Sunday, May 30

Batman, and other Impersonations.

Yesterday, Gom took it upon himself to impersonate Batman.

Either that, or he was returning to childhood, with the belief that he could fly.

In fact, he 'flew' head first down our stairs.

To land, spread-eagled,  face down, at the bottom.

On the cold, hard, ceramic tiles, of our entryway, inside the front door.

I had been begging him not to attempt vacuuming our floors. We had been out, and had locked Leo, our dog,  outdoors, to avoid him beating up his 'sister', Honey, our other dog. Honey is smaller and older and not aggressive. When Leo gets overexcited, he is apt to attack Honey, lest she get more attention than he.

It rained hard, and long yesterday morning, with the result that Leo had panicked *slightly*- read, massively,- and came indoors covered to his ears in black mud, where he had tried to dig his way out of the garden, to escape the rain.

He was a sodden, muddy mess. Carpets were muddied, as was our clothing, when he greeted us with such relief, at our homecoming and opening of the door to 'inside haven'.

I proceeded to bath his sorry hide, curly coat,  and tried my best to dry him off, but he is a stubborn dog, and hair dryers are not his favourite items in life. Nor are clippers, scissors, or toenail trimmers.
He was having none of that, though fluffy curls did land on the floor, and attempts were made to tidy his woolly coat.

Gom decided, since he is somewhat inadequate at the bathing process, he needed to vacuum. I told him to leave it, I would deal with it all later.

Have you ever tried to 'tell' a Leo or a Gom, anything. It is like shouting at thunder. Totally ineffective.

I went out to the kitchen to have my lunch. I had heard the vacuum in the bedrooms.
I had seen the exhausted Gom, resting. I felt it safe to lunch in peace.

WRONG!

As I rinsed my lunch plate, I heard sickening thumps and thuds.
My stomach turned a full somersault. I felt like my chest would burst.

I rushed out, to see the spreadeagled figure of Gom lying on the tiles. At the foot of the stairs.
My first thought was that he was dead.
My second was that he must have broken something.
I raced down the stairs, amidst cords and bits of vacuum cleaner.
His legs moved.
He raised his head.
Blood poured forth.
Leo rushed in to lick the blood.

Truly, the stuff of nightmares!!

Gom spoke to me. Telling me he was ok,  but looking like a monster from hell. Blood streaming down his nose, his glasses ruined, on the floor.
His forehead bleeding where contact with the tiles had occured.
His nose hideously bruised, but, incredibly,  unbroken!

Incredibly, he has no broken bones. No seemingly lasting effects from his 'flight of fancy'.

After the initial horror of it all, we have tried to laugh. I can't begin to tell of the horror I felt when I first saw him. I must have a strong heart, because I did not have a heart attack. Or a stroke. Or faint.

We have tried to make jokes about it all. Very hard, in light of how I felt, when I saw the 'body' at the foot of the stairs.

But OMG did my body shake in terror!

I rang our daughter, for some support, in spite of rantings to the effect I was not to 'tell' anyone.


I truly hate this disease, that has robbed me of the husband I had.

I hate the changes to his personality, that are part of it all.
I know there are worse diseases. I should be grateful he does not have dementia, or Alzheimers like his mother.
But there are parts of this disease that manifest in similar manner. The sudden rages, over nothing.
The hideous stubbornness.  The irrational outbursts.
I struggle to keep a mind, and a sense of reason.

Morty provides some much needed relief. I love his little body, his sleek fur, & his ready purr.

I also love his disdain, and refusal to acknowledge current worries.!


Morty continues to keep me somewhat sane.
Today our Daughter came to visit her wounded father.
What an odd man he can be.
He craves the visits, yet acts distant.
Another mainfiestation of his 'condition'.

Albert Hammond. It never Rains in Souther California.
Gom used to love this song.

Wednesday, May 26

Quilty Thoughts.

Just a bright spot to begin.

I have had far too little of Quilty content on here lately.

Mostly because I am not really currently doing any quilting. I do have projects awaiting my return, but they remain on the back burner, as it were.

However I would like to mention a wonderful Birthday Giveaway by one of my friends, Miche'le of By Hoki Quilts.

I still love to read all my quilty friends news, and see their wonderful creativity.

I recently tidied the sewing room, and really thought the open spaces would inspire creativity again.
Doesn't seem to be happening.

Distractions in the shape of a kitty, two dogs, and a Gom,  seem to take up my days.

I was kindly given some Chokoes.
When we were children growing up in New Zealand, we had a garden, as did most householders, back in those days.

