Recovering.....

I am recovering from a fantastic hangover from self inflicted indulgence of very cheap wine in the company of nice friends, its safe to say I have completely trashed my image of a wonderful lady like persona and am now not much more than a loyal lush.

I will be back tomorrow with more sordid details....off to find the painkillers.....

 

Friday's Muse - Venice.

While I figure out the title of this blog I might as well start writing it!

 

 

A good glassy friend of mine Kat from Beads by Kat is also taking part in Blogtoberfest this year and is filling her blog with interviews with fellow artisans sending them (us as I am one ;) ) questions to answer, just for a bit of fun.  One of the questions is 'If you could choose a city break where would it be?'.  I hate cities, I hate crowds, noise, traffic, I prefer cow pats, muddy fields, stinking dogs, dribbly cats, the stink of lanolin from the sheep after the rain; I might not like  these smells but I prefer them to fuel fumes, air pollution, coughing commuters and a myraid of other city treats.  On top of that I don't like shopping, last night in Sainsbury's was my worst nightmare and this time I wasn't alone!

 

So, today, Kat has interviewed Jill from Kiln Fired Art another fellow friend and fantastic artist and Jill has answered that she would like to spend time in Venice on a city break.

 

Which begs the muse from me.

 

Is Venice a city?  or, is Venice an island?

 

Now I love Venice, I went when I was about 16 and loved it, the beautiful stained glass windows, the churches, the quaint - and expensive - cafes in St Marks Square, the side streets all narrow and intriguing, the artists glass blowing and lampworking in the windows as you walk by.

 

 I love the paintings of Canaletto, this one below taken from this website Travelling in Venice

 

 

Venice really hasn't changed since Canaletto's day to when I visited in the 1980's, or judging by the photographs my daughter took when she visited last year (2013) on a photography trip with college, although her views of Venice were through hung over eyes and her liking the modern gallery exhibits to a display at B&Q wasn't her finest moment, but it came close to the drunken walk around the canals by her tutor before the hotel would allow her to enter her room! So it seems Venice still attracts the artisans and accommodates their behaviour regardless of era.

 

But, this does bring me back to my original question.

 

City or Island?

 

I did meet my lovely dog walking friend down at the river this morning, he being a retired Sea Merchant Captain with stories of his travels from all over the globe, and his answer?

 

'who the *&*()*&)() cares anyway?'

 

Maybe he is right, Venice is beautiful, whether you think City break or Island retreat, although I would suggest drinking in the culture more than the wine!

Throw back Thursday, the last cats and Gordy.

I am not going too far back, just enough to remember Megan who left us in December 2012 aged 23, the lost and mentally abused cat that came to live with us back in April 1994, she was never a cat to have a cuddle, always wary, but at least she knew she was safe with us and she had, I hope, a happy life.

Then remembering our Claude who left us back in September 2013 aged 22, he very nearly got longest living cat in this house but missed it by a whisker.  Arriving on our doorstep back in 1995/6 he was around 1 years old, a happy chap, an amazing killer of wildlife and he had a swagger that kept foxy loxy away.

To Gordy, who arrived here a few weeks after Claude had passed, our little man with brain damage who has become an internet star loved around the world for his funny ways and sticking out tongue - which is not apparent in this photo, one of the first I took when he came here so he was still a bit bewildered but found his paws with Iz and Defi.

 



Defi just saying hello on the first day, the tongue is now out and dribbling.

A year on, Gordy is the baby of the family, always into mischief when he is not snoring on his many beds or in his castle in the hallway, loved by millions but mostly by us and he each month he writes for Cat World Magazine...with a little help from me.