Files, Buffy, Twin Peaks, The Simpsons, sitcoms like Roseanne, cowboy films and Stephen King novels. I know the reality will be far more prosaic but I can't wait to eat fruit pie in a diner. I'll be disappointed if the waitress isn't called something suitable like Darlene!

I want everything to be bigger, louder, quirkier and more colourful than in the UK. I'm expecting a country of extremes, a marmite place full of things I love or hate. I'm hoping for more of the love though! I think visiting Miami will be an interesting glimpse of America, one watered down by the Latin and European influence. The perfect appetiser for my one day longed for road trip along the west coast and into cowboy country!

Wedding bells

Jason and I got married on Friday! We had a wonderful day. Even though we had a very small wedding it was a long day. I was at the hairdressers by 8:15. My hairdresser did a fantastic job, even sweeping my hair back in a "Victory roll" which looked great!

I was 5 minutes late to the register office but that seems to be a given for the bride. After the 2 minutes silence our wedding kicked off. It was a lovely ceremony though I did get the giggles when saying my vows.

We then went to the Black Horse pub to have a wonderful meal. Below is a picture of my desert both Jason's and my desert had congratulations written in chocolate on it.

We'll be off on honeymoon to Miami soon but for the first few days of married life I'll be on holiday just relaxing.

I can't quite get over how generous and kind our friends and family have been since we got married. We've had such thoughtful messages, cards & presents.

My wedding day was so magical I cant wait to get all our family together in December and celebrate again!

Below are some photos from our "big day"

Something more happy - wedding plans and Christmas

Not wanting my blog to be mired in doom and gloom and my general moaning. I thought I'd write a bit about my forth coming wedding and Christmas.

Usually I'm moaning about the shops being full of Christmas produce at this time of year but not this year. Not when I worked out that 3 out of the next 8 weeks to Christmas I'm not going to be available for Christmas preparations! This is because of my wedding and honeymoon!

Wedding
Jason and I are getting married on 11/11/2011 yes at 11 O'Clock. We couldn't resist the date :-) We are having a very small wedding with just our witnesses and their partners at the actual wedding. After the short ceremony we are going to have a nice meal at a local gastro-pub type place. Although our wedding is going to be small I have made sure that a few traditions are kept to:

• I've ordered a lovely, very natural bouquet of flowers
• I have a lovely dress, not too formal but special enough for me :-)
• I am going to have my hair and make up done on the morning 
• And I have made sure I'll have something old, something new, something borrowed and something blue.

A few days later we are going on honeymoon to Miami for 2 weeks. We'll be in Miami for Thanksgiving which I am really looking forward to. 

It's when we get back from Miami that we are going to get our families together to have small celebration at a local hotel / pub. So I get to wear my wedding dress twice! It means that the next 6 weeks are going to be taken up with wedding stuff and honeymoon. If you include my hen do last weekend my celebrations are spanning over 2 months! 

The down side is that Christmas will be almost upon us when we have our wedding celebration in December! So it won't leave me much time to prepare!

Christmas

So I've been very organised. I've booked my Ocado delivery slot for Christmas :-) I'm making my famous boozy mincemeat this weekend. It's famous to me anyway and it is boozy with both cider and brandy in it! With us getting close to Christmas I thought I'd just remind you of my cherry bun recipe. This cherry bun recipe entry is by a long shot the most popular page on my blog! So if you want to try them for Christmas here's the link back to December 2009.

Disappointment

I don't deal with disappointment well, in fact I deal with it about as badly as I deal with needing to be patient about something. So when I'm impatient for something and then let down I don't cope very well at all.

Eye problems
As you'll know I've had two lots of eye surgery this year. The surgery was to correct a problem which was similar to a cataract. Basically bits of the old cataract I had as a baby which wasn't completely  removed back then had moved into my line of vision and gradually over the last 10 years my vision had got steadily worse. You'll also know that the first op went wrong and I ended up losing most of my sight temporarily in my left eye. But the second op back in July corrected it.

It left me needing a new prescription for my glasses and my contact lenses. Moorfields being a very busy and successful hospital I had to wait 6 weeks for a optometry appointment for new glasses and 10 weeks for my contact lens appointment (and I was lucky to get that so soon!) But you know I was prepared to be patient and wait.

Optometry
Well 5 weeks ago I had my appointment to get my eyes tested for new glasses. My prescription has changed considerably - but I could tell them that. My vision with out any correction from glasses and contact lenses is very different to what it used to be. Not better if anything worse. Wearing my old glasses and contact lenses my close to vision was a lot better than before the op. I can read news paper print again  something I've not been able to do for many years. But my distance vision was terrible. So I knew my sight could be corrected with glasses and lenses but just that my old prescription was clearly wrong now.

