I was left!!!!!

Hello... it's Ella again.

Do you realise that I've been with my new servants for six and half weeks??

Female servant hasn't blogged much recently.  I've kept her busy with lots of games and fuss AND she keeps going out to do things.

 

 

Even my cutest 'play with me' expression didn't keep them at home two weeks ago.

This - apparently - was the view from their hotel window in Bristol....

 

They explored the harbour and Clifton Gorge... even though it was raining really badly

(should have stayed at home with me!!)

 

Male servant indulged in a very luxurious hot chocolate in a café in Clifton..

 

Then they explored some of the interesting Victorian side streets...

 

And then they ended up drinking 'Pawn star Martinis' in a bar on Saturday night!!!

 

I didn't enjoy being left alone. 

The lady who fed me lives across the road and she has three cats.  Obviously they could smell me on her clothes.. so they started to stare at me through the window by the front door.  Fortunately Male servant ordered a large parcel and this useful box/vantage point appeared.

 

I gave everyone a VERY HARD STARE

which roughly translates as "Don't even think about going out again!!!"

 

But the following weekend they went to a fancy Sunday lunch at the Worcester Cricket Club..

 

And female servant has been walking masses in a bid to get fitter..

 

I'm just rolling around on the pipes....

 

..And practising my cuddling skills!

 

Female servant says to wish everyone a good week.

She hopes to get her blog back soon!!

 

"You Can't Get the Quality of Servants..."

Hello... it's Ella again.

Did you realise that I've been in my new home for almost four weeks?  I'm definitely finding my paws now.  Female servant and I chat away all the time.  I'm starting to understand more human words.  I came to Jan's house only understanding 'Cat, fish, food and Dreamie'.  Now I also know that 'Ella',' biscuit and 'come on' generally mean something good is going to happen.  I'm pretending that I've never heard 'No' in my life!  Jan has also started to recognise my meows.... particularly the little one that I do in my throat just before I do something cheeky!!

 

Here I am helping female servant tidy the 'back bedroom of doom'.  You can see from my expression that I was appalled by the chaos in this room.  No wonder she keeps the door closed....

 

 

I love playing in cupboards.  Here I am in the bottom of the wardrobe in the back bedroom.  I found a sparkly dress behind this long blue coat and couldn't resist patting it in the darkness...

 

On Tuesday - while I took a morning nap in the sun on the servants bed - Jan went to Tewksbury Abbey.  'Purrsonally' I can't see why any sane person would want to visit an ancient building like that in freezing temperatures, but even I can see that some of the photos came out quite well.

 

She met up with long term friends (also ex-teachers) and had a really good natter about everything.  There's also been quite a few people pop round for coffee this week.  I still get quite anxious when I see new faces.  I worry that they might be trying to take me away from my new home and I start to do 'alarmed cat' stuff (like going under furniture or getting a claw stuck in the curtains when I'm trying to create a hiding place).  However I'm completely happy with all Jan's pupils... and I LOVE one set of parents who spend the whole lesson playing with me and feeing me Dreamies!

 

Jan says that she thinks I'm doing very well.  On the whole I think she's doing ok too!

 

When Ella was Asleep...

We had a very 'gentle' Christmas break this year - not too much rushing around, eating and drinking, and staying up late, but lots of quality time with family and friends. 

On Boxing Day we went to Worcester Cathedral Cloisters to see the annual display of charity trees.  The low winter sun was shining through the glass and it gave an extra 'glow' to the whole event.

 

 

Mum managed very well with her walker - she's at the front in the photo below.

(Standing and reading is incredibly difficult for people with HD.. but my Mum is always super-determined in these sorts of situations.)

 

I'm always in awe of the creativity in these displays.  This tree was provided by a vintage clothing shop in the town.  It's been inspired by a fairy from a 1950s tree.  The neckline is made of baubles and the sash is made of tinsel and beads.  So pretty!

 

 

I totally fell for the romance of this tree.  It was created by the local Operatic Society and has a 'Marriage of Figaro' theme.

 

Close up it's even more gorgeous.  I'd have a tree like this in my living room if I could.

 

Wouldn't it look amazing at a winter wedding?

 

I saw these 'parcel's at the bottom of the tree created by a local mental health charity.

They'd worked with a snow-flake theme ... "Everyone's different and equally beautiful".

 

On 27th December me plodded across the snow-fields of the East Midlands to see Mark's Mum.  She lives in Sleaford (south of Lincoln) which is an awkward return journey for us to do in one day from Worcester.  Nevertheless, with her health problems, it's easier to devote one day of the holiday to a lot of driving rather than trying to deal with both Mums at this end (I hope that doesn't sound harsh..)

