Nayu's Craft Time #257 Pigeons and Catflaps

Happy Friday! I hope the day is going well for you. This morning I've caught up with the most urgent emails catch up, this afternoon will be the usual resting activities. 

As you can see from the title today I'm thinking about this often plump feathered friends, found in both the city and the countryside. They take residence in our garden with it's plentiful food supply that's making them healthy. As a bird lover I find them entertaining, especially when they waddle along the fence. 

Not my cat or catflap, but looks a bit like Belle!

Some of you regular readers may recall I've had issues with other cats coming in the house. One of those got returned to his home (yay!). As for the other one, my family have met the owners so we know what she is called, and rarely see her these days. So imagine my surprise when I thought I heard the cat flap go while my cat Belle was on my bed. I went down shortly after she raced downstairs (definitely at a slower pace). I saw nothing, but as soon as I went outside there was one plump pigeon walking away from the door and back up the drive. 

It wasn't me!

I've never seen pigeons that close to the house! So it's understandable I think the pigeon has come in the cat flap. My family explained pigeons can't use a cat flap, and I guess it logically makes sense because if indeed they could then that pigeon would have created chaos in the kitchen, and not calmly walked back out. 

However, the thought of a pigeon popping in to say hello then popping out again without a fight with my cat is amusing, so I'll stick with my version of events!

Picture source

On holiday

As soon as I recover from my break

So the post pre-scheduling I hoped to do yesterday didn't happen - Wednesday ended up taking more of my energy than anticipated, so you'll have to wait until some time next week for reviews on books I've read recently (a few not so recently...) Really sorry, but heading to Devon tomorrow for a few days so this afternoon is set aside for resting. Have a super weekend, and thank you for being patient!

Happy Eid for this weekend!! May Allah swth bless us all.

Nayu's Feature Post #3 Ramadan 2017 R

Ramadan is almost over - it finishes this weekend. As seems to be the case last year I had planned to try and do some special Ramadan posts but life turned out differently. I think for next Ramadan, God willing I'm alive then, I'll put aside posts throughout the year so matter what happens in Ramadan 2018 I'll have more than a catch up post for you! 

Ramadan is the best time of year for Muslims, for people who are health it involves fasting during daylight hours. Here are some posts which I've written in previous years about this most blessed month. 

Ramadan 2013 #1 What Ramadan is all about

Ramadan 2013 #2 Being flexible, some info on the Prophets

Ramadan 2013 #3 Why the last 10 days of Ramadan are so special, what I mean when I say tie your camel & be like a bird.

Ramadan 2013 #4 I chat about good deeds

Ramadan 2014 #1 My focus for Ramadan 2014

Ramadan 2014 #2 Nature, nurture & some rambling

 Ramadan 2015: Generic info

I don't fast because of my health issues - fasting is seriously not a good idea for me, but I still enjoy the spiritual side of it. I listen to the Quran more, stick with romance free books & audiobooks. This year I ran out of time to post all books with romance before Ramadan, which is why there are a fair few in the first week. I choose to barely watch any Youtube videos - got a nice lot to catch up on at the weekend! I also limit what I tweet - almost no gaming tweets too, which my family have been quite happy with. I make sure anime that I watch is suitable too

A fair few of the books I read/review & what I watch have some romance in, so I save some suitable especially for Ramadan, the most popular one being

Princess Sara: 1980s anime based on the book A Little Princess by Frances Hodgson Burnet, about a rich girl who becomes poor then eventually rich again.

Sarah in the first episode with her father before he leaves for India and then dies.

I love Sara (or Sarah) so much. I relistened to the audiobook this Ramadan, and prefer her in the anime where she is more humble, and always kind. She can seem a bit snobby in the book version, which barely mentions her pony (called Jump in the anime, it's a French version which makes me laugh because why they choose Peter instead of Pierre for the boy who befriends Sarah in a totally non romantic way is a mystery).

Becky comforts Sara as best she can, as does Emily, Sara's treasured doll.

Becky is a rather funny, she makes Sara smile, she tries to make life easier for Sara when  Sara is a servant.

When she is rich she befriends the servant girl Becky  (again not the most French sounding name!), which she does in the book but not to the same extent. No matter the circumstances Sara is always kind and mostly smiling - even when hungry and finds some money she gives most away to someone in more need than her.

Here Sara returns to the bakery to say she will make sure there's money to give any child who needs food at all times. It turns out the baker (pictured) took care of the girl who Sara gave food to, who now helps in the bakery. A little kindness goes a long way.

There is a sequel which I reviewed on Nayu's Reading Corner, the ending doesn't fit the way the anime characters are - Lottie would never go with Lavinia who is shown to be so spiteful! I'm currently at the part where Sara gets ill as a servant go, but knowing she gets better & it's from this moment where magical things happen in the attic keep me going through the hard to watch episodes. 

Great fanart for Muslim style Miku!

