Thursday 28 February 2008

Notes from My Lounge

They say the sun is out. It is almost officially spring, they hasten to add. There’s even a cluster of daffodils outside the front door and the cherry blossoms are looking very beautiful indeed lining the street all the way down to Betsy’s. But I am in no mood to budge from the comforts of my lounge, from the warmth that my duvet can offer, and not too many miles away from the steaming tea and coffee in the kitchen. These last few days I have been nursing a very bad cold which is accompanied by fever and a monster of a headache.

It seems that almost everyone I know has had this and some got it worse. So, I am allowing myself this rest; stockinged feet, warm duvet, monopoly of the remote control and a veto power as to what’s on telly.

But most days when my fingers are not taking me a-surfing across blogosphere, or I get tired of repeats of Vicar of Dibley, I look out of the garden door and contemplate what I should do to the garden when spring comes and my energy returns. This is a perennial thing ; the planning not the gardening. There’s certainly plenty to be done, considering it is looking very much like a place David Attenburgh would discover some dying species.

It has been left neglected since Mick, our neighbour and volunteer gardener was taken ill and then was taken away from us one spring when I was in Malaysia. The garden that was once full of tomato plants, sweetcorns, daisies, daffodils and geraniums of all colours and variety is bare and neglected. Even the apple tree gave up on us. The only tree that has been standing steadily eversince Mick plonked it in the ground some 20 years ago, is the evergreen that we brought back from Rachel’s garden in Weybridge. It is now taller than the house, overwhelming the pear tree belonging to our Polish neighbour.

I myself gave up on the garden when hayfever took the better of me.

The last time we put anything in the ground was sometime last year. In February. Somewhere between the evergreen and the dying apple tree is our beloved Jasper. He left us a year ago after being with us for almost 14 years. He wanted to go quietly and spare us the pain but we brought him back.

He was a shadow of himself – once the terror of the neighbourhood, who roamed the garden and streets with his head high. I remember giving him a bath right here in this living room, because he was not smelling as he should and I wanted to hold him and make everything all right for him. He didnt resist but whimpered and later walked to the bathroom and pushed the door shut. When I called out to him, he managed a weak meow and then he was gone.

I miss my Jasper.


29 comments:

Uncle said...

Dear Kak Teh.

Get well soon......and write more...

uncle815

Anonymous said...

Sounds like Jasper was a very good cat so it is hard not to miss him.

Get well soon. Try Hor Yan Hor! :) If not, try AG's tender loving care! :P

Anak Mami said...

Kak Teh,

Semoga cepat sembuh.. minum ayark hangat sejuk banyak - banyak ok..

Kak Teh said...

Dear Uncle815, thank you. Am trying to get rid of the cough. Insyaallah, bila ada ilham boleh tulis.

Judy, jasper was a good cat - our very first one.
What is Hor Yan Hor? Can i get it in ChinaTown?

anak mami , minum ayark punya banyak sampai nak mengah dah! thanks.

ms hart said...

Kak Teh, aa..aa..achooooo!!!! haa....get well soon, ya? aa...aa...achooooo!!!! Adoi...samalah kita....!! But at least you have the veto power over the tv...Me??? forever it's in the hands of my lil' king!!

Anonymous said...

Kak teh,
Missing our beloved furry ones...it's so difficult and the problem is they tend to be sooo vulnerable and made us feel that we have not done enough to protect them!....Get well soon.

ManaL said...

U make it sounds like a very old lady who lost her cat and leaving all alone in the house :-D

Anyways, that would make jasper what, over 100 years old in cat's age? And thats besides his 9 lives.

He's probably evolving/reincarnating as a human as his days were numbered.

Was he related to any of your many cats? as mommy/daddy/cousin/so on?

And the sweet part was, he managed to say his last meow to u....

Pi Bani said...

Kak Teh,
Have a good rest and get well soon! Thank goodness I hari tu demam 2 hari je.

Anyone to pamper you at home?

Kak Teh said...

ms hart, yes, the remote control is firmly in my hand.Last nite it was a popular choice - Master Chef followed by American Idol!!

mama irma, i know what you mean -and i still remember your entry about your lost cat. Gone but never forgotten.

Anonymous said...

