Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 21

Logan The #Cavapoo Turns 2

Hi everyone.  This is Logan the Cavapoo.

     

I had one of those birthday things; I turned two on April 14th. 

     

To be honest, I'm not really sure what that means - I don't do numbers.  But that's what Mummy and Lilie say, and they also say it's a good thing.  Everyone also says I'm a big boy now.  I don't feel like I'm a big boy, even though I'm bigger in size than Lilie these days, but everyone keeps saying I am.  Is it OK to still just be a little bear if I feel like one? Daddy and Lilie say I'm meant to be a big boy, and I'm more of a big bear than a little bear, but Mummy and Nana say if I still feel like a little bear inside then that's what I am.

     

~

    

Anyway, I got a new honking piggy toy, since we love those, but we're tough on toys - especially Lilie - so we keep needing new ones.  Plus, I got a biscuit covered with something that looks like chocolate, but it isn't chocolate, so it's safe for dogs to have. 

     

Lilie got a treat and new piggy too, but it's OK because I got a teddy and treat when she had her birthday as well.  Mummy says it's easier to do it that way, otherwise we'll both get upset when one of us gets something and the other doesn't get anything.  We're glad she feels that way, because then we get extra stuff.  Although, Daddy says we'd probably get just as much stuff anyhow, it's just spread out more this way.  As long as we get the toys and treats though, we don't really care which of them is right.

     

Lots of licks,

Logan

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#Vampire #Fantasy #BookRelease - "War of Nytefall: Savagery" by @cyallowitz

It's Monster vs Monster and Only One will Keep His Head! For the first time in over a century, Clyde will know what it means to feel powerless and weak. Headless bodies appearing across Windemere is only the beginning as Clyde faces the terrifying vampire hunter, Alastyre.  Able to match the Dawn Fang leader in power and ferocity, this new menace shows no signs of weakness or mercy.  With both friends and enemies getting dragged into the battle, Clyde will have to find a way to become stronger.  For that, he will have to accept an ancient challenge and pray that those he cares about and trusts can hold Alastyre at bay. Which monster of Windemere will claim the top of the food chain? Want to hear more?  Enjoy this Teaser!Alastyre disappears for a moment before reappearing in front of Clyde and grinning at how the Dawn Fang does not react. “I have waited many years for this day. You probably don’t remember me since it has been so long. The temptation to tell Mab the truth when she was my captive was so strong that I knew I needed more time to mature. I should only feel happy and excited when we are about to clash. By the way, your enemies put up an entertaining fight. It lasted no more than a couple of minutes, but I enjoyed it. My hope is that your reputation is true and I will get to use my full power for once. The thought of ripping your head off and adding it to my collection is one of the few dreams that gives my life meaning. Is this where we’re going to fight? I see that there is a lot of sand and giant boulders scattered about. Do you use this courtyard as a large rock garden in order to relax? You are a more amusing monster than I expected.” “I don’t like you,” Mab growls before she is grabbed by the face. “A drug-addicted worm should watch-” “Put . . . my . . . partner . . . down,” Clyde growls from behind the hunter. The illusionary vampire fades away as the real one materializes, his gauntlet sword already pressed against the man’s meaty neck. “You say we’ve met before and you’ve been training to fight me. Looks more like you’ve altered yourself to become a freak. The smell of your blood reeks of corruptive magic and demon influence. There’s a hint of Dawn Fang and dragon in there too. You’re nothing more than a glorified golem. Bunch of parts and auras cobbled together to turn a weak mortal into a monster. I’m not impressed, Alan Stryker. Still trying to strike fear into the rotting hearts of my kind? At least your name isn’t as stupid as it was before.” “Wait, do you mean that guy who attacked you outside of Lord Shallis’s castle?” Titus asks with a chuckle. He grunts when his sister is thrown into him, the force sending the siblings crashing against the patio’s railing. “I told you that keeping him alive was a mistake, but I didn’t think it would turn into this. You must be angry that nobody believed your story about vampires that are immune to the sun. Is that what this is about?” With a casual flick of his finger, Alastyre sends Clyde’s sword and arm flying across the courtyard. “No because it was another hunter who survived and told that tale. Your leader was so distracted with Mab biting him that he failed to notice a second mortal that he failed to kill. I focused on recovery and getting stronger because I refused to follow such a ridiculous plan. The fewer people who knew about the Dawn Fangs, the better my chances were at being the one to succeed. Please know that I only want to destroy your leadership. Originally, I wished to wipe all of you out of existence, but that could prove to be impossible. You monsters are more talented at hiding than anything else I have hunted, so I could never be sure of your extinction. The next best thing is to take over Nyetfall and use it as a jail for your kind. All Dawn Fangs will be contained on this island once they no longer have their precious rulers. Don’t you agree that this is much better than extermination, Clyde?” “I have no opinion because it’s never going to happen.” “Do you accept my challenge?” “You never officially made one.” “I demand that you fight me to the death.” “Thank you for being straightforward and not making me hunt you down.” “We fight in an hour then.” “Why not now?” Alastyre points while mentioning, “You are still missing an arm. I want to face you at full strength.” “Don’t say I didn’t give you a chance,” the Dawn Fang says as he continues healing the injury. Get a copy of this vampire action adventure for 99 cents on Amazon!Help spread the word by adding it on Goodreads!

