Home comforts in cat heaven

Hello. My workspace is shrinking, this is the new en suite accommodation for my old boy Bugsy. The bedroom is situated next to the computer with hardly any room for my keyboard. He doesn't seem to want to go into the window sill any more, preferring the soft cushion topped with a towel. 

He can almost have breakfast in bed, the food tray is quite close. At the other end of the corridor is the latrine. Any soiled material has to be removed periodically to control stinky smells drifting in my direction. Wee's aren't so bad but poo's need to be disposed of immediately. 

I feel I am being pushed out, but if this keeps him happy then who am I to complain, I am only the servant, ha ha.

My lunch has filled my tum. Very tasty soup made with half a carrot, a chunk of butternut squash, one potato, pieces of broccoli, sprinkling of grated cheese, and spices. Bloomin lovely.

Tis very windy today, I went out with the shears and chopped off the tops of the grass sprouting out from between the paving slabs on the drive. The wind whisked up the cuttings and blew it all away across the road.

Have been for a coffee with my friend Irene this morning. She is preparing to move back home to Edinburgh, probably not until Christmas, but they have a lot of stuff to get rid of because they are downsizing. I told her that if she puts anything in a skip, I will come and take it out, ha ha.

Anyway, I'll sign off. I'm off to the Docs shortly, that ugly wart on my cheek has come back. I really don't want to be walking around with a scabby face. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

More than just books

Hello. This was a good find at the library, I absolutely love it, it's opening my eyes to a lot of possibilities. Who would have thought that there are so many alternative uses for old unwanted books. The charity shops are stuffed with them, and car booters sell them for as little as 10p each. I don't think reading will ever go out of fashion completely, but a lot of people are turning to electronic gadgets to satisfy their hunger for the written word. 

So what's to be done with the trillions and zillions of books left to gather dust, unlikely to ever see the light of day again? Would be ideal if they could be shipped off to less well off countries, but I doubt that will happen. This may be the answer for a very small quantity of them. They can be used as raw materials for artworks.

I am not able to show what's in the book, but the front and back cover gives a taste of what's inside.   

There are artworks by 46 different artists inside, and they are all pretty amazing. I've found some extra info by gooogleing some of their names, so those arty folks among you can also be amazed.

Alicia Martin is a Spanish Artist who created the cascade of books on the back cover. There are many more pictures of her work on this web site.

Jonathan Callan uses a variety of materials, but mainly books. Born in Manchester, he has exhibited all over the world. His web site  is a catalogue of his work from 1986 to the present day.

Jim Rosenau is a quirky artist. He makes book shelves out of books. His work will make you smile.

Mike Stilkey paints pictures on books. Not just on one book, but tons of them stacked up. He started by painting on yellow pages. Take a look at his amazing pictures here.

Brian Dettmer has an amazing web site. His sculpture is on the front cover of the book. Sorry, I can't get his web site to load correctly, maybe you can. I have found a Ted video of him speaking about his art, take a look, this man is very clever, I love his art.



I've had a little play today with an unwanted book. I was intending to use it in some kind of artwork, ok, so it's a practice piece, and it's not perfect. See if you can guess the title for a bit of fun.

It's been ever so warm today, and it's forecast the same for next week. I think I ought to have a few days away before winter arrives. Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip

Don't steal my life, get your own ;o)

Hello and Good Morning. The weather has turned chilly and I am wrapping up more. The heating will not go on just yet, probably another month or two before it gets really cold. We are heading towards the end of the month again, they fly by, don't they. Only three more months left to the end of the year. How's your walking going? I am on 779 at the moment, had a boost this month with the Yorkshire trip and Ranger Ramble. I have passed the September target of 749, now heading for the October target of 832. Put your best foot forward and lets all have one last surge, let's do our best. 

Need a quick topic for today's post, so I'll answer an email here, thank you L for sending this, it has given me an idea. 

I think my life from the outside is too boring, I love your blog and like reading about other people. 

I meet up with the same people every year, a Belgium couple,loads of French etc. all who escape their cold countries to wait it out where I live. We walk our dogs,talk, swim,eat, drink. But nothing to write home about. In the mean time I'll follow you.

Doesn't it cost to blog? How do you do it?

Hi L. Your first sentence makes me want to shake you. Your life from the outside is too boring? Nothing to write home about? C'm on, surely it's not that bad. Every day activities can be made very exciting, with a few ideas thrown in. The activities you list sound pretty much OK, dog walking is fabulous, the joy that dogs give is far better than anything else. Talking to people is great, I do it all the time, sometimes for too long. I witter on a bit, but I always feel great after a brilliant conversation with like minded folks. I enjoy talking to strangers, people have fascinating lives when you ask questions. 

I like eating nice food, and the food I make myself is the best. Mixing and matching different ingredients, trying new ideas, making up recipes, is never boring. Stuff the conventional, invent your own new recipes. I don't drink much alcohol, I keep it as a treat. If I supped the stuff until I was sozzled, it would probably be very boring, and expensive. Again, mix and match, preferably non alcoholic low sugar drinks made with fresh fruit. 

