Halloween in the UK - well exactly!

I stole this from Dioclese's Blog (that I regularly follow) - It's Halloween

It really delighted me!

 

This morning's delight

I started watching Fern Gully (which I've never seen before) with my granddaughter. But I stopped here because this number delighted me - and frightenened her...enjoy! It's how it is, yes?


Here's Tim Curry singing Toxic Love

Fat,fat,fat - eat lots of it and live long!

It is becoming clear that fat is not our enemy. Do not eat "low fat" anything - we need fat in our diet.

Right now, I am listening to BBC News - the Government is demanding that saturated fats need to be removed from our diets. All sorts of food manufacturing corporations are co-operating from Asda to Chocolate companies. We are going to be exposed to even less fat than we get now.

Our meat is constantly trimmed, our milk and dairy products are distorted into low fat consumer products that millions of dutiful citizens consume "for health". Our Government is destroying our health!

Rebel! Eat fat - lots of it - and live long.

Curfew

In my last blog, I explained that we now have a curfew for the dog to keep our hedgehog safe.

Turns out Hedgehogs are rowdy creatures and the dog knows when he's around.

HEDGEHOG SOUNDS

Hedgehogs make many noises, which will tell you how your hedgehog is feeling.




HUFFING AND PUFFING:

• The most frequent sound they make as they go about their business of searching their food, or exploring their cage
• when being handled
• when 2 strange  hedgehogs meet for the first time
• compared to the sound of a locomotive train
• this does not mean they do not like you. This is their language
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TZ21hh-MKlo

* IN VIDEO*Note the difference in huffing when the dog comes around. You can see when the dog leaves he huffs at you  letting you know he didnt like that and is normal again

HISSING AND JUMPING

• FRIGHTENED OR AGITATED
• SOMETIMES FOLLOWED BY A JUMPING OR POPPING MOTION
• EMITS CLICKING NOISE JUST BEFORE IT JUMPS
• USED AS A WARNING FOR ANY POTENTIAL PREDATORS
• BE PERSISTENT: USE A BLANKET TO PICK UP THE HEDGEHOG. POINT THE FACE DOWNWARD AND THEY WILL SLOWLY POP OUT.
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W96EVcih5ac&NR=1

GRUNTS AND FEEDING

• Can hardly be heard over the sound of crunching food
• Sounds like a soft sniffing sound and can get as loud as  a little pig's grunt
• If they get excited over what they eat, it can turn to a soft happy squeek
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9OrLRioWoLE&feature=related
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXtDICohS7A&NR=1

HIGH PITCHED SQUEAL

• Please investigate. Something is happening whether they are stuck/hurt or fighting  with another hedgehog
• sounds like a little scream and you will know it is a panic call
• very panicky squeak

SQUEALS

• Many times if a male seeks a female, he will squeak from excitement
• does not sound like a panick squeak but more of a series of random squeals, very happy.
• much deeper than a squeal of harm
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-1tZWjpx1w

SNIFFING

• Relaxed hedgies tend to make little sniffing noises as they explore
• When a hedgehog is active, lift them up and put them close to your ear. (You can hear how hyper they are )
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AX4-fnTnmSg
• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0C2WL1Zack

The case of the disappearing dog and the blessing

One night recently, the dog disappeared around bedtime. We searched everywhere indoors and out in the garden with torches to throw light under beds or behind bushes. We made delicious food noises and clattered the walkies leads. No luck - the dog had vanished, Eventually we discovered dog sitting perfectly still "guarding" something in the furthest and leafiest corner next to the neighbour's fence. I knew that stance, We'd seen it before. Dog was hunting and had found prey. I struggled into the bushes with a short training lead whilst husband illuminated the way behind me with the torch. Just on the other side of the fence was a large hedgehog, safe behind the bars. I congratulated dog on his hunting brilliance and popped the lead over his head. I loitered long enough to admire this beautiful creature in the garden of my neighbour, whom I now envied as blessed.

But, the blessing has been busily exploring our garden too. And we have been meeting on a regular basis every time the dog disappears! Find the dog, and we find the hedgehog. The hedgehog is a large and handsome creature and dog knows simply to stand in front of it and it will roll up and stay put. Eventually we come out and tell him how wonderful he is at finding the hedgehog AGAIN and we all go inside and secure the cat flap in the kitchen door for the night.