*****

Want to catch up on War of Nytefall?Grab the volumes 1-5 for 99 cents each ($5 total)! Cover Art by Alison HuntInterested in more Windemere?  Then don't forget to check out Charles E. Yallowitz's first series:  Legends of Windemere All Cover Art by Jason PedersenAbout the Author: Charles Yallowitz was born and raised on Long Island, NY, but he has spent most of his life wandering his own imagination in a blissful haze. Occasionally, he would return from this world for the necessities such as food, showers, and Saturday morning cartoons. One day he returned from his imagination and decided he would share his stories with the world. After spending many years fiddling with his thoughts and notebooks, he decided that it was time to follow his dream of being a fantasy author. So, locked within the house with only pizza and seltzer to sustain him, Charles brings you tales from the world of Windemere. He looks forward to sharing all of his stories with you and drawing you into a world of magic. Blog: www.legendsofwindemere.comTwitter: @cyallowitzFacebook: Charles YallowitzInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/cyallowitz/Enjoy the fang-filled adventure by clicking here!

 

#PetKid Pals: Push-Push

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

 

I have a new friend for you to meet today.  So, let’s see who it is, shall we?

 

Hello new friend.  What’s your name? If you have an unusual name, or there’s an interesting story behind it, I’d love to hear about it, and am sure others would too, so please share.

 

“Hello, my name is Push-Push. I was originally going to be called daiquiri, after my friend Robbie’s favourite drink, but my Dad changed it to Push-Push. He gave me that name because when I was a small kitten, I used to roll onto my back under the couch and used my claws to pull myself along underneath it. My Dad thought that was very funny and changed my name. I didn’t mind because I was only six weeks old at the time.”

 

That’s an interesting name, and thanks for sharing how you got it.  So, Push-Push, what species and breed(s) are you?

 

“My Dad says I am a ‘pavement special’. My Mom and Dad got me from a shelter. I was born in a box in the parking lot outside a Kentucky Fried Chicken Drive-thru. My brothers and sisters were all rescued, and I was only in the shelter for a few days when I was chosen my Mom and went to live at my forever home.

 

Mom and Dad live in a small house down the garden path from a bigger house where my friends, Robbie and Terence, and their two sons live.”

 

That’s great that you found your forever home before you’d been in the shelter for long.  I love your setup... Must be great to have so many people looking out for you.  Describe your appearance for us, please.

 

“I am a tortoise shell cat with a very pretty coat in four different colours: mustard, orange, white and black. I have a sister, Smudge. She is a short-legged tortoise shell cat.”

 

You sound very pretty.  In fact,I know you are, because here's a photo Robbie sent us of you:

 

Anyway, Push-Push, I know you said something about a sister and two houses, but can you explain for us... Where do you live? What sort of place do you live in? Who do you share it with? Do any other animals live with you? Or is it just you and your humans?

 

“As I mentioned earlier, I have my sleeping home with Mom and Dad and my visiting home. I like to spend time lying on the Persian carpet in the lounge while Robbie works. Sometimes I scratch the carpet and then Robbie sprays it with a nasty smelling stuff, so I don’t want to scratch there anymore. More of the time, I’m happy to just lie and doze in the sun.

 

I have a big garden to play in and I’m allowed to hunt rats and lizards. My Mom hates lizards. I am not allowed to hunt birds as Robbie is very fond of birds.

