(As ever, clickable)
Sunday, 30 October 2005
Sleep? No chance!
Yup, it's Sunday morning, 4.20 am, the first day of my ten days of holiday, suddenly pushed forward one day by a change in rosta's yesterday and I'm already 'up and about' and have been for an hour....courtesy of one very tiny cat!
PG has been on night shift the last three nights and I have had three nights of face and foot pouncing to contend with. Apparently the hours of darkness herald 'play time' for someone very small, her favourite game being to stalk bits of me. If general stalking doesn't have her desired effect of waking me and having me entertain or cuddle her then her tactics change and she pounces on my face....bear in mind here that she hasn't yet mastered the art of retracting her claws! Ugh.
So last night, my holiday having been changed (I agreed to go in next Saturday and have today off instead, suits me, I still feel rough and one day in the middle of 10 off, I can handle), the clocks allowing us an extra hour in bed and my cold having taken it's toll we went to bed at the unheard of hour of 9.30pm and settled for a long nights sleep.
Oh no.....fat chance, There was a higher likelihood of plaiting fog! 'Someone' had other ideas! She has much in common with a large bag of frogs! An hour of pouncing later we resorted to shutting her out of the bedroom, no joy, we couldn't resist her pitiful baby cries and let her back in. Eventually she settle and off we all drifted to sleep......3.30 am and the pouncing commenced again!
I'm one of those frustrating (for me) individuals who once awake can't stay lying in bed so up I got after half an hour of trying to sleep some more and here I am, my day begun....hey ho, I got seven hours sleep....quite a feat in itself since 'Tilly' arrived.
Methinks we will have to learn to resist her night-time crying if the nocturnal pouncing games don't abate soon!
PG has been on night shift the last three nights and I have had three nights of face and foot pouncing to contend with. Apparently the hours of darkness herald 'play time' for someone very small, her favourite game being to stalk bits of me. If general stalking doesn't have her desired effect of waking me and having me entertain or cuddle her then her tactics change and she pounces on my face....bear in mind here that she hasn't yet mastered the art of retracting her claws! Ugh.
So last night, my holiday having been changed (I agreed to go in next Saturday and have today off instead, suits me, I still feel rough and one day in the middle of 10 off, I can handle), the clocks allowing us an extra hour in bed and my cold having taken it's toll we went to bed at the unheard of hour of 9.30pm and settled for a long nights sleep.
Oh no.....fat chance, There was a higher likelihood of plaiting fog! 'Someone' had other ideas! She has much in common with a large bag of frogs! An hour of pouncing later we resorted to shutting her out of the bedroom, no joy, we couldn't resist her pitiful baby cries and let her back in. Eventually she settle and off we all drifted to sleep......3.30 am and the pouncing commenced again!
I'm one of those frustrating (for me) individuals who once awake can't stay lying in bed so up I got after half an hour of trying to sleep some more and here I am, my day begun....hey ho, I got seven hours sleep....quite a feat in itself since 'Tilly' arrived.
Methinks we will have to learn to resist her night-time crying if the nocturnal pouncing games don't abate soon!
Saturday, 29 October 2005
How cool is this?
Never before have I had the new kitten 'introduction' phase go so well. Usually there has been the initial few weeks of stand off's, spitting and small fights to get through, this time none of that.....two days and they are on the same chair, playing and completely violence free. Long may it continue! :o)
Friday, 28 October 2005
Success!
This time we seem to have got the right kitten without a doubt. Over the last twenty four hours she has learnt where her food is, where her litter box is, how to gain access to the 'people bed' and that curtains are not for climbing. Her first day as expected she was a little quiet while she acclimatized to her new surroundings, though not overly so, and by yesterday morning she had 'found her feet' and was racing around and investigating every corner until she dropped, as kittens do, into an almost instant sleep for an hour or two before commencing the games and rummaging again.
She seems fit and healthy, eats like a little horse, has a purr that far outstrips her physical size and best of all, Ditto appears to actively like her after the first day of tentative sniffing! Since yesterday they have played 'chase me' on a regular basis, had small play fights and even eaten next to one another, without so much as a hiss from Ditto....she did however draw the line when baby cat overstepped the mark by attempting to suckle from her, but still Ditto merely backed off with a very confused look on her face. I did try to explain to her that at only six weeks old and only having been eating solid food for a week and a half, she could be forgiven for her slip, but a second attempt met with another stern look and almost pushed her patience too far, still though she resisted a swift 'paw around the ears'. Yayyyy for Ditto! :o)
We are still nameless, though I think we have narrowed it down to a final two now, 'Tilly' or 'Saffy' (short for Saffron)....unless of course someone throws another option into the pot in the near future. I'mcrap good at decisions, can you tell??
