Of Transport Companies, #AutumnEquinox Celebrations, And Medical Mutterings

When we took the dogs to the groomer a couple of weeks ago, we used the transport company we’d used to take them to the vet.  They’re useful, and much cheaper than cab fare, but not particularly great at being reliable at timekeeping, and seem to keep forgetting I’m blind even when I’m standing right there.  We couldn’t book a ride back from the groomer with them though, because they didn’t have an available car (even though I’d tried to book a couple of weeks in advance) so I had to look for an alternative option for picking the dogs up.

 

Luckily, as it turns out, there’s a second transport company recently been started up in the area, which works similarly to the other one, and I was able to book the second trip with them.  So far, I’m more impressed with this second company, since they arrived on time to pick me up, and were a lot more helpful to me (which makes me feel better about any time I might need to use them without Kelly joining me on the journey).

 

 

*~*

 

The Autumn Equinox was a couple of weeks ago, as I’m sure you know.

 

With my lack of energy and not feeling great, we didn’t do much, but we made some apple pie and had it with ice-cream (dairy-free ice-cream for me, of course).  So at least we did something nice for the day.

 

I’d have liked to do more.  But between how I’m feeling in general and having been out to take the dogs for grooming the previous day (even if the trips there and back weren’t long ones) I didn’t have the energy.

 

*~*

 

I went to the sleep clinic (eventually – after the hospital transport got sent on such a stupid route we were all late for our appointments, so grateful the hospital takes responsibility if we’re late on their transport and fits us in when we finally arrive) and got the device they wanted me to wear for the sleep study.

 

Hopefully they got something from that device, because Kelly helped me make sure it was turned on (because, of course, it was all visual and not accessible to me) but when we got up in the morning it was off.  We don’t know how, or when, it got turned off, but it happened some time while I was sleeping.  Anyway, I’ll find out in a few weeks, when they say I’ll either get asked to do another sleeve study or told the results of this one.

In the meantime, my MRI appointment came through, so I have that on October 11^th.

Of #Tortoises & #Dogs, Workmen, And Virtual Parties

The photos at the top of this post are of when Artemis and Izi met face to face when Arti was out of the vivarium on Wednesday.  In the first one they're looking at each other up close, and in the second one they're nose to nose.

 

For those who might be worried: yes, this meeting was strictly supervised.  The dogs are never left in the room alone with Artemis.  In fact, I think you can see me a little in the photo.  Actually, Artemis is always supervised when out of the vivarium regardless of where the dogs are, just to be on the safe side.

 

Anyway, neither Izabel nor Artemis are sure what to make of each other at the moment.

 

As you may have figured out from how I'm starting this post - or may have seen in my reply to a comment on last week's post yesterday - yes, we still have Izabel here right now, because Mam is still not in a position to take her back.  Cai is still with someone else though.

 

Lilie and Izi are becoming great friends, but they keep ganging up on Logan – who would mostly rather nap than play, and tires of playing quickly when he does play – and he’s not happy about it, as I’m sure you can imagine.  So, a couple of times this past week, I took advantage of the nice weather and took just him out in the yard for a while, leaving both girls indoors with Kelly, and I sat on the swing seat while he alternated between sitting beside me and pouncing on unsuspecting rocks.  Plus, Kelly took just the girls for walks a couple of times, so they could burn off some energy while Logan got some peace.  Logan definitely seemed glad of the breaks.  And I’m sure Lilie and Izi enjoyed having some walks at a faster pace than walks usually are if Logan and I go too (Logan and I just like to slowly plod along; Logan and I don't do fast-paced walks... My leg can't handle it, and Logan's just not an energetic sort of dog).

 

With the issues Lilie has with her legs, as well as the fact she’s older than Izi and Logan (Lilie is six, Izi is four and a half, and Logan is four) you’d think Lilie would be the one who walks slowly and wants to be left alone.  But, no.  Lilie’s very energetic, and almost always up for some play time, even at times when you can see her issues with her back legs are causing her some pain.  We try not to let her get too carried away with pushing herself, but she’s happy and waggy-tailed while doing it, so... *shrugs*

 

~

 

As I said, we've been having really nice weather.  It's warm enough to be nice for sitting outside without the need for a jacket, and Kelly doesn't complain about my desire to keep the window open even at night (which I'd do most of the year, but he wishes I wouldn't do in colder weather) but not so hot I'm whining about it yet.  Still hovering around the 20C (72F) range in the day, and dropping a little at night.

 

*~*

 

Just to make things even more fun – and I use the word “fun” with a heavy dose of sarcasm – the landlord (or the agency we rent through, or maybe both) decided now was a good time to do the repair work we’ve been asking them to do since we showed it to them when they did the inspection back in March.

