Where are you Driving?

It seems that the blog Driving with the brakes on has been removed. Where are you Nicole?

Have you removed the blog, moved the blog, does anyone know?

Please get in touch and let us know.

xx

Tia and the conservatory blinds

Well I need not have worried, I arrived home to find Tia in her bed in the living room and as usual Angel who spends the night out and sleeps all day only to appear as soon as I walk through the front door, so I don't think they had been near each other.

Angel still growls and gives the occasional hiss if Tia walks towards her and then runs away to the safety of a top bunk, she has been spending a lot of time on top of the kitchen wall units observing the new little ball of black fur and even went as far as entering the living room while the kitten was present and had a little sniff at her bed, she even had a nibble from her food bowl yesterday so hopefully they will be friends soon enough.

Yesterday I experienced the most traumatic event ever, Tia was walking round the conservatory window ledge and caught her leg in the sting of the vertical blinds, being so small she managed to flip herself which meant she was well and truly caught, as she tried to pull away she started squealing, the most blood curdling squealing I have ever heard, I grabbed at her to stop her pulling, the way she had flipped herself the full weight of the blinds was pulling at her leg, luckily my son was home and I shouted on him, trying to remain calm I explained 'you have to hold her tightly, she will bite and scratch but I have to untangle her leg' at that she scratched him, causing him to let her go, she swung down hanging by the leg, squealing, I fumbled to grab her and my poor boy started hitting mild hysteria, screaming and crying 'I'm sorry mum, I'm so sorry, SORRY SORRY SORRY' by this time my heart was thudding, I'm reassuring him 'it's ok, it's ok, go and get me the scissors' I held on to her, not letting her escape my grip for fear of her breaking her leg, she scratched and bit and finally I managed to snip the string, she jumped out of my gripping hand and had a little run about on the floor, giving the occasional shake to her little leg, my son disappeared to the living room and I took a minute to breath, I was shaking like a leaf it was the longest few minutes of my life, once it appeared Tia was ok I went off to find my little traumatised boy who was sobbing in the living room, I big mummy cuddle, still required at the age of 11 and reassurance it was ok, she was ok and it wasn't his fault, he too had got such a fright with the blood curdling screaming, knowing his new little bundle was in such pain and so frightened, after tending to him I checked the kitten again and she seemed ok. At this point I could have burst into tears, I was glad I was home, although she would not have been in the conservatory if I wasn't home and I was glad my son was home, although traumatised he was able to get the scissors I'm not sure what I would have done if he wasn't home as the string was so tight the only option was to cut it.

I am again traumatised after living that all over again so I will leave it there for today and go and have a cup of tea!

Angel v Tia

I have 2 bits of news today;

We got another kitten yesterday, she has the same mother and father as Angel, you may remember just recently I talked about him, the big black Tom Cat who must be the lightest cat on his feet around our way judging by the amount of kittens born next door alone!

Tia is the new arrival, she is black and has a small white triangle just under her chin, this may be handy as she gets older so that we can tell the difference if necessary. Angel was none to fussed and has growled and hissed at her, causing the 'wee yin' to hiss back and arch her back, all 6 inches of her - it's so cute! As Angel is now officially a night cat, we left the wee yin unattended in the living room as Angel enters via the bedroom window and then takes residence at my feet. The wee yin slept safely behind the couch where she was safe from Angels view. I took the wee yin up to my room this morning to ask Angel to be nice to her and Angel lifter her head, had a look and went back to sleep, this filled me with positive vibes and I left them both the free roam of the house, knowing the wee yin could run behind the couch and the big yin, being a bit of a woose, can go out of the window. All was well and I was happy with my decision until I started googling 'how to introduce the kitten to the older kitten' almost every thread I came across suggested separation until they are used to each other and in the event they draw blood contact the vet. So now I'm shitting myself that the wee yin couldn't run fast enough to get behind the couch and the big yin's drawn blood. I normally only work until 2pm on a Monday and I stupidly told someone who is coming to collect their work wear that I will be here until 2.30. In a desperate attempt to pass the time I am writing this post.

I hadn't told the kids of the hubby about Tia and let the kids decide on the kitten as there were 2, one was so timid we opted for the not quite so timid one. We set her up in the conservatory, food, water, bed etc and on returning from work, the hubby who keeps his working boots in there said and these are his exact words;

What the fuck is that? stating the obvious at the little black ball of fur
No fucking way!
That's not staying!
We're not having another cat!
It'll be gone by the end of the day!

He drew breath long enough for my son to say 'her name is Tia' proudly

To which he replied 'What kinda name's that for a cat'

Needless to say, the wife wins again, the kitten's still with us - well here's hoping.

