Abandoned!

Yestereday weez thought that we would get to spend the whole day with Meowmie...Meowmie J was off on some course so we knew Meowmie wouldn't go and meet her and we also knew that Meowmie didn't need to go out or meet anyone else for anything so we assumed - and rightly so - that we would get Meowmie ALL DAY! But oh no...she went out to see something called football! When I say 'football' I mean proper Rest Of The World Football - not 'American' Football, which to be honest looks exactly like Rugby but with the players wearing lots of protective padding.

Meowmie supports a football team called Chelsea FC. They have been through total turmoil the past 10 days. The manager, Jose Mourinho, walked due to differences with the club owner, a Russion billionaire called Roman Abramovich. Jose Mourinho is without doubt one of the BEST managers in the world and it is a HUGE loss to Chelsea (we topped the league and won 6 trophies under Jose's guidance!). You see, Roman wants to buy up all the 'star' players but Jose wants players who can play good football in a team together - not a team full of egos!. Roman also interfered with Jose's team selections and this has caused untold problems on and off the pitch. So, anyways, Jose walked (or was pushed), he had had enough. Jose is also quite possibly the best looking manager in the World too:



Yesterday was Chelsea's first home game since the turmoil and Meowmie's friend at work let her have his season ticket for the day!!! What a selfish man, does he not realise we NEED her at home? Chelsea had a TERRIBLE game - the captain John Terry (below) got a smashed cheekbone and it is busted and he can't play for some weeks, then our star striker Didier Drogba (below John Terry) got sent off and to cap it all the team on the whole played badly. The new manager Avram Grant got booed and the WHOLE crowd chanted for Joe Mourinho repeatedly! Not a god day for Meowmie...that will teach her for abandoning us all day again!





Here are a couple of pics of the ground which Meowmie took ysterday:




An update on me now: I LOVE the catfish and tapioca dry food but unfortunately i can't seem to digest it, or it won't pass through my system properly. I think the pellets are too big for me (I have no back teeth so can't crunch them) and I am just bringing them up again about 30 minutes after eating. So Meowmie tried soaking them this morning and softening them up a bit...I ate some soft mushy ones about 30 minutes ago so hopefully they will go through me properly this time. Appetite is good though, even after I chucked up I went to my bowl for a refill! Hehehe, poor Meowmie...the catfish-scented vomit is totally pungent and rancid!

Good and Bad Vet Visit

So today I went to see Ben Vet with my brother Castle cos he had to have his annual check-up. Castle cried and screamed like a big baby when Meowmy left the apartment (I would say 'flat' but I think most of you call it an apartment). The neighbours came out to see what was going on, they couldn't believe that ONE cat could make such a racket! One of them asked if Castle was seriously ill - Meowmie explained that he was just a big baby and there was nothing wrong though.

When Stormie's Limousine arrived Castle spent the entire journey trying to burrow beneath me, so I ended up squashed against the roof of our carrier for most of the journey. He did pretty much the same at the Vet Place too and wouldn't look out of the prison bars on the front of our carrier. He is supposed to be the big protective man of the house....hahahaha...Meowmie's Aloe Vera plant is braver than Castle! Mind you, it was nice to have him with me on the trip for once...

So anyways, I got the once over and Ben Vet and Ann Nurse were extremely pleased with my condition and appetite and demeanour, they said I was a star, a proper little fighter and quite possibly their most-loved patient! I therefore had a GOOD DAY! I coud see Castle going green with envy hehehehe - especially as they had just called him 'grumpy'! Ise put on half a pound too (about 200 grams) and now weight just over 7lbs (3.2kgs)!!! Mind you, my poo-chute felt 'quite full' apparently so that 200 gramms could have just been poop! Ben Vet also wants to try me on an exclusion diet to see if we can eliminate the one puke every 36hrs. Apparently cats that go through chemo for gastric lymphoma can develop allergies to foods that they may have been OK with all their lives, so from tomorow morning I will be on a strict Royal Canin Sensitivity diet ONLY - this is made of catfish and tapioca. I've never had catfish before so am looking forward to trying it.