 

Technically, it was a good time to do it.  I mean, the nice weather means the damp patches have had time to dry, it’s a good time to need to have all the windows open, and the stuff they put on to treat the damp, as well as the fresh coat of paint needed on those walls, could dry quickly with the nice weather.  It just wasn’t fun for me being shut in a room with three dogs who had a few things to say about strange men in the house for the bulk of the two days the work was being done, and I could have done without that experience right now.  Logan wasn't happy about it either, since it was even harder than normal for him to get away from the girls during those two days.

 

On the bright side, they did work hard to get it done in two days, and even not only moved things themselves to get to where they needed to work, but tried their best to put them back properly.  We’ll still have to go behind them and sort them a bit better, but I appreciate that they tried, and am definitely glad the work has now been done, even if I have to admit to some frustration at needing to re-do some of the organization we’d literally just finished doing in some of the rooms.  Not to mention, the frustration of trying to do the cooking call on Tuesday while surrounded by barking dogs.

 

*~*

 

Last Friday there was a virtual Zoom birthday party for Kaila.  Her husband, Jimmy, organized it as a surprise for her.  Kaila’s the one in charge of the ACB Crafters (sort of the boss of the ACB Crafters admin team, which I’m part of) and I consider her a friend, so I wanted to go.  The party was at midnight my time because of the time difference, and I’m not a big fan of parties as a rule, but since it was online – and since I happen to really like Kaila – I went anyhow.  I know it made Kaila happy to have so many of her friends there to help her celebrate her birthday, even if we could only be there virtually.

 

Of course, I wanted cheesecake after Kaila said it was what she was having as a birthday cake, so on Saturday – after a long chat with Carl, since we hadn’t spoken much since Easter – I decided to try one of the recipes I had for a tofu-based one that requires baking.  I was making some adjustments because I wanted to turn the blueberry cheesecake in to a lemon one (mostly because I didn’t have any blueberries) but I didn’t add enough extra lemon juice, so it came out more vanilla than lemon.  It was definitely cheesecake consistency though, and it tasted good, so that’s the main thing.  Sorry, but I didn’t take a photo.

 

~

 

Speaking of birthdays...

 

It was my Grandma’s birthday on Wednesday (June 7^th) and it’s Kelly’s Mom’s birthday today (June 9^th).

 

Grandma sometimes reads my blog, but I’m pretty sure Kelly’s Mom doesn’t.  Still, happy birthday, Grandma, and Mom!

 

And, though I doubt she'll see this: happy birthday to Kaila too.

 

~

 

I went to another virtual party during the past week too: the ACB Crafters third birthday bash.

 

The ACB Crafters started as the occasional call on the ACB Community on June 7^th 2020.

 

For those who don’t know: “ACB” stands for American Council of the Blind.  They started doing community calls as a way for visually impaired people to connect with others during the pandemic, and it’s exploded in to a huge community.  The ACB Crafters – which I’m part of the admin team for – is part of that community, and went from the occasional Zoom call to between three and seven calls a week.

 

So, to celebrate three years of crafty calls, we held a virtual birthday party this past Wednesday, (June 7^th).  I don’t usually go to the crafty call that happens on Wednesdays, but I went this time, since it was the birthday bash.

  

That means I went to more parties this past week than I usually go to in a year.  I'm glad they were virtual though.  I like virtual parties more than ones in person.  I'm not a big social gatherings and parties fan.

#AmWatching + #AmReading + #AmWriting + #Beltane + A Birthday + Weather

I finally started watching “Anne With An E” on the weekend.  Ended up watching all of season 1.  I think it’s obvious to anyone who knows the books reasonably well that they’ve made some changes to the plot to keep things action-packed and dramatic for viewers, which I was a bit disappointed about given how many times I’ve heard people insist it’s so much like the books.  However, I am enjoying it well enough – even if I think the old version I had on VHS was better, and the books were better still.  Still, I am enjoying it, as I said, so I will give it a four out of five stars.

 

*~*

 

I enjoy seeing people’s posts about what they’ve been reading, and I keep meaning to tell you what I’ve been reading too.  But then I forget.  Maybe I’ll do a mid year round-up of what I’ve been reading at the start of July?

 

In the meantime, if you’re interested, I’m currently reading “The Borrowers Avenged” (the 5^th Borrowers book) by Mary Norton, and “Go Tell The Bees That I Am Gone” (the 9^th Outlander book) by Diana Gabaldon.

