The Toothfairy has Landed

Pilates for Cats

2011-07-10T13:26:00.000+01:00

Cat Stretch

Hold in tummy and arch the back upwards, rolling through, pushing back up as far as possible.

Child Pose Stretch

With arms out in front bring tail down towards the floor.

Rolling like a Ball

Curl up into a nice tight ball shape and allow yourself to roll.

Obi is demonstrating advanced level - rolling forwards on head.

Side Stretch

Lift head and shoulders upwards into a nice sideways stretch.

Side Paw Lift

Lift paw upwards towards the tongue.

Keep the rest of the body stabilised and still.

Alternatively the rear leg & tail can be raised upwards and downwards.

Remembering to breath slowly and deeply

Swan dive

The arc of your spine grows longer as you press upwards lifting head and shoulders.

It is more important to keep length in the back, with tail down.

Advanced V-Sit

Maintaining a straight spine open the legs wide and reach your front paw fowards.

Total Body Stretch

Allow the whole body to be stretched

My Best Buddy

2011-07-10T11:49:00.001+01:00

I've been home all this week so Obi has had lots of daytime activity. He normally just sleeps during the day and wants playtime all night.

It's been the reverse though this week. He has had playtime all day and at 10 o'clock is nowhere to be seen. He can be found hiding in his basket looking grumpy if disturbed. He rejected normal cat beds in favour of his basket on the chair in the living room. This is HIS chair and anyone who dares to sit on it will be in trouble!!

You can't come in if your names not on the list!

When it's time to get up he has a good yawn...

Followed by a bit of stretching...in this case ears being stretched

Me 'bat ears' whadaya mean!!!

Fossil Hunt

2011-07-09T21:18:00.004+01:00

Today I had the cobwebs blown out of my hair and a country drive. I went to Charmouth in Dorset which is a wonderful rocky beach. It is famous for being a top fossil hunting area being part of the Jurassic coast.

I found a beautiful large pebble which looks like a dragon egg (yes I watched too much Game of Thrones) and a rock with lots of small ammonites. Spent the afternoon hacking at this stone to see if I can find more. It's tough though...amazing but tough. Need more power tools!

Photo to follow. You can't upload photos here with a iPad....should have got a Blackberry Playbook!!

Obi Loves Henry Hoover

2011-03-30T15:27:00.004+01:00

Things Obi Loves

Being a cat - a smart one at that
Straws
More straws - especially straws attached to Da Bird
Special chicken, prawns
Lying on male human feet in the morning until it's special chicken feeding time
His humans
Radiators & Curtains
Running super fast after a poo
Winding up his humans
Sleep

Things Obi Hates

Vets
Having his claws trimmed
Shut doors
Smelly litter boxes
Being told off for using the TV as a climbing frame
New humans who fuss him before he has sniffed them
Going in the car (usually on the way to the vets!)
Boxes being hidden away so he can't explore them
Toilet rolls - they must be shredded they are an offence to cat kind!
Round door handles so that he can't break through

Cake Bake Thursday

2011-03-03T18:14:00.004Z

On the left tangy lemon cake (mum’s recipe) pale sponge with lemon peel, lemon syrup soak, then glazed with orange marmalade and lemon icing (Raymond Blanc’s idea). It made my teeth hurt licking the spoon!!

On the right is banana cake. Lots of lovely bananas, brown sugar, flour some ginger and cinnamon. I used the Hummingbird Bakery recipe. The cake mix smelled very strongly of banana - I think this will taste great with a nice cup of tea.

I love baking because I love my kitchen, get to listen to the radio whilst I bake, licking the mix is lovely, the results taste good and I have a dishwasher. I'd be lost without my dishwasher!

Half Term Week

2011-02-26T18:26:00.003Z

A very busy productive week at work as it's been half term. This means that I see lots of little people and it's really busy.

So for relaxation I made a cake. Well actually 2 cakes as the recipe called for a 2lb loaf tin and I only had 2 smaller ones. The first loaf did not last long. Warm cake is especially yummy.

This is Bara Brith. Basically a fruit tea loaf. the fruit is soaked in strong tea overnight so it's lovely and moist. The secret ingredient is Orange marmalade.

Having done lots of work I deserved a treat. So today I took myself to the beautiful bohemian town of Totnes and a lovely jewellery shop called Stoned.

