Just a quick note to say our little shy Lilly has learnt how to cat flap out!! (but not "in" yet) We found them both outside the back door yesterday evening, but when we opened the front door, she got scared and ran away. With some loving persuasion, she came in about two hours later, and was very purry and affectionate.
I woke at 3am this morning, saw them both outside again, opened the back door quietly and in she came! Phew!!
We may not have kids, but our two cats seem to cause us stress and joy equal to that of parents :-)
Wednesday, 25 June 2008
Thursday, 19 June 2008
A most interesting evening!!!
My cousin Chris is staying with my parents for a few days, but yesterday was our turn :-)
Chris is my fathers brothers son, and he shares a lot of family traits with my dad, his dad, my older brother and to some extent myself. We, and other members of this genetic thread are very strong headed and have very good (but mabye a little strange) sense of humour.
Our side of the family have been out of touch with Chris since he was a child, and this is only the second time I've met him since I was 6! He is a charming fellow, very cheerful, and his eyes and nose look the spitting image of my dad which is strange but also lovely :-)
After a flurry of text messages between me and my mum, we arranged for Chris to pick Douglas up from work, go to Waitrose and get some shopping. I rushed straight home, washed up and tidyed the kitchen, hoovered the lounge, stripped the two spare beds and washed their floors before having a "runescape" sized break.
***
Runescape lovers, please note.. I am now up to level 80 herblore, and thanks to my wonderful Canadian friend Battlescars7 giving me all her raw fish to cook, Im now up to 87 cooking!!
***
Douglas rang up from the supermarket, wanted to know if I would eat Marrow. I said I had eaten it in the past, and not liked it, so no thanks but I liked courgettes. Chris, being as i said a pigheadded bloke, ignored this and got one anyway :-) £60 later, they were home with bags full of veggies, high quality lamb, a marrow, loads of fruit and other goodies!
Chris loves cooking, so with Douglas as his Commis chef (is that the right spelling?) he made stuffed roast peppers with a blue cheese and sour cream topping, stuffed roast marrow with similar top, lovely fluffy rice, the most beautiful new, non waxy potatoes Ive had in a long time, and some strips of lamb for him and D.
Oh... the starter was griddle cooked Spargy (Asparagus) with a dip and thin thin slices of brown bread. I have fallen head over heels in love with Spargy, which until recently, I knew i would eat but didnt think much of.
Chris took a very long time to cook all this, drinking plenty of beer and chatting almost non stop whilst Douglas helped and I was told to stay out of the kitchen!!
The meal, when it arrived was well worth the wait. Everything was beautifully cooked, the tastes were exsquisite, and I must admit, I even enjoyed the marrow!!!!
Exhausted and very stuffed, first Douglas at about 10.30, then I about half an hour later fell into bed and slept :-)
Chris is my fathers brothers son, and he shares a lot of family traits with my dad, his dad, my older brother and to some extent myself. We, and other members of this genetic thread are very strong headed and have very good (but mabye a little strange) sense of humour.
Our side of the family have been out of touch with Chris since he was a child, and this is only the second time I've met him since I was 6! He is a charming fellow, very cheerful, and his eyes and nose look the spitting image of my dad which is strange but also lovely :-)
After a flurry of text messages between me and my mum, we arranged for Chris to pick Douglas up from work, go to Waitrose and get some shopping. I rushed straight home, washed up and tidyed the kitchen, hoovered the lounge, stripped the two spare beds and washed their floors before having a "runescape" sized break.
***
Runescape lovers, please note.. I am now up to level 80 herblore, and thanks to my wonderful Canadian friend Battlescars7 giving me all her raw fish to cook, Im now up to 87 cooking!!
***
Douglas rang up from the supermarket, wanted to know if I would eat Marrow. I said I had eaten it in the past, and not liked it, so no thanks but I liked courgettes. Chris, being as i said a pigheadded bloke, ignored this and got one anyway :-) £60 later, they were home with bags full of veggies, high quality lamb, a marrow, loads of fruit and other goodies!
Chris loves cooking, so with Douglas as his Commis chef (is that the right spelling?) he made stuffed roast peppers with a blue cheese and sour cream topping, stuffed roast marrow with similar top, lovely fluffy rice, the most beautiful new, non waxy potatoes Ive had in a long time, and some strips of lamb for him and D.