I'll keep the other news for tomorrow as I've passed enough time.

No time for a funeral

It was Saturday the 10th of May and we had loaded the bouncy castle into the car to take to the MIL's for a party for the newly weds son's first birthday. The boys had started on the back garden, clearing the grass, dirt and slabs, a lorry had just arrived to take away the rubbish and off load some 'type one' a technical term for stones which are used underneath the paving blocks. We used this day to practise the daughters hair, ready for her communion the following week, I was just adding the finishing touches when the phone rang, it was my mum;

'I'm just about to go to the hospital, your gran is being taken in' she said 'I'm going to meet the ambulance there, I thought I should let you know' this time her voice breaking into tears.

'What's happened' I asked

'She was being taken for her lunch and she just slouched, her tongue and her lips went blue and the home have phoned an ambulance as it took them a while to rouse her' she explained

This is it I thought, the phone call I have been dreading, I don't think I can cope with this today, dealing with a funeral and a communion. 'I'll meet you there' I said. By this time I was in tears which makes the children worry, my son went to get his Daddy and my daughter wiped my tears. Typically our car was parked behind the lorry, which had its stabilising legs out and was blocking the whole road. But the hubby being my knight in shining armour advised the driver he would ne' ae shift his lorry as the wives granny wisnae well. I hurried out of the house trying to hide my scarlet, teary face while thanking the boys without making eye contact. On one hand if my Granny was to slip away I wouldn't want her to be resuscitated, at the age of 86 with the severe dementia she has, I don't think it's fair, but on the other hand, this is my Granny and I wasn't ready to part with her. The whole journey to the hospital I gave myself a good talking to, she was 86, she'd had a good life, she has no quality of life at the moment. But it didn't stop the tears flowing. The only one passing comment I could make to the hubby being;

'I don't even have a tissue, you would think being a mother I would carry a pack of tissues' sniffing back the snot.

The hubby dropped me at the door and said he would come back up after dropping the kids at his mothers, I couldn't even say goodbye. I managed to tell the girl at the reception desk that my gran had been brought in by ambulance and gave her name. The girl then politely said

'She already has a relative in with her and we only allow one relative' in the kind of tone that one wants to smash her face in.

My immediate thoughts were, only one relative, is that good or bad, is it because she is so ill that they only allow one, but I was able enough to confirm that would be my mum and could someone tell her that I'm here.

A few minutes later a female nurse came to the door and ushered me in and with a sympathetic arm around me she lead me through, she'd obviously died, I could tell by her reaction and the fact they are letting me in, with this I took a sharp breath in and let out a big sob. The nurse at this point said 'She's ok, she's right in here' pushed the door open and there sat my mother with the same red, teary face. 'It's ok, she's ok' said my mum and at that my Granny, in a big loud voice, said 'I'm ok' I was so relieved.

I then had to explain to my mum and the nurses that I thought due to the sympathetic action of the nurse that she had passed away. It turns out the nurse was in fact my Gran's new carer from the home, I had just seen the uniform and assumed it was a nurse. The hospital staff were fantastic and keep apologise for keeping us waiting, they gave us tea and sandwiches and were very understanding of the dementia. We have come across many people who have never dealt with dementia and start to raise their voice when my Gran fails to respond with the answer to their question. One thing she is not and that is deaf! Granny under went all sorts of tests that day, several ECG's, blood tests, a chest X-ray, a sample taken from an artery in the wrist which was extremely painful for her and for us, practically having to pin her down to have it done by a young nervous doctor. She arrived in casualty at approx 1.15pm and finally at 7pm she was admitted to a ward. The ward was particularly quiet that evening and the staff nurse spent a good bit of time with us, allowing us to explain all her dementia issues, meaning we could go home and relax knowing that she would not be left unattended with the bed rails down.

During her time in casualty the nurse came in to tell me that my husband was outside. Standing waiting with a packet of tissues, ready to take the emotional outburst. I was emotional but by then it was a relieved gibbering. He would have stayed but due to the one person restriction I sent him to reassure the kids.

Granny was released the next day with confirmation that she had a Urinary Tract Infection and a course of Antibiotics.

As usual things always come in threes and on Monday there was a follow up appointment at the hospital as the X-rays had shown something the doctors wanted to discuss. We knew it had to be something of concern. My mum attended the appointment and basically to cut a long story short my Gran has a small mass on her lung which they can only assume to be cancer. Given her age there will be no operation or treatment and nature will take it's course they will of course keep her comfortable. The last X-ray she had was approx 2 years ago and there will be another X-ray shortly to determine growth. At the moment it seems to be causing her no pain.