** HUGS **

:)

Kak Teh said...

manal, hehe - yes! most old ladies live with their pets and spend their days in the garden...I must spruce up my garden first before i can sit in there and enjoy the flowers.
Jasper was our first cat - given to us by a friend before leaving for Malaysia - and not he was not related to the others. He was much much older than the rest.

Pi Bani - oh yes, there are lots around me to make the endless cup of tea and the occassional massage.

Kak Teh said...

kenney dear, hugs to you too and keep well.

Anonymous said...

hi kt!

you have such a way with words that i miss your jasper too! [sniff]

btw, consider a fig tree for your garden. perhaps canopying jasper's resting place. the leaves are just so lovely and my italian neighbour down the block said it thrives on neglect. ;D

hope you kick off your late winter sniffles soon.

Theta said...

Get well soon Kak Teh!

I miss my cats too.

bibliobibuli said...

poor Jasper. so sad when our beloved cat friends die. i miss my muffin so much.

Kak Teh said...

mekyam, anything that thrives on neglect is just up my street! Must look more into that and I am serious cos I am bent on enjoying my garden this summer. Thanks.

theta, thanks - am feeling better and I really need to get out of the house. Already I have changed the curtains, dusted the shelves, wiped the windows - i need to go out!

sharon, I have just managed to write about Jasper after a year. i still keep calling all the cats Jasper. He was just so so special. Am sure your muffin and my jasper will meet up somewhere but I must warn you, Jasper is not that sociable - he kept very much to himself. Thanks for dropping by. Yours is always the first blog I click on to..always.

wonda said...

Have a speedy recovery! The plum blossoms are blooming now and after that, it will be cherry blossoms. UK is having cherry blossoms earlier than here!

Anonymous said...

Just drop by to inform all my "hawkers" dat I've closed the kopitiam. Will miss all of you terribly, do take care of yourselves.

Warm Hugs Owes,
Kopi Soh

Fauziah Ismail said...

Salam Kak Teh
Maaf dah lama tak singgah ke mari. Kerja tak pernah susut.
Get well soon and take care.

Ordinary Superhero said...

Get well soon.

Blame it to the weather. Kat sini pun semua anak2 dah bergilir-gilir demam.

And there's another kind of fever spreading around the country back home - election fever!.

NorAiniJ said...

Salam Kak Teh,

Sama lah kite...hehe. It seems like the fever season nowadays is as alarming as the global warming. Alhamdulillah I am slightly better now and the mood to blog-hop and kaypochi around is almost back to normal ..hehe

P/s: I felt so bad for not attending your KL GUIT marathon last month, was too busy running around. Anyhow, as a Malaysian I am so proud to see GUIT online membership is now available at www.librarything.com, with me being the 2nd member signing up after Sharon Bakar.

ZABS said...

Salam Kak Teh,
Semoga cepat sembuh. Masih jadi pengundi di MalAysia ke?

Alang said...

Kak Teh,

I just got a copy of GUiT a few days before after a few trips to book shops. Can't wait to start reading it.

I've always love to read your entry in this blog. Saya masih ingat, macam mana sedihnya saya bila baca all your entries about your mak.

Mungkin sebab saya pun orang Kedah and I also used to sleep in the 'kelambu' thingy and the kampung that has been mentioned in your blog has related to my childhood.

I would suggest that you come out with a blook as what AG has done.

Kak Teh said...

wonda, the plants are all confused. Spring has sprung here.

Kopi soh, *sob! sob!* Take care of yourself! I will be right here when you are ready to make a comeback.

fauziah, i understand with the GE, everyone's busy - except for us here as nothing we write will find space in the paper. Good luck but have some rest too.

Kak Teh said...

OSH, yes, i can imagine the demam mengundi or rather demam kempen mengundi. That i can safely say has not affected us here. Selamat mengundi.

NJ, I know you've been busy but it would have been wonderful if we could meet up - never mind - kalau ada rezki kak teh balik lagi and do enjoy GUiT.

zabs - thank you. dah sembuh dah and but i think the cold spell is back.

zuraini, when i read your comment i had to smile because when you posted it, I was in the midst of writing my piece about Alor Star. Thanks for the kind words and do enjoy GUiT.

Anonymous said...

What a lovely description of your garden and your beloved Jasper. Get well soon!

Kak Teh said...

yang-may, thank you. We must meet up. Tried to call and sms you but failed to get through.

Anonymous said...

I loved reading this entry. It made me smile.

Kak Teh said...

anon, thanks for the visit.