 

There are lots of fruit trees in our garden: a fig tree, a peach tree, a blackberry bush, two plum trees and a lemon tree, so you can just imagine how many bird visitors we get. The Loerie birds were so fat after eating all the plums, Robbie was worried they wouldn’t be able to fly away from me, but they did.

 

We also have four Hadeda birds that live in our garden. These birds are big, so my sister and I only stalk them for play. The also have loud voices. In the mornings, they sometimes sit on the roof and sing for us.”

 

That sounds great.  But what’s your favourite thing to do?

 

“I really like to sleep. I lie in the sun and sleep as much as possible. In the early evening, Smudge and I like to stalk the birds and at night we sometimes catch lizards and rats and leave them as gifts for our Dad. One time, we left our lizard gift in Mom’s shoe and she didn’t find it until she looked for something she said was ‘smelly’. She wasn’t as grateful as I would have expected when she found that gift. It had been there for a few weeks, but still, a thank you would have been nice.”

 

I agree.  These humans just don’t appreciate things properly, do they? By the way, do you like toys? If so, do you have a favourite toy? If yes, what is it?

 

“Smudge and I aren’t very interested in toys. We have a scratching post which we like to use and that is all. Sometimes when Mom and Dad’s other daughters come for a visit and bring their children, they try to interest us in toys. We only oblige them for a short while to be nice and then we run away and hide in Robbie’s lounge.”

 

Fair enough.  How about food? What’s your favourite food?

 

“We only eat special cat pellets our Dad buys for us at the vet. Robbie let me sniff some of her gingerbread at Christmas time but, yuck, what a strong and horrible smell. I didn’t even stay long enough for her to take a proper picture of me.”

 

That’s a shame.  Hey, with all those humans some of them have to do things you love.  So, what’s the one thing any – or all - of your humans do that you love most?

 

“My Mom lets me sleep on her couch when she rests during the day and Robbie lets me sleep on her best carpet. Dad looks after us nicely and washes all our blankets and gives us our food.

 

I like to visit Robbie in the morning for cuddles, but I only stay for about 15 minutes. I don’t want to spoil her.

 

My sister is a one cat girl. She loves Dad and follows him around like a dog. She lies on the floor in his office or in the patch of sunshine just outside his office. When he isn’t there she cries until he comes home. I’ve told her she is silly to behave like a dog instead of a cat, but she ignores me.”

 

That all sounds really great.  And your sister sounds like my brother, Logan.  There are other humans in the world... Some animals just don’t get that though, and insist on sticking like glue to the one human.  Anyway, how about things you don’t like? What’s the one thing any – or all - of your humans do that you hate most?

 

“I live with lovely humans and have a beautiful home. I can’t think of anything they do that I hate. Sometimes the grandchildren are a bit noisy and boisterous, but when I’ve had enough I just disappear for a while.”

 

I’m really pleased to hear that.  OK, so... I happen to know one of your humans is a writer/blogger.  Has she written anything about you? If yes, can you tell us about it? If no, do you think she will in the future?

 

“Robbie is a blogger, but she doesn’t write about us often. I have done two guest posts for other bloggers, actually, that is why she wanted the gingerbread picture. Oh well, I can’t please her all the time.

 

Robbie likes to write about animals she models from fondant. She has made a lot of cats and wrote a story called the Dinah in Wonderland, the fondant cat parade. If you would like to see her fondant cats, you can download the story for free here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/dinah-in-wonderland-fondant-cat-parade/”

 

Oh, yes, I met one of her fondant cats once.  In fact, you can read my interview with the fondant Siamese cat by clicking here.  Back to you though, Push-Push.  And, I’m curious, what do you do while your human writes/works on blog posts?

 

“I sleep, of course. That’s what we cats do best.”

 

Ah, of course.  I might have known.  Well, I should probably let you get another catnap in.  Before you go though, is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

 

“I am clever and I wind my humans around my paw. I am proud of my intelligence and good looks.

 

Thank you for inviting me to come and chat with you. It’s been such fun.”

 

I can see you’re a very clever kitty.  And, you’re very welcome.  Thanks for visiting.

 

***~~~***

 

Author CV – Roberta/Robbie Cheadle

 

Supernatural historical adult novel:

A Ghost and His Gold

Horror Anthologies (edited by Dan Alatorre):
Spellbound
Nightmareland
Dark Visions

Wings & Fire

Paranormal Anthologies (edited by Kaye Lynne Booth):
Spirits of the West
Whispers of the Past

Murder mystery Anthology (edited by Stephen Bentley)
Death Among Us

 

 

Robbie Cheadle’s books Sir Chocolate books Sir Chocolate and the strawberry cream berries story and cookbook

The adventures of Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet in poetry form. Michael came up with the idea of Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet and many of the characters contained in the books, when he was ten years old. His ideas were such fun that Robbie decided to turn them into little verse books for his entertainment. The book contains recipes for children to make with adult assistance.