She seems fit and healthy, eats like a little horse, has a purr that far outstrips her physical size and best of all, Ditto appears to actively like her after the first day of tentative sniffing! Since yesterday they have played 'chase me' on a regular basis, had small play fights and even eaten next to one another, without so much as a hiss from Ditto....she did however draw the line when baby cat overstepped the mark by attempting to suckle from her, but still Ditto merely backed off with a very confused look on her face. I did try to explain to her that at only six weeks old and only having been eating solid food for a week and a half, she could be forgiven for her slip, but a second attempt met with another stern look and almost pushed her patience too far, still though she resisted a swift 'paw around the ears'. Yayyyy for Ditto! :o)
We are still nameless, though I think we have narrowed it down to a final two now, 'Tilly' or 'Saffy' (short for Saffron)....unless of course someone throws another option into the pot in the near future. I'm
I don't believe it!
Well, actually I do, it should come as absolutely no surprise to me by now, it has after all become and almost a quarterly occurrence and I should have learnt to expect, nay anticipate, that my car will break down every few weeks on the way home from work!
Yup, yet again, on my journey home the damn thing disintegrated on me, it is fast becoming less than amusing. I think it has spent more time in the garage since it's warranty expired than it has with me! Good grief, it might not be brand, spanking new but it is only four years old and has only fifty thousand miles on it. In my youth I had many a car at least two or three times that age, and with at least double the mileage clocked....... and none of this bother!
This time I was treated to an almighty racket as something 'fell off', rotated with the front offside wheel for a few revolutions, bounced noisily along the underside and was last seen, via the rear view mirror, being projected at high velocity into an adjacent field. I never did find out what it was, the offending object was not to be unearthed among the overgrown 'shrubbery' and my very nice mechanic man was not to be raised by phone.
I made a cursory inspection of the cars underparts, nothing was immediately obvious as missing and so I limped home slowly, aware only that whatever had parted company had done so from the wheel. Fast was not going to be an option and whilst the car appeared to be driving in a perfectly normal fashion it's movement was accompanied buy a very definite thud, thud, thud, at every revolution of the wheels.
And so, said hateful vehicle is again in the garage being attended too and I await with interest and annoyance the discovery of what actually went wrong on this occasion!
Oh....and to add to my fun day PG has kindly shared with me his 'man flu, (I am touched sweetie that you feel you should share but really, you didn't have to!).Unfortunately though the female version doesn't come with 'dispensation from all domestic chores' unlike the male type and given that 'himself' is working night shift he is snoring away happily whilst I continue with normal service! Pfffttt.
.....and 'baby cat' is still nameless!
Yup, yet again, on my journey home the damn thing disintegrated on me, it is fast becoming less than amusing. I think it has spent more time in the garage since it's warranty expired than it has with me! Good grief, it might not be brand, spanking new but it is only four years old and has only fifty thousand miles on it. In my youth I had many a car at least two or three times that age, and with at least double the mileage clocked....... and none of this bother!
This time I was treated to an almighty racket as something 'fell off', rotated with the front offside wheel for a few revolutions, bounced noisily along the underside and was last seen, via the rear view mirror, being projected at high velocity into an adjacent field. I never did find out what it was, the offending object was not to be unearthed among the overgrown 'shrubbery' and my very nice mechanic man was not to be raised by phone.
I made a cursory inspection of the cars underparts, nothing was immediately obvious as missing and so I limped home slowly, aware only that whatever had parted company had done so from the wheel. Fast was not going to be an option and whilst the car appeared to be driving in a perfectly normal fashion it's movement was accompanied buy a very definite thud, thud, thud, at every revolution of the wheels.
And so, said hateful vehicle is again in the garage being attended too and I await with interest and annoyance the discovery of what actually went wrong on this occasion!
Oh....and to add to my fun day PG has kindly shared with me his 'man flu, (I am touched sweetie that you feel you should share but really, you didn't have to!).Unfortunately though the female version doesn't come with 'dispensation from all domestic chores' unlike the male type and given that 'himself' is working night shift he is snoring away happily whilst I continue with normal service! Pfffttt.
