My darling boy

Our darling cat Xander has cancer. I heard that from the vet yesterday, so he came home with me last night and this morning I have to say goodbye to him. There are no words to express how sad we all are, and how heart-broken I feel. Maybe later I can write a better and more fitting epitaph for him, but now I am going for last cuddles and hugs and time with him.

Sue xx

Xander sick

Last night I thought there was something wrong with our cat Xander; one instinctively recognises that they are not their usual self I guess, and I noticed that his coat was drier and more 'stary' than normal. Then today I thought I saw him breathing a little more laboured so I have rung the vet and am taking him along shortly. He is just sitting on his hottie and breathing heavily and not being a happy bunny at all!!! Xander always picks this time of year to be ill. Twice he has spent Christmas in a cage due to his knee operations and now this!! I wonder if he is one of those cats that ought to live in the Caribbean, and just hates the cold?! It snowed last night too, but the roads are clear at the moment and Peter is on his way to the Black Forest for a few days and he said it was really warm when passing through south Holland! There are claims of 6 inches of snow in Purmerend, but I think that is only someone exaggerating.........................we have far less here of course!! ;-)

Well time to get Xander into his carrier and see what the verdict is. Fingers crossed.

Sue xx

ONE LITTLE WORD for 2009

I am a huge fan of Ali Edwards and each year she chooses a word to give her inspiration and focus for the coming 12 months. At Christmas we all chose a word and mine is DARE. Ann chose LOVE; Peters is SPARKLE, William had ENJOY and Lilys is HOPE. This is what I feel about it: My word is DARE. Dare to be ME; to go after what I believe in this year; to turn 50 in February and appreciate the watershed in my life by daring to take on the things I feel passionate about and not caring what others feel about my choices. Dare to change; both personally and in my interactions with family and friends. Dare to embrace new challenges and to stick with my style and way of scrapping and feel the pleasure I get from making something for another.I am not a daring person, so this is the perfect opportunity for me to learn to love this word!!!! I need to dare to speak up for myself more and not allow others to run over my feelings without saying why I feel hurt or disappointed. Being a hyper-sensitive Piscean and person, this is something I am terribly bad at! I suffer in silence and let it all churn away inside me way too often! People will tell you I am assertive and like to take the lead and 'be in charge" of things, but I am really a shy and introvertive person who has learnt that this is a great way of hiding that from the world!! I used to count to 10 before I dare say anything to a patient I was meeting for the first time!!! I have always been given the role of leader whether I wanted it or not, so I suppose that is what the outside world gets to see about one... so, DARE it is this year! What is your word of inspiration going to be?............ HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! Sue x