Agapanthus Seed Heads

My Dear Princess, Loulou and Fellows,

A couple of things. 

First of all, our little wobbly hedgehog died last night. We did our best for him, and he had a nice little house all set up for him, with a warm blanket and nice food. 

But I must admit, all my talk of hibernation was more out of hope than belief. The little guy really didn't look well. 

If we'd been in the UK we would have for sure taken him to the vet. But of course things are different here. Even if it hadn't been a public holiday, hedgehogs are considered pests and he would have been euthanised anyway. 

Caro was very upset. She bonded with the little guy despite his being here only a few hours. 

I had to bury him, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She gave me some flowers to bury with him, and asked me to put some agapanthus seed heads with him too. I suppose whenever she sees them in bloom in that spot, she will think of her little friend*.

Caro is more tender-hearted than many people realise. 

The other thing I should address is Loulou, after she left a comment on here yesterday. 

Just to remind you, if you'd like to read her blog, you can do so here.

As you may or may not know there are things I don't tell you about each other here on blip. I figure if you lot don't bring things up then neither should I. It's not that I inherently understand everyone's secrets. In the same way I don't expect you to understand my own. But I try to respect them. 

My rule is: if you don't bring it up; I won't bring it up.

And that's the reason I haven't kept you in the loop regarding Loulou's diagnosis of breast cancer just before Christmas last year. This is despite the fact that she discusses it with us, and is remarkably upbeat on the subject. 

Following her lumpectomy earlier in the year, she regaled us with tales of VERY STRONG DRUGS to the extent that I felt guilty for laughing so hard. She also talked about the blue dye they injected into her boob for diagnosis reasons. "My smurf boob," she called it. 

Unfortunately, since then the news has been bad. The doctors are now recommending further surgery. And genome sequencing on the cancer cells has indicated that she'll also need chemo. 

Loulou has had some very dark nights, I gather. Yet when we see her, her sunny disposition always raises MY spirits. Yes I know. 

It has got to the stage where I wonder if she'll ever need ME to lean on at all. So far, it feels like I'm leaning on HER. She really is a tower of strength. 

Loulou's primary concern appears to be for Tiger who is understandably much affected by all of this and all of the other things that are going on with his work, with their cottage** and other things. As for herself, she's ordered a hyperbaric chamber which will sit in a temporary rented unit by the side of their cottage. 

Loulou has tried this at another place nearby a couple of times and says it really does promote healing and makes her feel better. The only downside is that she can't take her phone in there, ("I took it in the first time and then realised there was a danger it might explode," she told me. "It really wasn't very relaxing.")

So she's now wondering if Tiger can maybe just stand outside the little porthole when she's in there, holding up his laptop so she can at least watch tv. 

Loulou's chemo starts tomorrow and she knows we are here if she needs us. But self-reliant as ever, all she has asked of us is that we take care of Tiger.

All of this of course, makes me sad. Not for the future. I'm positive that Loulou will beat this. She seems so determined. But it hurts me when people I love are upset, ill, stressed or sad.   

And agapanthus seed heads can't fix everything. They can only remind you of better times to come.

They will bloom again. I know this. 

S.

* Today's blip is not from today. They're not currently in season. What can I say, I'm a rule-breaker.

** On top of everything else, the peace and tranquility of their little cottage has been destroyed by an arsehole neighbour ploughing up all the trees in preparation for building NINE new houses.