A Walk With Jakey

I was down in the Big Smoke on Thursday helping out with the Eastern Cousins. Mamma Trish was manning The Grinder or rather womanning it. Daddy Jamey was minding the nippers but a bit wobbly on his pins still from the flu so it was Nana's job to provide some limited support. There, now you have the background. At Franki's naptime we four went for a walk as this is how she falls asleep. Jakey had firm instructions to hold my hand as running after him right now is a luxury I cannot indulge. He was as good as gold. We conversed non stop mainly about "dougodayz choo choo"( figure it out for yourself).
Once Franki had conked out Jamey took her back to the house and Jakey and I went to visit Mum at work. By now he was on his little push bike and had a request from me to go slow. I was really worried he would scoot down that tunnel with such a head of steam that he would end up on the centre line of Main St. Well the little sweetie shot off for three pushes then stopped dead, turned around and watched to see where I was. Then off again at top speed, screeching to a halt, a look over his shoulder to see where Nana had got to now, and then another burst of speed, and so we progressed. He skidded around the corner and shot through the shop door to have his visit with Mum, me trailing after like Hopalong Cassidy.What a thoughtful little boy. I have high hopes of wobbling him over to the park here in Aurora now that I now he's looking after me as much as I am looking after him!
I don't know about Franki. By the time she's on the run I hope to have a metal hip. Something in her tiny demeanour tells me I may need it.

Flowers That Bloom in the Spring, Tra La!

We were out piling leaves on Kathleen's grave on the weekend and I wandered out early Sunday morning with a cup of tea in hand to make sure they had stayed. They had and I was amazed at how much like spring it was when I saw it. A primrose. A purple one. Blooming. Here in the Great White North. In November!!!!
We have seen them in bloom in Europe this time of year but never here. We have a picture of Martina as a tiny tot gazing at a yellow one that bloomed one Christmas morning in Eichgraben. But here?
Perhaps a rose or two for Advent. Some snowdrops to bring in February. Daffodils and cherry blossom for the beginning of March. Why not?
Roll on climate change!

A Memorial for Kathleen

We found our missing kitty, in a pile of leaves up by the side fence, frozen solid. I had had yet another dream about her and thought she had fallen off the roof. Up Heinrich went to look as I searched yet again below. He perhaps saw her from the roof. I guess her fur blended in with the leaves up close. I don't know. We had all looked there days ago while we searched for her. She will get buried tonight with two pretty geraniums on her little grave. We will mulch them well and perhaps in spring they will bloom.
No risk any more of a clawing on the way down the stairs in the morning . The little paw would come out in full claw and whip like mad at anything that passed. Heads, arms, feet. It was all fun and games with Kathleen.We would have the scratches to prove it. All friends who took her on their laps for a little pet were bitten more often than not. She could be a right peevish little madame but we loved her still and now she's gone and we will miss her.

Tea and Toast

Of all the things I miss most in the world of food it's tea and toast. Tea was cast aside years ago when I gave up milk and tea just doesn't taste right without milk. Then it was tea and its other brother coffee that I had to say goodbye to for the sake of my well being.The last and hardest to bare was the demise of toast. Wheat and yeast were playing havoc with my insides so off to try rice bread with wild yeast. That tepid love affair lasted for a while but the wild yeast had me in it's grip too, so goodbye to all that as well.
What are we left with? I'll tell you what we are left with! Fond memories that's what! The thought of a hot cup of tea and two slices of buttery brown toast can bring on tears now that I can't have it. If I was the weepy type. A nice crunchy Ryevita, healthy though it might be is nothing more than a chore to eat. And the bits get stuck in your teeth! And stuff on top slides off. Aaaargh....Ever tried hot mushrooms on Ryevita? Don't; or anything else hot or moist.
Tea and toast was what you had to eat when you were getting better from any ailment. I had it after childbirth which is not of course an ailment but should be. You certainly ail while you are working through it!
Tea and toast was love on a plate. Almost as good at love as chocolate. Now there's food for a blog. Next time! Perhaps if I keep writing about this stuff I won't feel the loss.

Doris

I don't know why I woke thinking of my mother this morning. Probably because the cat is still missing and when she(the cat) was particularly peevish I would call her Doris. Mother Dearest is still with us though she has grown very thin and can do nothing for herself except take a swipe now and then at someone who is talking to her. Her favourite target is the kindly Ken who delivers Holy Communion at the weekly semi Mass in the nursing home. He has developed a way of extending the Host to Ma but standing well back in case he has to duck a sidewinder. She is good with the baby dolls that drift around the floor. She blows in their little rubber faces. O_o That and trying to disrobe no matter where or when are her limited occupations these days. She is belted into her wheel chair so the shedding of garments is reduced to ripping off her socks, patting them flat then trying to get them back on. She seems to enjoy this most during Mass. Sitting next to her can be a challenge as she likes to slap and pat anyone she can reach(while doing the sock thing too). Gifted considering her limitations! Oddly enough I have grown quite fond of this Doris. She has no idea who I am and I can sit beside her quite peacefully while she does her thing of the moment. There is no need to walk on eggshells making conversation and no chance of hearing yet again what a loser I am. Just mildly attentive in case I have to duck but that's a minor point.
We celebrated Mother's Day at a Healing Mass. We rode together on the big purple handicapped bus to the church where we did our best to keep the sock waving at bay. When the hymns began Ma revved up into what passes for loud conversation but no one minded as there were all sorts of stranger things going on that morning. The Parish brought out a lovely Italian hot lunch but Doris these days can only manage yoghurt and apple sauce though she did get a fizzy pop as a treat. It took me back to when I fed my babies. Almost as messy too.
I used to think if she were to wake up and know where she is and what she has become, she would kill herself, but now I am not so sure. She is surrounded by love and kindness and people who have really become her family. There are worse places to be.

A.W.O.L.

It's been a while I admit but there really hasn't been that much that I thought would be of interest to you Gentle Reader until today.
I am sad to say that our Kathleen has gone missing. She didn't show up for breakfast and we are not even sure if she even went out last night.The door is a revolving one as far as she is concerned. We saw her at supper when she ate a hearty meal and I thought she was in for the night.
There was no sign of her this morning and I went out early in my dressing gown to call for her but no answering shriek. The Better Half went around the block calling and I went to Betty Next Door's garage and called but only an ominous silence. Katherine Across The Street also walked around the neighbourhood calling for her. We even looked in Sheppard's Bush though how a cat who is afraid of cars would get across all those streets is a mystery.
The house has been searched from top to bottom in case she is unwell and hiding. No luck. I wish it wasn't so cold tonight. That's two cold nights she's been gone. Poor little Poubelle!!