Finally A True Cat Lady

Hello! Tis I! The useless blogger! Remember me?!

Today, lovely people, I would like you to meet Eskie.

OMG WE HAVE A CAT NOW AND HOW HAVE I NOT DOCUMENTED THIS AT ALL EVER HERE?!!!!!!!!

 HE IS THE FLUFFIEST FATTEST BALL OF SMOOSH THAT I HAVE EVER SEEN. I HAVE NEVER FELT A LOVE LIKE THIS.

We got him from the RSPCA (or, as I like to think of it, he was gifted to us from the gods above) about 3 months ago. The nice RSPCA lady/god told us that he was called Perry and had actually been rescued from a drug den.

I know!! This stupid wonky eyed fluffball had been a drug lord's pet. To be fair, he probably was THE drug lord.

It was actually Ryan who first spotted him as I had already decided I really wanted a black cat and so I didn't even bother looking at any others.

This was taken the night we brought him home. Safe to say, he loves Ryan a lot.

We've put him on a bit of a diet and exercise regime as he's rather on the large side. He's not quite into the whole exercise thing yet...

We named him Eskie which is short for Escobar which is in turn short for Pablo Escobar. The famous drug lord. Right?!! RIGHT?!! Hilarious.

Last picture, I promise.

He is my sweet baby child and the love of my life. He is also in a grump because he loves sitting on the laptop and I pushed him off to write this.

Cat lady dreams have been realised.

A Love Letter

Dear Lovely Man,

It's Friday morning and you're asleep. You've just come off a 12 hour night shift at work and came in to bed, freezing, at 7am. It's our day off today and I've had a lovely leisurely morning. I had a cup of tea in the bath - because we have hot water again after a week with no electrics! I've done half of the washing up before I got distracted by my book. I've hung the washing out. I've fed the cat and he's snoring in his fort. I need to clean the freezer but don't really want to go out in my dressing gown to the hose in the garden. I'd really quite like to get dressed but I don't want to wake you with, as you so nicely put it, my elephant feet.

I like having these long, quiet mornings. I know you think any time spent not doing things is time wasted but I get to appreciate things in this time. I get to think and drink coffee at my leisure and read my book with the cat sprawled out on my lap. I love the fact that you're asleep upstairs right now. In our house. Our house that is feeling more and more like a home. I love the routines we have although I hate you working nights. It's so cold going to bed by myself but at least I have the cat to cuddle up to as I wait for you. I love watching you with the cat. How you embraced my cat lady tendencies and went all out and agreed to get a little white ball of fluff for me. You love him really. Your 'little man'. He adores you. 

I can't quite believe that this is our life. I know you hate it when I call it 'old and boring' because you're right - it's anything but. Although a stark contrast to my life at uni and the lives of my friends who are out partying till the early hours, I love our life. Our life that's slowly finding its pace. We both work full time but our evenings are so precious. Whether we decide to go to the bowling alley for a game or two and a beer or two and an attempt or two for me to win a game... Or whether we stay in and watch a film all curled up on the sofa. Our Sunday nights going to the chip ship once I've finished work. I love the idea of making traditions with you. Of implementing things into our own little world that make it truly ours. 

I can't wait to see what our future holds. As much as I try to keep in the present and enjoy every second I have with you (although not the seconds spent arguing, I'll give you that) I can't help thinking of the future. We know we're both slightly unhappy with our jobs. We know it's expensive living here. We know we hate living under a landlord's thumb. But we can dream about what our future will hold. Maybe that cottage in the Lake District? Closer to Scotland so we can visit everyone we know. Maybe you'll work on the ferries? I know you miss being on a boat. Maybe I'll work out where my passion lies. Maybe we'll up everything and move into the log cabin we stayed in last year and hide out there forever. The cat would look right at home on a rug by a wood burning stove!

You'll be getting up in an hour so I should probably finish the dishes. We'll finish cleaning the house then decide what to do with the rest of our day. Maybe I'll prove to you the strike I got last week at the bowling alley wasn't just a one off? Or we could go for a frosty walk in the New Forest. Or just get in the car and drive. I love our drives. Our mini road trips. There's so much we've done in this past year! So many places we've lived and worked. But you've stuck with me during it all. Sometimes I can't quite believe you're still here with me. But you are and I love you for it. You're my world and I couldn't be happier. So thank you for this last year. It's been a whirlwind. 

I can't wait for the rest of our years together. 

I love you.

To the moon and back.

Forever and always.

I'm yours.

Happy New Year And All That

What is UP fuckers? Happy New Year!! Merry Christmas!! Everything has finally slowed down enough for me to have the time to write again. Also I'd completely forgotten I even had a blog until about 3 hours ago.

So where were we, where were we?

I left Paris! I left Paris over a month ago and it's a little bit sad and a little bit weird. I miss it every now and then - I even miss the girls! Actual children! But then again, I have the bestest of lives at the moment.

I'm now living in Southampton with Ryan and it is the tits. Well not Southampton as such because bitches be real; it's not Paris. Living with A BOY is working out rather wonderfully. We have an adorable house with a garden and - get this - we're going to get a cat this month. A REAL LIFE CAT THAT WILL BE OURS AND HOLY SHIT I AM SO EXCITED I MIGHT WEE.

