Happy Birthday.

Well, the big day was yesterday. The 60 something birthday and the day the snow was predicted to arrive. Isn’t that typical, you sit here Christmas day hoping for a blanket of white and it arrives in mid January when you don’t want it.

Ju had tried the sign of the cross to ward off the evil of an early start but as I was expecting a flood of visitors laden down with gifts I wanted to get back from the shopping. The reason for shopping on a Friday, blame Ju since she decided to start horse riding on a Saturday at one stage. OK, I admit that’s changed now but the shopping expedition seems to have stuck.

I woke her at 7 am with a cuppa, a warning that we had half an hour before leaving and that there was a smidgeon of snow on the ground. I backed out of the bedroom to ensure I could see any missiles heading in my direction. My coffee was in the lounge where I’d given all the girls a yoghurt drop as a treat. Ju cowered in her bedroom afraid to venture out in case she had a fit of conscience at not giving the girls their early morning outing on the settee. In fairness, I’ve told her if she wants to do it I’ll get her up at 6.am

I gathered the shopping bags, my list and the all important lottery pouch., brought Ju’s handbag through to the hall and said goodbye to the girls. Off we set. The winds of Siberia were howling around the front door and the smidgeon had become a couple of inches and it was still coming down. After what felt like a three mile trek to the car which is 50 feet away we hauled ourselves in and set a’shivering while waiting for the heater to kick in. The wipers took the worst off the screen and away we went.

Living by the coast has it’s benefits one of which is that snow rarely sticks here. I guess no-one was listening as I shouted a reminder to the gods. The coast road was still fairly clear and it had obviously been salted. We made good time to the supermarket arriving just before they opened at 8.am. The heater hadn’t done a fantastic job as some fool had opened the window to smoke. ahem. moving rapidly on……. I got out and walked stiff-legged to where the shopping trolleys were parked. I put in my £ coin and tried to pull mine away from the rest. After a few minutes trying I went to borrow an ice axe to separate them then shot into the warmth of the store.

Our routine is that Ju goes off to buy the lottery tickets and her paper then while I go round the store to shop, she sits and has a coffee till I’m in the queue at the till when she comes to help me pack.(If she sees me. I have pointed out that she stands a better chance if she actually faces the tills). Three quarters of an hour later I’m done and ready for a coffee and a diet conscious, diabetic, toasted sausage sandwich with brown sauce. Mmmmmm. As I’m sitting there Ju tells me Yvonne has phoned and won’t be able to get through because of the white stuff and her sister has phoned and said the same. Heavens above, what’s the matter with these people. Mu and John only live 40 miles away at the bottom of a valley with about 4 mountains between us. No-one makes an effort anymore. Looking out the window convinces me that maybe the gods are making an effort because the car is fast disappearing.

We’re on our way home when I remember that I promised to visit ‘our’ cafe Let me Tempt You, to take a pair of earring to one of the girls. When I mention it to Ju her lip seems to curl. I think it must be the cold contracting her muscles. We arrive home safely and the snow is sticking . We unpack and I say ” would you like a coffee sweetie”?     “Yes please babe” is the response. “Grab your coat then and let’s take these earrings to K….”. I hear a growl and almost think there’s a dog handy but my beloved knows it’s my birthday and is humouring me. Borrowed tennis racquets on our feet we struggle back to the car. I try breathing on the lock to getthe key in but my nose sticks to the side of the car. Afraid Ju will drive off with me in this position I tug and take the skin off the tip off my nose. Oooh, that stings.

The Coast Road is still accessible and we make it safely to the cafe. K… looks up in surprise and said she didn’t expect to see us in view of the weather. I just say a promise is a promise. I’m renowned for my wisdom. Ju makes a comment about buying me my birthday drink and she head off to order while K… selects the earrings she wants. Leaving K… smiling happily I go to join Ju who has found us a table…….ha, 40 tables, 3 customers, how hard that must have been, and sit. I am no sooner ready to take my gloves off than the tray arrives with two of the staff who start to serenade me “Penblwydd Hapus i chwi. penblwydd hapus…..Dear David……..” I’m cringing and trying to crawl into my boots as everyone is looking and of course the next four customers in sat just behind me. I’m given a lovely card and a sweet little gift as well as a free coffee. Ah, and Ju must be warming up since the mouth seems to be grinning.

