bench Monday: it's not easy being green

bench Monday: it's not easy being green, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

So, last week I fell over my son's little chair and broke it. He cried, not because I hurt myself but because I hurt the chair. Feeling guilty and being emotionally blackmailed, I had to go out and buy new chairs. I couldn't get the exact match so I got two froggie chairs and two tiger chairs, so now he can have lots of friends over for playdates and tea at his own dining establishment.

I gotta tell you, it's not easy being a mom.

fence Friday: small, far away

fence Friday: small, far away, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

have been waiting to do this shot for so long. We are not a county where there are many cows so when we saw these earlier in the week we were delighted and had to come back today with a small cow to do the shot. For those of you who know the TV show Father Ted, you'll get it straight away. For anyone who doesn't, check on YouTube for "Father Ted on holiday"

alternative titles:

* it's fcuking freezing fence Friday

or

* it's Fresian fence Friday

sleepy head

sleepy head, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

My baby is poorly sick with a very high temperature, achy bones, and an icky earache. Kept him hom from school today and got him to see the nurse who has given him antibiotics to sort out the ear. I had to tuck him into my bed and climb in there with him to convince him that a nap would be a good thing. So here is my sleep head with Stewart the Rabbit, his most-loved toy, having sweet dreams in the Land of Nod. Of course, he's up now, bouncing around and demanding ice cream to make him completely well so he can go to school tomorrow,

Happy Birthday, Me

Happy Birthday, Me, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

Today I am 45 and very happy indeed to be this age. Only a few months back I wasn't expected to live until this Birthday so I am well chuffed. I made myself vegan vanilla and agave nectar cupcakes but they were destined to be a bit of disaster from the off. The cakes are perection: moist, sweet, yummy. The frosting, hmmm. I ran out of icing sugar so got creative, put on my blue sky thinking cap, and blended caster sugar until it was powdery. All good, albeit a bit granular. Then I couldn't find the piping bag so in the end the frosting got dolloped on top of the cakes. Do I care? Do I heck! These very homemade-looking cupcakes are delish beyond words and I am now off to light the candle and scoff this very cake with a nice glass of crisp, fresh Pinot Grigio.

Cheers, everyone, wish I were able to share the cupcakes with you all.

hggt :)

face-down with the ball and chain

face-down with the ball and chain, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

James is soooooo in love with the concept of Face-down Tuesday, he was lying down on everything! We had the best fun!

Go here to see all the shots:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/cat_moonstone/5368902863/

pink caps

pink caps, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

My lovely Flickr friend lovely Cindy was so sweet and generous and sent me some gifts. The pretty pink caps are so cute and the pen is now in my paper diary which I drag around with me to hospital appointments. Thank you, Cindy, for your sweetness and generosity xx

I want the world to stop

I want the world to stop, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

I was tagged by Linda, so here goes:

1. If you could meet one person, dead or alive, who would it be and why?

I always wanted to meet Andy Warhol. I was fascinated by his art, his movies, his influence on musicians. He just seemed like a really cool guy, someone comfortable being exactly who he was. I also would like to meet Audry Hepburn.

2. What did you want to be when you grew up?

I wanted to be many things, but the earliest was probably trapeze artist. I would spend hours regardless of the weather outside in my mom’s back garden hanging off a rope swing, or in the trees, practicing in the hope that I could run away and join the circus.

3. What's your biggest asset?

My sense of humour?

4. What's your favorite late night snack?

Hot spicy tortilla chips and seriously hot salsa.

5. If money were no object, what would you like to do?

First, I would pay off all my friends’ mortgages, debts, and treat them to the things they most desire. Then I would go to Nepal.

6. Name one talent you wish you had.

The ability to blend into the background.

7. If you knew then, what you know now.........

Check my boobs and get to a doctor a Hell of a lot sooner than I did.

8. Would you rather take a dip in a lake or the ocean?

Probably ocean, so long as there were no scary fish, I am afraid of fish.

9. What are your two favorite movies?

“Blade Runner”, wrote my thesis about it, have watched it a gazillion times, fell in love with a guy called Deckard online, the love of my life.