This is my latest acquisition.

Isn't she shiny and beautiful.

DAY ZERO PROJECT

2010-12-31T17:59:00.072Z

The Day Zero Project is a list of 101 things you hope to achieve in 1001 days (2 and a half years approx). There is a website to keep a list but it is currently down so for the New Year I have decided to keep my own list of things I hope to achieve. These are a mixture of sensible and fun things to do. I’ve done this in the past and found having the goals noted down helped me to achieve them:

July 2011 Update - I've now realised there is lots more to do and stuff that isn't really important. I'm now keeping my list on the Day Zero website.

http://dayzeroproject.com/user/Kat

FINANCIAL GOALS

1. Reduce credit card debt (currently have 4 cards) – pay off 1st card with high interest

2. Pay off 2nd card

3. Pay off 3rd zero interest card before the deal runs out

4. Pay off 4th card – currently a fixed low interest deal

5. Pay off the interest free loan used to buy the bed

6. Pay off the bank loan used to buy the car (this will be paid by December 2011)

7. Pay back bank of Mum & Dad

8. Keep track of mortgage when fixed rate deal ends (July 2011)

SAVING MONEY GOALS

9. Carry on with the MSE downshift challenge (shifting down a level on groceries to make savings)

10. Collect Nectar points and complete online survey’s to earn vouchers to spend on Amazon

11. Don't empty the big bottle of change

12. Save £2 coins in the Terramundi jar

13. Buy pack lunches to save on impulse buys in Tesco

14. Drink tap water

15. Don’t buy trashy magazines

16. Don't buy face creams, lotions and potions I don't need

17. Play the computer games I already own

18. Read the books I’ve already bought

19. Trim my own fringe and colour my own hair

20. Repair, Reuse, Recycle

FOODIE GOALS

21. Make a cheesecake

22. Bake cupcakes for friends

23. Bake a cake for someone’s birthday

24. Make a lemon drizzle cake

25. Try stilton cheese

26. Bake pancakes for pudding

27. Make a bread and butter pudding

28. Make a loaf of bread from scratch

29. Keep a record of the bakes that work (recipes with photos). Maybe something to keep on this Blog.

30. Make banana smoothies

31. Eat fish and chips at the seaside

32. Go for a curry with friends

33. Have a Devon cream tea

34. Learn to decorate a cake with icing set - tried this and I am rubbish with getting the consistency of icing right

WORK GOALS

35. Take on new clients

36. Meet at least 90% of my ongoing targets

37. January 2011 – create a PDP for my ongoing learning (done 01/01/11)

38. Do my 15 hours verifiable learning

39. Buy 5 new uniforms

40. Stress less!!

WISH LIST (one day I hope to own)

