Catching up on some sleep.
Sunday, August 29, 2004
Say Hello To Eric
Friday night we got home settled down with a traditional whisky and coke while we watched Final Destination on DVD.
Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a quick shopping trip into town for a few bits. While I would have been content walking into each shop, picking up what we wanted, paying for it and walking out, Debbie was looking at anything and everything while we walked round and I was nervously looking at the time. I knew we needed to be away from town by 10.30am to get to Thornberry in time to be first in the queue.
Despite my clock watching we still managed to get some breakfast in Asda before we left for the animal sanctuary.
When we arrived, some of the kittens had already been taken including the one Debbie had picked out two weeks ago, however, his Brother was still there and had the same beautiful markings. We both looked at the other kittens there but really it was no contest and we decided to take Eric home with us.
Eric is just eight weeks old and tiny compared to Misty and Toddy and we were a little concerned about how the rest of the zoo would take to him. Misty hasn’t gone near him much at all, but he is a bit jealous and has been coming to us for a love which is usually reserved for meal times. Toddy has been a bit braver and has been up to Eric to say hello a few times but runs off as soon as Eric moved towards him. Lucy is obsessed with Eric and won’t leave him alone for a second although she has chilled a little today and she’ll be back to her nutty self in a few days.
After taking a few hours to settle in to his new home, Eric managed to get out of the big cat’s litter tray which is great as won’t need to go and get s smaller one. He’s also been able to get to the top of the cat tower and down again under his own steam and goes right to the top to get out of Lucy’s way for a bit of peace and a sleep.
Eric was up an about this morning when we got up this morning before nodding off again and has been asleep for the last few hours. It’s early days but I think he’s going to be more like Toddy than Misty, he loves loads of attention and his cute little face means he’s getting plenty.
Paul
Saturday morning we were up bright and early for a quick shopping trip into town for a few bits. While I would have been content walking into each shop, picking up what we wanted, paying for it and walking out, Debbie was looking at anything and everything while we walked round and I was nervously looking at the time. I knew we needed to be away from town by 10.30am to get to Thornberry in time to be first in the queue.
Despite my clock watching we still managed to get some breakfast in Asda before we left for the animal sanctuary.
When we arrived, some of the kittens had already been taken including the one Debbie had picked out two weeks ago, however, his Brother was still there and had the same beautiful markings. We both looked at the other kittens there but really it was no contest and we decided to take Eric home with us.
Eric is just eight weeks old and tiny compared to Misty and Toddy and we were a little concerned about how the rest of the zoo would take to him. Misty hasn’t gone near him much at all, but he is a bit jealous and has been coming to us for a love which is usually reserved for meal times. Toddy has been a bit braver and has been up to Eric to say hello a few times but runs off as soon as Eric moved towards him. Lucy is obsessed with Eric and won’t leave him alone for a second although she has chilled a little today and she’ll be back to her nutty self in a few days.
After taking a few hours to settle in to his new home, Eric managed to get out of the big cat’s litter tray which is great as won’t need to go and get s smaller one. He’s also been able to get to the top of the cat tower and down again under his own steam and goes right to the top to get out of Lucy’s way for a bit of peace and a sleep.
Eric was up an about this morning when we got up this morning before nodding off again and has been asleep for the last few hours. It’s early days but I think he’s going to be more like Toddy than Misty, he loves loads of attention and his cute little face means he’s getting plenty.
Paul
Friday, August 27, 2004
Time For A Break
Arriving home yesterday to a chorus of meow, meow, meeeeeow, I opened the pet cupboard to find no cat food and just one tin of dog food. That's the trouble with tins of pet food, they come in packs of six, which would be ok if there were six days in a week. We always seem to run out during the week and have to go shopping for some like we did last night. The trouble with this is that we never just come back with just cat and dog food, like last night when we walked through the door with four shopping bags full of goodies. We did it again though, only got six tins of dog and cat food so we'll be back again during the week. I think it's just a ploy by both of us to make sure we need to go shopping in the week so we can saunter down the booze isle ...lol...
We were planning on an early night last night but Eastenders was on late so we sacked that idea and had a couple of hours on the computer while we waited. It was actually worth waiting for, focusing just on Den and Dot for half an hour turned out to be quite a treat.
We can't stop yawning this morning, the only thing keeping us going is the fact that it's crunchie day and we've got a week off work! We're going to be pretty busy next week with hopefully a new kitten, final wedding arrangements and looking into this change of career. Roll on home time!
Paul
We were planning on an early night last night but Eastenders was on late so we sacked that idea and had a couple of hours on the computer while we waited. It was actually worth waiting for, focusing just on Den and Dot for half an hour turned out to be quite a treat.
We can't stop yawning this morning, the only thing keeping us going is the fact that it's crunchie day and we've got a week off work! We're going to be pretty busy next week with hopefully a new kitten, final wedding arrangements and looking into this change of career. Roll on home time!
Paul
Thursday, August 26, 2004
We Have A Dream
Yesterday we started on the road to realising our dream of owning and running our own boarding kennels. We've often said that if we won the lottery, this is what we would do with money Yesterday the subject came up again but this time I thought, do we really need to win the lottery to do this, surely it's something that we can achieve own our own. So we searched the web for information and were surprised to find that there is plenty to be found on this subject. I've been in touch with the bank and soon we'll be paying a visit to find out where we need to be to make our dream a reality. It will take some time, we know, but now we've both got something to work towards during the months and years ahead.
We spent the night scouring the estate agents looking for somewhere suitable but we've not found anything so far. Debbie saw an ideal place a few weeks ago while looking for houses so we know the right place will be out there, we just need to keep searching until we find it.
Paul
We spent the night scouring the estate agents looking for somewhere suitable but we've not found anything so far. Debbie saw an ideal place a few weeks ago while looking for houses so we know the right place will be out there, we just need to keep searching until we find it.
Paul
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Jeepers Creepers!
After a spot of shopping last night we settled down to watch Jeepers Creepers which we had taped from Sunday night. There was one moment in the film when the boy appears at the car window when Debbie let out a scream and jumped up in the air which made me jump and Lucy who looked just as shocked as we did ...lol... We've both seen the film before but we'd obviously forgotten about that bit! We've got Jeepers Creepers 2 on DVD but I think the first one is a lot more creepy which much more suspense as you don't get to see much of the monster until late on.
