Pants

Mum was on a mission today.  You see she is down to her final few pairs of pants, and they are all short and not ideal  for the chilly weather coming.  Boy, it is quite the mission to find pants here.   You see everyman and his shop has fully embraced the skinny trend and apparently they only make pants for folks who are over 6 foot tall - not many for curvy shorties like mum.  So she frequented many a shop and dangled many of the pants in front of her, and even tried a few on.

Eventually she settled on a pair to bring home and try with her tops to see if they went well.  She did see a couple of pairs on Thursday, so might go back and give those a try too.  That way she will be keeping her ankles warmer as the weather cools.

We guess the NZ market is pretty small, so most ranges only sell long pants, that mum always has to take up  and never look quite right, as they don't go in at the right places.   Still luckily mum can make do with just a couple of pairs, and mix them up with a variety of tops.

So I am snoozing on the quilt now, and mum thinks she will hit the pillows soon.  She has a good book to start, The Outcast Dead by Elly Griffiths .    Mum says there is something special about curling up in a warm bed with a good book - with a fat pussy cat (chubby mum not fat) between her knees.  Another busy Friday night at our house.

Thankful Thursday

Mum has lots to be thankful today:

• Thankful that she had enough spare change in her wallet to treat her colleagues to cream buns for afternoon tea, on a busy long day.
• Thankful for the nice bus driver who said that everyone on the bus got their short ride for free this afternoon.
• Thankful to the nice man at the supermarket who gave mum a good pen after mum let him go ahead of her in the line (he was only buying three lightbulbs).  Mum loves a good pen.
• Thankful that the sun was shining finally after a long week of rainy/cloudy weather.
• Thankful that I was still at home as the builders were around doing things at the front and back of the new place.  That meant I was under the deck the whole day waiting for them to go.
• Thankful that tomorrow is Friday and mum gets three days off to go and do some good stuff.

Hope you all find some things to be thankful for today.

Wordless Wednesday

Layers

Due to the winter snap starting as soon as our summer was officially over, we have had to layer up the bed and put some feathery quilty things back on the bed.  Of course my job was as snoopervisor and to check out each part of the quilt is up to my standards.

Last night, mum made a roasty chicken with sweet potatoes and peas for dinner, a good hearty feed.  Soup and toast has been organised for the following week day lunches - yummy.  A big pile of fancy feast has been brought in to keep me satisfied.  In fact mum says with a supermarket two minutes walk away, it is hard to avoid being there every day.

Mum doesn't feel so exhausted today as she got a good nights sleep last night.  I did still wake her up this morning at birdy o'clock.  Birdy o'clock is about 5am when the neighbourhood birds wake up chirping and are frisky around the place.  It wakes me up for an hour or two, before I fall back into bed all tired from having my eyes open too long.

Hope you are all having a rocking Tuesday.

Exhaustable

Mum has been feeling very tired the past couple of days, but she does know it is due to a couple of factors. She would love to say it is from lovely nights out, but she is putting it down to doing night shift last week, working the weekend and a couple of birdy o'clocks.  You see it seems to her that she leaves some biscuits in my bowl when she heads to bed.  She thinks I get up for a midnightish snack, and then I wake up with the birdies around 5am.  Then I come to her room and cry and cry til she gets up and feeds me.  Then, like this morning, I run back to bed, climb all over her and try to sleep a deep sleep, and get annoyed when she gets up to go to the shower.  That's her theory anyways.

Mum does try to maintain a bit of a routine, but every work day she is up at a different time depending on what shift she is working.  For example this week her start times are 08:30, 09:00. 07:45 and 08:00.  Next week there will be a couple of afternoon shifts and some of the nights she will be on call, so each day she gets up at a different time, and that seems to upset the body clock a bit, especially as she has got older.

Anyway it is getting late here, so time for us girls to get some more snoozing done.

Sunday Chillin

So the mumster went to work again today.  She said it was awfully tempting to roll over and forget about the alarm going off at 6am, as it was warm and cosy in our bed.  However mum has to pay the bills, so off she went.  It was ok, it had busy patches but went fast.  Sometimes if she works Sat/Sun she will get some days off, and it is always nice to have the Monday/Tuesday off after working, but this time she had the Thursday/Friday off before.  Mum knows then, that this will be a long week, so she has made plans for her dinners to be quick and easy this week, she has a pile of good books and some good shows to watch and will try and take it easy.

Me - well I take it easy every day.   It is 10:30pm and I have already been in bed since 7pm.  Only another 9 hours napping til breakfast.

Happy snoozing everybuddy.

