My name is Mango. I live with my sister Poppy and my two staff, Ian and Linda, in South Bristol. I have a distinctive view on life and I decided to share my thoughts with anyone else who cares to read them. So please read and comment if you like!
Everyone seems to be into Zoom meetings at the moment so I thought I’d better join in. I could pretend to be a lawyer! Here I am checking it out.
I’ve been very lazy this year – I can’t believe that my last post was in June! And now we’re in December.
I thought you might like to see a picture of me sitting half-way up the stairs. I do like to sit in strange places sometimes.
By the way, one of my staff is writing a blog now: you might like to look at that too! https://drlindawilson.net/category/my-blog/
One of the staff has been doing jigsaws recently. Apparently it’s because of something called ‘Lockdown’. All I’ve noticed is that the staff seem to go out less. But she enjoys the occasional jigsaw anyway, so has been ordering some more as she has time to do them. She says it is quite meditative and relaxing.
Anyway, she carelessly left this jigsaw box open a day or two ago, so I took the opportunity of trying it out for size and comfort. Do you think it suits me? Apparently this one is much harder and is taking rather longer, so it is good that I am around to help.
I am rather inconsistent about cuddles. Sometimes, when I see one of the staff coming, I just run away, in case they are going to put drops in my eyes. But a few minutes later, if the female member of staff sits down to read, I can climb up and settle down on a knee. And in the mornings, before breakfast, I like lots of attention from the staff and will even put up with being picked up for a cuddle! They never do my eyes before breakfast so I know I’m safe then. I just like to keep them on their toes. 
Poppy has been helping Linda do jigsaws for some years now. Poppy likes to lie on one end of the jigsaw board and supervise whilst pretending to be asleep.
I’ve only just discovered jigsaws
this week. I tried lying on the other end of the board from Poppy, but I discovered that I prefer either looking in the box seeing which piece might come next or sitting on the middle of the half-completed jigsaw surveying the scene.
I can’t really see the attraction but then the staff do lots of strange things. Perhaps when they have to stay inside a lot of the time they need lots to amuse them, and jigsaws help. They could try chasing my little tartan mouse instead – that’s more fun I think!
Hello everyone! I’m thinking of writing my blog a little more often, if I can stay awake long enough. Maizie Gouldbourne is putting me to shame with her blog, she writes every day, so I think I need to try harder! Here is a link to hers: https://alittledogwatchestheworld.home.blog/
How are you getting along with all the staying in and being home based? My life hasn’t changed very much, I have to say. I don’t go out a lot really, except into my garden, and occasionally over the wall into the neighbour’s garden.
Here is a picture of me the other day, joining in with the Reading Group which is based in the staff bedroom. It consists of Berlioz the bear, Bristles the hedgehog and Penny the Penguin from Boulders’ Beach, and at the moment they are reading ‘The Tale of Pigling Bland’ by Beatrix Potter, which is quite a long book and is stretching their reading abilities. They manage a page each day. I joined them for an hour or so, but then lost interest and went off to find some sun to sleep in.
I don’t think that reading is really my thing. Do you like reading? Bye for now. Time to sleep again.
The staff seem to spend a lot of time reading the news, and I thought perhaps I needed to investigate it too. So here I am, ‘reading’ The Guardian on Ian’s ipad. The trouble is that I can’t actually read, so I’m not learning very much. Occasionally there are interesting pictures, though. Here I am trying to look as if I understand it. It doesn’t make much sense to me, I have to say, even if I hear it on the radio. As long as there is cat food for me, nice places to snooze and cuddles from the staff, and I can do my neighbourhood watch duty from time to time, sitting on the windowsill, life is good for me!
This is a picture of me and Poppy waiting for our breakfast. We are trying to make our staff hurry up and go downstairs to feed us.
The staff were away recently, visiting a place called Orkney. They saw lots of birds, apparently – we might have enjoyed seeing those as well. Although perhaps not the Skuas, I think they were rather large.
While they were away, other people fed us. First of all Jim and Sally Longley house-sat and fed us as well, and then Pete, Sarah and Theo next door fed us. They were all very kind. We think we got our breakfast rather earlier than usual when the neighbours were feeding us.
So now our usual staff are back we are pestering them in the morning until they feed us!
I recently discovered that I liked sitting in a little chair which catches the sunshine
sometimes. Poppy had used it for a while, (including to scratch her claws on) but I only just discovered it. Apart from being sick on it once or twice, that is.
Then, just when I’d discovered it, the staff took it away! They put the rocking chair there instead. A week or so later, a new chair arrived, all posh and nice and matching their new sofa. They told me that it was the same chair which had been covered and made to look new, but I’m not convinced. Where are the scratches and the torn fabric? Where are the stains and the smell left from cat sick? And why is it in a different place in the room?
I haven’t tried sitting in it yet. But the staff seem pleased. I don’t like change, though. I wish everything could be the same and never improved. Do you ever feel like that?
This time I’m writing about hiding. I have a lot of experience of this, as the staff are always trying to catch me to put drops and ointment in my eyes, so I have to come up with cunning hiding places where they can’t find me, such as under a bed. I also need to keep up my fitness levels, so that I can race away from them very fast.
Occasionally I am so chilled out, sleeping in a nice warm place, like a sunny windowsill or the snug box on top of the dishwasher, or the shelf above a radiator, that I forget to be alert and they grab me. Or sometimes, when I’m eagerly waiting for my tea, I’m so busy thinking about food that they sneak up on me. That happened just now, when I was thinking about this blog!
The silly thing is, that it isn’t really too bad, having the drops and ointment: it’s all over quickly and then I get some nice little treats to take my mind off it.
This is another favourite hiding place, watching the street in the morning. No-one can see me!
Poppy and I wish you all a Happy New Year for 2019, with no eye ointment.
Mango's Mewsings 