Life with my kitties...

At left- Jasper

At Right- Allie

I found this great website that explains what its like to live with a ragdoll. (or 2, in my case). Visit it for details here: http://www.ukrcc.co.uk/right.shtml

Here are a few things I relate to:

· Toes poking out of the bed at 4am are a viable target for biting. (I add: or even if they aren't poking out, just because they poke up, they must be a mouse and pounced upon!)
· Anytime is playtime to a Raggie, regardless of what time it is!
· If it moves it's fair game!
· If I stick claws through net curtains how fast can mummy run the distance to un-attach? (I think I shall need to replace the landlords mesh curtain bits before I move out!)
· They like to be involved in everything you do!
· That those big blue eyes really can get whatever they want.
· Your bed is no longer your own, and how dare you even try to suggest to a Raggie that you want them to move over so you can get in it! (I add: Mine like to take over my pillow, and push me off it)
· Fur lined everything is not optional! It just happens anyway!
· Don't expect to get a clear view of the PC monitor while raggies are awake (Ha ha, except mine are napping in the bedroom at the moment!)
· Even guests can expect to be escorted to the loo when they visit! (And you can't shut the door- because they get upset!!)
· You feel guilty everytime you leave the house as there is always at least one pair of blue eyes looking at you pitifully!
· People owned by Raggies are at serious risk of heart failure, if anyone leaves an outside door open. More risk occurs when said owner runs around the house in search of Raggies which have gone to sleep in the only place you didn't consider looking in! More risk of looking like you need some pyschological therapy when tearing around the garden calling Raggies' names and panicking in sheer terror, only to find your Raggie half an hour later curled up, totally oblivious to it all, in the open draw under the bed!! (Mine go into the backyard- but my fright is if something doesn't get perched against the gate - they'll sneak under it!)
· Your glass of water was made for sharing, especially when you're asleep, but you don't realise until you drink some and find loads of hairs floating in it! (I now have a glass so they can drink water out of that- they much prefer it to a water bowl.)
· If you are on the loo, Raggie wants to come on too.
· Owning a Ragdoll is like having a child that never grows up (not good especially at 4.30 in the morning. )
· If you won't get up, said Ragdoll is going to find one hundred and one ways to make sure you do. Garfield has got nothing on Cadbury but we can't help laughing at him.
· You'll never have a clean litter tray because they're in there as soon as you've cleaned it or even while you're in the process of cleaning it out!
· Clean hairless carpets are a thing of the past, especially if you dare leave them at home for a few days - when you come back there is enough fur to knit a couple of jumpers! (Haven't dared to leave them yet, but it does build up when they play a lot)
· Expect to be much poorer for all the toys they get through and ones you "have" to buy them anyway just because

- Walking into the kitchen means of course that you've gone in there to feed them! you do!

Oh but you have to love them.

I could add my own list- but the above do suit them pretty well.

See how big they've grown?

Anzac Day

I was just reading today's local paper. There were several pages of letters from locals about what Anzac Day means to them.
According to Wikipedia:

"Anzac Day is a national day of remembrance in Australia and New Zealand, and is commemorated by both countries on 25 April every year to honour members of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC) who fought at Gallipoli in Turkey during World War I. It now more broadly commemorates all those who died and served in military operations for their countries. Anzac Day is also observed in the Cook Islands, Niue, Samoa and Tonga."

One of the letter writers sent a poem written by his father about a brave man of long ago pinning his medals and marching, as he did years ago. The poem recognises the age of those heroes, who will not be around to put on those medals much longer.

It is all the more important, as they pass on, to never forget. Humans are clearly capable of committing terrible atrocities, but there is also something in us that longs for something more. Looking back almost 90 years after WWI, we remember those who gave their all. We also remember the ideals of freedom and hope, and recognise the great bravery and courage those men and women displayed. We will not let these things die in our hearts.

In the words of Canadian John McCrae:

"In Flanders fields the poppies grow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields."

Each one of us holds that torch. Let us ever hold it high.

Time Marches On

An update on the kittens:
Jasper has discovered he likes to climb! Whether sitting on top of the high wooden bench, watching the neighbours on the other side of the fence, or strolling along the fenceline debating about jumping on the neighbours roof, he has no fear.

Used to be perfect Allie is shaky and terrified, but tonight for the first time attempted to follow in little Jasper's footsteps. I think she was thankful when I reached out to help her down. She has turned a little annoying in that she is regularly waking me up at 5something am.

Things are different in the new house. They don't have their usual play spots or things, so have totally given up on toys they used to play with. I'm a little nostalgic, not about my former house, but for how the kittens grew up to be 6 month olds there.

Other than the kittens, I am largely settled into the new house. I love the yard and am thankful it is warmer than Roto Street was, however I will miss the double glazing and insulation I had in my apartment last winter.

Mom just sent me a big 12 pack of poutine mix in the mail. I'm so excited! Now I can make poutine. I would think that kiwis, with their affinity for things like bacon and egg pies would love the yummy goodness of fries with cheese and gravy but it doesn't exist here. A big thanks to Mom!!

Anzac Day is coming up this weekend. It's kind of like Canadian Remembrance Day. Poppies will be on sale tomorrow. We will remember them.

I attended a local play- "Footrot Flats" last night. It was only $15, and it reminded me how much I appreciate the theatre and how much I miss the Globe in Regina.

Until next time...

A bird in the hand...

I've moved into my new house. It was a crazy big move. Ugg. I totally don't love moving- not so much because of moving all the stuff- but mostly because of the pain of the house cleaning process. It's been busy since I've got possession. I've been here only 3 nights so far, and have been out every evening since- so I don't yet feel settled in.

