Happy Easter

Hi everybuddy, we hope that you are having a lovely weekend with your family and friends.  Our day has been lazy again.  We slept in and took it easy.  Thank goodness we got a bit of rain for the garden, and perfect weather to read a book and watch DVDs if you are mum, and snooze the day away if you are a cat.

We hope you enjoy your day and share your chocolate.

Caturday

 Howdy kitties and friends, it's Caturday evening here and we are just chilling.  Mum had lots of intentions, things to do, but after paying all the bills on Friday night decided that it was best to stick close to home and save some dollars, us trying to be budgetising and all.

 She did head off to the library to get some great books, the market for tons of fruit and vegetables.

 She went to the supermarket to get the rest of the groceries.  She fancied chicken wraps for dinner, but managed to spend $70 and walk out without the tortilla wraps.  Oh well - she says the chicken salad was tasty, and left a bit of room for dessert.

 My day = well I did a bit of exploring, racing around, sleeping, snoopervising, fancy feast eating and pestering mum.  Life is good!!

Enjoy your Caturday everybuddy!!!!

Good Good Friday

 Happy Good Friday everybuddy.  We hope you have some relaxing planned.  Mum and I were lazy and had a sleep in.  Well she did, after she got up at 6am to give me biscuits, which I was crying for, but then ignored and ran away.

 So I had to nap the day away.  Everytime I came inside, I napped on these new shoes mum got during the week.   They were only $9, but pretty flimsy and mums says they will do for casual wear, and seeing I love them she will keep them.

 Mum did eat lots of vegetables tonight with her piece of salmon.  She did forget to eat the hot cross buns, so will have them for breakfast over the weekend.

She cleaned out her chest of drawers, and swapped over the summer and winter clothes and pulled out the woollies and boots, ready for wear in the next few weeks.  Washing and drying was done in between the laziness.   We hope you all have a great day!!

Thank Goodness

Thank goodness says mum.  Work is over and relaxation can begin!!  It feels like Friday, but Good Friday is tomorrow, and mum has four whole days to share with me.  She has been busy busy at work, her feet are sore, her head hurts and she is ready to share the couch.  She does plan to do a load of washing and soak some dishes, but everything else can wait.  It is important that she watches Grand Designs, Bones and Project Runway.

Mum made nachos for dinner - she said it was tasty and just the right amount of grease she needed.  Even though there were lots of tomatoes and onions in it, there were no greens.  In fact mum had no green vegetables at all today - naughty mum, she better do better the rest of the weekend.

We hope you are all getting geared up for the Easter weekend too.

Happy Hump Day

Mum and I had a nice snuggle in bed today - a little lie in.  As the day was sunny outside mum went for a big walk out by the beach, and went shopping and got a couple of bargins.  A couple of $7 tshirts, and a couple of cardigans for the winter.  The shops have all turned on their sales for Easter.  Mum has just about bought all the clothes she will need for the coming seasons, and will try and avoid the shops after that.  She came home to spend some time with me and have her lunch, the last of the yummy Carrot & Coriander soup.

Wishes

Mum says she wishes she could stay home like me,  and roll around on the deck then snooze the day away on the bed.  Instead, she worked hard, got sore feet and a headache.  Still, it is over now, and mum has planted her butt on the couch, she has a diet Coke, and has some sliced up fruit and cookies,  and is going to watch My Restaurant Rules and Modern Family at the same time!!!  (what a rebel!!).  She's then going to read her book, and get at least 8 hours sleep.  Go mum - go mum!!

Countdown

Yup we are are on a coutdown to Easter.  Mum says she is glad that it is a four day week.  She didn't get called in over the weekend, but she never sleeps too well on call, and last night only managed five hours of snoozing.  She did read a bit though, but says she will sleep better tonight.

We had a bit of sunshine today but it is getting blustery today, and we hope for a touch of rain tomorrow to wet the garden. And YES that is a weed I am looking at in the garden tub.  Awesome, mum says they are far easier to grow than an y other plant.

Mum took her soup for lunch, she said it was really tasty and much admired by her work colleagues.

Have a good start to your week everybuddy.

Sunday Carrot & Corriander Soup at Chez Q

 Our friend Leanne wanted the recipe for mums Carrot and Coriander soup.  So mum decided she would cook it for Sunday lunch and take some photos.

Carrot and Coriander Soup

1 tablespoon oil - we use canola oil
I/2 tespoon ground coriander seed
1 Medium onion
4 or 5 average carrots.
1 average potato.
6 cups of stock or stock/water mix
1/2 bunch of coriander/cilantro

 Mum chops up all the veg first.  No need to peel the carrots, just scrub and chop.  You do need to peel the potato, then  chop.   The first thing to do, is to heat the oil in a big pot, add the 1/2 teaspoon of ground coriander and the chopped onion.  Cook on a medium heat for a couple of minutes to soften the onions, but not brown them.