Hello March Caturday

Hello March.  It was a cold night here in the capital city.  Luckily I got to pin mum to the bed by planting myself between her knees all night.  She had a busy day at work, and was glad to come home to some relaxing.  A nice home made Pizza was dinner and a bit of chilling on the couch.  She had a few recorded movies to watch, and decided on Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which she hasn't watched in years.

So now the evening is drawing to  a close and mum is determined to get an early night, as she has to work again tomorrow.  She senses it will be a busy one tomorrow, but that's ok the day goes faster that way.

I showed my mum that I was finding my way around the front garden by walking her out on her way to work.  She was pleased to see that I did not wander far away, and found somewhere safe to sit and watch the neighbourhood.  I often like to walk her out, and have done it at the other two places we have lived at.  Mum flatted with a girl years ago, and her kitty would walk with her to the hospital and sit across the road in a garden, and wait for her to finish work and then walk her mum home.  So cute.

So enjoy your Caturday everybuddy.

Last Day of Summer 2014

It is the official last day of summer here in Kiwiland, and this big lots of cloud and rain rolled in about 6pm making it dark early and reminding us of the weather to come.  We know though that our friends in the north have had a pretty wicked winter and are awaiting their six months of warmness.

We slept in and mum mucked around for the day.  She did go for a walk this afternoon while the weather was warmer and got some chores done and more groceries bought.  This evening has been quiet, while mum reads blogs some eggs are boiling so that she has a nice lunch for work tomorrow (mashed eggs + tomato in a roll for lunch).  Dinner is planned for the next two nights and the uniforms are all ready to be worn.

Hope you are all ready for the weekend - Caturday is tomorrow.  Woo hoo!!

Hidden

                                                     Can you see me?

                                                  How about now?

Just helping mum  tidy up the bed.   Hope you all had a fabby day.  Ours was ok.  The mumster had the day off and had a hair appt this afternoon, so went for a walk around the harbour and had a subway sandwich by the sea which was a good tonic.  She got a good hair cut and colour, and of course at the end her hairdresser whispered to her that it would be her last haircut with mum, as she is leaving next week.  We know that hairdressers aren't allowed to tell you where they are moving on to to protect the business, but mum feels a bit peeved as she has been going to the same salon for about 15 years and most of the oldies know her by name.  Her hairdresser has only done her hair for the past 6 months, as her fave hairdresser of six years left last year.  So this is a break up - mum isn't going back to the same salon, the owners have changed and mum doesn't feel any loyalty to them.  She hates the practice of being dumped onto the newest hairdresser when your good hairdresser leaves  She has scoped out a new place close to home and she is going to be brave and try out somewhere new.  Isn't a hassle finding a new hairdresser?

The evening is mild, although the wind is picking up as the weather is set to change tomorrow.  So mum had leftovers for her dinner and between tv shows is doing a little tidy up around the place.  The landlords have been around and got the gardener to tidy up the back yard for me.  They are going to do the front yard next week, and get someone to come and look at the light in mums room, which is currently  a bit prison cell and hopefully can be made nice and smart.

Hope you are all having a good Thursday - it's almost the weekend!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Cat Door

I have got used to my little cat door now, and am quite happy to come and go.  Mum went off to her nightshift last night at 11:30pm and left me sleeping on her bed.  When she got home just after 7am I got up and joined her while she had a snack.  It always helps her to have some toast before she pops into bed, so that the rumbly tummy doesn't wake her up at midday.

The cat door is a little higher than my last one, and at our old place my mum had a stool outside to help me climb in.  I am managing quite well here, and mum figures it is like a bit of a core exercise for me to have to stretch a little bit.  Usually while she is home and the weather is mild the back door is open, so that I can come and go through there.

Another Week

Another week has started.   Mum got herself up and she did go for a walk.  She went to a seaside cafe and had her lunch by herself.  She always feels brave eating out by herself, and even though she had her Kindle to keep her company it was nice to savour a tasty lunch with a wonderful view.  She window shopped but in reality there was nothing that grabbed her.  She is trying to be on a tight budget, and there is no harm in looking.  Of course the one thing we needed, she forgot about.  Oh well.

Groceries of course have to be bought every week, so mum got a pile of those.  Some fancy feasts for me and salad and meats for her.  Things sure are expensive at the supermarkets, and mum often wonders how people afford to feed a family on one income.  She finds it difficult feeding just her and me without spending loads.  From what we read on other blogs, groceries are pretty pricey here.  Steak and lamb are about $27 NZ a kilo (thats about 14 pounds or $22 US), Chicken breast is about $18 NZ/kg (9 pounds or $ 14 US).  Still mum knows that she is lucky to have a job and to be able to put food on the table.

Speaking of which she had a piece of pork with a warm potato salad and broccoli for her dinner.  A peach for her dessert is waiting for her - she is trying to eat her 5+ fruit and veg servings a day to keep healthy.

