The Joke's on Me

My present to dear Mum for Mother's Day this year was to clean the oven once I got up to Tauranga.

Got started this afternoon while the Folks went to a wedding. The gas hob is now gleaming, the shelves all shiny, and you can see your face in the glass on both sides of the oven door.

However, as I accidentally knocked the oven on without realizing while cleaning the outside of the cooker, the actual oven was too hot to clean!

Needed to have it working order for tonight's dinner........... so will clean the internal oven bit tomorrow.

Other progress:

• I've removed and disposed of all the deceased items from their fridge.

• The glass teapot and coffee plunger also now gleam.

• I completed the reconaissance mission while home alone.

So is my home a thing of tidiness and cleanliness? No way. But I don't have 37 guests coming (okay, to be honest you couldn't fit 37 guests into my wee home) .

Have a glorious weekend wherever you are.

Away for a bit...

Hello M'dears. Mickle is off up to the folks place on Thursday. All to help/work on/ takeover(?) the prep for Saturday June 6th.

The Folks 50th Wedding Anniversary.

Zebbycat already dispatched to his Vet Centre's cattery. He was not a happy lad. Will get worse as he has a urine sample taken, then next week gets knocked out to have his teeth checked and cleaned.

Zeb is there with many familiar items - sheepskin, polar fleece blanket, his "quilt" with many holes made by his self, the 2 fluffy scarves he has pinched from me, and his current soft toys. Zeb likes to sleep with the lot.

Gosh, he's not so different from the Child Mickle and my soft toys, especially my Teddy Bear. When I was a toddler dear Dad once had to make a 50 miles road trip coz it had been left behind at somewhere we'd visited.

Teddy Bear, Edwina, now lives in my hot water cupboard where she can be warm and dry all year around. One eye left, most of her face rubbed/loved off, at least she and Zebbycat wont find out about each other this way!

Brrrrr - and it isn't even Winter yet

"Heavy snow, rain and severe gales are predicted to top off a week of icy weather this weekend.

The MetService has issued a severe weather warning for southerly gales, heavy snow and heavy rain around the country.

A low was expected to bring heavy rain in the coastal hills of the Wairarapa, southern and eastern slopes of the Tararua Ranges, and Wellington."

Okay, M'dears, seldom snows in Wellington City, and wont this time around. Yes - snow in other places and way, way earlier than usual. Ski fields have gone from delight to avalanche fear.

Still - the super cold wind and awful weather continues and it isn't even Winter yet!!!!!

Mickle and Zebbycat snuggled down, very appreciative of each other's body warmth and utterly fed up with this lingering cold snap that will linger for at least another 3 days.

The Sub- Antarctic wind chill isn't appreciated!!!!

We're reserving our energy so no purrs or snores from either of us. Snuggling, cuddling down.....

There's a Cat on my Laptop

Zebbycat, a large lad, has taken to sitting on the laptop while I'm using it -

no doubt to keep his feet warm.

As dear Mum would say, Zeb makes a better door than a window!

First Mitten Finished....

That is,apart from sewing in the ends. The second mitten started and half the wrist band ribbing completed.

Zebbycat snoozled the time away on our bed.......

Finished It!

Yes, on Sunday evening I finished knitting AND sewed off/in all the ends of yarn for the scarf I've been working on. To reiterate for yarn fiends - knitted on UK size 10 needles, a beautiful 100% bamboo yarn, in a half rib stitch.

I've made this for my sister's partner, P . Dear Sis and P will be here at the start of next month. Yes - of course have a yarn based item for Sis too. No more info coz she reads my blog too!

Now can get back to the other 2 knitting projects plus the new one - fingerless mittens I'm making for me.`

BTW - Zebby loathes my knitting needles, attacks them should I be knitting when he is awake.... so not often then?

I'm working on it..........

Zebbycat Progress

Three years on and I've adjusted. I've got used to the LOUD and DEEPLY pitched (for a pusscat) Zebby style snoring - is only on the "in" breath.

His frequent purring is mostly welcomed, involves both the "in" and the 'out " breath, often with snuggley huggles.

And purrs while eating are really noisy from Zeb Cat, but okay.

Zeb's latest is ........................

Hiccups.

I soothe with strokes, but remain bewildered - he wasn't even eating or drinking before the latest hiccupping started. Guess is just another Zebbycat thang.

There's a Spider in my Teapot

While I am lucky enough to own 4 teapots, only 2 are in ..... well ..... were in regular use.


The silver plated one that was a present to Mum's Parents for their 25th Wedding Anniversary back in 1949 is still used daily. The Earthernware one happily sits beside its shiny friend on the kitchen windowsill.


Only I'm not using the Earthy one just now because a Spider has taken up residence in the spout!


Brilliant hidey hole while Spider waits for insects to land in the web (one of those really messy webs) attached from spout to window. Hey, Spiders are good. Especially because we don't have nasty poisonous and super triple poisonous 'piders - unlike our cousin across The Ditch*, Australia.


And Mickle isn't about to make a spider homeless.


Of course I'm daft! Try it sometime, m'dears. Care and huggles from Mickle


*The Ditch = The Tasman Sea. "The Ditch" is a Kiwi term the Aussies are slowly latching onto

May Already? - Who Did That!

Mmm, still here in Wellywood, weather the usual fickle Autumn stuff. Knitting of the scarf for dear sister's partner is progressing.

Is in a yarn made from bamboo. Very nice to handle - smooth and silky. Is just this particular yarn is of a fine nature (non knitters - is thin) - knitting on UK size 10 (3.25mm metric diameter) knitting needles. Now onto the last ball of yarn, would love to knit away for hours but hands wont stand it/ like it/ wont work for much else if I do so.

So Mickle knits while TV watching in the evenings - and while Zeb is sleeping soundly under his quilt. Is Zeb's choice of an evening place to sleep just now. Means I don't have to deal with Zeb attacking and swinging on the "other" end of the knitting needles. Yes, I have circular needles, just not this fine.

And............ breathe, Mickle. xxxx