 Add the six cups of water and we use two chicken stock tubs.  I would be quite happy to use 1L of pre made stock and then the same again of water.  Whatever you have on hand.  Then add the carrots and potato and season with salt and pepper.  Cook on a medium heat for about 40 minutes til the carrots and potato have softened.  Add more water if a lot has evaporated.

Then I add a 1/2 bunch of coriander, washed and chopped roughly.  I then use my stick blender to get it to the consistency I like.  The addition of potato to this soup made it lovely and thick, but you can easily leave it out.

 Serve with crusty bread - yummmmy.  This should serve four, and gives me plenty to take to work for lunch during the week.  The cost is about $5 for all that soup, so makes it fit in with our budgetising plan.  It took about 10 minutes chopping and prep time, and 40 minutes cooking.  While it was cooking, I did other stuff, as it was just cooking away by itself.

I'm getting to be a good photo bomber and try to get into all of mums photos.   I came to up to sniff her lunch, although I don't like much people food, but mum did give me a bit of her roll with butter, that I licked and then left.

Enjoy!!

Caturday Bounty

 Mum did not get up early today on Caturday, she snuggled in with me til 9am reading her book.  Then the laziness was over and she got up and showered and off to the market.

 This is all the fruit and vegetables she got!!!  Enough to feed a family she knows.  Her challenge is to try and eat most of it by next week.  Already the pumpkin is chopped in the oven, with some salmon and lemon in a parcel.  Half the broccoli is in the pot, ready to go!!  Way to go mum!!  Tomorrow she is going to make some leek and potato soup, and during the week has plans for carrot and corriander soup for her lunches, and a couscous and vegetable mix with the leftovers.

 So do they not sell fancy feast at that market?  Good job you got me 50 tins at the supermarket this week.

Check out our fruit bowl - full and ready for the weeks lunches and after dinner snacks!

Mum also done some gardening, loaded the dishwasher, folding the clean laundry, she has made the bed, lit some candles for the evening, and has a new book to start reading this evening.  Life is good.

We hope you have done something on your Caturday to make you happy too!

Mum Needs New Shoes

Mum is on call again - for the whole weekend til Monday morning at 8am.  She says though that she needs some new shoes, some for work and some for home.  So much as she would love the weekend to relax with me, she needs to pay the bills.

So after finishing work at 8pm - she rushed home and made a toasted roll with salad and ham for her dinner, and plonked herself on the couch while the washing was done.

Hope you have something nice planned for your weekend everybuddy.

Tent City

             Mum had to work late tonight - so I went camping...................

 ........................................................................on our bed.....................................

.................................no bugs or rain.......................awesome!!!

Hump Day

Mums work day was a bit blah.  She is glad it is over rover and she is back home.  She has put Ellen on the tv - much less depressing than the news.

She has been good and had her flu jab to protect her over the winter.  She needed icecream tonight - so she bought a big tub and is going to make a big bowl later, sit on the couch and eat it all (the bowl - not the tub). Me - I'm pleased as mum has stocked up on the feast.  A whole fifty tins.   If you live in NZ, the fancy feast is on special - ten cans for $8 which is the cheapest you can buy it for here.

Good-Bye Eric Buddy

When mum comes home, she switches on her computer, checks the news, and checks the blog.  The first thing she noted was that one of our sweet buddies Eric, well he had to go to the bridge this morning after a short illness. We know that his mum and dad, and brother Flynn will be heartbroken.  Mum shed a few tears.  Eric and Flynns blog has bought us so much joy over the years.

Our house smells nice, a roasty chicken and potatoes will be mums dinner tonight, perfect for a rainy autumn evening.  We have a fair bit of rain, good for our garden, but not enough for the kiwi farmers.  It will be a quiet evening again for us, thinking of our friends and how empty their house must feel.

Rain Dance

Thanks to all the people that have done a rain dance for us in dry NZ.  It started with a bit of drizzle yesterday, and last night mum kept checking as there was a lot of rain overnight.  It has been enough to wet our garden anyways, which is good as there is a ban on putting any water outside.  My goodness though, our evenings are turning dark and wintry all of a sudden.  We don't feel prepared for winter time yet.