 

Plus, I'm about to start reading “Villette” by Charlotte Bronte, and “The Chocolate Cat Caper” (the first book in the Chocoholic Mystery series) by JoAnna Carl, which are this month’s reads for the book clubs I’m in; those books are the May books for the 18^th and 19^th century book club and crafters book club respectively.

 

I’m also slowly – very slowly, since I’ve been focusing more on new to me books, so not picking it up often – reading the “Harry Potter” books by J K Rowling.  Yes, I’ve read those multiple times, but they’re something I enjoy re-reading; they're my comfort read go-to books.  Besides, this is the first time I’ve read them in Braille, and I have to read them in Braille too, because then I can say I’ve read them in all formats (I’ve already read them in print – in the case of the first book, in both English and Welsh - as eBooks, and as audio books).

 

Yes, I have a lot of books on the go.  I guess it's what happens when you're trying to read for two book clubs, and still want to read something you're just reading for your own pleasure rather than because the group is reading it.  It's a good thing I can keep things straight even when I'm reading multiple books, isn't it?

 

*~*

 

I actually got some writing time in.  Yes, I know, it’s a miracle! I mean, it was only a few minutes, so it wasn’t much, but I’ll take it!

 

I didn’t get any work done on any of the stories I’d like to finish writing, but I did add a couple of poems to the ones I have yet to publish, which brings me a little closer to having enough to publish a new poetry collection.  I still have some way to go to have enough poems for it, but every poem I write brings me that bit closer.

 

Like I said, it wasn’t much, but I’ll take it!

 

 *~*

 

We had two reasons to celebrate during this past week: Monday was Beltane, and Tuesday was Kelly's birthday.

 

~

 

Beltane - or "May Day" - actually fell on the early May bank holiday this year, so a lot of people were considering it a holiday, even if they didn't celebrate Beltane, since they got a long weekend because of the bank holiday.

 

Our Beltane celebrations were very minimal; all we really did to celebrate was to have a themed meal.  That seems to be how a lot of our celebrations have been going this year.  That and whatever ritual we decide to do (mine usually consisting of some kind of meditation ritual, since that's the kind I prefer) but I don't generally mention those, because we learned years ago that it suits us - me especially - better to do rituals quietly and privately, mostly not even including each other in them.  I shared a couple of rituals we did together on here several years ago, but these days I keep them to myself.

 

Anyway, our holiday meal was most definitely a really simple one.  It consisted of cheese on toast (vegan cheese for me, of course, but it's the symbolism that counts) and oatmeal biscuits (as in cookies, for those outside the UK).  A simple meal, like I said, with minimal cooking, and minimal cleanup, which we were both in favour of.

 

~

 

Kelly wanted chocolate cake for his birthday, but I don’t like chocolate cake and he didn’t want me to not have any cake, so we brought him some chocolate cake and I made myself some blueberry and lemon cupcakes (with fresh blueberries).  That way he got the kind of cake he wanted, but neither of us got left out, so everyone was happy.

 

Kelly also wanted to order pizza for dinner.  The pizza place he wanted to have from doesn't do anything I can eat - we have that issue with a lot of places, to be honest - but I told him to go ahead and have it anyway.  Besides, I was making spicy buttermilk tofu on the cooking call that afternoon (veganizing the chicken recipe that was officially being done this week) so it would only be a matter of cooking up some veggies of some description to go with it to turn it in to a full dinner, which I could do while the tofu was cooking.  So, Kelly got his birthday dinner of pizza, and I got to try a new tofu recipe, which made us both happy.

 

*~*

 

The weather still hasn’t quite settled, but even the wet days have been warm-ish.  The temperature fluctuations have been enough to irritate my asthma, but it’s been consistently warm enough to make my already low hopes they’re wrong about a hot Summer fade even more.  Oh well, so it goes.  At least I can be grateful for fans and freezers, which will mean I can do something to help me deal with the heat when it comes.  At least, I can be grateful for them right now, even if I’m going to struggle to remember to be grateful for those things while wishing we had air conditioning when I’m actually in the position of dealing with the heat.

 

In the meantime, since I was washing the blankets we have in the living room now that my brother has the other sofa (most of which then either got put back on the sofa and chair we still have, or put within easy reach for those days when I just want to curl up with a blanket on the sofa and read) and the weather has been staying warm even on the days that are kind of rainy and damp, I just kept going and washed the blankets from the bedroom too, and then put away the heavier ones we only need in colder weather.  They’re easy to grab should the weather get cold again, but right now we definitely aren’t using them, so don’t need to keep them out.

 

*~*

 

I think, all in all, it was a pretty good – and fairly busy - week.

 

 So, how was your week?