Christmas has come and gone once again. I quite like Christmas regardless of all the things that have happened in previous years.
New Year is another matter - surely I can't be the only person who finds it thoroughly depressing? Maybe it’s the thought of going back to work or all the bills that will be turning up in January or the miserable weather. Whatever it is, I just can’t get excited about it – in fact it makes me feel down right depressed. Maybe that’s why we all drink so much on New Years Eve – we’re not celebrating, we’re drowning our sorrows!! LOL

Christmas Eve at last – presents are wrapped, house is sort of tidy (have hidden the mess!). It’s another one of those strange bittersweet days. I love Christmas Eve – all the excitement and expectations but it’s also a time when I remember people who are no longer here.
My Father died from a brain tumour on Christmas Eve 1979 – the pain has gone but the memories still remain. It was a difficult time for my brother’s as they were both young children. My Mother died just before Christmas last year and I had to have two of my beloved cats put to sleep this year, so I suppose there is a lingering feeling of loss.

Visited some old friends today – I’ve known their three children since they were babies – it’s been amazing to watch them grow. The oldest boy is 15 and played me a CD of his band’s recordings – it sounded really good, reminiscent of ‘Green Day’. My own daughter is now ten and already turning into a proper young girl - she wanted ‘real perfume’ for Christmas!

My partner has bought the cats a present for Christmas – he loves those cats! It’s one of those battery powered hamsters in a ball – he tried it this morning and it wouldn’t work so he had to trail over to the Metrocentre to get a replacement – which is a bit of a shame as he works at the Metrocentre and this was his day off.
Anyway I’m going to break open the Cherry Brandy and Iceland party food and settle down to watch some TV – Merry Christmas all. X X X

It’s my birthday today. Took a day off from work to go to my daughter’s Christmas Carol service at school. It always brings a tear to my eye watching all the kids decked out in tinsel, all singing out of tune.
I feel a bit more in the Christmas spirit now – I had my first sweet mince pie of the year today and the cats are busy chewing the Christmas cards having already demolished most of my birthday cards.

I was just reading through my posts so far – makes pretty miserable reading on the whole.....LOL. I’ll have to try and write something a bit more upbeat. Some of the time I’ve just been posting some of my private thoughts – just think - they’re too private to say out loud so what do I do – post them on the internet for the whole world to read instead……..

Today is the first anniversary of my mother’s death. I didn’t get to see her before she died as I was recovering from surgery myself – I wasn’t expecting it to happen so quickly even though she was bed ridden and had suffered a number of small strokes which destroyed her memory and left her unable to speak towards the end.
I suppose you always expect your parents to go on forever – it’s a shock when they die even though you know it will happen sooner rather than later. I regret not being able to see her for the last time, to hold her hand and tell her that I love her – even though she hadn’t recognised me for a few years. So my message is visit them, phone them or even just send them a card to let them know you care – your parents won’t be around forever.

Today is the 25th anniversary of my joining the NHS. I started working in the NHS 7th Dec 1981 and I'm still there! What do I get for 25 years? Nothing I'm afraid - no recognition, no little gift or token - not even a biscuit. Ah well, I'll have to treat myself to a big cream cake.

As promised some kitty pictures -

Blossom at two years old - a beautiful cat but so bad tempered!

This is Jasper's 3 sisters at 8 weeks old - from the back Angel, Carmen and Daisy.

Jasper at 8 weeks old - he's now seven months old but still as cute.

Well it’s the 3rd of December, but I haven’t got into the Christmas spirit yet. If I was still married today would have been my 23rd wedding anniversary, as I’m now divorced it’s just a very wet, very windy December day. I’m also suffering from flu so I’m not at my best. Was hoping to post some pictures of my cats but since I changed to beta blogger I seem to be having problems with my tool bar dissapearing – could just be my flu-riddled brain!
We’re not having a Christmas tree this year as my new cats destroy everything so I didn’t fancy paying for all of them to have bits of fibre optics and plastic tree removed from their tummies. I’ve never had such a bunch of cats who chew so much – doors, plastic bags, book, brushes, the TV….

Do you ever think about what your parents were like when they were young? Watching my daughter grow up got me thinking about my Mum and Dad. My Dad died many years ago and my Mother died last year. I've never seen photographs of them as children, times were hard when they were kids so photographs would have been a luxury. I wish I could ask them about their childhoods - the games they played, Christmas, Birthdays, schooldays.
Made me think - I should spend as much time with my daughter as possible - talk to her, laugh with her, hug her when she feels sad, tell her about my childhood........

Do you remember 'Crystal Tipps and Alistair'? I was flicking through the TV channels this evening when I saw Crystal Tipps and Alistair on Nick Jr - I haven't seen it for years and my daughter had never seen it before. I suddenly realised how bizzare the programme was - like some sort of 60's acid trip. My daughter thought it was 'scary'......

Been unwell for a couple of days, but not as ill looking as the fairy figure which my cats demolished! Four of them are six months old and still chewing everything in sight. A few days ago they decided to attack one of my Brian froud fairy figures - I can only think that the hair reminded them of some small furry animal - they're always dragging my daughter's dolls downstairs by the hair. Have posted a picture to show the remains - bear in mind that she used to have a lovely head of hair!

OK, this is my first post on my first ever Blog - and now my mind is blank!
I'm 'middle aged', work for the NHS but am a frustrated artist - at some times very frustrated but that could be more to do with the cats chewing my brushes.