This was proved by the optometrist who said that the magnification of my left lens in my glasses had reduced from a +15 to a +11 but most surprisingly my astigmatism had moved from something like +9 to +1. I don't really understand what this means but I think it has something to do with where you focus. I don't have a lens to help me focus or change focus as my lens was removed with the cataracts when I was a baby.

So my glasses were ordered, unlike the last time I ordered glasses I had extremely limited choices to what frames or type of lens I had. Also there seemed to be an issue with having a particularly powerful bifocal. I was told it could take 3 weeks to get my glasses. I wasn't happy with the idea of waiting that long but what can you do? When 3 weeks had come and there was no sign of the glasses I called the hospital. I was told the lenses were still being made by the manufacturers, and not much more.

I was at Moorfields last week getting my contact lenses sorted out so I popped down to optometry to find out what was happening with my glasses and was told that the manfacturer had been called and they had assured them that my lenses would be sent to Moorfields early this week and so I'd get them by today. They didn't show up.

After trying for 2 hours to speak to someone at Moorfields I was finally told they were at the hospital, so I said I'd come and collect them rather than wait for them to be posted out. I was then told that they had already been posted to me yesterday. OK I thought they should get here on Saturday. I was then contacted to be told that a mistake had been made and my glasses were not at Moorfields and the lenses still hadn't arrived from the manufacturers. As the manager wasn't there today I was told I'd have to wait until Monday to get the situation sorted out.

It'll be 5 weeks next week since they were ordered and it will be 5 months since I last had a pair of glasses which I could see out of! I am not happy.

Some good news though
I did get my new contact lens today, it took 5 days to get here! Now why can't Moorfields spectacles department be as efficient as the contact lens one!

So I very excitedly put my new lens in. It was wonderful at first. I looked out across the fields and could see so much more clearly than I've been able to for the last 5 months. Could I see better than before the op? Well its hard to tell as it was 5 months ago and the main issues I had before the op were around very specific situations like reading small print, seeing in the dark and navigating steps etc. I think that for the navigating steps these new lenses will be great. I'll be able to tell more about the distance vision when I go to London and see if I can read the train departure boards and signage on the underground. I suspect things will be sharper, but its not going to mean I can see more but what I can see will be sharper and clearer. I'm always going to be partially sighted nothing is going to change that.

Reading glasses
But seeing close to when wearing my contact lenses seems to have changed considerably. I've always supposed to have worn reading glasses when wearing my contact lenses. The old prescription was +4s. At school I used to love having fancy frames for my reading glasses because I can't with my normal glasses. But over the past 10 years I found the reading glasses didn't make that much of a difference. Probably because of the changed to my vision. Now I certainly need to wear reading glasses if I want to be able to read anything close to or in less than 14 point font. I found going round the supermarket without reading glasses today a nightmare!

But I'll get some reading glasses sorted out and hopefully I can get some prescription sunglasses as well before we go on honeymoon so I can read on the beach. Never been able to do that before!

Confused
How my eye sight has changed has confused me a lot. It isn't how I expected it to change and I still don't really know what it will be like, not until I get my glasses. Although my contact lenses give me better all round vision my glasses give me my best vision distance and close to. It is so frustration that it is taking so long for the hospital to sort them out.

The last straw
Any way today having to deal with Moorfields about my glasses and the mixed information I was getting from them and getting used to my new vision with the contact lenses has left me feeling rather fraught, confused, impatient, and disappointed. Its as if I could put up with all the problems with my vision earlier this year and the two lots of surgery and all the time I've had to cope with limited vision knowing it could be corrected. I coped with all of that but now at the last hurdle I've just said NOOOOOOOOO I can't do this any more!!!!! I've been in a right state all afternoon. I'm sure my blood pressure must be through the roof.

I thought that blogging about it would probably help get it off my chest!

So the positive side is I have new contact lenses which enable me to cross roads with out fearing for my life - the first time in 5 months I've been able to feel confident crossing the road! It also means I'll get to buy some cool, trendy reading glasses. But I'm going to have to get used to not being able to just do with my contact lenses like I used to. I may have to resort to little half moon glasses to peer over like a Victorian spinster :-) So I can work at the computer and be able to read with out taking my glasses on and off! Little half moon glasses will probably suit me, in a saucy librarian kind of way or I'll just look like Mrs Tiggywinkle instead ;-)

Hen weekend

Hen weekend, a set on Flickr.

I had the most wonderful hen weekend in Brighton; great company, fab food, loads of fun, karaoke, zombies, mojitos, sea, sun and shopping. I'll blog about it all properly later but you can go to flickr to see some of the photos from the weekend.

The Owl Killers review

The Owl Killers by Karen Maitland
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read the company of liars by Karen Maitland earlier in the summer and found it very haunting. I was really looking forward to reading the Owl Killers and I wasn't disappointed. The novel is set in the 14th century like company of liars and draws on some similar themes. The harshness of medieval life is illustrated in all it's gory detail yet Karen Maitland also shows a real human and humanitarian side to her characters which doesn't feel out of place.

