Animals

Dogs and cats and all other four legged creatures feature here

Making Choices

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

Current dilemma *1
Take all three dogs to Chapel Carn Brea and have to curtail the walk because Blue quickly gets tired and wobbly  OR do a short one down the lane then leave her looking confused and hurt in the kitchen while the other two bounce around in excitement about a new excursion?

Current dilemma *2
I want somewhere here to stay when I come back on visits and the main house is rented out. So, do we do up the workshop and add drainage?  Or improve the stable block and add electricity?  Or get a run down caravan and plonk it down in the field where there are wonderful views over to the hills?

Current dilemma *3
Do I keep this table/chair/bed/picture/cup/skirt/teddy bear/CD etc etc OR get rid of it?

Help!
(All good and happy dilemmas though and the dogs are still getting on well except for occasional normal but noisy scuffles)

The Pack

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

Today we took the three dogs to Treen and walked across the fields towards Logan Rock.
Duna is watching the others all the time – learning how to be a member of a pack. Always an only dog, she hasn’t had much experience with other dogs but is picking things up quickly.
Some things she has noticed – like barking when the leads and harnesses appear, and lying on the sofa – are being discouraged but here she is, finally accepting that walking behind the leader is the best way to go!  Blue clambered over three cornish stiles in spite of her arthritic joints, and enjoyed the sea breeze through her thick black fur.

The Wisdom of Dogs

~ Kate Wilson ~ 2 Comments

We have arrived in Lamorna.  After a journey of about 3500 km from Catalunya to Cornwall via France, Italy, Switzerland and London, we rolled in at lunch time and within 15 minutes the dogs were playing together in the field.
After all the worrying it was fine. All three dogs are getting along fine.

Of course there were moments of growling and irritation…..but as for the dogs – they are getting on fine!

And now that I have more time and some reliable internet I will write a little more about the journey – but that will be tomorrow. Now it’s time for a cup of tea and a familiar bed.

First two days on the road to Italy

~ Kate Wilson ~ 3 Comments

I’m on the road and the b****** mobile won’t let me send blog posts so here is a quick one sent from the most wonderful campsite in the world!
Or that is how it seemed today when I was swimming in the river.

Here are a few photos from the trip. Hope to connect again soon from the next wifi zone!
Day One

It all starts with my first cup of hot chocolate in France! It’s runny! The ones in Catalunya are thick

We stayed in a campsite by the Midi Canal – they were friendly people and let us set up camp on a patch of ground by an unused cabin as the site was actually full.  It is August in the south of France so each night is a test of faith in the angels who watch over us.  And I give thanks for the blessing of Pep who does the asking!
The walk along the banks of the canal was lovely with a mixture of barges – some deluxe with a swimming pool on top and others just simply beautiful

Day Two

We are by the river near the Gorges du Verdon at the campsite in Salernes.
Duna watched from the river bank but had a quick dip later!



And a campsite delicious dinner


Sometimes I feel uncomfortable here

~ Kate Wilson ~ 6 Comments

Sometimes I don’t know what to write here. After all it’s not a diary and shouldn’t I be entertaining you?  But if my mood is ‘interesting’  or complicated then I have trouble knowing what to say or how to say it.

If you would like to see something funny that caught my eye tonight then here is a photo of a shrine by the side of the road. I don’t know what came first – the statue or the brickwork.

Here it is….

And if you are here because you like to know what is going on for me then this part is for you. If you prefer to read interesting cultural things then this bit might not be your cup of earl grey tea!

I am feeling uncomfortable in my skin

I don’t like the unsettling cloudy humid weather which spoils our plans to go to the beach or watch Life of Brian in the open air cinema.

I keep crying over little things.

I feel a failure at everything I try to do – I can’t drive like Catalan people, I don’t know how to use the Samsung phone, cooking is difficult, we are getting nowhere with finding a new home with a garden.  The resident adolescent still ignores me.  I can’t speak Catalan, understand Catalan, remember any words in Spanish, wear the right clothes,  look presentable in a photograph, etc etc

I went to a family meal and spent three hours at the dinner table in almost total silence. Half way through I lost my ability to smile and nod. Not much later I lost the will to live as my spirit left my body and floated somewhere up on the ceiling watching my abandoned body continue in some reflex way to lift the glass of cava to my mouth and drink…..too much.

Memories of the school playground

Remember at school those skipping games where you have to run in while the rope is turning, jump a couple of times and then exit without breaking the rhythm?   There were always scary girls who confidently popped in and out without any trouble.   I was not one of them.  I would stand at the entrance for ages, bobbing my head forward and back as I tried to find the right moment to make the move. Then I would chose the wrong moment and catch the rope on my ankles or around my neck.
This is how I feel when faced with groups of people speaking in Catalan in a social setting. The words are fast and constant. You need confidence to get in there.  And if you jump in at the wrong moment, the conversation stops, everyone looks at you as if you are stupid, and you just want to run away and hide.
And if you don’t try to jump in they look at you anyway,  asking ‘what’s wrong with you?’

I am too slow for so many things.

Driving for example. I love driving and taking to the road but I hate having to speed along because that is the ‘right’ way.  The ‘Catalan’ way.   I don’t like overtaking when there is a lot of traffic – somehow the same bobbing head syndrome kicks in and I have to take deep breaths before claiming my space in the fast lane.

My brain feels tired. I feel dizzy and muzzy.  I wake too early and go to bed too late.

I want to go HOME – but I don’t know where home is.

Many people have said to me that they couldn’t do what I am doing.

They couldn’t come and live somewhere different, learn two languages, have a new family and an adolescent step child in a different culture and begin all over again with work and friends and everything. Honestly in many ways it hasn’t been too difficult but….right now…..I’m not sure I can do it either.

I want to – but I am tired of feeling that I am always failing.

Is it because I am not good enough?  Perhaps the task is just too hard!

The swift that I tried to rescue wanted to fly.   Again and again she stretched her wings and launched off   into the unknown only to crash down head first onto the ground.  It was hard to watch but I loved her desire to survive.  Eventually she got tired and had to rest. In the end she accepted this, and let go to death.

She tried and failed and it wasn’t her fault – it was just too hard.   I feel very poised on this edge, facing this question, and although there are helpful hands around me, it is a lonely moment…..can I fly?

Now, for anyone who is still tuned in,  here is a lovely little car I saw on Carrer Corro last night. This is my kind of car, ideal for pootling along enjoying the journey without having to feel bad about not going faster or being bigger or more stylish or a different shape or colour

And especially for Oreneta, Bodhi, Christine, Pearl, Pepsi and all those who leave me messages,

this is for you