Sir Chocolate and the baby cookie monster story and cookbook

Book 2 of the Sir Chocolate series: Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet find a lost baby cookie monster. Join them on an adventure to return the baby to its mother and learn how to make some of their delicious recipes at the same time.

Sir Chocolate and the sugar dough bees story and cookbook

A greedy snail damages the flower fields and the fondant bees are in danger of starving. Join Sir Chocolate on an adventure to find the fruit drop fairies who have magic healing powers and discover how to make some of his favourite foods on the way.

Sir Chocolate and the Condensed Milk River story and cookbook

The Condensed Milk River where Sir Chocolate goes fishing has stopped flowing. The water creatures are losing their homes. Can Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet solve this problem? Five lovely new recipes are also included.

Sir Chocolate and the Sugar Crystal Caves story and cookbook

The Condensed Milk River where Sir Chocolate goes fishing has stopped flowing. The water creatures are losing their homes. Can Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet solve this problem? Five lovely new recipes are also included.

Sir Chocolate and the Fondant Five Story and Cookbook

Number 6 in the Sir Chocolate series: Five zoo animals go missing and Sir Chocolate needs to find them. Includes five lovely new recipes.

Sir Chocolate and the Ice cream Rainbow Fairies Story and Cookbook

Join Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet on a fun adventure to discover why the milkshake rain is pale and white.

Silly Willy goes to Cape Town

When the George family go on holiday to Cape Town, Cautious Craig cannot believe what he has to endure at the hands of his naughty and wilful younger brother, Silly Willy. Willy throws tantrums at the most embarrassing and inappropriate times, causes a commotion on the aeroplane and tries to steal a chameleon from Butterfly World. What is a poor older brother expected to do in these situations?

While the Bombs Fell

What was it like for children growing up in rural Suffolk during World War 2?

Elsie and her family live in a small double-storey cottage in Bungay, Suffolk. Every night she lies awake listening anxiously for the sound of the German bomber planes. Often they come and the air raid siren sounds signalling that the family must leave their beds and venture out to the air raid shelter in the garden.

Despite the war raging across the English channel, daily life continues with its highlights, such as Christmas and the traditional Boxing Day fox hunt, and its wary moments when Elsie learns the stories of Jack Frost and the ghostly and terrifying Black Shuck that haunts the coastline and countryside of East Anglia.

Includes some authentic World War 2 recipes.

Open a new door

Open a New Door is a poetic peep into the lives of the poets, Kim Blades and Robbie Cheadle, both of whom live in South Africa.

 

The book is divided into four categories: God bless Africa, God bless my family and friends, God bless me and God bless corporates and work. Each part is sub-divided into the good, the bad and the ugly of the two poets’ experiences, presented in rhyming verse, free-style, haiku and tanka, in each of these categories and include colourful depictions of their thoughts and emotions.

 

The purpose of this book of poetry is encapsulated in the following tanka and haiku poems:

What drives me to write?

To share my innermost thoughts

The answer is clear

It’s my personal attempt

To make some sense of this world.

 

Inspiration blossoms

Like the unfurling petals

Of the Desert Rose

 

~

 

Buy Robbie’s books from...

Purchase links:

Amazon US

https://www.amazon.com/Robbie-Cheadle/e/B01N9J62GQ

Amazon UK

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Robbie-Cheadle/e/B01N9J62GQ

TSL Publications

https://tslbooks.uk/robbie-cheadle/

 

~

 

Follow Robbie Cheadle at:

Website

https://www.robbiecheadle.co.za/

Blog

https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/

Goodreads

https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15584446.Robbie_Cheadle

Twitter

https://twitter.com/bakeandwrite

 

***~~~***

 

Thanks for coming over to meet Push-Push, and hear about her and all her humans.  I hope you enjoyed getting to know her.  If so, please consider leaving a comment, sharing this post around, or both.

