Monday April 22nd...

This morning Chivers had found himself a new resting place.  He looks like he had had a night out on the tiles but we later found out that he had a poorly right front paw and when he jumped down he was holding it rather pathetically.  Looking back on the blog it is almost exactly a year ago that he was poorly and we took him to the vets and he managed to escape during his overnight stay.  

We don't ever want a repeat performance of that experience so we will need to keep a careful eye on him.  He yelped a bit when I touched his paw but he still came for something to eat although with less enthusiasm than he normally displays.  This is always a sure sign that he is under the weather as he loves his food and if we cannot get him to respond to a plastic wrapper then we know he is definitely poorly.

We sat down together in the conservatory for breakfast and opened up the jar of Elena's lovely marmalade which she traded for Mum and Dad's mespilla fruit.  We have decanted a bit for ourselves and Dad is taking the rest home with him.

Mum and Dad packed up and set off back to Emba and I got myself organised for my weekly Art morning with Sheila and Klaus.

I had a welcoming party when I arrived - four of the Knips' resident feral cats were sitting on the steps enjoying the morning sunshine.  They scattered when I arrived but not very far - they are certainly not scared of me or more likely the lure of breakfast was a greater draw to them.

I finished my picture of the poinsettia last week so today I had to find something new to work on.  I had wanted to do something small so that I might see it finished in a couple of weeks rather than a couple of months.  I had been uncertain what to choose but eventually found quite a sweet picture of a seahorse that I thought I might be able to replicate - I am obviously drawn to pink pictures and will have to buy some replacement pencils for Sheila at this rate.  I made good progress but even so I reckon it will be three or four more weeks before it is finished.

Sheila and I have been watching with interest the development of her orchid which has always looked so much more healthy than mine.  It has not lost a leaf since she had it and they have remained green and glossy.  Mine has the scruffiest looking yellowing leaves but has flowered profusely and now has three or four new flower spikes.  Sheila's has produced plenty of new leaves and a spike which shot off at right angles and which has eventually produced new blooms which are beautiful.

We had a scrummy lunch - one which is particularly enjoyable for me because its main ingredient was mushroom and John can't eat mushrooms so we don't have them in the house and I love them.  Klaus still managed to cook even though he had been trying to sort out an issue with a pump and had managed to get an electric shock from it.  Not only did he manage to cook the mushrooms on toast but topped it off with a near perfect properly poached egg.

Whilst waiting for John to return from badminton I started looking out a new project for the days when I go to Jeannette's.  I have just about finished the lazy Susan and don't really have another mosaic project in mind so wanted to do something different.  With a plethora of shells and interesting pebbles and driftwood to hand I must be able to find something artistic to make surely?