My life according to Ronan Keating

Wendy did this on her blog, and I thought I'd have a go. You're supposed to answer a load of questions as well as you can, but using only song names from one artist. Then pass it on to 25 people. You also have to try not to repeat a song title, and you're not supposed to use the artist I used.

I'm not going to pass it on to any spacific people. It's just open to anyone who reads this and wants to have a go. If you don't want to do it, I wont mind. It's your call. :)

______



Pick Your Artist: Ronan Keating

1. Are you a male or female? As Much As I Can Give You Girl
2. Describe yourself: Lost For Words
3. How do you feel? Joy And Pain
4. Describe where you currently live: Bring You Home
5. If you could go anywhere, where would you go? Keep On Walking
6. Your favourite form of transportation: Back In The Back Seat
7. Your best friend is: Friends In Time
8 . Your favourite colour is: Blown Away
9. What's the weather like? Brighter Days
10. Favourite time of day: We've Got Tonight
11. If your life was a TV show, what would it be called? In This Life
12. What is life to you? Life Is A Rollercoaster
13. Your relationships: We Just Need Time
14. Your fear: The Long Goodbye
15. What is the best advice you have to give? Believe
16. If you could change your name, you would change it to: Iris
17. Thought for the day: Love Wont Work (If We Don't Try)
18. How I would like to die: Just When I'd Given Up Dreamin'
19. My soul's present condition: Heal Me
20. My motto: Once Upon A Lifetime

Kero's Korner: Some more things I enjoy

Hi humans, it's Kero again.

For this week's post I thought I'd share some photos of me doing some of the other things I enjoy.



The above photo is of me with my doggy friend who sits in the window. That dog doesn't say or do much, but I enjoy sitting by him at the window. It's a good place to sit, because I can watch for visitors (or passers by) to bark at, but I can also keep an eye on my humans while they're on their computers, watching TV, or doing anything else they might do in the living room, which is where they spend most of their time.



The photo above is of me with one of my toys. I like to play fetch with balls, squeaky toys, and - sometimes - teddies. I also like to play the tuggy game with just about any toy... Teddies, squeaky toys, rope toys... It makes no difference to me what kind of toy it is. The humans don't seem to enjoy the game when I play tuggy with a small toy, but I think it's more fun that way, because it makes it harder for the humans to win.



And, finally, the photo above this bit of text was taken while Mami and I were out for walkies. It doesn't really show my good side, but - in all fairness to Mami - she was trying to take the photo while holding my lead and using that stick thing of hers.

So, those are some of my favourite things to do... Sit in the window and watch the world, play with my toys, and go walkies with Mami. Of course, you mustn't forget the two things mentioned in the last two weeks' posts... Playing in the garden, and sprawling in a comfy spot (e.g. the Tigger rug in the middle of the living room floor... Sort of in front of the fire) to munch on some rawhide, or any other treat for that matter.

You see! I do a lot more than sleep!

Licks and sniffs,
Kero

Shopping (FD)

I didn't really do anything worth mentioning yesterday (Wednesday) but today (Thursday) I went up town with my Mam to run a few errands, and get some bits of shopping I needed.

I have been getting most of our shopping online via Asda's website, but I've found the pickers don't do a very good job when picking fresh fruit and vegetables. Also, there have been times when I've been counting on something coming in the shopping only to find it hasn't, and that's resulted in one of us having to go up town for whatever it is. For now I'm still having the bulk of the shopping come from Asda, but I've asked my Mam to take me to get the fresh fruit and vegetables. I figure we can also get any items that Asda didn't have (or the pickers couldn't find) when my shopping was picked. So today I went and spent about £7 ($14) in the fruit and veg shop, then we went down to Tescos to get the non-fruit and vegetable type items we needed.

After we were done up town, Mam came back here for a cup of tea and made me an egg sandwich. Then she went home and I took Kero for a walk (since I hadn't had time to do so before going out). And after that I went and listened to some more Harry Potter.

