Meeting the parents!

For some unknown reason I was awake at 5.45am this morning, and after half an hour of trying to get back to sleep, I gave up and went downstairs to see the cats and have a cup of coffee.

I was glad I was up early, though, as Vikesh and his parents were coming over in the afternoon and bringing some Indian snacks to have with a cup of tea. I made a start on the cleaning, and together with Sophie helping. by lunchtime the downstairs of the house was looking lovely. I had opened the windows to get some fresh air in, even though it's been much colder today. I did not want the house to smell of cat litter!

Vikesh and his parents arrived at 2pm and brought a whole array of savoury foods for us to enjoy. We had pancake rolls, samosas, chickpea balls, spicy bhaji-type things and a delicious, steamed yellow cake that was liberally sprinkled with coriander, and was lovely eaten with chutney.

Both cats behaved beautifully and were happy to be picked up and stroked, which was great. I did wonder if they would run and hide with so many new faces, but they revelled in the attention and Vikesh loved having them on his lap.

Sophie made a delicious masala tea and we had a great afternoon chatting and laughing and getting to know one another. Outside, it was lovely and sunny which warmed up the conservatory so we didn't need to worry about the heating. We are going to have to make some decisions about the cats being out here soon as it will be too cold.

Vikesh and his parents stayed until about 5.30pm and after they'd gone, Sophie and I played cards and relaxed. We ordered a Chinese takeaway for dinner but cut down on everything as we had eaten quite a bit this afternoon!

After our meal, we watched the end of The Creature from the Black Lagoon and I looked up the main actors to see if they were still alive. Unfortunately, they had all passed away even though they were so young and vibrant in 1954. The man who was inside the Creature costume was very handsome, but would have been in his 90s if he were still alive!

Friday the 13th!

On my way to work, I passed Sophie as she was heading home, which was a novelty! She had swapped days and was looking forward to being in the conservatory with the cats!

Our office was lovely and quiet today - we only had Sheila, Kathy, Shirley and myself in so it was lovely and peaceful. An excellent end to a hectic week! I tried to get as much cleared up as I could before Sara returns on Monday.

After work, I headed home to catch the last ten minutes of the Halloween quiz that Sophie was holding. She had made up her face with little spiders and looked suitably scary! She was giving the answers to the quiz and was enjoying herself immensely!

Keith didn't go to the pub this evening, so he was an honorary member of the Girls' Wine Night club. Sophie had suggested watching The Creature from the Black Lagoon because of today's date, so we found it on Amazon and settled down with a glass of white wine and some nibbles to watch. Sophie admitted she had found it hard to work with the cats on the roam today and couldn't believe how many times they had used their litter tray throughout the day! She said it was bliss to sit and relax with the film and know it was the start of the weekend.

It came out in 1954 so was a bit on the silly side and not at all scary! We watched it until we ate dinner but Keith refused to watch it after we'd eaten and I didn't blame him!

New people!

After work today I popped home, changed, and then went to collect my Mum so I could bring her home and introduce her to Gomez and Mooney. She was waiting for me in reception and on the way back I bought some biscuits and cakes in the Co-op to have with a cup of tea.

I was wondering how the cats would react to another person, but Gomez was straight onto her lap for a cuddle. Brilliant!

Gomez on Mum's lap

As you can expect, she was delighted and so was I! Monty would hardly ever sit on our laps and would only relax if we put his blanket down for him to lie on. And then that was only when he got older. We sat and chatted for a while and the cats were loving the attention they were receiving from us. 

Keith came with me to take Mum back and then it was home to sort out the dinner and tidy up. I hoovered and the cats seemed fine with the noise, which was good. They are a bit wary of the television at the moment, but Mooney loves sitting on the windowsill in the conservatory and watching the birds. I have a feeling they are going to love being outside and hunting!

Sophie came home and had had a bad day at work so she was appreciative of the tidy house, the candles lit and the dinner all prepared. She had a drink tonight, bless her and she deserved it!

After dinner, we tried to entice the cats into the living room so they could sit with us as we watched television but they were both a bit wary. Gomez is happy to come in but Mooney is still reluctant so Gomez goes back to keep his brother company!

The kitts! Welcome Gomez and Mooney!

Sophie wasn't working from home today as normal because she's hosting a Halloween quiz this Friday, which is the 13th. Spooky! She had asked us the questions last night when we were sitting in the kitchen and it was brilliant! Her presentation on PowerPoint was great, and we did quite well, although some of the questions were a bit taxing!

