Happy Gotcha Day, Little Round Megs

It has been one year since Megs arrived and took over my life. She is cheeky, mischievous and a little honey.

Right now I could do without her delight in catching lizards and bringing them inside. Invariably Megs looses control of them. Yesterday she surpassed previous efforts by bring in 4. One died,  I rescued two and goodness knows where the fourth one is. I found its detached tail wriggling on the living room floor. Thankfully there have been none today although she has spent a lot of time outside.

It must have worn the lass out as she has just snuggled down in her round, fluffy cat bed.

Another fun habit (fun for Megs) is to sleep on the laptop. This was especially good over Winter as she had heat from underneath and from above as the heat pump is on the wall behind her.

I happily admit to being a pussy-cat-pushover, and Megs certainly has me wound around her little paws.

Happy New Year Everyone. I think it is going to be a good one!

Introducing Megs

It is only 4 months since she moved in,

 

took over my home

and my heart.

While she may look very similar to Zebby Cat however this 4 year old girl is a whole different story to the 18 year old laid-back, cool old dude of a Mancat that was Zeb.

Megs comes with mega-mischief, fun, cheekiness, abundant energy, and a whole lot of love. Like Zeb, Megs-Megs is a sweet heart.

Zeb was afraid of other cats - Megs just doesn't like them, not any of them anyhow or anyway!   And Meggles is very vocal, very loudly vocal.

Today is Megs' 4 month Gotcha Day anniversary and I love her dearly. Being a cat she has cleared off to bed.

More from us soon, Megs and Her new human, Her Mickle xxx

Just like Zebby Cat used to .....

.... with his "clawed paw of ownership" and
"wake-up whallop" of determined love ....

I know that Little Megs is an affectionate wee puss.

 

Here's hoping she delivers a more gentle wake up!

Where was I ...........

 Yes, 19 months later and I'm still here! 

Both Zebby Cat and His human each had multiple health problems to deal with so Michelle/Mickle has been otherwise preoccupied for a while. Okay - quite a long while.

Zebby's kidney problems and hyperthyroidism  got steadily worse over the months. His appetite was still hardy (c'mon - Zeb refuse food?) however his weight went down and down and down.

Then pretty much overnight his hind legs could no longer support him.  My darling stubborn, sometimes grumpy, frequently smoochy, purry and loving 

Zebby Cat was helped to The Bridge on Tuesday, 25 August 2013. 

I give my enormous thanks to Pet Doctors in Kelburn, Wellington, especially nurse Kelsey and vets Rochelle and Brendan. Zeb's ashes are sitting here on the table and will be scattered under the citrus trees in my Folks' garden during the Christmas break.

In the meantime .............

My Crohn's disease had flared up again so my wonderful gastroenterologist, Ian Wilson, suggested  that I consider Humira. After second and third thoughts I worked through the various tests I needed to have to qualify for it.  And, as it was due, in August 2012 had a routine mammogram.

Long story short - a small area in my right breast looked different when compared with the previous mammogram. Turned out to be an invasive stage II ductal cell carcinoma that appeared to be 8mm across (even from an MRI scan) . My immediate reaction was "Bugger, this will stuff up going onto Humira!".

After lumpectomy surgery, to the suprise and shock of all - especially the medics, the tumour turned out to be 7cm wide. So second surgery - this time a simple mastectomy followed by 6 months of chemotherapy and 5 weeks of 5 days a week radiotherapy.

Hey - all things considered I'm doing okay.

I had to postpone  my radiotherapy treatment on the day Zebby had his final visit to his vets. The next day when I went in one of the radio therapists. Jenni, checked on how I was. Long story short again ........ her little cat, a four year old tabby girl named Megs, is coming to live with me in January. When Jenni and her partner first got Megs they lived in town  however they moved and now have quite a commute to and  from work so Megs gets lonely (she loves cuddling up to folks).

And now -  back to blogging at last and sense of humour very much in tact,

  

here I am. 