This morning we're both tired out again and can't wait for our holiday in three days time. We're supposed to be going to a BBQ on Saturday night but the weather hasn't been to great lately and the forecast for Saturday keeps changing from sunshine to rain and back again.
I read something yesterday about Google not being able to work with Blogrolling links as well as static links, it might be true, it might not, but given that it's easier to just edit the template and plonk another link there, we've replaced all our Blogrolling links with static links. I'm sure we've not missed anyone but if we have, just let us know and we'll sort it out straight away.
Paul
This morning we're both tired out again and can't wait for our holiday in three days time. We're supposed to be going to a BBQ on Saturday night but the weather hasn't been to great lately and the forecast for Saturday keeps changing from sunshine to rain and back again.
I read something yesterday about Google not being able to work with Blogrolling links as well as static links, it might be true, it might not, but given that it's easier to just edit the template and plonk another link there, we've replaced all our Blogrolling links with static links. I'm sure we've not missed anyone but if we have, just let us know and we'll sort it out straight away.
Paul
Tuesday, August 24, 2004
Nothing To Lose
We had rain all day yesterday with a bit of thunder thrown in as well. The rain got really heavy in the afternoon but luckily it relented a little before home time so we didn't have to drive in it, although it still caused problems with traffic in Sheffield for Debbie.
With Debbie stuck in traffic, I was home first and started on tea, pork chops with mushrooms, onions, garlic, peas and gravy. While we were waiting for that to cook we had an hour on the computer along with a whisky and coke to wash the Monday blues away. Tea was delicious, pork that just fell of the bone covered in the best gravy in the world ever...
Zippy was out again yesterday, still getting used to the new layout but he's climbing all over the outside of the cage now and it won't be long before he realises there are free peanuts to be had just across the ladder. He had us in stitches at one point, he knew where we wanted to go but was in a complete spin about how to get there and was shuffling one way then the other, always coming back to the same spot. It reminded me very much of Trigger doing exactly the same thing in the Jolly Boys Outing episode of Only Fools & Horses.
Flicking through the channels, we stumbled across a film called Nothing To Lose that was just starting and looked quite good so we stayed with it. We we're tired though so we went to watch it upstairs. Debbie was just nodding off when Tim Robin's feet caught fire and he started dancing, I nearly fell off the bed laughing and Debbie opened her eyes a little to see what I was laughing at and then couldn't get back to sleep for chuckling ...lol... I think we'll look out for this on DVD, it'll be worth the money just to see that scene again.
Paul
With Debbie stuck in traffic, I was home first and started on tea, pork chops with mushrooms, onions, garlic, peas and gravy. While we were waiting for that to cook we had an hour on the computer along with a whisky and coke to wash the Monday blues away. Tea was delicious, pork that just fell of the bone covered in the best gravy in the world ever...
Zippy was out again yesterday, still getting used to the new layout but he's climbing all over the outside of the cage now and it won't be long before he realises there are free peanuts to be had just across the ladder. He had us in stitches at one point, he knew where we wanted to go but was in a complete spin about how to get there and was shuffling one way then the other, always coming back to the same spot. It reminded me very much of Trigger doing exactly the same thing in the Jolly Boys Outing episode of Only Fools & Horses.
Flicking through the channels, we stumbled across a film called Nothing To Lose that was just starting and looked quite good so we stayed with it. We we're tired though so we went to watch it upstairs. Debbie was just nodding off when Tim Robin's feet caught fire and he started dancing, I nearly fell off the bed laughing and Debbie opened her eyes a little to see what I was laughing at and then couldn't get back to sleep for chuckling ...lol... I think we'll look out for this on DVD, it'll be worth the money just to see that scene again.
Paul
Monday, August 23, 2004
Spooky Cats
We picked the tower up from Argos on Sunday morning and then couldn't resist a quick visit to Matalan next door for a spot of bargain hunting and for the first time in ages, we hardly bought anything. I think it's getting to that point in the year where it's hardly worth bothering buying more summer clothes and it's too early to be thinking about winter stuff. Next we called in at a local farm shop which started off years ago selling potatoes etc. but now sells anything and everything including rain coats for dogs ...lol...
Leaving there, we called in at Dad's for a cuppa and got four more of the wedding invites sorted out while we were there. As we were leaving, Dad gave us a new parasol for the picnic table, a Fosters one, so our back yard really does look like a beer garden now ..lol..
On the way home we called in at the bird centre to get some more toys for Zippy and had a good look round at the birds there as well. They didn't seem to have many birds in but they did have some African Greys that were growling as we waked past and it just shows how far Zippy has come in a little over a year. We paid for the two rope/wooden toys and went on to a garden centre that has a good pet section where we got some parrot food that looked quite tasty and some unshelled peanuts.
Getting back home, we changed the cage round so that we can open up the top and also put a ladder on the front that leads to Zippy's parrot stand which has two bowls filled with peanuts. He's getting much more adventurous now and needs to explore further afield.
I got the cat tower built after lunch and apart from a little bit of blue language when trying to attach the tube, it wasn't too bad and looks quite impressive, money well spent! We introduced the cats to their new plaything but with it being mid afternoon, all they wanted to do was sleep, but they were both on it later after tea.
We watched Gothika last night, it was a really spooky film and had us both jumping out of skins and to make it worse, every time we jumped, two ghostly cats heads popped out from behind the window blinds!
Paul
Leaving there, we called in at Dad's for a cuppa and got four more of the wedding invites sorted out while we were there. As we were leaving, Dad gave us a new parasol for the picnic table, a Fosters one, so our back yard really does look like a beer garden now ..lol..
On the way home we called in at the bird centre to get some more toys for Zippy and had a good look round at the birds there as well. They didn't seem to have many birds in but they did have some African Greys that were growling as we waked past and it just shows how far Zippy has come in a little over a year. We paid for the two rope/wooden toys and went on to a garden centre that has a good pet section where we got some parrot food that looked quite tasty and some unshelled peanuts.
Getting back home, we changed the cage round so that we can open up the top and also put a ladder on the front that leads to Zippy's parrot stand which has two bowls filled with peanuts. He's getting much more adventurous now and needs to explore further afield.
I got the cat tower built after lunch and apart from a little bit of blue language when trying to attach the tube, it wasn't too bad and looks quite impressive, money well spent! We introduced the cats to their new plaything but with it being mid afternoon, all they wanted to do was sleep, but they were both on it later after tea.