 

Also, if you’re a bird, cat, chinchilla, degu, dog, fish, gerbil, guinea pig, hamster, rabbit, rat, tortoise, or any other non-human animal, you share your home with a human who calls themselves a writer – yes, blogging counts – and you’d like to become a PetKid Pal yourself, don’t hesitate to get in touch.  You can do so via the “PetKid Pals” page, where you can also meet all the others we’ve had as guests in the past.  We love meeting new friends, so hope to hear from you soon.

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

Of #Covid Jabs And Broken Fingers

 We've all now had our first Covid vaccinations.  By 'we' I mean Mam, Dad, and my brother,Wayne, as well as both Kelly and myself.

Kelly got a letter inviting him to book to have his - addressed to the new address in Wales, but inviting him to book it for England, with only the number to call about it in England included in the letter.  When I got that straightened out, we ended up both booked for March 24th.  So, Mam had hers on March 13th, Dad on March 20th, Kelly and me on March 24th, and Wayne on March 30th.

 

They spoke to the medical advisor they have, and decided I should be OK to have mine, but they'd keep me a bit longer for observation afterwards than they normally do for people.  I wasn't feeling entirely reassured, but I know of people with issues with flu jabs who did do fine, so I agreed to have my jab.

Mostly everyone was fine.  Kelly was just tired with a sore arm for about 24 hours and then fine.  Dad and Wayne have had sore arms for a bit, but are otherwise fine.  Mam got a headache to go with her sore arm, and both those things lingered a while, but she's otherwise fine.  As for me...

 

You'll know about this if you've been following my posts on Twitter and Facebook, but... Yeah, I'm having a bad time with it.  I seemed to be doing OK at first; we thought I was just going the same way as Mam, with a sore arm and headache, and the only difference between how we were reacting being that my arm got badly bruised in the jab area.

 

But my symptoms got worse several days in.

 

To cut a long story short, I got bad enough we called 111 (the non-life-threatening emergency number for here in the UK... For if you need medical advice but can't get to speak to a doctor) and was advised to go to hospital. 

 

Every muscle hurts, my joints are stiff and achy, my head feels like it's trying to explode (and only gets worse if I concentrate for a long time) and I feel like an elephant is sitting on my chest.  Not to mention, my arm is still very bruised, I'm exhausted even though I'm sleeping a LOT, the pain is making me feel sick (and dizzy when it increases) and my temperature keeps dropping and then going back to normal before dropping again (my version of having a fever, since mine runs high normally and drops when I'm not well).

With allergies and existing health issues, there's nothing they can even do to help with the pain, and since so little is still known about this, they don't even know if I'll be better in a few days, a few weeks, or somewhere in between.  They can't even be sure if I'll have lasting issues from this.  All they can tell me for sure is I'd likely react the same - or worse - if I have the second vaccination, so I should probably not have it.  I decided not to mention to them that given how I'm doing right now I'd already decided I'm not having that second jab.

 

In case you're wondering: I had the Pfizer vaccine.  Kelly and I both had that from the same batch on the same day, so we know it's me and not the vaccine itself.  Mam and Dad - and I'm pretty sure Wayne too - had the Oxford, which is actually the one people are more commonly having issues with according to the doctor and nurses at the hospital.  They apparently see a huge percentage less bad reactions with the Pfizer one.  I'm just one of those people who really doesn't do well with these jabs.

Anyway, my time on the computer is seriously limited right now, because I can't tolerate it for too long, but I have some things I want to be posting over the next few Fridays, so I'll be using my computer time to focus on setting those up, especially since it's going to take longer than usual due to having to be done in short stints.  Even this post is having to be done over a couple of days.  This means it's likely going to be a while before I can start tackling the ever-increasing pile of eMails and post notifications waiting for me.  Please bear with me.  I'll do what I can, when I can, but the doctor's advice is to rest, drink plenty of fluids, take whatever pain relief I can tolerate, and ride it out.  It's not the most helpful advice out there, but my body agrees with it, so I'm going to do it.

 

On the bright side: at least my broken finger is healing well, and I can use the hand some now, as long as I'm careful of the middle finger (the damaged one) and don't do it for long, or for anything fiddly or heavy.  Not that I can manage fiddly and heavy right now anyhow.  Still, at least something is improving, which is comforting.

And, despite her best efforts, Mollie has not yet managed to figure out how to steal the bandage from my hand.  She tries every day... She seems to find it fascinating for some reason.  Silly chinchilla!

Artemis The #Tortoise's Personalized Towel

Hi everyone.  This is Artemis the tortoise.

