Isn't this just the cutest little kitten. It reminds me a bit of my Nutmeg when he was a kitten. Similar, but not. Here is a photo of him . . .
Actually, now that I look at it, Nutmeg was cuter. But then again I am more than a bit biased. Last night he was laying next to me on the sofa and he was snoring. I said to Eileen I wish you had your hearing aids so that you could hear this. You would love it.
It really is the sweetest sound. He lays there next to me, with one paw on my knee and Cinnamon lays on the soft right behind my head with one paw stretches out towards me. I think they must love me or something.
I had a pretty good time on my respite visit yesterday. I did manage to fill the time. Will came to be here with Eileen and they watched Hocus Pocus and he told bad dad jokes and I went out for two hours on my own. First I went to Spurs Farm Market and had a boo around there. Tuesday is always bakery day and so I nabbed a fresh loaf of olive sour dough and two of those jam filled Breton cookies we enjoy, plus they have their Sweet Tart Apples (the ones with the red flesh) and I got a 1 QT basket of those to make some applesauce or something. (They make the best applesauce.) That olive sourdough is so good. I don't even need to put butter on it. I just tear off a chunk and eat it as it is. It is so delicious.
After that I went to the Independent Grocery store here in town. I had a good boo around. I haven't had a good thorough walk through a grocery store in a while. I got a few bits, and collected some stamps to give my sister for the knives they are selling with stamps. They didn't have the cat food I was wanting however so I went to the other grocery store and walked around there. I got some of those yogurt pots that Eileen and I like, with the fresh fruit and the granola in them, and I got Eileen a strawberry milk and then I got my cat food, had another bit of a wander around and then it was near enough time for me to go home. I was going to go up to Peltons, but I had spent enough money for one day by then so didn't.
It was nice to get out though.
This made me laugh this morning. Mom always had the radio on in the mornings. Most of the time we didn't pay real attention to it. We just kind of ate our breakfasts, and the music would be playing in the background, maybe Art Linkletter and Kids say the Darndest Things, a bit of news. But on a snowy day, we were glued, hoping to hear that school was being cancelled. I don't know why it was so exciting to me, because I actually really enjoyed school, but there was always something really exciting about having an extra day off, a freebie as it were.
There was a sliding hill not too far from where our house was situated that we called Texaco Hill because there was a Texaco Filling station right across the road. We would spend most of that day sliding down the hill on big pieces of cardboard, crazy carpets, flying saucers, sleds, etc. Whatever we could get our hands on. The hill would be loaded with kids all enjoying the pleasures of a fresh snow fall and an extra day off! Those were the days.
We would come back home from the end of it all with pink cheeks and noses, our breath huffing through the air, exhausted and played out. Snow days were never a disappointment.
Eileen and I were really pleased to note that Netflix now has Bewitched, the old television series, on it now. We have been enjoying it. It was such a good show. I always loved seeing Samantha's clothes when I was a girl and their home always seemed to be so luxurious to me. Plus the idea of being able to just twitch your nose to do things and get things, well that was pure magic. Then there is the love story of Samantha and Darin. It was just a good, good show, and it still is.
We've also been enjoying Mad About You and Dr. Quinn Medicine Woman.
Eileen was feeling a lot better yesterday and has been doing more for herself. She is still sleeping a lot however. Last night she thought she might be ready to go to the Big Scoop today, but then this morning when I had her up to go to the loo, she thought maybe she wasn't quite ready, which is absolutely fine. She spends much of her waking time in the lazy boy as she says it hurts too much to sit on a proper chair. She might try it for a bit today however as she is missing her diamond art. She did eat a bit more yesterday as well, which was good.
All told, I see small improvements each day. She is not really in a lot of pain now that I can see. Mostly just when she goes to the bathroom. There is a lot of bruising down there as well, which really surprised me. I had not expected that, but then I really didn't know what to expect. Most of the dressings from the incisions have fallen off, which is to be expected and they look clean and healed, which is good.
I do get her up to walk every hour when she is up. She uses the walker and this week has been walking for 10 minutes at a time. She seems to enjoy it, which is good. Yesterday Zillah, my next door neighbour on the right side brought her over a card which really pleased her also.
So all is looking well on the Eileen front. I am so grateful. She is now thinking that maybe in another two weeks, perhaps after Halloween she will be ready to go into her own apartment, but we will see.
A lot of the leaves are coming down now. The tops of the trees are looking quite bare with stick arms reaching up into the sky and leaves dancing up and down the street with every puff of wind. The skies have been a brilliant blue however and it is hard not to be happy when you look at them. I am sure they are not any bluer than they are at any other time of the year, but the leaf colour and baring branches just make the blue seem more intense.
We have had a mild frost every morning this week, and my heat has been on pretty much all of the time. Well, the heat pump at any rate. I am so grateful for my heat pump. It keeps me toasty warm, without being over the top.
My cleaners were here yesterday as well. In the morning. They always do such a nice job and it smells so fresh in here. I had bought a new shower curtain and liner so they put that up for me and changed Eileen's bed for me in addition to their other chores. I know they are being paid, but those are not things on their regular list and so I really do appreciate their kindness in doing them for me. I have been saving up some money to give them in their Christmas Cards once Christmas rolls around as a special thankyou for them. There is the option of adding a tip when their company sends their invoice out each time, but I am not sure if they really get that money or not, or if the company takes some of it, so I would rather just give them some money in a card at Christmas as a special thanks for all that they do.
I really do appreciate them, plus they are quite amenable and pleasant. That makes a difference. I like them.
I was cleaner once upon a time and I know how hard it is. When my kids were really small and we were living in Alberta (I only had the three at the time.) I cleaned the offices on the base and the schools at night with another guy. That was really hard work. I also cleaned houses for inspection for people that were moving out. White glove inspections. That was super hard work. The stoves were always a real chore. They had to be pristine. I remember doing the base Doctor's house and taking out two buckets of sludge from his stove. I don't think it had ever been cleaned.
Talk about hard work.
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.jpg "French Onion Cottage Pie")
In The English Kitchen today . . . French Onion Cottage Pie. There are few things more comforting on a chilly autumn day than a bubbling, golden cottage pie fresh from the oven, and this French onion cottage pie just might be my favourite version yet! With lovely chunks of melt in the mouth tender beef in a rich gravy with a beautiful crispy edged fluffy Parmesan mashed potato thatch on top. This is excellent.
I hope that you have a lovely Wednesday. It will be a quiet one here. A bit of work, a bit of play, a lot of love. Whatever you get up to, I hope it brings you joy! Don't forget!
