Loopy Roo

Today has been a very sad day :( I have had to say goodbye to my bestest friend, Rupert. I got Rupert in 2007 when working for Bruce and Ali. He used to be a racehorse, then was with various eventers before coming to me to teach me the ropes of eventing! I had a great season out eventing on him, before he sadly got an arthiritic injury which meant he could no longer be ridden. As he had been so wonderful and was generally still healthy we retired him and he has been living out his days in a herd of horses up at West Hall in Byfleet. He never fails to put a smile on his face with his cheekyness and quirks. He has kept us on our toes the past 6 years, with small injuries and weight problems but always been a cheery little chap and just generally enjoying life. Despite that, he has been quite poorly recently so we thought it was the kindest thing. He always drops weight through the winter, but we usually feed him lots and wrap him up in rugs and he does ok til about February/March and then it isnt long until the grass starts growing. But just after that nasty storm we had he dropped off masses of weight, very suddenly. We weren't sure if perhaps the storm had stressed him out, so we pumped a bit more food into him (there wasn't much more he could eat!) but this week he had taken a turn for the worse. We were scratching our heads and worrying as to why he was getting thinner and thinner despite all the feed he was having. We had the vet out on Monday and they did blood tests. The blood tests came back, and the vet said there was a huge excess of protein in Roo's blood, and he also found a tumour on his chest which had rapidly developed. He expected, after being told what we were feeding Roo and also looking at just how thin he was, that some sort of cancer had taken hold. The vet advised he may only live a few more days, and although probably not in pain, he could soon feel some discomfort. So this morning I headed over to see him, and say my goodbyes. Despite knowing it had to be done, and it was the kindest thing it was still so hard. I have sold horses before, which is sad, but not the same. And we have had cats put to sleep before, but I think with a horse, the partnership is somewhat different, making it that much harder to say goodbye. The past few years, he has been a rather special case with a lot of special needs but I think that has just made me more attached to him knowing he really needs us. Saying all of that, our last hour couldn't have been more perfect together. I sat with him while he had his breakfast, and he kept trying to knock off my wooly hat (his favourite annoying trick!). He didn't finish his breakfast but decided to take a walk around the field. I walked by the side of him and when I slowed down or stopped, he just looked at me almost to say 'cmon would you!' so I continued to walk with him. He stopped under a tree at the other side of the field and rested his head in my arms by my chest. Roo normally hates cuddles and will only let you have one before pulling away and eating grass again. I am convinced he knew it was time, as he stood there with me stroking his face for about 20 minutes. So we just stood there having our last few moments together, having cuddles and kisses. He was in quite a bad way by the time today came, extremely under weight, with scabby skin and diarrhea as well as a lot of lumpy tumours. I think his body had just about given up on him, with the cancer taking hold so quickly. It wasn't nice to see him in that way but he was still his old self, being cheeky, but he definitely knew it was time to go. The vet came, so I gave him one last big squeeze before leaving him with Anne and the vet. By now, he will be munching grass in the sky with his old pal Nimmy. RIP Loopy my beautiful boy, one day we will meet again.

graduation

Last week was graduation week. After four long years of hard work the day finally came!! About time! Mum flew over from Malta and Nana travelled down from Sheffield on the Monday afternoon so I collected them from Gatwick and we had a bit of grub before Mum headed down to Bournemouth. She got a head start on us as she wanted to visit the lovely Aunty Fifi who lives down there. Kim also travelled down to Bournemouth on the Tuesday to spend the day and celebrate with us so it really was a special day in the end. Nana was asking me on the train down if I was excited and I really wasn’t, I just couldn’t see what the big deal was. But when we arrived it all changed. It was just so wonderful to see all my friends in their gowns and caps after we have all worked so hard. The ceremony involved a lot of clapping. A lot. And a lot of Chinese students getting masters and PhDs. But they eventually got around to us BA lot and we finally got those hard earned certificates! Wahooo. I should really frame it and treasure it but at the moment it’s in a drawer. Mum cried. As expected. We then went out for dinner in Bournemouth and Fiona joined us. Kim and Nana both gave me graduation gifts, which was so kind although unexpected. It was a bit sad when they had to leave on Wednesday morning and I headed out to work, although I am hoping to get out to see Mum in January or February so that is something to look forward to. John’s graduation was on the Thursday, which I didn’t attend due to work, but I saw some photos and he really pulled the outfit off! Much better than me, with my cap falling off the whole time. I went back down to Bournemouth on the Friday evening to have a celebratory dinner with him and his family, which was lovely. So there you go, we are finally graduates!!!

Hello November

I can't believe that it is November already. It doesn't seem two minutes ago that we were revising for finals and dreams of travels were keeping us going, and now its almost Christmas! I do love autumn though, each morning walking to work seeing all sorts of beautiful colours on the trees, and some of the prettyest sun rises. November is a bit of a busy month this year too. Tomorrow we are headed down to Bournemouth for graduation. Mum is flying over, and Nana and Kim are also coming so that will be just lovely. Johns graduation is later in the week, so on Friday I will go back to Bournemouth to see his family and some of our friends, big catch up is well overdue! Later in the month, on the 20th, I am privileged to have been invited to a very exciting event! It is a charity quiz held by Msizi Africa for World Aids Day. They invited me to have a stall there and sell some things, with some profits going to them. They do some fantastic work over in Lesotho with children, based around feeding programs and the importance of getting a good meal so I am ever so thrilled to have been invited. Whats more is that Jenni is over in Lesotho at present and has been taking some exceptional photos for me to make into cards- brilliant! After the quiz and things quieten down a little, I will be off to Cheltenham to see Johns new flat. He only went and got himself a job last week ! So he will be moving into a new place soon. This weekend has been spent online shopping for a bed and sofa! All very exciting if a little grown up. Its a bit crazy how quickly 2013 is going.