Soon it will be Christmas which I will spend with my dear Mum and Dad, and then the New Year will bring little Megs and lots of fun. Hmmm, it will be quite an adjustment going from 18 year old (age guesstimated) large Mancat Zebby to young Little Megs!

In the meantime here are pics of a beautiful Jacaranda Tree that is near my parents home. It should be flowering like this over Xmas.

 From a rainy* Wellington, I send huggles,

Michelle/ Mickle 


(*hooray - it will fill up the birdies bath for me!)


.  

Update for Zebby Cat

Displaying the Clawed Paw of Ownership, Zeb shows us His latest scratchy board (that he doesn't scratch because he loves it being His so much!) and then .....

Zebby Cat snuggles down on His favourite bath mat, with His cat nip plant fully under His control - all the better for Zeb to enjoy a happy snoozle!

(Postscript on May the 4th - I hope to be able to revive 3 foundlings from Zebby's happy cat summer of "Nip" delight.)

Canadian Invasion

Two weeks ago I answered the phone - it was just after 5.00pm.A lovely, friendly and familiar voice from Canada spoke, and told me that herself and The Man arrive here in NZ on May the 1st - TODAY!It was my dear friend Aims from bigbluebarnwest.blogspot.com letting me know that she was escaping from the Alberta Snow (yes, they were still getting snow in mid April) and coming here for most of May. Mickle was truely a "stunned mullet".

Explanation - the Mickle and Aims have spoken over telephone and interwebby devices at length so we now know each others voices but to meet!!!!!!

 On this, my first attempt with bloggers latest recreation, I am struggling. I haven't fathomed the new linking method (why change something that worked????) Zebby Cat has headed off to His bed and I am thinking thoughts of Wordpress ..........

Zeb might claim it as his bed but  it was mine (a present from my dear sister) first, Of course this means nothing to a Cat!

Meanwhile those Canadians will arrive here in under 3 hours - arriving up in Auckland. Fingers crossed that the weather forecast is right so they will get sunshine (Aims and The Man - put on sunblock!! Yes, ears too!!!!)

One Word Wednesday

Sunshine!

We didn't get Summer ......

INSTALLING SUMMER
in
New Zealand

.....
████████████░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░░

44% DONE.

Installation failed. 404 error: Season not found.

Please try again next year.

A Summer would have been nice. I gave up on growing my usual summer veg as all attempts did incredibly poorly.

The exception: the nadine potatoes that sprouted madly before I got to cook them. I planted them out in December and seem to have had results - the tops flourished and have yellowed so I chopped them off a few days ago. I will harvest any spuds lurking under the soil next week ...... and keep you posted on the results.

What I've been doing ......

... when not blogging is a bit of knitting.

Here is one of a pair of socks I made for my sister. The colourway is named InkPinkStink from Vintage Purls here in New Zealand. The yarn is a sock weight 75% merino wool and 25% nylon.


My mother told me she wanted a red scarf. From the same site I found this cranberry coloured german sock yarn - the colours are brighter in real life.


And 2011 was my "year of the shawl". After a trial run making one for me I then made this with a matching hat for my sister. The top part of the shawl is in garter stitcth followed by feather and fan pattern. The yarn is an 80% lambswool/20% nylon sock weight from Stashable yarns (their website is currently unwell), another NZ site for hand dyed yarn, in colourway Rusalka.




Here is a close up of the lacy feather and fan pattern. These woollies arrived in England just in time for the super cold snap they have had this winter.


The trial run was in colourway Dried Roses from the same company. This one is mine!





Special thanks to my dear Mum for letting me take over her sewing room during the Christmas break as I don't have the space to block knitting here - the large bed is usually occupied by one Zebby Cat. Mind you Mum wasn't doing any sewing at the time as her right arm was in plaster!

Mum is now free from plaster and arm splints but still has to go carefully.

And here is Zebby with his new scratch board and his much adored (and battered) cat nip plant. Zeb does like to be in physical contact with his belongings - yes, including me!



