I was going to update this but I have had such a busy (by my standards!) 6 weeks that I hardly know where to start.
So there is a temptation not to bother.

To summarise:

Parents, Colleen and zagreb2 visits,  Cd rom of baby pics, Birthday, scart leads, cats, and dvd's. That should remind me of what I was going to say - maybe!

More detailed information to follow...

Cats

Spiggy has a small growth in his left ear which has been causing recurrent ear infections. He has had drops but within 2 weeks of stopping them, he is having trouble again. Surgery is an option but at his age I am very reluctant. Another trip to see Chris my old boss is in order I think. Have to raid the penny jar - my vet bill is currently at 220 quid - and it has been for a year, as I pay off some of it, and then a single visit to the vet adds another 30 pounds to it! Surgery would be about another 180 pounds I think. Not that I care about the cost if it makes him feel better. They are good to me about paying it off since I am ex-staff and they obviously know I am off sick. WeeOne is ok but after 6 months she had finally stopped chewing her fur out and it had grown back on her back legs - until 2 weeks ago and now she has started again and has a bald patch! She is the black cat on the left and Spig is the black cat on the right of the pic. (The ginger cat is Jaffa RIP, who is always with us anyway)

Spiggy has just turned 17 and WeeOne is now 15 years old - so we are all a bit potty!

Visitors

My parents came for a visit 2 weeks ago. That went well, although I was physically and emotionally exhausted afterwards. They stayed for 4 days  (since they live in Lincolnshire and I am in Scotland) but I coped fine. I think they were on their best behaviour since I am a bit fragile at the moment.

My friend Coll, who also lives in Lincolnshire, is coming to stay next week. I have warned her not to expect more than two or three words out of me until 4pm.  But she said that was normal for her visits anyway - cheeky cow!

Eek

My brother has transferred some of my baby pics onto a CD Rom for me. Most of the pics of me from younger days are on slides so he has been pain-stakingly transferring them. I asked for a few of me so I could send them to my birthmum. He did loads but it was hilarious to see them. Because they are on slides then I haven't seen them in ages. I think he is putting some more on disc. I also discovered that my DVD player can play photo CD-Roms. I think I was a beautiful baby but grew up into an ugly duck!

L

I am still getting on well with my birthmum. I really want to get to see her this year. It will be our 2 year anniversary in November - when we made contact. Trouble is I can't fit in a visit to England with my parents and with L at the same time, as I can't stay very long - because of the cats (I am paranoid about leaving them even if they are staying at a vet hospital; plus I get jittery when I am away from home) . Although my parents plan to visit in the autumn again so I dont feel too guilty since I know I will see them again soon. But I can tie it in with visits to friends while I am there which I don't get to spend time with whenever I do visit England to see my parents. It gets a bit complicated !! But I do so much want to see her in real life.

General Stuff

Courtesy of h2g2 I just found out that I was born in the year of the dog. Someone wrote this article on The Chinese Animal Zodiac.

Apparently   "Those born in the year of the Dog are said to have an intense sense of loyalty and honesty. They inspire confidence in others, make competent leaders, and are good at keeping secrets. However, they can also be emotionally cold, selfish, stubborn and sharp-tongued, finding faults with many things. Dogs are said to be compatible with those born in the year of the Tiger, Rabbit and Horse."

Sounds like a typical Leo to me - which coincidently I am - and my birthday is on the 14th August  ;-)  I will be 35.

I have been told that the lyrics to Billy Joel's  'Always A Woman' describe me very well.  Mmmmm.

PMT is kicking in so woohoo - a few days of screaming at anyone that rings my door bell by mistake!!

Small annoying grumble...
Why does the BBC always run off schedule? I can understand important news items, live shows etc over-running but scheduled Tv should not run so many minutes late. Bloody irritating.

I can Print!

