Victoria Zigler's Blog: Zigler News, page 64

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For July 1st 2019

Gratitude is exultation awaiting between the cracks of normalcy.
~Frederic Potter

Those who don't believe in magic will never find it.
~Roald Dahl

To let a sad thought or a bad one get into your mind is as dangerous as letting a scarlet fever germ get into your body. If you let it stay there after it has got you in you may never get over it as long as you live …
~Frances Hodgson Burnett

Happiness consists not of having, but of being. It is a warm glow of the heart at peace with itself.
~David O. McKay

Doing what you like is freedom. Liking what you do is happiness.
~Frank Tyger

Gratitude is when memory is stored in the heart and not in the mind.
~Lionel Hampton

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.
~Andy Warhol

#FurkidFriday: #Photos And #Videos Of Lilie The #Westie And Logan The #Cavapoo from June 2019

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

They sorted the stuff from the flashy thing, so get ready to see photos and videos of the cutest Westie in the world. Oh, and my new little Cavapoo brother too. I'm not promising the photos and videos are in the right order though.

Speaking of him, here's another video from the day my new little Cavapoo brother, Logan, came to live with us:






Oh, and here are a couple of photos of him exploring too:


Now, here I am supervising Logan exploring our home:


Also, here he is having his first dinner at home with us:


I've got lots more photos, and even some videos, Mummy and Daddy did over the past couple of weeks to show you too. The videos are all quite short, and some aren't great, because Mummy was playing with the flashy thing most times, and she's not so good at pointing it where it needs to get pointed. She had the same problem with some of the photos. We're sorry about that. But Daddy checked them, and says they're OK to share, so we're going to, and we hope you enjoy them anyway. This video of Logan in puppy jail is an example:






Here's a photo that goes with that video:


First thing Mummy and Daddy did when Logan got here was give us some new toys, so here we are checking them out:


Next, I ran around, while he tried to scratch the collar off... At least, I think that's what he was trying to do, but I was busy playing, so can't be sure. I know he was confused about wearing it though.


Speaking of playing, here's a video of me and Logan playing together:






Next, here's one of Logan playing with the squeaky newspaper toy:






And a couple of videos of me playing with my favourite ball:














My little brother likes balls too, but his favourites seem to be the tuggy toys like the ones him and Mummy are playing with in these next photos and videos:


























Where as I'm all about balls. Well, those and cuddly toys with squeakers in them, like the pig I'm playing with here:








And this fox:


Logan's cow is great too... We both love that...


(Even if it does now have a hole in its head where it used to have a squeaker... Don't know how that happened, but it somehow happened when I was playing with it... Totally not my fault, of course!)

Also, I know I shouldn't really, but I love to run off with empty bottles and play with those too...


Now here are just some random photos of me, because I'm so cute:


Oh, and here are a couple of random photos of my little brother too, including some of him with Mummy:


Next, here are some random photos of us together, often sleeping:


Mummy thinks his bark is cute, and thought you might think so too. So, here's a video of Logan barking:






Finally, here's a photo of both of us with Mummy:


That's all for today. We hope you enjoyed seeing all the photos and videos.

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#AmReading + #AmWatching - June 27th 2019 #Reviews

There is nothing quite like falling in love with a book.
~Meg Dowell

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Vampires Like It Hot by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This is a great addition to the series. It's far from being my favourite in the series, but I did find it entertaining and enjoyable. I especially liked the fact we get to see someone having to choose between lifemates, which is a situation that hasn't come up before (despite it having been mentioned in passing in a couple of the previous books that it can happen).

The Trouble With Vampires by Lynsay Sands
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
This book is an excellent addition to the series. I love the worldbuilding and different take on vampires in this series. Also, the main characters this time were fascinating individuals.