As you can see, not a whole lot is going on around here lately, which is fine by me! ;)

Anyway, enjoy the rest of your day, and... Hugs and get well wishes to those in need of them! :)

Tori

P.S. Will catch up on blogs tomorrow, or over the weekend.

Random question: Direct threat

Why do some people consider everything bad that happens around them to be either a direct threat to them, or a result of someone's reaction to something they did or didn't do?

Tori

Nothing all that interesting

Sorry, but I don't really have anything all that interesting to post about today.

It's just taken me most of the evening to get online. I thought the internet was playing up - like it often does - but thought it odd that it was working for Kelly and not for me. Eventually we figured out that I'd tugged the wire loose when plugging the laptop in when the battery died earlier. Oops! So I spent a few hours being annoyed at my lack of internet access for nothing... LOL! Thing is, Kelly said it was playing up a bit earlier, so I figured it was just still doing that. If he hadn't noticed it playing up earlier then I'd have checked the wire sooner. Actually, with how often I do this you'd think I'd have learned by now to check the wire straight away, which is the first thing Dad always told me I should do if the internet isn't working. Apparently I haven't managed to make that lesson stick in my mind though. ;)

We had a HUGE storm yesterday (Monday) morning. I was just about to come and check blog posts - since I hadn't bothered coming online on Sunday - when... BOOM! There was a huge thunder clap. I decided to forget the idea of going online, and went and sat on the sofa to listen to the storm. It went on for most of the morning, and by lunch time it was over and the weather was clearing up. The afternoon turned out not too bad weatherwise, which I'm quite pleased about, because I had to be outside part of the afternoon.

I'm not actually surprised that it rained almost the entire weekend (we just had a few dry patches here and there). Why? Because Kelly had planned to mow the lawn if it was dry. I think there's an unwritten law somewhere that states, "if you make plans in advance that rely on a spacific type of weather, then you will get the opposite type of weather." And, besides, we'd had about a week (or was it more? I forget) of lovely weather. We can't expect that to last, can we? After all, this is Wales... The land of daffodils, dragons, leeks, mountains, music, poetry, and rain. LOL!

Only one more week until the new Potter movie... YAY! :)

Tori

Kero and the bbudgie

Iggy asked about the thing that happened to Kero with the budgie, so I thought I'd share the story.

It happened when Kero was about 4 or 5 months old. At the time we had three other pets apart from Kero... A rabbit (Stewie), a hamster (Hamlet) and a budgie (Charlie). Charlie and Hamlet lived in the living room, but I always took their cages out in to the kitchen to clean them, and while I was cleaning the cages I would shut the gate that was at the kitchen doorway to keep Kero out from under my feet while I sorted the cages.

Anyway, this particular day Charlie - who was a bit wary of people normally - decided he would hop on to my hand when I stuck it in the cage to grab his seed and grit bowls. I'd been trying to tame him, so I kept my hand there for him to perch on. Next thing I knew, he'd walked up my arm and was flying around the kitchen. I grabbed a towel to try and throw over him to catch him (that was the only way to catch him when he got out) but before I could do anything he'd flown over the baby gate and in to the computer room/dining room... Where Kero was. And I wasn't sure what - if anything - Kero would do to him. I just froze, not wanting to scare Kero and make him snap at Charlie, but then...

Charlie - who had been circling the room - landed right in front of Kero. They stared at each other for a while, neither one moving, and just as I was starting to take a few cautious steps towards them, Charlie did a very silly thing. He did one of the impressions he could do. There were two he was really good at... A telephone and a squeaky toy. Can you guess which he did? Yep, you got it... The squeaky toy impression. No sooner had Charlie done this than Kero - wagging his tail frantically - grabbed hold of the "squeaky toy" that had landed in front of him. At which point, I did something I didn't even know I could do... Volted right over the baby gate (which was waist high to me, mind you).

I then grabbed Kero around the middle, yelled at him to, "DROP IT! DROP IT RIGHT NOW!" and forced him to let go of the bird (which was completely in his mouth by the time I got there). As soon as Charlie was out of his mouth, I shoved Kero in the larder (closest place I knew he'd be away from wherever Charlie went... And, don't worry, there was a window in there, so he had air). I slammed the door shut, scooped up Charlie (who hadn't moved) and checked him over.