Anyway, my house is a mess as I bought a cheapo printer from eBay (didn't have one before so anything is better than nothing). This meant moving my PC to set it up. Since I was going to move it I unplugged everything - dusted and cleaned in, under, around and on it. Not a small task, especially since all the junk that accumalates around it had to be shifted.
This is all in the middle of the floor at the moment looking messy - along with boxes and instruction info.
I have a cabinet (which the printer is now sat on) that contains all my PC stuff. Unfortunately when I open the door everything falls out so I am afraid to do that again in case I can't get it closed ;-)

Kitty Cats

When I gave Spiggy his tablet tonight I noticed he has a bad tooth. All his teeth need cleaning but this one has a neck lesion (a condition unique to cats - dissolving of the enamel until the nerve is exposed)
However I am not going to put him through surgery due to his age (nearly 17) unless it becomes abscessed). He is eating ok - lol no problem there! He has enough to cope with already. I noticed this week that he seemed very thin - his backbone was very prominent. He loses the weight so suddenley. I will have to get him some more prescription food to build him up when he is not so well. It is expensive - one pound thirty a tin which only lasts a day but he is worth it.

WeeOne is being very affectionate. Even though the weather has been warm she has been coming to bed and clawing at me to get under the duvet. So while my sleeping pill kicks in and I read, she snuggles into me under the duvet. Cutie - then she goes off and kips on the bunkbed when I nod off.  It is hard dividing my love and time between the two of them as they are not happy if one gets cuddles and the other doesn't!! When Jaffa was here it was even harder. They all wanted to have special time with their mummy and feel the most important. I have said this before but it is a case of cat psychology!

Mmmm chocolate...

Bought 2 smarties' Easter eggs today for 29p each!! Originally they were 1.99. They kept reducing the price but I waited until they had gone to rock bottom before I bought any! It is a habbit I have picked up from the Scots - being tight with money! Actually I have always been a skinflint!
If they can't sell them then it is worth waiting until they are desperate to get rid of them and get a bargain. They still have loads left so I knew they would drop the price furthur.

I would be rich if it weren't for my expensive habbit of smoking ;-)

Ah well, nobody is perfect and money doesn't buy happiness, so they say (gives you less to stress about though).

Friends

Spoken to my Glasgow friend David this week and he said he is going to come through and bring a couple of friends too - or as he put it the 'Glasgow Possie'. I miss my Glasgow friends so much. It is only 50 minutes by train so I should go see them when I am up to it. Mind you it doesn't matter how long I don't see David for, we are always close. I have known him for nearly 18 years. I am his oldest friend. We will always be special to each other.  Friends like that are hard to find.

Girls Stuff

 Think I have PMT which is always bad news. Still haven't been to see the nurse about my girlie things. It is not so much embarassment as a never getting round to it. I mean, sticking my fingers up a dogs arse or girlie bits is no big deal to me, and I guess it is no big deal to the nurse to check women's things. But taking the bus to the docs is more of a deal for me than getting looked at. Suppose I can't put it off forever.

I don't like Mondays. never have done - even when they are bank holidays. Must be something to do with the change in routines from the weekend.

However today has been ok so far.

The sun is shining - the cats are basking in it. I walked up to the post box and it felt wonderful to feel the sunshine on my face. A bit of sunshine can really lift spirits. The man in the card shop told me it is forecast for snow tomorrow though. Typical Scottish weather.

I remembered to buy my dad and brother birthday cards - both have one in the next couple of weeks. Now I just need to remember to post them!

I was a bit disappointed with Saturday's Dr Who. It just seemed a bit silly. Last week was good though.

Melanie C has been on a couple of things as she has a new single out - she looked stunning! I am sure I have heard the single but I can't remember it at all.

( for furthur ramblings - click here )

Well, I suppose I have earned myself a couple of brownie points today.

Remembered to order some more pills for Spiggy - although I really do have to take him in for a healthcheck before I get the next lot.

Went to GP to get another prescription for me. Saw another doc as mine is on hols and she was very nice. Got the bus there and back so extra points for that - especially since it was 5pm and the bus was getting full.

