A bit ill and flowers

I had a bad night, and the day's not started too well. A cold has given me a cough, so I couldn't sleep well. Then, feeling rotten with sore glands in my neck and still bunged up, I tootle out for a little shopping:

1. On the newsagent's door is a notice 'back in 5 minutes' - so when did the five minutes start?
2. At the car phone warehouse I wait for half an hour to get served
3. At the library to return a book, person in front of me has to argue about whether her returns are overdue or not
   
4. In Superdrug to get some medicine I have lost my student card so can't have discount
5. Health food shop - they know me in there and give sympathy, but they've got no currants

I get home and find student card - things are getting slightly better.

We didn't notice anyone approach the house or heard the gate squeak, when ..

BANG BANG!

I know it says "knock loudly" on the front door, but we do jump when we're right next to it, not at the other end of the house.

But someone's sent me, yes me! Why me? a huge bouquet of flowers in the most gorgeous autumn colours with deep red roses, and a couple of tiny delicate white roses. So now with some paracetamol in me and some lovely flowers, I'm feeling a tad better. Thank you that someone - it was well timed.

Sick smelly cat

We have a cat called Dinka. But she is old, very, very old. We reckon being at least 17 years old makes her the equivalent of 88 human years old, and she moves and walks old. She used to scratch the mites in her ear, but she doesn't do that very much any more, thank goodness because the bits flew out over the sofa, cushions and carpets. Unfortunately she is totally deaf, so jumps when someone comes up behind her.

For the last year she has being having epileptic fits. Sometimes she doesn't have one for weeks, at least not when we are in the house to know. She had one last week at ten to nine in the morning. My mobile beeped as I got a text message:

"Dinka has had a fit on the new carpet. Where's something to clean it?"

And now, this last week, she has started to stink. She still cleans herself a bit, but her wind is horrible. Poor old Dinka.

In the above photo, she had been watching her territory out of the window. There's a young and bouncy tom that lives in our garden. He appeared at the bottom of the garden, near the rented houses, about a year ago. Husband and he got on very well together. Husband is a soppy thing for cats and started to feed him, delighted with his response to the interest and his purrrrr-rr-rr. Originally he fed him only once a day, but over the winter it got to be twice a day, and at the top of the garden and the cat (Whisper or Jack Flash - we can't agree his name) moved into the laundry house. So now that spring has come, Dinka notices Whisper out on the patio in the sun. Her patio. Here's a photo of him peeping in at the conservatory door, like he does the moment you go in there.