Bite the hand that doesn't feed enough.



Yeah, cute, right?

Now picture this:

You walk into your vet clinic

carrying...no, lugging your cat carrier cage along beside you.

In the consultation room,

you smile brightly if not a little nervously at Dr Tas

as you heave your heavily overweight moggy up onto the table for his annual checkup.

Dr Tas smiles back,

proceeding to check over Fluffy and gently insert the words "calorie control"

into conversation without appearing condescending.

She goes on to explain that cats shouldn't be fed ad-lib,

that most cats will eat more than they need if they are left with food access 24/7,

that cats only need a really small amount of food each day,

that you need to be strong and know that you are doing the right thing by restricting their calories,

that your cat isn't starving,

that he might annoy you a little but just. ignore. him.

Dr Tas now understands why people looked at her as if she was a patronising git

and might have mumbled something about "easier said than done",
"you can't be serious"
or even "are you on drugs, lady?"
(plus many more, less polite comments)

Mr Boozle and I have had a conversation that I didn't think 2 pet-owning vets would ever have.

The one that goes:

Do you think we should just give in and knowingly over-feed them

and put up with them being fat

as long as they just stop being so friggin' manic about eating everything/anything?

The cats will stalk across the table to try and pinch the kids' meals from their plates if left unchecked.

They will run off with and chew kitchen sponges and scourers (yes, metallic scourers).

They will grab anything in plastic, make a run for it

then see if its contents are edible.

(For the record...
Crumpets are.

Bread rolls are.
Mince is.
Weetbix are.
Cheesymite scrolls are.
Easter eggs are.

Yoghurt mix isn't.)

They will eat raw zucchini.

They will shove their head into a bowl of flour just in case
there is something in there to eat.

They will nick lollies out of a handbag.

They have nearly been through a dishwashing cycle
more than once.

There are bite marks in the lump of blue tack on my desk.

They will chew up anything made of paper and cardboard.



(That has got to hurt. That is tough plastic)

They will chew off 16th wedding anniversary long stemmed red roses.

(At this point we nearly went from being a
3 child-2 cat-1 dog household
to a
3 child-2 goldfish-1 dog household...
and ask me how much I dislike fish as pets)

They are indoor cats

so at least we know that the local wildlife is being protected

even if our sanity isn't.

We are working on a cat enclosure down the side of the house

and then I hope some peace and order may return.

Pets are meant to be relaxing,

to lower your blood pressure,

to give you pleasure and enjoyment.

We are stressed, on alert and slightly nervous...

...Does anyone remember Razorback?

10 years ago today...11th September, 2001

(ultracoolfun.blogspot.com)

My husband and I were driving in old Combi van around Western Europe on 2001.

We drove into the gorgeous Siena in Italy on that morning in September,

ready for another day of carefree sightseeing,

free to explore yet another beautiful Tuscan town.

As we walked up a narrow cobble-stoned street,

a photograph on the cover of the newspaper was accompanied by one word:

apocalypse.

That is my memory of this day in history.

We were both blessed and cursed as we had no access to television

due to our mode of travel,

no relentless media bombardment in our spoken language.

We struggled to keep radio reception to an English speaking station in our van.

We had to actively search out information

about that day and its aftermath.

It was surreal.

I think it took us months, perhaps longer, to get a real grasp

on the extent of that tragic day.

In some ways, we were cushioned to the impact of the horror,

at least initially.

Unlike most big events of my lifetime,

I certainly remember where I was on 9/11.

My thoughts are with those who died on that day

and those who have died since;

their families,

their friends

and with most of humankind

who will be forever haunted by the events of that day.

(articles.sftgate.com)



This week...10th September, 2011



...I got Curly Pops mail

which was meant to be gifted

but is so gorgeous that it "somehow" ended up in my jewellery box.

(thetvlookingglass.wordporess.com)

...I thought that if I was now watching Dr Who as a 12 year old,

I'd have no bloody idea what was going on.

It all seemed a bit less convoluted

when Tom Baker was chewing on his jelly babies.

(Karys top- Katya Frankel)

...my knitting was red

...our 8 year old didn't seem to believe us when we told him

that red things go faster.

(He's no fun)

...we delved into the heavy subject matter of political correctness,
political correctness gone mad
and beyond
when the same eight year old asked us
why saying "oh my God" could hurt some people's feelings.

As usual I got a little carried away
and almost had to explain
why Ernie and Bert and Noddy and Big Ears
were, at one stage, considered non-PC for kids.

(laprogressive.com)
When I was that age, I didn't know (or care) what heterosexuality was,
let alone what homosexuality was,
let alone what it "could" mean if 2 boy muppets
slept in separate beds
in the same room.

Play hard.



You get completely and utterly demolished at a card game with your 4 year old
without even trying to help her.

(Without any prompting,
near the end,

she tells you which card to use next round so that you will win something)

Do you feel:

i like taking your bat and ball and going home, demoralised

ii proud of her

iii inadequate

iv like hiding that game and pulling out chess next time

v amazed at her skill and empathy

vi a totally inappropriate urge to cheat next time...
after all it isn't your fault that she holds her cards where you can see them...

vii all of the above

Say cheese (or is that cheesy?)

How hung up are you about your passport photo?

What about Driver's license pic?

Mr Boozle and I are renewing our passports

just in case we might happen to need them

in the next few months.

(Big yay)

I stood behind the red mark on the floor at the post office

and looked at the designated point.

Do I smile? Or not? Oh, crap. I don't know.

Wait.

Is the hair OK?...I think it is...

Well, it was before I walked here in the wind and rain.

No makeup to worry about.

