Monday 30 January 2012

Thanks a bunch :o)

Good evening, it's been a mixed bag of allsorts today. First off, before I forget again, we have rehomed our lovely big fluffy black and white Bobo cat. He came to us a few months ago after his elderly owner had to go into a care home. Now Bobo is living with a lovely couple in our village, who sadly lost their old cat two weeks ago. I am so pleased they came to see him and fell in love with him. Another success :o)

We have just taken in another cat which was found wandering in the next village. We are trying to trace it's owners as it appears to be well looked after and is wearing a collar. Posters have been put out, a free advert is in the paper, and Cats Protection lost and found have been contacted. We shall have to wait and see if anyone comes forward.

In the meantime we are getting calls from people who are looking for kittens. I have to say though that the tone of some of the people enquiring makes me think I don't want to hand over a kitten to them. Janet and Sue have also had this type of call, when the person seems to have no manners. The first words you hear are, 'got any kittens'. They don't bother to introduce themselves, (almost always young females), say anything about their circumstances and why they want a kitten, and when checking the 1471 after the call, (a system which gives the callers number), they are usually ringing from a mobile. I'm afraid we have to make quick decisions on that first impression, they won't get a cat from us.

I thought I would slip this pic in here, it makes me laugh. Henry choc lab is waiting patiently for Lily cat to walk away from his food dish, so he can mop up the crumbs. Henry can be a finicky eater, turning his nose up at perfectly good food, but the moment another animal is on the scene he starts to get interested.

Sometimes I offer him a titbit, I have all sorts of different treats. If it is one he doesn't fancy at that time he will spit it out. But if I offer one to another dog while out walking, all of a sudden Henry says, hey where's mine. His facial expressions are fantastic, I'm sure he is human.


Do you like my bunches of flowers, they cost 3p each, I bought them on Wednesday from Tesco. My sister gave me the tip of putting them into water so they stay fresher for longer. These went out of date on the 25th and they are still looking nice and green, no sign of yellowing yet. I have made a start on them tonight, dinner was steamed carrots, potatoes, and brocolli, with two boiled eggs. The eggs have to be eaten in the next day or two.

I'm hoping to get to the end of the week without spending any more money on food. Then I shall do a tot up for the last four week period and hope that it comes within my £40 target. I am still adding to my food diary, the link is at the top of the page. I find that by writing it all down, it keeps me focussed. The experiment is over a six month period, then I shall have some figures on how much it costs to feed me.

I have been thinking about food a lot just lately, and the different types we need to keep our body nourished. In the last year I have been cutting back drastically on what I call junk food, sweets, crisps, pop, biscuits, cake, ready meals, pies, and pizzas, etc. Food that has been refined with lots of sugar, salt, and fat in it. I think some of this stuff shouldn't be called food at all. It does nothing to feed your body and keep it in good condition. I want a new title for it, Gunk, because that's what it does, it gunks up your insides. The dictionary definition of gunk is, 'Slimy or filthy substance'. About right I would say. Keep your 'gunk' to a minimum, ha ha.

Now where was I, ah yes, what I did today. I had my hair cut at my friends house this morning. Her haidresser came, so she might as well do the two of us. My friend paid for mine, in exchange for me looking after her dog on Wednesday. A good swap I would say.

I did a dash to town on the bus, only two places to go to so I was in and out in a flash and came back on the next bus. My doggy treats were running low, I like to keep a few in for all my doggy friends, so I went to the market, cheapest place to get them. The Bakers Meaty Chunks are very handy for carrying around in your pocket, and all dogs love them. A few packets of other chews as well.

Next a quick visit to the library to pick up some Ordnance Survey maps. I need to start planning my next long walk. Not sure when to do it yet, possibly April. There was one map short, they didn't have the Morecambe bit, so I will have to look on the internet for that. Anyway, ready to start by laying them all out on the living room floor. As you can see Mayze can't wait to get started, ha ha.


I finished off the afternoon with a walk with Rocky, the little dog up the road who doesn't get out much. In fact, I kept him for a while after, untill his owner came back, then I reluctantly had to take him home.

Just before I sign off I would like to thank you for your lovely comments about my Whitby stories. I do appreciate that you take the time to read about my trips, as it takes ages to load all the photo's and add the words. Talking of photo's, have you noticed the new link at the top of the page? I decided to do a standalone page on the photo's which are my favourites, rather than lose them in the bowels of the blog. I have more to add, it will make a nice little slide show when it's finished. Toodle pip.

20 comments:

  1. Great tip about the broccoli, I must try that as it always seems to go off very quickly and I can only eat it when it's really fresh, green and firm! I will try your tip next time I buy broccoli!

    Good idea for the favourite photos page too, it will be nice to look through them every so often.

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  2. Good news about the kitty finding a new forever home!
    !!Do not read on if you are sensitive!!