Oh... the starter was griddle cooked Spargy (Asparagus) with a dip and thin thin slices of brown bread. I have fallen head over heels in love with Spargy, which until recently, I knew i would eat but didnt think much of.
Chris took a very long time to cook all this, drinking plenty of beer and chatting almost non stop whilst Douglas helped and I was told to stay out of the kitchen!!
The meal, when it arrived was well worth the wait. Everything was beautifully cooked, the tastes were exsquisite, and I must admit, I even enjoyed the marrow!!!!
Exhausted and very stuffed, first Douglas at about 10.30, then I about half an hour later fell into bed and slept :-)
Wednesday, 18 June 2008
A lovely chat!
TYDNIL (The Youngest Dreaded Nephew in Law) called me last night after a tired Douglas had crept up to bed.
We had a lovely chat.. all about our house.. the Xbox our cats got us... and his looming holiday down here with his dreaded Aunty and Uncle!! Douglas is proud not only to be Uncle Douglas to him, but also also DOF - Dreaded Odd Father .. similar to being a God Father.. but worse!! Does that make me HDOM? (Honourary Dreaded Odd Mother?)
Also had a lovely chat with TDSIL (The Dreaded Sister in Law) who is coming down with her partner, TYDNIL and slightly older DNIL. Im so pleased DSIL enjoys my blog :-)
Ok I think most of you will have had enough of these initials.. but I think they are really funny. anyone want to make their own up?? All suggestions welcomed.
We had a lovely chat.. all about our house.. the Xbox our cats got us... and his looming holiday down here with his dreaded Aunty and Uncle!! Douglas is proud not only to be Uncle Douglas to him, but also also DOF - Dreaded Odd Father .. similar to being a God Father.. but worse!! Does that make me HDOM? (Honourary Dreaded Odd Mother?)
Also had a lovely chat with TDSIL (The Dreaded Sister in Law) who is coming down with her partner, TYDNIL and slightly older DNIL. Im so pleased DSIL enjoys my blog :-)
Ok I think most of you will have had enough of these initials.. but I think they are really funny. anyone want to make their own up?? All suggestions welcomed.
Tuesday, 17 June 2008
The codes :-)
Just for those of you who are non family..
TDMIL Stands for "The dreaded Mum in Law"
TDBIL Stands for "The dreaded Brother in Law"
TDDIL - well if you ever see that, its me :-)
Anti sometimes posts..and thats Ds Aunty :-)
I wonder if one of the nephews might ever post as TDNIL lol!
You get the idea...
TDMIL Stands for "The dreaded Mum in Law"
TDBIL Stands for "The dreaded Brother in Law"
TDDIL - well if you ever see that, its me :-)
Anti sometimes posts..and thats Ds Aunty :-)
I wonder if one of the nephews might ever post as TDNIL lol!
You get the idea...
Monday, 16 June 2008
9 Years Married.. 11 years together :-)
On Saturday Billy and Lilly decided to buy us a 9th Wedding Anniversary Present! (the actual day is the 19th, but the four of us decided to celebrate early)
The cats were in a very generous mood, and decided to let us go into town to buy a games machine…. but only if we made a really good job of tidying the house! Needless to say the house looked much better by lunch time, so we were allowed into town.
After much deliberation, we decided to get an Xbox 360 (we got a second hand one and two previously used games to save money) We can now pretend we are Star Wars characters made of Lego, going around smashing, bashing, and solving little puzzles, or take on the role of an Assassin who has to sneak his way up to a castle and do all sorts of strange things!
Do you think the cats might learn how to use the controls, and have a game whilst we are out?
We went out in the evening for a curry, at a place we have not been to before. It was quite modern, and fresh good tasting food.. but the starters were so huge that even I could not finish my main course! (It came home in a doggy bag.. cats NOT impressed as they don’t like curry or doggies – they prefer Roast Chicken!)
We had a lazy start on Sunday, but I went out and planted some plants, and sewed some cat mint seeds (Shhh don’t tell them yet.. it’s a surprise!) I also planted some Comfrey roots that I purchased online. Comfrey is apparently very good for compost, and the variety that I got, Bocking 14 will not go wild and seed all over the garden. The idea is that you cut it down once a year and stick the lot in your heap to help the process. I will keep you posted.
Oh.. I also did some cooking for my good friend Battlescars7 (this is RuneScape cooking) and have advanced a level. Im now 86! She has got her cooking cape at level 99, so does not need the exp, so we meet up and I cook whilst she "alchs" things.
