Meet the Cats!

I know I’ve already written about them in another post but they really do make me so happy they deserve one of their own, and I’m fairly certain I won’t make it very long without writing about them again as they’re such an important part of my life now.

So, introductions! This is Hoskins. I regularly refer to him as my best friend. He’s a big boy. Only just a year old (we think) and abandoned when he was a kitten (we believe). It’s so hard to know as he’s a stray that adopted us, so we’re having to piece it together a bit with stories from neighbours and our own knowledge of him. And of course the vet telling us how old they think he is!

Hoskins

He’s a lover of naps, climbing trees, making friends, tuna, purring for my Son (but nobody else), head butting legs when he thinks there are treats to be had and catnip mice toys (but only when he feels like it!)

He is very much his own man. He comes and goes pretty much as he pleases and doesn’t like being kept inside (though it’s where he likes to sleep most of the day if the little cat lets him). He has friends around our neighbourhood who he likes to visit often but, so far, he always comes back here to us and spends most of his time either on his chair or out on his bench on the patio.

And this is the little cat, Maeve. She hasn’t lived here long but she’s already stolen all of our hearts. She’s crazy (but I’m told all kittens are!) and so loveable.

Maeve

Some of her favourite things are Hoskins food (only her own if there’s no alternative), fluffy blankets, running at full speed into furniture, anything that jingles (including my belt while I’m trying to put it on – imagine trying to get a belt through the loops of your jeans with a kitten hanging off the end of it), having a cuddle with your neck and bathrooms – just in general, she’s fascinated with them.

She is an early riser and as she sleeps in our bedroom, it means we are too! My Son, who claims to not really like cats and didn’t want us to adopt any, is in love with her. Me and Maeve often go together to pick him up from work as she loves going out in the car in her carrier. I couldn’t believe it either! Hoskins hates it but Maeve gets in voluntarily when she thinks we’re going somewhere!

So they are my babies! My Son is only mildly jealous… But really he would go mad if I wrote about him here and posted photos 😱 Let’s see if I manage to restrain myself!

Sparks of Joy – Getting out for a walk at the end of the day!

Some days my work has me sitting for the whole day. Luckily with the coming of Spring has come longer days and the ability to get out and walk when I finish.

Just being able to stretch my legs and get my heart pumping a bit is a great antidote to my often sedentary day. And it’s made even better when I have some company – like my Mum who often walks with me (and makes me walk up too many hills!). And better still if the sky is clear and the sun makes an appearance.

I would love to hear some of your little lifts in your day. Please do share 💛

A Proper Hello

My first hello was really me saying hello to blogging, not to anyone who might be reading. As I’m just at the stage of very tentatively building my website it hadn’t occurred to me that people I didn’t already know would be reading it (because I don’t know how this all works!) But new people are following my blog – thank you so much 💛 – so I thought I’d better say a proper hello!

So, I’m Suzanne. I’m Mum to a gorgeous 18 year old Son (who I’m immensely proud of) and, as you may have seen from another post, 2 beautiful cats – a big boy and a little girl. I live in Hitchin Hertfordshire in England with these guys and my Partner.

I’ve been a Therapist for about 12 years, having trained initially in Psychotherapy, Counselling and Hypnotherapy. Many courses later I have found my niche as an Integrative Therapist who also teaches meditation and leads Cacao Ceremonies. You will find more about all of this on the about and services page of my website.

Having worked a little out of the box in the past, I’ve found this last year of working during Covid has forced me to be more flexible in how I work, and embrace online sessions and meeting outdoors. I have to say, it’s been great and proved really effective (according to feedback from some of my clients).

I have also run a Holistic centre for the past almost 9 years – Harmony. This had been a dream of mine and I absolutely loved creating a space that allowed other Therapists and Teachers a space to work, and a place for the community to come to feel better. There is such a great need for well-being spaces in all communities and I feel so grateful I got to contribute to that for all these years.

I did hide behind Harmony a little though. I’m realising that more and more now. Because I loved promoting the centre and the other people working there, I haven’t really done any self promotion for a long time. And after a year of working on my own (as the centre was pretty much closed for a lot of it) I’ve realised I want to do this now.

