A Work In Progress

My sister and her husband are almost finished building their new house. It is lovely and she and her family moved in just before Christmas. The build went well with only a few set backs (normally weather related), but the one area that has been a mild drama is the kitchen. While I don't know all the details, I know the kitchen was supposed to be completed well before Christmas, but the contractor who was installing it came up with a million reasons as to why he couldn't turn up from one day to the next, so when they moved in they had only half the kitchen completed. Anyway, a commitment was made to complete the job before the end of Jan and I happened to be there last week when the contractor was doing the last section. And that is where our story begins. It was about 2pm when I arrived and I sat in the lounge, talking to my sister as the contractor worked in the kitchen. Then a car came down the driveway, in it was the contractors wife, and two children. I remember thinking, t...

Well it has been a busy week since the last post - lots of places to go and people to see. As I haven't yet bought a car, I am borrowing one of my parents cars. It is a old beast but goes well and gets me from A to B. One thing I have been missing is SOUNDS!! The radio doesn't work, so I have been driving in silence. That was until I realised that the tape deck does work. Yes, I said tape deck! So then the next problem was trying to find some tapes. So I sifted around in the glove box and came up with two options: Best of Bee Gees (two tapes) or Best of Abba (tape one of two). I have listened to Abba recently as my niece is a fan, but the Bee Gees is all new to my play list, so it was with some excitement that I took them for a spin. Gotta give those boys props - they can sing very high, and the tunes are not that bad either, although a bit repetitive at times. Still, I have found myself beginning to sing along and developing some favourites in the play list. Problem now is th...

Remember the post from yesterday? Remember the last sentence? If not I will wait while you scroll down and re-read. You back? Great. Well last night I woke up and saw my kitten Tui at the top of the screen that I had fitted over the window. She was holding on with all four paws and looked a little like Spider Man. Luckily the screen held firmly onto the window, so her escape efforts were foiled and I just needed to detach her claws from the screen and explain that it was not put there for her amusement.  BUT if my larger cat had tried the same trick, then the screen would have definitely fallen down, leaving a wide open window for them to climb out. Sigh. So now I am only keeping the window open wide when I am in the room, and closing it back to the 1 inch gap when I go out, just in case they decide to have a second attempt at "The Great Escape". Sigh.

I am very proud of myself. I have creatively solved a problem and it involved doing handy work!! Currently I am staying in a large room with my two cats. The cats are not allowed outside, so the room is closed up to ensure the don't escape. The windows are only open an inch to let a bit of air in, but not enough to cope with hot humid summer days combined with one human, two cats and a kitty litter box. Anyway, I borrowed a fan to get the air circulating, but it was not enough - so I needed another solution. The solution I came up with is sheer genius. I went to Bunnings Hardware and bought all the bits you need to make a fly screen for the window. Okay, so it was a kit set, but still, I felt very handy buying it. I then went home and made it up. Because it is not my house, I can't permanently attach it to the window, so I bought some 3M strips and stuck them round the edge and then stuck the screen to the window frame. Now the window is wide open and the cats can't get out...

Today was a busy day. I baby-sat my niece and nephew. We had a good day. We went to the beach, plus the highlight (for them); they got to meet my two cats who have just arrived in New Zealand from Australia. This was the first time that Penzance and Tui had met little kiddies - and if I am honest, I think they were not too impressed.  For a start, my niece has one volume - loud. So when I said to her that we needed to be quiet so we don't scare them, she said (loudly): "Look there is Tui, come here Tui!" At which point Tui ran and hid under the bed. Penzance was a wee bit more social and let the kids pat him. We then went to the beach and after that came back for another cuddle. This time Tui obliged and Penzance hid under the bed. I suspect they had made a deal that they need to take turns at being the sacrificial lamb when the kids come over. Tui, Penzance and I are all settling into my friends house. As I mentioned the other day - they are a wonderful couple ...

Certain members of the family felt that the pictures posted of them yesterday did not do justice to their true magnificence. They have request I post additional pictures. I have also included one of their neighbour (Mr T) as Zoe wanted to assure everyone that she is hanging out with someone of pedigree.

I do need to take some time to talk about my parents cats: George and Zoe. George: George is 10 years old. My Mum got him when he was one as his owner had decided that he did not want him anymore. For most people that should have been a warning sign, but for Mum is was an opportunity to adopt a very large and beautiful coffee coloured cat with pistachio green eyes. I actually looked after him the first weekend that Mum got him as she and Dad were going away. She decided that George was not a suitable name for a cat of his calibre and renamed him Bailey, which I dutifully called him all weekend. I noticed over the weekend, that he tended to get a very wild, wide eyed look about him, which was a bit strange, but other than that he appeared pretty normal. Turns out, George has what only can be described as cat Parkinson’s. He cannot stop his body from shaking, whether he is walking, sitting or sleeping. Numerous trips to the vet has resulted in no cures or ways of redu...

Happy New Year everyone, hope you had a great break. I spent Christmas and New Years with the family and had a very relaxing time. As with all holidays, it was far too short, and now I am back into focusing on getting life settled in Auckland. As usual, my niece and nephew have been providing me lots of smile moments with their uncensored comments: "Why aren't you talking Catherine?" (from niece -aged 3, after she has talked non stop for about an hour and suddenly realised that I couldn't get a word in). "Hope you got me some good presents!" (from my nephew - aged 6, on Christmas Eve). Said to me as we are walking along the road "There is Catherine's plane! (pause) But you aren't in the plane are you Catherine cause you are here." (from niece who has learnt to associate all planes with me heading back to Australia). Additional smile moments also provided by my parent's cats: George and Zoe, but to do them justice I really need a separat...