As I think I mentioned, I am going to the Rocky Horror Picture Show, at the Sheffield theatres   on Monday. As it's a dress up occasion, I have sat up until very late every night, making myself a new corset. Not the easiest thing in the world when I only have a GCSE in textiles. I am not an expert dressmaker. Good job it's not a dress really...

I have made numerous trips to the haberdashers, and these days they are a little thin on the ground. I just hope this thing is wearable once I finish it, and that it is finished in time!  

After our excursion to buy extra satin ribbon today, the Heavens opend on us as we were half way across the car park.   Hannah suddenly realised she doesn't like the rain!   We all got absolutely drenched and had to strip off and change as soon as we got home.

Of course. in the pouring rain, I couldn't put up my electric fence   in the field (the boys had pulled the stock fencing down again) so that had to wait until this evening, when all I really wanted was to have a bath   and go to bed. We happened upon a group of youths at the field, sitting around drinking lager   and Lambrini. Never saw the appeal, myself. But what nicer place to sit and have a drink with your friends than a sheltered bench overlooking a nature reserve?

Istnofret   is doing well though, she is coming back into season quickly after losing her litter and is being rather friendly with Rocco again. So I will wait, and see what the next few weeks brings.

I have kept ferrets for about 10 years, always quite successfully. Over the years I have lost some youngsters to the odd accident or illness but on the whole they have all lived to a ripe old age. Not only that, but whenever I have wanted to breed them, they have been more than willing. Several healthy litters, sometimes by accident, have been born and reared. Until recently. Over the past couple of years I have lost around 4 or 5 litters, from different jills (females), in different circumstances and even different types of housing.

Istnofret has just lost the last of her babies, although she seemed to be doing so well with them. I know that these things happen, but why is it only in the last 2 years or so? I can't understand what I am doing that is different to the way I used to do things, when all the litters were healthy.

My main concern is that my adult ferrets are happy and well but it would be nice to raise my own kits again. Oh well, here's to the rest of the summer, and breeding season!

When the last eagle flies
over the last crumbling mountain,
And the last lion roars
at the last dusty fountain,
In the shadow of the forest,
though she may be old and worn,
They will stare, unbelieving,
at the Last Unicorn.


When the first breath of winter,
through the flowers is icing,
And you look to the north,
and the pale moon is rising,
And it seems like all is dying,
and would leave the world to mourn
In the distance, hear the laughter,
of the Last Unicorn,

I'm alive...I'm alive...

When the last moon is cast,
over the last star of morning,
And the future has past
without even a last desperate warning,
Then look into the sky
where through the clouds a path is formed
Look and see her, how she sparkles,
it's the Last Unicorn,

I'm alive...I'm alive...

Typical, isn't it? Bank holiday and it's raining again  . As a result of the rain I have only dashed out to check on and feed the ferrets very quickly but on my swift forrays I have not heard any little squeakings. I do hope that Istnofret hasn't lost all her babies, but if it's not meant to be then it's not meant to be. The main thing is that she is well, which she does seem to be . I'll just have to wait and see how things turn out.

I am utterly sick of Lucy (the cat)     yowling so she is currently sitting on my lap to stop her being so noisy outside the children's bedroom doors.

Hannah and Louis have been entertaining each other and me with their antics today. Lou decided he needed to wear Han's pink, flowery cowboy boots with his T-shirt and has trotted around the house in them. This resulted in Han trying to squeeze into Lou's shoes and failing miserably. She settled for her purple fluffy slippers   and pink sunglasses instead. Not the best thing to wear when baking a cake...  

Ooh, hung over this morning!   Went out with an old friend for his birthday last night, and since I had missed the last 3 years I thought it was time I caught up a bit. Getting in at 3am, I found Hannah in my bed,   fast asleep next to her Dad. My drunken brain processed this slowly; should I get into bed next to her, or sleep in her bed? Through the fuzz I finally realised I should put her back into her own bed and sleep next to my husband. If this is what alcohol does to your brain, there's no hope for students...

So I had a lie in while Hannah dressed herself and looked after Louis for half an hour. Its lovely listening to them giggling together  . We spent the day building with Plasticine and playing outside in the sunshine.