We watched Gothika last night, it was a really spooky film and had us both jumping out of skins and to make it worse, every time we jumped, two ghostly cats heads popped out from behind the window blinds!
Paul
Sunday, August 22, 2004
Doing Nothing
We had a cool day doing nothing yesterday, although the plan came unstuck at tea time realizing that we hadn’t been to put the lottery on. So we got dressed and popped down to the supermarket, getting a few bits and pieces along with the lottery tickets. Next stop was the video store to see if there was anything worth watching, after doing two laps of the isles, we picked up Monster and Gothika. Cooking tea isn’t allowed on a doing nothing day so we called in at KFC for a large bucket of tasty chicken and even tastier chips and gravy!
We sat down to watch Monster last night, making half a bottle of Bacardi and a little bit of whisky disappear in the process. It was a very good film, dark and disturbing as the reviews had suggested. We had a one hour interval during the film as the Bridesmaid dress issue came up again, which Debbie will explain later.
After the film, feeling the effects of too much alcohol, we decided to leave the other film for today, fearing that we’d probably pass out before it finished ..lol.. Instead we watched the end of Die Hard 2 on the telly upstairs before nodding off.
This morning the sun is out again and we’re both feeling pretty cool, not even a hint of a hangover, it must have been all that chicken that soaked up the Bacardi. We’ve got a few things to do today including picking up that new cat tower we found last week. We’ll take some photos of the dynamic duo in action on it this afternoon!
Paul
We sat down to watch Monster last night, making half a bottle of Bacardi and a little bit of whisky disappear in the process. It was a very good film, dark and disturbing as the reviews had suggested. We had a one hour interval during the film as the Bridesmaid dress issue came up again, which Debbie will explain later.
After the film, feeling the effects of too much alcohol, we decided to leave the other film for today, fearing that we’d probably pass out before it finished ..lol.. Instead we watched the end of Die Hard 2 on the telly upstairs before nodding off.
This morning the sun is out again and we’re both feeling pretty cool, not even a hint of a hangover, it must have been all that chicken that soaked up the Bacardi. We’ve got a few things to do today including picking up that new cat tower we found last week. We’ll take some photos of the dynamic duo in action on it this afternoon!
Paul
Friday, August 20, 2004
Tweak Tweak
Debbie came home with a bottle of Bacardi last night so the no drinking plan went out of the window again, but we we're quite good and didn't have too much, saving most for tonight. We did refrain from going out and getting dinner, having chicken Kiev, chips, spaghetti and curry sauce instead and was delicious!
We've done a bit of tweaking and made some minor cosmetic changes to the blog yesterday, it was looking a bit tired and dull so we've made the side bar a bit brighter and have broken it up into sections which we think make's it easier to read. We need something to replace the Google search bar at the bottom, with the new tool bar it's become redundant just a few weeks after adding it ..lol..
There have been some new flood warnings issued today, there haven't been any for the last couple of days but now the rain is back and affecting the areas that got off lightly last time. It's raining very heavily again here this morning but it looks like it will be drier this afternoon and through the weekend before yet more rain arrives next week. The week after will be an Indian summer, obviously, as were on holiday!
Toddy's been on one again this morning, darting about everywhere, coming to a sudden stand still as though he'd been caught in someone's headlights and then speeding off in another direction. Misty doesn't even blink as the ninety miles an hour ginger furball whizzes past him, just plods along into the living room and collapses in the nearest comfy spot.
So, after a long hard week, crunchie day is here at last, or maybe it should be called POETS's day. It's a new one on me, but it stands for - Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday!
Paul
We've done a bit of tweaking and made some minor cosmetic changes to the blog yesterday, it was looking a bit tired and dull so we've made the side bar a bit brighter and have broken it up into sections which we think make's it easier to read. We need something to replace the Google search bar at the bottom, with the new tool bar it's become redundant just a few weeks after adding it ..lol..
There have been some new flood warnings issued today, there haven't been any for the last couple of days but now the rain is back and affecting the areas that got off lightly last time. It's raining very heavily again here this morning but it looks like it will be drier this afternoon and through the weekend before yet more rain arrives next week. The week after will be an Indian summer, obviously, as were on holiday!
Toddy's been on one again this morning, darting about everywhere, coming to a sudden stand still as though he'd been caught in someone's headlights and then speeding off in another direction. Misty doesn't even blink as the ninety miles an hour ginger furball whizzes past him, just plods along into the living room and collapses in the nearest comfy spot.
So, after a long hard week, crunchie day is here at last, or maybe it should be called POETS's day. It's a new one on me, but it stands for - Piss Off Early Tomorrow's Saturday!
Paul
Thursday, August 19, 2004
More Wedding Plans
This week seems to be dragging on, I think it's because we're getting closer to our holiday in just over a weeks time and we can't wait for a break from these early mornings. We've got nothing planned for this weekend and by that I mean we plan to do nothing, zip, zero, bugger all! We're both shattered and desperately need some couch potato time to re-charge the batteries and of course we'll need to be wide awake for the weekend after when we pick up Eric and introduce him to the zoo here.
We had a few thunder storms yesterday and some more heavy rain overnight which has kept things cooler and fresher and also means I don't need to water the front garden which looking lovely and green due to lack of any long dry spells this summer. I need to get out there and check the support for our baby fir tree, it's grown a lot this year and I think the support could be taken off now.
Christmas is almost here, seriously, it is, and with it comes our wedding. We are going to have so much to do from September onwards and the nice people at the supermarket will be filling the shelves with Christmas decorations any time now just to remind how close it is. I'm going to get the suits sorted out while we are on holiday and also find a cattery and someone to make our wedding cake. Hopefully that should then be about it, all we'll have to do then is keep ringing round and making sure everyone is still on board.
So with the festive season just around the corner, let us be the first to say Merry Christmas!
Paul
We had a few thunder storms yesterday and some more heavy rain overnight which has kept things cooler and fresher and also means I don't need to water the front garden which looking lovely and green due to lack of any long dry spells this summer. I need to get out there and check the support for our baby fir tree, it's grown a lot this year and I think the support could be taken off now.