Mum said work started off well, with a busyish day.  Dinner was easy, some frozen fish fillets and hash browns banged in the oven with peas, fast and tasty.  Then a yoghurt in front of the television and then to bed with a book.  Mum is reading Jodi Picoults book The Storyteller.  Jodi tells a good story, and mum loves her books, which always tackle interesting topics.  Mum thought that she had lost her Kindle - but phew it was just in her other work bag, her backpack.

Have a good week everybuddy - we hope yours starts well.

Mums Big Day Out

Today was mums day of fun.  She went out for brunch with her besties, a bacon/egg/tomato/pesto roll that she will give a 2/5 + and a brown sugar meringue that was a 4/5 - yum.  Then the girls wandered around a couple of shops then went to the movies to see Great Expectations.  They enjoyed it, but they like a costume drama.  It was a bit long, but Helena Bonham Carter was a good Miss Havisham.  Old Ralph Fiennes looked a bit grubby, but the girls still like him.  They thought a solid 3.5/5 for the movie, and good for a Sunday afternoon.

Mum came home, had a little snooze and now is watching Kiwi Masterchef then she is heading back to bed with a book for an early night in.

Oh Happy St Patricks Day and a  big Happy Birthday to Nephew Bud - 15 today!!!!

Caturday Sleeps

It has been a busy busy week this week for mum, and she worked again all day , so she is ready for some sleeps tonight.  So I'm warming up her spot, getting ready for mum to come to bed.   She has a trick to move me - she pops one of her shopping bags on the other side of the bed, and I usually climb over and sleep on that.

We hope you enjoy your Caturday and do something fun.  Mum has her fun planned for tomorrow.

Sleep Walk

Last night mum did oncall again, as one of her colleagues was sick.  I followed her again down the road, she really doesn't want me to go so far, but I'm a cat, so I'm going to do what I want.  So today, I'm a bit tired and have snoozed the day away.  Mum got to bed at 4.30am, but at 6am thought the phone had gone off again, and got up and stood by the clock looking at the time.  Mum thinks that she had a little sleep walk, as she wasn't really awake - that freaked her out a bit.  She went back to bed, if she did sleep through a phone call, the doctor would call again.

Mum had the morning to sleep in, and the afternoon to potter round.  She has watered the garden, as all watering is banned from 9am on Saturday morning.  Rain is forecast though, so we have our fingers crossed.

Have a good weekend everybuddy.

Water

Here in New Zealand, we have been having a fabulous summer.  With lots of blue skies and warmth, many parts haven't had any rain since August.  Our city has had a bit, but last week some water restrictions were put on - from last Saturday we were not able to use sprinklers in our garden.  As of this Saturday, no watering in the garden at all is allowed - mum will have to put away the watering can.

The good thing is that rain is forecast, so mum knows the garden should be alright.  At the moment our city only has water supplies for twenty days, so hopefully the rain will sort that out.  Mum and her besties are planning a trip to the movies, as they feel guilty sitting inside when the sun is shining outside.

We know we are lucky though, as many other cities have to pay for their water supply, our water here is free and usually plentiful.

Hump Day

Hump day is here - half way to the weekend.  Mum had a good day at work, but boy is she glad to be back home with me.  She cooked some dinner, loaded the dishwasher and got some towels dried.  Our evenings are getting darker quicker, so spending the last few hours relaxing is all good.

I have abandoned sleeping in the living room all night, and now normally trek into mums room and climb on her sometime in the night.  She doesn't mind,as she likes a snuggle.  Hope you get some snuggling done tonight too.

Party Night

Last night, I had a wee party, a bit like my buddy Mr Puddy.  You see mum had to go to work at half past midnight and at four am, so I followed her out our street and down the next street.  In fact I went the furthest I ever had, mum was worried I would follow her all the way!!  While she works, I wait in a neighbours garden and as soon as I hear her come back I call out real loud.  So loud mum thinks I will wake up the neighbourhood.

So mum got to sleep a couple of hours this morning, and went to work for only a couple of hours this afternoon.  A visit to the supermarket for some goodies and she has leftovers for dinner, the an caramel and pecan icecream for a little treat.   She has a big book mountain to get through, so she is going to turn the tv off early tonight.

Surprise!!

Surprise - it's Monday!!!  Mum laughed when she saw this photo with the surprised expression on my face.   Just another day at work for mum, and a day of relaxing for me.  We are getting a taste of autumn, with cloudy skies and chills.  Mum is thinking that she will have to drag out her winter woollies soon, and  sort out the wardrobe.  Time to pack the shorts and tshirts away soon.

Mum made a Nasi Goreng, which is an Indonesian spiced fried rice tonight for dinner and has lots for work lunches all week.  She is determined to not go to the supermarket til the end of the week, after payday.  She has a lot of food in the pantry and fridge, and can make do.

