June was a very fun month, so I guess in the name of fairness, it was only right and proper that July got off to a STRESSFUL start.
Our dog Jessie (aka Kelly, aka Kelly-Jessie, aka KJ) started just, vomiting, a lot, and then bad pooping, a lot, with blood, and unlike with Charlie (the flashbacks, oh no) I was not about to ignore this. So we took her to our local vet, who in turn told us to go to the emergency admission vet, but the local one in Streatham was full so we had to drive (in hire car) all the way to bloody Victoria (from Croydon)
We had initially thought maybe she'd got some kind of obstruction from swallowing something she foraged in the park, but it turns out she had pancreatitis. Absolutely no idea what bought it on (could have been one of many things, or indeed, no particular thing). (Also did not even know what pancreatitis was until then)
She had to stay in for days! She was still refusing to eat. I went to visit her and was not emotionally ready for how rough she looked.
Eventually on day 4 in doggie hospital, they sent us a grainy video of her finally eating a little bit of chicken for her breakfast
And we were finally able to bring her home on day 5 (despite the vets best efforts at cleaning her up, she'd poo'd on herself several times and absolutely reeked to high heaven. We had to hose her)
This whole affair cost around £4,200 in vets fees, so here's my semi-regular reminder to all pet owners: PET INSURANCE IS WORTH IT (we actually are wishing we got the policy with £10,000 vet fees not just £5000, as if she gets sick again before her renewal next April we're fucked)
Silver lining — for one day a year we can't walk her in our local park because of the community festival. But because she was recovering, she didn't need a walk that day! I had a nice walk around the festival by myself (even though it rained again)
Our former housemate Camille came over and we played old fav boardgame Quacks of Quedlinberg
My laptop continues to be on its last legs, and especially on days when temps get above around 25, everything gets..... very...... slow
Went to a super fun workshop as part of London data week about nature data! (These are all photos I took for the iNaturalist app as part of one activity we did)
Got a tattoo! The top image (black) is the sketch I sent to the tattoo artist a few months ago when I booked, and the bottom image (black) is what I got! I love it.
Went to the LCC staff conference, in which I went to a workshop where we tried to make collaged zines critiquing some of the university's new slogans (but it was 33 degrees with no AC and my IBS was flaring up and it was the first day of my period and I felt like death so it was quite difficult to be very thoughtful)
July is the month for cute lil outdoor events. Very much enjoyed the annual garden party at my Quaker meeting house.
Occasionally I imagine that I could be green fingered, but the truth of the matter is I never have been and never will be. My partner is the plant pro.
Sometimes I think KJ could take or leave me, but me and my partner took her out for a walk together, and then I decided to stay back and pick blackberries while they went home to make dinner, and Jessie sulked the whole way about me not coming
It's GRADUATION TIME!! Somehow can't quite believe that I got to have a graduation from my PG Cert, but... I did?! I don't love the ceremony but it's fun to wear the silly hat and robes, innit.
Look, putting all discourse about how landfill is terrible and how wasteful and irresponsible as a society we are: I love to go to the tip.
Used aforementioned blackberries to make a lemon polenta blackberry cake which I initially thought was shit but was actually... fine?!
An unusual number of (partial or entirely) analogue visual diaries this month?! Collage fun with Heidi at her birthday gathering at the Circular Space in Shoreham
And the next day it was my partner's birthday! I baked a much more successful cake than my lemon and blackberry cake: a carrot cake (at their request — I think carrot cake kinda sucks)
It's been a bad IBS month for some reason, idk. Had to take a day of sitting at home. Not sure I am very good at this 'relaxing' malarkey
Relatable, I'm sure
Tummy felt better enough for BIG HIKE! Finally — my last London Loop was way back in Feb! Nice to get back on it again. Can't say the area between Hatch End and Elstree and Borehamwood has a huge amount to recommend it, in all honesty.
An ode to... a shower cap?! This is being in your late 30s I guess
I will never stop making these visual diaries which attempt to capture the essence of a depressing rainy day
Had a nice time going to the summer exhibition at the RA with mum, as is our tradition. The RA is a bit like a Where's Wally scene, except it's all women who look like my mum (but which one is my mum)
Made a sandwich so good it reminded me of that scene in Adventure time (except I actually got to eat it)
Have YOU also been seeing way more Jersey Tiger moths than ever before this year?! They are very pretty
And then, to Bournemouth! I've got a bit of a summer hustle going on, teaching on a summer school for Chinese students — some online teaching in week 1, for week 2 we're in Bournemouth, and for weeks 3 and 4 we'll be in Norwich, at the respective cities' arts universities. I am only teaching for two days, with a day off in the middle, which means space for a cute lil outing. (I also needed to travel down the night before to ensure on time arrival). I am staying in student halls! Which is fun! (They're actually really nice)
I've spent time in Bournemouth before (back when I worked for Kings Education, who have a campus here) — I can't say it's my favourite place in the UK (too many big weird wide roads? Everything is annoyingly far apart?) but I do love the long skinny park and being by the sea.
On Tuesday the students thought about sequential images and creating designs to be painted across two ceramic tiles. I did this sketched version of lots of the things I'd seen in Bournemouth so far!
Wednesday was a day off teaching but I still had a halls room to stay in, so I took advantage of this by going on a PIERS JAUNT!!! Exactly how many piers did I see?! Unclear, somewhere between 1 and 5. (Between Weymouth and Swanage). I also had a ride on the heritage railway to Swanage which was absolutely A+
Another day of teaching and then a train back to London this evening. However, just 15 minutes or so away from London, just before 7pm, someone jumped in front of our train at Wimbledon station — I've never had that happen to my specific train before. Turns out — that takes a long time to sort out, and we ended up being stuck in place for around two and a quarter hours while they did what they had to do. (With Wimbledon station and all lines in and out of it being closed) I was weirdly zen-like about it all (as someone who normally gets very antsy on a stopped train). Luckily it was not a busy train (they told us there were 177 people in total across the 10 carriages — which is decidedly chill), the wifi (mostly) worked (until they turned the power off), the toilets were functional (until the last 15 minutes or so), and despite warnings that when the AC went off it would become stifling rapidly, there were few enough of us that it did not. Initially there was no on-board drinking water, but they bought some along for us eventually (and I was fine as I'd come prepared). My main woe was HUNGRY FOR DINNER, but I'm big and strong enough to tough that out. Did stare longingly at Wimbledon Waitrose a lot though, and spent much of my time doing this loving rendition of it, from my vantage point.
Anyway, obligatory plug for Samaritans here (not that it worked this time, sigh) — if you're ever feeling even a little bit low (you don't have to get to 'might jump in front of a train' levels of low, though we're here for that too), give us a ring on 116 123. (I say us. Probably not me, but, occasionally, me)
I am FINALLY home like 3 hours later than expected, and I'm ready for AUGUST (though mostly ready for bed).