Christmas is almost here, seriously, it is, and with it comes our wedding. We are going to have so much to do from September onwards and the nice people at the supermarket will be filling the shelves with Christmas decorations any time now just to remind how close it is. I'm going to get the suits sorted out while we are on holiday and also find a cattery and someone to make our wedding cake. Hopefully that should then be about it, all we'll have to do then is keep ringing round and making sure everyone is still on board.
So with the festive season just around the corner, let us be the first to say Merry Christmas!
Paul
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
Planning Permission
Yesterday we had a letter from the council about the planning permission to replace the empty showroom across the way with seventeen new houses, it says that if we have any objections or comments we should get in touch. I don't think we'll be making any objections, the faster this get's underway the better. Thankfully we've not had any problems for the last few days, nether the less, we can't wait to see the bulldozers move in.
Toddy is much more chilled this week, sometimes he's scared of his own shadow, but now there's more room on the sofa, he keeps coming to say hello, doing his endearing silent meow. Misty is the same as ever, nothing phases top cat, strolling about the place looking cool, suave and sophisticated, until that is, Toddy comes flying from nowhere and knocks him off his feet before running off to hide. Lucy's back to her old ways, hiding chew sticks everywhere and keeping watch, ready to spring into action if one of the cats gets too close to one of her secret stashes. Zippy, well, he's just as noisy as ever, especially at the weekend when he's awake before us, it always makes us chuckle listening to him whistling to himself while we're deciding whether to get out of bed.
Paul
Toddy is much more chilled this week, sometimes he's scared of his own shadow, but now there's more room on the sofa, he keeps coming to say hello, doing his endearing silent meow. Misty is the same as ever, nothing phases top cat, strolling about the place looking cool, suave and sophisticated, until that is, Toddy comes flying from nowhere and knocks him off his feet before running off to hide. Lucy's back to her old ways, hiding chew sticks everywhere and keeping watch, ready to spring into action if one of the cats gets too close to one of her secret stashes. Zippy, well, he's just as noisy as ever, especially at the weekend when he's awake before us, it always makes us chuckle listening to him whistling to himself while we're deciding whether to get out of bed.
Paul
Tuesday, August 17, 2004
Flash Floods
The sun was out again yesterday, the forecast rain didn't arrive until later in the evening, however, it's not been as muggy for the last few days, except for Sunday night when it clouded over at tea time and trapped all the heat in.
We needed a few supplies yesterday, so on arriving home last night we popped down to the supermarket, taking Lucy with us to try and get her used to being in the car as she's still suffering from travel sickness. It might have been a mistake going there instead of me calling in on the way home for the bread we needed, whenever we go shopping together Debbie always asks if I'm having a drink and I never say no. So, out we came with much more than we went in for, including a bottle of vodka.
Back home with a large vodka and coke on the go we spent most of the night on the computer chatting to a few friends for what felt like hours, however, when we finally shut the computer down we were surprised to see it was still only half past nine. Flicking through the channels on the telly, the best that was on offer was a music channel so we just finished our drinks and called it a night.
This morning, watching the breakfast news as usual, we were surprised to see the flash floods in Cornwall given that we've not seen much rain at all for the last few days. It must have been one of the worst floods seen in this country with cars and vans being swept from the streets and out to sea. It must be devastating for the people of Boscastle and our thoughts are with them.
Paul
We needed a few supplies yesterday, so on arriving home last night we popped down to the supermarket, taking Lucy with us to try and get her used to being in the car as she's still suffering from travel sickness. It might have been a mistake going there instead of me calling in on the way home for the bread we needed, whenever we go shopping together Debbie always asks if I'm having a drink and I never say no. So, out we came with much more than we went in for, including a bottle of vodka.
Back home with a large vodka and coke on the go we spent most of the night on the computer chatting to a few friends for what felt like hours, however, when we finally shut the computer down we were surprised to see it was still only half past nine. Flicking through the channels on the telly, the best that was on offer was a music channel so we just finished our drinks and called it a night.
This morning, watching the breakfast news as usual, we were surprised to see the flash floods in Cornwall given that we've not seen much rain at all for the last few days. It must have been one of the worst floods seen in this country with cars and vans being swept from the streets and out to sea. It must be devastating for the people of Boscastle and our thoughts are with them.
Paul
Monday, August 16, 2004
Emotional Weekend
This weekend has been very emotional, having to come to a decision to take Harvey back to Manchester. For the most part he was everything we could have ever wished for but as the weeks passed by and he settled into his surroundings, problems started to emerge. Most problems we expected and could work on but in the last few weeks he became more and more unpredictable in his behaviour towards me and the other animals. When he finally drew blood from my hand, we knew we couldn't keep this up, fearing for the safety of Lucy, Misty & Toddy and I had lost confidence in approaching him when he needed to be move from somewhere he shouldn't be. We are gutted and feel awful having come to this decision but realistically, we really didn't have any other option.
On Saturday afternoon, we made the trip back to Manchester and handed Harvey back over to the staff at the rescue centre and off he skipped without looking back which was a little upsetting but we knew that despite wanting to be next to us all the time in the house, Harvey ingored us completely once outside. Emotional and tired, we made our way to Debbie's Sister's house for a bite to eat and a coffee. We called in at a discount store on the way home but we weren't really in the mood for shopping and nothing there appealed to us except a dustpan and brush for sweeping up all those cat hairs.
Lucy was waiting by the door, tail wagging as always when we got home. After tea, the house, even with four animals seemed empty, but calm with everyone snoozing in their own favourite spots. We've resigned ourselves to the fact now that, we'll never find another dog who will gel with the rest of the family, we already have the perfect dog in Lucy.
We sat down to watch Love Actually and had a couple of glasses of wine but didn't see all of the film, pausing it instead to talk about the days events. After a long hard discussion, following an appeal from a local animal rescue centre who have been overwhelmed with kittens this summer, we've decided that we could offer a loving home along side Misty and Toddy.
On Sunday we drove over to Dad's with Lucy and she was full of beans when we arrived, racing in to the house as soon As Dad opened the door. After a catching up on all the gossip and a much needed coffee, we made our way back home for some dinner.
After we'd had something to eat, we set off in the hot sunshine to the local animal sanctuary where we adopted Toddy. We've never seen so many kittens in one place before, it's such a shame that people don't make sure that their cats are neutered, Misty and Toddy were as soon as they were the required age. Debbie has fallen in love with a beautiful dark coloured tabby who, like most of the others, still has two weeks to go before he's ready for adoption. So, we'll be back a week on Saturday and hopefully Eric, as Debbie has named him, will still be there.
