Rambley rambley...

[susie_flo]

Hooray and jubilations!  Archer Season 2 has returned to Channel 5.  I missed it terribly.  I'm not sure if they'll ever top Mole Hunt (the very first ep of season one) but here's hoping...   

  
Today I was up with the lark seeing off my manbeast on another Paris trip.  Now I've wasted several hours in my pjs and have no idea what I will do with the rest of the day.  I was planning to do some decorating, but G has pointed out that going up ladders while home alone with all the balance of a hippo on stilts is probably not sensible, so I think I will leave that until the weekend.  Sadly I don't seem to have my knitting mojo at the moment, so a day spent loafing around with pointy sticks does not really appeal either.  
 
I suppose what I ought to do is have a bimble around the shops and start planning a list of the STUFF that I need to purchase for Ruprecht's arrival.  Yesterday I went to an antenatal class full of women who are due to sprog in the same month as me and I was the only person in the room who has not yet purchased any baby stuff or become remotely informed about cots and prams...   (I don't wish to imply that I am unexcited about poor Ruprecht.  It's just that this particular shopping list is so prosaic it's like deciding between a list of very large, expensive ironing boards).  But with 5 weeks to go - and the risk of an early arrival - we really must get on and purchase a car seat and start to prepare my hospital bag.

   

I also need to do my antenatal homework, which is to find out the pros and cons of TENS machines as a form of pain relief during labour so that I can present it to the rest of the class tomorrow evening.  The others will be presenting on waterbirth, epidural, gas and other methods. 

  

I've started to find the antenatal classes quite helpful this week.  More than anything, they've helped me to stop mulling over the mass of conflicting advice from other women and to think instead about what I know about myself and the ways in which I usually react to anxiety, physical pain and challenges.  For example, I think I'm beginning to recognise that retaining the ability to move around and remain upright is likely to be important to me, rather than being confined on a bed on my back.  (Interestingly I remember my mother saying exactly the same - she found being made to lie on her back horribly frustrating during childbirth).  Similarly I know that I would have no problems accepting medication, but also that I respond well to heat and massage and might like G to assist me during contractions.  Another thing I found quite helpful at yesterday's session was a discussion about general relaxation techniques and anxiety control.  (Although I'm quite a no-nonsense person and don't suffer badly from anxiety, I'm quite tempted to give a hypnotherapy CD a whirl for a bit of mental training to help trigger endorphins when I need them and cope with the unknown).

    
Yeek, Sorry to ramble on so...  

  

In other news, I think my fluffbags are on the mend today, following a couple of days of liquid emissions from both ends.  Vet suspects this is a mere side effect of a few days on emergency Whiskas and Go-Cat while awaiting a delivery of their Hills and Royal Canin sensitivity food.  Tinned tuna didn't seem to help much either, however much they loved it.  I fear these two are doomed forever to be on bland food.  At least they seem happy enough with it, but it costs twice as much as ordinary food and is a total faff to get hold of when you run out, especially during bank holiday season.  (Does anyone know of any pet food services that will let you set up a regular monthly delivery so you don't have to keep remembering to order it in advance?)  For now I'm going to have to go out and get the lil madams some chicken breast to tide them over until tomorrow.  

   

Meanwhile I had to chase a swaggering siamese cat out of our kitchen the other day.  My two are such a pair of scaredies that it has become a thrice-daily occurrence to see a pair of firework tails come hurtling through the cat-flap and legging it down the other end of the flat to cower in the safety of the living room until whatever it was has gone away.  I suspect that cat... and really must get a microchip cat flap installed.

 

Hmmm.  I can't shake off the feeling that I had some really important stuff that I was desperate to get done this week... but it's all starting to fade away, like a slow brain death.  Can anyone out there enlighten me?  

   

 
  

Comments

[chiller.livejournal.com]

side effect of a few days on emergency Whiskas and Go-Cat

OH - yes. Very common (particularly with Whiskas, which seems too rich for a lot of cats).

I am in the same between-deliveries state myself at the moment because of these bloody bank holidays cropping up like field mushrooms, and what I give my lot - who are also prone to redecorating the gaff if I stray from the dietary path of righteousness - is brown rice boiled for 15 mins, then I throw in a bunch of whole chicken breasts and give the whole lot another half hour at a gentle boil. The chicken, cut up very wee, served with a little of the rice and a tiny splash of the starchy water is received with great enthusiasm and does not cause any tummy problems, as it is essentially what the vet would tell you to feed them if they already had a dicky tum.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

I might try that, thanks. I suppose slaving over a hot stove for a pair of ingrate felines is one way to use up my time off...

:-)

[wardytron.livejournal.com]

I used to have a book called Cooking For Your Dog, and used to spend Sunday mornings making up huge batches of chicken, mashed potato, pasta etc. It's supposedly healthier than commercial pet foods so long as you use the right ingredients, except my two idiots decided they preferred Pedigree.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Pedigree is probably the dog version of Whiskas (aka crack). My two fall upon Whiskas with unseemly delight... before emitting it back out again in highly unpleasant form.

[ivory-goddess.livejournal.com]

Sainsbury's (and presumably other supermarkets) sell 'Encore' tinned cat food - dinky little cans of chicken-&-rice* which is literally chicken, rice and a little bit of cooking water. Much easier than doing it yourself!

It's not cheap, but it might be an idea for tiding you/them over between deliveries. And they do sell multipacks as wel as individual tins. (I think they've started branching out into pouches as well, but I haven't investigated further.)

* there are other flavours, like tuna and salmon, chicken and ham, or chicken and cheese!

[chiller.livejournal.com]

Ooh, I didn't know this. Thanks for the heads-up! I will get my lot some.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

I just tried to find this in my local 'trose but they didn't have it (tsk) so I ended up buying chicken. I will def hold onto that suggestion for next time though.

[chiller.livejournal.com]

Well, it's not particularly labour-intensive, and on the plus side, as you dish it up, for a change YOU get to steal some of THEIR food.

Bloody expensive though.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the little devils are on Waitrose chicken breast today. (I do hope they appreciate it!)

[chiller.livejournal.com]

My lot just polished off a can of salmon I had earmarked for my own lunch, as I've run out of chicken and am now trapped inside waiting for the delivery of more food for them. *sigh*

[wardytron.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure which smutty euphemism I prefer, but I think "my fluffbags are on the mend today, following a couple of days of liquid emissions from both ends" is narrowly pipped to the post by "Today I was up with the lark seeing off my manbeast".

"Are you seeing off your manbeast again? You'll go blind, you know."

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

*Snork* I'm prepared to risk blindness in order to see off my manbeast on regular occasions.

Now stop it. The last time you pointed out smutty euphemisms like this it suddenly came back to me in the middle of a serious massage treatment and made me snort inappropriately when I was supposed to be in a trace-like state.

[lazy-hoor.livejournal.com]

I've had Royal Canin delivered before - got a 70kg bag so it lasted quite a long time. I think Pet Planet do it in the UK.

[the-meanest-cat.livejournal.com]

They do deliver, in fact I ordered it from them a few months ago and it arrived weeks late "due to snow". I don't think they had an option for a regular monthly delivery without having to place a fresh order each time. I might phone them and ask though...