Now...on to Castle..who had a BAD DAY at the Vet Place. He weighs 13lbs (almost 6 kilos) which is bloody fat for a Meezer, so he too will be joining me on a strict diet - to make it easy he will have the Catfish Royal Canin food too. He got fat by eating the foods that were supposed to be for me when I was going through chemo - Meowmie left food out for me when she went to work, to keep my strength up when I was being fussy! And Castle needs to exercise and move his fat backside around a bit more! Ironically, considering the recent post bout his teefs, he also needs to have a tooth out so he is going back on Thursday for the day for an operation!!! Poor Boy! Maybe he will let Meowmie brush his teefs in future now and not struggle and fight her!

In other news...Here are some of the first victims of the new Olympic site developmnt in East London, they are little feral kittens and they are now 'homeless' cos the wooden palletts they were living beneath have all been cleared away. They are now at the Celia Hammond Trust and need Forever Homes. The first picture is the derelict warehouse and wooden pallets they lived in. Meowmie is quite taken with the little grey one doing a Full Monty in the picture at the end...

Thoughtful Thursday

Today I'm going to dedicate my post to the people struggling for their freedom in Burma - an amazing country full of beauty and love - despite the military junta's best efforts to suppress the population. Burma is also the next-door neighbour to Thailand, which used to be Siam, our ancestoral home so weez feel a litle bit of a bond...Please please take a few moments to think about how brave the people are to stand up against the regime that brutally wipes out any sign of defiance. Here are some Burmese images:

Aung San Suu Kyi - a truly amazing woman...

Shwedagon Temple...stunning...

Brave Burmese monks...

Burmese kitten

Meezer Rule Wednesday

Don't yawn when your human has the flashy-thing in their hand! You can see here how my brother manages to carry whole eggs around in his BIG mouth!



Not saying much today cos it is supposed to be Wordless Wednesday too!

Keywords

Ise checked my stats and some people look for some funny fings in Google! Here is a selection of keywords and phrases that have led people to my blog:

Furry catfight
I don't wanna be alone
Shave up furry kid
Furry telephones for a girl's room
Cancer smelly farts
Me on the wheelchair

I of course also get loads of searches for lymphoma, leukeran, chemotherapy, feline, sick cat etc. I want to liven up my stats so I think I 'm gonna have some fun...let me see...

River Thames flood
Jose Mourinhio manage England
Madonna hand claws
Elvis alive cambodia
Iguana smuggle wooden leg
Lindsay Lohan sober
Schwarzenegger President
Ben & Jerry heart attack
Continental shelf collapse

I think that should do it for now.

I heard Meowmie call the Vet this morning...I think I have a visit coming up...I'll keep you posted! I am still chucking every other day so I imagine it will be a check-up...My appetite is brilliant though, I am OK in every other respect. I might take Castle with me to the vet this time, seems unfair that he never gets to go!

EDIT 1 hour later: I AM going to the Vet Place on Friday at 5pm to see Ben Vet - and so is Castle! Hehehehe...he hasn't been for ages. Hahahaha. He cries like a baby too, so much so the neighbours often come out of their homes just to check no babies are being hurt!

An Award and a MeMe

Firstly, I am totally honoured to receive the Nice Matters Award from Karl at The Cat Realm!!!! Please check out Karl's blog and his new shop for buying lovely thingies!!! Look at my beautiful award now please...yet another one whose colours nicely match my blog! :) I am going to pass this on to News Paws for their wonderful round-up of current affairs and lovely messages! And to Samantha and Tigger for being such lovely supportive furrends!




I'se gonna do a Scattergories Meme cos Meowmie is too busy (lazy more like) to think about anything special or do any photoshoppery!

What is your name? Storm
4 letter word: Hmm, a four-letter word beginning with S...SIAM!
Vehicle: Skoda Rapid!!! Meowmie loves 'em! She wants one for her next car but they are hard to find now.



