RIP Beannaithe (d. 29/01/2018)

He appeared on the patio, earlier this month, just out of the blue..

I could instantly tell, that at some point, he had been somebody's pet. I have known many feral, and semi-feral cats, but this was a cat who had no fear of people, who came to ask for food and love..

Was he lost? Had he been dumped?

He was in poor condition, skinny, dirty, sniffles, battle wounds, swollen head.. It was clear, that he'd been on his own for quite a while, but not in this area, because I feed my established semi-feral colony twice a day, and had he been in the area, he would have come for the food sooner.

He ate, and he took over the cat hut (Fiarshúileach was very upset as it has been more or less his hut, since he took it over from Little Mami and family..)

Having found regular food, and comfortable shelter (I bring hot water bottles to the hut, every morning and evening), Beannaithe (whom I hadn't named yet, at that point) stayed..

New cat, with battle wounds =(

I knew I'd have to get him to the vets, but I did not have a trap, and I definitely didn't have the funds..

One morning, he didn't come out of the hut for breakfast, so I knew that things had taken a turn for the worse.

I managed to lure him out of the hut, using food, and even managed to get him into a cat carrier! Total fluke!

I still didn't have the money to take him to the vets, but some lovely people in an Irish cat group on Facebook, promised to donate towards the fee - I also got a lift to the clinic (and back) as I had just left my own car in the garage for some repairs..

He was very good at the clinic, at Dunshaughlin Veterinary Hospital..

My phone snaps aren't great, but I wanted to share them all, just in case someone out there is still missing him.. He had been neutered, and his ears were in tact, so he must have had a home.. (Usually, when feral cats are trapped, neutered, and returned to their area, one of their ears is tipped, to show that the cat has been neutered - this will save rescues time, effort, and funds, and the cats won't need to be stressed with unnecessary trips to the vets, if they've already been neutered..)

He was given long lasting antibiotics, and as I hadn't been able to arrange a foster home for him, at this point, I had to bring him back to my feral hut..

Thank you to all who paid his vet bill ♥

It was after our trip to the vets, when I was contacted by North Dublin Cat Rescue - they offered to arrange a foster home for Beannaithe!

I knew I was always going to miss him, but I was so happy for him - with the shocking amount of unwanted cats and kittens out there, any cat who gets a home, is very lucky..

I blessed him with a name - Beannaithe - and took some more pictures as I knew that I'd never see him again, once the NDCR volunteer collected him..

I would have loved to give him so much more myself - cuddles, indoor shelter.. But I didn't know if he had anything contagious, and I couldn't put Cara and Cuddles at risk.. So, I only provided food and shelter, talked to him, and pet him gently, washing my hands before touching my own cats, just in case..

Those ears.. ♥♥♥♥♥ ... You can just see him sleeping in the hut..

 

Beautiful Beannaithe.. ♥

As I was still having car issues, NDCR volunteer T kindly came to collect Beannaithe.. This was my last photo of him.. (Obviously, I asked T for photo permission, should anyone wonder.)

I kept following Beannaithe via Facebook - there were public updates, and some private updates as well. (These last two pictures are from NDCR page, with permission of Beannaithe's foster mammy.)

He was loved, made a dog friend, and received more veterinary care.. ♥

However, he was not getting better, he lost weight, it turned out he had a tumour in the nose, and when his condition suddenly deteriorated, he had to be put to sleep, yesterday..

It's sad, and heartbreaking (I cried my eyes out, last night..), but I know that the last weeks of his life were as good as possible.. He had a home, he was loved, and F took good care of him..

I don't know what happened for him to lose the home he must have had, at some point, but if there is someone out there who might be missing him, I hope you see this.. Beannaithe was loved, and he didn't die alone ♥

Should anyone like to help North Dublin Cat Rescue, you will find their Paypal address on the "About" section of their Facebook page - or, if you live nearby, please consider volunteering ♥ 

Live Lagom plans for 2018 - saving energy and money

Being the only human in the house, I pay for everything, and as I don't currently have much money, it usually means that after rent and bills, it would be ideal if we could live on air as there's no money left for much more.

So, Live Lagom is the perfect project for me!

Due to budget restrictions and ethical reasons, I am already somewhat "living lagom", but I will take this as a challenge towards fine tuning everything as much as I can 😄

We were asked to make a new year's resolution, which was difficult for me as there were so many potential options..

My first thought was to grow food indoors, but as I was browsing the IKEA catalogue, I soon discovered that the €100 budget (which we are given for this project) would not be nearly enough, and I couldn't afford to pay any extra. After all, my only suitable indoor grow spot, is the kitchen window sill, which is already full. So, to grow anything else than my current herbs, I would need garden shelving, pots, lights, etc. It's also not just about not having enough funds for it all, I don't really have the space for it, and I have cats.......

So, scrapping the indoor gardening idea, I decided to try and save energy instead!