Today however I popped in from work for lunch- only to discover a bird in my lounge. I wondered how it could have got in- thinking maybe it snuck in when I went out. Strangely my kittens hadn't attacked it- it was trying to get out the patio doors at ground level. When I arrived on the scene it flew up to a higher window, where I captured it and released it outside. My next stop was the kitchen where I planned to have lunch- but instead discovered broken glass all over the window. It turns out Mr. Bird had flown through the window. Right through. He made a bit of a mess all over the kitchen floor, so my lunch was spent cleaning up after Mr Bird. I also got to contact the landlords agent- only a week in the property- and already they've had to repair something. What are the odds of this happening just after I moved in? Lucky I guess! Or maybe the owners cleaned the windows just a little too clean!

In other news- we changed the time on the weekend. I'm not a great fan of less time in the evenings. We shifted my horseback riding lesson back half an hour which means I dash straight from work- and its still getting dark at the end of the hour. Just think- its another 5 months before it'll get any better. I'm not at all ready for winter, and don't even have the electric blanket on the bed yet. Day time temperatures still aren't bad, but its starting to drop overnight.

Hmmm...

Okay, it is back to the most non descriptive subject post line. I haven't posted in a while because nothing jumped out at me to post about.

In my news: I'm only about 9 days away from another move. This will be the hardest move of my life, because for the first time I have big stuff to move! There is the bed, the couch, the love seat, the kitchen table, the dryer, the big stand thing, etc. As usual prior to my moves, I've been purging. I went through my entire closet and was what I considered to be fairly relentless. I must have trimmed out about 4 or 5 bags that went to the red bin. I'm thinning out books as well- although I must say I've been rather restrained buying them, instead trying to make better use of the library. Those will get dropped off at the windmill which will be then used in the great annual Founders Book fair, where you can buy books really cheap. I take advantage, so best to donate as well. I've also been trying to eat the pantry- but haven't made too much headway on that front. I'll be moving away from this cute but ant full and non insulated house to a house that at least has underfloor and ceiling insulation only put in last year. Its a short term let of 6 months or hopefully a year and is much closer to town with a fab kitchen. I can't wait to be moved!

Other than that, my weekday activities of horseback riding and pilates take up a couple of nights a week. I've been pondering entering a 10km race in May- more to get me running again than anything else. Since a slight foot injury a while back, I haven't been out but am feeling okay again. We'll see if I get motivated after the move.

The days are getting shorter. It feels like winter is around the corner. I'm not looking forward to it, even though it doesn't mean -40. :) It does mean cold chilly kiwi houses and darkness, and thats a challenge enough.

My kittens are growing rapidly. Jasper is starting to look like a cat- getting his winter coat, so he's starting to lose the very extreme kitten cuteness. Allie already looks like a cat- she's a big girl. I've had her 4 months already, and him about 2 1/2.

Well, off to work I go. I had room for my blog this morning compliments of my darling kittens who decided I should get up at 6am, a full half hour early, so you can thank them for this post!

On the move...

Okay, so pretty much ever since I moved into my current flat, I've been looking for a new flat. Strangely my couple of minute walk through didn't help me predict how terribly prone to temperature fluctuations my current house would be. If the temperature is in the mid 20s outside, its quite common for me to get home after work and it to be 27 inside. Then it cools right off overnight. This is what happens with lots of windows and no insulation.

I went to see a house closer to town a week or two back. After going through the process, I'm going to be moving April 1st. Its only a short term accomodation- but should get me through the winter, and at least it has new underfloor and ceiling insulation. Plus a bigger yard...

My kittens are driving me slightly crazy when I take them outside. They go darting around the back of the house into the front, and towards the road. I tear after them to try and keep them safe. The new house has a fenced yard. Yay- hopefully they can go for play fests with a little less stress on me... They never seem to run the same direction when they're both outside.

I've eaten a tomato based veg stock made from tomatoes from my garden, and a pasta sauce as well in recent days. I can't keep up with the tomatoes from my 3 plants. Thankfully the big pumpkin plant is starting to tone down a bit- it seems to have stopped creeping- which is good. It covers a huge part of the yard, still. I'll need to get the garden all tidied up before I move. I'm not really looking forward to the moving process- I have far too much big stuff these days!

Tsunamis and Pride

First off, I just got back from watching a taped version of the Mens hockey finals at a Canadian friends. We sat together, 4 Canadians and a wider group of kiwis cheering on our boys. And they won. We cheered, and we felt proud- from the other side of the globe. Early in the games they were de-crying the Canadians lack of performance. If our medal count started slow, it certainly didn't finish that way - especially with our strong gold performance. The only Olympic event I was lucky enough to see was this hockey game. It was the last event, and as I heard the anthem played I felt proud... Just as I did when I saw "with glowing hearts" on the ice at GM place. Well done, athletes. Well done.

In other patriotic news, I must say I felt strangely proud to be Canadian yesterday. I got up after a well deserved sleep in yesterday morning (the kittens didn't get me up early for once! Celebration!) I logged into my email and the government of Canada was the first to inform me of the tsunami warning to NZ. I then checked on stuff.co.nz and found out sure enough waves were due to NZ, however after researching what had happened elsewhere in NZ it sounded like we had nothing to fear as long as we stayed out of the water and off the beach. Since I've done a bit of reading about the waves- it sounds like a really interesting phenomena. According to todays Nelson Mail, the tsunami caused tidal surges of close to 1.5M in Napier and more than a metre in Canterbury. One of the quotes: "I was blown away by how low the tide was and 15 minutes later it was all back again. The river dropped 1.5 metres in 10 minutes. It was really scary." There wasn't much impact in Nelson.