Hope your week has started well.

Nice

 Mum asks if you have been nice to yourselves this weekend?  Got a little treat?  Maybe  done something fun?  Mum has.  She finished reading Rod, Rod Stewarts biography, which she is going to give a 5/5 as she ended up liking the guy, and thinks that he is good to his family, his friends and even his ex wives.

 When she got home on Saturday afternoon, she still had a few chores to do, and she decided to tackle her bedside table which was looking cluttered and messy.

 She had  picked up a silver owl and a couple of small blue vases for under $20, and all the other bits and pieces she had already.  Of course she had to include the pile of books that are always at her bedside.

She says she was a bit spoilt with other treats too.  She got to join her friends for lunch at a Sushi bar on Saturday which was yummy.  At the fruit and veg market yesterday a mothers group were selling baking and mum bought two cupcakes which for a mere $2 each, were the nicest she has had.  A good free treat was to change the nail polish on her toes - hello light creamy orange soda colour.    Last night she baked some salmon for dinner, so tonight will cook up some cabbage, broccoli and baked potato to have with the left over piece of fish.  Apple and bread are out in the garden for the birds, and a nice strawberry cheesecake is out of the freezer for dessert.

Have you done anything nice for yourself this weekend?

Caturday Posing Tips

 Hi Kittiecats - aren't you glad it is Caturday?  The bestest day of the week.  Take your folks out into the garden and breath the fresh air if you can, if you don't have a garden we hope the weather lets you open the windows and breath in some fresh air.

Now mum tries to corner me for some photo sessions when we are together.  You might need some posing tips.

                                 We call this one the "Look Away"  my most popular position.

                                   Then we have the "Close Eyes and Scowl" - sweet.

                          The "Look Up in the Sky"  always a good choice.

We hope you enjoyed seeing many of most popular poses and hope you can assist your photographer to get some awesome Caturday snaps.  Enjoy your Caturday, have some fun.

Mortification

Mum didn't feel too great last night, she thinks the lamb chops she made did not agree with her, so she went to bed early with Rod (that's Rod Stewart the book thanks).  This morning she woke and thought it looked awfully bright for 6.30 am.  That is because it was 8:45 am and mum had been due to start work at 8am.  Oh oh.

Mum quickly rang in, washed her face, brushed her teeth and hair and ran off to work.  She didn't have time to make her planned fancy egg roll for lunch and had to grab a yoghurt and orange instead.  So it was eggs on toast for dinner tonight.

It is only the second time she has slept in at work in her twenty five years of working.  The first time she slept in, she woke up at 11am!!  In both instances her bosses were understanding, as mum works hard.  She had to stay later tonight to make up her hours.

So tonight, the washing machine is humming all ready and mum is going to get some chores out of the way, before heading to bed with Rod again.  Tonight we are reaching the 80's when the hair was the biggest, and Rod is now living in LA.  We are getting to meet the first Mrs Stewart, and mum is enjoying the book so far. Much as he had a lot of girfriends and groupies,  we sense that  he really likes the ladies and is a bit of a smoothie.

Herroww!!!

Herrow friends.  It has been a funny old week here at Chez Q.  Maybe it is the feeling of the change of seasons that is making things a bit mixed up.  Anyways tomorrow is Friday and then the weekend belongs to us!!

Mum has put a lamp chop in the oven to have with a baked potato, and a salad for dinner.  She felt like lemon meringue pie, but it all seemed a bit pricey so she went with a small strawberry cheesecake for dessert.  I am having the feast - I'm happy.  A touch of evening gardening will be done, a read of Rod, a little tele and then sleepy time again.

Mum is enjoying the Rod book.  She thinks he is a bit cheeky, and liked his second chapter about his hair, and the chapter about his making stuff for his model railroad, which he takes with him everywhere on tour, and potters around making at home.  She is up to the 1970s and the story is a bit wild, lots of long hair, cocaine and girls.

Hump Day

It does feel like hump day.  Mum feels a bit humpy!!!  This week the computer has stopped reading the SD card from the camera, so we can't load new photos.  It happened last month, and mum fixed it - she just can't remember how.  Thanks middle aged brain.

Mum did manage to bake a potato and stuff it with stir fried chicken with chopped capsicum and bell pepper.  So she feels better after her tasty dinner.

She's reading Rod Stewarts biography, which is making her laugh and she is enjoying.  She's only up to his teenage years so far, so the exciting stuff is still to come.

Have a happy hump day everybuddy!!

Shopping Bag Love

The other day, mum got home and put her bag of vegetables and fruit on the bed, while she went to the bathroom.  I couldn't resist me some shopping bag love.