Goodbye Micky, our little ray of light

 

It has been a quiet, sad week here.

On Monday we said goodbye to our sweet prince Micky, 14 years young.

Over the past month he had started limping but we didn’t know how he’d hurt his leg.

It wasn’t getting better so we investigated further. An x-ray showed he had aggressive bone cancer which had eaten away his pelvis and when it reached his hip joint is when he started having trouble walking.

Sadly there was nothing that could cure him, only pain relief for comfort, and even that didn’t stop him moving around trying to ease the pain.

Micky is now flying high with all our other pets who have departed over the years. He had had two little ‘turns’ earlier in the year and so I think that was the beginning of things.

 

 

 

I have always asked the Universe to give me a clear sign when it is a pet’s time to go, and I was given that for Micky.

I also always think of things from the pet’s perspective. Yes we could have brought him home for another few days with us on painkillers, but it would have been for us, not him.

Micky came to live with us four years ago aged ten, when my brother moved overseas. He has been a wonderful member of our family, giving our other two dogs more confidence and being a ray of light in our household.

How cute is his first-vet-visit puppy photo? 

 

 

 

Micky was so gentle, loving, relaxed, and sociable. A real extrovert. He was half Jack Russell, half Shih Tzu, and his Jack Russell side meant that walks would take twice as long as necessary due to all the sniffing.

 

 

 

We took Daphne and Chloe out for their first walk without Micky the next day and Paul commented that the walk was so quick without all the extra stops to sniff. Too quick when he was used to standing around waiting forever for his boy.

 

 

 

Paul was the ‘pawbearer’ and I let Micky ride home in the front seat, me in the back, since the front seat was his favourite. He and Paul would often go out for a boys walk together, and if I joined them with our other two doggies, Micky would be quite miffed that he couldn’t ride on the front seat. 

 

 

 

He is now buried at home in a lovely sunny spot up a hill. We are going to plant a little tussock for him as he loved to fossick around in the tussock along the waterfront.

 

 

 

In his final months I put a blanket over him often, and he looked like a mermaid when walking off with it on. And one day he couldn’t get back in the cat door due to the stuck rug :)

 

 

 

Goodnight darling Micky, we were so lucky to know you. Sleep well.

 

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 Just last week, on one of Micky’s favourite walks at Ahuriri, Paul and I had sushi on the waterfront, rugged up in the winter sunshine.

It was such a nice few hours to have our lunch outside and walk the doggies, and aren’t the colours of the salmon and avocado bright and luscious?

 

 

 

The lemonade can adds a pop of colour as well.

Because... thrifty... we brought our own cans from home, and I brought myself a straw too because I do love a straw.

I don’t usually drink fizzy with my meals, but it felt festive to take one with us for our lunch plans.

It’s fun to make your own outing for not much money, making the most of natural areas around you.

There are public outdoor tables where we went available for anyone to use, but otherwise we could have sat on a picnic blanket on the grass or sand.

We didn’t know it would be only days before we had to say goodbye to Micky, which makes it all the more of a precious outing. Micky loved being out and about with people.

Give your pets an extra big hug today for our buddy boy.

x Fiona

The ups and downs of life, and how to feel better

 

Hello friends,

Last week was a funny week, up and down, and it was all to do with my lymphedema. I don’t feel like it’s getting better, and things just felt on top of me and overwhelming. Hence, I haven’t been in touch. I’ve just been doing home stuff and not much that’s creative.

I’ve been feeling really down about it but I know low moods pass. They’re like clouds in the sky. At that moment it felt really cloudy and just too heavy for me.

I did a few admin tasks with my healthcare providers, and decided that had to be enough.

I don’t know why I’m telling you all this, except to say that life isn’t always sunny, even though we’ve had beautiful sunny winter days here lately. I enjoyed my outdoor walks each day, so I guess all I can do is look for the good things.

❤️ A sunny walk after a frosty start.

❤️ A good swimming session .

❤️ Reading (and please don’t laugh!) Sweet Valley High books. I bought a vintage retro lot on Trade Me (New Zealand’s version of eBay), and I’m revisiting my early teens. It’s very comforting right now. They were my favourite books back in the early to mid-1980s. I couldn’t love the pastel covers more. And my sister found me the first 12 books of Sweet Valley Twins at a thrift store. Such fun!

 

Reading makes me happy :)

So things are what they are. Life isn’t always wonderful. But I know the clouds will move on. Apart from the lymphedema, I’m otherwise healthy, and I have so many other good things to be grateful for too.

I had a lovely weekend. The coffee ladies came to my place on Saturday. I had the fire going, and made a ‘Devils Food’ chocolate cake before they arrived. It was a Betty Crocker mix, but I used butter and milk instead of oil and water, along with the eggs.