As for what I've been watching:

I had planned to try and watch some DVDs over the weekend. It didn't happen though. I was going to put one of the DVDs in my to-watch pile on to watch while playing with Lilie and Logan, but just didn't end up doing so, and I didn't really pay attention to the TV when I was in the living room playing with them, in there doing stuff with Joshua and Mollie, or in and out of it doing other things either. Other than when I needed to finalize this post, I didn't even bother thinking about watching anything during the weekdays, let alone get around to doing it. So, no movies or TV shows for me again this week - new to me or otherwise.

#KidLit #Fantasy #Books - The Magical Chapters Trilogy By @VictoriaZigler Now In #Audio! #Dragons #Witches #ChildrensBooks #Vegetarianism

Thanks to the narration skills of Emma Thorpe, my Magical Chapters Trilogy is now available in audio!

For those who don't know: "The Magical Chapters Trilogy" is a fairy tale style fantasy series that tells the story of the adventures of Paige the witchlet and Daisy the vegetarian dragon.

***~~~***

Book 1 - Witchlet

In a world where everyone thinks witches are warty old women, a powerful and short tempered 9 year old is trying to find her place in the world, and make amends for something that happened when she was only 3. Her name is Paige, and she can bend the elements to her rather strong will. But can she convince people to accept her for who she is?

Buy "Witchlet" as an audiobook, eBook, or paperback - in some cases two or more of these formats - from Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, or The Book Depository.

The book also has a page on Goodreads.

***~~~***

Book 2 - The Pineapple Loving Dragon

Everyone knows the mountains are full of dragons, and everyone also knows those dragons are dangerous monsters who eat people. So when the people from the town notice that one of them has a young boy with it they set out to rescue him. But Daisy isn’t like other dragons; she’s sweet and kind, and just happens to be a vegetarian. Unfortunately, the only people who know this are a 9 year old witch named Paige, and a 10 year old orphan named Luke. Can Paige and Luke convince everyone else that Daisy isn’t dangerous?

Buy "The Pineapple Loving Dragon" as an audiobook, eBook, or paperback - in some cases two or more of these formats - from Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes, Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, or The Book Depository.

The book also has a page on Goodreads.

***~~~***

Book 3 - A Magical Storm

There’s something about birthdays that make you think about the past, and now that she’s celebrating her 10th birthday, that’s just what Paige is doing. But nothing could bring those memories so clearly to the surface better than an uninvited party guest from her past who wont even meet her gaze. Now Paige’s anger and frustration are threatening to over-power the control she has over her magic; can she learn to control her temper before it’s too late?

Buy "A Magical Storm" as an audiobook, eBook, or paperback - in some cases two or more of these formats - from Audible, Smashwords, Barnes & Noble, Kobo, Chapters-Indigo, iBooks, iTunes Amazon UK, Amazon US, Amazon Canada, or The Book Depository.

The book also has a page on Goodreads.

Flowery #Crafting Kits, Moved Appointments, Household Maintenance, #Storms, And Heat

My June Makerly box contained a kit for making pressed flower jewelry. It's going to be a tough one for me to do, since it seems to be quite fiddly, and you have to be exact with how you do things apparently. I can see Kelly having to help with this one a lot. Of course, this is when we get to doing it, since crafting is taking a backseat at the moment.

You've got to provide your own flowers for it, which means I'll have to buy some when we're ready to work on it, because there's nowhere near by I can help myself to them without someone complaining (you're not meant to pick the ones in the park near us, and people don't like when you help yourself to the ones in their gardens either). I think they were thinking we could just go pick some flowers from a park or our own garden, but that's just not an option for us. So, like I said, I'll have to buy some when we're ready to do the kit.

Anyway...

My dentist appointment has been moved. Apparently the dentist who does the sedation is taking July off, and they don't have anyone to cover him. I personally think that's stupid, and told them so. Not that telling them did anything, but whatever... Made me feel better anyhow. But now my appointment isn't until August 14th at 12:00pm. Just as well the temporary filling is staying where it should for the time being, and I'm not in pain, isn't it?

I did ask them to put me on the cancellation list, so if something comes up sooner, they'll let me know. I'm not holding my breath though, since I dare say there are others who made the same request.

