a mother-in-law, but if I did, I can’t imagine having her as a friend on Facebook looking at everything I was talking about and that my friends were saying to me and commenting on it! Must be awfully inhibiting.

Now I begin to understand why people send messages instead of just writing on each other’s pages ;)

Someone who I consider to be a good friend has been behaving strangely and out of character, and I find myself feeling quite bewildered and hurt as a result. I wonder if I’ve said something to offend her but I can’t think what it could have been as I’ve been no more offensive than usual recently ;) and I try to be a reliable and supportive friend. Did a remark which was intended to be jokey get misinterpreted? This is always a danger for me but a risk I take being the person I am – I’d rather have friends with razor-sharp wit who can take a joke and deliver one back. Or perhaps I’m deluding myself and actually I’m a crap friend who has failed to say the right thing at the right time. Or perhaps I need to stop taking things so personally and just forget about it. It’s disturbing though, I don’t enjoy feeling like this.

some docs are recruiting for a dark chocolate study. Lucky people in Aberdeen get to go first, it seems, well let’s face it they probably need cheering up ;) Interestingly no mention of vats though…

A crisp study is surely on the cards next?

_{I particularly like the name Dr Baukje de Roos – very Scottish ;)}

I read a book called “Emotional Intelligence” and pretty much the only thing I can remember is an experiment they did with some little kids – they put them in a room with some sweets, and told them to resist the sweets as long as possible. Those that managed to resist the sweets scored more highly in emotional intelligence than those that didn’t. The ability to delay gratification was a key component of EI.

So making meringues must be the adult version of that test. I’ve made them and cooked them and now the little blighters have to spend 4 hours (4 hours!) in the oven cooling, according to Delia.

Argh!

_{1 hour down, 3 to go…}

is on top form at the moment!

Here is another lovely, somewhat random story about a cat which has started joining a postman on his rounds. Delightful!

It’s the spitting image of my darling Cuthbie, which does no harm at all ;)

from Scotland this time, about a baby otter rescued by a postman. See here

I particularly like the last line – typical mean Scots eh, grudging the poor little thing its salmon! ;) _{apologies to any Scots!}

Had an email from my father this morning to say that our cat Ambrose had to be put down yesterday.

Ambo was the Senior Cat of the household. He was originally a farm cat and came to us about 12 years ago, then installed various other family members at our house (Tavi, Bink, Tid and Helmie). He outlived the lot, and I reckon he was at least 20.

He was a lovely soppy old pyjama case, and used to roll around on the floor when my brother was around. He had a serious motor, and was a solid and comforting presence when he sat on you.

I knew he was on his last legs so every time I’ve been home recently I made a point of making a fuss of him, although he was very sleepy and also quite deaf – Mum could hoover behind him and he didn’t notice. Still, we will miss him. This is a photo of him with Bink, on my bed. RIP old friend.

I still feel empty and bleak and emotionally disconnected and I can’t have what I want and it’s not easy accepting that.

And I have to do something I don’t want to do tomorrow but it needs to be done and I will do it in the nicest possible way.

And the woman I used to love is trying to reel me in again (I don’t know why, she didn’t reciprocate), so I must resist the temptation to fall into that particular black hole because no good can possibly come of it and I did spend two and a half years of my life coming to that conclusion and I don’t need to go there again.

But at least the Big Cheeses have faith in me which is very encouraging and I will not let them down.

last week that we currently have a rogue Pilates teacher down at the club who seems to think she runs the place.

This week’s excitement: we now also have a rogue Legs, Bums and Tums teacher who appears to be in league with the rogue Pilates teacher.

The fun continues, thank god it’s not me who has to deal with it ;)

someone has deleted their account and I’ve worked out who it is – YG :(

Hope she comes back soon.