This evening I discovered Win   in the field next to ours, with Apollo   going mad on the right side of the fence because he was lonely. I crawled through brambles, hawthorn and nettles to reach him and dragged him back to our field. Interesting trip though, I happened upon my electric fence on the way round. After much swearing I decided I was having it back and set about wrapping it up. I also noticed that one of the wheelbarrows in the field was marked SCC - Sheffield City Council. Not just my things they steal then. There will be a nice, friendly note waiting for them tomorrow  , in place of my fencing.

There are still lively squeaking noises coming from the hutch outside, but Fret isn't letting me see the babies anymore. I'll just have to trust her to do her Motherly duties. Rocco is fed up of her, she thinks he should be part of her litter and keeps dragging him around by his ears. She's going to wear herself out; he's at least twice her size.  

Looking forward to going to see Rocky Horror Show next week, planning my outfit already!

Just this side of heaven is a place called Rainbow Bridge. When an animal dies that has been especially close to someone here, that pet goes to Rainbow Bridge. There are meadows and hills for all of our special friends so they can run and play together. There is plenty of food, water and sunshine, and our friends are warm and comfortable.

All the animals who had been ill and old are restored to health and vigor. Those who were hurt or maimed are made whole and strong again, just as we remember them in our dreams of days and times gone by. The animals are happy and content, except for one small thing; they each miss someone very special to them, who had to be left behind. They all run and play together, but the day comes when one suddenly stops and looks into the distance. His bright eyes are intent. His eager body quivers. Suddenly he begins to run from the group, flying over the green grass, his legs carrying him faster and faster. You have been spotted, and when you and your special friend finally meet, you cling together in joyous reunion, never to be parted again. The happy kisses rain upon your face; your hands again caress the beloved head, and you look once more into the trusting eyes of your pet, so long gone from your life but never absent from your heart. Then you cross Rainbow Bridge together....  Author unknown...

Happier news today than he last time I blogged  . Istnofret has had her babies   this morning and is very happy and relaxed (or possibly exhausted). As far as I can see there are 4 babies, looking like little wriggling jelly beans  . I'm sure Fret will be a good Mother to them and I can't wait to see how they turn out.

Poor Rocco has been turfed out of his bed to make room for the babies and is wondering aimlessly around  , much like a human new father. He'll get over it though, he's eating the remains of our bread and butter pudding  .

It is my extremely sad duty to tell you that my beautiful Wanda has passed away. To make matters much worse, her babies were not delivered. I have cried over many animals through the years but it makes me so sad to lose so many potential lives. I hope she and her babies wait for me at the Rainbow Bridge. Goodbye Wanda, our acquaintance was too brief.

I need now to make sure that the other ferrets are safe and well, and not too affected by these unseemly happenings. Istnofret's babies are due in a couple of weeks, and I shall be keeping a very close eye on her.

Our children put us to shame as human beings. They see the world as they want to see it, as it should be, until we, as adults, tell them what they should be seeing.

Hannah goes to nursery, and she plays with, and makes friends with, anyone she chooses. She sees past gender, ethnic origin and religious beliefs. Her friends are just children. Its as simple as that. Walking past a coloured man on the street, she says " Thats a man. Like Daddy." Obviously he's not like Daddy, but she doesn't register a difference. Because, truly, what difference is there?

She never asks why someone is a different colour, wears different clothes or uses a wheelchair. To her it's as simple as the difference between herself and Louis. She's a girl, he's a boy.

If everyone could look past these things in the same innocent way that a child does, wouldn't the world be a different place?

Think it over.

The ferret's hutch  has been turned from a luxury apartment into a luxury apartment and granny flat. Wanda is so near to giving birth that her hormones have completely taken over and she is attacking anything that comes near her, including the other ferrets  . We have added a seperate section to the hutch so that everyone is safe and the ladies can have their babies in peace.

Louis is still making up his mind about what he wants to be (see photos) and Hannah has decided she loves the huge spider   that has taken up residence in our living room

The dogs     are now banned from the living room and there are no more clouds of hair billowing around when we sit down.

