You know it's winter when ...

... you find a cat-sized lump under the doona in the middle of the day.

Beam me up, Kitty

rug by door + sunbeam = sleepy kitty

Hello my name is Marble. I is Tired Cat

Cant...move...a...muscle.

So nice of KelpieBlossom to leave her drawers open for me. So soft.

Just...might...stay...here...all...day. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Cat Wrangling: because Tara Says So

KelpieBlossom (9) is a big fan of Tara Dennis and Better Homes and Gardens. Come 7.30pm Friday she is glued to the Plasma hoping to glean whatever domestic pearls of wisdom Tara has for her that night. This is why we only have OMO washing powder, why this week we had to cut up plastic bottles to make scoops (actually quite handy, see pics below) AND why we had to BATH OUR CATS today.

While our older cat, Biggie, was introduced to the pleasures of bathing at a young age; our 18 month old Marble had thus far avoided the dreaded bath. Apparently this week on BH&G Tara instructed KelpieBlossom to bath her cats, and to do so at least once a month.

Excellent.

Luckily, Firegazer is an experienced and capable cat wrangler and managed the job without loss of eye or limb.

Thou Shouldst Wait a Year before Naming Your Pet

We have a tradition of pre-naming. Our children were named long before they greeted the world. It may surprise you to realise that Kelpie and Padawan Learner are not their *real names*. No, these well chosen epithets emerged only once their true characters emerged.

Likewise, we named our two cats before they were collected. By chance their names reflect their looks. Biggie is big, despite starting as the runt of the litter. Marble is, well, marble-patterned. Yawn.

Had we taken the time to assess their true natures we would've named them differently.

Biggie appears to be somewhat understaffed in the neuron department. He will stare intently at a partially open door but not push it open wide enough to get through. Not even when dinner is being offered. Suggested new name: Forrest (as in Gump: "I am not a smart cat")

Marble is quite the opposite. She has regularly 'rescued' Biggie from a cupboard and is adept at opening the door to the bin cupboard - even though we stick it shut with Blu-tack. She climbs trees and Pergolas, and last night was seen resting on top of a door (not door frame, door). Sugested new name: Houdini.

Perhaps we should sign up as members of the Slow Naming Movement. We would however not be the first. We have friends who took so long to name one of their children that the Register of Births, Deaths and Marriages rang them to give them a hurry up.