Four things

Another 'four things that have made me smile' post.  

First smile was the sight of our cat Max looking a lot better than he has done for a few weeks.  We'd spent ages waiting for blood tests and we had to take him back for more blood to be taken and more tests as the Vet was concerned he may have feline hyperthyroidism but thankfully this isn't the case.

 

  He's had trouble with his eyes for a while and we thought he may be losing his sight.  He is 18 after all, a good age for a cat. His sister has lost most of her hearing although she is more active and agile than her brother.  It turns out that he has very high blood pressure, a heart murmur and a very fast heart rate.  Since he has been taking his little half tablet a day for this problem his pupils have almost returned to their normal appearance.  This isn't all though as he also has to take medication for the arthritis in his back legs.  One lot for 4 days a week and the other for 3 days a week.  It is very complicated and he mustn't take too much of one of them so we've had to draw up a chart of each day for the next month and tick off what we have given him.  All worth it though to see him looking better.

 

On Wednesday we drove out to Wolesley Gardens the headquarters of the Staffordshire Wildlife Trust for a walk around.  I spotted some lovely things that made me smile. I love the willow badger sculpture and was pleased to see that there were still some sweet peas growing up the lovely butterfly sculpture.  The bright yellow of the sunflowers and the quince fruits were stunning in the bright sunlight.

On Friday we drove up to Biddulph Grange Gardens to take advantage of the lovely sunshine we saw a sign for an Artisans and craft market in the town centre so decided to stop and take a look.  There was an outside broadcast by Moorlands Radio taking place in front of the town hall  and quite a few stalls offering hand made goods and local produce.

 We bought a huge box of vegetables for £5 from one of the food stalls and I can see quite a few of next weeks meals in there.  We've already had half the cauliflower and I think there will certainly be a vegetable casserole,  bubble and squeak, carrot and parsnip soup and homity pie to name just a few from the contents of the box.  There was also a turnip, brussels sprouts and onions in the box and all of good quality.

Just a mile or so up the road is Biddulph Grange and we walked for a while before stopping for our cheese sandwich and apple juice lunch.  Mrs Bateman's Dahlia walk was looking splendid. 

As was the Chinese garden - there weren't many visitors there so some areas we had completely to ourselves.  There were also some photography students taking some unusual shots - the whole garden is so photogenic and inspiring in any season.

Hope some of my smiley moments made you smile too.