Gaming wise I do play less of certain games (slash not at all). None of Hatsune Miku's songs are appropriate for Ramdan, I only watch Aikatsu! because there's no romance and it's the one anime that consisently cheers me up when I'm not well. I play Aikatsu My Number 1 Stage on my Japanese 3DS, but prior to Ramadan I went through all the song lyrics and figure out which ones I can keep playing during Ramadan. I even set up 4 special outfits, one for each type of card, to make a more modest outfit & not spend time choosing an outfit. That worked rather nicely! 

Ramadan is my favourite month of the year because it has a certain feel that only it an have. I hope those of you participating in it have a blessed time, and those of you not equally have had a good few weeks. I look forward to sharing more about this holy month in 2018!

Over on Nayu's Reading Corner #5

Head on over to Nayu's Reading Corner for an update on me which includes this cute crochet blanket progress! (please excuse the picture quality...)

Nayu's Craft Time #257 My thoughts on recent events in England

Pretty soap stack! Getting on my soap box in a few paragraphs

This post's title explains what this post is about. Sorry for being away a week, it's been a crazy one. Last weekend had a water issue, which for a few hours meant baby wipes & hand sanitiser to use hands. We progressed to having cold water, with hot water being restored on Wednesday evening. Between then it was called grabbing a shower at a wonderful neighbour's house on Monday. 

I wish mine looked this good! They were cream with cute purple and orange stars on.

 On Tuesday when I knew I'd not only be doing the same but getting laundry done just in case the issue couldn't be fixed on the booked slot for Weds eve I baked some cupcakes for my friend (photo in another post as haven't got that device with me right now and going to get it is too much effort for this time of day). Usualy baking is the only activity in a day when I do it, and I definitely don't usually have a full day out the following day, so been resting up after that. Add into the mix a slightly poorly cat (all better now, more in another post), then it being my birthday weekend (in which I eat fresh cold custard & ice cream for breakfast because it's a tradition and spend most of the day gaming), things have been a tad chaotic here. 

Love these-they brighten up my finger! Have run out of Little Miss Hug plasters & currently not quite sure where my Hello Kitty plasters are

This post is also shorter than planned because yesterday I accidentally cut my left little finger, right on the finger pad with a super sharp knife. Finger all attached, so no worries there! Only it's rather sore and not used to typing (with cute cupcake plaster on it) so I am ending this shortly. 

The daisy. A simple white and yellow flower, used for making necklaces and crowns, and just to be admired. The start of my standing on a soap box.

Before I go, I ask that you spare a thought (several thoughts) for anyone affected by tragic circumstances. What with a horrific terrorist attack in Manchester last week, and waking up this morning to hear of London's 2nd terrorist attack of the year, please send good wishes/pray/do what you can and or wish to for people affected by conflict, be it directly or indirectly, since friends and colleagues of the people involved are affected just as much as the initial victims. 

We live in a scary world, full of many nice people who help others, and a few who want us to life in fear and let that fear prevent us from living a good life. Sadly those instances are heard about more than good deeds when it comes to news. It sucks that these days mostly the terrorist are so-called Muslims, who would never harm another soul, especially not in this most sacred month of Ramadan which is about encouraging peace and humanity, not trying to crush it.

Saw this after I chose to use daisies in this post. Let's fill the world with love, not hate.

It's not nice glimpsing into the anti-Muslim hatred on social media either, which I accidentally saw then looked a little further, but only a little as it's fairly horrific. I don't go out much due to my health, and I've never had an issue wearing a headscarf, but I feel for those who are wrongly hounded and harassed for showing their faith in public.

It's like when I was little and all the terror issues were to do with the IRA (in Northern Ireland) - it didn't mean that Christians were all terrorists, it was just a handful, yet I was vaguely aware at the time that certain groups of people were persecuted because they happened to share the same religion as the IRA. The religion may have changed, but the principle hasn't: the majority of Muslims are lovely people, some of who almost definitely would have treated the wounded in Manchester, London, and all around the world. Please help spread love for everyone, no matter who we are we are all human, we all bleed red blood (barring any medical anomalies), we all need food, water, shelter and love to survive in these crazy times. I'm stepping off my soap box now, but I hope I've given you something to think about and act on.

Found this image online, feel it's appropriate because I frequently draw stick girls when I sign my cards to friends, even though I didn't draw it. Original source here.

Nayu's Craft Time #256 All about my cat! (Finally!)

She can touch her toes!

As promised a few posts ago I'm finally talking about my cat! Those of you who keep up with me on Twitter know I love my cat a lot, who truly practices being a cute kitty, as seen from the photo above! 

Back when I was away in Norfolk my family told me Belle had been sick a bit. Now, Belle can be sick fairly frequently, that's not a new thing. Despite being with us over 6 years now she still gobbles her food up as if someone else is going to take it away - she was a rescue cat, found emaciated with a broken leg and pelvis in a shed by some builders, so had major surgery and some truama happen. We sort of helped the sickness issue by giving her meals in two parts separated by 30 minutes, which sort of helps. 

I think this is the symbol for animal medicine....