I thought Charlie was dead at first... He had blood coming from his neck, and wasn't moving. But then I realised he was breathing. So - leaving Kero in the larder - I placed him in the bottom of his cage and called for someone to watch Kero while I took Charlie to the vet. Charlie lived for almost a year afterwards, though he had some scars around his neck from Kero's teeth. If Kero had been older he probably wouldn't have made it though.

Anyway, I think Kero blames Charlie for my rough treatment of him, and for the fact he was forced to face several things he doesn't like at once... Loud noises, being shut away from people, and having me leave him to go somewhere. Since then Kero has sworn revenge on all things feathered, and if the birds that come in the garden come down low enough for him, he'll go for them. Any other animal he seems to be fine with... Cats, rabbits and hamsters for definate... But not birds. He doesn't seem to be able to forgive Charlie for causing me to yell at him and throw him in the larder.

And his feelings towards birds aren't helped by the fright him and I got soon after this when I came downstairs one morning (with Kero in my arms to make sure he made it outside before any accidents happened) to find a raven flying around the house. We assume it came down the chimney, since all windows were closed. Kelly had to catch it, and when he brought it closer for me to see, it tried to peck Kero's nose (I still had Kero in my arms so he didn't "help" with catching the bird). And a pigeon stole his chicken nugget when we gave him one when we took him to Swansea with us one time.

As you can see, Kero hasn't had much luck with birds.

Tori

Weather & Potter

It's finally cooled down some here. We had a few more storms yesterday and today, and now it's POURING with rain, and a lot cooler than it has been for the past couple of weeks.

I've been re-listening to the Harry Potter books while "trying" to get some sleep. It might sound strange that I'm listening to stories when trying to sleep, but I've found - through experimentation - that listening to something does increase the chances of my sleeping. Not by a whole lot, but concentrating on listening to something keeps me from thinking too much, and me thinking too much is not a good thing. Anyway, I figured I'd listen to the Harry Potter books while I wait for the 6th movie (Harry Potter And The half-Blood Prince) to come out on July 15th. I've read/listened to the books loads of times, but I figured I'd listen again before the movie comes out.

We are, of course, going to the pictures to see the new Harry Potter movie. The plan is for Kelly, Wayne and I to go and watch it the day it comes out, while Mam and Dad stay with Kero. Then Mam and Dad will be going to see it some other night on their own. We'd all go together, but the movie is too long for Willow to be left on her own (Nan is staying with Willow), Kero can't be left on his own, and Nan can't manage both dogs on her own. We'd have had Wayne watch Kero, then have him go on his own to see it, but he's going away the day after it comes out, so if we do that then he might miss seeing it. And Mam and Dad (the only other options for puppy-sitting for us) want to go see the movie together, obviously. So the plan we have at the moment seems like the best option, since the nearest cinema only has one showing per day. Besides, I'm sure Wayne is looking forward to having someone go with him to see the movie.

Anyway, I don't really have anything else to say, and this has already taken longer to write than it should have due to my stopping writing it to watch Family Guy, so I'll let this do.

Tori

Kero's Korner: Snack time

Hi humans.



For this week's post I thought I would share photos of me doing one of my favourite things... Sprawling on the rug in the middle of the living room floor while chewing on some rawhide.



I can't think of a better way to spend an evening (except, perhaps, napping).

I absolutely LOVE my rawhide treats. And I have a little plastic tub beside my toy box where Mami and Dadi put the pieces of rawhide that I have on the go (and any other treats I don't feel like finishing yet, but can't be bothered to hide). That means I can grab a bit of rawhide to snack on whenever I want to... No need to wait for the humans!



Man does that rawhide stuff taste good! And the rug feels great on the tummy... It's so soft!

Licks and sniffs,
Kero

Just my Thursday (FD)

Today (Thursday) has been one of those days with weird weather. It's VERY HOT but keeps raining. You'd think the rrain would bring the temperatures down, but apparently it doesn't feel like doing that. Even at 2:15am this morning it was hot enough for us to be sitting by the fan with ice-lollies. I'm not sure what the temperature is, because I can't be bothered to look up our weather. Most days it's been staying around the 30C (I think that's about 92F) mark in the day though, and only going down a few degrees at night.