Mummy arranged for me to have a couple of special towels to use after my bath time.  They're super soft, and not only have a picture of a tortoise on them, but also have my name on them, so everyone knows they're mine.  They were handmade just for me, at Mummy's request, by a nice lady in the tortoise group Mummy and I are on over on that Facebook place.

Here's a photo of me on one of my personalized towels:

And here are a couple of other photos, which were taken around the same time, where I got bored of posing on my towel for photos - because I thought they were taking too long, and wasn't going to stand there waiting for them all day - so started heading off to explore:

~Artemis

Lili The #Westie On Her 4th Birthday, And Getting Groomed

 Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

My birthday was great!

 

I got a visit from Izabel, so played with her a bit (until she had enough of playing, which doesn't take long with Izi) and us three dogs all had some chicken Nana sorted for us.  I got a new teddy too - a honking duck - but Mummy and Daddy forgot to get a photo of me with it, so I can't show you it.

Plus, me and Logan got new tags with our names and phone numbers on, and went for a much needed grooming session.  We got cut shorter than Mummy and Daddy usually have us done, because how Avirus has messed things up means Mummy has had trouble getting us in for a grooming session, so we needed it.  Anyway, here are some photos Nana took after she brought us home to Mummy after we got groomed:

You might be able to see our new tags in the shots.

Izabel still needs a groom though, as you may be able to tell from this next photo:

Nana is hoping to arrange for that soon.  I think Izi will be glad when she does.

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

Lilie The #Westie On Vet Trips And Mummy's Broken Paw

Hi everyone.  This is Lilie the Westie.

 

Today is my birthday.  I’m four years old.  But I’ll tell you about my birthday next week.

 

In case you don't know, Mummy broke her paw.  She went to the people vet for it and everything.  She doesn’t play right at the moment, and can’t go walkies because she can’t use her ball on a stick, and Mummy can’t go walkies without that – I don’t know why, but it has something to do with her eyes being broken.  I offered to help, but apparently what     I do isn’t helpful.  Her loss.  I do wish she’d figure out how to throw my ball properly with her other paw though.

 

Since Mummy couldn’t, Daddy had to take me to the vet with Nana.  We went in Nana’s car again.  We could walk to the vet in the old place, but the new vet and new house are too far apart to walk, so it has to be a car ride.  Mummy says if Nana couldn’t do it we’d have to ask Grandad, and if he couldn’t either we’d have to go in one of those taxi things.

 

Logan and Izabel didn’t come to the vet this time.  Daddy and Nana only took me.  Both Logan and Izabel stayed with Mummy.  I hear they were boring and mostly just curled up and napped by Mummy.  Those two have less energy between them than I have by myself, and they're both roughly half my age (Izabel turned two back in October, and Logan will be two next month).

 

Anyway, the vet is happy with how I’m doing on my special pills for my itchies, so gave us more.  I still have some itchies - I always will – but the pills help loads, so I’m not so sore from scratching, and don’t have to keep stopping playing to deal with itchies all the time.  The vet says hopefully the pills will keep helping, otherwise I’ll have to have a special shot every month.  Luckily, so far so good.

 

Lots of licks,

Lilie

#Pets, #Crafting, #Baking, #MothersDay, A Birthday, And Medical Mutterings

 

 

The above photo shows Artemis enjoying a bit of green bean, and is included just because she's cute, and because I took it (how much she was enjoying that bean made me feel I had to take a photo). Though I'm starting the post with it, it was a last moment addition to the post, since I only took it yesterday (Thursday). Sorry if it's not a great shot, but I was doing everything one-handed.  If you saw my post on social media, you'll know why.  If you didn't, you'll understand by the end of this post.

         

*~*~* 

         

Despite the fact it's still a little bit chaotic in there, I found an excuse to play in my craft room a little.  Well, technically two excuses: Mother's Day (which was March 14th here in the UK this year) and the birthday of one of my brothers (which was March 15th).

 

So, this past Saturday (March 13th) I spent a bit of time in the craft room to make them cards.  And here they are, for anyone who would like to see them:

    

            

~ 

        

Presentwise...

 

I brought Mam a new purse (wallet) as well as a magnifying glass with a light on it that would help her when she's trying to read things, since she's said a few times recently she could do with both things.  I made sure the magnifying glass was one that also has a light on it on purpose, since she says her living room is quite dark, so I thought that would also help her with seeing to read things, since good lighting can help in itself.  It's also lightweight and easy to grip (designed to be so for people, such as children, the elderly, or people with medical conditions that affect their hands or arms, who might struggle to hold anything heavy for extended periods of time).  She seemed really pleased with what I got her.

