Where Have I Been?

You might have noticed that over the last year I essentially vanished from my blog, bar the odd post. It's not the first time I've done it, but it has been for the longest period of time. 

2019 was rough. Really rough. Stu and I lost far too many family members, and we had to attend more funerals than any family should have to attend in such a short time. Within 4 days last year we attended 2 funerals for my side of the family, as well as what seemed like countless others. We lost people we dearly loved, some young, beautiful souls and it impacted us both deeply. It seemed frivilous to write about pretty dresses and make up and shiny things when our families were in so much pain. 2020 hasn't been much better, losing dear friends and this awful pandemic to boot, as well as the many first anniversarys of those we lost last year. Grandma, Jayne, Uncle Richard, Alys, Uncle Danny, Andie, you are all so missed.

One person in particular I want to share is Stu's cousin Alys, because she also blogged and her talent for writing was amazing. Al was the sort of person who made everyone feel welcome, she was instantly your friend. Sadly not long after the birth of her son Teddy she was diagnosed with cancer. She passed away in May last year. Alys wrote a blog of a lot of her journey, and her words will make you laugh, and destroy you all within the same blog post. Please read it, she was such a talented writer and the most wonderful human.

https://bestalys.com/

After losing so many family members, to really finish the year off, we had to say goodbye to our beloved dog Ashen. He had been diagnosed with arthritis many years ago, and despite supplements and medication, it sadly got too much for him and we had to make the decision to put him to sleep. He was in so much pain and it was the right thing to do, but it's also so hard to make that decision. I miss him endlessly. I miss seeing his wagging tail as soon as I wake up in the morning, I miss opening the front door to him being stood so close to it I can barely get in the house because he was so excited to see me. I miss the cuddles and his daftness. He was the goodest of boys and I don't think the house will ever not seem eerily quiet. He was my best friend.

A few weeks ago we also had to say goodbye to Ashen's little best mate, our cat Lemmy Katmister. I still remember writing an introduction to him on this blog. He was the baby of our little zoo, aptly named because he was the noisiest cat you could ever have met. He developed a tooth abcess and during the operation to remove his tooth they realised that he had further lesions down his throat and riddling his insides, cancer. We didn't get to say goodbye because of the pandemic which was so hard, but I hope he knew how loved he was.

So the last year or so hasn't been the best. In fact it's been the worst. So I felt no need to write. I didn't have any words that seemed to fit here, or that seemed necessary to share. The only place I have been writing is for PokémonGOHub, because one of the few things that has made me smile during all this, as daft as it sounds, has been PokémonGO. If you want to read any of my posts for them, they're all here. I focus on AR photography mostly, because what could be more cute than bringing Pokémon into the real world. 

https://pokemongohub.net/post/author/kittypokemonsalot/

So yeah. That's where I've been. Is this a comeback? I'm not sure. But I felt the need to revamp my blog, it has a whole new look (I was never happy with the old layout, this is SO much better), and I might just appear from time to time.

I don't know about anyone else, but I can't wait to be able to give my family a hug when it's safer.

Much love,

Kitty

xxxxx

My 2016

2016 has been an interesting year hasn't it? The world seems to be falling to pieces and I'm genuinely worried about the way politics seem to be going. In a stark contrast, my personal life has been mostly amazing, with a couple of downs to go with my ups, so I'm choosing in this blog to focus on that. 

The years started out relatively quiet, January was unremarkable. and in February my birthday was lovely and quiet. I'm not the biggest fan of my birthday, so anytime I can have a nice meal with my family I'm happy. Sadly in February we also suddenly lost our dear, sweet one eyed Sinbad. It was so unexpected and heartbreaking. I miss him a lot and wish he could have been with us longer.

March and April were filled with wedding preparations and DIY, it kept me so busy and I am forever grateful to my Mum, Fal my best friend, my Nanny and my Auntie Maisie. I couldn't have done it without you! I also got to hang out with Melly Em Clark, Nancy of Sugar, Darling and Dom Clark which was so much fun. Anytime I get to hang out with fellow blogger babes is wonderful and I'm lucky to have them nearby.

Me, Melly Em and Nancy, photo by Dom.

March also saw us welcoming a new arrival into our home, the wild hellion beast that is Lemmy Katmister. We adopted him from Cuddles Cat Rescue and it helped us heal after losing Sinbad, knowing we were giving another rescue a much needed home. He is much younger than our other cats Stitches and Patch, and certainly keeps us on our toes. He is a total Mummy's boy and can usually be found in my face!

May was my hen do! I had such a good time and felt so loved that so many people come to it. Afternoon tea, followed by Anti-Nowhere League in the evening. A bit of a mish mash of events, but I wanted something my Nanny and Grandma would enjoy in the day, and was more me in the evening. I also finally decided I needed fun hair again in the run up to the wedding and went pink, with long grown out roots.

Huge thanks to LovedRobe who kindly dressed me for my hen do <3 Headband by Corn & Glory and sash by Oh Squirrel.

And June... June was the best month of my life. I got to marry Stu! He's the best thing to ever happen to me. He constantly makes me laugh, I have never felt so loved, he shares my politics, is a goober with me, is genuinely caring and would do anything for those he loves, and is so supportive. I'm so damn lucky. Our wedding was truly incredible. I blogged a whole bunch about it, which you can read more of in the wedding tab in the top menu bar. I never thought I would get married, and to be able to call my best friend my husband is everything. Best day of my life.