We came home about 11.30 and spent the rest of the day wrapped up warmly indoors. It carried on snowing.

Poor Ju was unwell and had to go to bed about 4.pm but it was not snow or shopping trip related. This morning she seemed a little better and the snow has stopped. They say we’ll have another little flurry than it should clear over the next few days but it’s going to be cold, verrrry cold with icy blasts in the minus. Maybe we can hibernate for a while. Oh, a phone call to say my next birthday is tomorrow when Yvonne and Ugo are going to come then another early next week when Mu and John come. Then the following Sunday when my nieces turn up. I quite like the idea of Official Birthdays and unofficial ones to follow.

Strange days come, Strange days go.

It’s been a funny old day. Things started OK at the usual time. I got up about 5.00am and turned on the computer while I nipped to the loo. ( No, I didn’t take it with me).

Coming back through to the bedroom after venting Niagara, I started on my messages. There were 71 since just gone midnight. If I ever catch that little epostal God on his own………  Anyway, quite a few turned out to be duplicates from Gather. I usually answer the first one I come to and delete the others. I confess to not knowing whether that’s protocol or not. Maybe I’m meant to answer them in every group that posts them but that seems highly redundant. The others I ignore are those that get me steamed as it’s too early in the day to throw things at walls. If I disturbed Lady J’s beauty sleep she’d throw me at the odd wall.

About 6.30 I grab a sachet of cat food ( I get peckish about then) and take it through to the kitchen where he currently sleeps, stopping only on the way to offer milk drop to the rats and a yoghurt drop to the degu ( she’s much more up-market). Kettle filled and on ready to clean Oscar’s dishes it’s time to take a handful of cornflakes through to give then girls their first nibble of the day, just to save my fingers being their first meal later. Things are still going to plan at this point, so I wash Oscar’s dishes, empty the new sachet into one side and water to the other. Then I remember he need some olive oil for his coat. It already been pointed out to me that smearing him in it isn’t going to wwin mr prizes from Oscar, Lady J or Oscar’s Amazonian Transylvanian vet. Therefore I take a capsule of the damn stuff and pierce it with a knife tip. These are not soft gelatine capsules though, they’re armoured and have little warning notices sticking up from the surfaces saying Verbotten. Mmm, I don’t remember olive oil being this red before.

I slammed down the offending dishes and applied a plaster (bandaid) which immediately floated off as I belatedly washed my hands. “Oh Dearie me” said I, and promptly remembered that the rubbish collection day has changed to a Saturday. I apply a new plaster (bandaid) and take the bins, one refuse and one kitchen waste, plus one bag of newspapers, one of glass, one of plastic bottles and the tin can one outside ready for the men. Hands wash, plaster floats off, another oops and one more fresh plaster. Now it’s time for medications. What joy, two sprays, one anti biotic, 6 steroids and 8 other tablets and a partridge in a bloody pear tree. Then on with the kettle again because it’s my turn. One more tablet for 20 minutes before a meal so I pour out my coffee and check the time. Nearly 8.00am so I’ll risk an early death and get Julia up.She’s not a morning person these days so I pretend it is the right time and ask if she’s coming to get the girls out to play. I get a big smile and a nod and I’m safe. I put her a cup of tea out ready and nip back to the kitchen to put the toaster on.

Ah, a nice cup of coffee, a piece of cool toast and two final tablets as pudding.(Oh joy). Through to the lounge to sit beside my beloved . I swear there were two pieces of toast on the plate when I came in , oh and what’s that? Well, that is Amy foraging in my pocket for a packet of tissues. What a clean rat you say. Well actually these are for her doily making lessons while her sister Penny has run off with the other half of my toast. Not to be thought greedy I’m sure Amy will get a share when Penny’s finished licking the butter off it. They’re having half an hours fun and frollicks on the couch. I demolish what’s left of my toast and feeling a little guilty give the other two who are still in their cage a chocolate drop each. Julia in the meantime takes Saffy the degu out and places her inside a large plastic ball to roll around the floor hitting as many ankles as she can. And believe me she can. If she wasn’t such a sweetie we’d be a degu free zone by now. There’s no malice in her at all. She doesn’t bite and loves human interaction- hence the ankles I suppose. Penny is by now nudging me and being the subtle little thing she is, I bring my coffee cup over, ilt it slightly so she can drag at the lip and spill it on me before daintily dipping her hands in and bringing them to her mouth.

