Nightime & confused

I'm still in the process of getting used to Horatio with no tail. 
He cuddles up next to me and we snuggle while we sleep :-)
Unfortunately,
while in la la land, things don't quite seem as they are.
Last night, I was stroking his head and about to plant a kiss
when I felt something was wrong and panicked!!!
'What's happened to your eye, H?'

It wasn't his eye
and
I had a very close call
but
all was well
G'nte all x 

Just like buses! Bloody hell!!

After all this time,
two RELIANT ROBINS! in two days :-)
This one - darker green and not quite so shiny - glided around the corner of Princess Parkway like a piece of silk.
The ballast provided by a rather handsome hound that was seated in the back seat on the passenger side. 
Perfect balance & beautifully done!
Respect 

Awesome sight today

The T-junction in Cheadle village High Street will never seem the same again ...
All I could see was a light green flash!
It must have been the fastest Reliant Robin ever created!!
Rocket propelled even!  Wow!
I swear it took that corner on two of it's wheels - the driver leaning inward just to make sure that it made the bend - and off down Manchester Road like shit off a shovel. 

Total respect *bows in humility*

Elvis lives!

It's been a funny week. 
One chap walked out of work who has been there for years. 
Had enough.  Fair play to him he's got the balls to do it.
Meanwhile, here...
next door really do need to get a bit more thoughtful! 
My lie in was scuppered by the rampant fkn woodpecker that was hammering against the bedroom wall for bleeding hours.  You know, I'm not a prude and it's all normal and stuff ...
BUT FFS!  GIVE ME SOME PEACE AT THE FKN WEEKEND AND PULL THE BED AWAY FROM THE FKN WALL!!!
I did actually mention this LOUDLY in the morning to my friend that was staying over and it's been quiet since so maybe they heard me.
Not a bad thing.
Another Elvis anniversary.  Thirty six years ... wish that he hadn't been taken advantage of during his lifetime.  Nice guy wasted.
I'm still walking to work and get a buzz out of it to be truthful... except all the road kill creatures that I encounter on the way which is a little distressing. 
Still,
it's been a relatively eventful weekend ... but that's for another time.
Gnte all x

In a few nutshells ;;;

It's been a while ....
Since I last spoke a few things have happened.


1.  My handsome Horatio was hit by a car in May.  Very bad time :-(   He used up one of his lives and lost his tail.   But all is well now and he's back on four wheel drive with a bit of a wobble.  He doesn't really feel comfortable going outside now without my company which is fine by me to be truthful.  .

2.  Was delirious in the heat wave and had all my hair shaved off.   Quite a humbling experience - felt (and still do) totally exposed.  Got a few quid in for Christie's tho which was fantastic.  My hair, however, was wasted.  I didn't realise that it needs to be put in a plait.  Still, I'll know for next time - and I will do it again and hopefully make shit loads more money for charity.

3.  I now walk .... a lot.  This is now my new keep fit regime.  So work, is five miles away & I do this daily by foot.   
My theory was that... if I walk fifty miles a week then surely to hell I can eat what I want. 
Unfortunately,  this is not the case and my cholesterol is shit higher than it has been before :-(
Still,
I love cheese all the goodies that belly pork & roast chicken brings.  I suppose you have to think of it in this way...If you're going to die might as well die happy. 

Signing off now & hope everyone is enjoying their Sunday. 

TTfn,
KikiMitt x

Holistics made simple

Things are a-changing & I'll be bringing all my information up to date shortly, in the meantime, this is one of the first pieces I had published on the net a few years ago.
I just wanted to bring home the importance of  'you time' without it sounding impossible to achieve.

Enjoy...

Pause for Thought - Meditation?  Wassat then...?