"My Fair Lady", love Audrey Hepburn, love Cecil Beeton and the costumes, love the adapatation of "Pygmallion", and love the music, even though I detest musicals, on the whole.

10. List 3 things you'd like to achieve in 2011.

Beat the shit out of my cancer.
Make it to 2012.
Go to Nepal.

gravity

gravity, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

This is our first facedown Tuesday shot. We had a lot of fun making it.

bench Monday: the photobooth edition

bench Monday: the photobooth edition, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

hbm :)

We've had a rotten and rough weekend. My kid did something so out of character at school last Friday; he bit another kid, his best friend!!! I am so shocked by this and my boy has given no explanation about why it happened. Unfortunately, the teacher who keeps failing him for his handwriting went over the top with punishment, in my opinion. The poor kid was sat on the thinking seat for what felt like most of the day, and the entire class had a discussion and the teacher called him a nasty boy. No one tried to find out why this had happened. Anyways, I had one sorry for himself kid all weekend, bedwetting and crying, so this is the best we could come up with for bench Monday. Had a meeting with the teacher and headteacher today, got things resolved, but...to prove the punishment is ineffective, another boy bit someone in the same class today. Three separate biting incidents in the same class since December, gotta wonder what in the world is going on.

We made these shots in Waitrose, got a few funny looks from shop assistants and shoppers alike, but we had fun :)

handwriting

handwriting, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

As part of his reception year learning, my boy has got to not only learn high frequency words, but he also has to write them. I know his writing isn't that great, but his teacher keeps failing him because it seems the letters aren't perfectly formed. These are some of the words he has to learn to read and write. I guess I'll be doing a lot more handwriting practice over the weekend, my boy is fed up because he got the words five weeks ago, had them learned four weeks ago, and is still being kept back.

When you smiled you had my undivided attention. When you laughed you had my urge to laugh with you. When you cried you had my urge to hold you. When you said you loved me, you had my heart forever.

When you smiled you had my undivided attention. When you laughed you had my urge to laugh with you. When you cried you had my urge to hold you. When you said you loved me, you had my heart forever., originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

My boy gave me this necklace for Christmas. First he drew a picture of us together, then we sent it off to be engraved on to a heart. He says it's a picture of me swinging him, though rest assured I never really swing by one arm, tempting though it is at times.

I am an Honest Star

I am an Honest Star, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

As a mommie living with secondary cancer, I know that my number will be up sooner rather than later. So I do my best to cram in as much as I can with my boy, especially preparing him to grow up into a good, honest, loving and giving man. To make it into a game, I am using Star Cards which have a different type of star on each, and hopefully doing a card a day will help my boy think about some of the qualities which I wish to instill in him. The Star Card for 11 January 2011 which he picked from a deck of 52 is "I am an Honest Star" and throughout the day his aim was to tell the truth. I like these cards a lot, they open up all sorts of discussions and provide an opportunity not just to teach values but to also work on basic reading skills. And it's fun! Each day my boy is excited to pick a star, to talk about what it means, and at bedtime he reminds me which star he had and what it meant to him during the day.

eBench: the iPad edition

eBench: the iPad edition, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

self portrait

self portrait, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

Some days I feel so weary in my bones that it's an effort to even get out of bed, so taking a good quality photo is beyond me. Here's a shop shot to show how unispired I was feeling but still trying to make the effort for my 366-1 project.

walking on thin ice

walking on thin ice, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

I made this picture with two people in mind: Claire and John. They are both amazingly good friends to me, and I often wonder what I have done to know two such caring and wonderful people. I hope they like this shot.

This is one of my favourite places, Lake Kinewell at Ringstead. I go there again and again for its beauty and tranquility.

bench Monday: we are family

bench Monday: we are family, originally uploaded by Cat Johnson.

I should have started this blog years ago when I was first diagnosed with aggressive stage 3 breast cancer. But I didn't. There were more important things to do, like trying to survive chemo and stay alive.

I have finally gotten my act together so this is a diary of my life (and eventual death from secondary breast cancer).

I shot this yesterday, having revisited a picture I made last year at the same spot.