Hope you all have something tasty for your tea too.

Sleepy Sunday

It was a summery breezy day here, so mum succeeded in  getting a few loads of washing out on the washing line.  Although she loves getting them out in the fresh air, she is missing having a dryer.  The towels were so much softer, and she liked having her clothes washed and dried in the same evening.  She knows though that she is lucky having a washing machine at home and lots of sunshine at the moment.  She shouldn't moan.

Our friend Kim asked about Laundromats.  There are a couple in the city we think (but too far away from where we live), but everybody in NZ has their own washing machines at home.  We were a bit spoilt having a washing machine and dryer at our last house and mum got very used to it.  Our weather is quite mild here so it can dry outside on the line six months of the year, and have to be on a drying rack inside in the winter.

With the windows wide open I did a bit of snoozing around the house in various spots.  I do like mums bed at the moment, it is where I am snoozing as the secretary writes this post for me.  I had my dinner just after 6pm and went to bed at 6.20pm.  It is now 10:50pm and I am still in the same spot.

So the mumster is going to watch the end of the Walking Dead, then pop herself into bed to read for a while.  She doesn't have to go to work in the morning, so can have a late night with a bit of a sleep in.

We can feel the seasons beginning to slip and change lately.  It has been getting darker a bit earlier and mum has been pulling the slippers out more and more.  We know though that we will be due for more sunshine before the summer is truly over.

Enjoy your Sunday - hope you all had plenty of chances for a snooze or two.

Caturday Kitties

 Hi Caturday Kitties!!!  We had a lovely pinkie sunset this evening, with wisps of pink clouds over the harbour.  Although we can't see the sea from our house, it is just between the buildings and the big hills in our picture.   We are appreciating having a bit of a view in this house.

Mum was very grateful to be able to have a wee sleep in today, and then to go and meet a bestie for brunch.  It was a nice morning and mum did a lot of window shopping before coming home.  A few loads of washing, the bed was made, dinner and dishes done and time to rest up and relax.

 Me - well I had to get the blogging done.  There was uploading of photos.

 Dictating to my secretary.

And then checking out all of my friends blogs.

Now it is time for a nap!!!

Enjoy your Caturday my friends.

My Space Now

You got up and went to the shower.  It's my space now!!!  Mum and I had a quiet Friday night relaxing at home preparing for the weekend.  Hope you are all getting ready too.

Vista

We have a little view out of the front bedroom windows.  One is towards where we used to live, which is only 10 minutes walk away, and if we turn our head to the left and look out at the bottom picture the tall buildings are part of the hospital where mum works which is not far away either.

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Things on the Wall

Gradually some of our things are  making way onto the wall and in their proper places making this place feel like our home.  Mum wasn't sure if these things suited being in the lounge or should be in the bedroom, but we like the three hanging together.  We have never lived in a place with white walls before, so mum feels it needs a little bit of colour in our accessories.

P.S somebuddy asked about our upstairs neighbour.  He is a quiet young man who works at a bank, and is not very noisy at all.  We don't  hear too much, most of the noise we hear is as he comes and goes to and from home as the stairs are by our bedroom window.

Little Bed Tent

This is where I am napping right now, in my little bed tent that my mum made for me.  It has my favorite blankies on it, and it is right by a little window, so I can see out onto my queendom.  I don't even run and hide now when the guy upstairs comes home, I am getting used to random noises.  We don't hear a lot, just when he comes and goes on his steps outside our bedroom.  When he is home though it isn't too bad.

Hope you all have somewhere warm and cosy to sleep.

Sunshiney Sunday

We keep reading that so many of our friends are having wicked weather, and we just wanted to let you know that the sun is shining somewhere on the planet.  We got blessed with a wonderful day.

Things that pleased mum today:

• Finally getting the lid off the nail polish removal bottle.  The child proof lock had prevented her from opening it for 3 weeks.  So now her toenails are Essie Merino Cool, instead of half worn out coral red.
• Finally remembering to buy her fave olive oil at the local market.  Lots of fresh fruit and veg at the supermarket.
• Having lunch with a bestie at a nice cafe and then doing some window shopping while taking a big old walk.
• A nice dinner and a quiet evening on the couch, phone calls with the family and a good couple of shows on the tele.
• Me ready to snuggle with while she reads her book before bed.

Not so impressed that  I backed up onto the litterbox and deposited my deposit outside the confines of the box.  She has seen the website for cat shaming.  She was seriously considering sending my name in.  The clean up made her have a quick little vomit, and kinda ruined her nice afternoon.

Hope you are all enjoying your Sunday and keeping your butt in the box.