Being around other people was just the tonic to help me forget about things for a few hours and just be a normal person again, instead of getting too much in my head, overthinking everything, and letting it all press down on me.

Yay for that :)

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{Winter vines in our street}

A big help to me feeling better is to focus on my mindset.

There are days when I feel really good and have a happy day. And then there are days when it all gets too much and I feel weighed down. Nothing has changed between those two days except my thoughts.

I don’t know if my lymphedema will be permanent. No one knows, not even my surgeon or breast cancer physiotherapist. It’s an unknown thing.

So why am I getting myself down by telling myself that it will be?

In the beginning, I told myself it was only temporary and that things would work out. It felt much better to say that to myself than, ‘I’m going to be stuck like this forever. It’s going to get worse.’

Yes, there is a chance it could be permanent, but there’s also a chance it could resolve.

One friend wore her compression sleeve for two years, fifteen years ago. She told me her arm is still a little larger than the other, but it’s not something she thinks about day-to-day. She doesn’t wear compression anymore and it’s not an issue.

Things like that give me hope. And why shouldn’t that be me too?

So the clouds have passed in my mind. There are still a few around, but I’m not looking at them. I’m looking at the blue sky.

I’m telling myself positive statements too, which helps me take positive action. It’s all heading towards feeling empowered, rather than feeling helpless.

Wow, that positive mindset stuff really works, Fiona. Who knew!

That’s why I love mindset work so much, and why it’s woven throughout every single one of my books. It really does allow you to create a good life and feel better when you’re going through the hard times.

And we all have hard times.

My dad’s eight-year anniversary of passing is today. We all had lockdown in 2020. In 2023, our area was hit by a cyclone and flooding, and people died. And 2026 is my cancer recovery year.

There’s been a lot of big things to take action on, and I can stay in a helpful mindset.

So I’m here today to say I’m feeling better.

And if you need this post, I hope it’s helpful for you.

All my love,

xx Fiona

 

 

 

 [My book links lead to Amazon US and they are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission, but the price doesn’t change for you. I appreciate it if you choose to use my links if you are purchasing anything!]

Stylish home touches, and Daphne dog

 

Hello friends,

We usually call these richly scented oriental lilies ‘Christmas lilies’ since they bloom during our summer Christmas here in New Zealand.

But it’s August and we are in the depths of a frosty winter, so what do I call them now? Mid-winter Christmas lilies? Because they always smell like Christmas to me.

‘Mid-winter Christmas’ was a thing in the 1980s when my parents held and went to dinner parties.

It was a chance to feel a little festive when it was cold and bleak outside, and borrow from the fun of Christmas traditions from the northern hemisphere which suit wintry weather.

I remember buying a can of fake snow spray to paint on my bedroom windows at Christmastime when it was bright and summery, and then the crazy effort to scrape it off afterwards. I’m sure I left most of that to my mum.

So anyway, sorry about that mum, and thank you for one of the many times you cleaned up after me at home 🥰

I always think I don’t like fresh flowers in the home much, but I’ve discovered that it’s when they have no scent that I can’t see the point.

When they do have scent, I am happy to buy them. Oriental lilies, earlicheer and jonquils (I call them ‘spring flowers’ but they are always out in the winter), and Daphne. I love the smell of Daphne so much, I think that’s also a winter flower, but on a shrub. Also, scented roses. So delicious.

So I’m not a no-flower girl, I’m a ‘scented flower’ girl 😊

I’m glad to clear that up because I always felt like such a wowser when I didn’t enjoy buying flowers for our home.

These lilies lasted exactly two weeks and looked good the whole time.

Let me know if you are a fan of fragrant blooms like I am, and what your favourite flowers are to have in the home 😊

 

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 And hello from sweet Daphne, tucked in behind the pillow 🥰 She loves sneaking into corners, hoping she won’t be noticed so she can stay snuggled up beside me forever.

Especially at night when she’s meant to be zipped up in her cozy soft crate with blankets. She always tries to sleep on the bed and I have to disappoint her. I’m not against dogs on beds but she is a terrible bed sleeper.

Micky lies somewhere handy, like between our feet or between our pillows (I know), but Daphne always crimps your style, lying across ankles or forcing you to sleep in a funny shape to accommodate her.

Daphne’s expression here says: ‘If I don’t move, perhaps she won’t notice me.’ She has perfected it well 😂

And the sofa pillow is one of two I made my dad for Christmas one year. They came back to live with me after he died.

I love playing around upcycling denim so much. I have another set of denim cushions, placemats, and coasters... such fun ❤️

Happy weekend!

x Fiona

 

 

PS. You can find all my links here: fionaferris.com

And my latest book ‘Life Is Good’:

 

[My Amazon links are affiliate, which means I may earn a small commission when you use my links, at no extra cost to you. I appreciate it if you choose to use my links at any time!]