TV Show: Seven-Up (a show that has followed the progress of some children from the age of 7 years-old - the film crew return to the kids every 7 years for an update on how they are. The next show in the series is gonna be 49-Up I think - so technically it is not 7-Up anymore!)
City: Saigon (many Vietnamese do not like to use the other name 'Ho Chi Minh City')
Boy Name: Samuel or Syla
Girl Name: I would say 'Storm' but I am not allowed so I will say...Saffron or Shiloh
Alcoholic Drink: Satan's Whiskers
Occupation: Space Cadet Storm
Something you wear: Smile!
Celebrity: Sharon Stone - I think there are two Sharon Stones cos Meowmie told me to choose which picture I wanted to use, but this obviously isn't the same woman so I will put both pictures up cos I don't want to upset one of the Sharons!!!



Food: Steak
Something found in a bathroom: Soap, socks, stinks!
Reason for being late: Strike on the Tube
Cartoon Character: Scooby Doo
Something You Shout: Sick Ups!!!

Thirteen on Thursday

Hello everyone on this awful Thursday - my Meowmie's football team, Chelsea, are in turmoil - their manager Jose Mouriniho has walked/been pushed out and now they have no decent manager! This means they are unlikely to have a good season now which means Meowmie will be a bit sweary at the weekends.

In other news, i continue to vomit every day or so, and only the once...but apart from that I am eating really well and I am very much normal and 'myself'.

Now, my thirteen for Thursday is for Meowmie cos I know she has been dreaming of holidays and visiting India again - but she can't at the moment cos she has to take care of me. All these pictures are taken in an ancient Hindu religious site called Hampi, in India, which meowmie loved! Hope you like them.

The kids in India work hard - this little girl was helping her father set up his herb stand at the local market before she went to school. It was 7am!


Be careful when you stop to put something in a bin - sometimes monkeys sit in them scavaging and you could get a nasty surprise!


Some pilgrims visiting the ancient Hindu temples.


Another homeless Indian kitten - I reckon this one has got a belly full of worms! Meowmy said that it belonged with the other ones who had set up home under the shoe-stand, by the lovely restaurant mentioned in an earlier post, so it may just have been overfed!


A troop of wild monkeys at Monkey Temple. Meowmy had a packet of biscuits in her bag and about 5 of them jumped on her and clambered up and down her body trying to find the food - they could smell it! Meowmie was very scared.


Just a lovely temple picture!


An Indian Holy Man - also called a Sadhu.


A frequent dinner companion! This fly is licking a grain of sugar.


These were stables...for the king's elephants!


Rush hour in an Indian town (view from the side of a motorised rickshaw)


This snake was waiting for Meowmie outside an Indian toilet (basically a hole in the ground in a hut). Meowmie bent down and started taking pictures, just after she took this one the snake flared it's neck...it was a COBRA!!! An Indian man ran up to my Meowmie screaming for her to move away. I am glad she did! If you bigify and look carefully you can just see the neck starting to flare out.


These temples is musical! Each column plays a musical note when tapped - Meowmie said it was truly beautiful. In the Olden Days a person would stand by each column and form an orchestra and play for the King!


Meowmie took a picture of this little boy and his parents, they were pilgrims visitng the Hindu shrines - they were wearing their best clothes specially. This was the first time the young boy had ever had a photo taken - hence his look of bewilderment.

A Special Delivery!

Firstly I need to apologise for Meowmie's lazy-pants behaviour, she hasn't been available to help me much the past couple of days. Secondly, she is going mad - she woke up this morning convinced it was Thursday and has spent much of the day thinking it is Thursday - she almost did a Thursday Thirteen too! She has reminded herself it is Wednesday at least 5 times today already so she should know for sure by now!

Now, we received a very special gift from Adan yesterday - a beautiful card, a bookmark for Meowmie and a catnip mouse! Castle, who has spent the past 11.5yrs not reacting to Nip has now developed a worrying nip habit since Monday and really loves the mouse and I really love the picture and envelope! Meowmie has the bookmark in her latest read - rather embarrasingly Rupert Everett's autobiography *shame-faced* (Note from Meowmie L - It is actually a well-written memoir, Rupert is agreat raconteur with some fabulous tales to share)

Here is me checking out the parcel and the bootiful card and the last one is Castle the Druggie with the Nip Mouse!







Oh and my Pirate Name is Surgeon Left Eye Lisa! Happy Pirate Day! :)

Your Pirate Name Is...