.....and 'baby cat' is still nameless!
Thursday, 27 October 2005
Sunrise over the sea
Not that you can tell of course, that it is over the sea, it was way too early for that.
Apologies for the quality, I only had my phone with me but still the colours were worth the shot if nothing else worked too well!
Apologies for the quality, I only had my phone with me but still the colours were worth the shot if nothing else worked too well!
How very remiss.
My apologies, I have been a little distracted over the last 36 hours, courtesy of one very small and amusing kitten and just for once I have not spent 24/7 glued to this seat.
It is thus that I haven't kept up with my mails, commented on your kind comments or posted too much....how very remiss of me, I do apologise, normal service will be resumed after I escape the 'day job' this evening.
On the distraction front, names are being considered, though suggestions are still welcome, baby cat is very chilled and settled already and Ditto is coping remarkably well this time. Friends they are not yet but no violence has been meted out on either side and no one is sitting out in the rain.
Yes, you heard a small and tentative sigh of relief :o)
It is thus that I haven't kept up with my mails, commented on your kind comments or posted too much....how very remiss of me, I do apologise, normal service will be resumed after I escape the 'day job' this evening.
On the distraction front, names are being considered, though suggestions are still welcome, baby cat is very chilled and settled already and Ditto is coping remarkably well this time. Friends they are not yet but no violence has been meted out on either side and no one is sitting out in the rain.
Yes, you heard a small and tentative sigh of relief :o)
Wednesday, 26 October 2005
Things are looking good!
The new arrival, who still remains nameless and is currently referred to as 'little', is settling in well thus far and whilst Ditto is not absolutely sure about her presence the situation is a vast improvement on the last kitten debacle.
This time, from the moment we arrived home, 'little' in basket and me with my heart in my mouth Ditto seems to be mostly interested rather than miffed. There have been one or two hisses when the baby rushes up to her without a care in the world but there has been sniffing and a small amount of nose touching and no physical violence. Add to that, unlike last time when 'small cat' chose to sit out in the pouring rain miserably rather than be indoors with the interloper, this time she hasn't asked even once to be let out since the kitten made her entrance!
Eating and litter box requirements are being met without trouble, though there seems to be a little difficulty in actually finding then right now but she will soon learn and we did manage 5 hours sleep which was more than I has anticipated, though it was only after some kerfuffle in so much as having made her a lovely cosy bed next to our bed she proceeded to try and gain access to the 'human sleeping quarters'. This presented some problem, our bed is high and there was no way she could do it in one go, much tiny meowing and various routes of circumnavigation later she scaled the leg of the bedside table, slid accross the alarm clock knocking a picture over and joined PG, myself and Ditto in what she obviously considers her rightful place! I expected Ditto to 'do the off' but no, she remained, though at a distance, and we all fell asleep, though PG and I were almost scared to move for fear of squashing her.
This morning, Ditto still doesn't want to go out, kitten feeding and 'ablutions' have taken place without incident and all is peaceful.
I'm almost afraid to say it after the last disaster but things are looking good.
Oh....and all name suggestions are still gratefully received!
This time, from the moment we arrived home, 'little' in basket and me with my heart in my mouth Ditto seems to be mostly interested rather than miffed. There have been one or two hisses when the baby rushes up to her without a care in the world but there has been sniffing and a small amount of nose touching and no physical violence. Add to that, unlike last time when 'small cat' chose to sit out in the pouring rain miserably rather than be indoors with the interloper, this time she hasn't asked even once to be let out since the kitten made her entrance!
Eating and litter box requirements are being met without trouble, though there seems to be a little difficulty in actually finding then right now but she will soon learn and we did manage 5 hours sleep which was more than I has anticipated, though it was only after some kerfuffle in so much as having made her a lovely cosy bed next to our bed she proceeded to try and gain access to the 'human sleeping quarters'. This presented some problem, our bed is high and there was no way she could do it in one go, much tiny meowing and various routes of circumnavigation later she scaled the leg of the bedside table, slid accross the alarm clock knocking a picture over and joined PG, myself and Ditto in what she obviously considers her rightful place! I expected Ditto to 'do the off' but no, she remained, though at a distance, and we all fell asleep, though PG and I were almost scared to move for fear of squashing her.
This morning, Ditto still doesn't want to go out, kitten feeding and 'ablutions' have taken place without incident and all is peaceful.