In other news...

A couple of weeks ago, we got a letter asking us to get in touch with the people who installed our boiler about servicing it. Only, when we called them last week, they said about us paying them to come out. I pointed out that our landlord pays for stuff like that, which they already know. They told me to give the letter to my landlord. Since I know they have my landlord's details, I'm not sure why they didn't just send the letter to them in the first place. Either way, we'll give them the letter and they can deal with it. Hopefully quicker than they're dealing with the broken skylight, which still isn't fixed. We're a bit annoyed about that, especially given some of the stormy weather we've had recently. We're also not sure what happened to those repair guys who were around doing jobs. We haven't seen them in a while, and none of the promised jobs were done. Even the buzzer repair/replacement wasn't entirely completed, though at least it is now usable.

Speaking of some of the stormy weather we've been having lately: it seems Logan's not a fan of thunder storms. At least, not big ones, since he got pretty upset when this one showed up last week:






(You can't hear him whimpering in the video, because I had him in another room with me while Kelly was doing the video, since we wanted you to just get the sounds from the storm and ocean... Even if it is mostly the wind you're able to hear. Can't do anything about the bit where some traffic sounds happened).

I can't blame Logan for being upset really. It was an awesome storm, and came up fast. I comforted him while listening to it. I think the fact I wasn't scared myself helped him, since I did manage to calm him before it was over. It might have helped him that Lilie isn't bothered by them either. We had one bad one when she was really young that scared her, but mostly she ignores them. Once or twice, she's even growled back at the thunder, which I can't help finding amusing. Anyway, hopefully between us we can teach him they aren't so bad. We've certainly been getting plenty of oppertunities to try, and they predict more storms for the coming week.

It hasn't all been storms though. We've had some nice weather too, as well as some times when it's been quite warm. Sunday it was especially warm, which none of us was happy about, since we don't deal with heat too well. They say we're meant to have more of that heat we got last Summer. In fact, I saw on one of the UK weather things that they were saying that, between storms, it might get in to the 30s C some time soon (that's the 90s F). Ugh! I hope not!

#MondayMotivation, #Inspiration, And #Wisdom - #Quotes For June 24th 2019

Anyone can love a rose, but it takes a lot to love a leaf. It's ordinary to love the beautiful, but it's beautiful to love the ordinary.
~Unknown

There's no part of creation that does not go through a cycle of growing, falling away, disappearance, and reemergence.
~Dawna Markova

Life does not accommodate you; it shatters you. Every seed destroys its container, or else there would be no fruition.
~Florida Scott-Maxwell

In the end, you won’t remember the time you spent working in the office or mowing your lawn. Climb that mountain.
~Jack Kerouac

We can complain because rose bushes have thorns, or rejoice because thorns have roses.
~Alphonse Karr

You can’t stay in your corner of the forest waiting for others to come to you. You have to go to them sometimes.
~A.A. Milne

Keep your face to the sunshine and you cannot see the shadow. It's what sunflowers do.
~Helen Keller

Friends Of #FurkidFriday: The Fondant Siamese Cat

Hi everyone. This is Lilie the Westie.

We invited some of our furry friends to come introduce themselves on here. But something weird happened, and now I have a strange new friend for you to meet today. At first I thought it was a tasty snack. But then it started talking, which is how I realized it was a friend instead. Lucky I realized that in time, because Mummy says you mustn’t eat friends, no matter what they smell like.

Anyway, I’m sorry for almost mistaking you for a snack, new friend. But, tell me, who, or what, are you

Meeeooow! I am the fondant Siamese cat. Sir Chocolate created me in his Chocolatier and the Fruitdrop Fairies gave me life with their magic powder sugar. Sir Chocolate and I are good friends and I sometimes visit him and the other animals at the Chocolate Land Zoo.