As I am trained in Reiki I have been sending distant Reiki since Monday, in cases cancer has been known to go completely with continual Reiki treatment, although with me the jury is still out on that one. I do not wish to rid my Gran of cancer to prolong her life, but merely to make sure she doesn't suffer.

Father of 11, that we know of and not a bit of maintenance paid

Well the big black Tom cat about our way has certainly been putting it about a bit. Our kitten Angel was a result of the frolicking of next doors black cat, or kitten as she was then, with the big black Tom cat, being so young she only had 2 kittens, one male, one female. You would think being the responsible owner of 3 female cats and 2 unexpected kittens it would be enough to have any owner run all three cats immediately to the vets for spaying, but no, there seemed to have been more important things on the agenda like a new flat screen TV which required a new TV unit and of course new curtains and a matching rug, not to mention the annual girlie holiday.

Only just 8 weeks ago the second oldest black & white cat gave birth to 3 kittens, 2 black & white and one grey & white, 2 female and one male. I was absolutely smitten with the grey & white kitten and suggested to the hubby we get it. His response was somewhat unexpected, lets just say I tend to get what I want, he may refuse to begin with but pretty soon he gives in, but this time it was a categorical, unarguable, definite NO! I was shocked. Moi, being told no, that was a first. For weeks I tried to shame him into giving in, but he didn't. Meantime Angels mother took a sudden middle spread and 4 weeks ago became a mother for the second time, 3 kittens, 2 female and one male.

At my daughters communion, the kittens provided great entertainment for all the kids and my lovely niece's boyfriend left with the little black & white male kitten. One down 2 to go before the next lot were ready for dispatch. I took the grey & white one to show everyone my new kitten, to which the hubby just raised his eyebrows, but still he told my neighbour

'she's no gettin' it!'

After a particularly bad night kept awake by the hubby's snoring I decided bugger it, I'm having that kitten, after work I'll confirm with my neighbour and surprise the kids. Sitting to have our dinner, me, my children, the hubby and my mother and my son announced;

'Well that's all the kittens gone'

'Gone' I stammered, my heart sinking.

'Yes, they've been taken by the neighbour's sister and a friend' he confirmed.

Well, I could hardly eat my dinner for tripping over my big petted lip. After dinner I took the communion photo's in to show my neighbour and confirm the kittens were in fact gone. They were.

'You said you weren't to get one' she said.

'I know, but I wanted that grey & white one' I said like a two year old.

She was so apologetic, but it wasn't her fault. No, it was the hubby's fault. So having talked myself into the fact I would shortly have 2 cats I put a reserve on one of Angel's sisters, they will be ready in about 3 weeks and this time I will surprise the kids. I put on a brave face, went home and announced I would never forgive the hubby, there would never be another grey & white cat like that, it was one of a kind and I didn't get it because he said NO, as you do when you are tired and irrational. To which he responded and quite rightly I might say;

'When have you ever listened to me, I thought you would just have appeared with it anyway'

This made me feel slightly better about the fact I had just gone behind his back and reserved another one, so we'll see what his reaction is when another little black kitten appears soon. Perhaps he won't even notice.

Meanwhile, and this is a true story I am not making this up, the third and final cat, the ginger one also took a middle spread and on Saturday night gave birth to 3 kittens, a ginger one and 2 black ones, or so we thought until yesterday when we got a closer look, they have white faces, black bodies with ginger stripes and ginger markings on their legs, sex still to be confirmed.

When the hubby heard the ginger cat was expecting he announced he would like a ginger cat so that he could call it Garfield. Bloody typical.

As there are a couple of people interested in the kittens I thought I better have a look at them and reserve mine, I had only seen them just after they were born and didn't take much interest in them as I was having the grey & white one from the first litter, so last night I went in and had a full study of all three of them, the male I eliminated straight away as I am not having any 'goings on' under my roof without a marriage certificate. This leaves the 2 females, one completely black with many stray white hairs down her left front paw and one with a little white patch under her chin. The one with the white patch is a nosy little thing, as soon as someone talks, she sits down, raises her head and ears and becomes alert, all 6 inches of her, sooooo cute, but she has a funny little face, resembling a little gremlin, while the other has a fuller face.

I have no idea which one to go for, I like the idea of the little nosy one, but prefer the face of the other one and my main concern is the nosy one becomes a little to nosy and inquisitive and scales the curtains and the furniture and is generally a lot to handle after getting our placid little Angel.

Any advice on How to choose your kitten would be gratefully received.

And Tom cat, well he better watch out, it'll be cheaper to get him neutered than the 3 females, if we can catch the b*****d....

For the record I confirm Angel was spayed at 5 months before she was let out the door