Category Archives: hope

meet my new flatmate

21 Friday Oct 2011

Posted by in friends, home, hope, teaching, work

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Yeah okay, I know what you’re all thinking. You’re thinking that my new flatmate looks just like my old flatmate, but the truth is that he is different. Because today my new flatmate landed a new client for his Restaurant English classes and next week he finds out if he’ll get two new intensive English courses (Nov-Feb) at a language school here.

Aside from that he has been helping me out with Sevilla Tapas Tours when I am either double-booked or unavailable, and carrying on with his other private English classes. So if it all comes to pass, by next month this new flatmate of mine will actually be making a fairly comfortable living, at least enough to put in his share for house stuff, which will also make my life a lot less stressful.

But aside from that… well, just look at him. Since getting some very nice “reviews” for his tapas tours, and becoming more involved with the restaurant stuff, Nog has had a real boost in self esteem and that’s great to see. Sometimes it just takes one or two things to go right for a change to make all the difference in one’s outlook. After a couple of disappointments earlier in the week, the good news about Luna yesterday and today’s new job prospects have renewed both our spirits and it’s great to look forward and see good times ahead as flatmates and friends. Yay!

mira la luna!

18 Sunday Sep 2011

Posted by in animals & pets, cats, change, home, hope

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Say hello to my beautiful girl. It’s so weird to think that a week ago getting a third cat was something I was considering – maybe! – for some time during the winter. Closed balcony doors, less chance of kitten dropping off balconies, etc. Though it had been on my mind for awhile to look for a playmate for Loki. And then I saw that poster last Monday…

Then after much back and forthing I made the Big Decision on Friday that I would take this kitteh, even though it means having to keep her “in quarantine” for a month until she can be retested for feline leukemia, as the test she had on Friday wasn’t “negative enough” for Yolanda to say with confidence that it’s safe for her to be in contact with Azar and Loki. But she has plenty of space to sleep and play, and she is never left alone for long. Plus Nog sleeps with her at night.

I picked her up yesterday after going out to get some proper kitten food and a small litter box. So she is set up quite nicely in Nog’s room with the cushion of my ex-comfy chair as a cat bed, her food and water dishes and a couple of toys. Litter box is out in the hallway. And she also seems to like the “safe hiding place” I left for her – the cat carrier with the door taken off – as well as crawling in behind the big square “reading pillow” on Nog’s bed.

[click on collages to enlarge]

The best part is that she is so affectionate and loves purring away on my lap. And she is also very playful. Yesterday afternoon I settled down to watch a film on tv after lunch and, since the boys were napping elsewhere, decided to risk bringing her out to sit with me. And she was happy as anything on my lap getting lots of snibbles. Azar came over after awhile and didn’t seem to notice her at all, but after the film was over I put her back in her room.

I’ve decided to call her Luna. It just sounds right and it’s a bit in memory of Lua, as she was also a very pretty girl and a siamese mix, and of course both names mean “moon”. I just hope Luna turns out to be less *ahem* cranky than dear old Lua was.

One thing’s for sure – Luna sure is photogenic.

the best bed…

02 Friday Sep 2011

Posted by in cats, health & happiness, home, hope, hospitals

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THIS is all I could think about while I was at the hospital. Being home again in my bed with my boys. So you can imagine my joy when I found out this morning that I could go home.

I was sure in an out in record time – from operating table to home again in less than three days! I think in part because there was a serious bed shortage and also because my doctor knows that I’m a veteran, this being my fourth major abdominal surgery there. So he could rest assured that I knew what to do and how to take care of myself. But I was also surprised at how quickly I bounced back, being up and about in less than a day after the operation. So perhaps I’ll be able to do that Gourmet Tapas Tour on September 10th after all!

But don’t worry. I plan on taking it very easy. When I got home this afternoon the first thing I did (after snibbling the cats) was take a long hot shower and wash the hospital off me. Then I had a bit of lunch and then I had a lovely three-hour siesta with the boys. This is a photo of my rather rumpled bed after getting up. And oh man! I just felt like the luckiest person in the world to be back here. Sure I’ve still got a lot of pain and it’ll be awhile before I’m back to normal, but I’m still determined – perhaps more than ever – to stick to all the changes I’d been deciding on just before this happened.

Well, time for a light snack and a DVD before hitting the hay again. And thanks again for being with me through all this – it really meant the world to me.

scanxiety!

22 Wednesday Jun 2011

Posted by in cancer, chemo, hope, hospitals

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It’s that time again … got a call from the hospital yesterday (while I was fretting about having to make this terrible decision) and was told my next PET scan would be on Monday at 8am. And then the scanxiety set in. I haven’t had it this bad since last year at this time. In fact it will be almost exactly a year, just one day off. Though of course I had my last PET in January.

I was nervous last time but, as I only had a couple of day’s notice, I didn’t have so much time to worry. This time it came as a surprise because I thought it wasn’t going to be until the end of July, and so now I suddenly have almost a whole week of sleepless nights ahead of me.

The other thing that makes it scarier this time is that since my last “all-clear” two very dear friends have had inoperable recurrences and have been given chemo as a last resort, and I worry that I’m next. As usual I am kicking myself for not having made all the healthy lifestyle changes I should have, as if daring the cancer to come back – how stupid was that? But of course there’s nothing I can do about that now to change Monday’s outcome.

I have so much planned for the summer now that work is finally picking up, and I so want to be able to do it all. In fact, I have a tapas tour on Monday evening. Wonder how I’ll manage to do that if I end up getting bad news. BUT… all of this is scariest in the wee hours as I lie awake and turn it all over and over again in my mind. Right now the sun is shining and there’s lots to do.