Bye bye Daisy

Today our neighbor's cat Daisy was hit by a car and killed. I did not see it and I am thankful...i got the play by play a bit from the neighbor's daughter...who is close to my age. I guess they have had their fair share of cat burials in the backyard. I cried like I had just lost my best friend. I had only known her a year or so. She was a lovely little being. So sweet and so kind in nature. I recall one perfect photo opportunity when she was nestled in on Matt's lap kneading her paws...(making the bread..) like she always did...drooling like nothing I'd ever seen....(a truly happy cat) Matt was asleep and I thought how I really should have gotten my camera for that moment and didn't want to wake him. Assuming that the opportunity would come again sometime. We always think that...don't we? Next time.

We'll miss her cuddles and her cute little face. Bye Daisy... what a precious little gift you were.

A sunny day out....

My darling, observant husband, knowing that I feel like a rat in a cage most days, took me to the East Midlands today. It was one of the nicest days I've seen here yet....around 70 degrees or better...(don't ask me what that is in Celsius...) Lately, the lack of sun, the job and other things have really gotten the best of me....a sunny drive out was exactly what I needed. He avoided the motorways...(interstates...) and took the scenic and winding road....thank goodness. Such a gorgeous ride. Slowly coming out of the city limits and entering the country has never had the profound effect on me that it does now. I can instantly feel the calm wash over me. Peace and calm.

The roads wind and turn. The fences return to the rustic stone that I have come to associate with being away from the cities here...and there are sometimes miles of them...connecting and intertwined. Along the hillsides, they sometimes look like light dominoes...perfect and in alignment. Most of them having been here and only mended in spots for far longer than I can think. Most often...within these such fences that mark property lines...there are livestock grazing...that would predominantly be sheep. That is the only part that marrs the drives slightly for me....especially being that the lamb frolick in the fields and are a HUGE part of the diet here. At least they are running the fields and not stuffed in some warehouse/battery farm. Ok.....back to the subject.....just gets me every time.

We drove about 1 hour out of town up through Lichfield and into Hope and Castleton. Yes...there is a castle there. At least...what is left of one. Sitting on top of the most lovely village...rustic and cozy. I have fallen in love with yet another English village. These places keep me sane over here...trust me. Anyway....it is a bit of a walk up the hillside...but was worth every step....even if some of the sheep along the hillside begged to differ.

Later, after leaving the hilltop castle and finding Matt some chips at a basic chippy at the bottom of the hill...we opted to walk a bit. We wandered up to a cave-like area and met a kindly 3 legged cat who was the "greeter" at the entance to a tunnel of sorts that led to a beautiful small gorge beneath where the castle stands. I have never walked in such an area and enjoyed the rare fresh air and verdant hillsides. I marvel at the beauty in this country at such times. Plus the added bonus of having basically the entire area to ourselves....which is virtually a miracle in this country I believe.

Back to reality now and home again. Yet much more content and thankful that I have had the opportunity to live if even for a short time in a place of such beauty and history. Now if I could only think like this on the bus tomorrow after work........