We've seen a three tier a cat tower that we want to get before then, to keep Misty and Toddy occupied while the little one settles in. We'll also get lots of new cat toys, it's not that long since we bought several new toys but Lucy has chewed most of those to death ..lol.. We'll be on holiday that week to keep and eye on things while Eric find his feet, learing that Misty is top cat but that he can be ambushed from the chair, as Toddy does frequently!
Paul
On Saturday afternoon, we made the trip back to Manchester and handed Harvey back over to the staff at the rescue centre and off he skipped without looking back which was a little upsetting but we knew that despite wanting to be next to us all the time in the house, Harvey ingored us completely once outside. Emotional and tired, we made our way to Debbie's Sister's house for a bite to eat and a coffee. We called in at a discount store on the way home but we weren't really in the mood for shopping and nothing there appealed to us except a dustpan and brush for sweeping up all those cat hairs.
Lucy was waiting by the door, tail wagging as always when we got home. After tea, the house, even with four animals seemed empty, but calm with everyone snoozing in their own favourite spots. We've resigned ourselves to the fact now that, we'll never find another dog who will gel with the rest of the family, we already have the perfect dog in Lucy.
We sat down to watch Love Actually and had a couple of glasses of wine but didn't see all of the film, pausing it instead to talk about the days events. After a long hard discussion, following an appeal from a local animal rescue centre who have been overwhelmed with kittens this summer, we've decided that we could offer a loving home along side Misty and Toddy.
On Sunday we drove over to Dad's with Lucy and she was full of beans when we arrived, racing in to the house as soon As Dad opened the door. After a catching up on all the gossip and a much needed coffee, we made our way back home for some dinner.
After we'd had something to eat, we set off in the hot sunshine to the local animal sanctuary where we adopted Toddy. We've never seen so many kittens in one place before, it's such a shame that people don't make sure that their cats are neutered, Misty and Toddy were as soon as they were the required age. Debbie has fallen in love with a beautiful dark coloured tabby who, like most of the others, still has two weeks to go before he's ready for adoption. So, we'll be back a week on Saturday and hopefully Eric, as Debbie has named him, will still be there.
We've seen a three tier a cat tower that we want to get before then, to keep Misty and Toddy occupied while the little one settles in. We'll also get lots of new cat toys, it's not that long since we bought several new toys but Lucy has chewed most of those to death ..lol.. We'll be on holiday that week to keep and eye on things while Eric find his feet, learing that Misty is top cat but that he can be ambushed from the chair, as Toddy does frequently!
Paul
Friday, August 13, 2004
No Smoke Without Fire
I got a call from Debbie late yesterday afternoon, a work colleagues wife, who lives round the corner from us had rang to say that the buildings were on fire again. I jumped in the car and raced back home to check on the zoo and see what was going on. When I got there, the place was empty but there was a strong smell of smoke again so there must have been a fire earlier. The cat's, dog's and parrot were ok so I had a walk round the back to see if could see anything from the other side. The main gate was now secure (won't keep anyone out but at least it's up again) so I would guess that someone had lit a smaller fire somewhere on the land that didn't require the fire engine to go through the gates.
We popped down to the shop when Debbie got home for a few supplies and picked up a copy of the Barnsley Star which had the headline 'FIRE CREWS' ARSON FURY'.
We're both paranoid now about this, they could come back and do it again at any time so we're constantly watching through the kitchen window and investigating the slightest of noises coming from outside. Thankfully we had heavy rain last night, which won't stop a fire being lit but it would, I guess, deter those responsible from venturing out.
At least it's crunchie day and tonight we'll be having a few bacardi's and probably watch the Olympics opening ceremony then we've got Legally Blonde 1 and 2 lined up for afterwards, or instead of, if the ceremony turns out to be dull and boring.
Paul
We popped down to the shop when Debbie got home for a few supplies and picked up a copy of the Barnsley Star which had the headline 'FIRE CREWS' ARSON FURY'.
We're both paranoid now about this, they could come back and do it again at any time so we're constantly watching through the kitchen window and investigating the slightest of noises coming from outside. Thankfully we had heavy rain last night, which won't stop a fire being lit but it would, I guess, deter those responsible from venturing out.
At least it's crunchie day and tonight we'll be having a few bacardi's and probably watch the Olympics opening ceremony then we've got Legally Blonde 1 and 2 lined up for afterwards, or instead of, if the ceremony turns out to be dull and boring.
Paul
Thursday, August 12, 2004
Fire! Fire! Fire!
Back at the end of June, we had some yobs set fire to some disused buildings behind our house and we feared that they would be back to do it again and last night they did just that. Not once, but three times!
The first time was just after tea, we spotted an orange glow in the kitchen window and at first thought it was the sun setting but when we opened the door we were greeted by flames engulfing a porta-cabin only yards from our cars. I got the cars moved as quickly as possible while Debbie rang the fire brigade who, as it happens were already on their way. The firemen arrived within minutes and managed to put out the fire quite quickly.
Ten minutes later, while we were having a heated discussion with our neighbour outside about parking, Debbie noticed that the main building behind us was now on fire so it was time for another 999 call. This building was a little bit further away from the cars, which we had moved back to their normal position, so we didn't bother moving them again. The firemen were back again and it took quite a bit longer to tackle this blaze as it's quite a large building. We watched on as the 'Simon Snorkel' ladders were raised in to the air and hovered the firemen inches above the roof so they could break through with an axe. The fire engines left and we settled down for some much needed sleep.
At two o'clock in the morning the dogs start barking and I could hear banging coming from outside so I leap out of bed and fling open the bathroom window to see flames roaring from the same building with things exploding inside. We rang for the fire brigade again who were already on their way. We watched for a while with a brew and a ciggy to calm our nerves. After we were sure everything was under control we went back to bed wondering how we were going to get up in the morning.
On the one hand, this plot is surrounded by houses, putting them all in danger when a fire starts, on the other hand, there's obviously more chance any fire will be spotted and reported before it gets out of hand. These yobs must have come back at 2am determined that they would be able to start a fire that would go unnoticed long enough to cause maximum devastation.