I haven't yet received my items, but here's a walkthrough of my Live Lagom shopping list;

Mulig drying rack was my "#1 item" - I already have a similar drying rack, but I have to machine dry all towels and sheets as it would take too long to air dry them on the rack, and I would need the rack for my clothes. So, if I was to have two racks, I could air dry everything!

Unfortunately, it was out of stock, but I selected another drying rack (more about the replacement items in the end of my list)..

Jäll white laundry bags with stands, are a nicer way of laundry management than my current plastic bag system..

Förtrolig food containers are something I'm really excited about! They are glass containers, so can be used as oven dishes (without the plastic lids, obviously), but they are also great for storing food in the fridge, with the air tight plastic lids.

I am getting four Förtrolig dishes, two in 31x23x9 cm, and two in 17x23x9 cm. They are the largest options, and will be good for batch cooking. That way, I can cook enough food for several days while the oven is hot, and then just microwave meals on the following days.

Vuku wardrobe is not the prettiest piece, but there is nowhere in the house to hang clothes, other than an open rack, which is not really an option when you have cats, and lots of spiders..

This will go upstairs in the bedroom, where I don't spend time, so I don't really need this to look all pretty. And it's not exactly ugly, either!

Toftbo bath mats! I congratulated myself for remembering this long time dream while creating my list! 😃 Every time I've been to IKEA, I've pawed these über-soft bath mats, dreaming of stitching two of them together to create a soft and huggy pillow case.. So, I'm getting two, for that purpose!

Vitsippa pillow, to go with the Toftbo mats.. This will be something soft and warm for cosy sofa time ♥

And finally, a grey/black Gurli throw.. Saving on heating, with the help of extra blankets..

Like I mentioned, somewhere above, I didn't get the Mulig drying rack, and had to get replacement items. I got these;

Frost drying rack, which doesn't look as sturdy as Mulig would have been, but on the other hand, this has more space for smaller items like socks and underwear, so I will be using this one with my clothes, and the older rack with sheets and towels.

As I still had a bit of money left, I decided to get another Gurli throw, but in a different colour - dark orange. You can never have enough blankets, especially with cats in the house..

I should be getting my items sometime next week, and I can't wait! 😃

We're also going to have a workshop soon, where we will probably make draft blockers. Much needed as there is an icy draft on the floor, and my feet are often cold, even with double woolly socks on..

I have already picked ideas from other lagomers, and used an old cardboard box and tin foil, to boost the living room radiators.. 👀

#LiveLAGOM #IKEA #IKEAIE

Suomi 100

Today is the 100th Independence Day of Finland - I might have some rye bread.. 👻💨

December!

I'm officially getting to Christmas mood, now that it's December ♥

The house is smelling lovely as I've been simmering lemons and orange, with cardamom, and a little bit of fresh mint.. I just have it on low heat, and I keep adding water and occasionally giving it a stir..

I've also opened the first doors in the advent calendars.. This one is postcard size..

Traditional style..

Wintery nature and a bit of Christmas magic..

This is a Finnish Christmas tree - they're celebrating 100 years of independence, this year, and the independence day is 6th December.. #Suomi100

Aliens can't see my radiators now.. =D

Friday was really cold, which sucks as I'm trying to stretch my kerosene to last for the whole winter..

However, I was reading the Live Lagom group on Facebook, where another member was asking if anyone had tried adding tin foil in the back of the radiators..

Well, I had cardboard, and tin foil, so I decided to try it there and then! 😃

Usually, when the heating is on and I'm sitting on the sofa, I have to reach back and hold my hand over the radiator behind the sofa, to make sure it's on.. Due to the high ceiling and open plan house, the heat just seems to disappear almost instantly..

However, after adding tin foil behind both living room radiators, I could instantly tell the difference! I can now just sit on the sofa, and I'm feeling the lovely heat from the radiator ♥

I'm so going to tin foil the other radiators, too! 😃

Related link: Does tin foil behind your radiator beat the cold?

#LiveLAGOM #IKEA #IKEAIE

Excited about IKEA Live Lagom =D

Some time ago, I came across IKEA Live Lagom application page - I don't even remember where I saw it, I'd never heard of it, but it seemed interesting, so I submitted an application, and then forgot all about it..

Well, on my birthday, recently, I received an email, which notified me that I'd been chosen! 😃

I have to admit, I was sceptical.. My first reaction was, this has to be a fake.. But I hadn't mentioned anything about my application to anyone, and everything in the email header looked kosher, so it turned out to be real ♥

I'd selected to participate in the induction workshop at IKEA Carrickmines as it's on my route to Bray, so I could combine the two trips - see, I'm already thinking lagom.. 😀

It took place today, from 8am - 10am, before the store opened.

There were five of us participants (plus the IKEA team, and one participant brought her daughter).

We had tea / coffee, and a mountain of bikkies / pastries, while learning more about Live Lagom.. 😃

Can't wait for the December workshop..

A nice little freebie ♥

#LiveLAGOM #IKEA #IKEAIE