Surgeon Left Eye Lisa

What's Your Pirate Name?

A Special Day (and Meezer Mancat Monday)

Well, pretty much 9 months ago today I was told I had the badness inside me - the horrid Lymphoma. After spending a few days at the Vet Place and having the exploratory surgery, I remember my Meowmies coming in to visit me to bring me chicken to cheer me up and that is when Ben Vet told my Meowmies about my lymphoma and their eyes went all wet. I tried to cheer them up by tucking into my chicken cos they smile alot when I eat heartily, but their eyes stayed wet for a while.

On that day, 9 months ago, Ben Vet also explained to my Meowmies that the average survival time for a cat with lymphoma was 6 to 9 months with cheamo treatment. He also explained that some cats only go on for a few weeks or a couple of months once cheamo starts, and that some can go on for a year or two, maybe even three or four years! Unfortunately the ones that go on for years are usually cats with Small-cell lymphoma - I've got/had large-cell lymphoma which is the worse of the two and has reduced survival rates. Supposedly I'm in remission now though.

So, 9 months on, I like to think that I have exceeded the 'average' mark and now every day from here on in is 'above average' and I am achieving something extra-special with every second that passes. I remember my meowmie buying a notebook 9 months ago to record my daily progress, I remember her turning to me, rubbing my cheeks and kissing my forehead softly and saying that she hoped we would get at least half-way through it cos that would indicate 6 months of survival...well, we are almost at the end of it now! I am definitely an above-average cat! :)

The past couple of days have been sick free too - I am back on daily Zantac and Stemetil - but then, wouldn't you know it, Castle went and honked up a FULL TUMMY of food all over the bedroom floor this morning !!! Poor Meowmie, she never gets a break from cleaning up our tummy-ups! If anyone can recommend a goods steam cleaner with vacuum facility she would very much appreciate it!

You remember I said me and Castle don't react to catnip? Well, yesterday Meowmie went to the Vet and asked for a potent catnip toy, explaining that we didn't react to nip usually. The Pet Shop Girl laughed and gave Meowmie a nip cigar toy and said it was the strongest they had and if we didn't react to it then we were definitely immune. Well, to mark Meezer Mancat Monday here is Castle with the potent nip toy:



As you can see, he hasn't let me near it yet...I did try but he chased me off so I bit his back but he stood his ground. Once he does lte me near it I will advise you of the results!

A Big Meezer Adventure!

As some of you know, Cheysuli recently transpodded herself to London Town to keep a check on her Beans...well, unbeknown to her Beans, Chey also had some Meezer fun whilst she was here! Castle and I met up with Chey in Covent Gardenn by the Tube, just after she had been to the theatre to see The Mousetrap...



We then took Chey on a little tour of the area on foot, we checked out the old Fruit and Veg market, but this doesn't hold much interest for a Meezer; we then showed her The Royal Opera House but we think Human voices sound ugly, not like our beautiful Meezer vocals! We then decided to stop off for lunch at our favourite restaurant:



We then had a surprise waiting for Chey in Trafalgar Square - I'm not talking pigeons here either - we transpodded A LOAD of MEEZERS to London for a very special trip!



Yay! The Meezer Bus! We then took everyone on a Magical Meezer Tour of London; we stopped by the London Aquarium to see the fishies; we then went to the British Museum to see our ancestors; next stop was Harrods Food Hall to see the famous fish counter display; then we headed up to Hampstead Heath to see rabbits and squirrels running around. Our next stop was very special indeed...Buckingham Palace!!! Yao-Lin had talked us into STORMING the palace and claiming our regal status back! But when we got there we were prevented from snatching the throne back by Beans in Red with guns! Plus some of us had started to nap, which meant a full-on Meezer assault wasn't going to happen...plus we seem to have lost three Meezers cos there was 13 on the bus but only 10 at the Palace! (Storm, blame my stoopid forgetful brain! - from Meowmie L the editor)



At the end of the afternoon we all parted ways, Chey headed off to spy some more on her Beans and everyone else got in their transpodders for the very brief journey home. But, be warned, we cased-out Buckingham Palace for future Meezer assaults - world domination WILL be our destiny!

