One weekend: One trip to the vets, one day at the zoo and one death in the family

I've been putting it off and putting it off, but four months overdue, I booked my two kitties, Lucy and Mornington in for their annual health check and vaccinations on Saturday. It usually ends up costing me a fortune, so takes me a while from the due date to pluck up the courage to get it done.

9.30 a.m. was a bit of an early appointment, but I thought it would get me up and about. Of course I overslept. I rang the veterinary surgery to apologise. They were very kind and able to fit us in an hour later.

I got the two kitty travel boxes out on Friday night, because they need setting up early to dupe Mornington that they do not represent any threat. And sure enough, when the time came, all went smoothly in getting the kitties into the boxes. Mornington was not amused at being so easily duped and cried indignantly all the way to the surgery.

With two kitties to get checked and vaccinated, I thought I'd get Mornington's shame out of the way first as she is the overweight dandruffy one and I knew the vet would take one look at her and think to herself bad owner, get the RSPCA on the phone now.

To my chagrin, Mornington had put on 600 grams since her last weight check in August. She weighed in at a hefty 5.8 kilograms. To add insult to injury, I was told that if she sometimes has a tendency to wipe her botty on the floor and get dandruff, these are both linked to the weight issues too. It is possible she can't comfortably reach her botty to clean it in the traditional way (?) and fatties are renowned for their 'druff too! And it is all my fault. I hate myself!

I'd like to explain that the kitties only ever eat dry food, Iams or Purina One. I choose the low fat or senior varieties when they are in stock at the supermarket, which they are not always. It seems this is not good enough. Mornington is always destined to be a chubster without me continually carefully weighing portions and monitoring her diet much more closely and the vet gave me a choice. Keep her on a proper low fat diet (Hill's) - forever if need be - or watch her develop diabetes.

In terms of increasing Mornington's activity levels, the vet recommended a laser pen for the kitties to chase. She said you can sit on the sofa and shine the pen for them to chase. Was she trying to imply I can not be persuaded to get up and move about with the kitties? Offended? Yes, I was, although having said that, the first thing I did when I got home was order a laser pen! Aces, I'm still waiting for it to arrive in the post...

Back at the vets, I promised to encourage MC to play lots more and get her back on the Hill's r/d diet food straight away and so it was Lucy's turn.

Lucy doesn't like going to the vets, but no one got mauled on this occasion. Apart from a little bit of tartar, she is in good health and a healthy weight.

Yay me, 50% pet care success rate! Hmmm, no ok, not great.

2 health checks + 2 vaccinations + 2 cats wormed + 3 months supply of flea treatment for both cats + 7 kilos of Hill's r/d (I don't want to run out and have to feed them any old food.) + 1 bag cat nip + 1 cat nip cushion + VAT = £213. *gulps*. Thank heavens it is only once a year and fingers crossed I can get MC's weight back under control...

I spent Sunday at the zoo. The lion cubs are getting so big now. I still love them very much, even if that love is from a distance. Everywhere I went as part of my duties, volunteers were over subscribed at that particular location. Twice, I excused myself from said over crowded duty and flitted between places, enjoying a good old mooch about the zoo.

We ended the day with ferret handling, which is always fun. I do like a ferret! It was cold and damp though, so we cut the activity short, got the ferrets safely home before four pm and retreated to the pub. Becki Sprogs had come to join us for a few drinkies. There was quite a little group of volunteers and Becki. Our red jumpers getting us noticed by the locals...I had taken the rather radical decision of driving that day. I had two pints of weak lager shandy and jolly nice they were too. There were quite a few of us who had driven or had to be elsewhere by a certain hour, so it wasn't the usual drunken debauchery we have come to expect from post zoo drink ups.

After dropping Becki home, I got home myself not too late, around 8 or so, and had a missed call on my phone from my Mum. Her voicemail message said "Please give me a call when you get this message, but not from the pub please." Asking me not to return the call from the pub, wasn't Mum just getting at me for always being in the pub, she means she has something important (bad) to tell me.