Click to enlarge and you'll see a pink object under Zebby's tail - it is one of his brushes, upside down. He does so like to be touching His belongings, bless the rescued lad.

(P.S. I've just realised that in the top right of the third photo you can see lots more of my knitting lined up on the ironing board waiting to be photographed. Cor - I made quite a lot over 2011)

Happy New Year

We celebrated the New Year with a lovely dinner on the first. This was the best roast dinner yet that I've cooked. I'm sorry that there are no close-ups only we were too busy eating!

The new year started with heavy rain but luckily I got these shots from my Folks' garden a few days earlier. We start with a frangipani (thanks Diane - now I know how to spell it) in flower. The flower looks waxy but is actually quite delicate.

Bromeliads growing at the front of their home. The colours are glorious and these
require very little maintenance.

Gladioli is bloom. Their true colour is bolder than shown in the photo.

Massive amounts of fresh mint.

And a very determined carpet rose that has defied all attempts to remove it!

I'm back home in Wellington where the weather could be better. Yesterday it was only 13C (55F) with gale force wind and horizontal rain - so much for Summer!

We hunkered down and spent the day cosily inside. So you know where Zebby Cat was .......

The Great Potato Dig

One of the Christmas traditions here for many families is to have new potatoes as part of Christmas dinner.



Dad grew some that he harvested on Christmas Eve.



Under supervision.......



........because, as can you see, my right-handed Mother was unable to help. Two and a half weeks ago she cracked both the bones in her right forearm just above her wrist while gardening ( the plant she was pulling on suddenly gave way and so did Mum). She will be in plaster until about the 20th of January - very frustrating for Mum as she is an avid patchwork quilter and can't use her sewing machine.

It is just as well that I am here for another week to help the Folks out!

Our Christmas

This year our Christmas day was very relaxed (and yes, that is Zebby Cat in the photo to the right under the tree). The morning was cloudy but the sun came out to play during the afternoon. I was very relieved that it wasn't a hot day, and the "gladdies" were flowering prettily in my dear parent's garden.

Dinner was an easy cook for me this year - marinated, boned out and butterflied leg of NZ (of course) lamb that I put into the marinade the night before. I cooked it in the hooded barbeque (gas grill) to keep the heat down in the kitchen!

It was accompanied by new potatoes, peas and green beans all grown in Dad's garden, plus a red wine laced gravy and mint jelly. We drank a very pleasant Shiraz wine.


I made a Summer Pudding for our dessert that I accompanied with a citrus custard - I made up the custard recipe and it worked!



Here is a shot showing the inside of this berry ladden pudding. Instead of bread I used pannetone and we all agreed it was the best one I'd ever made.

The day, and the next, were filled with phonecalls to and from dear family and friends both here and overseas. We finished the day with wine and mince pies (made by me) with the Christmas tree lights in the background.

I hope your Christmas Day was as happy and joyful as ours was here in Tauranga, Bay of Plenty, New Zealand.

Grumpy Old Zeb

Zebby Cat must have seen this photo from the Icanhascheezbuger site, as he was an absolute menace overnight with his frequent paw whacks, mad purring and
washing attempts on my face.

Perhaps he senses he is off to his Vets' cattery tomorrow!

December Fun in Wellington

On Saturday evening we had an earthquake - a 5.7! - which went on for 20 seconds. I hastily moved away from the full bowl of hot soup I'd just put on the table and moved to a doorway. Afterwards I checked on Zebby. He lifted his head from his snoozling to see what I wanted, then demanded some kittycat treats. So much for animals sensing that an earthquake is coming!!!

No damage here and only very little everywhere else the quake was felt.

Zebby would like you all to know that His human stupidly drownded another keyboard on Sunday. It was her latest after previous spills and this keyboard was supposedly spill resistant but proved other wise (what a waste of homemade ginger beer). The human bought another keyboard today and is keeping the plastic bag it came in over it for protection from herself.

So that was our Weekend.