41. Trollbeads - fantasy fairy necklace

42. Labradorite bead

43. Silver snow

44. An iPad 2 for Aran

45. A new duvet set

46. A big squashy leather office chair like Aran’s

47. Towel set

48. New blinds for the kitchen

FUN STUFF TO DO

49. Go on a big wheel

50. Have a ride in a hot air balloon (ideally taking Mum as I know she would love to do this)

51. Go on a boat or ferry

51.Visit at least one local attraction I would normally overlook

52. Paddle at the beach

53. Complete a Logic Puzzle book

54. Free a helium balloon

55. Go to a 'pick your own'

56. Have a Star Wars movie day and watch them in order back to back

57. Likewise have an 80's John Hughes filmathon

58. Go to an antiques auction

HOBBIES

59. Knit a scarf

60. Complete one of the unfinished cross stitches I have had in the cupboard for years

61. Make bead jewellery kit (again have a few sat in a cupboard already)

62. Read the paperback books I already own – donate them to charity or Mum after

63. Finish one computer game

64. Make a herb pot for the garden

65. Update my blog

66. Use the DSLR camera and take some good photo’s of the Obester

67. Carry on with my 356 Photography Project http://365project.org/kdenty/365

68. Creat new playlists for iPod

69. Complete a colouring book

70. Finish a novel in a day

71. Make something out of wood

72. Update my ipod playlist

PERSONAL

73. Love Obi Bengal as much as I can – after all we only have pets for a fraction of our lives

74. Take Obi for his annual MOT (vaccinations and dental check)

75. Be good to my friends

76. See my parents

77. Tell my friends and family I love them

78. Hug every day

79. Have a lunch date with my Mum

80. Do 5 random acts of kindness

81. Baby of cat sit for a friend

82. Do a good deed for a stranger

83. Treat Aran on his birthday

84. Have a bed day (don't get dressed, order pizza, watch films)

HEALTH

85. Stretch every day

86. Keep attending Pilates class

87. Improve my posture

88. Have an alcohol free month

89. Eat as healthy as possible

90. Keep sweets as a treat

91. Stop snacking between meals

92. Floss

93. Moisturise and use sunscreen

94. Go for smear test

95. Get eyes tested

96. Take a multivitamin in the winter (when I don't eat as much fresh produce)

97. Have a massage

98. Laugh often

THINGS NOT TO DO

99. Don’t use Social Networks for a week (Facebook and Twitter)

100. Don’t swear for a fortnight

101. Don't complain for a week

102. Don't dye my hair red again - it does not work!

103. Don't buy iTunes

104. Buy no sweets for 2 weeks

I’m sure there will be plenty more to add to this list and some goals will change (what seems important as a goal now might not matter another day). Hoping to update this soon

Pink = ongoing

Blue = completed task

Love Kate x x

Bakes & Cakes

2010-12-21T19:05:00.002Z

I love baking and have been trying out various recipes. I have plenty of cookery books I love to read! My favourite recipe is for cupcakes.
Basic cupcake mix

100g SR flour
100g margarine
100g sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla flavour

To this I have added chocolate chips, chopped up Cadbury's Fudge bars, chopped Mars Bars etc (not all at the same time!).

It can be made with our without cocoa. A marble cake is made by having one mix with cocoa and one without. Then swirling them together after dolloping in the cake tin.

I've tried icing sugar toppings (which I'm not so good at) and melted chocolate toppings. Cheap economy chocolate seems to work really well and I'm brave enough to carefully melt it in the microwave.

I have also made a lemon drizzle version (soaked with lemon syrup with lemon icing)

I also make a mean cheese scone which is lovely if you put crispy bacon in the mix along with a teaspoon of Heinz tomato ketchup and a teaspoon of Worcester sauce.

Dear Mr Bengal....

2010-09-05T11:45:00.002+01:00

I think you have low IQ because...

1. Trying to chase the spider after eating it. Once said critter has been eaten that’s it...it is no longer running around the floor. You are now merely chasing your own shadow thinking it has spider like properties.

2. Da-Bird cannot be carried up and over the exercise bike by its feather. Well I say feather what I actually mean is tuft that has survived. You sound like a gang of burglars and Mummy is a bit scared to go upstairs to see what might be broken.

3. Pestering Daddy will not make Mummy feed you chicken any faster. No it will only make Daddy grumpy. He does not like to look at/sniff your bum hole whilst he is playing Left for Dead and the loud noise coming from him is called shouting.

4. If you go loopy when the shower gets turned on running into the shower WILL make you wet!

5. You cannot fit in the freezer when the door is open. Look it still has draws and it is not some place you want to be.

6. If I clean my ears with a cotton bud it is not then potentially edible. Look I know if you had another cat you would lick ears and stuff but that is just gross.

7. If you go downstairs and I’m upstairs please don’t cry that I am not with you and then relocate and do the same when I am.

8. If we move stuff around in the garden (such as we chop some Leylandi back) and leave a pile of rubbish outside the window you don’t need to bush your tail at it. It can’t get you through glass!

9. You are not a car and have no ABS or cruise control so please control your speed.

10. When I am sat on the toilet is really not a good time to be happy to sit on my knee.

But I still love you Mr Obi Bengal and always will.

I iz not stupidz...tell her!

Trollbeads

2010-08-15T14:22:00.003+01:00

The faires in the garden keep leaving me gifts.
Hidden among the flowers, trees and the weeds
I have a small collection to wear around my wrist
Pebbles of glass and silver fairytales
A pleasure to behold
These are called Trollbeads, or so I am told

Indy

2010-06-20T08:44:00.007+01:00

Indy was born 14/05/2006 and died 2 years later from a clot in his back legs which cut off their circulation. This was caused by a genetic heart defect called Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). This causes the heart to enlarge and malfunction.