Anyway...

Today I went with Mam to run a couple of errands. She needed a few things and asked me if I wanted to come along for the ride. I actually needed a few things too though, so we did both our errands at the same time. And Dad spent some time with Kelly while we were out.

While we were out, we spotted some "nepotato chips" (fries). We hadn't seen them before and thought we'd try them. So, when we got back, Mam cooked them for us all to ttry. They got a mixed reception. Dad didn't like them at all, Mam loved them, and Kelly and I were somewhere in the middle... We like them, but as an occasional change only. Meaning, we liked them, but wouldn't want them all the time... They were OK, but not great. Kelly said they were better after he added the things he normally has on chips (salt and - I think - barbeque sauce) on them. I never tried them with ketchup, because I wasn't all that hungry at the time anyway, so I can't tell you if I agree with that or not.

After Mam and Dad left, I went for a nap. I had to... I hadn't been to sleep since yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, and was finally feeling sleepy. Managed to get about 3 hours sleep. Not solid, but... *Shrugs*... broken sleep is bettter than no sleep at all, right?

Anyway, that's basically my day. A bit more exciting than yesterday, but not by much.

Enjoy the rest of your day, and get well soon to those of you who aren't well at the moment. *Hugs* :)

Tori

Canada Day / My not-so-interesting Wednesday

Today is July 1st (in case you didn't know). Apparently that makes it Canada Day, so happy Canada Day to anyone who is Canadian, or who feels like having something to celebrate today. :)

Anyway...

It's one of those "too hot to do anything" kinda days. The good thing is, I didn't really have anything I needed to do today anyway. So that worked out great for me. LOL!

Well, there was the arrival of our new lawnmower and strimmer. We ordered them Monday, and they came today. But all I had to do is make sure Kero stayed back while Kelly grabbed them and signed for them when they arrived. They said they'd be here "between 7:00 am and 6:00 pm"... I hate when you have to wait all day for stuff. I mean, you could wait all day and they show up at like 5:55 pm, or you could sleep in - figuring they probably wouldn't be here until later anyway - and they arrive at 7:00 am on the dot. But we didn't get the "morning or afternoon?" option. So, I was on morning watch, ready to wake Kelly if he wasn't up when they came. Then he got up at 11:00 am (his usual wake up time) and waited too. As it turned out they arrived around 11:30 am, so I'm glad I didn't make him get up earlier... He's grumpy when he's made to get up early (which is why I tend to let him sleep until 11:00 am unless I "have to" get him up).

Since I only tend to sleep in snatches, it didn't really affect my non-existant sleeping pattern. I was up all night (something I'm used to) and ended up falling asleep around lunchtime (after being up since 9:00 am Tuesday morning). Slept about 4 hours, which is considered a long nap for me. Yeah, I know... Four hours isn't much sleep when you've been up for almost 28 hours, but I just take what I can get. ;)

Anyway, the lawnmower and strimmer were on offer. The mower was at a reduced price. I don't remember what it was meant to be, but it's down to £60 ($120) and the strimmer - which costs £20 ($40) - was free. So, with the £6 ($12) delivery charge, it cost us £66 ($132) for a lawn mower and a strimmer to be delivered to our door. We had to get it quickly though, because the offer is only available until July 24th. After that the stuff goes back to normal pricing. Like I said, I can't remember how much the mower normally is, but I know there's one almost exactly the same in Asda for £100 ($200) so it has to be around that sort of price range, give or take.

Can you tell I don't have much going on right now? ;)

OK, I really don't have anything else to talk about today. Sorry this isn't a more interesting post. Perhaps tomorrow I can think of something more interesting to share? In the meantime, I hope everyone is having a good day, and that you enjoy whatever's left of it. :)

Hugs, healing thoughts and get well wishes to those in need of them!