Swimming I can't do, and I have no desire to, it does not appeal to me one bit. If you like swimming think of ways to spice it up a bit. Set targets, pool parties, design and make your own costume, fancy dress swimming. Outdoor activities I love and I never get bored with going for a walk, and looking around places. 

L, do not accept that what you have is all you are ever going to have. Same every year? Well change it, do something different, and then you will have something to write home about. If you keep yourself busy with new ideas, you won't have to follow me, you will have a life of your own.

The rest of the post is for everyone, read it if you like, I hope it helps. 

I don't very often tell my readers what they should be doing, but today I will make an exception. My life is my life, not your life, you have your own life. You must decide what you want to do with it, you must make up your own life, not copy mine. You are not me and I am not you. 

Anybody that feels they have a humdrum life........

'I want you to open your eyes in the morning and say to yourself, 'That's great, I have been given another day, I'll  take a few minutes to decide what I want to do with it. In 24 hours I will wake up to another new day, so I don't want to look back and think, that was a waste, I did nothing.' 

Ok, so if you are struggling a bit, things not going right, you will think that this is a load of tosh and will never work. That's up to you, but at least give it a try. We are approaching winter, a time when Seasonally Affected Disorder can sometimes creep up on us. Now is the time when we can takes steps to fight it. Our bodies need daylight, so go outside every day. Look for things to do outside, even for an hour or two. 

I know it's hard to get motivated sometime, I've been there, never suffered depression but have been very fed up at times. What I've learnt is that things never seem so bad after a nights sleep. Every morning I wake up refreshed and looking forward to a brand new day. My trick? I willed myself to become content with my life, and the older I get, the more content I become. I have brainwashed myself to be happy. If I am bored, I change things. No matter what is going on around me, what other people are doing, I am not them and they are not me. 

I get emails from people saying they wish their life was more like mine. Well all I can say to that is buzz off and go and get your own life. Sorry if that offends but that is how I see it. I write this blog because it's about how I live my brilliant life on a pension. I am happy that you come along and share the journey, I like company. What I don't want anyone to do is stay on the bus and forget to get off. There are plenty of stops along the way, hop off the bus and do your own thing.   

This quick topic has turned into a saga, so I'll get off and do something else. Before I go, I'll answer the questions, Doesn't it cost to blog, and how do I do it? 

All it costs me is £4 a year which I pay to goooglie to upload loads of photo's. There is a ceiling on how many you can post and I reached that after about three years. So now I pay them a piddling amount to carry on. The other cost is time, loads of it, but as I am in control of my time, I can allocate as much or as little as I like.  

How do I do it? Not sure if you mean how do you get started with blogging, or how do I keep it up for so long. To get started you click the 'B' icon, top left hand corner, and it takes you to the home page, and follow instructions. Blogging encourages me to write, and writing is creative. it satisfies some of my creative juices. If you want to become proficient at anything it's best to do it as often as time allows. If I didn't do anything all day I would have little to write about, so it encourages me to find things to do, to keep busy with what interests me. If you don't feed your brain you get nothing back, same as if you don't exercise and eat rubbish food, your body will deteriorate. 

Right, really must go, brain down time, want to do something practical. Thanks for popping in, now go away and do something new, and come back later or tomorrow to tell me what you have done. 

Toodle pip 

Breath in

Hello. I've got the sloppy habit of draping my trousers over the banister, because I can't be bothered to put them in the wardrobe and keep taking them out. I wear trousers all the time, alternating between four or five different pairs, so to have them handy makes dressing and undressing a lot quicker and easier. 

Some of them I haven't worn for ages, so I thought I had better try them on and see if they still fit. I think I have gained an inch or two around the middle, so best to check. 

Oh heck. These are my last pair of black denim jeans, it must be over five years since I last wore them. At one time I was always in denim and I preferred black rather than blue. They are a size 12 and the label inside says waist 26 inches, hips 37 inches. Looks like my bottom is not a size 12 any more. Nope, it isn't, the tape measure says I am 29 waist and 39 hip, so that's more like a 14. 

Maybe if I just breathed in I could perhaps manage to fasten them up. Yep, can do that. However, I can imagine that spending any length of time with my insides squashed up like a vacuum packed trussed up chicken would result in horrendous abdominal pain as my wind struggled to find the way out. I also doubt very much that I could sit down. Nothing for it, these will have to go to the charity shop. 

I don't think I need to be too worried about an extra inch or two, these are a perfect fit and so comfortable. They are lightweight and lined, with elastic around the back and a drawstring at the front, and supposedly a size 10. Very strange. It pays to try on clothes before you buy, not all labels tell the truth.

I had visitors this morning. Brenda and her family called in on their way to a caravan and camping rally at  Sandringham. The car was loaded up with three bicycles, they are hoping to get some rides in while they are there. I hope the rain stops for them and it brightens up a bit. Brenda very kindly gave me a bag of fabric which she doesn't need. I'm having fun sorting through it and adding it to my piles in the stock room. I'll take some to crafty club next week to see if the ladies can find a use for it.

I forgot to take a photo while they were here, but Brenda has one so I'm sure it will appear on her blog when she gets a minute to write up her trip report. Her link is on the sidebar, but here it is if you want to look out for the picture.

Thanks for popping in, we'll catch up soon.
Toodle pip