IT'S such a highly pressurised world that we live in these days that it's not surprising that burn-out in people is such a regular occurrence. There is a constant bombardment of what we can and cannot do, targets to hit and almost super human abilities are needed to multi-task on a massive scale.
Most magazines have articles about stress management of one sort of another. You know the sort of thing: watch what you eat, don't drink alcohol - drink plenty of water instead, exercise regularly and meditate.
The first four are, with a little self control, relatively easy to implement and are mainly common sense.
But what exactly is meditation?
Most of us usually think it's about sitting cross legged, either murmuring 'ohmmm' or in total silence for long periods of time, and we are supposed to feel inspired and/or relaxed at the end of our session.
Now, I've tried that and it really doesn't rock my boat. I'm sure that there are a lot of people that think likewise.
It's ok being righteous about sitting in tranquillity, doing nothing, thinking nothing and feeling great afterwards but it is actually truly difficult without a lot of practice unless you're a natural guru.
You light your candles, burn incense and sit down in a quiet room with all good intentions but,as soon as your thoughts go into the blackness, it's your mind's turn to really start putting a spanner in the works; within the first few nano-seconds of your eyes closing, a myriad of random ideas start popping in your head for no apparent reason and they are ones that you wouldn't normally have blinked about:
'What time did I start this?'
'Did I remember to let the cat in?'
'Is loo paper on the shopping list?'
And then you spend the next few counter seconds thinking, 'Oh, oh! This isn't right. I should be thinking of nothing!' ... And then you spend the next few minutes trying to get back into the blackness again. And it carries on for most of the time that you've delegated to you.
Where is the relaxation in that?
On the other hand, if you look up the actual meaning of the word in the Oxford English dictionary, it describes meditation as 'a discourse expressing considered thought on a subject'.
Now that takes it to a different angle.
I contacted Joanne Tinsley, holistic tutor, Reiki master and co-founder of  The Full Spectrum Centre based in Cheshire, so she could help shed some light on the general concept of meditation. In her karmic wisdom, she has another name for it which she feels may be more appropriate ... and that is 'mindfulness'.
The Full Spectrum Centre runs courses for various holistic therapies from crystal healing to Reiki all of which involve mindfulness at some stage to help calm the mind and recharge the body whilst learning how to heal. The only chanting that Joanne uses on occasion is 'Om Mani Padme Hum' which is an ancient Tibetan mantra. Other than that, she mainly teaches from a portfolio of visual images that she describes to her students while they have their eyes closed.
To visualise 'nothing' is a tough thing to do, but to visualise a moving scene, much like a film, opens many options. Joanne took me through a beautiful meditation inspired by angels.
I closed my eyes...
It began with a cliff walk and carried on down to a cave where I had to visualise various energies and colours of the chakra spectrum . It was a beautiful walk-through.
The images - and nothing that shouldn't have been there during that half hour - simply appeared in my head. I came out of it all feeling relaxed and a little bit sleepy - my muscles not quite as tense and twisted as they had been before.
And then, Joanne dropped a bombshell ... it really doesn't matter what form it takes, meditation is whatever makes YOU feel good!
" ... to some it would be listening to heavy metal at full volume," she said.
So my work colleague who goes for an 8 mile run in the evening is meditating her own way, as is another who can think of nothing better than ironing in front of the television ... as are the nightly Wii monsters! They are focusing on their own subject with full concentration.
THAT is what it's all about! Do whatever gives YOU a buzz!!
So, I think I'll just go home, dive in a nice, hot bath with lots of bubbles, a large glass of chilled wine and get those good vibrations circulating.

Alexandra Park shame

Today, I drove passed Alex Park for the first time in a long time. 
I was shocked!
I've never seen from one side of the park right through to the other from the comfort of my car before.  This was such a beautiful place - a little bit of wild country in the centre of suburban Manchester. 
It's been butchered!  The place has been cordoned off, the beautiful green canopy has been destroyed & the land is being flattened.
I hate it!
Fair play to the die-hards who are still camping out  there. 
And, the chap up in one of the remaining trees!
If we all had the conviction of these urban warriors, we may have saved the place!

Assignment Challenge - 5 totally different subjects

Having thought about this one for some time, I've managed to choose the themes that I'm going to write about.

 This year it will be the 50th anniversary of JFK's assassination but I'm sure that this is pretty much well covered.

I preferred something a little more  ... I can't think of the word.
Answers on a post card please.


They really are random & some I haven't got a clue about at the moment.
Still, that's the joy of a pin & and a large encyclopaedia ...

Here they are....

1.  Gumball 3000 - squeals of rubber on tarmac & an exciting, 3000 mile journey for no apparent reason other to have fun.

2.  Dr Zahi Hawass - friend or fraud?  What's happened to him since he was removed as Minister of Antiquities.  He didn't do a bad job really - his heart was in it after all.

3.  Slugs - What are they good for?  I'll be trying to discover the positives..... hmmm

4.  Polish Scout & Guide association during the WW2 - named the Grey Ranks.  (Not a pin & encyclopaedia choice but one close to my heart & homeland.


5.  TB Badger Cull - For or against.  I remembered an article on Farming Today.  It was many years ago now & a particular farmer chose to use mineral licks that he kept dotted around his farm for the badgers & bovine TB hadn't touched his herd.


So there, they are... & the winner is ...
 

Relaxing Saturday morning ...

So,
The Kitten (my little car)
decides that something is going to start guzzling petrol like she's an armour plated Bentley
so
I arrange for her to be looked at.
It's a favour, early start Saturday morning - he will be there at 6am as he has stuff to do....
I will be there at 7.45 so he gets his first job on the go in case I'm late.
I arrive at 6.40am.
Gate locked - wiill call.
Waiting outside for 20 minutes.
Mobile phone dies.
I go to phone box - minimum call 60p! - I have it....just...
Emergency calls only.
I walk 5 minutes to another phone box.
Phone eats what money I have.
Bastard!
Drive to sister's to call from there.
Petrol getting pretty low.
Call garage.
Garage doesn't accept witheld numbers.
Can't find her mobile.
Can't find partner's mobile.
Do I want a cup of tea?
No!  I WANT A BLOODY GIN & TONIC!!
Find mobile.
No answer from garage.
Unable to leave message.
Try again in case I screwed up the numbers - ever the optimist.
Still no joy.
Drive back to garage - Still no joy.
Go home.
Leave message on mobile.
Put kettle on as no gin.
And it's not even 7.30am

The End

Have a nice bloody day!

This evening, I witnessed the car in front of me veering off the motorway. 
No reason - no other car involved
It just disappeared down the embankment on the M60.
A few of us pulled over & saw the car wrapped around a tree - there was smoke and silence. 
I saw the driver move inside.  The others who had stopped managed to get the man out - others called for the emergency services.
He walked away - with help & extremely shaken - back up to the hard shoulder & the police & an ambulance turned up soon after. 
Made me realise just how short life is .... one minute you're driving along & a few seconds later it can be all over.
Make the most of what you have ... it can be finished in an split second.