A poorly paw

My day didn't get off to a good start when I was woken by Sophie, who said she was waiting to call the vets as Gomez had a poorly paw. It was swollen, and he had been holding it up this morning when she went to give him his breakfast. It was just before 8am, and when she got through, she arranged to take him over at 3.15pm, the same time that I was meeting my friend Lynda at Beckworth Emporium. 

As I had just cancelled a night out with Lynda and turned down a dinner arrangement in August, I refused to cancel this afternoon, which resulted in a full-blown argument! Sophie flounced off to work in a huff, but grudgingly said she'd meet me for lunch at 12pm.

I pottered about in the morning and left to meet Sophie at 11.30am. The weather was warm and humid, and I wore a new dress for the first time, which was a mistake. The sleeves kept slipping down and drove me crazy. I was so uncomfortable! We walked over to Café 900 and enjoyed a sandwich and had a chat, but I think she was still annoyed with me! 

After we'd eaten, we drove to a nearby Waitrose to buy breakfast items for Sophie's work event the next day. We piled the trolley with fruit, yoghurt, pastries, fruit juice and bread for toast, and I treated us to a bottle of Portuguese wine from Lisbon, recommended by the excellent Tom Gilbey. We were hoping it would go well with our paella this evening.

I helped Sophie with the shopping and drove home, where I had just half an hour before my meeting with Lynda. Sophie arrived just before I left and was stressed about Gomez. He had been hiding behind the sofa all day, and we hadn't opened any windows in case he jumped out! Lynda messaged me to say she was already at Beckworth, so I hurriedly left and wished Sophie and Keith good luck with the cat. We were dreading the vet saying he needed antibiotics for two weeks...

I met Lynda and we made straight for the café where we enjoyed an Aperol Spritz each. She showed me photos of her recent trip to Australia and New Zealand, and we had a lovely couple of hours. I was kept updated with what was happening to Gomez, and he had been given a week's supply of antibiotics and a painkiller. Phew! He had been unhappy and stressed about the vet visit, though and had done a wee in the pet carrier!

Lynda and I briefly looked around Beckworth after our drinks, but I wanted to get home to see Keith and Sophie. We sat in the kitchen and had a good chat about the day. Gomez had retreated behind the sofa, poor thing, traumatised by the events of the day!

Before Sophie cooked paella, we looked at the Tour de France map I'd printed off earlier in the day. The riders were due to pass through Montreuil-sur-Mer at about 4pm, so a little later than we'd realised. We booked a table at a restaurant for lunch and planned on driving out into the countryside to see the race pass and park up in a layby as we did for the Tour of Britain last year.

Sophie's paella was delicious and the wine perfect. We separated the two bemused cats overnight. Mooney was assigned to the hallway, stairs and landing, and I don't think he was very happy!