Friday I did my usual Kitty Cottage shift and we (Friday morning volunteers) went to lunch. This is something the group does fairly often on Fridays and I have always appreciated them including me, as they have for all my trips here. They certainly don’t have to! Ha.

We went to the most lovely place and I could kick myself for not getting a photo of our view. We had a table overlooking the canal in Saltaire. There was also a park and it was just so nice. The food was great. The company was amazing and it was just a fantastic day. The best memories often happen organically, without planning, and this was one of those days. I have many of those days here. A simple cup of tea sat around on the rescue deck talking with volunteers with Salsa in my lap. This is the thing I miss most when I’m home and wish I could be here for so I do try to take in all the moments.

Saturday I had the day off. I slept late, made breakfast, went to the beautiful Waterstones and had a pint of good ale. I am not a big beer drinker but when here I can’t not have a few pints of GOOD beer. I like mild to medium ales, not the hoppy and fruity things nor dark as mud (though I like Guiness). To put it in perspective, after my last trip, I went into Total Wines. A man asked me if he could help me as I stood in the beer aisle. “ I just got back from England” I said, and he said “I’m so sorry.” So I will not be apologizing for being a bit of a lush while here.

On Sundays the rescue is open to the public from 1-3pm. There are two shifts of volunteers and a flurry of activity. I have always opted to help in the mornings because as most of you know I am not the greatest in crowds. However, I decided while here I would like to experience Sunday afternoon at the rescue and am glad I did. There are so many moving parts to the rescue—it’s astonishing, and this is another piece of that intricate puzzle.