 

Then... for a couple of days I was laid low with the nasty bug that's going round.  Mark was delighted because it gave him chance to do some jobs in the garage on his current project.

 

Yesterday we joined some friends at the local model engineering club for their members New Year's Day event.  Here's Mark (in the hat) learning how to drive the track...

 

 

I was still feeling pretty rough but I still drove a bit and rode behind my friend...

(No pictures of me - I looked seriously ''full of a cold'!)

 

And younger niece I. joined us for a few circuits in the afternoon...

 

 

Today Mark went back to work.  Ella was unimpressed by the early alarm clock.  I don't think Mark was that pleased about it either.  I managed to sleep through the whole thing.... which didn't impress either of them!!!!!!

Jx

Our new lodger....

Look who moved in this morning.....The lovely Ella!

This gorgeous lady came from the Worcestershire Animal Sanctuary, near Malvern.

She's calm, kind and super-friendly, perfect for a house where pupils and their families come and go.

 

 

She was taken to the Sanctuary as an un-micro-chipped stray.

I think a family lost a much-loved pet because she's really humanised and totally un-phased by the trappings of Christmas.  The vet thinks she could be about three years old.  Mark and I think she's probably a bit older (more like five or six). 

 

She's nervous this afternoon because she thinks that Thomas is about to come home.

Currently she's hiding by my feet in the darkest corner of the study.

Of course I'd still give anything to have Thomas amble through the cat flap... but I have a feeling that Ella and I are going to become good friends.

 

Further photos to follow!

Jx

Christmas Stuff....

Yesterday Mark sent me a couple of photos from his department's festive breakfast.

The first one's taken in the pub near the factory where they meet up first thing.

(Mark's right at the top of the table next to his long time colleague and friend Ian.  They've shared the craziness of the same department and manager for 26 years!)

 

 

The second one is taken in a meeting room next to their 'section' in the office.

They get back to work at around 9.30, then it's business as usual for the rest of the day.

Mark received a vote for his outfit... but the guy wearing all the fairy lights was the clear winner!

 

We've been quite low key with the decorations this year... just a tree and cards.

Since Mark does 95% of the tree, I let him 'get away with' something larger than I would probably chose.  This year it's been a particularly good one, with plenty of space to show off the 'special' decorations that we've collected over 27 Christmases of marriage..

 

We've also used most of the gold and silver charity shop baubles that I picked up for a couple of pounds in Evesham a few years ago....

 

The photo is a bit blurry but you get the general idea....

 

This morning it's harp practice and housework until my parents call round at about 11-30.  This afternoon I've lots of teaching (two hours of harp and an hour and a half of piano).  Once I've finished I'm off to 'kitten sit' for a friend whose worried about leaving her teenage cat for the first time.  When I finally get home for supper I've got to wrap some presents for delivery tomorrow.

 

I can't believe it's less than a week until Christmas.!!!!

Jx

A Bit of Christmas Fun....

Every year Mark's Boss stands everyone a 'full English' breakfast in the week before Christmas.  The dress code is Christmas jumpers, silly hats and any other festive accessories.  There's a competition for the best outfit, which is voted on by the engineers at the breakfast, and the prize is a nice bottle of fizzy wine. 

 

In the past Mark hasn't really bothered with the whole thing (he HATES Christmas jumpers and refuses to buy one just for the event).  This year he had a complete change of heart and 'commissioned' me to make him an outfit.  We made the patterns together, mashing up the size and shape of a body-warmer with an old waistcoat, and copying a bow tie into a cardboard pattern.  I started the waistcoat before Thomas died.. then crafting stalled a bit due to circumstances and motivation.  The recent snow days (and the fact that the breakfast is next week) gave me the time and impetus to get the job finished.

 

I'm really quite pleased with the whole effect....

 

 

I used 'Quilters Dream' batting (which I use for all my quilt-as-you-go projects) to shape the waistcoat.  It meant that I could do a nice striped lining and it's given the garment some stability (as well as warmth).  The bow tie and the back of the waistcoat are made out of the star design.  The reverse of the bow tie is a sparkly orange, which looks great when Mark's wearing it.

 

Then I've made him a sack to fill with 'presents' and sling over his shoulder as he walks into the breakfast...  He's also got a red furry 'Santa Hat' to complete the look!

