general update

it's been ages. i keep meaning to update this site, especially considering december brings its 10th anniversary. i've recieved a couple of really nice emails over the last year or so, from people saying they're longterm followers. it's so nice!! i'm sorry i don't do more on here. i have loads of ideas! ever since moving to edinburgh, i've not had proper broadband. i rely on a couple of public wifi connections (who will remain anonymous), and you can imagine how trying to upload lots of photos and such with that system is.

a few general things:

• i've taken up clowning
• money has been up and down, and is currently very down
• i currently have 2 cameras, one 14mp and one 4mp one, and i'm posting photos i take with them both on this tumblr blog for now. i promise i will have a 2026 page up and full before... uh... december (let's not get too ambitious)
• i've started volunteering with a food share and getting involved in some other community stuff, which has been nice. my social life has been a bit sad and i'm starting to turn it around -- it's hard to make friends as an adult without much money
• i'm trying to be vegan again. i was raised vegetarian, and went vegan in my teens. i slipped, but i'm getting back to it
• i'm also trying to de-supermarket my life. i keep meaning to switch towards primarily using cash over card, but that's been a lot harder for me to do than it should be. i'll use writing this as a way to set an intention

in other, sadder news, i'm going to talk about cat death next. so feel free to skip that, if you want to.
i can't remember what i did and didn't ever talk about on here, but back in late 2024 we (my boyfriend and i) lost our 5 year old cat, Ripley. i think this has been an obstacle to me updating the site about anything, because if i'm doing anything, i should be updating my 'about' page and creating a memorial for her. well, now our 16 year old cat is sick and probably about to pass as well. i've had her since she was a kitten, and i was 11 years old.

Candy Pie, a name that proves i've had her since i was a little kid, has moved home roughly 8 times. She's been on ferries, buses, trains, in taxis, and my mum's various cars. She's probably met hundreds of people, who she always lets pet her. In orkney, she was an outdoor cat. I had a cashier once stop me to ask if she was my cat, it turned out we were neighbours and she went into this woman's garden and played with her kids & cat. I once saw some teenagers through the window go over to her and pick her up. she is ridiculously chilled.

in 2023, while living in glasgow, she went missing for a week. it was horrific. we lived near the kelvin walkway, which (as the name suggests) has the river kelvin running by it. there was also a storm the night she went missing, and i was terrified she got swept away in the river. in reality, she managed to make it to a fancy part of town where a fancy lady and her adorable son found her, took her in, and took incredible care of her. when we reconnected via facebook, she came back smelling of flowers and with a bag of treats and cat food.

She happily sleeps on guests who stay over, and she tells us when it's bedtime. almost every morning, I wake up with her on my face or in my arms. for years, when i was my most depressed, i would spend hours and hours on the computer or doodling in my room and she would sit on me. she isn't demanding, but she's always around. We've taken her on walks up grassy hills, on stony and sandy beaches, and she's moved from a tiny northern island to the capital city.

i love candy, and i loved ripley whose ashes sit on top of the corner cabinet (my boyfriend's favourite piece of furniture ever). when my friend, many years ago, told me that i treat my cats like royalty, i took that as one of the highest compliments i've ever recieved.

if you read that, thank you.
i'll add more to the site soon.

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