Never argue with a cat!!

Junior has been a tad argumentative of late.

Think she's a bit fed up of the chores known as 'Tidying up after yourself' and ' Could you just do **** for me?''  Well, hey ho, 'tis tough.  Needs must and all that,  especially as Iffy Joint Old Crock aka Min isn't as nimble as she once was and needs a little help now and again.

Anyway, the mogs are hungry and need feeding.  Seeing as I was up at 4am due to Junior sleepwalking into my bedroom and could not get back to sleep, I asks daughter to attend to them.  One, Meg, has become really grumpy and growly which does nothing for you when you are as equally short-tempered and trying to feed the hungry furry masses.   It just makes you even more bad tempered.

So, they are fed.  House rule is that animals are sorted first, humans second.   Junior asks me to cut her a few wedges off the homemade bread.  She is going to make herself a tuna and mayo sandwich.  Her favourite.    Of course, the aroma is not missed and soon she has a mass of furry 'friends' vying for titbits.  Still grumpy, Junior shouts and yells at them and tells them to go away, leave her alone, they've had theirs, etc.  They, of course, ignore her and carrying on hassling.  lol

She makes the sandwich.  It is piled high with tuna mayo and they still pester her for some.  She tells them that under NO circumstances are they having any of this.   Not a chance.   It is hers and hers alone.  

Off she toddles to sit down and consume it.

A few seconds later, there is a little commotion and a child-like expletive.  

She returns to the kitchen, with plate and lop-sided sandwich.

It seems that because of her bad temper (sigh) her hands slipped and plate fell onto the floor...followed by sandwich.

Ah ha!! 

See!!   

The mogs got their tuna, after all.

There's a moral in there somewhere,...eg;  What goes around comes around...and all that.....  but I'm in danger of losing bladder control as I'm laughing so much!!!!

I made her a fresh one and presented it in a large, non-slip bowl. 

Still tittering:o))

PS.  The Mogs...filled with tuna mayo sarni...are strategically lazing around..or so it would appear.....but, don't be fooled... all eyeballs are on Junior incase she drops this one aswell.   

Keeping Warm!

Woke up to find that it had snowed here overnight.  A bit more than a dusting....and it looks REALLY cold and icy outside!!  

Unfortunately, we have to venture out to visit Mother, who has the bag on with me 'cos we didn't go down yesterday.  Iffy joints a la moi and daughter who is suffering from cramp sort of makes your mind up to stay put...especially when it takes me ten minutes to put one boot on!!!  Junior titters at the sight of her old Ma rolling round and cursing, fighting these boots,  'cos she isn't as supple as she once was, going red in the face, etc.  Have to put these boots on to go out nowadays.  Slip on flatties are a no no in this cold, even with three pairs of socks!!     I'm taking a daily health supplement that the chemist recommended, but says it will take a couple of months to get me feeling better so, until then....I  think thermals might be in order to keep the joints happier:o)  The old-fashioned haberdashery shops are no more around here, which is a shame 'cos they were an Alladin's cave, full of the useful things that you don't find in the high street shops nowadays.  Have been explaining the virtues of bloomers to Junior.  lol  She still prefers leggings.

Daughter is into watching a maths type programme  of late. ..and some strategy games. Suits me:o))  I was waddling around WHS a few weeks ago and spotted their book deals.  I love books.  There's something safe about them.  There were some great offers on educational stuff, so I got a huge encyclopedia of the Earth for a fiver.  Bargain!!   It's like a doorstop!!   I was going to wrap it up for Crimble (present from the Ho Ho Ho HE fairy) but she eyeballed it before I could say sellotape!!  So, she's going to do an hour a day on a subject of her choosing, which I think will be geology based to start with:o))  Where can you dig for precious stones in Hill Billy Land?   Guess who ooos and aaaahs at Gems tv?   lol

Re our cooking list from the other day.  Soup and the veggie pasties are on the agenda today.  Maybe bread, but that'll be cheating via the breadmaker.  Not enough hours in the day!!

