Keeping Occupied

I've been trying to stay busy to keep my mind off Piper. When a chronically ill animal dies you suddenly realize how much you did for them and how much your day revolved around their care. No more daily washing of Pipe's bedding or getting heart meds into her twice a day for example. One nice note though is that on Tuesday I received a bereavement card from CHB Vets who'd diagnosed her with renal failure.

The day after Piper died I went to town. My big excitement is usually going to the library and I found myself just getting more and more books until my bag was so heavy I could barely lift it- eleven in all. The Wednesday morning was art group at Otane before a lovely lunch at Abbottslee Tearooms in Waipawa. All this activity took my mind of losing her.

I now have a little man to mow the lawns here. He's profoundly deaf so I have to yell my conversations- it's a wonder my family can't hear us in Napier. He also looks like a hobbit which is mildly disconcerting. However he made an excellent job of mowing the grass although he says the lawnmower is about on its last wheels (literally as one is falling off) plus the blades are bent and not cutting properly. Next time he will bring one of his own. All that for $15!


Early mornings while I'm on the net Demelza sits with me quietly in the warmth of the office while Gypsy and Peaches go crazy running up and down the hallway. When I go out an hour later I usually find the mat halfway across the kitchen and pens and any other small objects on the floor where they've been used for footie practice. Usually Peaches is a quiet cat who poses beautifully for photos and keeps coming to check how I'm doing. She stands up and puts both paws on my knee before reaching one right across, placing it in my lap as if to ask if I'm OK. Well that's what I like to think anyway. She probably is asking when her next meal is.