This morning we did manage to get up on time but we are very tired and very angry. Whoever it is that has bought this plot of land to build new houses should be getting a move on and demolishing what is essentially a death trap and a major disaster waiting to happen.
You can see pictures from last night here and from back in June here.
Paul
The first time was just after tea, we spotted an orange glow in the kitchen window and at first thought it was the sun setting but when we opened the door we were greeted by flames engulfing a porta-cabin only yards from our cars. I got the cars moved as quickly as possible while Debbie rang the fire brigade who, as it happens were already on their way. The firemen arrived within minutes and managed to put out the fire quite quickly.
Ten minutes later, while we were having a heated discussion with our neighbour outside about parking, Debbie noticed that the main building behind us was now on fire so it was time for another 999 call. This building was a little bit further away from the cars, which we had moved back to their normal position, so we didn't bother moving them again. The firemen were back again and it took quite a bit longer to tackle this blaze as it's quite a large building. We watched on as the 'Simon Snorkel' ladders were raised in to the air and hovered the firemen inches above the roof so they could break through with an axe. The fire engines left and we settled down for some much needed sleep.
At two o'clock in the morning the dogs start barking and I could hear banging coming from outside so I leap out of bed and fling open the bathroom window to see flames roaring from the same building with things exploding inside. We rang for the fire brigade again who were already on their way. We watched for a while with a brew and a ciggy to calm our nerves. After we were sure everything was under control we went back to bed wondering how we were going to get up in the morning.
On the one hand, this plot is surrounded by houses, putting them all in danger when a fire starts, on the other hand, there's obviously more chance any fire will be spotted and reported before it gets out of hand. These yobs must have come back at 2am determined that they would be able to start a fire that would go unnoticed long enough to cause maximum devastation.
This morning we did manage to get up on time but we are very tired and very angry. Whoever it is that has bought this plot of land to build new houses should be getting a move on and demolishing what is essentially a death trap and a major disaster waiting to happen.
You can see pictures from last night here and from back in June here.
Paul
Wednesday, August 11, 2004
More Rain & Fog
It rained nearly all day yesterday and the flood warnings started appearing for the usual suspects, River Air and River Ouse, thankfully not anywhere near places we need to go during the week.
Debbie left work on the dot yesterday and was already home which was a nice surprise when I pulled into the drive after work. She was making a start on our tea which was fantastic, pork chops in mushrooms and onion with a few spices thrown in. While tea was cooking, we were on the computer armed with a nice cold, strong vodka and coke each. We're really getting into using Firefox now and wouldn't be without it, the tabs thingy makes surfing around so much easier. After tea we just stopped on the computer and took on more liquid refreshment while perusing more blogs.
This morning it's foggy again and Debbie's been able to put her sporty front fog lights on for the journey into work. The office doesn't seem as warm today, I'm sure that will change as the sun burns through and heats everything up again before the return of the rain later.
Paul
Debbie left work on the dot yesterday and was already home which was a nice surprise when I pulled into the drive after work. She was making a start on our tea which was fantastic, pork chops in mushrooms and onion with a few spices thrown in. While tea was cooking, we were on the computer armed with a nice cold, strong vodka and coke each. We're really getting into using Firefox now and wouldn't be without it, the tabs thingy makes surfing around so much easier. After tea we just stopped on the computer and took on more liquid refreshment while perusing more blogs.
This morning it's foggy again and Debbie's been able to put her sporty front fog lights on for the journey into work. The office doesn't seem as warm today, I'm sure that will change as the sun burns through and heats everything up again before the return of the rain later.
Paul
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Flood Watch
It's just keeps getting worse and worse here, just when you think it can't get any hotter and more humid, it does. We had rain most of the say yesterday but it didn't cool things down at all, it was the worst day yet in the office. Just before home time the sun came out again to just get things hotting up again, lovely! After tea it started raining again, really heavy this time and we were both upstairs watching through the window as the stream of water raced down the main road. The cars were spraying water high into the air as they went past, at one point they would have been better in boats ..lol..
It took ages to get to sleep, even with two fans a couple of feet way and we were hoping to get loads of sleep this week with no Big Bro to watch. Eventually, towards midnight and after a couple of cold beers, it did cool down enough to get some sleep.
This morning it's still raining and really heavy at that, but it's just as muggy as ever. We watched the news this morning to check the travel situation but there wasn't anything mentioned which was surprising, there usually a problem with the motorway even in nice weather. The forecast for today is for it to be hotter than yesterday with yet more rain. We're seriously considering moving to Iceland.
Paul
It took ages to get to sleep, even with two fans a couple of feet way and we were hoping to get loads of sleep this week with no Big Bro to watch. Eventually, towards midnight and after a couple of cold beers, it did cool down enough to get some sleep.
This morning it's still raining and really heavy at that, but it's just as muggy as ever. We watched the news this morning to check the travel situation but there wasn't anything mentioned which was surprising, there usually a problem with the motorway even in nice weather. The forecast for today is for it to be hotter than yesterday with yet more rain. We're seriously considering moving to Iceland.
Paul
Monday, August 09, 2004
Cool Hot Weekend
We've had a cool weekend, getting hammered on Friday night, doing a bit of shopping on Saturday, going to a bbq on Saturday night, a spot more shopping on Sunday. We had our own bbq on Sunday using the pack we got from Iceland and ended up doing too much again, saving half of the food for tea. The weather has been so hot, with wall to wall sunshine. Last night was the worst night so far for getting to sleep, we had both fans upstairs and we were both still melting away. We watched the highlights of the final day of Big Brother which was cool as we were both too drunk and too busy giggling at everything to take much of it in on Friday!
This morning it got darker and darker as we got stuff together for work and just as we went out to the cars it started raining as we heard a few rumbles of thunder in the distance. It does seem to have freshened things up a little but it's still going to be a really oppressive day in the office. The air con units next door have a thermometer on them and when I went to switch them back on after weekend, the temperature in there was 36c so I doubt it will drop below 30 in there today.
Paul
This morning it got darker and darker as we got stuff together for work and just as we went out to the cars it started raining as we heard a few rumbles of thunder in the distance. It does seem to have freshened things up a little but it's still going to be a really oppressive day in the office. The air con units next door have a thermometer on them and when I went to switch them back on after weekend, the temperature in there was 36c so I doubt it will drop below 30 in there today.
