So I am going to lump together a few days because as I have been cat sitting I really haven't done anything much that is of interest.  Charlie seems to be making progress - he is eating and sleeping and will, despite moaning about it, take himself off to the litter tray and everything seems to be ok in that department, the only trouble is that his frantic digging means that everything in the vicinity is being covered with a layer of litter dust.  Our only real cause for concern now is the facial paralysis and to be honest Monday's appointment just will not come round quick enough - we are not expecting miracles we just want to know that he has had, and will have, all the treatment he needs to ensure he makes the best recovery possible.  In this latest photograph you can see what we mean about the right side of his face, his ear is bolt upright and doesn't move and his eye is wide open- you can't really see a problem with his mouth but when he eats he dribbles and drops food - fortunately the fur is growing back under his chin but all together it gives him a slightly strange appearance but it is a million times better than I would have expected after only a week.

He had a visitor today when my lovely neighbour Persephone called to see him - she loves him and he loves her.  Persephone and Savvas are here for the weekend from Nicosia and she very kindly brought us some home made quince compote which was kind of her and made a huge fuss of Charlie.  I am amazed that she managed to visit wearing black and didn't go home covered in cat hairs!!  Anyway I have tasted the compote which Persephone said was not too sweet and flavoured with cinnamon and it is really rather nice - I shall be adding a little to the autumnal Sausage casserole that I am preparing for lunch tomorrow when Mum is coming up to join us.

Although the weather is quite bright and sunny it can start to get pretty cool in the house in the afternoon, by that I mean in the lounge although I am sure that by some people's standards 16.7 isn't chilly!!  This was the weather station in the kitchen at 1.00pm today.  Compare that with the temperature in the conservatory which was a heady 26 degrees at the same time.

Normally we would have the doors open to even out the temperature but as this makes it impossible to control where Charlie is we have to keep him in the lounge and we go in to keep him company.  On the plus side this means that John has lit the gas fire which makes the room snuggly warm and cosy.  This, plus the fact that I have a chili bubbling away in the slow cooker, has made for a couple of lovely nights in together.  There was no football this weekend so I didn't have to cope with the highs and lows of living with a Sheffield United supporter.

I have been making good use of my time at home though - it has given me the opportunity to plan some activities for the time over Christmas when Mum will be here.  I have been looking for some nice films to watch which we can all enjoy and a few series that might kill an hour or so during the day when we are not eating or playing a game.  If the weather is nice we plan to go out sometimes but that can't be guaranteed so we have to have wet weather contingencies.

Although we do not have many presents to buy John and I always plan a day together Christmas Shopping - really it is a bit of an excuse to spend the day together, mooch around the Mall and treat ourselves to some fast food which we don't do that often.  This picture was taken last year around the beginning of December and I can't believe John is wearing a body warmer - it certainly hasn't been cold enough for one yet this year.