 

Mark's really pleased with it and plans to wear everything again on Christmas Day.  I'm just delighted that it all relatively tidy (because I'm still sewing on my old 1960s Singer).  It will be interesting to see what the other engineers think of our efforts.

 

Thank you for all your lovely comments on my last post.

(When I've got a little bit more time over Christmas I'll update the HD pages so I can keep you posted on any other developments that come out through the HD community.)

It's starting to feel a bit like Christmas!

Jx

On New Ground Again... And We Turn Down a Cat

For as long as I can remember, my Mum and Dad have had a pre-Christmas lunch at the beginning of December with members of the Manchester 'clan'.  (My Grandma was the youngest of eleven so there are masses of second cousins etc.)  They've always enjoyed the chance to catch up with family news and hand over Christmas presents.

 

This year there was a clash of dates for everyone, so Mark and I stepped up to represent the Worcester branch of the family.  We met up with my lovely 'cousin' M. (he's actually a second cousin, twice removed...we share the same Great Grand-parents!) and his wife G.

They suggested that we meet at Denstone Hall Farm Shop and Café, which is roughly half-way between Worcester and the north east side of Manchester.  It's an area of the country that we really don't know at all so we really enjoyed the drive through the Staffordshire country-side

 

 

We ate from the Sunday lunch menu (£13 for two courses) and I can honestly say it was one of the nicest meals out that I've eaten for some time.  If you're in the area, then I'd definitely recommend it (but you need to book because it's incredibly popular).  M. thinks that he'd like to meet there again for a 50th Birthday celebration in the Spring.  The plan is that we'd drive up from Worcester with my parents and he'd drive down with his Mum.  A nice plan.

 

After we finished our meal, we explored the food hall and 'Christmas Barn'.  To be honest the shop wasn't as good value as the café but the barn had some attractive ideas and made me feel really 'festive'..

 

(All the photos in this post are taken from the internet... I wasn't organised enough yesterday!)

 

And then we turned down a cat......

 

A 'friend of a friend' rang me out of the blue on Saturday afternoon and explained that her cat needed a new home urgently.  She's moving this week into a property that doesn't allow animals.  I wasn't really prepared for this and I agreed to go over and see her today (Monday).  When I put down the phone I realised that I'd made a mistake.... we're not ready in any way and I couldn't face the stress of settling in a new animal into our home.  So I contacted her again and she's fine about it.  I think people understand the grieving process that comes with losing a pet, but I need to recognise my own feelings and allow myself the emotional space.

 

One thing that is definitely clearer............

We won't be making space for another cat anytime soon.

Jx

 

 

 

Exploring the South Downs on my Birthday

One of the 'perks' of being a self-employed instrumental teacher, married to an engineer at Land Rover, is that we're no longer tied to school holidays.  This means that we can celebrate my end of November birthday with short breaks in areas that are completely new to us.

 

This year we decided to explore the area where the South Downs meet the sea.. the gorgeous Seven Sisters National Park and Beachy Head Estate.  We stayed at the lovely Tiger Inn in East Dean.  (Our bedroom was the window at the right hand corner of the building).  It's a 'walker's pub' rather than 'boutique' style and we enjoyed every minute.

 

 

We walked for miles along the coast... towards Beachy Head..

 

Then back to the National Trust Tea-rooms at Birling Gap.... and on over the Seven Sisters..

 

The views in-land were equally lovely...

 

On the second day part of our walk took us through Friston Forest and down the even more gorgeous village of West Dean..

 

Before heading out to the coast again at Cuckmere Haven,..

 

The 51st (GRRR!) birthday shot!!!

 

It's an awkward journey from Worcester to this part of the south coast.  It took us almost five hours on Friday afternoon.  Nevertheless it's definitely somewhere that we'd re-visit.  The walking was fabulous and the pub (which was a lucky internet find) was just what we wanted.

 

On the way home we picked up Thomas's ashes from the vets.  For those of you who believe in such things... you won't be surprised to read that he's a very active spirit at the moment.  I've heard him eating biscuits in the kitchen and 'agitating' a metal handle on the cabinet in the dining room.  He still shares the sofa with us (there's a cold patch) and pinches Mark's spot when he stands up.  (The first time it happened, we laughed because Mark sat down, looked slightly puzzled, then said "I think I've sat on Thomas").  This morning I heard him meowing and felt him jump on the bed.  To be honest, it feels like we still have a cat at the moment.  I'm sure that it will calm down eventually....

 

I can't believe that it's the 1st December.

Where has 2017 gone??????

Jx