That human had to go out today, right across town, for a medical check up with her wonderful surgeon. Just the 1 bus from here to there but I used 3 on the way back as I bought that keyboard, other boring human stuff and then groceries including Whiskas Tempatations cat treats. It rained the whole time and was especially heavy every time I had to walk somewhere. Thank goodness I was home, all safe and sound, at 5.30 pm when it became like a tropical monsoon - a deluge just in time for folks leaving work for the day!

Mickle would like you all to know that Zebby adores his catnip plant. Zeb lays down on his red bathmat (like in the photo above) and buries his nose in the plant, pulling it over and towards him. This is interspersed with His human brushing his furrs over and over in both directions(!) which Zeb so so enjoys now it is moulting season (maybe better called summer's extra-moulting season as Zeb moults all year around). There is much Zebby Cat puRRRRRRRumbling, at high volume, for a long, long time - and this is happening every evening.

And so that was our* soggy yet happy Tuesday, December the 6th 2011; how was yours?



*okay, Mickle's soggy day as Zeb spent nearly all day and evening on His bed that he permits me to share each night, bless him

New Toys

A few months ago I bought myself a breadmaker. I've made all my own bread ever since. I mostly use the machine to mix up and knead the dough, and to do the first rise. Then I shape the dough however I want it, let it rise again and bake it.

I've had a wonderful time working through some of the bread recipes on my dear blogworld friend Marjie's site. I can thoroughly recommend her Italian Potato Bread recipe.

So you'd like to make bread but don't know how? Check out Marjie's Bread Tutorial. It has instructions that cover working both with and without a breadmaker. Marjie makes bread most days so she knows what she is writing about. You'll also find links to a wonderful array of other recipes on Marjie's sidebar (check out the cakes!!!).



This is my other new toy - a new sewing machine, a Christmas present from my parents. This was a complete surprise.

I haven't tried using it yet (too busy knitting plus I need to clear the table) but I have read the manual from cover to cover. I know how to sew, I just haven't really for years. I must declutter so I have space for sewing once more.

My Folks bought it from the Bernina Sewing Centre Tauranga where I'm can get free lessons on the new machine when I'm up there over Christmas and help over the phone any time I need it. Mum (and Dad) have been regular customers since retiring up to Tauranga 21 1/2 years ago. The two sisters who own this sewing centre and their family have become special friends of our family.

And what about Zebby Cat? Well he now has his own cat grass plant inside together with his own cat mint (catnip) plant . The catnip gets brought down to his level once or twice a day for him to indulge in, while the cat grass is always down at Zebby level and it is already well munched upon!

Five months on .......

Five months!

I had not planned or intended to be "non-blogging" for so long. That was all of Winter and most of Spring here in Wellington, New Zealand.

While I was away from blogland .......

Wellington got Snow in August, three days in a row!!!



Now this was an absolute novelty and joy here because the last time Wellington got snow anything like it was an over night snow shower back in 1976. YES - 1976.! Back then the Mickle was a mere 11 years old!

And we discovered together that Zebby Cat doesn't like snow - Mickle doesn't blame him in the least and I really appreciated getting to snuggle up to Zebby in our bed each night over the three nights when "the snow came".

I stick by my view of snow from the late 1960s when my dear Parents took a young me up to "The Snow" to experience it:

Toddler Mickle promptly announced "Its all COLD and WET"


- and you know I was right!!!



Zebby has slowed down quite a lot over this year - after all his guesstimated age is 13/14. He spends most of the day on His bed. From here he can supervise His human a lot and demand affection and food when ever He requires it.

See - Zeb is still the same:


Still sleeping in the bestest place each day (Zeb has taken over all the fluffy scarves I made for me, and that is fine because they wash easily!). This rescue cat is so very much loved.

Happy Thanksgiving to those in the US, and those everywhere else as thankfullness is a joy to experience and share.

The Shortest Day

Wellington's weather is mild compared to many parts of the World. It doesn't get freezing cold in winter or boiling hot in summer. Wellington is very windy.