Almost 9.00 now so Julia is ready to put the girls back in the cage ready for the second crew, the youngsters. I nip to the kitchen to wash my plate now devoid of toast. Damn, another plaster.

In the UK we have a biscuit called a Wagon Wheel. Not the type of thing to get you very far in the Wild West but a nifty snack here. Having lost my toast I decided ‘Why not’? And took one through to enjoy with whatever coffee I’d been left. Bernie (Bernadette) and Priya are  out now and are having a mad half hour running back and forth. I’m a very generous person and still feeling a little guilty that I hadn’t shared my toast with them ( well not all of them and not willingly anyway) I decided to offer them a nibble on the edge of my Wagon Wheel. Bear in mind that these have a diameter of about 4 inches, have a biscuit base, a layer of marshmallow and jam (jelly U.S.) and are then coated in chocolate, they’re not the lightest biscuit in the world. Both girls step up to the plate and the next thing I see is Bernie, arms open wide gripping the biscuit, back legs pounding away in the opposite direction from my mouth. Believe me, with the speed of light my hand descended from above and relieved her of her load even as she took a flying leap to get behind a cushion with it. You could sense her disappointment. With  firm grip I offered it again and dejected they both had a little nibble and left me to it.

Playtime with the girls can be real fun though having Bernie nip inside your dressing gown and then rappel down the cliffs from shoulder to tummy using your skin and her claws as brakes can be hell on earth. Priya is much quieter and more gentle but is learning rapidly. They were returned to their cage ready to sleep during the day and Saffy was released from the ball and returned to her cage to carry on digging the escape tunnel. My mistake with her de-luxe home was to buy a metal cage with a plastic base. I forget the rodent teeth though I can see for myself the progress she’s making. Ju and I get dressed ready to go out since her brother is coming later and we’re picking him up from the bus station in town.

The pick up accomplished at 12.00 we decided to go for lunch. The special today was roast lamb dinners. Chatting away to the owner the waitress came to see what we wanted. I ordered the drinks than 3 roast dinners. Why? I don’t like lamb much and had been going to order a very healthy, diabetic conscious sausages, bacon, egg, ships and beans along with a reproving look from Julia. Instead I order lamb????? I’m not going to lie. It was well made and the meat was very tender. I grinned and bore it.

A visit to another nearby town for a quick shop and a latte and we were home again. I’d promised to do some photographs for my brother in law so came through to the computer and the next 87 messages while Ju put the kettle on ( didn’t suit her) and placed Saffy in her ball. Eventually 3 days later I was able to join them in the lounge and passed Terry the pictures. I noticed Saffy’s cage still open but no sound of her rolling around looking for ankles to wallop. Before I could ask I caught a glance out of the corner of my eye of this little nonchalant beastie  just strolling across the lounge floor not a care in the world. Somehow she’d managed to bang off, or unscrew ( I know which my money’s on) the end of the ball. Because she’s not intimidated by us at all she doesn’t run away but her little bottle brush tail just disappeared under the settee as Ju got down on the floor rustling a bag of yoghurt drops. “Look what mummy’s got for you” she said. “Prison” thought Saffy and carried on walking. Oscar had been lying on my chair arm up to this point and now took notice, He saw Saffy taking her constitutional and did what all brave pussies do, he went rigid with fear ( ever since Penny ran up his back leg) and shot out of the room. It took quarter of an hour to entice her out from under an armchair mainly because we all thought she was still under the settee.

At 5.00 we took Terry home and let the cast members settle down. When we got back at 6.00, Oscar was asleep on my bed, the furthest point from the lounge. Saffy was just widening the escape shaft in hut 18 and the girls were just starting to rouse themselves. Ju and I sat and watched an hour of Big Bang Theory and relaxed.