When I met Sir Chocolate in the wood one day and he asked for my help to rescue the Fondant Five animals who had been kidnapped by the Wedding Cake Elves, I was delighted to be of service to him. I played an important role in rescuing the lion, the elephant, the rhino, the leopard and the buffalo and I am proud of that. Of course, Sir Chocolate formulated the rescue plan and the fondant giraffe and the fondant monkey also helped. We worked as a team to use our individual talents and physical features to help with the rescue. I have always been a loner and it was fun to work in a team to such good effect.

WOW! That’s amazing. I did wonder how food was talking. No offence. Also, it’s great you all worked together like that. So, what sort of place do you live in? Who do you share it with?

I live in the wood in Chocolate Land which is between the village of Chocolateville, where the zoo is and where Sir Chocolate and Lady Sweet live, and the Chocolate Chip Hills where the Wedding Cake Elves live. The elves work for the Chocolate Giant making beautiful wedding cakes for clients.

I live with the Marzipan Witch and her housekeeper, a grey cat called Sleepy. I am very happy living with them and love to hear about their adventures making the world a better place to live. You can download a free story about how the Marzipan Witch helped the golden swan here: https://robbiesinspiration.wordpress.com/free-story-the-marzipan-witch-and-the-golden-swan/. The story also comes with a free recipe to make a delicious apple pie.

Sounds like you live in a wonderful place, and share it with interesting friends. Also, I hope those reading this will take a look at your story. Once they’re done reading this post, of course. I know Mummy will, because reading is one of her most favourite things to do. Speaking of which, what’s your favourite thing to do?

Sleepy, the Marzipan Witch and I like to find ways of doing good deeds that help other creatures in Chocolate Land live happier lives. Some of our good deeds have been to help the squirrels collect their winter seeds and tending the tiny roses that grow in the woods and helping them grow in the right places so everyone can enjoy their beauty during the summer months. The Marzipan Witch has an amazing spell which she uses to help creatures that are lonely and sad or feel misunderstood.

Oh, that’s lovely! You’re such a sweet kitty. Not just because you’re made of sugary tasty smelling stuff either. Erm.... Sorry. I’m a bit of a food fan. In fact, I was just thinking about how eating is one of my favourite things to do. Sorry. Couldn’t help it. Anyway, another thing I love to do is play with my humans and the toys they provide me with. Do fondant cats play? If yes, do you have a favourite toy? If so, what is it?

Sleepy and I don’t really play like other cats do. We both help the Marzipan Witch to look after our home and do the housework. We both like to bake and cook. I often visit Lady Sweet and help her make her delicious buttermilk rusks. She has kindly shared her secret recipe in Sir Chocolate and the Fondant Five story and cookbook. I also help Sir Chocolate make big pots of custard to feed the animals in the zoo. Custard is one of their favourite foods. Sleepy’s favourite recipe to make is the apple pie you can find in our free story book The Marzipan Witch and the Golden Swan story book.

Yum! Baking is a great choice. Speaking of food... I hope you won’t be upset by my asking this, but I wasn’t too sure how things worked with fondant cats eating. I take it you do, judging by what you said just now? If so, what do you eat, and do you have a favourite food?

Sleepy and I both love our food. We eat the foods we enjoy cooking and baking. We also both like to chase and catch the sugar mice that Sir Chocolate makes. We don’t eat them, as they are friends, but we do like to play with them. Sometimes I tease them a bit and stand on their tails so they can’t run away. I am a Siamese cat you know, and I have a bit of a mean streak sometimes. Sir Chocolate modelled me from his favourite film called Lady and the Tramp. This film has a song dedicated to Siamese cats and this is it:

Yes. You mustn’t eat friends. Mummy says that’s very important to remember, whether you’re a cat, a dog, or anything else. I’m a terrier, so I understand about the wanting to chase rodents. I’m not allowed to chase the ones that live with us though. Oh, and that’s a great movie and song. Mummy loves that one too.

OK, before we end this, is there anything else you’d like people to know about you?