Here, at 5.15pm on the shortest day of winter it is 9C. Sunrise was at 7.47 this morning and the sun recently set at 4.58pm. There has been some wind and light rain is expected overnight.

Last winter I tried growing cauliflower and broccoli without any success. This year I have spinach and rainbow chard happily supplying me with luscious leaves.

My biggest joy and suprise is the broad beans. You see, I was a month late sowing their seeds. After their sitting under the soil in a huff for several weeks I now have 17 little bean shoots, each a couple of inches tall. Every single seed has sprouted!


While the worst of our winter is yet to come - dampness, rain and winds from the Antarctic that endeavour to slice thorough you - I have glorious broad beans (fava beans) to look forward to come spring.

Zebby is snuggled under his quilty on the bed - his place of security and peace. He is loudly purrrrrumbling away to himself in happiness.

Christchurch shaken up again

Today poor Christchurch was rocked by two big after shocks - a 5.5 at 1.00pm and a 6.0 at 2.20pm.

So, once more the schools are closed, the sewerage system is out and everyone needs to boil their water before use. The lines staff have been busy however at least 20,000 homes are still without power.

All is fine here in Wellington - but poor Christchurch, when will it end?

Update: The second quake measured 6.3, the same as the 22 February one.

To reassure you all..

..I have not been spirited away by the pixies...

Work is keeping my mind very busy as I delve into the depths of the debt and general ledger stuff on the computer system. Ha, I'll work it out before this work computer system has a chance to confuse me further.

Other stuff has had my thoughts and caring stuff busy, and Zebby is an ever present love and danger -often both at once. It is lovely that he wants to help me during my bouts of insomnia - only purring very loudly in my right ear at 3.00am ain't a help (warming up his right hind paw in my ear is also an "awakener" for me).

Added issue - just now loading down, up, sideways or backwards of photos aint working. All will be sorted some time this year.

But please don't worry - Mickle is still in the blogosphere, reading your blog posts and still working on explaining and writing up in a helpful manner the Mickle Ginger-beer making method, experimenting with it and, of course, drinking the results.

And Zebby Cat is okay - just tolerating me heading off to work 2 or 3 days a week, waking me up when ever he feels like it, and still delivering many purrs and happy, affectionate huggles and demands for head scritches (and, of course, for FOOD)

Our month of May in NZ was on average 2.5 degrees centigrade above average, which is a lot. Many trees which should show bare branches by now are still clinging to green leaves.

This includes the giantly huge tree magnolia down in the Botanic Gardens which is always the first of these trees bearing the most primative of tree flowers, giving a glorious display of pink leaves/petals in early August. The other magnolias are already completely bare of leaves, ready to bloom after the giant usually does - best guess at which will be out flowering first in August?

Otherwise the start of Winter here means still lots of green trees and shrubs in my excuse for a garden, and a very squelchy "lawn" to walk over to empty out His Nibs' litter tray (am building a wee kitty litter mountain for later use as mulch) and to clean out and top up the bird bath.

My spinach and rainbow chard plants are providing wonderful, luscious leaves - and will continue right through winter. Snails aren't the challenge - is still the caterpillars from those pesky white "cabbage" butterflies.

Sending care and huggles, Mickle and ...... a sound asleep Zebby Cat

I've been Linuxed!

Laptop #2 is unwell on its Windows side, so it will be heading up to Tauranga to dear Dad for him to mutter over and also check its Linux operating system too. In the meantime I'm back on my original PC, fully rebuilt, souped up and running on Linux.

This had been a massive learning curve which is good for my brain*. Tonight I finally managed to upload and save photos from my camera (woohoo) so am back in full-on blogging mode.

Above is a shot of my darling Zebster from Summer. Right now he is snuggled under his quilty and dreaming of Summer and raw lamb for dinner, bless the lad.

So, next on offer will be Mickle style Ginger Beer - now I can post the photos.

(* the little grey brain cells are already ticking over with the system data issues I have to solve at work - Linux will keep them running at the same rate when I'm at home!)