Nothing worth writing about so here you go:

a meme, that I borrowed off of Belinda. Hope you don't mind hon..

What is in the back of your car?  A couple of plastic reusable bags, a road atlas, a jacket and a pair of shoes.
Name one person that made you smile today? My two cats while they were playing chase with each other this morning.
What where you doing at 8am this morning? I was still asleep :-(
What were you doing 45 minutes ago? Reading emails and watching t.v. with DH.
What is your favorite candy bar? Green and Black's White Chocolate.
Have you ever been to a strip club? No
What is the last thing you said aloud? No Jet!
What is the best ice cream flavor? Vanilla.
What was the last thing you had to drink? A cup of tea.
What are you wearing right now?Skirt, t-shirt and a cardigan.
What was the last thing you ate?Roast turkey, cabbage, carrots and peas.
Have you bought any new clothing items this week? Nope.
When was the last time you ran? I can't remember :-(
The last sporting event you watched? The 2009 Olympics on t.v.
What is your favorite flavor of popcorn? Toffee
Who is the last person you sent a comment/message on my space? I don't do myspace I'm afraid.
Ever go camping?I have only been once when I was a teenager - never again. I prefer my home comforts!!
Do you take vitamins daily? Yes
Do you go to church every Sunday? Nope.
Do you have a tan? Nope.
Do you like Chinese food over pizza? I like both, obviously not together though.
Do you drink your soda with a straw? Only when I make an ice-cream cola float, then you have to drink it with a straw!!
What did your last text message say?"Thinking of you" from me and Peanut!
Are you some-one's best friend?Yes, I would like to think she thinks of me as her best friend.
What are you doing tomorrow? Posting a couple of parcels, putting some more fuel in the car, baking a cake and some ironing.
Look to your left, what do you see?My dog Bear fast asleep on the sofa next to me and DH in the armchair.
What color is your watch? Pink strap with a silver oblong face.
What do you think of when you think of Australia? Kangaroos, Neighbours and Home and Away - I know Sad!!
Do you use chap stick? Yep
What is your birthstone? Amethyst.
What is your favorite number? 11
Do you have a dog? I have two, Jet who is a border collie cross and Bear who is a foxhound cross.
Last person you talked to on the phone? My best friend N.
Have you met anyone famous? Noel Edmonds when I was younger. He was opening a BP garage near where I live.
Any plans today? Today is almost over so I don't have any plans for the rest of the day.
How many states have you lived in? No states, but I have lived in three counties.
Ever go to college? Yep.
Do you dye your hair? Yes, I have gold and copper highlights put in every three months or so.
Biggest annoyance in your life right now? Trying to sort out my mother's will - she has been dead nearly 2 years now.
Last song listened to? Doctors Orders by Jane McDonald.
Can you say the alphabet backwards? Nope.
Do you have a maid service clean your house? Gods I wish..
Are you jealous of anyone? Nope, not that I know of.
Is anyone jealous of you? Couldn't say, although a couple of people have said they know of someone who is jealous of my life..not sure how true this is though.
Do you love anyone? Yes
Do any of your friends have children? Yes
Do you eat healthy? I try to.
What do you usually do during the day? It depends on the day and what it brings, it could be anything from housework to cooking to going into town, or even visiting friends.
Do you hate anyone that you know right now? Nope, hate is a strong emotion to deal with, and very negative. I feel sorry for a couple of people though.
Do you use the word 'hello' daily? Yes.
What color is your car? Green, and DH's is Silver.
Have you ever been to Six Flags? Don't even know what Six Flags is.
Do you like cats? Yes, especially as I have two of my own.
How did you get your worst scar? I came off my bike when I was 16 and cycling down a hill in Strood, near the station. I braked too hard and went rolling over the handlebars. I have a nasty scar on my knee where the gravel went in and they couldn't get it out. As the other knee has the same thing too.

A - Z of Homemaking..

I borrowed this little meme from Somerset Seasons blog.

A ~Aprons--y/n.  If y, what does your fav. look like? Oh definately yes, I am a sucker for a preety apron! My favourite is a 100% cotton one which is white with small pink rosebuds on.

B ~ Baking--Favorite thing to bake? Lemon drizzle cake, chewy oaty cookies - basically anything that is good old traditional food.

C ~ Clothes line? Yep, I just bought a new one a couple of months ago funnily enough, a pink whirly line, and an indoor airer, which I have literally just bought as my other one was too small. The new one takes about 4 loads of washing...

D ~ Donuts--Have you ever made them? Nope although I have often thought about making them.

E ~ Everyday--One homemaking thing you do everyday? I am forever feeding cats or dogs, well it seems like that..lol. And trying out new recipes for D to try when he gets home from work.

F ~ Freezer--Do you have a separate deep freeze? I have a chest freezer which is full, and an upright freezer which is also full!! I am also planning on getting a fridge/freezer when my kitchen is done soon - woah that means I will have 3 freezers..eeps!!

G ~ Garbage Disposer? I compost the veggie peelings, flowers etc, recycle anything that can be recycled - the rest gets put out for the bin men once a fortnight.

H ~ Handbook--What is your favourite homemaking resource? I don't have ak favourite book I tend to use several that I constantly refer to - Kim and Aggie's Cleaning Bible, Home Comforts are just two of them. Plus I use the internet too.

I ~ Ironing--Love it or Hate it? Or hate it but love the results? Well I don't hate it but I don't do it as often as I should do, but I absolutely love seeing everything all freshly ironed when it does get done :-)

J ~ Junk Drawer--y/n? Where is it? Ooops now my guilty secret is out - I have one in every room!!