I am a very lucky cat to live in Chocolate Land, a happy place where you can eat everything, even the houses and the trees. I enjoy visiting Sir Chocolate and hearing about his amazing adventures all of which are written in the Sir Chocolate books series which is available from TSL Publications and from Amazon. We have a website where we share lovely recipes and step-by-step instructions on how to make all sorts of fondant figurines. You can follow this link to find our website: https://bakeandwrite.co.za/.

The world you live in sounds very fun and tasty. Although, I wouldn’t be allowed to eat a lot of it. Even the bits that aren’t friends so off limits. Mummy says dogs aren’t allowed a lot of that stuff. Especially the chocolate. I’ve got a rawhide bone around here somewhere though...

***~~~***

Author bio, links, etc:

Robbie, short for Roberta, is an author with five published children’s picture books in the Sir Chocolate books series for children aged 2 to 9 years old (co-authored with her son, Michael Cheadle), one published middle grade book in the Silly Willy series and one published preteen/young adult fictionalised biography about her mother’s life as a young girl growing up in an English town in Suffolk during World War II called While the Bombs Fell (co-authored with her mother, Elsie Hancy Eaton). All of Robbie’s children’s book are written under Robbie Cheadle and are published by TSL Publications.

Robbie has recently branched into adult horror and supernatural writing and, in order to clearly differential her children’s books from her adult writing, these will be published under Roberta Eaton Cheadle. Robbie has two short stories in the horror/supernatural genre included in Dark Visions, a collection of 34 short stories by 27 different authors and edited by award winning author, Dan Alatorre. These short stories are published under Robbie Cheadle.

Robbie has also recently published a poetry collection, Open a new door, together with fellow South African poet, Kim Blades.

Sir Chocolate and the Fondant Five story and cookbook

Five zoo animals go missing and Sir Chocolate needs to find them.
Includes five lovely new recipes.

***~~~***

I hope you enjoyed getting to meet the Fondant Siamese cat, and learning more about her and her human, Robbie.

If you’d like to be a friend of Furkid Friday too, check out the “Friends Of Furkid Friday” page to find out how. You might also want to go check out that page to read about other friends the squeaky things and I have had come for a visit.

Lots of licks,
Lilie

#AmReading + #AmWatching - June 20th 2019 #Reviews

It's time to take a look at what I've been reading and watching during this past week.

If you want to know more about the book, or the author, click on whichever it is you want to learn more about, and it will take you to the appropriate page on Goodreads. Clicking on my rating should take you to my actual Goodreads review for the book in question. Please bear in mind that the format I've reviewed on Goodreads may not be the format I actually read.

Alternatively, if it's a movie or TV show you want to know more about, just click on the title to go to a page where you can find out more details about the movie or TV show in question; the title links will usually take you to a page on IMDB.

Don't forget: I read and watch things across multiple genres, as well as for different age ranges, so you should always check before reading or viewing, to make certain something is suitable for the intended audience, especially when children are involved.

OK...

Here's what I read this week:

Polar Bear Dawn by Lyle Nicholson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The story idea was a really good one, and the book was enjoyable in many places. However, there was way too much info dumping (I really don't need full descriptions and backgrounds for every character as I meet them) and too much telling instead of showing (don't tell me she was tired, show me). Plus, I would have thought the person important enough to have her name featured in the series title would be the main person involved in the case, yet there were large chunks of the book where she might as well not have existed, since others were dealing with things just fine without her. So, not too bad of a read, and I will continue the series at some point, but not as good as I'd hoped it would be.

Falstaff's Big Gamble by Hank Quense
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
This was an entertaining read. I didn't love it, but it was kind of good. It's a mash-up between Hamlet and Othello, with fantasy elements thrown in, turned in to a comedy. If that appeals to you, you might enjoy it.

As for what I've been watching:

I didn't watch any movies or TV shows during the past week - new to me or otherwise.

