Animals

Dogs and cats and all other four legged creatures feature here

A Flock of Sheep in Granollers

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Un Ramat d’Ovelles en Granollers
Today I walked to the New Park as usual with Duna and Bonnie.
As we did some training of Wait and Sit / Espera y Seu  (it’s all bilingual) they both got very restless and I couldn’t see why

But their ears were better than mine and soon out of the distance came the sound of sheep bells and a shepherds call.
It was the flock of sheep that I sometimes see around this edge of Granollers.
They seem so incongruous against the urban backdrop but in fact it is the park and the buildings and the traffic and the rubbish that shouldn’t be there!  Granollers is in the countryside!

I filmed them passing while Duna watched intently

and Bonnie, forgetting her shepherd genes, got on with eating something horrible behind the wall!
If you are a Duna or Bonnie fan – wait till the end of the film and you’ll see them!

HERE it is  – apologies for any wiggling but Duna was on the other end of the lead.

The morning ritual

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

Blue wakes at 8am every morning.
Woof Woof!
And sometimes the thump thump as she makes her slow way up the stairs to wake me.
I get up and pull on tracksuit sort of clothes over my nightie, a hat to cover my uncombed hair and hope not to meet anyone who might notice I haven’t washed my teeth.
We go here

The sun was rising

The cat lady hadn’t been yet to fill the food bowls

Then, I’m ashamed to say, back to bed!

A week in my life

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

It’s been a good week with lots of movement – various aspects of life evolving and changing although, on the surface, everything is more or less the same.

You know the sort of week – time goes by, things happen, some days are better than others?
First – I finally went and had my hair cut in Granollers

 I had been putting it off.   Fear. Timidity.  But I am pleased with it and feel so much better, bouncier, lighter.   I managed perfectly well to explain what I wanted – in Catalan – and when the woman was washing my hair I did my usual MMMMMMmmmmm to show that I like having my head massaged (some people don’t!) and she continued to spend about 10 minutes massaging my whole scalp. I fell asleep – it was incredible.

The weather has been cold – today -4. But the sun still shines and it’s lovely during the day to be out and feel the warmth on your cheeks – it’s not hot but strengthening every day

We went for a walk up on the hills behind Mataro

Blue managed to walk all the way up to the top where we found an abandoned masia and dreamed of buying it and making it our home

It is so wonderful to be out in the countryside, to walk without traffic or people, to hear birds and see the sea in the distance

This week I have been practising Castellano as I realised it is getting harder and harder to speak it now that Catalan is dominant in the foreign language department of my brain. I have switched back to Spanish National Radio 3 to practise listening. On Saturday they played this song which I think would be lovely to dance tango to. But on the Catalan side of things I am feeling happy that we have almost finished the book we bought last year, Les Veus del Pamano. It feels like a big achievement and I understood almost every word.
On Saturday there was a class of Contact improvisation here in Llancadora.  It helped me relax after these two weeks of pain and at last I felt myself coming back into my body after the double shock of hurting both hands so badly.
On Sunday we had the tango class here again but for the last time as the teacher can’t afford to pay rent for the space!  It was 15 euros but he didn’t have enough people.  It’s been great to do some leading again as there were more women than men and all of them happy to practise with me. I am beginning to miss teaching tango so perhaps sometime I’ll start it up again and perhaps combine with English practice!

Today was my drawing class and tonight is the first meditation group at Tiffanys house.
New beginnings.

I feel that Spring is just around the corner – as if the seeds that are buried deep in the dark frozen ground are beginning to come to life. Something inside is shifting and wakening. We’ll see. For the moment – here is the cake that I brought home for tea, to celebrate the first day of my hands feeling better!

Going to the vet in Granollers

~ Kate Wilson ~ 1 Comment

Second vet visit this week.

We continue to look for the best clinic in Granollers.

This one is cheaper, busier and more friendly.

Bonnie has a swollen face and (had) blocked anal glands(don’t think about that too closely).

Hospital Veterinary Lauro in Granollers so far so good.  I am hopeful.

 

postscript :  This was the veterinary clinic for us. We still go there and I can’t recommend them enough. They are helpful, kind, friendly and open all hours of the day and night.

Snowing in Granollers

~ Kate Wilson ~ 4 Comments

It is market day and it is snowing

Hands
My hands are still painful and it’s not easy to do the simplest of tasks. I have to be aware all the time of what I am doing – which hand to use to lift the kettle, which hand cannot grasp a mug, which hand can go in my pocket to find the housekeys, which hand finds it impossible to get small coins out of my purse. I am going slower, noticing and appreciating my hands and fingers and thanking them as they find new ways to do things

Inspiration
Bodhi Chicklet whose lovely blog inspires me every time I visit, suggested I look at Lifeunity a blog where they are doing a week long mindfullness practice on Hands.  The idea is to become aware of and start to truly appreciate your hands. From there I followed a trail to the Domestic Yogi who wrote a really interesting post about why we need to activate the energy in our hands.  “The hands and feet are the key to turning on the radiant energy current within.”

Dogs

It is cold outside and tempting to keep your hat on indoors!  Blue went to the vet yesterday as she was peeing so much and is now on antibiotics for cystitis. She developed crystals in her urine after eating a different food. I have now ordered bags of Burns on the internet. They will come from Holland as you can’t buy it in Spain. Bonnie and Duna are fairly peaceful so long as Duna is not allowed to roam free in the house
Candle

 
The reading from Fatima was very short and simple. The pattern left in the wax was very clear, very open, very positive. All roads are open and to take the journey one small step at a time. No rush.