Chilling Caturday

Mum worked til Midnight last night keeping herself busy.  So I stayed at home and guarded the bed, made sure the sheets were smooth and ready for sleeping.  Us girls had a good sleep and mum didn't get up til after 8am.  She then got some relaxing done before heading into town to meet a bestie for lunch.  They had lots to talk about, which was good as service was super slow.  Then mum went off for a walk in the sunshine as it was warm, 15 degrees with the sun shining, it sure felt like spring.

So the evening was taking up by more relaxing, so it really felt like a lovely day off for us girls.  Hope you all got plenty of relaxing done too.

Restful

The visitors headed home on Wednesday, so I have been busy getting my snooze on.  Mum changed the sheets and I have been glued to he quilt ever since.  I chowed down on my dinner last night and was super hungry this morning so I got a feast for my breakfast as well.  How lucky am I?

So after a lazy Friday together mum now has to pop the uniform on and head to work for an afternoon shift.  We hope that you get to spend the evening together, as I won't see my mum til midnight.  Better get snoozing then!!

Try Something New Thursday - Meatballs with Yoghurt Dressing by Chelsea Winter

So mum thought that this Thursday she would try something new - by using this Meatball with Yoghurt Dressing Recipe by New Zealand chef Chelsea Winter.  If you click on the link it will take you to the recipe.    This is her photo, mums did not look quite as pretty and she didn't make any flatbreads or salad, just meatballs with yoghurt dressing and some rice.  It is made with Middle Eastern flavours, and she would not usually use mint/ginger/allspice or ginger, but it all added to the flavours.    She must admit it was pretty yummy

She  did end up speaking on the phone for a while and not starting dinner til 8.30pm and it took her about 30 minutes to chop and mix and then the meatballs had to be in the fridge for a half hour, so she would recommend it as a weekend meal.  Mix up the meatballs on a Saturday afternoon, put them in the fridge overnight and cook up on the Sunday.  If you make it she would recommend that you have a small chopper/food processor.  She has one that is part hand held stick blender and it made chopping up the fresh breadcrumbs, the onion, and the chopped herbs much quicker and more professional than hand chopping.  Otherwise no other gadgets are necessary.

She was glad to try a new recipe and will certainly make it again..  A worthy 8/10.

Wordless Wednesday - Camping Queen

Daze

After a wintery week last week, the past couple of days have felt more spring like with blue skies and sunshine, spring blossoms and happy birds.  I have also ventured outside to soak in a few of the rays.

Hope you have some sunshine where you live too.

The Best

Visitors pillows are THE BEST.  Especially when they leave them unguarded.  You just have to climb aboard and make yourself at home.

Sunset Sunday

Tonights sunset sent some wacky clouds outside our house - like a pair of pink lips in the sky.  I had a nice night napping, and mum spent the day walking through the city with her family.  Everyone will sleep well tonight

Curious Caturday

Today I have been very brave.  It rained in the morning heavily, and once the visitors awoke I was scared and ran outside.  They then went out for the day, but got home by early afternoon.  I then sneaked in a couple of times and figured out if I ran to the bedroom I could hide in there.  So I have been sleeping with a new person in mums bed.  I sleep down the end and even rested my head on their feet.  Aren't I brave?

Mum figures out I was just curious and cold that made me much more braver than usual.  Hope you had a nice Caturday and got to do something fun.

Camping

Family are staying, so mum has given our bed up.  So us girls are camping in the lounge, sharing the couch.  I kind of like it.

More Visitors

We have more visitors in the house tonight.  Our family has arrived and mum says I have been very brave and popped in and out a couple of times.  I have even run down to the bedroom and curled up, which I don't usually do when I have people round, so mum is very impressed.  It is chilly out though, so she is glad I am inside.

Wordless Wednesday

Afternoon Shifts

Mum tries to look at the bonuses of working some afternoon shifts - being able to sleep in, the day has warmed up by the time she gets up, reading in bed all snuggled in while everyone else heads off to work, a leisurely lunch on the couch, watching the Olympics at midday, getting to see some of the sunshine and not using as much electricity in the evening because it is warm at work.

Back to Normal

No Mumster Monday this week - after 4 weeks of having Mondays off, mum had to go to work.  The good thing was that it was a shift, so she got to sleep in and hang out with me and keep the heaters on as it was still awfully cold.  Lots of areas round the country have roads cut off and power out for days, but luckily not in our city.

We are quite enjoying the Olympics - mum has watched a bit of the rowing and might watch a bit of the swimming and the gymnastics.  Are you watching any?

