The Thursday Challenge - 'Curved'

I went a bit mad with the camera before I'd even got dressed this morning - it happens...

Curved fuschias in the hanging basket...

Glass balls on our new lamp...

(it's actually green glass)

and again...

Tealights...

A curly cat...

Mrs P is looking rather morose here as she

senses that she is going to the vets this morning for her ears to be checked.

David and I have the same kind of expression at the thought of taking her...

Base of a tealight holder...

Before I take a photo like this I always tell myself I should dust.

I know I should as I have a very good camera that is going to pick

up every microscopic speck. 

One day I'll actually do it...

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Cats on Tuesday...

The cats have decided to test their audience's levels of concentration by setting a small quiz.  To that end they present... (wait for it...) 'Name That Paw!'.

Below are four pictures of paws belonging to Posky, Charlie, Mrs Pod and Pepper, but which paw belongs to which cat?  Those that have been paying close attention to the misdeeds of the cats should have no problems.  There are no prizes except some good karmic thoughts sent to you from Pepper, and also the possibility of the curse of Bast from Charlie if you get his wrong.

 Paw 'A'

Paw 'B'

Paw 'C'

Paw 'D'

So how did you do?  To put you out of your suspense, the answers are below.

In order of paws we have...

  Mrs P.  Here she is mid-wash, 

(she stole that blanket from Charlie.  This cat has no fear!)

Paw 'B' belongs to Pepper.  Who else could it be with that 

hint of autumnal colouring in her fur, 

the sea-shell pink of her delicate little pads, 

and a mindset that Machiavelli would be proud of? 

Paw 'C' is of course my beautiful boy Posky.  He says there is nothing further to add, 

we may all just gaze in adoration at his gorgeousness.

And finally... Charlie!

If you got his wrong, you might want to think

about changing your locks and or/leaving the country.

For more kitty antics visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday

Thursday Challenge - Wooden

David's Aunt bought me this lovely little wooden cat years ago, 

he's kept me company by sitting on my bookshelves

at various addresses since then.

...and just for Penny!

A wide-angle view of the bookshelf, full size so you can zoom in! :O)

...and finally, apropos nothing, here's Charlie.

Every now and then I like to

post a photo of Charlie showing what a strange and unusual cat he is.

Here he is fixated on a wrinkle in the bathroom rug.  He seems to 

became strangely perturbed by wrinkles in rugs, perhaps he was

frightened by an untidy carpet as a kitten.  It's all very odd.

The cats would just like to say Happy Birthday David, and Charlie adds that next time you have chocolate eclair cream cakes you might want to consider sharing them with him, or else.

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Cats on Tuesday...

Because the cats have refused to do anything interesting this week I have been forced to take a photo of Pepper with a sock.  There are two points of (slight) interest to this; the first is that Pepper proves that she is just as capable of Charlie of modeling items of knitwear, the second is that this is the first sock I have ever knitted, and what is more, it almost looks sock-like. I worked so hard on it that I actually snapped a needle.  No really, I did!  A good job they have a five year guarantee.  Pepper was very impressed with my handiwork as you can see by her expression.  She actually started washing the sock just after I took this so it had to be removed from her pretty sharpish.

Dobbie the house elf - not...

Got to Gattina's Cats on Tuesday for more kitties.

The Thursday Challenge - Liquid, (and some cat updates)

Lapsang Souchong Tea

(you can just see my reflection in the teapot)

And brief cat updates... Mrs P went for her check-up and her ear is healing well, the perforated eardrum is now almost closed and she's gone up from 4.8kg to 5kg in weight.  She was given another long-lasting antibiotic jab and it's back again in two weeks.  The vet wondered if any of Mrs P's teeth might be adding to her ear problems and discovered a tooth with the nerves showing (EEK!) which will probably have to come out.  She also said that as Mrs P's kidney results were so good there is no need for her to have renal food all the time (for which my bank balance is very grateful).

Posky went for his acupuncture last night and was a bit antsy, which is very unlike him.  He did eventually settle down and get over himself and was rewarded with some fish when we got home.

And finally, here is a picture of Charlie wearing a hat (to go with his scarf pic).  This is not a very good photo as it was taken on my phone, but just the fact that he was actually WEARING A HAT was, I thought, worthy of note :O)  (I was actually trying to crochet a round mat and was failing so all the rejects became small hats).

Charlie - available for Vogue photoshoots (at a price...)

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Cats on Tuesday...

It was Pepper's twelfth birthday on Sunday.  As I was out with Cath and Helen at the Royal Shakespeare Company's Open Day in Stratford (and didn't we have a great day, despite more rain than you could shake a stick at) she spent the day quietly sleeping on the comfy stool by the window. David was also out doing something so boring that I can't even remember what it was.  Anyway, I digress...  In the evening we lit a birthday candle and opened a tin of birthday tuna for her, then there was the unveiling of the crochet blanket I made.  Would it get through the strict quality control that cats enforce (they're very fussy, a stitch out of place, the wrong colour, anything can cause them to reject an offering)?  Truly a moment of suspense...