A Thursday Thirteen MeMe

I'se been tagged by my furrends Sammy & Miles at Meezer Tails for the Thursday Thirteen MeMe! Here's how it goes:

The guidelines for this tag:

1. Link to your tagger and post these rules
2. Write some facts about yourself: some random, some weird, some just plain fun.
3. Tag 7 people at the end of your post and list their names (linking to them)
4. Let those 7 people know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment at their blogs.

The challenge is to keep it interesting without making the reader think “Um, too much information…” - well I'll try to comply with this request but I'm a Meezer and we do go on sometimes...So here are my Thirteen Things:

1) My name 'Storm' is of Olde Englishe origin and means 'Tempest'. I think Meowmie just thought it sounded cool when she gave me that name though, not cos I've got a temper or anything.

2) I was born in the village where David Beckham & Posh Spice have their mansion, Beckingham Palace. The village is called Sawbridgeworth and is in Hertforshire.

3) My Grandad was a Grand Champion at some big cat show - my Meowmie is a BIG stupid though cos she has misplaced my Pedigree information and family-tree so I can't even give you his name!

4) Meowmie says my pedigree name was something like Adunum or Adenam (she has no idea!!!) Pimpernel and/or Scarlet something or other. Thanks Meowmie! You try tracing your family tree when you don't even know your BIRTH NAME!!!! Bloody Hell Woman!

5) When me and Castle were chosen by Meowmie J there were about 16 kittens to choose from (4 litters). Originally Meowmie J only wanted 1 Meezer but Meowmie L was there too and she fell in love with me on sight (the X on my nose 'marked the spot' apparently!). Meowmie L told Meowmie J that it was unfair to only have 1 meezer on it's own.

6) My Meowmy L didn't have much money when she bought me so she had to get a 2nd job driving DJs to all-night raves to pay for us! She didn't get to be at our first night together at Meowmie J's cos she was driving a DJ to Manchester and back from London! (A trip of about 9 hours which included the DJ gig time).

7) I originally lived with Meowmie J - but she got allergic to me and Castle very badly! She could not bear to part with us but in the end she had too cos she went to the hospital a couple of times cos she couldn't breathe. We then moved in with Meowmie L. We still see Meowmie J alot but we would like her to live with us really.

8) Meowmy has never heard me fart. She has heard Castle fart though, he made himself jump - I think the noise surprised him.

9) I love sitting in paper bags, i like to sit in it and peer over the top - my absolute favourite bag is a paper bag from Muji.

10) I like wildlife documentaries, my Meowmy has bought me some David Attenborough ones, I like the ones that have Big Cats in them. I also like to look at Birds on the Telly Box too!

11) Did I mention ever that I adore rotisserie chicken? Not sure I have ever told you that one.

12) I'm not scared of dogs - when they pester me at the Vet Place in the waiting room I don't even flinch, I just stare with disdain

13) I used to have a friend called Dubbs, he was a Dutch rabbit. He used to hang out with us alot, he had cancer too - he lived with it quite normally, and I might add untreated, for 3.5 yrs, it was a different cancer to mine so he wasn't ill until the very end. The vet could not quite believe how tough that bunny was!!! He is now at the Bridge.



Now, I'se gonna tag the following:

Tiger Lily!
Adan!
Chairman Mao!
Henry King Of Downing Street!
Pearl C. Pritchard!
The Crew!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Here is some graffiti art on a cafe wall in Whitecross Street, London, EC1 - which is near our house. This piece is quite new and was done by a very famous graffiti artist called Banksy - his pieces are worth thousands of pounds so people are reluctant to remove any of his work from their buildings. Very funny and very clever! Meowmie loves his work, check out Banksy for yourself!



I'm still doing one sick about every 36hrs..and a did a squit yesterday too...but I am eating well and i am bright and normal so the vet has asked Meowmie to stop the Zantac for a day or two to see how I get along.

A Proud Day!

