soop's friendly kitchen for like-minded folk and pampered pets.

Maw I was beginning to think that Hattie does not have a pulse because I have seen her asleep so often and at times she looked she had gone one stage further. I guessed she possibly had a pulse because she did appear to move her position. Nice to see that her legs have not collapsed under her due to lack of exercise. She really is beautiful. How old is that lady now?

https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201709/medium-659066-2017-07-08-15-32-01.jpg https://www.gransnet.com/uploads/talk/201709/medium-652180-img-1592.jpg

I know I tend to go on but I am nevertheless so pleased that this rejected, timid, slightly motheaten puppy that I collected from Waltham Abbey just 6 weeks ago has settled into a sleek, friendly and sweet natured girl with a wicked sense of humour with a place in my heart as well as on the sofa

Ann there are three sizes but as stated only one, the largest was on offer. It will take time to get used to it.

ann you are not helping your other joints or your back with the way that you are walking. Please will you go and visit your GP? I think at the very least you may need a physio assessment. I do appreciate the home problems but you must take care of yourself.

I hope you will be happy with it charley I didn't realise there were two sizes. Mine is the 1,6litres. It makes 4 very large portions or 5 good ones. I do hope your soup tastes good.
It is a beautiful day here , will it last I ask myself?
The children go back to school on Monday which usually heralds a good spell.
I have been troubled with a bad hip for some time now, I thought it was going the same way as my knee but now think it may be sciatica. By accident I have found out that if I walk slightly sideways, the pain is not so bad,so I scuttle round the house like a crab. I find that I am bending over rather at the same time and am having to resist chanting " the bells,the bells" I am sure you get the picture!!.

Thinking of Rory, the late Harry and all our precious pets who mean or have meant so much to us.
The one consolation is that Rory does not know what is going on or going through your minds.
As long as he is warm, well fed, comfortable and secure that he is with the humans he loves best and who love him best that is all that matters. You will keep him pain free even if your hearts break in the process.
But I hope there may yet be a couple of his nine lives still to be enjoyed!

ann my soup maker was delivered at a reasonable time so as I write I am sipping my first soup. It is so easy to do and good to see that the instructions were not written in part Chinese. I bought the largest because it was 1/2 price and I am so pleased that I did because the smallest I think would have been too small for my needs. I hope that N&G did the same. It is the quietness of the machine which surprised me.

You must wonder what each day will bring for Rory soop. From your description he is in a warm and comfortable place and I imagine sleeping quietly in the sun. We've had dogs rather than cats but have been where you are and it's hard not knowing how the loved family member will be tomorrow. Sending love to you all.

Thank you for noticing Harry soop he was a special dog. I don't think he realised he was a JRT and had a reputation to uphold.
Sad to hear of Rory's decline. Our old cat, who had taken her thyroid medication without any trouble suddenly refused it, no amount of cajoling would persuade her. I think she'd had enough and it was time to go.
She was pts in arms that loved her. She was 19. I believe it's the greatest kindness for any beloved animal, and we are privileged to have that gift.

Charleyg

I do hope that Rory is as comfortable as possible snoozing on his cushion outside the back door. It is good that he still has a reasonable appetite. I know that you will continue to look after the little mite, he is well loved in his beautiful home. My heart goes out to him and you because I have been there like yourselves.

Good, sunny Saturday morning dear Kitcheners and pets.

Tizliz Our hearts are most definitely in Kintyre. We love this place and cannot imagine living elsewhere.

callgirl1 I'm well shocked to learn that those lads have been living inside your daughter's property without as much as a by your leave. That's trespass. Goodness only knows what they've been up to. I bet they haven't been tidying the place.

Swanny When I read your post, I fully understood what was going through your mind. from me, to you.

We haven't had a thunderstorm all summer. There was one flash of lightening on one occasion with a far-away rumble of thunder. Nothing more.

Galen Tizliz's suggestion is a good one. There are plenty of companies online who specialise in what you're looking for.

Nelliemoser Very clever!

N&G Yes...do keep the tee shirts that you've created for a time when "the boys" are adult and have children of their own. I couldn't possibly part with them. They are unique.

When MacSporran brought our tea through to the bedroom this morning, I had a feeling that he wasn't his usual upbeat self. I asked (as I always do) how is Rory? He said, not very good. Although Rory had eaten most of his breakfast, he had great difficulty walking across the kitchen floor, en route to his den.
We went for a stroll and picked blackberries. When we returned, Rory made a big effort to join us but MacS needed to lift him up the kitchen step. He purred and ate a reasonable size early lunch. We placed his huge cushion outside the back door. I believe that he's sleeping there right now. As MacS said...R is a cat of contrasts. We are doing all that we can to keep him comfortable. We both know that time is running out for a very special member of our family.

