There is such a thing as the 4 o’clock bed and it’s right here at our home for waifs and strays.

     Every morning as I make the bed, a queue of cats wait patiently for me to finish....when I say a queue, I mean just three, Rosie, Lupin and Cat!

     It is the strangest thing, because they have done this every day for many years. As soon as I have finished, they jump up on the bed (miles apart) and go to sleep....until 4 o’clock.

     This you might think, is not a very good tale, but I can tell you that what makes it so odd is the fact they leave the bed at 4 o'clock and dutifully go down to the bottom of the garden, past the pond, and wait...and they will stay there until my dear and unassuming husband returns at 4.35 sharp...he is not like me at all, and sticks to times. I am usually late for everything...work excluded!

     So I am always curious as to what goes on in cat’s heads. How do they know it is 4.o’clock? Yes, it is very curious indeed. And when my dear and unassuming husband returns to see his beloved cats waiting for him with such adoration, it makes me frown...you see, I am the one who goes shopping for their food and I am usually the one who feeds them. But this is of no consequence to our cats. What is important, is the fact my dear and unassuming husband gives them his time. Despite his arms aching and he is probably very tired after a hard day, he will always cuddle each one it turn....then he will light the fire for them to sit in front of and meditate. In the meantime, I am almost meditating watching this whole scenario...every day of the week.

     Perhaps I should start purring too!

Imagine that procrastination is a person...very similar to the time snatcher, on my other page. They will be the person with too much time on their hands because they have stolen everyone else’s. They have the knack of making us leave the jobs that need to be done...they leave us feeling lazy but that isn’t the case.

     Well one day Procrastination knocked on the door at our home for waifs and strays. I didn’t check to see his/her credentials because I didn’t think it was necessary, so I let them in without further ado.  It was much later when I realised they were still there, taking control of the house...that was a big mistake! The household chores piled up and our home for waifs and strays went into decline. My characters in the computer could be heard calling, from as far away as the pond. It was no-one else's fault but my own.

     During the Procrastination's visit, I seemed drained of all energy...and after they left, I couldn’t be bothered to do half the things I would normally have done. I blamed it on the weather, anything that would make me feel better for not doing the work that needed doing. My dear and unassuming husband could not understand what had happened to me when he arrived home later that day. I didn’t understand it myself at the time and now that I do, it’s only fair that I should warn you.

     Procrastination is not invisible like you would have thought, quite the opposite. That is why it is easy to let them into our homes.....they are people...real people.....just like YOU and ME! They are YOU and ME!

     We are all guilty of being friends with Procrastination and being Procrastination ourselves...and that is fine. But what you have to watch for is how much of your time you give to them. It is so easy to say...just one more cup of tea...just one more little chat...just a little bit of this and a little bit of that...but ‘ just one more ‘ is Procrastination’s assistant.

     It is up to you how you will deal with Procrastination and his/her assistant, but bear in mind that those all important dreams you have, need time, just as those all important jobs that need doing, need time. And there is only so much time to go around. Don’t spread yourself too thin. I have a friend who has done exactly that and now it’s going to take some time to fatten them up again.

     And just one final word.....There is also a time when we all need friends like Procrastination and his/her assistant..... Just keep an eye on your watch! Goodnight!

Something very funny happened to-day, and it will make me smile for a long time to come!

     It all began when I walked down to the village shop to post a letter. There were a few ladies talking just outside and hushed when I approached.

     ‘How’s your dear and unassuming husband?’ said one lady, grinning like a Cheshire cat.

     ‘I hear he’s also very clever!’ said another.

     ‘He’s very well,’ I replied smiling back, ‘and yes, he is very clever, very clever indeed!’ It was all very confusing! How did these women know about my kind and unassuming husband? I frowned and looked at them suspiciously. They certainly didn’t look the type to use computers, let alone know what a blog page was. I can only imagine that word had got around. After all, it is just a small village where hardly anything goes unnoticed.

     I posted my letter and entered the shop to buy some milk.

     ‘Good morning!’ said the usually shy gentleman behind the counter, who hardly ever says a word, so you can see why I looked surprised. ‘And how is your kind and unassuming husband these days?’