No birthday cake but some rather sweet

cupcake candle holders and a tin of Tesco tuna...

Rears of the year...

Mrs Pod and Posky join in with the birthday nomming....

The moment of truth...

It was touch and go at first whether the blanket would find

favour with the birthday girl,

she did seem rather disturbed by that violently orange stripe...

But hurrah!  She graces it with her small furry posterior!

It has been deemed acceptable and fit for purpose!

(And Charlie immediately wanted it)...

but now Pepper faces a dilemma...

she ponders whether she should practice non-attachment to her 'blankie' and

let Charlie have it, thus creating good karma for herself?

That will be no then!

...and Charlie has to make do with a crochet scarf worn
with an air of insouciance.  I have a feeling that
the blanket is still on his radar sceen however and
he means to acquire it by fair means or foul - watch this space...

The blanket is made from Red Heart's Amish Bars Throw pattern.

For more kitty news visit Gattina's Cats on Tuesday.

It's Monday, what are you reading?

Just discovered this meme over at the fab Book Journey.  I am a sucker for reading about what other people read so couldn't resist.

I've just read Angelology (how annoying is that word?) by Danielle Trussoni, about a race of angel/human hybrids called the Nephilim and the humans (or Angelologists) who oppose them in their dastardly plans.  There are also fallen angels in there along with an artefact of great power that various people are after.  Despite my reservations about reading this I did enjoy the story, and it was hard to put down even though I knew I should.  It was akin to eating a large bar of chocolate, knowing I should stop or I'd feel sick at the end but unable to stop my hand reaching for the next piece.  There is a distinct lack of anyone resembling a real character in this, and some plot developments that have such large holes in it's amazing someone hasn't fallen through into a different book.  It is also much too long and could have done with a good edit (or even a bad one).  However, if you want a plot-driven, easy-read and can enjoy it for what it is then give it a go.

Wanting something a little less light and fluffy I have now picked up S J Parris's Heresy about murders in Elizabethan Oxford at a time when to be the wrong religion could have deadly consequences.  The period is fascinating and I'm quite enjoying the book, but C J Samsom is a much better writer and if you fancy delving into England's murky religious past then I'd recommend those as a starting place.

The Thursday Challenge

Music

To take this shot I had the camera balanced precariously on the arm of the sofa with the ten second delay on it whilst I assumed appropriate guitarist pose, then I had to remove the cat that was trying to interfere with the camera, then I had to re-set the camera as it had taken a photo of said cat being removed, this was repeated about five times, then I tried again this time trying to keep cat away with my foot whilst holding guitar very still, then I had to have some chocolate.

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Cats on Tuesday

For more cats go to Cats on Tuesday

A not-very-exciting event happened this morning just after breakfast.

Charlie was sitting amidst the debris of dismantled pots and plants in the corner of the

garden that we don't talk about, when he noticed something

 and immediately informed Pepper.

Pepper was actually examining a gargoyle at the time

as she swore it had moved during the night, but

left it to go and see what Charlie had found.

Mrs P came to have a look at Charlie's discovery but

decided the remains of breakfast were more interesting so 

went back inside to demolish everyone's food.

And what was the cause of the excitement?  

This little cat

who was peeping out from behind our neighbour Janet's fence.

I zoomed in on the photo hence the dodgy quality.

As you can see, a truly terrifying beast!  It was

probably actually wondering how it could make a graceful

exit without four manic cats trying to beat it to a pulp.

It needn't have worried.

Pepper was the only one courageous enough to go and

investigate further.

Charlie and Posky, ever the brave man-cats

encouraged her from the safety of the gate.

'We'll be right behind you!'

However all that happened was a staring contest.

  It was akin to one of those Japanese Samurai films,

 only in this one everyone went home after 

about ten minutes as they were bored.

And just some brief news, Mrs Pod had a long lasting antibiotic jab at the vets last Wednesday and is feeling much better now.  They also tested her kidneys and the results were excellent.  We still have to decide how we can try and keep her ears free of infection long term but she's going back for a check-up next week so hopefully we'll be able to discuss it then.  She thanks everyone for their healing thoughts and purrs!

Weekend photos...

Had lunch at Kelmarsh in Northants yesterday and whilst there we had a walk on the old airfield at Harrington.  These are just a couple of shots from there, the first is David walking away (I took it for the Daily Shoot's 'Take a photo from an unusual point of view'), the second is of some wild poppies that were growing at the side of the road.

The Thursday Challenge - Home

Books and cats = Home

Note Posky trying to decide what to read next.