I'm almost afraid to say it after the last disaster but things are looking good.
Oh....and all name suggestions are still gratefully received!
Tuesday, 25 October 2005
Finally.....
.......we have found (let's hope Ditto agrees this time) the right kitten, by chance and a little bribery we bought her home this evening.
She bounced fearlessly up to Ditto, who sniffed, looked at her with a little disdain, sniffed again and merely walked away. No spitting, no fisticuffs, no sitting out in the rain!
They ate a hearty meal and then promptly both fell asleep, not together I might add, but things are looking far more hopeful this time! Dare I ask for name suggestions again?
More tomorrow, I have a kitten to play with right now :o))
I'd kinda forgotten just how tiny a six week old kitten is!
She bounced fearlessly up to Ditto, who sniffed, looked at her with a little disdain, sniffed again and merely walked away. No spitting, no fisticuffs, no sitting out in the rain!
They ate a hearty meal and then promptly both fell asleep, not together I might add, but things are looking far more hopeful this time! Dare I ask for name suggestions again?
More tomorrow, I have a kitten to play with right now :o))
I'd kinda forgotten just how tiny a six week old kitten is!
There is a down side
Just now and again there is a definite down side to being a cat 'parent'....this morning was one of those times!
Six thirty am and PG, full again of man-flu and none too happy, was rushing off to work, accompanied as ever by 'small cat' who likes to take her early constitutional at his heels every morning.
The walk from our door to where the car lives is a relatively long one, a driveway of our own etc. we do not have and the usual routine involves he and Ditto trotting off whilst I wait at the window overlooking the car park and 'wave him off'. This morning however when he got to his car he starts with wild gesticulations, I can't shout down at this time of day for fear of waking the neighbour or two that we have and so, unable to decipher his melodramatic arm waving I put on some shoes and trail outside in the torrential rain and wind to discover what all this hoo ha is about.
Having made my way to the pair of them I find that small cat has found a big fat frog and is in imminent danger of doing it irreprable damage. "So what did you want me here for" I ask an increasingly flu ridden and disgruntled PG. "Can you move it so she doesn't kill it" was the reply....er......."can you not", I responded and was met with a look of utter disbelief! Ok, so this frog was big but man, he dragged me out into the inclement conditions to move a frog??
I took the alternative option and removed small cat back inside whilst PG, under sufferance 'encouraged' the frog to move on!
Did I say there was a down side to having a cat?....perhaps I should re-phrase that to include 'having a cat and a man'! ....I can imagine only too well the happycontorted in annoyance smiling face I would be met with if I dragged him out at 6.30 to move a frog! ;o)
Six thirty am and PG, full again of man-flu and none too happy, was rushing off to work, accompanied as ever by 'small cat' who likes to take her early constitutional at his heels every morning.
The walk from our door to where the car lives is a relatively long one, a driveway of our own etc. we do not have and the usual routine involves he and Ditto trotting off whilst I wait at the window overlooking the car park and 'wave him off'. This morning however when he got to his car he starts with wild gesticulations, I can't shout down at this time of day for fear of waking the neighbour or two that we have and so, unable to decipher his melodramatic arm waving I put on some shoes and trail outside in the torrential rain and wind to discover what all this hoo ha is about.
Having made my way to the pair of them I find that small cat has found a big fat frog and is in imminent danger of doing it irreprable damage. "So what did you want me here for" I ask an increasingly flu ridden and disgruntled PG. "Can you move it so she doesn't kill it" was the reply....er......."can you not", I responded and was met with a look of utter disbelief! Ok, so this frog was big but man, he dragged me out into the inclement conditions to move a frog??
I took the alternative option and removed small cat back inside whilst PG, under sufferance 'encouraged' the frog to move on!
Did I say there was a down side to having a cat?....perhaps I should re-phrase that to include 'having a cat and a man'! ....I can imagine only too well the happy
Monday, 24 October 2005
Haloscan
It would appear that today it is the turn of Haloscan to have the hump! One day I will log in here and find everything working at once! Ok, maybe that's asking way too much but for the time being, as Halo has done the off please feel free to use Blogger comments
Comment whore? Who me? ;o)
Comment whore? Who me? ;o)
Do I smell?
I am beginning to wonder!
