The cat is the hat

Posted on Thu 12 July 2007 at 11:31

And talking of cats, that really are turning into ‘cat burglars’.  They are always coming home with something, be it a burst balloon (which incidentally made a guest appearance it in the litter-tray a day or so later – yuck!!)  Or a broken toy that the last owners may have left somewhere strange.  Or a sink pug that doesn’t actually fit any of the sinks even though there was no utility sink plug when we moved in.  Their latest thefts include underwear.  OK, so far it has only been socks but there will come a point that Steve will open the door and get a right slap in the chops from some strange woman who has seen the cats coming in grinning through a mouthful of panties and other lingerie.  One pair of folded socks turned up and they were duly praised (even though they don’t fit anyone!) and today a single sports sock mysteriously appeared on the back deck.  Now, I think the time has come that they need to be severely reprimanded.  It is all well and good stealing stuff but they might as well nick something worth having: a diamond bracelet or a wallet would be nice!

Both Steve and I have had time off over this last fortnight as it is the winter holidays.  He was off last week, I am off this week.  Melissa went to the stables all last week so I guess she has had a good holiday.  I have had a great time this week – I have done the bare minimum to sustain life in the antipodes.  Eat, sleep, read, read read. I have read, even for me, an incredible amount this week.  Something had to give and that something was the housework.  So from Monday through ‘til Thursday, I did very little.  But today I looked around and the furniture looked furry (that is an exaggeration by the way!) so I felt obliged to do some housework.  Now that everything is pristine again, I feel fully justified in enjoying my last day of freedom tomorrow only doing things I choose to do.  So Melissa and I may go into town in the afternoon, or we may stay in our pyjamas all day!!

We went to visit Am Loolah (from BE) and her family on Saturday.  It was really nice to finally meet her and her family.  They were all lovely and several times she and I found ourselves saying the same thing.  Oh my God, separated at birth!!.  Caroline, if you get round to reading this, thank you for your hospitality, we had a great time and hope you did too.  Beautiful kids, beautiful home, lovely dogs and my goodness, that Dave is a great cook!

We were actually at the official Bay of Plenty meet up, so met up with ’Paul Gent’ and his wife Carolyn too – again, a pleasure to meet you too.  The strange thing was, in walked a couple of nurses who work on the ‘opposite ward’.  Steve just rolled his eyes.  It doesn’t matter where in the world I go, I usually end up meeting people I know.  So there we are, in a bar in a town at least 80 minutes drive away (Tauranga) and in walk people I know!  As it was a few pints into the evening, I introduced Caroline as my lesbian lover and the rest of the company as my coven.  And they chose to join us?!!  Alan, Nicci, we all had a great time.  The peculiar thing was, that Alan and Carolyn actually had people in common that they knew.  I was well impressed that you can come halfway round the world and meet someone who knows the same folk that you do.  It is indeed a small world. 

I have heard several people say that crime is more prolific here than it is in the UK.  I have no informed opinion on that yet as I haven’t done any research.  All I can say is that crime hasn’t affected us in any way – either in Britain or here in New Zealand.  The suburb we live in has no reputation for crime but – hang on to your hats people – we saw it all on Monday morning at 5am!! I heard a car driving fast and noisily along our road in a boy-racer stylie. Which surprised me as we live at the end of a cul-de-sac so you have to slow down. Screeched to a halt and then all went quiet. Then 'get out of the car and lie on the road' over a loud-hailer several times. We scrambled out of bed and there it was - right in front of our house. The young girl who got out of the car certainly didn't look old enough to be driving. The police were very cautious and seemed to my jaundiced eye (my sons used to watch a lot of cop programmes!) to do everything by the book. All over and done with in 5 minutes. I imagine the car was stolen and that she had taken a wrong-turn due to alcohol or drugs clouding her judgment. .Although I checked, I haven’t found reference to it in the local press.

Oh God, the noise:  I foolishly agreed that the child could have a friend to sleep over – how stupid am I!!