There were huge Choko vines which grew and flourished, on a trellis our Grandfather had built before his death. Our Grandmother would ask us to pick some fruit and she would prepare them for our tea.
How we loathed them, when we were children. Usually our Grandmother boiled them and then put them into a white sauce.
I was lactose intolerant, so I rather detested white sauces, but I did enjoy the delicate flavour of the chokoes.

My B Brother on the other hand, did not acutally mind white sauce, but he positively cringed at the mere mention of Chokoes, and I know he would have given anything to be able to sabotage those vigorous vines!
The variety we knew back then, bore little resemblance to the ones we see here now.

They were huge creamy/white looking fruit, covered in horrible prickles and the skins were like leather, so every trace of them had to be removed. Then the centre seed area of them was tough and so that had to be carefully cut away.

Sometimes our Grandmother would roast the chokoes, but to my brother, that did nothing to enhance the flavour.
He remains of the opinion that Chokoes should be banished from the planet.
I on the other hand, have grown to be very fond of them, and once paid a rather large sum of money to purchase some, when I was living in the South Island. Chokoes don't like the cold, and I cant remember seeing any growing in Christchurch, when we lived there.

We are having cold wet weather. Ideal to cuddle a cat, or just dream. Or sew, of course, if I could only find my missing mojo!


This is one of my all time favourite pieces of music. I have posted it before, and once had it on the 'soundtrack of my blog', before people found such things irritating.



Just a thought; Why do I find an increasing number of things irritating?
Is it part of the general condition of growing older?

One of my pet hates of the moment, is the habit of people to refer to bast*rds who have committed dastardly deeds, as "Gentlemen". I can hear my mother's voice ranting on here!
She would explode with wrath, and declare the rotter was certainly NO gentleman.
People have lost sight of the meaning of the word!!

Monday, May 24

That heavy, menacing, feeling...

When you know you are in for a dose of the flu, or some hideous cold.
My Daughter has recently been infected.
I have been in confined, close quarters, with similarly infected people.

I tried so hard not to inhale!! haha, Impossible, of course!



In the meantime, I have been getting Cat Scanned.! All my reading choices are being scrutinized. Or catinized!



If they are ok, I might go to sleep, says Morty!

I will rest & relax. Says the New Boss of The House!




On the other hand, you might read something inappropriate, or even 'Bizarre'!! I have to be Vigilant!!



Morty seem to know "Who loves you, Baby?"
He stays close to my side when I am sitting down, & he plays guardedly with Leo, & Honey if she is in the mood, but he steers very clear of Gom.

I have caught Gom trying to win favour, by patting & calling. He even bought Kitty Treats to entice. Morty is very cautious however, & he has steered a wide berth about the Gom,



How stressed does Morty look??

 If I try to post pics in My Choice of location, I am thwarted by Blogger! GRRRR.

Apart from the Domestic Scenes, we have had other Close Encounters.

A sad, elderly woman weeping at the Vet's,` where I went, to adopt Morty. A time of Joy, for me. But such a sad time for this dear old lady.
Her little 13 year old dog, had to be put down. She wept as she paid for the Euthanasia.
Somehow, it seemed so wrong to me, that she had no support, no comfort.
So I put my arms about her, and hugged and patted her, as she mopped her tears.

She paid, and she thanked me for the support. I felt so sorry for her. She had given a loving home to a Rescue dog, who had become the Center of her Universe, as she put it.
She told me she  could not bear to have another dog. She still has a bird. 

I went shopping with my gorgeous Daughter, & we overheard some very strange conversations.

"I said to her, she needn't be impressed by those cars"
"Go & have a look, everyone owns the BMW these days!"
"Some of those Eastern Suburbs guys are bluddy unattracrtive. You need to be more choosey than a bluddy car!!" 
"Look around, they are a dime a dozen!"

I looked at these people, making these declarations, & I privately thought they look like they dont have a "Pot to Piss In" which was the vernacular, back in the day. But I loved them!
They are the salt that keeps this country Honest. They are the reality of this current life.

There have been some shocking political revelations recently, here in New South Wales. Sad, for the most part. On so many levels. I have sympathy for all concerned.



Mark Knopfler, Telegraph Road.
How good is this!!


Monday, May 17

Meeting Morten

Well, 'Morten' has arrived!
He is to be known as "Morty" for short.  I fell in love with him, & was so glad he was still available for

 me to love.
Here he is, on his Chair of Choice.  I took this photo with no flash, to try to capture his lovely eyes.




Here he is, in his Cat Cave, which is nothing like a Bat Cave! there is no fast car! No fancy costume or mask! Who needs masks, or capes~! when you have the perfect heart shaped nose! Pink Nose!! Perfect!