While staying with my friend I assumed it was the usual type of sickness. Only when I got home did my family reveal it wasn't. She was still sick when I returned, and it was with some hairballs. Hairballs have been an issue in the past, we now brush her about once a week & I make sure she has anti-hairball biscuits. I'll spare you the gross details but this sickness wasn't just hairballs. She wasn't a well kitty, and we took her to the vet after a few days of not really improving much. The vet couldn't find anything wrong either on Belle or from Belle - I handed over a 'present' of the evidence we gathered from Belle, if you catch my meaning. I'm sure the vet was used to it! The vet gave Belle an anti-sickness injection, and prescribed some anti-hairball medicine to give in her food. We were also advised to put a bit of water with her wet food (usually from sachets) as she was a little dehydrated (probably because of all the sickness). 

Now, because we just wanted her to eat something (Belle was off her food by this point) we tried a special cat soup, with a bit of the medicine and she wolfed it down! We tried the medicine in tuna, which isn't cheap these days, and she liked that too. A day or so later when we tried putting the medicine in her other food she wouldn't eat it! After a few unsuccessful attempts of disguising the medicine we opted to give her 1 drop of medicine in each portion of food, instead of 1 full pump. Obviously it's not the idea amount, but it's better than nothing and so far no furballs! Minimal sickness too, which is a relief. She may have expensive tastes for the soup & tuna, but we are buying those occasionally as a special treat. 

Pure cuteness!

Hopefully that is it for vet visits this year (minus the usual annual check up in a few weeks for Belle), but I promise there will be plenty more photos of her on Twitter! 

I've been mostly having a restful few days, with some crochet yesterday but hopefully will show you more in my next blog post! While the weather is warmer so my pain issues are down a smidge, other factors (rain, hayfever which makes me feel like I'm fighting a virus) are in play during Spring & Summer months.

I'd love to hear if you have issues with a cat who gobbles food/is sick a lot/uses anti-furball medicine. 

So true!

Nayu's Craft Time #245 Not quite a cat post

Time does fly by sometimes

I know I promised the next post would be about my cat, but while I can show you how cute she's been on my bed this week, this post isn't all about her, no matter what she says! 

Sorry for having a 10 day break without posts, which sounds like forever, so let's say it's been a week and a bit. I'm still recovering from my trip to Norfolk (mega long trip for me ordinarily, plus went out while there & trip back = very much over extended my body's capabilities. Plus the trip to London,, and the routine pain appointment trip to London, which I couldn't reschedule as I'd already rescheduled once (for some appointments if you reschedule too many times you have to be re-referred which I do not want happening).

That trip was unexpectedly a bit stressful, which I may have already mentioned. I'm not going into details, but I do want to give the advice I was given that where medical issues are concerned you are always allowed to get a second opinion. Always. I knew that but had forgotten it. The issue is being sorted, and all should be fine for next year's appointment. 

I'm a proud kitty carer of this adorable fluffball! No one ever owns a cat, less so my family as technicaltly she still belongs to the rescue centre we got her from.

If you want the latest on what I'm up to I'm usually on Twitter several times a day as @Nayuleska , chatting about my adorable cat (who really does practice cute poses), I chat about books I'm reading, general other stuff, oh and l chat an awful lot about gaming.

This is You, got her special card this weekend!

FYI gaming talk will be reduced during Ramadan (starting next week, yay! I don't fast for health reasons but will do a post or 2 about what I do do) so if you aren't into Love Live School Idol Festival rhythm game, have no idea why an SSR card is special or why it can be transformed aka Idolized into a usually cuter version of the girl,  there is respite for 1 month! After that, no promises can be made.I love gaming!

Regardless of whether you want to know this, this is what the previous You card transforms into after certain criteria are met.  She's cute, which is saying something as she is one of my least favourite characters in Aqours team (9 girls, also 9 girls in Muse team).

This weekend I possibly had a virus as someone in my family had similar symptoms (extreme exhaustion & feeling bleh), which didn't help my recovery from my holiday. I've mostly been gaming as it's a great distraction for me, and requires little effort. Lying flat was a necessity, something my cat is a pro at, and she sometimes stayed with me. I read a bit too, which was also fun once I had the energy for it.

My bag won't be this full today, but I will have salad bits in it!

Yesterday I managed a short errand, today I'm doing another short-ish errand, slightly further. I'd wanted to do groceries today, but I'm still not 100%, so I'll pick up essentials today & do the rest on Saturday. Yes it means 2 trips to Sainsbury's, but I've got 2 unavoidable errands (picking up medicine and supplies for my birds) so I don't want to get all I need on my shopping list today as it is going to be too much. It's all about balance! 

Tomorrow will be a restful day, filled with reading and (hopefully & finally) some craft if I'm up for it. We'll see. I'm looking forward to being back to what equates to normality for me hopefully in a few weeks of taking things easy. Don't worry, I hope to blog every few days from now on! 

Anyway, time for quick rest before I head out on errands. I hope you're having a great week, and are making sure to balance out your life to your needs!