Tori

Storms, cameras, birds and helicopters

We've had some really weird weather lately. It's been alternating between being beautiful, dry and sunny, and being stormy. Always hot though! I'm not sure exactly how hot, but too hot for me! The weirdest day - weather wise, I mean - this past week was Sunday though. At one point on Sunday it was trying to rain, but it was so hot the rain was evaporating before it even had time to properly settle on anything. It was strange being out in the rain and not actually ending up wet. I could feel the rain drops landing on me, but the spot they landed on was dry before I could even get my hand to it. The photo above was taken just before one of the storms started.



And the photo above this text, which appears to be of a Collared Dove, was one of the first photos taken with my new camera. Actually, all the photos in this post were taken with my new camera. None of the ones in other recent posts were though... They were all from my old camera. My old one still works OK at the moment, but I got a new one last Thursday. There are a couple of reasons for this. One is that my old one is making a weird noise, which we can't even figure out how it's making, and because of that we aren't sure how much longer it will continue to work for (it's already slower than normal to respond when you try and do anything with it). The other is that I wanted a camera that would be easier to carry around with me, and my old one - which was brought for all its functions, and for the fact the screen on it was large and easy to see - is a bit bulky for taking around in your bag with you unless you're definately sure you'll be using it. While I was still able to see the screen I needed the bigger camera, but now that screen size makes no difference anyway - and since my old camera sounds close to giving up the ghost - I wanted one small enough to carry about with me. So, last Thursday - after my hospital appointment - Mam took me to find what I wanted. And I tried it out over the weekend. Oh yeah, for those who are interested, my new camera is a Vivicam 5399.

Anyway...



We think the bird in the above and below photos is a House Sparrow. With the second shot I was actually aiming to get the helicopter as it circled above us... The bird was just a bonus. :)



A close-up of the helicopter...



I did consider trying to use the helicopters to do an interesting post about helicopters. Unfortunately, I know nothing about them (except that they can fly). I've only ever even seen one up close once, and I was only about 10 years old at the time. It was a police helicopter I saw during a class trip to a police station. Anyway, I'm not even sure where to start with looking for helicopter information. Plus, my interest in them only goes as far as, "oh, look! A helicopter!" Meaning that I'm lacking in the enthusiasm required to make someone want to look for information on a given topic. Which basically translates to, "I don't know anything about helicopters, and I really can't be bothered to look anything up." Hope you enjoyed the photos though.

OK, that'll do from me for now... Enjoy whatever's left of your day, and - to those who, for one reason or another, aren't well at the moment - get well soon! *Hugs and healing thoughts* :)

Tori

New eyes

Last Thursday (June 25th) I had my appointment to go pick up my new eyes. The appointment was for 10:00 am, and we were told to expect to be there until 11:00 am. The reason for this was that - even though the moulds were spacifically made to fit my eye sockets - there sometimes needs to be slight adjustments made. As it turned out though no adjustments had to be made, and we were out of there within about 10 minutes. And I don't have to go back for SIX whole months! YAY!!!

We had the camera with us, so Mam took this photo of me with my new eyes in. It was a good time to take it... Just after I'd recieved the great news about not needing to go back for six months. You can see for yourselves how happy I was to hear that. ;)



I did ask Irona if we could get a photo of her too, but she didn't want one taken.

Six whole months before I have to go to hospital again! YAY!!!

Tori

Midsummer Sunset

As many of you will already know, last Sunday (June 21st) was the longest day of 2009. The day which, depending on what you believe, marks either the midpoint or start of Summer. Since I follow the patterns for the seasons as suggested in the old Celtic calender, it was - to me - the midpoint of Summer. Anyway, with a bit of help from Kelly for timing, I took this photo of the sky as the sun was setting that night, and thought I would share it.

Tori

Outside photos

This first photo is just a shot snapped from our living room window. Nothing special, just a shot to show what we can see around the front of the house.

And here are a couple of shots of the back of our place.




As you can see, the plants I still have here are doing quite well (Kelly and Mam are tending to them most of the time though).

Anyway, more photos...



Thought I'd end with a bird photo. :)



Tori