The FLOG   has a broken indicator and the turbo has packed up. The driver's door won't open if I park on a curb. Which I do regularly.

And Apollo has thrown Steve off. Ha! Should have ridden Winny.  

Think thats all my news for now, will keep you up to date with the ferret babies.

I've figured out whats going on in the field. Each day I go up to check on the ponies and fencing, and each day I find another golf ball. Its an alien invasion  ! They found the field, scanned it, and cloned the most intelligent thing in there. Which happened to be a golf ball. Sorry boys, but you're not the brightest stars in the sky  . And I'm unwittingly taking all these alien golf balls  home in my pocket, where they can prepare to take over the world! Or maybe I'm being a little too imaginative.

Either way, the boys were in a very good mood today, namely because Apollo had got out again, and Winston was very pleased with himself for staying in the field. In fact, Winston was in such a good mood that he let me ride him bareback across the field, something that he hasn't allowed since I was pregnant with Louis  . It felt so good to be back up there, without a saddle, and Win was wonderfully well behaved .Maybe he's an alien clone...

My delightful son has discovered an amazing new ability. He can now exactly imitate the sound of the cat   being sick. Wonderful. At 5am hearing that sound makes me leap out of bed   and look anxiously around for the poor animal before she throws up everywhere. Realising the cat is soundly asleep on the bed I have to try to convince Lou to go back to sleep for another hour or so  .

Louis has evidently decided his vocation in life is to become a plasterer. He has started removing the artexing from the hallway, which is a big help, apart from when he feeds the remnants to the dogs    ! I can see some vets bills coming up...

Hannah and Louis seem to have evolved their own language, which gives them endless hours of fun chatting away to each other. As the kids are both learning baby sign language   I'm waiting for that to come into their conversations. I might understand them then!

The FLOG is past it's best, its official. For some time I have been trying to deny this, but my rather unique car is getting on in life.

I hated this car when we first got it. Those were the days before children when I could still go out in mini skirts and high heels. The car was still a Golf back then, but an exceptionally unreliable one  . The engine regularly cut out and would only restart when it felt like it. The only solution was to run a wire from the battery to the relay switch that was causing the problem to make sure the circuit was complete all the time. It was not an uncommon sight to find me fiddling under the bonnet in all my finery, heading out for a night on the town. Eventually this problem was sorted and once the car ran reliably I began to like it.

Over the years it has run into many hardships, including having the wheel fall off as we drove along and as the AA rescued the car, the front wing was also pulled off. New black wing in place (on a silver car) the now FLOG has met with kerbs, hedges and gateposts all resulting in a car so personalised its not worth putting a cherished plate on it! Bits of trim have gradually dropped off, the stereo has been stolen several times and the wiring looms on both front doors have nearly disintegrated.

But he's my car now  , and I don't want to hurt his feelings by suggesting we get a new one. And I couldn't ever find another car with such a distinctive personality. Except Phyllis...

OK, this just isn't funny anymore. Yesterday there was a note from the police   saying that the ponies had got out and were wandering towards the road. Searching the field we found a section of the fence down and my electric fence missing. Not all of it, the part we had erected was still there but the rest of the roll had been cut off and taken. On the way down the field I picked up a golf ball  , but thought no more about it.

This morning I dropped Han at nursery and went up to check the ponies. The same section of fence was down, with the rope used to repair it unfastened and draped over the post. Fortunately the boys had either not noticed or had the good sense not to try the same trick two days running.  

As I retied the chain link fence to the concrete posts I looked around, and there was another golf ball    . How odd! Whoever is breaking down my fence is obviously a fan of playing golf in the dark.

So, guys, its not funny. Its dangerous, its irritating and its illegal. Stay out of my field!

Today, being a bank holiday, it was destined to rain. Nonetheless, we set of to Graves Park to attend the annual Highland Fling. I know, we're in the midlle of England and theres men called Bruce wandering around in skirts, throwing logs about.  

