I'll say it again...

.. one of my favourite four-letter words is

H
O
M
E.

even tho we don't have The Cat.. Shhh!!!

Could it REALLY be true...?

We were told on Friday that it's about time for us to go home. For M to go to our local hospital to continue general rehab, for me to resume life in our home with our cat and the garden... and for all of us, to get on with the next stage of adjusting to a very changed life.

Mad packing and swinging emotions as we get ready to leave, because what we have here is so known now... tonight, as we sat together in his half-stripped hospital room, reflecting on the last nearly 14 months, we suddenly started to think of things we WON'T mind not knowing! Some of the routines, the smells, certain behaviours by certain people... the endlessness of long-term rehab, with the teeny-tiny advances. And the utter, utter boredom of contemplating either the hospital food trolley OR any of the many local food outlets. Been there, DONE THAT!

So here we come, housie, cattie, friends and old familiarities, we want to get blase about you all over again.

News like this can only be brought to you by Gucci, or Prada. So I've worn too much of both of them, one yesterday, one today. If I could find Essence de Home, I'd never wear another...

Maccy: the update.

Saint LIbby the vet says all his symptoms (agitation, extensive vocalising, weight loss, poor grooming) can be attributed to hyperthyroidism. We were investigating this in early December, but he was unwell in other ways so the treatment had to be delayed. Now he has nice thyroid tablets to take for a few weeks. Then we'll re-check his blood test to make sure other things are working properly, and then !!!! he may well be a very good candidate for radio-isotope treatment. This means a week in an isolation ward while he metabolises the bit which makes Geiger counters go berko. Heh. This treament cures 95% of cats permanently from thyroid disfunction. I find it kind of amusing to consider having a radio-active cat! He's had so many other dramatic things wrong with him, I'm sure this will just add an eery green glow to his 8th or 9th life.

As for the rest of me, I am slowly climbing out of my 'return-to-home' slump. I spent a couple of hours in the garden last night, clipping, pulling a few succulent weeds, tying things up again, watering and plotting. The plotting is the most abstract and the widest ranging activity. I'm delighted to see that almost nothing has suffered during our absence. I think several storms of rain did their bit to keep things looking very good. Mysteriously the four pumpkin plants have disappeared, but I suspect they were put in a place that Wendy considered to be sacred digging territory, so I'm NOT going to investigate! The artichokes have positively creaked upwards, the roses are getting ready to bloom again, all the veggie seedlings are about 8 times bigger, and the weeds in the 'cleared' areas are looking especially lush.

I enjoyed having enough heat in the day to deal with umpteen loads of sheets, towels and every knicker in the house. Hmm, sun-dried knickers, there might be something in that... I like having my dvd collection, and my proper cushion on the chair, not to mention the lovely purple velvet pillows on the bed. So sofffttt....

Resolution? I haven't had the heart to make any, but today a little thought kind of trickled through the layers of early morning fug, caffeine absorption and bleariness - maybe I could try a bit harder. That's it. I'm not going to spoil a good idea by confusing it with details, expectations or deadlines. We'll see.

Today brought to you by a very shiny laundry (after I had to completely take down, re-organise/prune/clean/de-tangle and tie up properly George and Georgette, the monsteras). Also a very shiny cat (Wendy, fopping all over the euphorbias), and a ruffled but patient Maccy. Also a few blasts of Angel, which I think I am going to be addicted to for a bit. Tomorrow is jam-making, sewing (with the aircon on for sure), and a proper dinner. Of..... proper food, proper cooking, and such. Watch this space!