Still Cool

It was still a cold one today.  Mum didn't get too much sleep, she has things on her mind, so was up early.  She had wanted to go out and see some best friends at their seaside home, and it was nice to get out and about.  The rain and most of the clouds had passed over, but boy was it chilly.  So she wrapped up warm and got herself out and about.

When she arrived she went with her friends for a walk in the cold sun, and then they had a lovely lunch together.  Mum made sure she was home in time to close up the curtains and put the heaters on to warm up the house.  Thank goodness for the heat pump which blasts the hot air round.  Mum cooked some chicken and rice for her dinner and got me my usual feast.

Luckily mum can have a sleep in tomorrow as she has a couple of shifts coming up.

Caturday on the Couch -The Winter Edition

Hey kitties - today me and the mumster spent Caturday hibernating inside and mum moved from the bed to the couch and back to the bed again, just via a few visits to the bathroom and the kitchen.  It has been the chilliest day of the winter so far, so mum kept on her pyjama pants, her slippers and a nice cashmere/wool jumper.  

I had my biscuits for snacks and a feast for my dinner.  Mum finished the leftover pasta for brunch and had more carbs with a supermarket pizza for dinner.  So tomorrow she needs to put her big girls pants on and get outside and go for a walk for some exercise.  Me - well I got the couch for a little while when she did some washing and other chores, but have retreated to the bedroom for most of the day.

Our winter has been exceptionally mild so far this year, so it was a bit of  shock when the temperatures dropped.  Still it won't last long, and we know that many of our Northern Hemisphere friends will laugh at us shivering in 4 deg C.  Still it won't last long.  There are buds on the trees outside and we have had sightings of new spring lambs and daffodils in the region.

Hope you all got to relax on Caturday too!!

Winter Chill

The winter chill is upon us with a sneaky southerly tracking up the length of NZ.  Luckily mum was prepared with winter cushions!!!  Actually the heat pump is pumping out the heats and mum put the electric blanket on her bed real early so that I could curl up.  She has also bough two quilts into the bedroom to pile up on the bed so we can be snuggly tonight.

So after a dinner for her of leftovers and a dinner of feast for me, we have done nothing but watch bad television and rest our bones.  Hope you all get to rest up tonight too.

Try Something New Thursday - David Jones Department Store

This weeks Try Something New adventure was a day trip to the newly opened David Jones Store in Wellington.  You see once upon a time we had a small department store called Kirkaldies in our city.  It was filled with lots of grey haired grannies shopping and was deemed an older ladies store, with the young twenty something girls only on the first floor stocking up on MAC and other over priced cosmetics.  So as times got tough it was doomed to fail.  So they sold up, and David Jones a posh Australian department store bought the store and has spent the past couple of months updating the shop.

Because it has been open for a week the shop was super busy with people going for a look.  The downstairs seemed full with expensive cosmetics and overpriced handbags.  The crowds were deep so I didn't get to check any prices, but we looked online and saw the the Valentino bags go for between $1000-4000 (US), so not in my budget price range.  The middle floor was still the fashion floor, with a variety of high end designers and upstairs had mens fashions, the cafe and the home range.

We looked forward to seeing the home section, but were terribly disappointed as it had a couple of bed linen ranges and some home wares like electric blankets, toasters and mixers.  All things that are one off buys, but no design products or artwork which we like to look at.

I do think that the company has misunderstood the NZ market.  For we on the whole are a society that cares little about fancy labels and high prices.  We like flat shoes and puffer jackets, and think that $50 is pricey for a t-shirt, so think that you might have trouble moving your $300 shirts.   The youngsters that love the labels may come to browse, but would be more likely to buy online.  The people with rich wallets, are more likely to be on planes buying their fancy clothes and outfits in Sydney, London, Paris and New York.

I do wish you well though - I hope that people not only browse but buy from your store, for you have lots of lovely locals working for you, and your bring some variety and quality to our retail environment.  Unfortunately this middle aged lady is unlikely to spend a lot of time shopping with you, as times are tough in our household and I have a bit of a budget to stick to.

Wordless Wednesday - These Boots are Made for Snuggling With

All Clear

We have the all clear at home.  The visitors have gone and I can assume my position back onto the couch.  Mum and I have been sleeping on the couch while family had mums bed.  We don't mind giving up our beds, cos we can sleep anywhere, so are not short of snoozes.

The house seems awfully quiet though now the visitors have gone.

Bravery

Look at me sitting this close to the vacuum  cleaner - although it is not turned on.  Mum did a good old tidy up at the weekend, and I helped.  Helped by snoopervising.