     I sort of half screwed up my face and nodded. ‘Very well thank you!’ I replied in a voice that didn’t quite sound like mine and quickly paid for the milk and left the shop. Thankfully the women had moved on, so no more questions. But it didn’t end there. Oh no!

     Just as I reached the gate to our home for waifs and strays, I met the postman. He smiled a huge smile and I thought he had something delightful to give to me or to tell me, but all he said was, 'how’s your kind and unassuming husband these days?’ and grinned some more and nodded like a puppet. I actually smiled and nodded like a puppet back, in disbelief! So this is why he takes so long delivering the mail, I thought.

     ‘The whole village is talking about your tales and hoping you will write about the village folk too!’ said the postman. ‘I was wondering if you will be writing about me!'

     ‘Perhaps,’ I replied as I opened the gate. ‘But you will have to wait and see.’

     So I have written about some of the people in the village, but I will have to be careful what I say! For me, this could prove quite difficult, as one or two of you already know!

Tonight’s tale is about YOU! Yes YOU! Who else do you think there is to talk to every night? Apart from my dear and unassuming husband of course but there is only so much you can talk about to someone you are with all day.  So, although I don’t know YOU, you must be there......somewhere.

     It dawned on me today, that although you are getting to know me and my life at our home for waifs and strays, I don’t know anything about YOU. I find this quite amusing....if not a tad bit weird, don’t you think?

     Well anyway, I have been writing these tales for just a few weeks...up until then, I’m not really sure what I did at this strange time of night, when mostly everyone is sleeping (unless you happen to live on the other side of the world, which it appears, many of you do)... well I guess I must have been sleeping too. Anyway, since I started writing these quirky little tales, which take just minutes to write but all day to think about, almost 4,000 times, one or another of you has peeped inside my blog page. So this started me thinking....who are YOU?

     But there again, I think I like it better this way...mysterious!

     Every day when I wake up, I think about all the things I have to do...and I think about YOU. I think about what tale I will tell you and what tale you would like to hear.  I never ever decide until the last minute. You see, there is always something going on at our home for waifs and strays so there is always a story to tell. Although, I’m quite sure, that even if I was locked up in a room with four white walls and nothing else, then I would still find something to write about.

     So it’s probably best I don’t know who YOU are....but I would like to say a very BIG thank you....for keeping me company when the rest of the world appears to be sleeping.

Every week I pay a visit to Carmarthen, the oldest town in Wales (so it claims) and every week I travel the same road home.....but today was different. Today I went cross country, thinking it would be a short cut...How wrong was I?

     Instead of going straight on at the crossroads, I turned left onto a quiet lane, thinking it would cut off a huge part of my journey. There was no sign to say it would, it just looked like it should. The sun shone through the windscreen and I felt a surge of excitement...as if I was on an adventure, which I guess I was.

     I passed isolated farms through lanes laced with daffodils and snowdrops. There were no other cars, just the odd tractor as I drove up and down small hills and over the oldest of quaint bridges.  This didn’t seem to bother me at first, I was heading the right way....I thought! My excitement grew, as if I had discovered a new part of Wales, a part no one else had ever seen....I just couldn’t wait to tell my dear and unassuming husband who was waiting for my return.

     I braked suddenly, just in front of the oldest oak tree I had ever seen. But it wasn’t just the tree that caught my eye, but the buzzard that sat on its naked branches. Oh why didn’t I have my camera? I turned off the engine and watched, mesmerised by its large broad body and a pale necklace of feathers.  

     Further along the lanes I saw very newly born lambs, wobbling besides their mothers. I remembered the lambs that had passed through our home for waifs and strays and smiled. I suddenly missed that home and everything it stood for....I needed to get back, but I was lost!

     Deciding to turn the car around and go back the way I came seemed the best option...the lanes were getting narrower and grass was growing down the centre making driving difficult. And just as I did, I saw the most amazing site. A Red Kite, it was unmistakable with its reddish brown body and forked tail. Saved from extinction by one of the world’s longest running protection programmes, these magnificent birds of prey can now be seen across many parts of Wales.

     Back at our home for waifs and strays, I told my kind and unassuming husband all about my journey home and how the road less travelled, took twice as long but a hundred times more interesting..... with another tale to tell!