Gave me daysaver ticket to someone at the bus stop where I got off since I didn't need it anymore. The fact that I could approach someone to offer it is a big deal - so a point for that.

Took my prescription to the chemist and she had them all ready for me before I had even handed it in. That is what I call efficient.

Felt a bit faint when I got in so went to bed for a while. Don't know what brought that on.

So that was my unexciting day.

Got the phone bill yesterday and I am now £20 in credit. Have to get my DD payments reduced. By the end of the year they will owe me loads. I can spend the money paying off another bill. Got a mastercardbill today and noticed they have doubled my credit. No letter, no asking me if I want it, no mention of it at all. No wonder people end up in such debt.

Bloody swedes.

Impossible (almost) to chop. Local shop has them at half price  ( 39p - cheaper than a tin of Heinz beans) and since I like mashed swede I have bought a couple recently. But it does put you off them when it takes 20 minutes of grunting and groaning to chop them.

However I shall be having a proper dinner of mashed swede, carrots (which I also dislike chopping) and a mushroom quiche. I shall probably be having swede tomorrow, and the day after, since I just did the whole thing. I do love my veg steamer - bung 'em all in and turn it on - fab.

Todays achievement (apart from chopping the swede)  was going up to the bank to pay in a cheque. So all in all an ok day. I even remembered to pick up my meds. And did some hand washing. Who says I mope about all day! At least once in a while I get pro-active.

I need to set myself a target of doing something specific each day. On bad days it may just be something small like watering the plants and on good days it may be going for a short walk or housework. That way I can say to myself that I have achieved something that i set out to do, and it will reaffirm a positive self image.

I think I have spent too long in therapy - I even sound like a therapist sometimes!

It has been positively tropical here today - well by Scotland's standards anyway. Had the windows open; nearly got blinded by the sun when I went outside. Have to dig out my sunglasses. Haven't seen them for about 2 years.

Really need to go get my 'ladies equipment' looked at. Seem to spend the whole month feeling like I am having cramps. One thing at a time though...

...well for today it is anyway. Probably be frosty overnight and pouring with rain tomorrow.

Yummy!  Bought a bag of  8 apples for 40p today as they are just about to go past there best. But they will be fine for cooking so thought I would make an apple crumble. Got heaps of flour in the cupboard that I should use up. I have also got a tin custard powder so I am sorted.

Just phoned to make a GP appointment for the end of the month and was told he is away until the middle of April. Bah. Seeing some other GP so I will just get him to do my prescriptions and get out quick. I have not seen this one before I don't think. There is one there that I can't stand but pretty sure it is not this one.

I keep saying how lucky I am to have such a great GP. He takes the time even when he is running late and listens. The pharmacist in the chemist I use is great too. I was 3 days late picking up my weekly pills (because I was on another planet) and she sat down and had a chat with me about how I was feeling and finished off by putting her hand on my arm and saying that she worries about me when I am late in for the tablets. She takes the time out to speak to people even when she is busy. Just proves that there are still nice people in the medical profession.

Went up to my old work yesterday to do some vouchers I had designed for them. Had to set the page layout for the voucher size and borders which is why I had to go in. It took me an hour to get there - 2 buses that stopped at every stop and chunted along. I could get to Glasgow faster.

By the time I got there I was absolutely shaking - so much so that even the office manager commented on it. She gave me a lift home which was much appreciated. So I got home 3 hours after I set out rather than the 4 it could have taken. I was exhausted. 

I spoke to a couple of the nurses briefly but didnt really feel like socialising so I sat in the office and got on with the job. The boss said that the vouchers were "great..., no greater than great" which turned the headnurse's (who just happened to be sat next to him) face sour . So much bitterness and jealousy on her part. Not my fault she is not as good as me - at anything!

 Obviously I can't get paid for it, but hopefully I will get an 'ex-staff discount' on my vet bill.

On the whole my mood is neither up nor down which is massive improvement on recent weeks.

Every day I am still amazed at how much poop Spiggy can manage to offload in one go. I have seen dogs do less! He is indeed a Tardis bum!