TASHA

Our lovely Tasha was put to sleep by the Vet 10 days ago. Her quality of life was deteriorating fast and it became obvious that this was the kindest thing for her. We enjoyed her company for over fourteen years, so we are going to miss her a lot...............

Family Update

I know that I haven't posted anything for ages, but I have been terribly busy and have also been unwell. I had one of those horrible headache, dizzy, nausea 'bugs'.

One of the reasons that I'm so busy is because Joe and I soon go on holiday to Salvador, Brazil. We are very much looking forward to the rest and relaxation, but will also explore the history of the area, and I wonder if there will be turtles on the beach! But there is much to do beforehand. Next weekend I go to Perth for my Christian Workers' Certificate Spring Study Day - these are good days but I'm a bit nervous about giving a ten minute presentation.

Our youngest grandson, Iain Joseph, had his first trip to A&E last weekend! He suddenly decided to do a somersault off the sofa, hurting his head, so his mum and dad decided to take no chances and drove to the hospital. Thankfully he is none the worse for his acrobatics!

Tasha, our lovely old cat, is not very well at all. She now has a bad heart and spends a lot of time sleeping. Tablets seem to help however, and she seems happy enough and is eating, which is always a good sign.

Wildlife

Well, there I was at 1:00am, doing my usual locking-up..........................

Whilst checking the living room window, something over the road caught my eye - took me a moment or two to realise it was a fox! As casual as you like, walking down the pavement! I've seen foxes on the street when I was staying in Glasgow, but never expected to see one here. I can't imagine where it lives - it is so built-up, with very few green spaces to suit foxes.

However, he or she quite made my day!

Random thoughts.........

Immediately after my computer recovered, I suddenly became very busy. Various reasons - waiting to see if my work contract was being renewed, writing assignments for my CWC course, suffering with a sore throat and taking our Tasha to the Vet.

Sadly, Tasha has heart problems - she is quite elderly - in human terms she is approaching 105! We take her back to the vet on Monday to get her checked over again, and to collect some medication.

Joe and I celebrate our Wedding Anniversary on Friday, Sarah will be spending Saturday afternoon with us and our middle grandson, Stephen, will be 7 on 11 December. I know we all say it, but time passes so very quickly!

The last couple of Sundays, I have just felt so blessed to be part of my wee Church!! There is such a sense of family. A week past Sunday I was struck by how many folk were quietly ministering to those around them who needed a hug or a kind word. Last Sunday we were blessed with a real sense of worship and, again, that sense of family - I understand that some visitors so felt this that they have said they will be back.

There has been much discussion of what the Church is, and what it should be doing - should we be seeking to 'do' Church in a different way, so that folk who are not from a Church background can relate to what goes on in Church, especially during Sunday services. Most of the discussion has been at a level that I struggle to fully understand, so I have not often contributed. However, I think that the last couple of weeks at my Church may have provided part of the beginning of the answer........

Finally - to bloggers more experienced than I - other than by leaving comments, how do we know if anyone is reading our wee posts or not? Seems such a waste of time otherwise............

Pandas

Joe and I recently watched a programme about the Panda Centre in Fengdu, China and their very successful breeding programme. Reminded me of our visit to the Panda Enclosure at Chongqing Zoo. Here's a picture of one of the babies - he was sooo cute and we were very fortunate to see him!