Photo by ClickClickBang Photography.

A week or so later we then went on our first ever holiday together, our honeymoon to Turkey. Two weeks together in a beautiful country, relaxing and enjoying each other's company. We are hoping we'll be able to go on holiday again next year!

I'd say the rest of the year was a bit more peaceful, but between a 50th birthday, a 70th birthday, an 80th birthday, my brother getting engaged and so much more, I don't feel like we've stopped!

2016 marked a full year of Botox for my chronic headaches, and the first time I can say I had truly pain free days in years. It has been so liberating and life changing. I honestly couldn't have coped with the busy year and the wedding in pain like I was, and it makes me so emotional. I am so grateful for our NHS and how much they have improved my life.

I seem to have travelled more than I have in years this year, with trips to Liverpool for Curve Fashion Festival, and finally taking Stu to Wales to visit my family too. CFF was so much fun, even though I stayed in the worst hotel ever. We also had a weekend away in Sheffield to see Evil Scarecrow! My Mum and Dad moved to Cheltenham so we've been to visit them a few times too, such a lovely town.

Naomi of Diamonds and Pearls and Steph of Nerd About Town.

Both me and Stu got promotions in our jobs which has been so helpful in terms of our finances, and it's given us both new challenges we are enjoying. I love my new role and I'm really proud of myself for it. It's not a position I ever thought I'd be in and is so different from anything I studied. It's the first time either of us remember having disposable income like we have now. We've gone out for dinner a few times as a couple, something I don't think we have ever done before! When Stu needed a new pair of trainers he bought them. To not have to worry so much is such a dream and a privilege. We aren't flush by any means, but to have that little bit of money for us is everything.

Stu raised over £1300 for charity and shaved his beard! Full blog post on this here.

I've been able to work with some brands I love this year, and started writing for She Might Be which is a truly body positive website written entirely by plus size bloggers. I'll share some of my favourite outfits in another blog post I think or I'll be here forever!

My blog was also nominated for a couple of awards from a sadly rather unsavoury company who cancelled their awards last minute and hurt a lot of people. I didn't win, but I was so proud that you guys nominated me at all!

I can only hope that 2017 is brighter for the world, and that I can be lucky enough to continue to be so charmed!

Much love,

Kitty xxxx

Introducing Lemmy Katmister!

As some of you who follow me on my various social media may know, on the 29th February we very suddenly lost sweet little one eyed Sinbad. He became very ill, very quickly, and died in my arms. I was heartbroken. He was my fur child, and it was so unexpected, I didn't know what to do. I am mourning the loss of Sinbad every day, and Stu suggested that I might like to adopt another cat. We have always had Ashen our dog, and two cats, Stitch and Patches. Sinbad was our most recent addition and sadly only lived in his furever home for 9 months. I would like to think those last 9 months were the best he had in his life, and he died purring, in my arms, knowing he was loved.

And so, I began to look at rescue cats. Sinbad had had such a hard life, and being able to give him all of our love was wonderful, and I wanted to do that for another cat.

And so, I introduce Lemmy Katmister.

These are his cute pink beans. Such cute beans!

He bloody loves belly rubs. I've never known a cat love them like he does!

That smushy little face. He's so cute. Look at those yellow eyes!

Gorgeous Lemmy. I knew he was the one as soon as I saw him on facebook. We adopted him from Cuddles Cat Rescue which is an entirely donation run charity. I've set up a monthly direct debit to donate to them, please consider donating to them too! They have a facebook group you can support them at here. And if you want to set up a direct debit to them too, here are their details (feel free to ring them to confirm them!)

Lemmy wasn't always called Lemmy. His first name was Manchini. He didn't know his name, or show any recognition of it, so we decided to change it and teach him his new much cooler name. 

Originally he lived in a home with over 20 un-neutered cats, and about 10 un-neutered dogs. He was one of 9 they were allowed to take. They had those 9 spayed and neutered, wormed etc and then they were ready to adopt. Someone else adopted Lemmy first. They returned him after 6 hours because he hissed at their cat. Now, if you know anything about cats, you'd know that was perfectly normal! It's a big deal to be taken somewhere totally new, and meet another cat that they don't know. I suspect that actually, their cat hissed at Lemmy, as he met our 2 cats and Ashen the dog within 24 hours and there was no hissing at all.

I couldn't resist sharing a cute video of him. He's so fussy!

When you adopt a rescue cat, you need to have some patience and introduce them slowly to any other furbabies you may already have, it's a big deal for them! Little Lemmy has a broken tail which is one of his quirks. It's broken about half to two thirds towards the end of his tail so will need keeping an eye on but it doesn't bother him so far.

Lemmy likes to be the little spoon and sleeps curled up in my arms or under the quilt with me. He's so adorable. I miss Sinbad so much, but knowing I have helped another kitty find their furever home and am giving him the first love and fusses he has ever had sure helps.

I fully expect Lemmy to basically end up in all my YouTube videos, because he follows me around and wants to be fussed all the time! So expect to see a lot more of him.

Much love,

Kitty xxxxx