The owl killers focuses on belief and power as the church clashes with paganism and non conformist Christians. The realities for women in the harsh 14th century and those of disabled people are shown unflinchingly. The story has multiple narrators which brings variety and a freshness to the book and the plot is generally moved along speedily by the different voices.

I look forward to reading Karen Maitland's latest book the Gallows Curse.

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Promised catch up

 Banana and pear loaf

I've not felt much like writing my blog lately, I've just been very tired and with more problems with my left eye I've been trying to cut down computer use. But I did promise a catch up. Over the last month I've been quite busy with work and in my spare time I've been doing some baking including the banana and pear loaf pictured above as well as bread.

Heat wave

A couple of weeks ago we had a heat wave - temperatures of 29 C at the end of September and beginning of October. We made the most of the weather on the 2nd October by having a picnic in Chicksands woods - pictured below. It was a glorious day of hot sunshine and our little picnic was lovely.

 Chicksands woods

Whizz Kidz

About a week before the heat wave I was asked to volunteer on a Whizz Kidz project at Heathrow Terminal 5. It was filming for a training DVD for BAA security staff. I had great fun being filmed going through security. The training is to help staff provide a more inclusive service for disabled people who are using the airport. The staff we were working with were fantastic, really keen to be involved. I was also lucky enough to work with Fran Williamson the paralympic swimmer. (She's won 12 world championship medals and 6 paralympic ones!)

Volunteering for Whizz Kidz made me think more seriously about volunteering more regularly locally, so I'm in the process of applying for a few positions.

Knitting

I've also been keeping myself busy knitting. I've finished a scarf I'd been working on for a little while this weekend which is pictured below. The wool is a fantastic wool cotton blend from sirdar called Crofter. My friend Lorraine bought me a ball of it earlier in the year so I ordered up some more and I'm about to knit Lorraine a similar scarf for Christmas.

Wedding plans
The other thing which has kept me busy has been organising my wedding and celebrations. I have a hen weekend in Brighton coming up. Then there is our wedding on the 11th November, we are having a small ceremony with just our witnesses and their partners. But even so I'm making sure that I'm booked into the hairdressers and have just ordered a small wedding posy for me to carry. It wouldn't seem right with out flowers. We're booked into a local pub for a meal afterwards.

Our real celebration isn't until we get back from honeymoon though when we are getting our family together celebration meal. Our nieces and nephews now add up to double figures so I'm planning stuff to keep them entertained all afternoon at the meal! Most of that is now organised which is a relief. It will be nice that the celebration is close to Christmas so we will have a Christmas meal and themed celebration of our marriage with our family including mulled wine - my favourite!

Catch up posts

I have to apologise for not blogging properly recently although I have been adding my book reviews from Good Reads website. It's a great website to check out if you love reading and want some inspiration about what to read next.

I have been keeping myself busy with work and I'll blog about work stuff a bit later today.

Last week I ended up back at A&E at Moorfields as I had a lot of eye pain - in the eye that was operated on twice earlier in the year. Anyway it turned out it was internal swelling so I'm back on the steroid eye drops. Just finished a week of taking them every hour and now down to the more reasonable 6 times a day!

Anyway I will blog about work and what I've been up to out of work a bit later today.

The woodcutter by Reginald Hill

The Woodcutter by Reginald Hill
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoyed the Woodcutter. It is a modern fairy tale with twists and turns and many layers but at its heart it is really an ageless story of a hero overcoming a set of trials. I really loved Reginald Hill's book the Stranger House but the woodcutter some how lacked something that the Stranger House had. I can't quite put my finger on it, but don't let that put you off, the Woodcutter is a fantastic thriller packed full of memorable characters, locations and suspense. There's some interesting symbolism in the story too, which you'd expect as one of the main characters is a psychiatrist. There are wolves, fairies and elves, dark woods, castles, woodcutters, betrayals, evil queens and benevolent Kings. But don't worry you can enjoy the story with out even bothering to think too deeply about the modern fairy tale imagery.

Also if you love Cumbria and the Lake District Reginald Hill describes his native county exquisitely I really felt that I was back there when reading some of the Cumbrian scenes.  


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Book review - the Crossing Places

The Crossing Places by Elly Griffiths
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Although I did enjoy this book there were a few things that prevented me from really enjoying it. I found the narrative style, a very active, present tense, third person narrative, a bit distracting. I found the style quite unsettling in some parts of the story I couldn't ever quite relax into being swept up in the story. Plus I worked out "who done it" as soon as it was possible to. But I enjoyed the archeological detail which was very interesting though I most of it was familiar from Time Team!

I don't mean this to sound like a dreadful review - I did enjoy the story and the character of Ruth. I will look out the second book as I feel there is potential for a good developing series.

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