Christmas Comes, Thankfully, but Once a Year

My tooth has been filled.  It was such a huge cavity that I didn't think that it would be possible but it is done and dusted and only took an hour so I managed the string bag knitting workshop where I knitted my eternal scarf which is what I fall back on when I do not want to knit something where I have to keep count of rows or stitches.  String bags I do not need; I have more bags than I could possibly use already.

So now I have to think about Christmas.  It is my turn to have the family on Christmas Day although D2 is working.  The menu is the same every year  -  potato salad and trifle although D3 and family cannot eat the trifle because of milk protein and gluten sensitivities.  D3 brings dessert for her family but I have been told about a delicious orange and almond cake and thought that I might buy one for the D3s and anyone else who wants a piece.

I seem to be spending more and more time at my computer reading about the goings-on in USA and The United Kingdom.  We are not doing all that well here at present either but things look as though they are about to really blow up in UK and USA

Poppy is back on anti-inflammatory medication and is much more settled and so far this evening there have been no spats.  Parsifal goes riding in the kitty carriage most days and is very vocal when he wants to go out.  I am meeting some interesting people who stop to talk.  There is the nice man who sells "The Big Issue" and who has a cat at home but has a toy cat in his trolley.  I run into him quite often and today I met a man wearing a crown.  I had a feeling that he and his friend were from the hostel over the railway line but I am only guessing.

As you can see, I have done very little and need to get back to crossing items off my bucket list of things which I have been putting off  -  such as calling in an electrician to replace all the lights which have failed, about half a dozen at last count.  I keep putting it off because I think that the light in my study is about to fail  - but the power to the area has been upgraded and flickering has stopped.  And getting the fridge door adjusted.

The limerick:-

This one was, according to my book, written by the Reverend Charles Inge.

A Lady while dining at Crewe
Found an elephant's whang in her stew.
Said the waiter, "Don't shout,
Or wave it about, 
Or the others will all want one too."

Just When . . .

After a couple of weeks of something happening most days I thought that I finally had a clear view of this next week.  Too bad that on Friday one of my fillings fell out into my muesli and the first appointment to see my dentists is tomorrow lunch time which is, sadly, going to clash with my knitting group although I will probably manage it albeit late.

There is going to be a workshop on knitting string bags which I do not need so I am not missing a lot.  Living over the top of a shopping centre containing two supermarkets I simply load my groceries back into the trolley and wheel it all upstairs.

Last week I had to have a physical check-up and a 'seniors' mental assessment very similar to the one which Donald Trump insisted on to prove that he is not dementing.  His was on paper and on-line so that he could learn the answers but although mine was similar it was random questions which hopped all over the place so that I didn't know if they were going to throw a curve ball next time around.

I got one wrong that I know of; asked the date I managed the year and the month but fell down on the date.  I have been so fixated in November 6th (Americans will relate to that) that I said the sixth instead of the eighth.  I was able to confidently repeat the phrase "No ands ifs or buts" because it was used where I used to work, I had to spell 'world' backwards and write a sentence.  I cheated there by using a line from a poem so it was in my long-term memory but I have no problem writing sentences or I would not be writing this blog.  And no serial sevens; that is one which I practise when I can't sleep  -  a bit like counting sheep.

D1 flew over for a couple of days to attend S/W's birthday and walked off with my shower cap but she will be back for Christmas.  I went out and bought a new one today.  It was needed anyway.

The limerick:-

There was a young maiden from Multerry,
Whose knowledge of life was desultory;
She explained, like a sage,
"Adolescence?  The stage
Between puberty and - er - adultery."

All Clear

The results of the scan I had last week show that everything is normal.  The ultrasound technician was correct.  Never underestimate technicians -  especially from New Zealand  -  they often see more than the doctors and soon learn to interpret their own scans.