Paul
Friday, August 06, 2004
Crash Bang Wallop
Well, after a week of forecasts for a thunder storm and hardly even getting any rain, we got two yesterday. Towards lunchtime everything went dark and a few claps of thunder could be heard in the distance then after a few minutes the rain started. I've never seen rain drops as big, about the size of a small marble and when they landed on the ground they left a mark like someone had bounced a wet tennis ball on the floor. Shortly afterwards there was an almighty clap of thunder, the loudest I've heard for a long time. The rain picked up pace and soon there was a stream of water racing down the main road. It didn't last all that long and was followed by an afternoon of sunshine.
We had another brief thunder storm after tea but not as loud as the one earlier and it didn't cool things down much either. After a bout of impromptu filing of bills and letters etc, we called it a night and retired upstairs with the fan. We watched the first five minutes of Big Brother but it was showing the highlights from Wednesday and still had Stuart in there so we turned it off and went to sleep. It would have been like watching a football match when you know the result.
We actually managed a whole alcohol free night despite the oppressive humidity, tonight however, it's crunchie time and we'll be having more than a few tipples while we watch the Big Bro final.
This morning it's more humid than ever and it was foggy on the motorway coming into work. We'll be counting the seconds until home time, there's a bottle of Bacardi in the supermarket with our name on it!
Paul
We had another brief thunder storm after tea but not as loud as the one earlier and it didn't cool things down much either. After a bout of impromptu filing of bills and letters etc, we called it a night and retired upstairs with the fan. We watched the first five minutes of Big Brother but it was showing the highlights from Wednesday and still had Stuart in there so we turned it off and went to sleep. It would have been like watching a football match when you know the result.
We actually managed a whole alcohol free night despite the oppressive humidity, tonight however, it's crunchie time and we'll be having more than a few tipples while we watch the Big Bro final.
This morning it's more humid than ever and it was foggy on the motorway coming into work. We'll be counting the seconds until home time, there's a bottle of Bacardi in the supermarket with our name on it!
Paul
Thursday, August 05, 2004
Stuart Is Evicted
With the rain yesterday it was finally a little bit cooler but not much and the forecast is for the temperature to start rising again. Thundery showers will still be around so it's going to be staying muggy for the next few days at least.
Watching Look North while having our tea we noticed that the Bakewell Show was on this week, why is it that all these big agricultural shows are always on during the week, you would have thought that they could arrange at least one of the days to fall on a weekend. It's the same with the Great Yorkshire Show, the only way we can get to attend is to book precious time off work. Granted, they are agricultural shows and it's not going to make much difference to people in the agricultural profession which day of the week it's held, but the vast majority of the people attending work in other professions where only weekends are free.
We retired straight upstairs after tea with cold glass of cider, it was still too warm to be sitting downstairs. Upstairs is cooler because we can have more windows open to get air flowing through the rooms, the kitchen window will only lock when it's about 2mm open and we can't have it open all the way because of the cats. The only thing we were really interested in watching on telly was Big Brother so we spent an hour downloading ringtones and pictures on the mobiles, they were all free ones from Sony or at least I hope they were lol.
The first instalment of Big Bro didn't give much away about the eviction, just highlights as usual on a Wednesday. They had a full crowd there who had to stay quiet from the time they got there to about 10.30pm which must have been a tall order, but they did it so well done them. In-between the shows, we had comedian Peter Kay - Live From Manchester. Now, Debbie's not a fan of stand-up comedy and especially not Peter Kay coming from the same part of the country. We watched it anyway and I did catch Debbie chuckling a time or two, especially with the biscuit dunking.
Waiting with anticipation, we watched as Big Bro initiated the eviction and were quite surprised to see Stuart called to the diary room and then escorted out of the house. We can only assume he's been voted out because of the shenanigans with Michelle, or maybe it was because he never got involved in any arguments. It was obvious that Stuart was very uneasy during the interview with the string of questions about his romance with Michelle. We don't read the papers but Davina showed a couple of headlines from a few of the tabloids and Michelle has already sold her story to them which I think is unfair on Stuart. Michelle appeared at the end of the show and the hugs duly followed, but I suspect that as soon as the camera's are off, so will be their relationship. I've been wrong with everything else on Big Bro, so they'll probably get married a week on Thursday!
Paul
Watching Look North while having our tea we noticed that the Bakewell Show was on this week, why is it that all these big agricultural shows are always on during the week, you would have thought that they could arrange at least one of the days to fall on a weekend. It's the same with the Great Yorkshire Show, the only way we can get to attend is to book precious time off work. Granted, they are agricultural shows and it's not going to make much difference to people in the agricultural profession which day of the week it's held, but the vast majority of the people attending work in other professions where only weekends are free.
We retired straight upstairs after tea with cold glass of cider, it was still too warm to be sitting downstairs. Upstairs is cooler because we can have more windows open to get air flowing through the rooms, the kitchen window will only lock when it's about 2mm open and we can't have it open all the way because of the cats. The only thing we were really interested in watching on telly was Big Brother so we spent an hour downloading ringtones and pictures on the mobiles, they were all free ones from Sony or at least I hope they were lol.
The first instalment of Big Bro didn't give much away about the eviction, just highlights as usual on a Wednesday. They had a full crowd there who had to stay quiet from the time they got there to about 10.30pm which must have been a tall order, but they did it so well done them. In-between the shows, we had comedian Peter Kay - Live From Manchester. Now, Debbie's not a fan of stand-up comedy and especially not Peter Kay coming from the same part of the country. We watched it anyway and I did catch Debbie chuckling a time or two, especially with the biscuit dunking.
Waiting with anticipation, we watched as Big Bro initiated the eviction and were quite surprised to see Stuart called to the diary room and then escorted out of the house. We can only assume he's been voted out because of the shenanigans with Michelle, or maybe it was because he never got involved in any arguments. It was obvious that Stuart was very uneasy during the interview with the string of questions about his romance with Michelle. We don't read the papers but Davina showed a couple of headlines from a few of the tabloids and Michelle has already sold her story to them which I think is unfair on Stuart. Michelle appeared at the end of the show and the hugs duly followed, but I suspect that as soon as the camera's are off, so will be their relationship. I've been wrong with everything else on Big Bro, so they'll probably get married a week on Thursday!