Well, just enough to take off the shiny spots.

No, wait.

Where's the mirror?

I think that I have a stray nasal hair...

Waaaiiiiitttttt!

...

...

...

Excuse me, sir.

I know that you have 7 people waiting but could we do that again?

Really, do you think that the man at the airport whose job it is to stand and check passport photo

after passport photo

after passport photo

after passport photo

gives a toss as whether you have had your roots done,

whether you have matt or gloss lippy on

and whether you might be having a pimple pop up just over there on your left cheek?

Like-wise the policeman or anyone else who needs

to check your Driver's license.

(Except maybe for the policeman or woman who

has pulled you over just to get a date with you.

No, it hasn't happened to me but it isn't an urban myth- I know someone who got pulled over to get pulled.

So to speak.

Bet she was hoping at that moment that she looked fabulous in her Driver's license photo)

I figure if my eyes are open and my hair half decent,

it's all good.

The photos always have odd lighting and colouring

but then that probably matches your complexion

after spending 13 sleepless hours on an overnight flight.

3 and 1/2 hours in a customs queue

as you now stand under harsh fluorescent lights and the threat of a cavity search.

The sad fact is that the majority of us will have photos that would look quite at home

if pasted about a "Wanted: dead or alive" caption 

but given how rarely those photos see the light of day

or how rarely they are viewed by someone with the time and inclination to judge,

who really cares?

Mummy Porn

(flickr.com)



...is *cough* forcing yourself to listen to an audio tape of David Tennant reading

"How to Twist a Dragon's Tail".

In his glorious Scottish accent.

For a few hours.

For the kids' sake.

I'm thinking that if John Barrowman ever records "Fun with Dick and Jane",
I'll have to take a cold shower...

This week...3rd September, 2011

...the nerdy, geeky knitter in me got excited

by learning how to make an icord.

Way. cool.

...I am wondering how a cat (or cats)

managed to fish a small piece of forgotten toasted baguette

out of the bottom of the toaster.

...and I am thinking that Mr Boozle had wisdom earlier in turning the power to the toaster off

when he saw the toast,
purely because he knew what the cats would do.







(And I'm thinking that, at the going rate, an electrical appliance may well be their downfall)

...I decreed that my male offspring

henceforth be known as Erky and Perky

Is that wrong?
It's just that they just seem to have so much in common.

...I signed up our princess for The World's Strictest Parents.

As you can see, the intervention didn't work
so there is no choice if she wants to keep living in this house.

...In spite of some solid gusts last night,
the lemons numbered 1 to 23 are still hanging in there.
It is a tad poor timing that Mr Boozle decided today that  it was time to prune the lemon tree
for the first time in 3 years.
Needless to say, he nearly got a pair of secateurs
up an orifice.

Procrastinating. Who? Me?

It seems a long while ago since I posted a giveaway.

It seems a fair while ago that I was thinking about how to find a winner.

It was a fair while ago.

Spring's blossom has arrived

and I got distracted.

I think that every person who entered

probably knows me well enough to know that 

1 I get easily distracted

and that

2  I am prone to procrastination.

(Seamless Kimono sweater- Jacki Kelly)

So, yes, I might have gotten distracted by knitting, sunny days, Spring cleaning

(well, cleaning might be a wee bit of an exaggeration. Spring pottering perhaps)

I might have thought every day

that I really should get on with that giveaway draw.

I didn't get any positive feedback on the toilet paper idea.

(I might now take the time to explain that the idea was,

given that my daughter might use 1 sheet of toilet paper per visit

or she might use 57...

who would know?...not me...

whichever number was left on the roll

would have been the winner.

It wasn't really that icky a concept)

But there was some interest in the lemon idea.

So now we have a weird lemon tree covered in numbered lemons.

This could take a while

so hang in there.

It is up to the girls now.

Ma Nature might well end up being the power of fate

but my money is on the 4 year old who is likely to run in

with an armful of numbered lemons

saying "mummy, mummy, guess what? We have grown some lemons with numbers on them

so I picked every single one.
No. I don't know which one I picked first."

So sit back; relax;
crack open a beer/wine/cooler/ iced coffee whatever is your nectar of choice in the warmer weather;
read that book, watch the footy finals (then the cricket), have a snooze;
I'll wake you when there is news...

(They should start dropping in an Adelaide heat wave in February 2012

worse case scenario...)

When Fairy Tale princesses go bad.



I feel an intervention coming on.

Best Ever carrot cake icing recipe.

I haven't posted a recipe for yonks

but this icing is the best.

Oh, and if you feel the need to put it on cake,

here is the recipe for that too.

(It is a seriously easy and fast cake.

The longest part is the time it takes to grate the carrot)

Carrot cake icing:

90g cream cheese

60g butter, softened

2+ teaspoons grated lemon rind

1 and 1/2 cups sifted icing sugar

Mix first 3 together till smooth then gradually add icing sugar.

Eat with a spoon or put on a cake if you care to.

Carrot cake:

1 cup plain flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon bicarb of soda

1/2 teaspoon mixed spice

1/2 teaspooon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup castor sugar

2 eggs, beaten

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1 and 1/2 cups grated carrots

+- 1/3 cup sultanas

Sift flour, baking powder, soda and spices into a bowl.

Add sugar, eggs and oil and mix well.

Stir in carrot (+- sultanas)

Spoon into paper lined loaf tin

Cook at 160 degrees Celius.

Recipe says 1 hour and 10 minutes but in a loaf tin in my oven it takes about 40 minutes till

the skewer comes out clean.

Cool on rack and ice.

Gotta love a good one bowl recipe.