The cats were in a very generous mood, and decided to let us go into town to buy a games machine…. but only if we made a really good job of tidying the house! Needless to say the house looked much better by lunch time, so we were allowed into town.
After much deliberation, we decided to get an Xbox 360 (we got a second hand one and two previously used games to save money) We can now pretend we are Star Wars characters made of Lego, going around smashing, bashing, and solving little puzzles, or take on the role of an Assassin who has to sneak his way up to a castle and do all sorts of strange things!
Do you think the cats might learn how to use the controls, and have a game whilst we are out?
We went out in the evening for a curry, at a place we have not been to before. It was quite modern, and fresh good tasting food.. but the starters were so huge that even I could not finish my main course! (It came home in a doggy bag.. cats NOT impressed as they don’t like curry or doggies – they prefer Roast Chicken!)
We had a lazy start on Sunday, but I went out and planted some plants, and sewed some cat mint seeds (Shhh don’t tell them yet.. it’s a surprise!) I also planted some Comfrey roots that I purchased online. Comfrey is apparently very good for compost, and the variety that I got, Bocking 14 will not go wild and seed all over the garden. The idea is that you cut it down once a year and stick the lot in your heap to help the process. I will keep you posted.
Oh.. I also did some cooking for my good friend Battlescars7 (this is RuneScape cooking) and have advanced a level. Im now 86! She has got her cooking cape at level 99, so does not need the exp, so we meet up and I cook whilst she "alchs" things.
Thursday, 12 June 2008
Good news..Silly news and Sad news..
The good news is that Billy can now cat flap both in and out of the house, so he has now earnt his "wings" and can come and go as he pleases.
The silly news is that Douglas left some roast chicken out on a plate, on the worktop in the kitchen the other night, waiting for his tatties to boil.. and suddenly he realised that both cats had taken advantage of this "free" food, and eaten about half the chicken he put out!! Bad cats.. and silly Douglas :-)
If you combine both these bits of news.. you will understand Billys new nickame... "The Flying Pig" :-D
The sad news is the death of my Sister in Laws father ... Katys father Alan collapsed whilst out playing tennis a few days ago, and never regained consciousness. Katy and her mum turned off the life support yesterday, and Alan slowly faded away. RIP Alan.. you were a lovely man, and my love and thoughts go out to your family xxxxx
The silly news is that Douglas left some roast chicken out on a plate, on the worktop in the kitchen the other night, waiting for his tatties to boil.. and suddenly he realised that both cats had taken advantage of this "free" food, and eaten about half the chicken he put out!! Bad cats.. and silly Douglas :-)
If you combine both these bits of news.. you will understand Billys new nickame... "The Flying Pig" :-D
The sad news is the death of my Sister in Laws father ... Katys father Alan collapsed whilst out playing tennis a few days ago, and never regained consciousness. Katy and her mum turned off the life support yesterday, and Alan slowly faded away. RIP Alan.. you were a lovely man, and my love and thoughts go out to your family xxxxx
Tuesday, 10 June 2008
Monday, 9 June 2008
News flash! (and photos)
Well I never!
I shoved Billy out of his cat flap this evening after he had eaten, and went round to see my neighbour to show her photos of Carlos birthday party at the steam trains yesterday (it was lovely)
When I came back, Billy was in the house, and had not been helped in by Douglas.. so we are led to beleive that.... wait for it...
**********Billy Cat Flapped all on his own!!! ********
Douglas and are are dead impressed, and utterly delighted :-) Major progress! yipieee!
Also, in response to a request from DMIL, here are some Lilly photos! Will do Billy tomorrow, with some luck.
Also, in response to a request from DMIL, here are some Lilly photos! Will do Billy tomorrow, with some luck.
Sunday, 8 June 2008
7th & 8th June
Neither of us got a good nights sleep Friday night - Douglas developed a sore knee (I think hes been ticking off one more ailment from the compendium) I moved beds at about 3am but didnt sleep very well, so Saturday was a bit of a wash out. We both did a lot of topping up on sleep, then watched a romantic movie in the evening.
I must give you all a Billy and Lilly update!!!