Something has happened in my tiny corner of the blogosphere over the last week, whether it is that the world is on vacation, has taken a sickie, an incident of immense magnitude has occurred that has passed me by or I am giving off a 'virtually' unpleasant aroma I have no idea, but whatever the reason, over the last seven days my usually rigidly similar hit stats. have fallen by almost 50%.
Weekends are always much slower than the weekdays but I had weekdays with lower stats last week than my usual weekends and the reasons are not apparent from a brief investigate of the information. The percentage of hits resulting from searches compared to those who actually chose to end up here remains the same, my returns on Google and Yahoo etc. are static and the sources from where visitors got here remains unchanged, there is just a downturn right across the board.
During meanderings among stats there are always the amusing/concerning search results to be found, the 'odd bods' who end up here and must be thoroughly disappointed when they do, as the result of a search for (on this occasion) 'child porn' 'men in knickers' or 'child morphing'(ugh, go away please I don't like you) but I noticed also an oddity that is new. Someone is searching 'gemmak' on Yahoo at least five times a day, every day for the last few weeks It is hardly a word that one could search intending to find something else, there are only four gemmak's that return from the search engines, me, an engineering company and two other individuals and as far as I can tell, it is in the main just the one individual searching. Er...whoever you are, if you wish to stalk me, or if you just love me with a passion, would a shortcut or an entry in your favourites not be an easier solution?! Whichever you choose I can glean the same information about you.
Something has happened in my tiny corner of the blogosphere over the last week, whether it is that the world is on vacation, has taken a sickie, an incident of immense magnitude has occurred that has passed me by or I am giving off a 'virtually' unpleasant aroma I have no idea, but whatever the reason, over the last seven days my usually rigidly similar hit stats. have fallen by almost 50%.
Weekends are always much slower than the weekdays but I had weekdays with lower stats last week than my usual weekends and the reasons are not apparent from a brief investigate of the information. The percentage of hits resulting from searches compared to those who actually chose to end up here remains the same, my returns on Google and Yahoo etc. are static and the sources from where visitors got here remains unchanged, there is just a downturn right across the board.
During meanderings among stats there are always the amusing/concerning search results to be found, the 'odd bods' who end up here and must be thoroughly disappointed when they do, as the result of a search for (on this occasion) 'child porn' 'men in knickers' or 'child morphing'(ugh, go away please I don't like you) but I noticed also an oddity that is new. Someone is searching 'gemmak' on Yahoo at least five times a day, every day for the last few weeks It is hardly a word that one could search intending to find something else, there are only four gemmak's that return from the search engines, me, an engineering company and two other individuals and as far as I can tell, it is in the main just the one individual searching. Er...whoever you are, if you wish to stalk me, or if you just love me with a passion, would a shortcut or an entry in your favourites not be an easier solution?! Whichever you choose I can glean the same information about you.
Sunday, 23 October 2005
Purrrrr!
Ditto, strange little creature that she is has, in a very 'un-catlike' manner has never uttered so much as a single, solitary purr,
in her entire life!
Cats purr when they are happy and are also known to purr when in pain but under no circumstances has she been known to emit this singularly feline sound.....that was until this morning!
This morning at around six o'clock, as I gradually dragged myself from my state of overnight unconsciousness I was aware of a very familiar sound emanating from somewhere close by, the sound of an impressively loud purr. It took me a few moments to come too and remember that this could not possibly be Poppy who was a lifelong happy purrer, for a moment even, I wondered if it could be somehow, or if I was imagining it and then, as I sat up to investigate, I was met with the sight of 'small cat' lying on her back, completely relaxed at the foot of the bed, purring the loudest purr you ever heard!
Yayyyy for Ditto, at three and a half years old she has finally found her purr! :o)
in her entire life!
Cats purr when they are happy and are also known to purr when in pain but under no circumstances has she been known to emit this singularly feline sound.....that was until this morning!This morning at around six o'clock, as I gradually dragged myself from my state of overnight unconsciousness I was aware of a very familiar sound emanating from somewhere close by, the sound of an impressively loud purr. It took me a few moments to come too and remember that this could not possibly be Poppy who was a lifelong happy purrer, for a moment even, I wondered if it could be somehow, or if I was imagining it and then, as I sat up to investigate, I was met with the sight of 'small cat' lying on her back, completely relaxed at the foot of the bed, purring the loudest purr you ever heard!
Yayyyy for Ditto, at three and a half years old she has finally found her purr! :o)
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