It's so weird and grown up having a house. Especially an unfurnished house so we've had to raid Gumtree for furniture. But I'm pretty pleased at how it's turned out so far.

The before... (and the handyman).

And the after...

We Christmassed the fuck up.

Christmas was actually really rather excellent. Because I had two. I had one very hectic actual Christmas with my family in Lincoln. 12 of us, 4 dogs and a cat in one house was a bit much for me so it was so nice to come home to Southampton with Ryan and have our own quiet Christmas. Ryan cooked and we stayed in our dressing gowns like old ladies practically all day.

I also had very wonky eyebrow game. Sisters not twins right? Very very distant sisters. Like, sisters who never really got on because one turned into a goth when she hit high school and the other was super popular.

Also we legitimately look horrendous in any photo I take of us because Ryan is so enormous (see: my arms stretched all the way out and up) and so it's an awful angle. How dare he.

I have an actual proper grown up job now too. Like, a 35 hour fo realz one. It's still in retail though which is a bit soul destroying but it's back at my old charity and I've been promoted to Assistant Manager so there's that. Ryan works funny hours as a VTS Operator (I have no idea either) so we saw each other for approximately 10 seconds today as he was in the car driving to work and I was walking home from work. 

He gets lots of days off though so we're trying to time them so we're both off and can go and do adorable things together like walks in the woods and Dunelm shopping trips and GO TO RSPCA RE-HOMING CENTRES TO LOOK FOR CATS and all the fun shit. Life's pretty damn good.

But now I'm back in ye olde Englande (and living here for the first time since I was about two) it is becoming clear to me that I am very friendless. I would even go as far to say ALL the friendless. Everyone I know is back in Scotland and I miss having friends. I mean, Ryan's all fun and games and has an excellent bottom but sometimes you need to have friend catch ups over wine with friends and wine...

So here is me putting out a friend lonely hearts advert. I'm fun to drink alcohol with and occasionally drink coffee before alcohol with and even better drink coffee and alcohol combined with. Someone please befriend me. I'm all the fun. And soon I'll have a cat. What more could anyone want?!!

So how was your Christmas? And New Year? And will anybody be my friend and/or give me a cat?

In No Particular Order

AND FINALLY MY INTERNET WORKS!! Also I finally have my laptop charger back since I accidentally gave R my charger when he went back to ye olde Englande. All is well.

So I'm leaving Paris on Saturday. And then I shall be unemployed. The joys. At least I'll be unemployed in our shiny new house! I went to Southampton on the weekend to sign the lease and pick up the keys which was all much excite. Now I'm counting down the days until R says I'm allowed a cat. He thinks a kitchen table is more important but clearly that's ridiculous.

Anyhoo, I'm sitting in my hovel with a hot water bottle because fuck me it's freezing. Am attempting to finish my puzzle because I am an old lady. Also I need to finish it before I leave and it's driving me mad.

I thought I'd gather together some of my Paris photos over the next post or two because otherwise I may never look at them again and they will be banished to the dusty corner of my hard drive and I will forget I ever lived here.

This is the Eiffel Tower. Obviously. We walked around for ages trying to find it. Eventually we turned around and it was right behind us the whole time. Obviously. 

We finally managed to go up to the top when my Dad came to visit the other week. I'd been before and didn't particularly want to go up again because it's pretty bloody high. But hey ho.

This was the view from my window on the 7th floor before the scaffolding was built and ruined the view and my sleeping pattern. 

This was taken on a rainy Wednesday when I got lost taking the girls to their drawing and music lessons. They were having all the fun and I was panicking. 

The girls and their friend who is clearly the alpha in the pack. Her dad was also rather good looking. R agreed.

My cosy setup back when the hovel was reasonably tidy. The Pringles were a very extravagant purchase.

We accidentally found a park. There were ducks. It was very enjoyable.

Now I've thought of Pringles and am really hungry so going to go on a hunt for food. I need to be well fed before going to get the girls and having to deal with the fact it's raining so we can't go to the park. Which means I may have to entertain them myself. Good lord.

Paris

For some reason my last post didn't post until now. I said at the end of it that I'd just heard about the Paris shootings a few arrondissements away from me. That night turned into my most socially active night having to reassure countless family members and friends that I was safely curled up in bed and unhurt.

The world has turned in solidarity with my city. Monuments are shining red, white and blue and there have been candlelit vigils while the city of light is in mourning.

It's a scary feeling when you learn of terrorist attacks in a city you know and it's even scarier living in that city. I just thank god that R left earlier that day as, had he stayed the night, we probably would have been out for drinks alongside fellow Parisians.

I feel so angry about all of this. Angry that innocent people were killed, angry that imbeciles are blaming refugees, angry that people (myself included, I'll hold my hands up to that) don't think of the daily attacks on innocent people in Syria and the like until it happens closer to home.

I had a request from Facebook to mark myself 'safe' after the Paris Shootings which I did. I hope to never have to do it again but who can tell what this world is coming to.

I ask anyone reading to hold their loved ones particularly close over the next few days - I wish I could right now but I'm on my own until I see R next Saturday. Tell people you love them daily and try to live your life with a bit more happiness and kindness. That's really what the world needs right now doesn't it? And if we can't personally stop wars or killings we can at least do our bit to remind the world that there is kindness around (#PorteOuverte).

Nous sommes tous Paris.