    If the young ignorant girls calling to ask for kittens sounds weird..then go with your gut feeling. It is a ruse often used by thugs training fighting dogs..they use kittens as bait. When people put up signs in the countryside offering "kittens free to a good home" they do not realise that the seemingly kind person who says "I'll take all five...one for me, the wife, and each kid" that should be a warning sign that the kittens are not destined for a nice home.
    Ilona....thanks for letting me hijack your blog to give the warning.
    Jane xx

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  3. I agree with you about food but I think many people dont get it and think food is food. Every year more and more of supermarket shelves are given over to manufactured food products and less and less to real food in its natural state. I am a great fan of Michael Pollan (eat real food, not too much, mostly plant based)
    and I do think food has a direct impact on a person s health.
    Your pictures of Whitby were lovely, I havent been there for 40 years, does nt look like it has changed much.
    Gorgeous part of the world and I loved it how you photographed it at different times of the day.

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  4. I need to use that broccoli tip too. I don't like it much, so put off eating it, but it's so good for you that I have to sometimes!!

    Haha, good use of the word "gunk"! I'll have to think of it like that next time I reach for the custard creams!

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  5. I bought broccoli today, so if I don't use it up tomorrow, I will pop it in some water, great tip.

    Gill in Canada

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  6. Do you trim some of the stem first - so the cut is fresh to take up water - bit like flowers in a vase?

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  7. Ilona, you are doing a great public service here ! and to boot, making me, and I am sure others, smile. Really enjoy your blogs, thank you.....

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  8. Good job on the Quality Control for rehoming kitties. Can't be too careful! You and your friend are their best hope for a good life. :)
    I enjoy your stories and photos very much, even more so perhaps because my own rambling has been limited due to increasing joint issues in recent years. Your tales often remind me of a trip to Ireland where I traveled by bus, boat, horseback...and walked over a hundred miles.

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  9. Lots of beautiful photos in your favourites.

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  10. Hi Jane. When you have an important message to get across, which is relevant to the post, hi jack all you like. Animal welfare is paramount to us and we do all we can to find genuine safe and loving homes for our kitties. There are some truly awful people out there, we have to be on our guard.

    We had a snotty woman who was very annoyed that we would not drive 35 miles each way to do a home check. When we last had an enquiry from her area we discovered that the person had been turned down by their local rescue, and thought they would try further afield.

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  11. Well done re the kitty rehoming - you can't be too careful - I used to run a rabbit rescue centre at my own smallholding, I rehomed just a few after 'very' rigorous checks, but I just couldn't sleep at night imagining they weren't being looked after properly ! I arrogantly thought no one could do it like me !! so I stopped rehoming and kept them myself, this resulted in over 200 rabbits and virtually bankrupting me - but at least I slept at night !
    I also started taking in other animals, farm animals too, sheep, goats, chucks and ducks as well as rabbits and cats - none of my 'babies' ended up in the food chain, I even took chickens to the vet ! and why not ?
    Thanks for the broccoli tip too.

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  12. Glad Bobo has found a new home :0)

    Love the new photos section, thought there might be one or two from your Spurn Head walk in there, they were fab photos!

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  13. Here in the States there are very strict rules about adopting pets; they have to come and see what your house is like and you have to pay a relatively large sum to aquire a kitten, they are not free. Also around Halloween they will not let any cats be adopted.
    I think it is rare that people are ill-intentioned but you cant be too careful.

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  14. After reading what Jane has to say about possible 'adoptees' of your lovely cats, I think you are very wise to go with your gut instinct after each call.

    You do a wonderful job with all the cats and it would horrendous to think of them getting into the wrong hands after the love they have known with you and your friends.

    Good tip with the broccoli, I never though of doing that. As I use the stems in my cooking too, this would stop them drying out as much.

    My boys used to love broccoli when they were little and would call it 'trees', so when asked what they wanted for tea while we were out shopping and getting the response, 'fish fingers and trees please Mum' we would get some funny looks from fellow shoppers!

    Sue xx

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  15. Learned something else, didn't know about the broccoli in a glass of water. I've passed a few as didn't think we'd use them in time, but gonna try this trick next time I see some, see how long they last. At 3p I'll just leave one spray to see how long it stays edible.

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  16. Oh I love Henry! Our dog(Alsatian) used to be the same with our cat,she would even get off her bed so he could snooze there. He(the cat) used to be the boss even when he was a kitten.

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  17. Fab tip about the broccoli, thanks for sharing that with your disciples LOL

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  18. My brocolli seems to be keeping fresh. Yes I did slice the bottom off before I put it in the water.

    Kate, I haven't got to 'S for Spurn' yet. Such a lot to go through.

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  19. Can't wait to find out where you're going next. I love following your posts on the long walks you do.

    I've seen a bit of change recently here in NZ. People seem to be waking up and there is big demand for more natural organic products. Many of the big brands are starting to cater for this.

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  20. Haha, I love your broccoli flowers!

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