Today I had four nuisance calls on my personal alarm before lunch so I phoned the personal alarm help line who was not able to give me any help except to tell me to press the SOS button to cancel the call.  All well and good but I have to dig it out from under all my clothes which is not a good look when I am out having coffee with D3 and SIL.  I asked if there are many complaints about nuisance calls, was told 'no, not many' and realised why.  The man suggested that I ask the telemarketer to cross me off the list. Jear Desus!

I have lifted that expletive from a funny video lesson on learning to knit.  The man who created it seems to have made a fair number of "how to" videos and I will be following them up.

I was still getting dressed this morning (having been woken up by the first nuisance call) when I received a call from D3 to say that she and SIL were downstairs and would I like to join them for coffee so with that nice start to the day and the news of the scan results at the end of the day, all in all it has been good.  

The weather is predicted to warm up over the next few days so hopefully, now that I do not need biopsies or other invasive procedures, I will be out around the lake soaking up all that vitamin D.  Summer is finally getting here.

Yesterday was D1's birthday and she is getting older than I would like to think that any of my daughters are, GB1 had his end of formal school ceremony last night and my internet server turned 25, also yesterday.  I thought that I had been on the internet for longer than that so it was something of a surprise. A big day, yesterday.

The limerick:-

There was a young lady of Louth
Who returned from a trip to the South.
Her father said, 'Nelly,
There's more in your belly
Than ever went in by your mouth."

Today I am wearing my comma police hat.

I visit Facebook every day and the thing which strikes me often is the proliferation of meaningless commas scattered throughout the posts.  I found this meme today and felt that it was memorable for the sheer number of unnecessary commas.

"About marihuana, the people that don't smoke it won't start, just because it is legal.  The people that do, will help pay taxes, and buy more munchies, to help the economy."

I counted four unnecessary commas in that short passage.  Another gripe (and here I get onto my hobbyhorse) is the use of 'that' instead of 'who' or 'which'.  But I digress. . .

Another gripe:  if you are tweeting and have a limited number of characters per tweet it seems to me that not using the 'F' word would give you four extra characters for every time you don't use it.  And is it necessary in every Facebook post?

OK  -  so I am in a bad mood.  It is now a week since I had my mammogram and no feedback so far.

I have been trying to re-educate the cats to their harnesses with a view to taking them out to the park in their Kitty Carriage and letting them have a little run on the grass.  Poppy is happy to wear her harness but gets seriously upset if I take her out for a walk and we have about 24 hours of hissing and spitting at Parsifal.  He, on the other hand, enjoys going out and meeting and greeting but today was cold and windy and he didn't like it although he had asked to be taken out.  

For some reason he is upset and noisy today.  I wish that he could talk and tell me what is wrong but although he has an extensive vocabulary that is, sadly, beyond even a very clever cat.

The Limerick:-

Rosalina, a pretty young lass
Had a truly magnificent ass:
Not rounded and pink,
As you possibly think -
It was grey, had long ears and ate grass.

Boomerang Drone Mk. 5 - final post on the subject

My grandson has managed to get the cat drone working (I suspected that he would manage to do so) and is, according to his mother, having great fun with it so I am glad that it has gone to a good home after all the trauma.  I will not be on-line shopping at that site anymore and have notified them of my decision.

I had my mammogram five days ago and now have to wait (and wait) for the verdict to get to know if I am clear or if I will need biopsies to confirm whether I have breast cancer or not  -  again. I've been there and done that before and so far I have been lucky.  Long may it last but I am not holding my breath.

I have started taking the cats out for trips in the Kitty Carriage to socialise them and maybe make it easier to get them to and from the vet with me and Dr. L still in one piece.  I have sedatives to give them now but more exposure to the outside world should be good for them.  Parsifal enjoys the outings and sits at the front door and shouts that he wants to go out.  Today I put his harness on and let him out to explore.  He was wary in the town square but enjoyed his visit to Zoo which is a shop which sells all things pet  -  but not the pets themselves.

I took both of them out together a few days ago and Poppy reacted violently, spitting and growling at Parsifal for about 24 hours afterwards so I am going to have to take them separately until she gets more used to being out of her comfort zone and then try putting her harness on, although, in the past she never ventured out of the Kitty Carriage.  I can cope with that, it is the socialisation and new environment which she needs. Even when I have visitors to the apartment she tends to disappear into the Master Suite which is her safe place.