She went off to the gym as usual this morning and I managed a lovely lie-in until 8am. Keith and I had decided to set off at 10.30am and go to Jones's before picking the kitts up at 1pm. The weather today has changed from the warm sunny conditions we've had lately, and it was grey and wet when we set out.

We drove to Jones's and I realised we hadn't been for ages. Normally, we visit in August to see if they have the Christmas stuff in (always) so we were expecting lots of seasonal goods on display today. Unfortunately, the buyers at Jones's have gone over to the dark side, and there was hardly anything available for cats... it was all about dogs! Everyone seems obsessed with canines at the moment! There were no cat bowls, only one type of open litter tray and a couple of toys, and that was it! I was very disappointed!

I had a look at the Christmas cards to see if they had my favourite Peter Pauper cards available but even they had disappeared! No wonder we haven't been for such a long time! We paid for the few things we'd bought - a bed, some toys and a fragile litter tray - and decided to pop into the new Lidl at Duston.

We were able to buy a bag of litter in Lidl but there were no cat bowls. I did manage to find a food mat and some treats, but that was it. We had no choice but to go to Pets at Home on Riverside as we were too early to set out for Buckingham.

We should have gone to Pets at Home first, to be honest as they had everything we needed, and more! We bought five food and water bowls, more treats and toys, and a scratching post as I do not want the cats to start scratching the sofa as Monty did!

At about 12pm we set off for Buckingham and decided to try the A508 again. Foolishly, I drove into Roade and discovered the road was closed out of the village. We headed towards the villages of Ashton and Hartwell and followed diversion signs, but we came to a road closure again! It was a good job we'd allowed ourselves plenty of time!

Back onto the A508, we skirted Roade and headed towards Milton Keynes going through multiple roadworks on the way. We arrived at April's house on the dot of 1pm and she led us around the back of her house again. Amazingly, as we went into the shed, the kitts came rushing up miaowing, as if they knew we had come back for them! How lovely!

We put them into the cat carrier (thank goodness we hadn't sold it at a tabletop sale a few years earlier!) and set off for home. They were extremely good and didn't make any fuss at all! As soon as we got home we let them out of the carrier and let them explore at their own pace. I fed them and we put down the litter tray in the conservatory. They seemed to be very happy in there and neither of them tried to hide, which was a good sign.

The rest of the day was spent catching up with the usual chores, so we were very busy, but we managed to find the time to sit with the kitts who were so affectionate! I don't remember Archie and Monty being so relaxed when we first brought them home! We have called the cats Gomez and Mooney and they are proper witch's cats!

I kept Sophie up to date with what they were up to and we can already see their own characters coming through. Mooney is the bigger of the two cats and has three white hairs on his chest. He is more timid and nervous than smaller Gomez who loves exploring and is extremely affectionate. We can see the differences now, which is a relief!

Sophie couldn't wait to get home and see them and we sat in the conservatory with them for cuddlies. They will soon get to know all our cat words, such as "furry bellies", "grub grubs" and "kitts"!

It had been a very busy and hectic day and we decided, foolishly, to cook savoury mince crumble for dinner along with tons of vegetables! Anyway, we managed and also did the shopping list ready for tomorrow. A new litter tray was the top priority as I had already cracked the one we'd bought in Jones's. I'm not looking forward to the litter tray being out for the next 4-5 weeks but they will need to stay in until they get used to the house. I can't wait for the first time they go out into the garden, though, and see them explore!

More expense!

I had a very pleasant day at work and remembered Keith's words of last night, so I called into the garage on the way home and filled my tank with diesel. To fill it up (as it was nearly empty) cost me £90! I think that's the most I've ever paid to fill the tank, but that should last me a few weeks, and to be honest, I can't remember the last time I actually put any diesel in it, it's been so long! Definitely way before the holiday! 

Sophie had finally (after a bit of confusion over email addresses) completed the adoption forms and arranged to pick up the cats tomorrow. Keith and I will have to buy a bed, bowls, litter and a litter tray before we go, so I'm hoping Jones's will have everything we need. With the shock demise of Wilko's, we will have to go to the wholesaler, but I will certainly miss the discount store very much, as it was so useful for things for the garden and bird food.