#WriterWednesday - June 19th 2019

I expected to not be doing much with the rewrites of my story in the first week or so after Logan arrived. I was right. Yes. OK. I admit it. I could have been firmer, and make writing more of a priority. But I decided ahead of time that I'd give myself the first week he's here to get used to having two puppies. Well, OK, I know Lilie technically isn't a puppy any more, since she's over two years old now, but since she still has the energy of most nine month old puppies, she might as well be. Regardless, I've been focussing on getting used to having both Lilie and Logan now. Partially because I could and wanted to, partially to give time for everyone to adjust to the addition of Logan to our family (and maybe also for Logan to learn a few rules) and partially because it meant I could let my story sit a bit, which is always a good idea anyhow; every writer knows you should let your story sit a while after you finish the first draft. I even planned my blog posts well enough that I didn't need to sort many of those in the first week. Now though, it's time to start figuring out how to make everything balance out with two pups instead of one.

Can writers really find balance? Short answer: not really. But find the closest thing to it you can manage without getting burned out, and just keep writing. That's all any of us can do. You might have to make sacrifices to do so, but you can make them temporary. Just remember the importance of balance in our lives.

A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word on paper.
~E.B. White

However you end up fitting everything in, remember the importance of writing with the door closed when it comes to your first draft.

Next, in case you need them, here are some tips on addressing others in dialogue - using vocatives.

No matter who's in your story, or what they say, be careful who you kill, because they might not seem important now, but their existance may be your muse's idea of helping the story along later.

Now, here are some potentially useful tips for adding life to your locations, to help your readers feel like they're really there.

Speaking of drawing your readers in to your story: here are some tips for writing action and fight scenes.

Last, but certainly not least, if you are doing your best, remember that really is enough.

You don't have to write when you're spending all your energy on other responsibilities. It's cool if you do. But don't get mad at yourself when you can't.
~Meg Dowell

Of Dentists, #HarryPotter Boxes, Haircuts, Interacting With #Blind People, #Baking, Weather Reports, And Telephones

My dentist appointment at the end of May went well, though I personally think it was a total waste of time.

They called it a, "Consultation appointment," and it basically involved the dentist there taking a quick look at my teeth, and asking if I agreed we should try the laughing gas form of sedation - like the gas and air they give women in labour sometimes - before resorting to the one they do via an IV. I did agree - if nothing else, because the effects of the laughing gas are easier to shake off - so I booked the appointment to actually have it done, and went home. Of course, since - as I've mentioned before - nothing gets done quickly over here, the first available slot they had was on July 3rd at 11:00am. So that's when I'm going.

All being well, after that I can stay away from dentists until I'll be due for my next regular check-up. Well, at least I'll get a couple of months break. Though it literally will only be a couple of months at this rate. *sigh*

We've got several appointments happening over the next several weeks now. Lilie has her grooming appointment tomorrow (June 19th) and her vet appointment Friday (June 21st) at 10:00am and 9:30am respectively. I've got my dentist appointment in two weeks time (July 3rd) and Logan has his vet appointment the next day (July 4th) both at 11:00am on their respective days. Then Kelly has a follow-up appointment for one of the things they're looking in to as potential causes for the sores on his legs on July 11th (I think that one's at 11:00am too). He's also waiting for some blood test results, which may or may not result in other appointments for him to try and get answers about this leg thing.

Anyway, back to a few weeks ago: at least the cab rides to and from the appointment were fun...

The driver who took me there was one I haven't seen in ages, but used to see a lot when we lived in the old place. He knew Kero, and remembers hearing him howling as we pulled away, and barking excitedly as we returned, every single time. So we spent the whole ride talking about dogs.

On the way home, my cab driver was a Harry Potter fan. It came up because I was wearing the Hogwarts t-shirt that was one of the ones I got from my Harry Potter box. So we spent the entire ride talking about Harry Potter.

Two of my favourite topics of conversation! *wink*

Hey, speaking of Harry Potter: I haven't shared the contents of my May box with you yet, since we didn't have the photos ready for the last Tuesday in May, and then I was posting about Logan. So, I'll share those with you today.

There was a t-shirt with Cornish pixies on it...


An ornamental lantern, like the one Hagrid uses...