She was blatantly referring to the time a few years ago, I spoke to her from the pub and she had to tell me that they'd had my other cat put to sleep. (my beautiful Birman Milly, whom I'd had since I was a teenager) I didn't take that news very seriously, not realising how upsetting it was for them. I knew they liked and cared for the cat, but also knew they were forever fed up with her for shedding hair everywhere and continually puking on the kitchen floor. I jokingly asked if they were going to get a puppy, now the cat was gone. In actual fact, although I'd moved away, Milly had remained a part of their little family unit, Mum, Dad and Milly. The decision to put her out of her suffering had not come easy to my Dad and they were very sad to see her go. I still get the pee taken out of me for my lack of sensitivity at that time.

On Sunday, when I got the voicemail, I was suddenly grateful I'd decided to drive to the zoo that day and glad to be home and sober and able to return Mum's call. Mum told me that my Nan had died that evening and told me a little bit about the events of the weekend that had led up to it. I won't go into detail, only to say that Nan was 90 years old, suffered from dementia and had been in and out of hospital for the last two months. She had a fall at New Year and had to have a broken hip replaced. Earlier this month, she had been admitted with kidney failure resulting in a five day stay in hopsital, while she was rehydrated. She had been back in the nursing home two weeks, but during the course of Saturday she had not been well, refusing food and drink. On Sunday, she had passed away peacefully.

I spoke to my Dad too (it was his Mum). He was quite choked up and that was upsetting to hear. I'm sad, more so for him. I wasn't incredibly close to my Nan. Over the past few years, I would only see her once or twice a year at most. My Dad would visit her every few days, but I only really saw her at Christmas or maybe on her birthday.

I have to go back quite a few years for memories of Nan before dementia. When I was a kiddy she and Granddad lived in a bungalow near Chislehurst Caves. They had a big gold fish pond and a big old garden that we kids would run around. I remember the stupidest things like Nan's orange squash was usually out of date and she over cooked and over salted all the vegetables she made us. Classic Nan stuff... She had been my last remaining grand parent, so it is a bit odd really... the passing of a generation. Nan's funeral isn't until the 15th March due to a cremation backlog in the borough of Bromley...

Speaking to my Dad yesterday, he was saying how it was 12 years since his Dad had died and 10 years before that since his Dad had fallen ill after his first stroke. So we say, ah Nan lived to 90 - she had a good life. She did have a good life, but even so, the last 22 years were tinged with sadness as she lived as a carer for my Granddad, then after he died, she had to get used to life on her own. Eventually dementia got the better of her and she had to adjust to life in a residential home. Old age certainly does seem to suck... Remind me again, why I'm trying to quit smoking...

Oh dear, sorry, I am limping off at some very miserable tangents. What else has been happening?

I put half a pound on at WW this week. Arse. I've only lost 5lb since I started, which feels like weeks and weeks and weeks ago. I am going to have to suck everything in for those photos at the weekend! A valuable lesson can be learnt from the past two weeks: If following an eating plan for weight loss, you do need to actually follow said plan for it to work, not just grumble about the fact you should be sticking to a plan, while munching chocolate topped shortbread, crisps and maltesers... oh and drinking booze and ordering take aways.

Actually I didn't drink as much as usual or eat any take away food last week, but clearly saw that as a green light to snuffle any unsuspecting cakes or biscuits that happened to cross my path! Oh, I've just stumbled... and curses, I've stumbled into Percy Ingles... I must try harder and do better this week. At least Mornington is suffering too. We can snuggle up together on the sofa, with the telly up loud, to drown out the sound of our rumbling tummies.

No comedy since last Wednesday. I really need to sort my comedy diary out as it is empty and bleak for the next few months. Hmpf.

Flat viewings continue, but I am not yet under offer. One of these days.... one of these days.

I am thinking of re-joining Match.com. I've seen adverts: They have a new Match IM coming soon. Talk me out of it ... please.

OK, I have some Personal Budget data to stare at. Important council stuff innit!! Actually someone just suggested it might be tea time, but I'm sure I'll stare at the PB data after that...

Laterz.

In Loving Memory, Joy Ogden, 1919 - 2010