Life with cats, and other things…
1504/30th march 2026 A few days ago, a letter came from the government. My heart always sinks at the sight of such communications because they never bring good news. In the old days, the income tax refund was a welcome item, but that is all done electronically now. So what glad tiding did this envelope … Continue reading Trust
1745/2nd March 2026 It is well known that telling a child not to do something is the surest way of guaranteeing it will. Likewise, protecting a young person from uncomfortable truths will only inspire the child to uncover them. While our parents may not have spoken much of WW2, children of my generation, the so-called … Continue reading Heroes and cowards
1507/4th March 2026. Heavy overcast? Thursday morning's Weather Advisory! warned of "Rain and winds gusting up to 7 mph" and I wondered when such a forecast became a matter of such concern. Later, it became "Sleet with wind speed increasing to 13 mph." It materialised as drizzle and an eventual thin layer of snow, the … Continue reading Forecasts
4th March 2026 . "I feel like Sisyphus!" said Grant, going out to shovel the latest snowfall. Temperatures were just cold enough yesterday for precipitation to arrive in frozen form. Wet and heavy. Hungry pussycats had persuaded us to rise early, in time to view the dawn... . The forecast was wrong again? . 0614/3rd … Continue reading Sisyphus
Can the postman really be expected to remember this distribution? If you don't wish to rent a box at the post office, you can place one on the nearest rural route, but as you can see from the above, it is rather haphazard. Not to mention damp and insecure. Which is why we rent a … Continue reading Conscience
Charlie. 2018 The process of selling an overlarge, problematic property while purchasing another 3,000 miles away and arranging the transport of 13 cats provided challenges. They might well have discouraged me and in another mindset, I may have abandoned the idea. But I'd made the decision and committed to it. One thing could have caused … Continue reading The only regret
30th December 2025 Writing about Thimphu accelerated the story a few years which is likely a good thing, especially since that is when the most significant of "complications" came into being, though I must back up a little bit... My father died in 2005, leaving me enough money to move once more. I liked the … Continue reading Meetings
0748/28th December 2025 Some people believe their deceased animals come back in the form of other pets. Maybe they do. Anything is possible. I don't make such a claim, although I have always felt that Willow and Blackie came into my life at the urging of Panther. Panther's death hit me the same way Yeti's … Continue reading A short sweet life
Cisco and Panther still best buddies! People who dismiss the loss of your animal companion telling you to go get another are clueless. Animals have personality. You love them as individuals. They are not replaceable. Returning home with Yeti's empty carrier, I felt lost. She had been my close companion for 17 years. Of course … Continue reading Thimphu
0723/28th December 2025 It wasn't a practice when I was young, so I don't know at what age people find themselves asked at medical appointments whether they have had any recent falls. Perhaps I am more cautious, what with growing older and having a fragile spine, but I have had far fewer falls since my … Continue reading Falls