A Gringotts vault key...


Some elixir of life tea...


A print featuring the recipe for a love potion called Amorenthia...


An educational decree proclimation scroll...


And a pin badge with, "You're a wizard," written on it...


There was one of those scratch cards again too. Once again, we didn't win anything. But never mind.

Also, back at the start of April, they offered the chance to buy an extra special edition box. I wasn't going to bother, because the special editions are always more expensive than the normal ones, and getting them all can make things quite expensive. But then I saw what the theme was. It was a house elf box. I had to have the Dobby box! So I ordered one, and it FINALLY came at the start of June. Inside was...

A pair of socks...


Because there had to be, of course. Don't understand why? Read the books or watch the movies (especially near the end of "Harry Potter And The Chamber Of Secrets" and - if reading rather than watching - the middle of "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire"). I knew there had to be socks, but didn't know what would be on them. Turns out my socks have bats on them.

There was also some S.P.E.W. stuff, of course. Don't know what that is? Again, see "Harry Potter And The Goblet Of Fire" (you'll get more from the book). You might get the gist from the slogans on the t-shirts though...


I've now got my very own S.P.E.W. badge too...


There was also some "free house elves" tea...


A letter opener...


And a couple of pictures of Dobby the house elf...


I had kind of hoped Dobby's picture would be on a t-shirt. It would have been cool to have a Dobby t-shirt. Especially since there were two t-shirts in the box. But never mind. I still liked my Dobby box.

I've enjoyed all my Harry Potter boxes, actually. It looks like these will be the last ones for me though. Why? Because we've been having some payment issues with them for most of the time I've been subscribed. They keep insisting they can't take the payment on the day they try (no matter how much is in the bank) and say they take the money on the 14th of the month, but take it any time between when the previous box comes out, and the 15th of the month. In December, them messing about over the paments cost me that month's box, and I had to reactivate my subscription (which had only been running a couple of months at that point as it is). Now they appear to have cancelled my subscription again. I love the boxes, but don't like dealing with the company who do them, or the fact I can never be certain when they'll want their money, so I'm not bothering to reactivate it again. So, like I said, it looks like these will be the last Harry Potter boxes for me.

In other news:

Kelly and my Mam hate that I usually cut my hair myself, which is what I've been doing for the past several years.

I started doing it myself because of a combination of hairdressers who wouldn't listen to me (considering themselves better at judging my hairstyles, since apparently not being able to see means I don't know how I want my hair) and then charged me extra for giving me a style I didn't like, and health issues making booking appointments in advance tricky. Also, it's cheaper to do it myself. But both of them hated that I did it, even though they did admit I didn't do too bad of a job, considering it's not easy to cut your own hair yourself in general, and my being blind makes it even more difficult.

I mention this because I actually went to a hairdresser at the start of the month.

I wasn't going to. I was going to just cut my hair myself again a couple of days before Chris (the dog courier) came with Logan. It was past over-due for it, which is one thing we did actually all agree on. But my Mam said she'd pay if I'd go to a hairdresser, and Kelly said he'd even stand outside with Lilie if he had to. So I agreed. With a fair amount of reluctance, I have to admit; mostly I just agreed to make them happy.

So, I looked for a hairdresser, and booked an appointment.

As it happened, Kelly and Lilie didn't have to stand outside after all, since we found one nearby that I considered reasonably priced - still more than I think haircuts should cost, but not as expensive as a lot of hairdressers - so was happy to try, that allowed dogs inside. Mam still had to pay the bill though.