My dad very kindly cut a hole in our back door, and fitted a cat flap about a week ago, and with a lot of encouragement, and some shoving, Billy is slowly learning that it means "Out" and occasioanlly "In". I must say hes not to keen on the idea, but hes getting there :-)
Lilly is doing well - whilst she is eating, she will now allow us to stroke her quite a lot, but if she sees a hand coming, she is still rather nervous. When she is not eating, the most she can cope with is to sniff, and occasioanlly rub her head against our fingers, but if you look back to how she was to start with, she is doing very well :-)
A day or so ago I seriously scared myself. I had been out to close our little green house, and thought I had closed the back door behind me, but when I came up here to the comptuer, I looked out onto our back garden to see a very familiar small cat!! It was Lilly, and my heart went into my mouth. We do not let her out because she is still a very nervous little cat, and we are worried if something spooks her, she might take off and never be seen again.
I went out, and called to Lilly, who, thank goodness responded to my voice and came back towards the door. She looked as though she was too scared to go back in, so I moved well away from the door and continued to talk to her, and phew!! she ran back in!!! It took me about half an hour before my heart returned to its normal sluggish pace :-)
I know I worry overley, and my friends laugh at me for this (which is fine.. I laugh at myself too) but I can't help it cause I love my two furry little friends so much :-)
Will try to take some photos of Billy out and about, and Lilly being her normal sweet little self soon.
I must give you all a Billy and Lilly update!!!
My dad very kindly cut a hole in our back door, and fitted a cat flap about a week ago, and with a lot of encouragement, and some shoving, Billy is slowly learning that it means "Out" and occasioanlly "In". I must say hes not to keen on the idea, but hes getting there :-)
Lilly is doing well - whilst she is eating, she will now allow us to stroke her quite a lot, but if she sees a hand coming, she is still rather nervous. When she is not eating, the most she can cope with is to sniff, and occasioanlly rub her head against our fingers, but if you look back to how she was to start with, she is doing very well :-)
A day or so ago I seriously scared myself. I had been out to close our little green house, and thought I had closed the back door behind me, but when I came up here to the comptuer, I looked out onto our back garden to see a very familiar small cat!! It was Lilly, and my heart went into my mouth. We do not let her out because she is still a very nervous little cat, and we are worried if something spooks her, she might take off and never be seen again.
I went out, and called to Lilly, who, thank goodness responded to my voice and came back towards the door. She looked as though she was too scared to go back in, so I moved well away from the door and continued to talk to her, and phew!! she ran back in!!! It took me about half an hour before my heart returned to its normal sluggish pace :-)
I know I worry overley, and my friends laugh at me for this (which is fine.. I laugh at myself too) but I can't help it cause I love my two furry little friends so much :-)
Will try to take some photos of Billy out and about, and Lilly being her normal sweet little self soon.
Weekend of 31st May
Ooops sorry I have not posted for a while.. I normally write my blog between calls at work, then post it in my break, but its been so busy that this task has been left undone.
Last weekend our friends Pete and Lin visited, so my parents came and had a very nice picnic lunch with us. I say it was a picnic, but we ate it at home, as it was chucking it down that morning. Everyone got on very well - we knew they would - they met before, many years ago at our wedding :-)
Lin has a "Get out of Jail Free" card (otherwise known as a Disabled Persons Parking Badge) because she is partially sighted, so we drove into town to the re-opening of a park, and put our car on some double yellow lines near the entrance, installed Get out of Jail Free card in the window and had a jolly round the park. We were shocked and dismayed to find a parking ticket on our windscreen when we returned!!!!!
Pete has scanned in, and emailed me a copy of Lins card, and i have duly emailed the council to protest. Here endeth the first chapter.. the council have an 8 week delay in dealing with such matters!! Grrrr!
We had a quiet Sunday just chilling and enjoying the fact we didnt have to work :-)
Last weekend our friends Pete and Lin visited, so my parents came and had a very nice picnic lunch with us. I say it was a picnic, but we ate it at home, as it was chucking it down that morning. Everyone got on very well - we knew they would - they met before, many years ago at our wedding :-)
Lin has a "Get out of Jail Free" card (otherwise known as a Disabled Persons Parking Badge) because she is partially sighted, so we drove into town to the re-opening of a park, and put our car on some double yellow lines near the entrance, installed Get out of Jail Free card in the window and had a jolly round the park. We were shocked and dismayed to find a parking ticket on our windscreen when we returned!!!!!
Pete has scanned in, and emailed me a copy of Lins card, and i have duly emailed the council to protest. Here endeth the first chapter.. the council have an 8 week delay in dealing with such matters!! Grrrr!
We had a quiet Sunday just chilling and enjoying the fact we didnt have to work :-)
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