The weather wasn't actually too bad and we arrived early enough to manage to park the car.  Hannah was very excited about being there as we had promised Aunty Rachael and Uncle Liam were coming to meet us. Unfortunately, Liams car had broken down again  , so they were a bit behind schedule.

We wandered amongst the Scottish pipers and Highland Cattle, watched showjumping and flyball and Hannah went on a big inflatable slide. Almost. At the top she decided it was too high and too bouncy, and the best bet was to return the way she had come up. 14 other children didn't think that was a good idea and she ended up being rescued, only to climb back up and do it all over again!

The camera  wasn't going to work and just as I was getting frustrated it occured to me to change the batteries. Problem solved. So a good day was had by all, but I still don't understand having a Highland Fling in the middle of Sheffield...

 

Oh, and the boys escaped this morning, brought back by the police. Currently trying to look innocent.   

 Winston sees things. I have owned this horse for nearly 8 years, and I still don't see the world the way he does, although I am learning where he might see things.  

A simple thing like going out for a countryside ride can turn into the worst nightmare if Winston starts 'seeing'. Meeting motorbikes is only a frightening experience for Win if they are not moving. Whizzing past at nearly 100mph is fine, but not being parked.

To get anywhere from our field we have to cross a bridge. Not a very big one, but obviously there is a troll living under it, and crossing times must be carefully considered. Drains and manhole covers are home to gremlins and should be cautiously skirted. Carrier bags have a life of their own and are apt to fly at an unsuspecting pony, so it pays to be vigilant. Any sort of roadsign  must be read thoroughly before proceeding. Skips and any sort of building material, including scaffolding, is an immediate risk and the area must be vacated at once. Shiny cars always seem to contain another horse, although it is a very good looking one. And of course, there are Morris Dancers. These must be avoided AT ALL COST.

Apart from these fairly obvious things there is the constant rustling in the undergrowth that needs to be investigated at regular intervals and sometime just things that I can neither see nor hear.

All these silly traits are what make Winson mine, and I wouldn't change him for the world. I know I can trust him with my life.

I've recently come to realise the fragility of life. Mortality is staring me in the face in the form of my aged cat. Too  true the comment the other day that soon she (the cat) will be nothing but bones and no-one will have noticed the difference. Don't get me wrong, the cat is as healthy as you or I would be at 96 years old (thats human years converted to cat years, which is a less than exact science), but time is taking its toll. I found her on the floor the other day and after sitting down next to her I realised I couldn't see her breathing. I reached out to touch her and her little body was cold. As my brain struggled to cope with the information that I had lost my beloved cat, she calmly stood up and wandered off to find her food. Typical. I have lost more animals than can be listed on this page but learning about this from an early age made me more able to cope with losing people from my life.  

I foster elderly dogs   from a local sanctuary and give them the luxury they deserve for the last years or even just months of their lives. My children are growing up understanding mortality and learning compassion for others.

Life is fragile, take care of it.  

With today being 'Safer Roads Day' I want to tell you what happened to me yesterday. I'll feel better about it if I have a rant too.

It all started with a phone call asking me to pick up a friend's dog. Said dog had gone exploring on Friday and not come back. After much searching she was found at a kennels near to me, so I went to pick her up and take her home. That part of the story is irrelevant, however, it explains why I was returning home from Rotherham at the time of the incident.

Happily trundling along just under the speed limit (40mph)  , I was suddenly overtaken by another car. Nothing much new in that, I understand that some people seem to feel the need to show off the size of their d**k by driving as idiotically as possible. The problem came when he swerved in front of me, slammed his brakes on and turned into a petrol station. Not literally, it was still a car, but now parked in a petrol station  . I didn't actually realise I had reacted until I had performed an emegency stop, nearly lost the car and regained control, whilst muttering a single obscenity under my breath. The idiot that cut me up didn't even look my way as he climbed out of his car, despite the fact that most of my tyres are now on the road surface. Does he have so little respect for human life that he can take it into his own hands? My children were in that car, which is probably why I resisted getting out and screaming at him. The fact that he was driving a fairly new Golf and I drive a tired 'Flog' does not give him the right to act in such a dangerous manner.

You know who you are.

So, today of all days, people, take care on the roads.