N&G I hope when your GC grow out of all these tee shirts you make them they will all be lovingly kept somewhere. They are beyond price! And I'm glad to hear that we aren't the only ones who welcome our nearest child home with 'provisions'!
We have had no thunderstorms, but it is definitely looking "a bit black over Bill's mother's" here! It is sure to rain; we have just cleaned all the windows!
Junior footie season starts tommorrow and DD is running the refreshment stand, so I will do some baking this afternoon to add to the goodies on sale. I thought I would try Shysal's blackberry and apple cake. Problem is I will have to make two or DH the cake monster will get upset. I, of course, never eat cake ! Hope I have enough blackberries!

Morning all !

What a whopper of lightening and thunder fest we had last night. It was magnificent. I lay in bed snuggled up listening to the rain lashing down and the room lighting up with the lightening !! I love it .

Well, it is definitely not short weather today ! But poor old Jackson will have to wear long trousers I'm afraid.

Ann you should ask Salter for commission , I have bought a soup maker too !! I'm very excited. Last Christmas my daughter bought me the Covent Garden Soup a day for a year book so I shall start working my way through.

That's the sort of t shirt I make Galen but usually for the grandchildren. You're bound to have a t shirt printer near you though. I love the sentiment.

My oldest daughter and family have returned home from their 2 weeks in Cornwall and I have sent Grampy over with provisions !!

I am sure we will hear all about it in due course.

Preparations have reached fever pitch here. Tomorrow is the Supercar event at Blenheim Palace which is a huge surprise for Jackson ( and Cooper ) so I have just finished his special t shirt and am about to sew his Bugatti badge on his hat. I am sorry I wont be there to see the delight but I am sure there will be pictures.

Nellie I like that - very clever! ? Sure you won't have any trouble getting what you want, Galen. There are tee shirt printers all over the place now.
The thing about clothes being seasonal reminded me of a type of shoe that K used to make which were water resistant leather. I was told you could only buy them in the winter as they were seasonal. ? Silly me! Of course I should have known it doesn't rain in the summer in this country!

Galen Have you seen one and want to know where you could buy one? Otherwise there are T shirt printer shops about all over decent sized towns and you could get whatever you want printed.

There were a couple of jokers in our geology group who had this printed on their T shirts !

Geologists are gniess people but everyone else are schists.

www.zazzle.co.uk/this_isnt_a_wheelchair_t_shirt-235229301666105934
How about this?

Well, I'd volunteered to do reception at our archery tournament, but I've now been asked to be Lady Paramount as well. This means that I need to change clothes from my club staff shirt, to something more Margot from the good life and take it all in my wheelchair.
By the way, does any body know where I could get a T shirt saying

I don't shoot from the hip
I shoot from a wheelchair
Followed by a bow and arrows logo?

Phew, I think these grandparents are, well, basically in need of a month somewhere quiet and restful. Two days off now and then Littlest for the day. Then a week off - yippee .

Beautiful sky this evening coming home from the return run, deep, dark orange and red. Sadly the motorway didn't support a photo.

Shorts and dresses, in my case needing a long, warm cardigan in June. Apparently none stocked in this particular shop after April. What? Don't understand. We live in an unpredictable climate.

Thunder in our house was someone - unspecified - banging saucepan lids .

Oh yes, soup makers are great. Trouble is I can never duplicate a soup, depends how much of what went in. Can I remember? Well, of course not

Hope you are re-energised tomorrow, soop. My apologies for the heaps of things I have undoubtedly missed. Feet up now and computer firmly off

Take care everyone.

N&G
Reminds me of when I was trying to buy a dark dress for my grandmother's funeral.
The shopkeeper informed me that 'it's not the season for mourning Madam'

It wasn't a great time to be a woman, so much wasn't in their favour. My mother was of similar ilk swanny but was more generous in her explanation ...the fairies moving the furniture because they were "flitting" (moving house) There's something very emotive and other worldly about a good sky isn't there x

Sorry. My last post reads a bit 'poor me' but wasn't intended as such. I think it says more about her upbringing in 1920/30's where her brothers were encouraged to be 'Jack the Lad's' but she and her sisters had to be purer than the driven snow ...

soop thank you for another beautiful sunset photo. Silver linings aplenty I often wonder what the ancients thought about such skies, when they didn't have the knowledge of what was up there and why it all happened. They must have been terrified of natural occurrences such as an eclipse.

When I was a child my mother, a strong believer in the accuracy of the words in the bible yet someone who only went to church for weddings and funerals, told me that thunder was the sound of the devil moving his furniture to make way for more sinful souls, particularly me if I'd been naughty, and in her eyes I often was

Soop, apparently the lads were staying in the house. She hopes to find out more after her stepsons have been over in a few days time.

What a lovely thought about your beautiful sunset soop hope tomorrow dawns as a new and brighter day for you and any who are feeling out of sorts for any reason x
Now, I MUST get going I've been in and out of this cosy kitchen all day, happily ignoring what needs to be done in my own much less interesting kitchen!

This loving where we live must be catching. We were only saying today on our dog walk that we would rather be here in the Highlands than anywhere else. Even if/when we can't walk anymore we can still admire the views from our windows.

Been sunny here today though not very warm, but made the visit to the dentist more pleasant - no treatment needed