Ocean waves

One day, a couple of weeks back, the sea was rougher than we'd seen it since we'd been here; not the roughest it could be, but rougher than when we last took pictures for sure. So, we took the camera, walked down to the promonade, and took these photos:












The seagul population seemed to be enjoying the rougher waves:


Maybe it makes fishing easier for them?

Anyway, we would have also got photos another day - when it was even rougher - but Kero refused to go down near enough that day; the wind was too much for him, I think. All I know for sure is that the moment the wind hit us fully as we came to the bottom of the hill, Kero flattened his ears back and began to frantically pull me towards the park instead, and short of either picking him up or physically dragging him there was no way I was getting him to go the rest of the way to the ocean.

Furkid thoughts: teddies and things

Hi humans, this is Kero.

Well, all our stuff is here, and we've been in this "new home" place for lots of sleeps now; Mami says it's been a whole month! You should see where we've been! There's this park place with so many flowers and trees to smell and pee on that I don't know where to sniff and pee first! And then there's the "seaside" place where the water chases you and the birds are bigger than me! And there are even places where dogs are allowed inside; the hotel down the road from us says they allow dogs (not in the resteraunt, but in the hotel itself) and there's a shop that's just for dogs, can you believe that? Actually, I think Mami told you most of this, but I wanted to let you know how excited I am living in this "new home" place.

Actually, the main reason for me doing this post is to share some new photos of me that were taken recently, which I'm sure you're all desperate to see, right?

Thought so! OK, here they are:

This is me playing with Mami's big bear, Bruno. Well, she says it's hers, but I don't see how anything that fun could be here for anyone but me, so it must be mine!





And here I am with a teddy the humans actually admit is mine; it's a dog that Mamgu gave me. Mami says it was a "moving present" or something like that, but I don't particularly care why she gave it to me, it's mine, and that's all I care about!


Remember the new bandanna I got recently? Well, it's reversable, so I thought you might like to see the other side. Here I am wearing it and posing with Bruno on our sofa:


"Can someone open the gate so I can go up the steps for more walkies?"


Mami has a load of photos coming soon, and I'm in a couple of them, so look out for those. I have to go now though, the humans are starting to do stuff with food out in the kitchen, and I need to make sure I get my share!

Licks and sniffs,
Kero

Pandas, fireworks, etc (FD)

I'm still not feeling too great, but I have a few things I want to post, so here I am; I will visit other blogs later.

***

There's a school near us that teaches Kung Fu, and in their window Kelly spotted this:



It's the panda from the movie Kung Fu Panda, LOL!

***

We've tried out all kinds of recipes lately. In an attempt to make as much as possible ourselves, we even made our own tomato sauce to make a lasagne for Kelly and a vegetarian lasagne for me. And made our own cheese sauce to make macaroni and cheese.

Also, I finally got around to trying something with tofu. I made a sweet and sour tofu - which I served with a baked potato rather than the noodles or rice it suggests, because I prefer potatoes really - and was pretty impressed with how it turned out. I'm glad I tasted tofu at last, because it's actually really nice.

***

There have been fireworks here all weekend because of it being bonfire night on Saturday, and we managed to get a couple of photos of fireworks. Sorry about the street lamp in a couple of them; those things are everywhere in towns, so it can't be helped. Iggy seemed to like the effect on the ones with the street lamp though, so that's why I'm posting them... I trust his judgement when it comes to photos. So...





***

I have a load of other photos I haven't gotten around to posting yet, so I'm hoping to get those posted throughout this week, if you're interested.

Speaking of photos though...

Kelly posted the photos of his Samhain altar yesterday, if you want to go and take a look.

***

During the moments when I've had the energy to do so I've been working on holiday cards, and a couple of birthday cards for people who have birthdays between now and the holidays who I send cards to for their birthdays. I'm just about done now... Speedy card creation is a benifit of using 3D stickers and foam shapes to make cards.

OK, so it's not as personal and nice as the cards some people make, but I still made them myself, and - quite frankly - with how I'm feeling at the moment I don't think I could do much more than stick foam shapes and stickers on things anyway.

***

OK, I need to rest for a bit, so I'll let this do for now.

Happy birthday Tony and Stephanie

There are two birthdays today.

The first is the birthday of a family friend named Tony. I doubt he'll see this - I don't even know if he knows my blog exists - but happy birthday to Tony anyway! :)

The second is the birthday of a relatively new online friend... Stephanie. So, happy birthday Stephanie, I hope it's a great one for you! :)

My thoughts on the witchy new year

This week's prompt from Pagan Blog Prompts was about the Pagan New Year. I don't answer all the prompts for the site, but I decided I would answer this one. First of all, here's what the prompt says:

"Prompt: The Pagan New Year

For a lot of Pagans, Samhain is seen as the "new year" rather than waiting until the calendar changes in January.... Are you one of these Pagans? Why or why not?