He was a brown marble bengal.

Obi Has Calculus

2010-02-16T21:43:00.009Z

How embarrassing. Tonight I took Obi for his vaccination boosters and annual MOT. The dentist's cat has dental calculus *blush*

So I have decided that he is going to be the first Bengal trained to use an electric toothbrush. Stage one of training started tonight and he was already a good pupil.

Step 1 - He likes the Logic sample the vet gave us. This is a paste you can give to cats that has enzymes and grit in it to clean their teeth.

Step 2 - Logic on a brush. Now Obi likes to gum things. It's part of his greeting so something tasty on a toothbrush was no problem. He was chewing that brush like a pro.

For now we will practice Step 2 for a week or two before moving on to Step 3 (motorised brush!)

The Magic of UPS

2009-12-30T08:33:00.007Z

We finally found a picture we both liked for the big space in the hallway so I ordered it framed. It's been exciting tracking it's progress toward us from the first email "we have you order confirmation" to "it's now at the framers" and then UPS picking it up and following it on their website. Much better than waiting for Santa.

EXETER, GB 12/30/2009 7:43 A.M. OUT FOR DELIVERY
TAMWORTH, GB 12/30/2009 12:25 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
TAMWORTH, GB 12/29/2009 8:58 P.M. DELIVERY RESCHEDULED
12/29/2009 7:29 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
BARKING, GB 12/29/2009 4:48 P.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
12/29/2009 3:02 P.M. ARRIVAL SCAN
BRUSSELS, BE 12/29/2009 9:06 A.M. DEPARTURE SCAN
BRUSSELS, BE 12/28/2009 10:16 P.M. ORIGIN SCAN
NL 12/28/2009 12:00 P.M. BILLING INFORMATION RECEIVED

I just hope it makes it's way from Exeter to here OK. I hope I haven't spoken too soon about the joys of UPS. I then need to persuade Aran to go and pick it up, as we are getting it delivered to his work address, now that could be difficult!

Update - it arrived safely and is looking beautiful in the hallway. It was a bit scary going up the ladder, on the stairs, to hang it.

Stress Heads

2009-11-01T17:38:00.013Z

It's just not funny when...

Just before the clocks go back one dark wet morning you drive out of your driveway backwards and hear a loud explosive bang. You then realise you have driven into someone driving out the the end of your street. Your car is smashed. Their car is OK (luckily) although it was hard to tell as his car was so dented and scratched anyway.
Your beautiful cat nearly becomes homeless when he decides that your big Superking sized bed makes a lovely litter box. My 'other half' is going nuts. £80 vet visit later and he is mostly suffering from stress (cat that is not 'other half'). He is now on cat equivalent of Ritalin, Bachs Rescue Remedy, antibiotics (just in case) and a modified diet. I think I need some of this too.
You upload a new video on YouTube. 14 minutes in to a 15 minute upload and YouTube goes down for maintenance.

This week I will mostly be trying to...

Get the car fixed.
Read 'The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo' by Stieg Larsson. I've really enjoyed 115 pages so far.
I have bough a Lean Mean Fat Grilling Machine. I will be making toasties al la cheese, toasties al la Banana, toasted mushrooms, toasted spuds and trying to find anything else to toast before I find a cupboard that the machine will live out the rest of it's years in like every other 'useful' kitchen gadget. That reminds me I sooo need a bread maker.
Spending money I haven't got.
We are getting super fast broadband installed so knowing my luck Windows Vista will hate it and refuse to go online!

Finally got the video to work. Here he is; Obi playing with his WigWam scratch tent thingy. I'm sure he thinks he is fully hidden by some magical cat scratch tardis tentness, fully camouflaged from Mr Mouse. He spends ages with just his head in the tent wiggling his bum in full readiness to leap out and pounce. My arm gets tired holding up the stick to wiggle Mr Mouse. I get bored long before Obi does.

"Does My bum look Big in This!!"

Obi the Destroyer

2009-10-17T15:52:00.004+01:00

Must remember not to leave kitchen roll, tissue boxes or toilet rolls anywhere where the Obester can seek and destroy them!

