natjtan Happy Birthday Mr AJ!
Starting with the most important thing first. Last Monday Mr AJ celebrated his 15th birthday! I’ll keep saying it for forever. I can’t believe he once fitted in the palm of my hands and ruled the street. Well, I like to think he ruled the street. I once saw him late one night in London chasing a fox through the terraced gardens in the snow. The fox went under the fence, he went over the fence. Maybe they were playing. There was a family of foxes at the end of the garden living under a clapped out garden shed and he used to regularly spend nights out. I’d call him in in the morning and he come running down the garden from the shed to walk in like nothing had happened.
One night he came back with blood on his chest (not his), another he wouldn’t leave me alone while I was writing (old school pen and paper). He kept pawing at me as he wanted me to remove part of cats nail/claw from just under his eye. When he moved to Spain, he became a house cat, let his adopted brother do the hard chasing and hunting of flies, mosquitoes and silverfish while he’s content to watch the world go by. That’s not to say he doesn’t play fight, chase his brother, participate in neighbourhood watch and play with toys in the early hours. His purr sends me to sleep and I’m honoured to be his cat mum human.
I hope you had a great weekend! I’ll leave you with some photos of last week out and about.
Orangutans
Orangutans use tools. This guy was playing with a piece of stretched out stick, drawing lines or smudging it on the window (they were free to go their outdoor enclosure if they wanted). If it dropped he picked it up again to smudge some more. 
Their Mum, auntie or sister does what her Mum, Auntie or sister does (The matriarch so to speak of the groups I’ve seen do this many times). Get some sticks/pieces of wood, flatten them in her mouth, wedge them in-between the window and window sill, flick them out or flick them out with another piece of wood and start again. One of the little/’toddler’ orangutans (maybe the same one. There are 2 ‘toddlers’) was trying it out with her and teenage orangutan also came over to see what they were doing. They’re one reason why I try to avoid products containing palm oil. 
Cursa de Bombers
The Cursa de Bombers or fireman’s 10km race, was back this year to its usual Spring time slot. We picked the race bibs and t-shirts from the Olympic Stadium the Friday before with the race held the following Sunday morning. No evidence photos for evidence did you run it if you didn’t take a photo as there are reasons why I was or never will be on the cover of Vogue. Can’t pose for sh*t, all the photos were bad, so you get the line up and the graffiti wall from parking the bikes near the far zoo entrance walking to the start in Parc de la Ciutadella. During the Merce last year the council allowed local artists to paint/spray paint/graffiti up murals. Since then it’s become a graffiti mural wall. I’m not sure if it’s an official graffiti allowed wall (there are several in the city), but you let some paint on it, others will do too. Some are amazing, others are just tags and go.
The run was fast and over with fairly quickly. I managed to keep more or less my current 10km time and was reassured by the greater amount of police policing it this year. The only thing I didn’t like was the cut of the t-shirts. For some reason they tapered the waist of the girls and added a v neck (that I was grateful for, but it still wasn’t faltering on anybody. I can’t stand necklaces or anything high neck as it feels claustrophobic. The mens neckline was high and would have been too much for me). I went a size up picking up the race pack as there was not way I was going to fit everything up top in a small and feel comfortable. I prefer running tops slightly loose and would have preferred a non tapered waist. I felt it was bit sexist when many races the only difference between the mens and women tops are the size. The cut remains the same. Maybe the organisers thought tapered waists were better for the ladies or maybe they wanted to see boobs. A lower neckline and un-tapered would be great next time.
Cat Boxes and Cat Logic 
I’m trying to come up with ways to help AJ and D keep cool during the summer while not aggravating Aj’s arthritis too much. The heat usually means the arthritis gets better, however he loves to sprawl out on the wooden floor when it gets hot, which is how I found out he’s got arthritis last year. On a whim sorting out my new ‘office’ space I put down some boxes saved for KonMari Method edits and it was a case of ‘if it fits, I sits’ cat logic. They have expensive cat beds, they prefer cardboard. I’ve left them out since and they’re still sitting in them a week later. I’m thinking of getting AJ a yoga mat and cutting it for his spots around the apartment. He has an old yoga mat cut up, however now it doesn’t offer much padding. He loves yoga mats and in the summer will quite happily lay right in the middle appearing for nowhere almost immediately after you’ve just rolled it out.
D prefers hammocks and I’m looking for one that doesn’t take up much space. I’m hoping I can get a sturdy cat cube he can curl up on top off. The poor little man didn’t do so well going to the vets last week. He was only along for the ride and get weighed while I discussed Aj’s arthritis with vets. He threw up going and peed in the box (thankfully plastic) on the way back. He’s probably going back to see the vet next week as I think his thyroid’s playing up. I’ve more or less learnt the signs when he needs to switch doses.
Becca, Sephora
Becca, an US cosmetic brand launched this week in Sephora. Yay, a new not tested on animals brand for me to try! Sadly I wasn’t swayed (yay says bank balance). The illuminators I tried didn’t feel moisturising and after deliberating, the final decision was made reading the ingredients. A few products contained petroleum which for me is a no. I think it’s meant to be a ‘natural’ brand and for me at least, is one of the brands I really want to like, but just don’t.
Castelldefels
After the Cursa de Bombers race we headed out the city to Castelldefels. Km’s of silky soft sand and warm sunshine. Which translates to sun siestas. To take the edge of the wind we took advantage of a chringuito blocking it, to be out like a light, or rather I was out the moment my head hit the sand.
I should be back to a more regular blogging schedule this week. I’ve missed not blogging as much as usual the past few months and checking out others!
What’s your preferred style of running top?
Happy Birthday, AJ!!!!!
He says thank you!