What does it mean to you, starting a new year? Are you one to make resolutions for the year ahead, or do you prefer to reflect on the changes in the year past?"

And now for my thoughts:

It's a popular belief among many that the old year ends at Samhain, yet the new year doesn't begin again until Yule. What then is the time between Samhain and Yule? I mean, it has to be something, doesn't it? But what?

Some say Samhain is a time to reflect on the past year and look to the year ahead, and that Yule is time to prepare yourself for that year and cleanse your home of any negativity of the year before. Others say that both Samhain and Yule serve the same purpose; time to reflect on the past year and prepare yourself - and your home - for the new one. But which is right? They can't both be, can they? Or, can they?

Well, for me Samhain is the new year; a time for new beginnings, a time to reflect on the year that has passed, and a time to end bad habits and start new - hopefully better - habits. But the time from Samhain to Yule feels like a sort of transition period; like the time between when you wake up and when you have to start to face the day, though on a much larger scale, obviously. Which, I suppose, would make it that "they" were all right, wouldn't it? Meaning that the new year was a long event in nature that stretched from Samhain to Yule. I mean, nature doesn't do anything quickly, after all, so why should turning the wheel of the year be any different?

And as for resolutions... I don't make them.

My first year being allowed to stay up to greet the new calender year my brother told me about resolutions. I decided I would resolve to go to bed when I was told (hey, I was 9, LOL!) He told me that was a stupid resolution, and he said I should pick something else. I told him that resolutions were stupid anyway, and if I couldn't pick the ones I wanted to make then I wasn't going to make any at all.

To be honest, I barely acknowledge the new calender year; I do my celebrating at Samhain and Yule, and - apart from a load of e-mails and texts, and a post on my blog to welcome everyone to the new year - do little more than make a mental note to write the new year's date when writing down dates from now on (which I usually take until Imbolc - February 2nd, for anyone who doesn't know - or later to get the hang of, LOL!

Get Off Your Broom: week 5 reviewed

It is week 5, right? *Looks a little confused*

Don't mind me, I'm not feeling too well, so a few things are a bit fuzzy in my head today.

I do know a few things for certain though:

*I had a bad week with food; I ate poorly.
*I drank really well (for me) this past week.
*I barely made it for 5 days of exercise.
*I put on 2lbs, but I'm too relieved that it wasn't more to be bothered about it.
*I lost half an inch from my hips.
*I lost half an inch from my waist.
*I lost 1.5 inches from my chest.
*I started measuring my thigh and arm last week; no change to my arm, but I lost half an inch from my thigh.
*I still can't figure out how I can have lost 3 inches from me and put on 2lbs.

And that's all you're getting today, sorry!

Don't forget to visit Serenity and the other Get Off Your Broom participents.

Happy bonfire night to all; if you're somewhere that celebrates it and having fireworks, be safe and sensible!

a very happy birthday to a wonderful friend

It's Iggy's birthday today.

I wanted to write a great post for him; something that would make him feel special and appreciated. But I've been thinking about it for a few days now, and I can't find the right words to say what I wanted to say. I wanted to tell him how much I appreciate the things he's done for me since I've known him; especially the things he's done for me since I lost my sight. I wanted to tell him what a wonderful person he is, and how greatful I am that I have been blessed with the oppertunity to call him my friend. But the right words wont come, so this will have to do.

Iggy, you're a wonderful person with a heart of gold, and I'm glad I can call you my friend. Thank you for the years of friendship we've shared so far, and for all the things you've done for me during those years. Happy birthday my friend. I hope your birthday is a truely special day; the kind that someone as special as you deserves!

Celebrating Samhain 2011 (LBE and FD)