 

And I gave Wayne some money, because he said that's what he wanted.

         

*~*~* 

         

Mam and I cooked a roast dinner for Mother's Day. It was Mam's idea, so no comments about how I made my Mam cook on Mother's Day, please.  I didn't make her, she insisted, even though I asked her a million times if she wouldn't rather not do so.

 

Anyway, we were cooking for four, since Mam always cooks her next door neighbour dinner on a Sunday, so we made sure to make enough that she'd have one to take back to him as well as the meals for me, Mam, and Kelly.  As it happened, there was alsosome left that I put aside to have a couple of days later for a leftovers dinner, which meant it ended up being Wednesday before I had to worry about cooking again, since Dad provided my dinner for Monday (as I'll explain in a moment).

 

It was a chicken dinner for the rest of them, but we made me a vegan potato and beetroot gratin, which Mam had spotted the recipe for when looking for something for me to have with my potatoes, parsnips, carrots, broccoli, and cauliflower.  I wouldn't have minded not having anything else with all that veg, but she insisted, and the potato and beetroot gratin did sound nice, so we made it.  It was beetroot, and potatoes, sliced, and then layered with some vegan cheese, with a white sauce (flour, vegan butter, and vegan milk... Oat in this case, since it's what I had open).  It was very nice too.  Here's what it looked like after it was cooked, both before and after we started serving some of it:

We also made pear and apple ccrumble, though I didn't get any photos of that.  There was regular vanilla icecream to go with that for Mam and Kelly (well, actually, Kelly just had the icecream, since he didn't want any crumble) and a coconut-based icecream alternative for me.  Mam took some crumble home for her neighbour too, but gave him custard with his.  I had Kelly's piece later, with more of the coconut-based icecream, since he insisted he definitely didn't want it, and crumble is a favourite dessert of mine.

    

~ 

    

Kelly got me a craft kit to make a needle book from the petkids for Mother's Day.  It's a felt needle book kit, which is meant to feature an embroidered design on the front.  So, there's another kit to add to my projects list.

 

It's a very useful one though, since a lot of Nan's sewing needles are just in a little pill pot, so having them in a book would be a good idea.  But I can't put them in mine, since the little needle book I made is already full.  That's another reason making another one would be a good plan: if I have any needles with any of the kits I have waiting to be done - which I likely do, since a couple of them do involve sewing, if I remember correctly - I'll need something to put those in too.

        

*~*~* 

        

Since Dad being the carer for my brother, Wayne, means Wayne's had to be part of my extended bubble anyhow so thatDad could still help us with a few things (like getting those food boxes) we all agreed it would be OK for me to get to see him on his birthday, which was the first time I'd seen him in person since early December... Last time I saw Wayne in person was when Dad was looking after both of us the weekend we moved back to Wales in early December, and took me and the dogs to Wayne's place for a large chunk of the Sunday.

 

We've been being cautious with physical contact even in our bubble, which is why I went so long without seeing him in person, but we figured it would be OK, especially with lockdown restrictions being eased enough that you're allowed to mix with another household - though only one other household - now.  A rule change here in Wales that came in on March 13th.  We're still being cautious - even with the rule change - but Dad's been going between us these past few months anyhow, caring for Wayne, and helping us with a few things, and has sometimes been close to all of us at one time or another without a mask during his duties, so if there was any risk we'd have already exposed each other anyway.

So, I went with Dad to see Wayne for his birthday.  And, to make sure it was vegan (so that I could have some too) I made Wayne a birthday cake.  I made a cinnamon cake, so we could have it sweet enough for me and Wayne, but without making it overly sweet for Dad (who's diabetic, so needs to be careful of sugars).  To make it a little more special for Wayne, but still keep sugars down for Dad, I dusted the top with a little nutmeg in the way people sometimes do with powdered sugar.  I made it on the morning of Wayne's birthday, so it had only been baked a few hours before Dad took me down to Waynes with him that evening.  Sorry, no photo of the cake, since I forgot to get one.

         

~ 

         

Dad brought us all Chinese food.  So we had that, and then Wayne let me play with Gizmo (his Leopard Gecko) for a few minutes.  After that we watched a movie, and then had some of the cake I made.

