An unwelcome visitor

I cannot believe that it was only yesterday that I was talking to Nicky and Mark about whether or not they had had an encounter with a Mole Cricket which is the weirdest largest thing that flies around here - quite disgusting really.  We tend to only see them when one is doing backstroke in the pool and then they look a bit like a small rodent - I guess that, and the fact that they burrow, is why they may be named after a mole.

This morning I was doing Charlie's 3.00am feed and he would take a couple of bites and then start staring into the darkness of the conservatory - I couldn't see anything but he after a short while he shot off and started poking around under the large sofa.  Suddenly something shot out and I realised it was a bloody mole cricket and Charlie was off after it.  John was away with the fairies so I had to try and deal with it myself.  I managed to find a glass and when Charlie flushed it out I managed to get the glass over the top of it without trapping a leg.  I then had to get the plastic mat that we put Charlie's food on (he is a messy eater) and slide it under and then get the bloody thing out in the garden with Charlie in hot pursuit.

That was quite enough excitement for the early hours of the morning particularly as Mum was coming for lunch today.  Fortunately we had got everything ready and our meal of chicken kebabs, coleslaw and fancy hasselback potatoes on skewers was going to be quick and easy to cook.  We were determined to eat outside today too as the last couple of Sundays it had been too windy.  

Mum went to the cemetery first and then to us and we had a very pleasant afternoon.  The weather was lovely and the meal was good.  Mum had enjoyed her little trip away with Lilian even if the hotel had not been top notch - it was good for her to have a change of scenery and it was the first time she had felt able to do this since Dad died.

After Mum had returned home and let us know that she was ok we decided to spend a couple of hours up on the roof watching the sun go down and having a glass of wine.  We had both had the non-alcoholic gin lunchtime which we thought was quite nice for a change.  We are joined by the cats when we go 'up top' - Boris in particular likes to take up residence on the sofa and Charlie likes to lean his head over the concrete plinth and growl at anyone who is walking down the 'new road' (now 10 years old!).

I am not quite sure what happened to the entries for this week's challenge - Sea Creatures - but the ones from the lovely Park Rise group came in late so I was up trying to get them submitted before I went to bed - I am hoping that there are no creatures wandering around in the middle of the night tonight.