Here is a little shot of his beautiful coat. He is such a gorgeous colour.
Gom has been quite Pearshaped about his 'adoption'. He has attempted 'emotional blackmail' and more over it all.
I have chosen to ignore the altered Gom personality. He has always loved and adored our animals.

I have no doubt that "Morty" will steal his heart, and end up on his knee, just like the dogs.


I
I went out to purchase cat litter etc, and offered to cage the little boy, while I was out. Gom grumpily told me he could stay out of the cage.
When I came home all was calm, and the dogs were on Gom's knee, & Morty was in 'his' chair!


I feel a little ashamed. I was going to post Tom Jones, Whats New PussyCat. But... I hate it, so I wont be a hypocrite.


 

Sunday, May 16

The Great Leap to The Unknown.

Events would seem to have conspired to prevent postings.
As well as Cat Ownership.

We have had Specialist Doctor Visits to contend with. These bore news. Slightly positive. Rather a lot of Bad.

We have had a Visitor from Another Country.
Since this Visitor named her first born after me~ the Given name I rather dislike~ deference and respect have been accorded, as is only fitting.

I was delighted to see photographs of the beautiful children, two gorgeous little girls, progeny of my namesake.

My Friend and I shared many laughs and reminiscences from the past 45 years of our acquaintance.
Gom was entertained and delighted by the visit from this lovely friend~ who once advised me not to marry Gom!! She is now one of his favourite guests and friends.

During this period, I met the Cat of my Dreams. He is gorgeous, slightly Ginger and so beautiful, I fell instantly in love with him.

I was scolded, and scorned, when I first met him.
Not by the Cat, I hasten to say. He greeted me with joy & positive love!

I was told I do not 'need' a cat. Gom loudly declared this fact.
In fact, he has told me he is leaving home, should I get this cat! I could not be so lucky! 
Only Joking.
(I have a fear of what will happen. The Cat will become his Greatest Love and Fan, and I will be out in the Cold, once again.)
As I stood and communed with this gorgeous cat boy, I was repeatedly told he was "Not for Me!"

I thought about him over the past three days, picturing his lovely face, hearing his voice. I decided if he was still available today, he was mine, and he was meant to be mine.

I collected my daughter and Grandson, & went to get my gorgeous Cat Boy. ( I have a name for him, but do not want to 'jinx' my ownership.)
Imagine my horror, on finding his cage empty.

Imagine my joy, on finding he is still for sale.

However he was unobtainable today.
Tomorrow will be the day he will be able to be collected.
He was 'adopted', but the elderly cat-in-residence could not bear his prescence. So, he was returned.
Poor little Boy.

My daughter has agreed to come with me tomorrow to collect him.
She agrees with me. Life is Bl**dy Short.
Gom sits innocently unaware of our new family member's impending arrival. haha.

I have had travels, and many laughs over the past few days.
I will probably post some of those glimpses of the human condition, over the next few days.

David Gray, Be Mine.

Tuesday, May 4

Win some, Lose some.

Small Grandson was taken to the local Show on Saturday night. He had a wonderful time, and he is now the very proud owner of a monstrous Tiger, won for him by his Father.
It was a Top Shelf Prize and his pride is obvious.


SG brought the Tiger for some small repairs. His mother said she can't find a needle or thread? She is not sure why they Gremlins of the House have hidden them away.

SG had to get some photos of 'Stripey'. He made a house with rugs, cushions  & quilts then asked Nanna to do the honours, with the camera.


***************

In other news, the Council has not had the decency to reply to my letters of complaint. However, a truck arrived yesterday afternoon, with two burly men towing lawn mowing paraphenalia. One BM proceeded to Whipper Snip the grass in the ditch. Friends arrived, and were sure they saw Two BM spraying the grass inside the ditch.

Not exactly the results we want, but better than nothing, I suspect, and possibly more than I expected, going on past records.

Here, is the rotting power pole, which appears to have been prodded and poked and inspected.

I don't think there is any way it could be declared to be a healthy pole?

We think it is invaded by Termites, and are filled with dread, as they also appear to have infested a palm tree in our back yard, and that is far too close for comfort.

*******************
We have been riding the crests and wallowing the troughs, so to speak.

We recently watched Avatar. I confess, I was prepared to dislike it. I was thrilled to discover I really enjoyed it, and was totally absorbed watching the wonderful colours, and creatures. It deserves all the praise it gets.
I found it absolutely engrossing, and it swept me away from the hum drum of present events.

*********************

Mrs N N sends me nice mail, and though they have their desperation, they are ever supportive of us, in our travails.


Mrs NN sent me this gorgeous sunrise shot, from a few mornings ago.
My thoughts go with you today, H. XX

Carly Simon, Blackbird.