 

The movie we watched was "Carry On: Don't Lose Your Head" - which was Wayne's choice.  I'm not a huge fan of the Carry On movies.  They're funny in parts, so I don't dislike them, but they're definitely not something I'd pick if I was choosing the entertainment for the evening.  But it was his birthday, so he got to choose.  At least this was one of the better Carry On movies.

Since I need something to do with my hands when I'm watching a movie - especially if I'm tired - I took my crochet down with me to work on that while we watched the movie, so got a couple of rows of my crochet scarf done that evening.  I got a little less done than I expected, since Maya was rather pleased to see me, so I had to wait for her to calm down before I could work on it.  I don't mind though, since I was there to see Wayne (and sort of the animals too, because it's me).

        

~ 

        

It was a lovely evening... Until I shut my hand in the car door when me and Dad were leaving.

Luckily, the door didn't close properly, so only minor damage was done.  But - as we discovered when I finally relented and agreed to go to the hospital the following evening (so, this past Tuesday) - that was bad enough, and I did plenty of damage as it is.

 

I cracked the bone of my middle finger on my right hand.  It's only a small crack, though they can't tell exactly how small, because I also crushed the finger a little, so things are slightly compressed at the moment.

It could have been a lot worse.

Let me tel you though, this is bad enough!It's very painful, and my issues with taking most painkillers means there's not really anything to do but tolerate it, and hope it heals quickly so it will stop hurting.

 

My middle finger is strapped to my ring finger, and will be for the next six weeks, with only short breaks between changes of the bandaging.  I can only use the thumb and index finger on that hand, but have strict instructions to only do so when absolutely essential for the next few weeks, since it's only out of consideration for my lack of sight I was allowed that much use of the hand.

 

Yes, I've just been typing this with one hand.  It's been an incredibly slow process.

Needless to say, I haven't done any crafting since Monday, or made progress with organizing anything this week.  Unfortunately, I have several more weeks before that can change.

       

~ 

        

Anyway, those of you who know him - or read last week's post - probably won't be surprised to hear that Logan wasn't happy about me being gone all evening, and was overjoyed when Dad brought me home at what Logan considered a time that was much too long after the time I left.

 

Actually, he wasn't alone in his feelings.  None of the petkids were too impressed at me being gone, since I was out past the time we turn Artemis' lamps off for the night (9:00pm) so Kelly sorted the 'tortoise time' routine (which involves checking Artemis and making sure she's safely tucked up in one of her sleeping spots for the night, turning off her lamps, giving Mollie her evening snack, and starting to settle the dogs for the night).  It's usually me who does those things, and none of the petkids were impressed that Kelly did them instead.  According to my petkids, "At least someone did them for you," isn't a good enough answer, and the fact it was Wayne's birthday isn't a good enough excuse.

  

Logan - and Lilie, for that matter - were rather upset when I then disappeared for several hours again the following evening.  And crazy with excitement when I returned home.

        

*~*~*

        

For those who might be wondering: my Mam had her Covid vaccination on March 13th, and other than some pain in the arm they used for the shot, as well as a headache, is just fine.  Well, she's also feeling tired and drained, but since she suffers with chronic fatigue anyhow, I'm not sure if that's just her normal tiredness, from our late night because of all the time the hospital trip took (it was Mam who took me... Once she finally convinced me to go) or if it is part of her shot reaction.

 

Dad gets his tomorrow, so hopefully he'll have the same luck.

 

With how they're doing it over here though, they won't get their second dose until early June.

        

~ 

        

I was slightly reasured to learn that the first thing they did was ask Mam several questions, including what her allergies are - both to medicines and food items - and how she'd reacted to flu jabs in the past.  So, at least they are considering that.  She was going to ask them about it because of me, but didn't bother since they ask about it anyhow, so she figured she'd let me and them decide when I show up and mention my previous reactions and the list of things I'm allergic to whether or not I should get the new jab.

My Guest Post On Procrastination

Having been invited by him to write a guest post, I recently wrote a guest post on procrastination for fellow author, Kevin Morris, whose poetry you may remember me posting about on this very blog recently.  The post where I featured Kevin's poetry can be found here.

         

~ 

         

Anyway, this past Friday (March 12th 2021) my guest post went live on Kevin's blog.

        

If you'd like to read the post - whether you need the tips on avoiding those destractions that aid procrastination or not - you can find it by clicking here.