My shoulder and arm have been a lot better today so it's either the painkillers working or it's getting better! Either way, I'm relieved!

Keith made a delicious curry this evening and then it was another episode of Lupin. We couldn't remember much about the first series so it's a good job we're watching it again!

Back to work

After our busy, but very enjoyable weekend, it was back to work today, and I was exclusively managing the customer service emails as Sara is on holiday all week. 

As I was so busy, the time flew by, and before going home I had a chat with Jo and Kathy for ten minutes. It's always good to have a catch-up after work and sometimes a good moan! 

At home, Sophie said she'd been in touch with the Cat's Protection League office and was trying to arrange for us to pick the cats up on Wednesday when I have a day off. To be honest, I wasn't expecting this to be so soon, and we've had to postpone going to Southampton to see Mike and Abbie again on Sunday as there's no way we can leave them all day on their own. I am very glad we've decided to have two brothers as they can keep each other company, and it'll be just like having Archie and Monty again!

We watched the news with real horror tonight after the happenings in Israel at the weekend. What a start to the decade this is turning out to be. Keith warned me to fill up my car with diesel tomorrow, as he predicts that petrol and diesel prices will rise because of the war.

Tonight was an easy dinner of chicken Kyivk and afterwards,  we started watching Lupin again, right from the start. Series 3 is now available on Netflix, but we had forgotten what happened, so it's right bak to the start!

Yesterday rats, today cats...

We had a relaxed morning with pains au chocolat and coffee for breakfast, and at lunchtime drove over to Buckingham, as we had an appointment to meet two black kittens at 3pm. Sophie popped into Boots on the way (and nearly lost me when I went to park the car) and we took the A508 towards Milton Keynes, as directed by Trish.

However, the A508 was closed because of extensive roadworks so we had to drive back to Blisworth and get onto the A43. It was another beautiful autumn day with warm temperatures and sunshine. Gorgeous! Trish took us off the A43 and through beautiful countryside, and we passed through the village of Maids Moreton, where a recent real-life crime television series was set. 

In Buckingham, we parked the car and went to find a café for lunch. A very popular tea room was full so we headed for another place, but it was full of dogs and children and had loud music playing. We decided to have a Subway sandwich, which was a great choice, and it was great to sit in the quiet seating area and enjoy our lunch.

Sophie had wanted to go a bit earlier to have a look around some charity shops, but everything was closed. We wandered back towards the car park as there were a couple of cafés there, and we wanted to pop into Waitrose. We spotted a wine shop, and just had to go in! 

I was so glad we did, as the man running it was French and came from Chinon in the Loire so we had the loveliest chat about wine and France for a good half an hour. He had some beautiful wines from all over France, including a Montlouis sparkling wine, and we said we'd been to Vacqueyras only two weeks before. We both bought a bottle of wine, and Sophie chose two Belgian beers for Keith. The shop (a Cavavin franchise) reminded me very much of Duncan's shop in Market Harborough and had some out-of-the-ordinary spirits, as well as Port and different beers.

After our wine buying, we treated ourselves to a glass of wine at a bar opposite, and it was bliss to sit in the sunshine and enjoy our tipple. It felt more like July or August rather than October!

After a quick visit to Waitrose where Sophie treated a homeless man to a sandwich and a drink, bless her, we drove to the house where our future kittens were staying until they found a home. April, the foster carer met us and directed us around to the back of the house where she had an enormous garden, with large ponds full of Koi carp. Right at the back were sheds housing numerous cats resembling a professional cattery. She took us in and the two back kittens, whom she'd named Danny and Blake, came right up to the front of the run and seemed excited to meet us!

I think this was Gomez

We stayed for half an hour chatting with April and cuddling the exceptionally friendly cats. Both were black, with no markings at all, so goodness knows how we'll tell them apart! We decided to take them and arranged with April to contact the local Cat's Protection League office to sort out the payment (£90 each) and the adoption papers. The cats would be vaccinated, neutered, chipped and wormed before we welcomed them home, so the fee was very reasonable.

We felt very excited and drove home via the A508 and the A5, heading back onto the A43 at Towcester. This whole area is a nightmare at the moment with lots of roadworks going on so the journey back to collect the cats will be fun!

Back home we relaxed and Keith cooked the last barbecue of the year! We forgot that it now gets dark at 7pm so he grilled the food in the garage opening with a portable light! It may have been the last, but it was one of the best!