K ~ Kitchen--color and decorating scheme. At the moment it is a delapitated white kitchen with falling apart units, but as of next month it will be brand new. I am going for a white shaker design, chrome sink, black worktops and pink and white accessories :-)

L ~ Love--what is your favorite part of homemaking? The whole keeping house, cooking etc..

M ~ Mop--y/n? No, kitchen floor is too small.ds

N ~ Nylons, machine or hand wash? I prefer to machine wash my clothes where possible.

O ~ Oven--do you use the window or open the oven to check? The oven is a double oven which has windows both doors.

P ~ Pizza--What do you put on yours? BBQ chicken, pineapple, ham and roasted onions.

Q ~ Quiet--What do you do during the day when you get a quiet moment? Sit at the dining table with a cup of tea watching all the birds feeding in my garden.

R ~ Recipe Card Box--y/n? What does it look like? Nope, I have several recipe books instead which I constantly refer to.

S ~Style of house--What style is your house? 1970's semi detached house in a small close where everyone knows each other.

T ~ Tablecloths or Placemats? Depends what mood I am as to whether I use a tablecloth, but I definately use placements.

U ~ Under the kitchen sink--organized or toxic wasteland? Kind of organised but could be improved on, but definately non-toxic. i have got rid of all the chemical cleaners and use all natural homemade ingredients - bicarbonate of soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, borax and washing soda crystals.

V ~ Vacuum--How many times per week? Every other day - upstairs one day then downstairs the other day. Have to do it like this as we have two dogs and two cats.

W ~ Wash--How many loads of laundry do you do per week? Normally one a day, sometimes two - and there's only two of us!!

X's--Do you keep a daily list of things to do that you cross off? I have to otherwise I forget what needs doing. Even my DH emails me a list of things that I have mentioned to him that need doing, when he gets to work in the mornings.!!

Y ~ Yard--y/n? Who does what? We have a garden as it's the UK, but it's a joint thing although DH mows the lawn and trims the bushes/trees/shrubs. I plan what plants we are going to put in where, I am also in charge of the vegetable area. But the garden is being redesigned over the winter and I am in charge of this most definately..lol

ZZZ's--what is your last homemaking task for the day before going to bed? Wash up the cups from our pre-bedtime drink, pick up odds and ends around the living room, put the dogs toys away in their box and just generally a quick plump up of cushions.

It's time to say goodbye to my 20yr old cat..

Yesterday I had to make a heartbreaking decision, and one I was hoping I wouldn't have to make. Sadly my darling 20yr old cat Smudge is telling me that it is time for her to pass over to Rainbow Bridge. She hasn't been ill or anything, which is what is making it really hard.

I noticed yesterday that she wasn't eating as quickly as she normally does, and was looking a bit thinner but nothing unusual. Anyway she was creating for me to let her out the front door in the morning, so I let her out and she trotted off to lay in her favourite spot - under my small willow bush. This was at 10am, and by 2pm I hadn't heard anything from her - normally she creates for me to let her in. I went out to investigate and found her lying on the grass looking rather the worse for wear. She was drooling, her eye was weeping big time and she had literally lost what weight she did have. You could see her pelvis bone and shoulder bones. I carried her in and bathed her as best as I could, bless her she never even grumbled at me. That was when I knew something was wrong big time.

I managed to get her to eat a wee bit of food, but not a lot as she couldn't open her mouth on one side too well. She then asked me to let her outside in the back garden, so off she went into her favourite spot out there - the herb garden - to lay down. She loves it there and she is also close to her sister Barney, who died 3 years past and is buried there. I am so thankful it was a nice day yesterday otherwise she wouldn't have been able to go outside. Anyway I went to get her in after an hour as she was just laying there. Got her to eat something, once more and then layed her down in the living room.

After a heart wrenching phone call with DH, who was at work, I had to make the decision to let my darling cat go. So a phone call was made to the vet and an appointment was made for today at midday.

We've had a peaceful night with her, but on closer inspection this morning it appears that she has had a stroke and is paralysed down one side of her face. She cannot close one eye, it is wide open and fully dilated, and can not take food down as she is having difficulty opening her mouth to take food in. The stroke hasn't affected her walking though as she still bunny hops up the stairs, but unfortunately she hasn't been to the toilet for two days now - well she did have a little wee yesterday.

The weird thing is that my normally grumpy, cantankorous cat is happy for me to lay her in my arms and rock her.

It's also weird that the other cats in the house have left her alone the past 24 hours, even the dogs have been keeping away from her. It's funny too that none of the other animals are playing - normally the younger dog likes to play with his toy all the time he is awake but he hasn't even been doing that.

While I am typing this my younger cat is curled up with me, as though she is trying to offer me some comfort. And the old girl is wandering around aimlessly..

I know I am doing the right thing, especially when I saw my DH this morning before he headed off to work. I have only seen him cry once over an animal, and that was when his beloved dog died 5 years ago. But he was sobbing his heart out while getting ready for work..

Trouble is it doesn't make it any easier as I have had Smudge since she was 8 weeks old and she is now 20 years old. But I know I am doing the right thing and now she can be with her sister Barney, my other cat Fred, my dog Patch and my mum. So today I am making the hardest choice and having her put to sleep rather than see if there is anything we can do regarding the stroke. I want her to go with some dignity rather than prolong her life. Doesn't make it any easier as I am a physical wreck at the moment and have been for over 24 hours now.. :(