Since the wonderful Iggy has kindly sorted my photos for me already, it's time for me to do my post about celebrating Samhain (or Halloween, if you prefer). The post starts a few days early though, because on Thursday I made a new batch of bread... I used Jazz's sandwich bread recipe again, and I'm much happier with this batch; I allowed it to proof a bit longer, and also filled the pan better, so the loaf was actually full sized this time. Mmm... Fresh bread! *Drools* Ahem, sorry... After that, I made some cat cookies... Don't worry, they're made with cat substitutes, and are 100% vegetarian! LOL! It took me until Friday to finally finish Kero's new bandanna... (I only just had it done when I did the post about my plans for Samhain, LOL!) I was going to make something else with the rest of the fabric, but I didn't get to it. I've put the fabric away and will use it to make something next year. Anyway... On Sunday we went for a walk along by the ocean and saw some really cool pumpkins. Some people who were something to do with boats (I'm not sure what, but they were definately doing something boat related) had carved a boat in to one, and they allowed me to go and see the boat-o-lantern. They also had a jack-o-lantern with razor sharp teeth. I would have grabbed photos, but I couldn't. I'm sure you can guess why... Yes, that's right; my camera was at home! Note to self: remember to take the camera with you every time you leave home, "just in case," because you never know when you'll need it! Anyway... When we got home, I prepared the veg for dinner, and made my mushroom and winter veg pie while watching "Practical Magic" and "The Little Vampire" on Sunday afternoon, while Kelly was meeting Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor). Here's the pie: And here's the pie with a piece missing... I even made my own pastry for it. I know that's not the exact type of pastry they say to use, but I figured the type of pastry wouldn't make much difference, and I know I can make that pastry recipe, and I wanted to make my own pastry rather than buying it. Anyway, it was a very nice pie, if I do say so myself! I had it with cauliflower and some homemade mint sauce (the recipe for which is due to be published on my recipe book blog in two days time, if you're interested). Kelly had some beef he'd cooked over the grill instead, because he doesn't, "do vegetarian stuff," so didn't want any of my pie. I would have liked him to have some of the pie with me - and I'm sure the cow would have prefered him to as well - but... *Shrugs*... More yummy pie for me, I guess; poor cow though! Anyway, while the pie was cooking I had carved my turnip; say hello to Mr Turnip Head: After that I carved my pumpkins while watching "The Nightmare Before Christmas" and "Harry Potter And The Philosopher's Stone" (the first Harry Potter movie, for those who don't know). I also seporated the seeds from the rest of the pumpkin stuff so it was ready for me to be able to cook the pumpkin the following day By that time I was tired and covered in pumpkin, so I had a bubble bath, read some blog posts while my hair dried, and went to bed. I waited until Monday morning to put up my decorations... I knew the perfect place to hang my batty friend... The hook he's hanging on is one end of our washing line; the way it's done the line loops around atatching to a hook just outside our door at one end, and a hook the other side of our outside area at the other end, making two short washing lines (plenty big enough for a good sized load of washing though). The banner is pegged to one of the lines, so that will show you where it is if you're curious. Anyway, with most of the decorations up I wanted to get a photo of Kero before I put the jack-o-lanterns where I wanted to put them. So I persuaded Kero to stand with the pumpkins and turnip I had carved... ...We got that shot first try; he's such a good dog! Oh, and he seems to love his new bandanna. He got rather upset when we took it off come bed time. Anyway, then we put the pumpkins and turnip on the folding table outside... ...Below the banner where it could be seen by anyone looking down in to our outside area... Decorating all sorted, I went back inside to bake my pumpkin pie... I don't think it turned out too badly for my first ever attempt at making it; it tastes like pumpkin pie anyway, so that has to be a good thing, right? I had some leftover pastry, and there was a very small amount of pumpkin pie mixture that didn't want to fit in my pie dish with the rest, plus I still had almost half a can of evaporated milk. I didn't want any of it going to waste, so I made a gypsy tart: (Officially gypsy tarts don't have pumpkin mixture in them, but I put a little in it anyway). And I made a few spice muffins: Then, since Kelly was a bit disappointed at the fact I'd decided not to make more cookies, I made a batch of chocolate cookies in the shapes of ghosts, bats and hands: Baking done, I started on the cleaning. By the time dinner time was over and it was almost time for the trick-or-treaters to arrive, everything was cleaned up (even me) and I was enjoying a piece of pumpkin pie with cream, and some of Rosmerta's pumpkin juice... Tip for anyone wanting to make the pumpkin juice: easy on the spices! I made it last year and spiced it well; I didn't like it. I made it this year with just a very small amount of spice; it was much nicer tasting! As I said, we had 23 trick-or-treaters; I was so happy... Still am, LOL! Speaking of happy, the kids were extremely happy when they saw the goody bags we'd made up for them. A lot of people here just give a small treat and that's it, but we felt mean doing so and wanted to do more. So, we brought some of those cheap papery trick-or-treat bags you can get and put a little treat selection in them; a small packet of chocolate mice, a "Freddo" bar (which is basically a chocolate frog), and a few other things. When Kelly handed the kids a bag each they got really excited and couldn't thank us enough. I love hearing kids that happy and excited! :) Anyway... Once we knew there would be no more children arriving I settled down to do my ritual. I didn't get photos because you already saw my altar in the second part of my tea party, and you can't meditate and use a camera at the same time. Kelly did his own ritual after I was done; he'll be posting photos on his blog soon, if anyone is interested. Then I continued reading posts while waiting up for when my candle went out, since I didn't want to fall asleep with it still burning, but didn't feel it was right to put it out. Besides, as part of Kelly's ritual he needed the candle to stay lit on his altar, and since I did mine first mine went out before his anyway. If you're wondering, we did them at different times because the altars are near each other in the bedroom, and we both wanted to do our rituals in privacy. I'd brought this cool mug to use over Samhain: But I didn't end up using it. I used it the next day instead. LOL! By the way, do you see the incense sticks in their packet in the mug? They were a free gift from Pagan Dreams (the place I got the mug). They're cinnamon. I hope you enjoyed my post; sorry if it was a bit long, I tried to keep it as short as I could, which isn't easyy for me, since I love to talk and love to write, so my posts can get quite long sometimes (if you didn't notice, LOL!) Also, sorry for the quality of some of the photos; lighting wasn't great, and I've forgotten how to work the flash on my camera again. LOL!