The Limerick:-

I once thought a lot of a friend
Who turned out to be in the end
The southernmost part
(As I'd feared from the start)
Of a horse with a northerly trend.

Today is my cats' seventh birthday

Yesterday I went to the doctor because she wanted to check on the lesions which she has frozen off my skin and while I was there she decided that I was due for another mammogram and checked me out only to find a lump so I am off to have a scan on Monday.  I have already had one false reading and hope that this will turn out to be the same but am not holding my breath.  A diagnosis of breast cancer would be, for me, a huge lifestyle change with the probable cessation of HRT and back to hot flushes.

I walked around the lake again this morning and this time I think that my pedometer gave an accurate reading.  It measured 4.23km which would give me a walking speed of about 5 km/hour which I suspect is just about right.  I went out early because the sky looked like imminent rain.  It still looks like rain but it hasn't happened yet.

The last time I went over to the park I looked for the pink orchid but was unable to find it.  Today, with more specific instructions I did find it.  A biggish clump with only one rather weary-looking flower so it may be getting a bit late in the season.  Hopefully I will be able to find it again next year when it is flowering more enthusiastically.

Looking around for something to entertain me I wondered if the local library might like a genealogy helper but found that there is already two hours per month of tuition which has to be booked.  I will speak to the Head Librarian when I am over the mammogram and probable biopsy and whatever follows from there.  I went to a free on-line program and put in the details of my parents and grandparents and was told that the program could now add over 70 more names.  That is no fun!!  I enjoy the hunt and find of genealogy research and to have some online program lift all those names from my proper family tree was cheating.

With a view to acclimatising the cats to the Kitty Carriage and all its works I took Parsifal for a quick trot around Claremont a few nights ago.  He seemed to enjoy it once he realised that we were heading in the opposite direction to the Vet.  Poppy hid under the bed.

The Limerick:-

There is an author's comment attached to this one;

"Somewhat off-colour  -  and the only such limerick that Langdon Reed ever allowed to appear in any of his many books.  It's to be feared that Reed did not get the pun in the last line."

There was a young fellow named Hyde
Who fell down a privy and died.
His unfortunate brother
Then fell down another,
And now they're interred side by side.

Boomerang Drone Mk. 4

The eagle has landed!

The drone was dropped off at the Post Office today and a notification was emailed to me.  A.D. from Amazinglycats.com told me that she had added some glitter balls to thank me for my patience but . . . the original glitch was that I neglected to put my Apartment Number in my address.  I emailed a correction before any despatch was possible but it arrived in Australia and was returned due to insufficient address.  

I paid to have it re-posted and iterated the correct address.  That was three months ago and it arrived today still with the wrong address but it had instructions to deliver it to the nearest Post Office and my telephone number was also on the label so besides sending it back to sender there were two alternatives to get the drone delivered.

So my insufficient postal address now seems to be fixed in concrete and anything else I buy from that company is going to face the same problem.  And if the drone doesn't work with fresh batteries it is a double reason to look elsewhere for cat toys.

Anyway, I have charged up the drone itself and put batteries into the control but the batteries may be old because there is a blinking light and no lift-off.  I will buy new batteries and try again after which I will turn it over to my grandson to see if he can get it going.

Parsifal appears to have had an intestinal blockage and was not happy about the Vet examining him so he ripped up my arm.  Things are moving again and I now have supply of tranquilisers just in case.  They are due for their annual physical early next year and I am not looking forward to it; nor is their vet.  I suggested taking the cats for visits to acclimatise them to the premises and found that many pet owners do that, especially dog owners.  They just sit in the waiting room for while and then leave so that is what I will be doing.

The Limerick:-

Concerning the bees and the flowers
In the fields and the gardens and bowers,
You will note at a glance
That their ways of romance
Haven't any resemblance to ours.