I was meant to write again last weekend however our 7 month old kitten, Ziggy, was sadly run over and killed last Saturday morning. We were absolutely heart broken, he was such an amazing kitten, I've never had a cat quite like him before. I can't go into details as it will just set off the tears again but I am grateful to the gentleman who took him to the vet to get scanned. Microchips are a great invention, we never bother with collars as they can get caught on branches etc and they end up losing them. The phone call from the vet was just awful, and anyone who has been in a similar situation will know how I felt. Our poor dog knew something was up as we spent most of the weekend in tears, she kept sniffing our her buddy and I think even my older cat (who didn't really like Ziggy) was confused by the change in the household. He's been very odd all week, sitting next to me on the sofa (this cat never does that!!) and been way more affectionate. He's either trying to cheer me up or secretly relieved the 'little shit' (Ziggy's nickname) has gone. The house felt very empty without him this week, he was such an indoors cat that he had so many places he sat, slept, played etc that the memories were on overdrive. He had such an amazing character, he was playful, loving, mischievous, fearless and funny - he touched us all and left a real mark on us. He was such a 'dog' cat as he acted like the dog in so many ways. I am grateful that it happened instantly and he didn't suffer, he had an amazing 5 months with us and was always happy and bouncy every minute of every day. RIP Zigzag (aka Ziggy)
With every raincloud comes a rainbow - bizarrely I kept in touch with the lady I purchased him from. We chatted every now and then and shared photos as she had kept Ziggy's sister. I have never kept in touch with any of my pet breeders before but clearly there was a reason for this, after telling her the sad news I asked her if she would let me know if Ziggy's mum ever had more kittens because Ziggy had such a lovely character that I knew her other kittens would be the same. I nearly fell off my chair when she replied with "funnily enough she was due Friday but she's late". I am a true believer in everything happens for a reason and to think I could have Ziggy's brother or sister gave me a teeny bit of joy. This is not about replacing Ziggy as he was a one in a million kitten but I got him for a reason and and now he's gone that gap is there again. His mum gave birth to four beautiful kittens on Friday and the lady who owns her, has kindly given me first refusal which is really lovely. I am hoping for another boy but I will take one regardless - we won't find out the sexes for a little while yet as the mummy is being super protective. I wasn't going to tell anyone about the kittens because my son is super sensitive about animals dying as sadly he's lost a few pets in his time, however when I spoke to him about it I realised that he now knows that filling the void doesn't mean you don't love the lost pet any less and that it can bring joy again having a new furry friend. I will miss Ziggy for a very long time and he will never be forgotten but I am looking forward to my new kitten when he or she comes here in April.
Some of my favourite photos of Ziggy (and Bella)
In other news our bathroom guy finished our en suite renovation this weekend. We've been wanting to update our en suite for the last few years, it was the original from when the house was built (early 1990s) and the shower unit had about a 15cm step over to get in which was not easy with my dodgy right leg. I've been managing for the last few years by holding on to the sink when getting out but it was never ideal. Our new shower has a very low base so it much easier for me to get in and out. It took almost 15 working days but it's finally done and I absolutely love it. We choose everything online except the main tiles and luckily it all came together, I did create a mood board so I could try and visualise the colours together in advance which definitely helped. My favourite find was the patterned tiles that I purchased online from the Porcelain Superstore - they don't have them in stock currently but they are called Maison Chic - aren't they gorgeous? We put them together with some grey porcelain tiles which matched closely to the small grey detail on the tile and then the sink unit and everything else came from Victoria Plumbing - I was really worried about the Cashmere coloured sink unit matching but honestly it was a perfect combination those tiles were made to match it - love it when a plan comes together :-)
And what about my Kidney Detox - well, I am almost at the finish line thankfully - this week I have been extremely tired, and I think it's probably from the detox. I can't wait for it to be done and then I don't have to do them again for another 6 months which will be nice. My mobility was doing pretty well until the weekend, the loss of Ziggy impacted my mindset which results in down days but I wasn't stressed and managed the sadness well as I know extreme mood can impact my body negatively so was aware of that the entire time I felt sad. It's hard to teach your body not to react to thing but we have to always put our bodies first and you never want to trigger a relapse. Hence, why I work really hard to now allow myself to get stressed out. It's definitely easier now than it used to be, it's a bit like eating the wrong foods - you know they impact your body and therefore it becomes easier to avoid them.
Just because you have to avoid some foods doesn't mean you can't enjoy naughty foods that still tick the boxes. It was Pancake Day on Tuesday so it was a good time to try my Sweetpea Pantry Pancake Mix - Gluten Free, Dairy Free and No Added Sugar - you would think they would taste awful but they were really delicious and came out quite think like American style pancakes. I had mine with pure maple syrup and strawberries - the best pancake combination (in my opinion!). I used Alpro Unsweetened Almond milk to make the mix as you can use normal milk if you aren't dairy free. I really recommend the SweetPea Pantry - I love the fact their products don't have any added sugar in them. I've always loved pancakes so it was really nice that for once I didn't have to miss out so whilst the kids tucked into theirs I enjoyed my healthier alternative ones.
I don't have any other news, aside from I am reading another book. This time it's one from my bookclub - Facade by Helen Matthews. We read one of her other books previously 'After Leaving the Village' which was brilliant and this new one is just as good. Definitely recommend her if you are looking for something new to read. I'm off to read a few more pages now whilst husband and son are watching the football.
#taopatches #taopatch #multiplesclerosis #ms #health #neurologicaldisease #autoimmunedisease #livingwithms #english #reading #books #glutenfree #dairyfree #sugarfree #vegan #exercise #kidneydetox #detox #helenmatthews #bathroom #renovation #kitten #cats
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