It's all about Purple

2009-10-05T21:16:00.005+01:00

I spent a week whispering in Aran's ear..."purple iPod Nano"...and look one magically appeared today all wrapped as a pretty little package on my desk waiting till I got home!

Now I'm waiting for him to tell me what he's bought himself :) LOL.

New Obi Toys

2009-09-28T18:41:00.007+01:00

The small furry menace has been scratching the carpets so it was off to Pets at Home for me to buy some scratchers. Here he is checking them out...

He's never too sure at first. He now goes mad for the brown mouse which we have to hide at bed time as it squeeks. He tries to pull the red mouse around the house (dragging the wig-wam thingy behind him).

I've been shopping!

2009-09-19T20:16:00.006+01:00

Had a lovely day in the Cathedral City of Exeter with Mr Credit Card. I was a lady that lunched. I bought a purple handbag and some new black boots.

I've started reading the latest Dan Brown - The Lost Symbol. I'm not sure it's going to be the best read this year but it's good so far. It was nice to wander into a bookshop today and find it busy. It's seems Dan Brown's release has brought the bookshops a lot of custom which I think is great.
Obi sat in the new shoe box for 10 minutes before deciding it was undignified and he would prefer it if I got on with serving his dinner.

Wednesday is Stretchy Day

2009-09-16T19:09:00.007+01:00

The Obster is much more adept at stretching than I am. Here he is demonstrating Pilates cat stretch/happy cat.

I've been to my Pilates class today and wasn't very stretchy...but each week I get a little better. We have a fantastic instructor, Melissa, who keeps things interesting by adding new exercises each week. Sometimes I try not to giggle, with my legs akimbo in the air, as I have flashbacks to reading teenage magazine More which usually had a 'Position of the Fortnight' feature.

One day I WILL be stretchy!!

Sleepy Sunday

2009-09-13T09:51:00.002+01:00

Today we will mostly be doing...erm...nothing.

At 8:35am I was awoken by a small Bengal paw scratching at my left leg under the duvet. The long sausage of furry sneakiness usually gets breakfast at 7am so he did well waiting today. His tactic is to stand next to the bed and push one paw under the duvet towards me until he reaches his soft delicate target. Aran also tells me that he had been standing on him for some time in a desperate attempt to wake him to wake me. Now Obi should know that will never work as Aran could sleep through an earthquake.

This is the Obster with another of his favourite toys - drinks straws. Taken on my iphone from bed.
Today I will also be resisting the temptation to cut any more off my fringe. Note to self - home hair cuts do NOT work. My fringe looks about as straight as the neighbours attempts yesterday at trimming the tops of the Leylandi between our houses (from up a ladder on a bit of a slope).
I've just watched one of my favourite Bengal kitten videos again! I love the synchronised washing this team of kittens are performing at the start, the stampeded and the commentary.

My Childhood TV Inspiration

2009-09-12T22:31:00.004+01:00

TV has a lot to answer for!
Bagpuss
Bagpuss mice...

I believe most things can be fixed with the right determination. If a mouse can fix anyone can (even if it just involves a hammer!). Bagpuss that saggy old sagpuss was just beautiful and real!

Chorlton and the Wheelies
Chorlton and the Wheelies started the year I was born (1976). So from an early age I wanted my own wheels. I started by going to the local tip with my dad and finding pram wheels, which became go-karts. I had the fastest go-kart on our hilly road. I still have the fastest wheels on our street (driving our Honda S2000)

Secretly my favourite character was the evil Welsh kettle witch Fenella.

Willow the Wisp

I was five and fairies could be frumpy and grumpy just like me. Obi is lucky that he did not get named Carwash.
Fingerbobs
Children would just not understand this now. It was so simple. Cardboard cutout sets and a mouse made of paper.

Also Treasured..
Heart Beat - I learnt a lot of cool techniques from a children's program which helped me in GCSE art as a teenager.
Dangermouse
The Flumps and The Wombles
Jamie and the Magic Torch
I'm sure there are lots more I will think of later.
Yikes I forgot The Muppets! How could anyone forget the Muppets

Obi the Bungee Cat

2009-09-12T20:08:00.001+01:00

This is my Bengal boy Obi. He has lived with us since January 2009 and he is a month away from his first birthday. He loves toys on string, sleeping, prawn treats and stalking.

This is his and my first Blog.