Away from home again

Another few days in Bristol for me and Keith and Paddy are left to look after themselves. So, naturally, Keith looks in the fridge, decides there is nothing there to take his fancy, in spite of the fact that I did the weekly shop on Wednesday, and off he goes to the local Chinese for a sweet and sour chicken take-away. Great for the diet!
"Oh, Chinese food isn't fattening, you know," says Dad, "it's just that they give you a lot of it."
(Why is it that men always feel the need to gang up on us?)
That was yesterday.
Today I get a plaintive cry that the pizza I left for him in the fridge should really have been left in the freezer because, when he took it out, he found that it was 'rubbery'. In vain do I try to convince him that I have stored pizzas in the fridge many times before and they've been fine; this time, it isn't.
I can only presume that the pizza is in its current inedible condition because I am away from home.
No, I didn't think it was very logical either. Oh well, he must be missing me!

Flying high

Keith was sent this little gem the other day, so I am passing it on for your delectation and enjoyment. Enjoy!

Accreditation part deux

The Proposer's form is done and so is the Supervisor's. I have written about 5000 words on some of the sections, so now all I have to do is provide a record of my last month's counselling sessions, with brief details of the focus of each and provide a breakdown of my courses according to the hours devoted to professional, personal development, theory and skills in each.
Not a lot more to do then... (wipes sweat off brow)
Mustn't forget the £210 cheque too!

End of the visit

And we're missing him already!

Jake's visit

Giles' dog Jake has been visiting this week. He's the posh one, the Bichon Frise, although he looks rather like a mophead at the moment, hence my new name for him.

He arrived last Thursday and it was then that we discovered that Paddy is gay. It may have been the two hours he spent pursuing Jake in a considerably gay fashion that gave the game away. Maybe he had an abusive puppyhood but he didn't seem to realise that playing did not automatically have to be sexual in nature. However, Jake has been fighting his corner and Paddy is learning - gradually.

Other than that, they get on fine. Problems arise when it's time for a walk. Taking the two of them together is not easy on the nerves. Paddy pulls frantically on the lead if there is a cat within a two mile radius and Jake is just frantic because he's ecstatic at the idea of going for a walk (it doesn't happen at home) and follows a route which inevitably criss-crosses continually under my feet.

So, walks had to be taken separately. Taking Jake first seemed a good idea. He only has little legs and doesn't need to go far. The problem there is that, during our absence, Paddy hurls himself inconsolably at the window and whines continually until we return. So, we bite the bullet. I take them both round the block and Jake then stays at home quite contentedly while I take Paddy for his marathon.

But I can't say I'll be sorry when it's just Paddy again.

Accreditation

A couple of weeks ago I spent a day at a very nice hotel near Gloucester. It coincided nicely with a weekend spent visiting Dad, just outside Bristol. The reason for the hotel visit? Well, it was a workshop to help prepare counsellors to apply for accreditation with the British Association for Counselling and Paychotherapy, otherwise known as the BACP.
I am already a member but this is the next step and, yes, it does, on the face of it, seem a little excessive to need to go on a workshop in order to be able to fill in the aplication form!
However, although I wasn't really looking forward to it, I did find it helpful and it has given me the push I needed to start the process. It is lengthy and time-consuming and has to be done just right, otherwise you are 'deferred' and have to pay another £70 to resubmit - that's in addition to the initial £210.
What I am finding, however, is that doing it is more interesting and satisfying than I thought it would be and it certainly makes me reflect on my practice, which can't be any bad thing...
I say this now, but how I shall feel at the end of it all is another matter.
Ah well, What is it the RAF say?
Per ardua ad astra!

Lunching out

I met up with Silverback today. I should have been writing 'Keith and I met up..' but Keith didn't make it, mainly because he had been working at Chirk and hadn't listened to me tell him that Ian was arriving at 12 o'clock, not 1 o'clock, but also because, as it happened, he couldn't get away on time anyway.
"Men just never listen," I commented as I ended my call to Keith, prior to ordering Ian's meal, having not listened to him asking for the 'Lighter Bite' option. (Well, I'm not denying that we women have the occasional lapse, you know.)
Anyway, I pulled up in the pub car park and spotted the real life version of 'Silverback' almost immediately. So far, I've only met up with one other blogger, Yorkshire Pudding last year and of course, it's quite different from other first time meetings. Because of following their blogs, it's more like meeting up with an old friend. I feel I know a lot about them already and we're just picking up the conversation where we left off and so it was with Ian.
I really enjoyed meeting up with him but unfortunately, Ian had miles to go before the end of his day, so all too soon, he had to leave.
However, he and Daphne are going to come back later this summer, so we should all get the chance to meet up then.
Here's wishing him a lovely, relaxing week in Tenby!