Stories from the weekend

 Once again, waiting in for the builders - this should potentially be their penultimate day with tomorrow just the final coat of paint - fingers crossed!

However, whilst waiting I thought I would pop in and do a bit of blog hopping and share a few silly stories as I go along.

Monday's story rates as the sweetest - Our rather matronly (curmudgeonly) cat is very much happier being outside but returns multiple times a day to snack on her biscuits or to check on us or as is the case this morning - to complain about the weather.

We have a cat flap in the kitchen door that she uses and it has a very distinctive sound. When we had two cats you could tell who was coming in by the sound of the slap.  On Monday I worked in my parents new garden - it has been neglected for about four years according to the neighbours and judging by the length and girth of the dock roots - I am not going to disagree! It was windy yet warm and by the time I'd cleared half the bed - I'd had enough, headed home and having had a shower and recovering with a huge mug of tea..... the cat slapped through the cat flap.

She cackled her raspy hello and almost immediately afterwards there was a second little slap of the cat door.  I looked up to see if it was the wind which had moved it or if the cat had gone straight back out only to see that hot on her tail was a baby squirrel..... It had followed her in!

There are a couple about - definitely a late summer brood now abandoned by the mother (quite normal) and learning to be independent. Except this one really fancied having a cat for a grumpy aunt. I swooped in to pick it up then hesitated..... this was a healthy little female who might just bite - whereas the squirrel kits we handled during covid were both injured and dehydrated and in no state to fight back. So I reversed and grabbed a dog towel, turned to carefully drop it on the squizzer only to find it had vanished.  Cue comedy music as I, with the "help" of both the dog and the cat, tried to catch the little thing. Boy could it scarper!!

Eventually I managed to usher it out into the back yard via up on the kitchen roof, under the table, behind the bench and the wellie boots and then outside - much to the amusement of a couple of neighbours who cackled gleefully at my antics. You are welcome ladies - glad to give you a chuckle!!😄

Any hoo - its back out with its sibling and hopefully learning not to follow strange cats home.

Sunday's story - little less silly. With a house full of family for the birthday bash, the dog was well and truly hyped up - she loves the boys and their girls and having all four of them, plus my folks sent her 'giddy-levels' to stratospheric - Himself took her off to the garden and she raced around to the far end and back in record time - her fizzy feet must have really been fizzing.  

About ten minutes after her zoomies, she pottered into the kitchen where sandwiches were being made and we (Eldest's fiancé and I) noticed her eye and cheek were a bit too red, so we bent down to investigate and discovered she had ripped her eyelid open. 

Eldest's fiancé immediately cuddled the dog still, I grabbed kitchen paper and dabbed off the blood to see where it was coming from and - bless her - Wills did not cry or struggle although her chin wobbled a little  (it really did).

I flipped her eyelid over to make sure it was not torn in half which would require taking to the vet to suture and checked her eye itself was not damaged. Fortunately the 'only' injury was the complete removal of fur and skin the size of my little finger nail above her eye and 'grazed' skin below.

Being an ex vet nurse has its advantages - so a piece of chicken as a treat, bit of antibiotic cream to stop any infection and the dog was back to being a goofy idiot it had been ten minutes before.... 

Typical collie - pain is just an inconvenience, playing/working/chicken comes first!! And now? Well, she is sporting a rather fetching scab and could not care less. 

Final waffle - yesterday I tried another new recipe -  (Lemon curd thumb buns) verdict - ok-ish. not as good as I had hoped.

I need to stop...... not good for the waistline!

Hopefully my next comms won't start with  ... whilst waiting for the builders ...........