Bintang!!

Bintang Arts is a small crafty business I have recently started up since coming home from travels. Mostly inspired by trotting around the globe and a love of making things. I have an etsy page and also a facebook and twitter page so please check them out. And last week, secured my first deal to get a few products into a shop! A real life, actual shop! Super excited. They only wanted a few things to start off, and its a small local shop- but it's still a shop!!! eeeeek! please take a look...
www.facebook.com/ArtsBintang
www.twitter.com/Bintangarts
www.etsy.com/uk/shop/bintangarts

Endorphins

Endorphins. Aren't they tremendous little things. Sort of like a natural answer to drugs- well I have never taken said drugs so that's purely a guess! Anyway, what about endorphins? Well, last week I was feeling a little bit lethargic. A mixture of early mornings, (I am not used to that yet) mixed with lots of learning and I think just being inside an office all day makes for one sleepy, tired DDM. So, Tuesday, I thought I would go for a run. I used to go running quite a few times a week, but galavanting around the world disrupted this routine a little;) As soon as I set off, with a soundtrack from Bastille, I just felt a million times better! It was like I had eaten 5 mars bars and 10 bottles of lucozade all at once! Incredible. Not only did I feel much more energised but also so much happier. Not that I wasn't happy before, as I was but this was the endorphins kicking in. I think a few of the kids playing footie in the park thought I had escaped from the local asylum- running madly around the park with a ridiculous grin across my face. Continuing on from my magical run (I would like to point out I only managed a mile or so before black spots were appearing in my vision so I thought, enough endorphins for today, its best to stop now- black spots- not a good sign ha ha!!) I have been walking to and from work every day. This is one of my most favourite things ever. It's not a particularly scenic walk, and sometimes a little chilly, but getting out in the fresh air and not being stuck on a stuffy tube or bus or the likes makes me feel so truly blessed every day. I am very appreciative of the fact that it really is a bit of a luxury to live so close to the office as many have a tiresome commute daily. And sometimes, just sometimes you get to see a beautiful sunrise- like today. It was gloriously orange, and only stayed like that for two or three minutes before the sky went blue - so I was lucky!

Glorious Crawley

You think I am being sarcastic and the weird thing is, I'm actually not!! Apart from the person sat in their car outside my window at 22.45 blaring out Lily Allen I have no fault with Crawley so far. Okay, okay its not the most scenic of places and a little over concreted but apart from that I have been impressed so far. Last week, we had induction in a hotel so I didn't really get much chance to explore Crawley or get settled in the flat. So at the weekend, John and I set off to see what it had to offer. Now after the summer I was prepared for exploring and being a little disappointed- as you learn to deal with all sorts when travelling. But we were pleasantly surprised at what we found. There is a Tesco within a ten minute walk, and a giant Sainsburys too. About ten minutes in the other direction is the town centre which has a rather large mall and all the shops you normally find on a high street. Just around the corner is a retail park with a big cinema, gym, bowling alley, and loads of restaurants, Frankie and Benny's and the sorts. Work is approximately 20 minutes walk, and that's with my dawdling and little legs. And the creme de la creme, opposite work is another retail park with an Argos, Next, Pc world, Pets at Home and... HOBBYCRAFT! I am doomed. Although, I have only been in twice so far and both times spent less than a fiver! So I am doing well already :)

As well as all the amenities you could need around Crawley, it is only 23 minutes to Brighton on the train so we are off there this weekend to have a mooch around. 33 minutes to Clapham so I can also go and visit friends. We came across some fantastic asian and middle eastern supermarket. They actually had the stuff to make Nasi Goreng (Indonesian rice dish) as well as  Pad Thai so that made us very happy! And unlike some of the larger supermarkets that have the more unusual 'world foods' it wasn't ridiculously expensive so that's good too. The final but exceptional shop we found on our 'Crawley tour' was a shop called 'Revive'. It turned out to be a little vintage/ second hand type shop. They had tons of material scraps and you could fill a bag for just £2! I also found an old tin just full of mixed buttons, also only £2! Incredible. They had some very nice old chairs which were very cheap so I might go back this weekend for them and try a technique on them I have been meaning to try... watch this space! Another little breakthrough was the lady gave me a number to speak to the lady in charge there and there's a possibility I could have some of my stock in the shop- I must call her tomorrow, but that would be excellent!

So, yes, so far, Crawley has not disappointed. Those who gave it a bad name when I said I was moving here, it's not that bad! What it lacks in beauty (!) it makes up for in urban character and convenience, which as a newly graduated now working person I love.

One of those days...

Today it has been one of those days. I think it has finally hit that I am starting work on Monday.After almost 5 months off that's enough to stress anyone out! I'm kidding, I am looking forward to it really.I don't know why it has been a funny day, maybe missing mother, maybe the thought of moving to a new town and new job apprehensions. Living with someone new who I don't know, although first impressions are that she seems lovely and she has three cats so anyone with three cats must be good, surely!? I guess just a bit of a 'change' time. Maybe it has finally hit that we are home from Asia and the beauty of it all- gosh I miss it. I made a few things for the shop, but whilst we drum up some more interest sales are a little slow. *Be patient she tells herself*. On a brighter note I have been invited to a charity event to hold a stall in November which should be very exciting if all goes through okay. And on an even brighter note it is Friday night, and we have tasty veggie burgers for dinner that Janet has kindly cooked for us :) So, if you have had a bit of a bleuurggh day like silly old me over here. Here is a lovely view to knock you back into high spirits :) The beautiful Kuta beach, Lombok.