It has become so routine that we've had to change our way of life. We are under no illusions that, given half a chance, our brilliant hunter will kill our hedgehog sooner than you can say "dogfood". So at dusk each night now there is dog curfew. No dog outside at night. And we comfort ourselves that somewhere out there, our garden has been blessed.

The best of village life and Vapemail

I ordered vapemail from USA. I seem to have waited weeks! To complicate the delivery, I had to pay "duty" before I could get it. More days elapsed. Waiting for vapemail is excruciating as any vaper knows.

But today I had a wonderful surprise. I was sitting in the window of the local coffee shop with my daughter who took me "out" for coffee and a natter, when suddenly, the postmistress rushed in and placed this beautiful parcel on our table in front of me. "I saw you here" she said, "And this is for you!"

Oh bliss!

Christmas? Naaa. Couldn't be bovvered.

We have been discussing amongst the family who will host Christmas this year.

 

Seems none of us want to.

It's too much work.


The host has to tidy their house.

They have to have to have a large enough tree to house all the gifts to be handed out at morning coffee.

They have to prepare the Turkey, the vegetables, make the gravy and steam the pudding.

They need a big table to seat us all.

They have to pool our cutlery and plates so there is enough for all of us to use.

Someone has to set the table.

Someone has to clear up all the mess of papers round the Christmas tree and then all the cracker mess and silly plastic cracker toys and jokes from the dining room.

Not to mention scraping the plates and packing the dishwasher several times over.

And then everything pooled has to be sorted and returned to the rightful families.

And then they have to clean the house AGAIN.



Mummy and Daddy did that for about thirty two years.  It WAS a lot of work!




Christmas? Naaa. No one can be bovvered in our family - ESPECIALLY Mummy and Daddy.
 

Heart attack instructions. Temporary blog suspension.

Some advice for everyone. Five things to know about heart attacks.

1 You will not have the time/sense to read about heart attack symptoms on the Internet while your mate is having one.

2  There is nothing on the Internet that is really helpful at the time except phone 999

3  If you live in the country, just bundle your mate into your car and drive them yourself to the nearest hospital. You will get there quicker than the ambulance will actually arrive at your house.

4  Don't listen if your mate says "It's OK, it's nothing really. I just need to lie down for a while."

5  If you think someone might be having a heart attack, they probably are. Act on it even in doubt.

So, how did I know my mate was having a heart attack?

I had previously read up about symptoms. They are different in men and women. So do that now - just google it and read as much as you can until the basic stuff is burned on your brain.

It happenned quickly.  One minute we were happy as Larry dishing up our Sunday supper. And the next he got such bad "indigestion" he couldn't eat it.

The indigestion! went up his jaw and down his left arm. (Classic symptoms)

He wanted to lie down and then he'd be "all right".

That was just MY husband. Everyone is different. No one has a heart attack in the same way.

If you know what happened to us, you know something you didn't know before. Sudden extra painful indigestion that feels like you swallowed something large and uncomfortable that's stuck down in the little cup you have at the top of your chest bones at the bottom of your throat, that is sending a pain up your jaw and down your left arm, is not indigestion.

My life is a bit chaotic right now - so I'll be blogging less and driving more. We live in the country, and the nearest heart hospital is a bit of a drive. One benefit of the whole situation is that hubby has learned to text - WITH smileys!

See you when we're all sorted out!

Oh dear, not so good 10 day post

I have loads of ideas that need to be written about for the sake of my health. This blog is my stress buster. I enjoy feeling passionate about somethiing - it makes me feel alive!

But my steam machine has failed me. I have been attacked by a nasty bug that has ruined my sleep and tormented me by day. I caught this wreched thing from my granddaughter who caught it from playgroup. Oh the coughing! Oh the sore throat! I haven't had such a sore throat since I was a kid.

I am SICK of feeling SICK.

I the meantime, the live feed of life around me goes on. The newspapers report all sorts of things that could have been a pin to hitch a blog on.

But I could'nt be bothered!