Confessions of a sporadic blogger

Blimey, I am getting really crap at updating this blog. Anyway, I received a blog award! Got it from the Scrapbook Sisters. Surely very undeservingly, but hey, an award is an award....!

This award states that: This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY- nearness in space, time and relationships.These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends, they are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers.

Anyway, what news? Well, not much scrapping going on at the mo, got a nice kit from
Sarah's cards which I've just subscribed to, and still waiting for my Scrapbook Sisters kit (hint hint!) which usually kicks my ass into gear. I have signed up for a couple of swaps on UKS which I have bimbled around with for weeks, and now am under pressure to finish this week. One of them is the Advent Swap - basically you get allocated a swappee, get to 'know' them by means of viewing the polls completed by the people taking part and by surreptitious 'Secret Santa' messages to find out more info about your person, and then you buy/make gifts to go into a parcel for them - one pressie for every day in December until Christmas Day! It can be a little expensive, you are meant to work to approx £1 per pressie, but some have cost me considerably more, and some I 'got' for free. I have about 5 more pressies to sort, I think, and it must be with her by this Saturday...... Anyway, I will be getting a parcel too and have the joy of a little pressie every day! The Christmas Tree is going up on Sunday (I like to get full value out of Chrismas by starting it as early as humanely possible).

Yesterday I was suffering with a Corneal Erosion, which I have not had since April. Bloody painful and knocks a whole day into touch - I literally am grounded - it is too painful to contemplate doing anything. As it happened, this one has been the least painful/severe of the several I have had, but still needed a couple of codeine before bedtime. I am, however, always hugely impressed with the way the eye (being such an important 'organ' I suppose), starts to heal itself immediately. Going to bed last night in extreme pain I was able to comfort myself with the knowledge that by morning, I would be largely pain-free. And so I am. A little tender and puffy but - better. Good old eyeball.

Guy Fawkes Night

My brother and the kids came up as we have a fab view over the city and we had an evening of hot dogs and sparklers. It was simple, and nice. Would have been miles better with a bonfire though... Had a fairly good view of one of the best displays in the City too, very big bangs. Total cost £10. Not bad.

Going to be scrapping a few of these pics soon. Spent last night adding stickles to chip letters in preparation.

Anyway, cat-wise, we have made a decision to grit our teeth and get on with it - Oliver loves her and that does outweigh all the other things..... We have also said that if things get any worse, fungus-wise (!) then we will look again at the situation. On the plus side, the house has never been so clean.....

I don't know what to do.....

Well, bit of a downer at the mo..... we have picked up Ringworm.....NOT a worm at all - it is a fungal infection which comes from a fungus we all have co-existing happily on our skin apparently, but gets triggered off by certain things. One of them is pets, and as this has happened since Tabba has been with us, we have taken her to the vets and they have done a test to see if it has come from her. The results don't come back until next Monday. If she has Ringworm, it seems that there will be months of expensive treatment for her, not to mention the hygiene issues at home. It all seemed bearable until we suddenly noticed, out of the blue, a bald patch in Oliver's hair on Saturday. A visit to the Doctor confirms it is possibly the scalp version of Ringworm, and that feels like the last straw.

Now I am sat here after a sleepless night, in two minds what to do - Oliver has half-accepted that if she is responsible for causing him this, then it is impractical and unfair for her to stay here, but I know he is very attached to her, and he will be terribly upset for ages. If it is confirmed she doesn't have it then do we just accept it was picked up elsewhere (possibly abroad as that is another cause) and get on with it, knowing we could pass it on to her and it could be passed back to us, blah blah blah.......

I have, for the first time in God knows how many years written out a list of Pros and Cons about keeping her here, and on the Con side is a long list encompassing possible hygiene issues, stress, interminable vets bills, expense on top on expense and inconvenience, and on the Pro side is one thing: Oliver. And that one 'thing' carries as much if not more weight and makes this decision so, so painfully difficult. And I still don't know what to do...

Incidentally, if anyone is reading this who mixes socially with us - fear not - once treatment is underway, contact with other people is not forbidden. According to the Doctor, Ringworm is incredibly common. Funny how I never hear about these 'incredibly common' ailments until I bloody get one.