So it’s time for me to hand over the reigns to someone new. And luckily the perfect person appeared in Roxanne Peacock. She is young, energetic and passionate about what she does. She has a drive to serve the community and is excited about the future of Harmony. I couldn’t have found anyone better.

So right now, I’m in a bit of a transitional period in my life. Shifting my focus. Moving away from the centre that has been such a big and important part of my life for so long, and working out how to launch me on my own. Some days this is challenging. I’ve been going through a lot of different emotions over the last couple of months. And I’m trying to allow space for all of them, even when they feel horrible. Got to practice what I preach right? But in there too is a sense of hope and excitement, which are also getting their airtime!

So I’m really glad you’re joining me on this exciting (and sometimes scary) journey. I would love to know where you are and what brought you here – is there a comments thing on here??

I’m sure I’ve got more to say on this but for now, that’s me!

Smoothie recipe

My breakfast is pretty much the same every day because I love this smoothie and feel like it gives me what I need to start the day.

I have a bio chef blender that has been used almost every day for the last 7 odd years and is still going strong.

So here’s my breakfast smoothie recipe for anyone that’s interested:

Enough hemp milk or water to cover the blades – approx 250ml

A handful of porridge oats

A tablespoon of ground flaxseed

A pinch of whatever superfood powder I’ve got – currently Binta’s kitchen hibiscus super fruit powder

A teaspoon of cacao nibs or raw cacao if I’ve got any

A big tablespoon of peanut butter

A small handful of berries – I use any other than strawberry as they make it too sweet for me.

A ripe banana – tip: if your bananas are ripe and you won’t use them, cut them up and freeze them. You can use them straight from the freezer in smoothies.

I also add a little slug of Fulvic Acid Elixir (you can get it from Victoria Health online) as I’m trying it out at the moment.

And occasionally I’ll throw in whatever extra vitamin or mineral I feel I need – at the moment it’s L-Lysine as I’m trying to balance out the L-Arginine in the peanut butter and prevent myself getting a cold sore!

And just a little ice

And that’s it! Pour into a pint glass and enjoy 💛

Sparks of Joy – Sunshine

Now this isn’t just sunshine. This is a series of events leading to the happy feeling I have now. The first event was horrible rain and wind which gave a baseline for the day – ‘It’s a crappy day, I feel miserable, I won’t even get out for a walk today’. Then my big cat decided he wanted to go outside, despite the horrible weather. This made me feel sad, I like it when he’s here sleeping next to me while I work. I just got on with my work anyway and resigned myself to the less than ideal conditions. After a while I heard an almighty clatter as hailstones started to hammer out of the sky. I went to the back door to watch and saw my gorgeous big cat running towards the door, trying to escape the sudden violent weather. I’ve never seen him happier to see me opening the door for him. I felt a lift. I gave him a little rub with a towel and watched as the hail slowed down and stopped. A little context is needed now – The big cat was a stray who adopted us and who has now made himself very at home with us. We also recently adopted a beautiful little kitten, who is getting bigger by the day, but I will refer to as the little cat. Big cat didn’t like little cat at all at first. He would leave as soon as she came in the room. Gradually they’re getting used to each other, but there have been moments where I’ve wondered if this is going to work. Now back to today. Big cat was so relieved to be in out of the hail that he took no notice of little cat. He just hopped up onto his chair and went to sleep. She attempted to get his attention a couple of times, but eventually curled up on her blanket and fell asleep too. So both of my cats are asleep in the same room! And then the sun came out. Bright, warm, yellow, sparkly sunlight shining through the windows onto everything. Even just remembering that moment is bringing a happy tear to my eye. And they’re both still asleep now. And I’m happy.

Hello!

Even though the website is telling me to do a tutorial, I’m just going to go ahead and get on with it!

I’ve written one blog post in my life, and that was just a couple of weeks ago to advertise for Volunteers for the Charity I work for. So I apologise if I get this wrong. I think to begin with I’m going to use this blog as a way of recording things that make me smile or give me a little life – sparks of joy if you will, in hopes of inspiring you to keep a record of these things for yourself. So now I’m not sure if I should start a new post or write the first one in this post…. I think I’ll do a new post, so read on!