Kelly's meeting with the doctor

The day before Samhain (so October 30th) I had a nice day out. Tom Baker (the 4th Doctor in Doctor Who) was at a place near to where we live so I went to see him. He signed an autograph for me and here I am holding it. And here is a close up of it. I got to chat with him and shake his hand. There was a raffle to win tea with him but I needed to get home to help Tori with making our dinner and doing the holiday baking, so I did not enter it. We did not know that they would have allowed Kero to go in the building orTori would have met Tom with me. Kelly

Versatile Blogger Award from Stephanie (FD)

As you can see from this post, I was recently given an award by Stephanie.



Thank you Stephanie! :)

The rules for this award are as follows:

1. Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in your post.
2. Share 7 things about yourself.
3. Pass the award on to 7 recently discovered and deserving blogs.

I already did the first one, but... THANK YOU AGAIN STEPHANIE! ;)

As for the second part... Let's see...

1. It took me getting nasty blisters on my feet that wont heal to persuade me to buy a decent pair of shoes. Why? Because proper walking shoes are heavy, and I HATE having anything on my feet, so heavy shoes aren't my idea of a nice pair of shoes. However, the soreness of the places where my feet wont heal (due to being made sore again faster than the old blisters can heal) have finally made me admit defeat and get some "proper" walking boots. These ones:




I did buy some walking shoes earlier in the year, but they didn't fit, and I only got a relatively lightweight pair of shoes to replace them, which - judging by the state of my feet - wasn't a good idea. But now I have some "proper" walking boots.

2. Despite my favourite colour being purple, my favourite flowers are yellow ones. Yellow roses spacifically, but I always loved yellow flowers in general. That's why Kelly chose this particular boquet of flowers when he decided to get me some flowers Friday:




OK, so I can't see the colours any more, but I can still like them!

3. This one is more for the benifit of new followers; I have congenital Glaucoma, which has caused me to lose my sight. I had my left eye out in the September of 2000, and the right one out in the July of 2008.

4. Despite having a dog - who I love very much - my favourite animal is a cat. Any kind of cat will do, though I'd love to have a pet lion... That or a blue point Siamese. I think I have more chance with the Siamese, LOL! When I grow up - which I don't want to do just yet - I want to be one of those little old ladies who all the local children come to because I hand out cookies and let them play with all my cats.

5. I've had issues with meat since I learned where it came from (when I was about 6; my brother showed me a dead pig in a butcher's shop) but I only became fully vegetarian a couple of years ago; it took me nearly 20 years to do it. I've not been able to go in butcher shops since I saw the dead pig though, it was only the eating of the meat that took me a while to stick to avoiding. But then I found vegetarian hot dogs, so now I'm not tempted by the meat kind, LOL!

6. I talk to inanimate objects; even apologizing to them when I walk in to them. I once lost an argument with a teddybear. I really did! I kept telling it to stay on the shelf, it kept jumping back down. In the end I gave up and put it somewhere else (where it stayed first time). I guess it didn't like the shelf I chose for it?

7. I hate housework, but like it when my place looks nice and tidy. I know this is probably the case for most people, but I couldn't think of a number seven. LOL!

And now for the people who will be receiving the award from me (in no particular order):

1. Magaly of Pagan Culture
2. Parsley of Seasons Of My Mind
3. Susan of Pieces Of Fate
4. Anna of Frosted Petunias
5. Betty of A Corgi In Southern California
6. Serita of A College Girl's Days
7. Serena of Art By Serena Lewis

Some of those may not be new to you, but they are to me (all ones I found in the last few months). And I think they deserve the award; hence giving it to them! ;)