Paul
Wednesday, August 04, 2004
Wine & Water
Yesterday was the most humid day so far, it didn't matter if we were inside or outside, it was just as muggy. So the not buying any drink plan went out of the window again and I popped down to the shop for some wine. After tea we sat down and watched Eastenders followed by Holby City. Well Debbie watched Holby, I mostly watched the ceiling because I can't stand the sight of tomato ketchup all over the place.
We gave Debbie's blog a makeover because the pink template was proving to be a bit of a nightmare to modify and wasn't working properly in Firefox. Debbie switched to water while we finished off the changes while idiot me carried on with the wine which I'm paying for this morning. After we had got all the changes done, we managed to catch the back end of Big Bro but there wasn't much going on, we'll be watching tonight though to see who get's the chop and how they are going to evict a second housemate.
Paul
We gave Debbie's blog a makeover because the pink template was proving to be a bit of a nightmare to modify and wasn't working properly in Firefox. Debbie switched to water while we finished off the changes while idiot me carried on with the wine which I'm paying for this morning. After we had got all the changes done, we managed to catch the back end of Big Bro but there wasn't much going on, we'll be watching tonight though to see who get's the chop and how they are going to evict a second housemate.
Paul
Tuesday, August 03, 2004
Finely Chopped Tomatoes
With Debbie having problems with the parking fiasco at work and me having quite a stressed afternoon yesterday, a nice cold glass of cider was in order while we sorted out the spaghetti bolognese for tea. That went down a treat even though we'd picked up a jar of finely chopped tomatoes instead of bolognese sauce lol.
The blogs got some attention for an hour before we retired upstairs and watched Ground Force America. After that, a bout of channel hoping ensued, desperately trying to find something worth watching but to no avail. When the time came for Big Brother, we just gave up the ghost and went to sleep dreaming of cold places and lots of snow.
After the fog in the morning yesterday, we had mostly a cloudy day with a couple of hours sunshine in the afternoon. This morning it's overcast and still very humid and the weather forecast on the breakfast show is still going for thunder storms for us some time today. It's quite exiting for us when we have thunder and lightning, however, it's not so much fun for the zoo, although the dogs and cats don't seem to be bothered by the thunder. Even Zippy our African Grey Parrot who it's a little bit more nervous about anything out of the ordinary, doesn't seem too bothered about thunder or fireworks, he just drowns them out with his repertoire of silly noises.
Paul
The blogs got some attention for an hour before we retired upstairs and watched Ground Force America. After that, a bout of channel hoping ensued, desperately trying to find something worth watching but to no avail. When the time came for Big Brother, we just gave up the ghost and went to sleep dreaming of cold places and lots of snow.
After the fog in the morning yesterday, we had mostly a cloudy day with a couple of hours sunshine in the afternoon. This morning it's overcast and still very humid and the weather forecast on the breakfast show is still going for thunder storms for us some time today. It's quite exiting for us when we have thunder and lightning, however, it's not so much fun for the zoo, although the dogs and cats don't seem to be bothered by the thunder. Even Zippy our African Grey Parrot who it's a little bit more nervous about anything out of the ordinary, doesn't seem too bothered about thunder or fireworks, he just drowns them out with his repertoire of silly noises.
Paul
Monday, August 02, 2004
Cool Weekend
We've had a great weekend, despite the weather forecast being a bit optimistic sunshine wise. On Saturday I got the gate put up in the front garden and then we got the front room in order, which whilst not being all that untidy was suffering from a clutter problem. With nothing on telly again on Saturday night, we opted to watch American Pie - The Wedding on dvd, however, we kept pausing it all the time to get drinks and snacks etc. and after three hours had only watched half the film and were probably too drunk to take it in anyway!
Sunday morning we both felt rough after drinking much more than we ought to have done, Debbie had her usual paracetamol and I had these new things that are like mints and melt on the tongue (I can't swallow tablets to save my life). They seemed to do the trick and after a breakfast of sausage on toast for Debbie and sausage in beef curry for me, we were feeling much better but still not in any condition to go anywhere so we watched League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Later Debbie's Brother arrived with his family and we had a good old chin wag about the latest on the other side of the Pennines. Apparently is was glorious sunshine over there but still misty and mirky over here. Statistically it's they get more wet weather over in Manchester than we do, they would have to pick one of the rare days when it was the other way round just so they rub it in lol. We took them out to Cannon Hall and by the time we got there the sun finally made an appearance as we all marched from the car park up to the hall. On the way up to the hall we walked through the gardens which were looking lovely in the sunshine. They had all different kinds of pear trees along on of the walls, some looking more appetising than others.
Reaching the complex behind the hall, we all piled into the cafe for a spot of lunch, Debbie had a sausage and onion butty and I had a hot roast pork butty with stuffing and they were both very tasty. There were loads of wasps in the windows and for the most part they stayed there, but occasionally one would buzz over and everyone would start disco dancing around the tables with menus flapping everywhere.
After a brew back home, we said our good bye's and retired upstairs for a nice cool shower and to chill out after a very busy and enjoyable weekend.
Paul
Sunday morning we both felt rough after drinking much more than we ought to have done, Debbie had her usual paracetamol and I had these new things that are like mints and melt on the tongue (I can't swallow tablets to save my life). They seemed to do the trick and after a breakfast of sausage on toast for Debbie and sausage in beef curry for me, we were feeling much better but still not in any condition to go anywhere so we watched League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Later Debbie's Brother arrived with his family and we had a good old chin wag about the latest on the other side of the Pennines. Apparently is was glorious sunshine over there but still misty and mirky over here. Statistically it's they get more wet weather over in Manchester than we do, they would have to pick one of the rare days when it was the other way round just so they rub it in lol. We took them out to Cannon Hall and by the time we got there the sun finally made an appearance as we all marched from the car park up to the hall. On the way up to the hall we walked through the gardens which were looking lovely in the sunshine. They had all different kinds of pear trees along on of the walls, some looking more appetising than others.
Reaching the complex behind the hall, we all piled into the cafe for a spot of lunch, Debbie had a sausage and onion butty and I had a hot roast pork butty with stuffing and they were both very tasty. There were loads of wasps in the windows and for the most part they stayed there, but occasionally one would buzz over and everyone would start disco dancing around the tables with menus flapping everywhere.
After a brew back home, we said our good bye's and retired upstairs for a nice cool shower and to chill out after a very busy and enjoyable weekend.
Paul
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