         

The Wise and Wonderful

We got as far as soaking and cooking the chickpeas the other day. Got waylaid with Mother...who is suffering with, amongst other things.. gallstones. She is learning the hard way to stick to the appropriate diet...naughty Mother!! lol Anyway, Junior watched her gran and got another language lesson while I hot-footed it to the pharmacy for all her meds. Believe it or not, Mother is well known (and liked) over there. Made her mark already:o))

So.....today, we managed to make the mini vegan 'cornish' pasties. They are DEELISH:o) Really, you must try.

They are basically shortcrust pastry circles (we used a wide-brimmed coffee cup as the cutter and a shop bought pack of pastry) filled with veg (obviously) consisting of sauteed chopped onion (one), grated carrot (three littlies) and potato (three medium)..with seasoning (lots of ground black pepper and Maldon sea salt). I made a samosa type mix with half of the mixture by adding chickpeas, tomato puree, a drop of water, ground cumin, coriander, paprika and chilli flakes. The pasties were baked for about 20 mins on 180C and were about three mouthfuls big...if you get what I mean...'arry?'
Vegan Pasties.

Tried making the spicy chickpeas, but I guess they're not meant to be in our house. Turned out like tasteless bullets. They need LOTS of spices if they are to hit the spot say, like Bombay Mix...sigh.....
The doomed chickpeas

Aside from cooking...there was a Christmas 'Do" at Mother's place tonight. Junior and I dutifully attended and it was actually very okay. Fun, even. We were made very welcome. The warden and her family sorted it all and will go to heaven for their kindness to the residents. The elderly do have a sense of humour and definitely tell it as it is....which is good...I suppose. Big, wide-eyed lesson for Junior! lol

I treat her well......for,.... when the time comes, she'll choose my care home. lol (One with a G Clooney or P Brosnan would be preferable!!!)..sigh:o)))
Honey Pot...wishing on a star:o))

Food Glorious Food

Sushi making is on the cards for today. And mini vegan pasties. Plus butternut squash soup. And chocolate orange brownies. And bread....and mini calzone pizzas and spag bog sauce. I'm going to try out toasted, spicy chickpeas, too. The list goes on and on.. All recipes will end up in Junior's cookery book.

We're fed up of not having anything to 'snack' on, so we're up for a Snack Making Extravaganza! Some of the goodies are destined for the freezer, but the sushi, I think, will not last the day, even if we could freeze it! lol 'Tis Junior's favourite at the mo. We don't have wasabi, so I'll have to dig out a bit of horseradish from the garden.

I've been perusing some of the American blogs and am impressed with what people can and do preserve, especially by means of canning, which I have no chance of doing here. But still, would be nice to have rows of preserved food in jars, grown from ones own garden displayed on my non-existent welsh dresser. Just wait til my Square Foot Garden takes off. lol

We're (ahem...I'm) hoping to organise the freezer. You know how it is when it all goes to pot and you can't see what you have in there for the ice!....:o) I have visions of loads of little food containers, all neatly lined up and labelled. We shall see:o))

My new mog-free craft room/office (still a tip a the mo) is also going to be trebled up as a 'warm little potting up and grow on the windowsill' place. Am fed up of running out of the tender herbs and salad leaves (and paying such high prices) so shall see how it goes.

On with it, as they say. First things first, though. Shall have to have a nice cup of tea:o))

Yay!!

Musical bedrooms, again!

Junior has decided that she'd like the little bedroom. It's next door to mine and was being used as a dumping ground, basically. It's tiny, but she says she feels snug and safe in there. Her old room is at the back of the house and she can hear next door's rabbits scratting during the night. She doesn't like the landing either, same as me. There's something about it..like you're being watched.....cue X-Files music! lol

So, there's stuff all over the place. She is 'in' and happy. Meanwhile, boxes seem to have morphed out of nowhere and have instantly been 'bagged' by the mogs. We have way too much 'sentimental' clutter (mainly my mother's stuff) so it's off to live in the garage:o)....once I find a nice strong person to help rickety old me shift it!

