The UK is in the midst of a serious heatwave. Our temperature here has been 33 today - thats 91 for my friends across the pond. We are just not used to it here. It only dropped to 29 in our bedroom last night. Wehave no ac and it is pretty miserable. I really really didn't want to leave my cold shower this morning and I am trying really hard to limit myself to 2 a day!
Much of the country had had storms but, as yet, we haven't and we desperately need rain.
It's been too hot to do anything but I have scrapped under a fan for a while (tricky as all the paper blows!)
This was with a new collection called moo cow by Heather T at PBP
This was for a challenge on UKS using Shimelle's Little by Little and also a template by Fayette Designs
Paper page of Viktoria at the Big Cat Sanctuary for my 60th album
My little OAPs who celebrated their 17th birthday with cake of course.
The moment I got to feed the magnificent Ngosi - another page for my 60th album
and finally another digital page made with a wonderful collaboration collection called Shine Bright which you can get FREE with purchase at PBP at the moment
My birthday celebrations continued with a lovely socially distanced picnic with my best friend and her husband and another with the neighbours. Nigel is such a superstar he even continued the theme of the The Big Cat Sanctuary into the garden
The beautiful handmade card from my bestie
so many flowers
Picnic number 2
I have had such wonderful birthday celebrations but sadly my mouth hasn't been my friend. Having struggled for the past few months with increasing jaw pain and facial nerve pain I hit rock bottom on Friday night when pain woke me and I knew straight away what it was. And sadly it was confirmed at an emergency appointment on Monday morning - I now have an abscess under a crown.
We were lucky the dentist saw us Monday am and Nigel had an appointment for a crown on Wednesday so they both agreed I needed the long appointment more and she will do root canal on Wednesday. Strong painkillers and antibiotics are helping but i haven't really slept much the last few days
Wish me luck on Wednesday and all prayers greatly appreciated as I am terrified of the dentist at the best of times.
Sat int he waiting room. I think it is fair to say you can see the pain and fear in my eyes
I did, however, make these two pages
This one used a gorgeous film wheel cut file. Fiddly but I did enjoy it
Today I am thankful for
my dentist -she is lovely and kind and has, I hope, very very steady hands and nerves tomorrow
antibiotics. They are good things when needed
such lovely friends and family and a wonderful celebration
As promised the second day of the Big Cat Sanctuary visit for my birthday and I think these are some of our best photos too and certainly some of our most memorable moments.
We were very tired as the lions had kept us awake some - but what a great reason for sleeplessness eh! But we wandered over for breakfast and Oh My1 The boys Tiny and Kafara, had decided to accompany us all for breakfast and spent the entire time lounging on the decking right up against the windows of the conservatory where we eat. It was the most amazing thing ever. I felt so sorry for the staff because truly, none of us were interested in breakfast at all. we just wanted to watch and snap and soak it in. I believe breakfast was quite tasty. I honestly can't remember
Well, that was truly amazing - a once in a lifetime moment. It couldn't get any better than that could it? um yes it could!
Many people have only heard of the Big Cat Sanctuary because of this little girl. This is Maya the black jaguar. She was rejected by her mother int the first 24 hours of life and they didn't know why so they had to take her away. She went to live with the director Giles Clark in his house and became the star of the tv series Big Cats Around the House. She was very poorly - maybe why her mother rejected her - but she is now a healthy three year old and one of the best ambassadors for the park and for world wide conservation that the sanctuary suppot.
These two beauties - not the best photos I am afraid - are Keira the golden jaguar and her boyfriend Neron the black jaguar
On to the cheetah next and this gorgeous gorgeous cat is Bajrami and he is Willow's dad
These two sisters we first met in 2009 and they are Viktoria and Valentina the pumas or cougars (they are one of my favourite big cats along with lions, cheetah, leopards and ... ok all of them)
and they have now been joined by this handsome boy Yahzi
We were given the choice of whatever big cat we would like to hand feed. Nigel knew from the start he wanted to hand feed a jaguar but a golden not a black. Jaguars are very rare but in the UK you rarely see one in any park or sanctuary. I wasn't sure - a lion or maybe a leopard?