Since I had to sort a photo for Mam to see, I figure I might as well show you too. So, here's me after my haircut:


Rather annoyingly, they at first demonstrated one of the things mentioned on this post about the dos and don'ts of interacting with a blind or visually impaired version, which - as it happened - I'd actually been reading during the eMail and blog post checking I was doing shortly before going for my appointment. I walked in there with my cane, with Kelly clearly giving me verbal warnings about steps to ensure I definitely knew about them (Kelly and Lilie were behind me, since there was only room for one at a time to go through the door). First thing they did was tell me to take a seat, "Over there," (even though I know for a fact they know I'm blind, since I'd pre-warned them, and the cane's a bit of a giveaway too). They were some of the good people who listen though, and were a lot more helpful about where, "Over there," might actually be once we pointed out they had to be, and properly guided me to the other chair when I needed to move from the waiting area to the chair I'd be having my hair cut in. Just goes to show a lot of the time it's just that people really don't know. Perhaps posts like the one I just linked to will help teach those people who fall in to that catagory. If you're one of those people, you might want to read that post. It goes along nicely with the "How do you politely offer to help blind people?" post I wrote early last year.

For the record: the offer to attempt to answer any questions you might have, which I made at the end of my post last February, still stands.

Anyway, back to the hairdresser...

They were nice people, and did at least listen to what I said, so I'd go there again, especially given their willingness to learn how to interact with a blind person properly, and fact they didn't even once think they should discuss how I wanted my hair done with anyone but me. I still think haircuts cost too much though. The place I went too doesn't seem too badly priced, but I mean I think haircuts cost too much in general. That's never going to change. I know hairdressers have bills to pay too, but still... *sigh* I did take some comfort in the fact a cup of tea or two was included in the cost, even though I actually didn't accept the one I was offered. I might have done so though, and might do so next time. Plus, at least I was offered one.

Speaking of cups of tea: I did some baking a couple of days before Chris was due to bring Logan home from the breeder, so I could offer him some cake and a cup of tea when he got here. I'd asked him about his cake preferences, and he said his favourite was lemon drizzle cake. I'd never made that, and didn't want to be experimenting when it was for company, but I did make a lemony cake. Here's a photo:


I'd made some brownies too, which I didn't bother taking photos of. I made those mostly for Kelly's sake, since he doesn't really like lemon cake of any kind. Chris would have been welcome to have a brownie too, if he'd wanted one. As it turned out though, Chris didn't have time to stop for tea and cake. He'd planned to, but arrived later than planned, and needed to go somewhere else by a certain time. Never mind. More lemony cake and brownies for us.

Anyway, our weather's been all over the place over the past few weeks. It's been sunny, windy, rainy, stormy, warm, hot, slightly chilly. Sometimes even all of the above on the same day. We've even had times where it's tried to be a few of those things at once, which was interesting. Thankfully though, the one it's been least has been hot, which suits me fine, since that's the one I hate. It's also the one that's toughest for me and the furkids to deal with... Especially Mollie.

I don't know if it was because of the weather, or if something else happened, but we ended up without our mainline phone working for a day and a half a couple of days in to June. It was out of order long enough that I used my mobile to give Chris a heads up, in case it wasn't fixed before he was bringing Logan home, and he needed to get in touch with us. We're not sure what happened. All we know for sure is it stopped working in the middle of me talking to my Mam on it, and when we got in touch with the phone company - thankfully I had my mobile I could call them with - they said there was a fault on the line. Our internet was working, but not the phone part. Just as well it was only the phone part though, or I'd have been even more irritated than I already was that I was looking at a potential five days without it working. They said they aimed to do it sooner, but it could take that long to fix. As it turned out, it took them less than two days, which was a relief after the original timeline I was given. Even more of a relief was the fact whatever the issue was came under the stuff that's entirely their responsibility to deal with, so it cost us nothing to repair.

Well... Other than preparing for Logan's arrival, and getting used to having two puppies - yes, I'm still counting Lilie as a puppy, even though she's over two; Lilie has the mentality of a puppy still, even if she's old enough physically not to be considered a puppy any more - instead of one now, as well as teaching Logan some of the rules he needs to learn - like how nipping at your big sister is not allowed, since he's currently still in the nippy stage all puppies go through, and don't Lilie and I know it - that about covers the events of the past couple of weeks. Besides, this post is starting to get a bit lengthy, and I'm sure you have other blogs you'd like to visit today too. *wink*