Upshot is that I now have a spare double bedroom....which is going to be, in part, my NEW CRAFT SPACE!! Yay!! My own office:o) Makes a change from the loo:o) Even in there I can't get any peace and quiet. lol There are lovely views of Hill Billy Land from that room. Might inspire me to make something 'different'.

Anyway, Rule No 1 for Mum's Office...........Unsupervised cats are banned!!

Meg v Min

Don't half ask for it!!

Joints are doing their usual...and now knee has chipped in. Blumming arthuritis!! Resulting in one mega bad-tempered moi!

Everything takes double...treble the time than it ordinarily would. Very frustrating and annoying.

So, it is 11.20pm. Min is pooped and wants to call it a night. Hotwater bottle is at the ready for knackered knee:o))

I hears a trill (cat language for 'Coooeee'). I hears the 'cat flap with no locks 'cos sex-mad Megan broke it' going.

Trill, trill....then growl. This means 'keep away, it's mine!!'. It is Megan's growl.....bad tempered so and so. So, oiks Meg out from under the coffee table and, true, there is another poor rodent clasped in her jaws.

Eeeek!!! I don't want another one romping around the living room, so I boots Meg out.....who was naturally growling away at me. It IS forecast Arctic weather, after all. Tough.

So, there am I. Guarding the 'cat flap with no locks 'cos sex-mad Megan broke it". Ooops,,,there it goes and oooops, there I boots her out. This goes on for a good 20 minutes. Ping pong in and out.

Ha!!! I won!!!.....said poor, pathetic Min. No chance. Turns my back and Meg whizzes in, rodent still attached to jaws. She eyes up the Laura Ashley slub sofa...then the stairs (and my bedroom door is OPEN!! Yikes!!

Eventually, my shrieking directs her back into the kitchen. Does she vie the knackered catflap. NOoooooooo.

She jumps up on the table and ceremoniously lays mouse on my new oilcloth!! Swine!!

Anyway, by now deceased mouse has been removed and a certain Megan Schooler has a mega bag on!!! (Having a 'bag on' is Yorkshire speak for mega sulk). I think she is crabby because she knows she is going to see a Mr/Ms Vet next week for 'contraception purposes'.

It is now past midnight. Shall hobble upstairs to my pit (bed).

Megan is in the kitchen... sat staring at a dish full of Whiskas biscuits...and my ears are ringing. Wonder what she's called me this time?

Nite all:o)))

Not a Prickly Problem

We were walking Cilla tonight
when we spotted our first hedgehog of the year. Was quietly trundling along (until we came along and then it hot-footed it down someone's drive).

This is the first time Junior has actually seen one 'in real life' as she puts it. She was asking me loads of questions about the creatures and I was explaining how (during my own childhood) we used to play host to a female each year. She 'borrowed' our outhouse and raised her broods there, year in/year out. They all were different in their features...and so cute. It's a shame you don't see them so much nowadays. (blumming fencing.....AND cars!!) So, the questions were a flowing and now I can feel a project coming on:o))))...and a hedgehog house being built....pronto.

Junior is very much into music at the mo. Loads of stuff on her blog..and it's so varied:o)...which is nice. She spends ages researching stuff and getting the tunes she wants.

Bedroom's a tip...still:o(

She gets the sniffing out music stuff from me. I'm always playing DJ here. Can't be pinned down to any style or genre am afraid. I like everything...except doobedoo Cleo Laine type jazz...and brass bands...and some Motown..or is that Mowtown? So.......Saturday night is usually....gooooood! The oldies sometimes are the best...but not always:o))

James Morrison & Keisha Buchanan in sidebar......Ahhhhh:o)))

If family are reading this. DON'T buy Min a karaoke machine for Crimble!!! Bad news for neighbours:o))