Anyway meet Sophia the golden jaguar and Nigel gave her a lovely chicken drumstick AND kept all of his fingers
finally we went on to the white lions. They have a fabulous pride, bred there, though they will not breed again as they are all related and white lions are not an endangered species
They were quite spectacular and had the most gorgeous massive enclosure full of grass and platforms and logs and toys but they chose to sit on the tarmac!
and next door - well wow - I guess there is a reason they call him the king of the beasts. Ngosi, the male. He was huge and regal and spectacular and I was more than a little in love
One of the group fed his sister and then he started to descend and I asked if it were possible to feed him. The keeper said of course although his sister was likely to stop it happening as she would want to be hand fed and would not let him, but she was as good as gold and stood aside and I fed the gorgeous Ngosi. The perfect end to a perfect birthday celebration.
And thus our day was over and we returned home so happy with what we had done, feeling so blessed to have done it and with so many memories that would last forever.
My birthday celebrations continued at home but more of that another day
Today I am thankful for
the most amazing experience ever
the beauty of the world and the diversity of the creatures in it but especially the big cats
the fact my best friend and soul mate loves exactly the same things as I do
the fact my parents were there with us too - when I sold my gold jewellery and bought a tiffany silver bracelet last year there was enough left over to pay half of my birthday trip so it was from them and Nigel - they would have been utterly thrilled
So I have finally turned 60. I retired at 55 - well almost 56 ... but have had to wait until now to be officially retired and claim my work pension ... and it was lovely to see it go into my bank at midnight!
We have had a very special celebration for my birthday and it has lasted 3 days so far! Please feel free to switch off now or be prepared to be inundated with photos of glorious beautiful big cats.
Nigel and I have a deep and abiding love of all things feline, our little babies at home and all of the other cats large and small in the world. We were blessed to visit what is now The Big Cat Sanctuary in 2007 and 2009 for photography days where we had a chance to take great photof the gorgeous cats. The sanctuary has grown and grown and developed and is now a gorgeous place to spend time. The director, Giles Clark (who we first met in 1995 when we had the chance to cuddle and interect with Bruno the tiger) has also been on TV hand rearing tiger cubs Spot and Stripe and the Cheetah Willow and the Jaguar Maya. They have all been ambassadors for the sanctuary and helped them to raise money for their own development and also to help other organisations across the world. They do amazing work and I was proud to have raised £125 for them with my birthday donations on Facebook (thank you to all of the wonderful family and friends who donated) Anyway, I digress. we went to the Big Cat Sanctuary to do one of their overnight big Cat safari stays and it was unbelievably good.
You stay in one of their lodges for the night. I was expecting something basic and rustic - a glorified beach hut. I could not have been more wrong. It was high end perfection and, considering we were not sure if we would be able to go due to COVID, it was just so special. We arrived at 2 pm and were shown to our beautiful lodge and I was doubly thrilled to be in LION lodge since lions are my favourite of all.
This was us just as we were leaving home - still 59 at this point!
This is the beautiful area where the lodges are
It was all decorated with bunting and balloons for a birthday girl
Once we had settled in we had afternoon tea in the conservatory overlooking the lions
Then we did our first two hour tour of the cats and you are able to get up close and personal (The second day photos are better so stick with it people! )
When we visited in 2007 and 2009 the star attraction was the triplet lions Kafara, Manzi and Tiny. Sadly Manzi passed away earlier this year but we loved seeing Kafara and Tiny
and we also visited another lion, not related, Kasanga
We met smaller cats like Petra (who we had met before) the Lynx
Jua and his Mum Samia the Servals (and he climbed the fence just like our Fiki)
This is Narnia
We were thrilled to meet Willow - one of the stars of the Tv programme Big Cats in the House. She had been injured at 5 months old and went to live in the house with Giles and Maya the Jaguar and is a superb ambassador for the park and for Cheetahs
We fed the tigers their vitamin supplements
and finally our last visit of this tour was the snow leopards - Mum, Dad and their two sons
Back to the lodge for a Pims before dinner
Then it was cocktails and dinner in the company of the lions
and back to our glorious lodge for the night where we slept to the sound of lions roaring (magical noise)
I took this bit of video just for the sound - and yes - we heard this through the night. Just perfect and wonderful We were laughing as the two brothers were roaring in turn getting shorter and faster each time. It was so funny.
The end of a perfect day and you are going to LOVE the photos tomorrow I promise.
What am I thankful for
60 wonderful years
a perfect birthday celebration
cats - all of them
Nigel making my day/ my year/ my life perfect
All About Me
I am Scrapdolly - frequently answering to just Dolly. I live with my soulmate Nigel and two new kittens and I love to scrap. Scrapping is my creative outlet, my daily therapy, my sanity restorer and where I meet my friends. Come share it with me.