I am the featured Meezer on Simply Siamese this week! I am so honoured and proud - I haven't been blogging that long and I'se so happy to have made furrends who think I deserve such an accolade! Here is a picture of me when I was a fatty, before I got ill, I think I am now at the size a female Meezer is supposed to be (3kgs - ok, so maybe i'm half a kilo too thin)!!!



Healthwise...well, Meowmie shot some Zantac into me yesterday lunchtime and I have had a clear night and day so far. Hopefully there won't be any of my breakfast or lunch on the doormat when Meowmie gets home! I know that there is some chicken in the fridge so I might play up a bit when she gets in so she feeds it to me and not herself for her dinner!

Cos Mondays are also Mancat Mondays as well as Meezer Mondays here is a picture of my brother Castle. He is a Meezer Mancat. He spent ages washing me yesterday, really taking care of me and washing me thoroughly, he even did my ears which sends me SILLY - I loves it! I make big purry sounds and curl into myself when he does that! Cos he is being nice I will honour him here:

I had a crappy night and morning - two sick-ups and to cap it all off a squit in the litter tray too! This all happened at 5am and then another sick-up and 11am just after a late breakfast (cos Meowmie was tired from getting up in the night to clean up after me AGAIN, so she had a lie-in). Meowmie didn't give me Zantac last night cos she thought I was on an even keal so to speak, but maybe she should have done...She gave me some just after lunch before she went out though...She bought us back a rotisserie chicken which i gobbled up! My appetite is OK :)

Meowmie is a bit down in the dumps today so she left me a list of questions to answer and get on with for today's post - these came from Daisy's blog and Meowmie though it would be fun to answer them.

What kind of soap is in your bathtub right now? My Meowmie has some different types, she has a sandalwood soap bar from India called Chandrika and she has some shower soap called Lime Source
Do you have any watermelon in your refrigerator? No. But we have 2 plums and a peach.
What would you change about your living room? I would change the sofas cos I keep being sick on them, but Meowmie can't do this until my sickie problem has gone away or until...well, just not yet anyway.
Are the dishes in your dishwasher clean or dirty? We don't have a dishwasher! But our sink is emtpy and the washing up has been done.
What is in your fridge? Half a can of waitrose fishy cat food, half a can of Hills Science Diet beef pate, fresh chicken, avocado pears, salad items, hummus, soft cheese, ham, yoghurts, eggs, juice, smoothie, butter, olives, chocolate (cos Meowmie is down) and a bottle of leukeran. Meowmie needs to go shopping.
White or wheat bread? Meowmie prefers wheat or granary bread - but she tries not to eat it and has Corn Thins or Rice Cakes instead.
What is on top of your refrigerator? Nothing - occassionally my brother Castle sits on it and yells for no reason at all though!
What color or design is on your shower curtain? It was a clear frosty-finish plastic - but it fell down not so long ago. Meowmie is rubbish at DIY, she sliced he thumb open trying to fix it.
How many plants are in your home? There was one: an Aloe Vera - but it grew so big Meowmie had to take it to her Meowmie's house to replant it! We need a new one to sink our teeth into!
Is your bed made right now? Yep.
Comet or Soft Scrub? I dunno what these are.
Is your closet organized? organised chaos, things can be found...
Do you drink out of glass or plastic most of the time at home? I have a ceramic bowl, Meowmie uses glasses.
Do you have iced tea made in a pitcher right now? No, we don't do that sort of thing in England!
If you have a garage, is it cluttered? Meowmie has a shed outside, it is a mess - she really needs to clear it out but she is scared of finding worms on the floor when she lifts stuff.
How many pillows do you sleep with? Two!
How often do you vacuum? At least two times a week - more when my hair falls out through heat or when i was having chemo.
Standard toothbrush or electric? I do not brush cos I don't have any teeth apart from my fangs - they all got removed when i was a youngset cos i had VERY bad gingivitis. Meowmie has a standard brush.
What color is your toothbrush? Meowmie's is blue
Do you have a welcome mat on your front porch? No, but there is one as you come through the door into the hall - it doesn't have 'welcome' on it. Sometimes I am sick on it though!
What is in your oven right now? Nothing at the moment, but sometimes Meowmie puts fishes and things in there to grill.
Is there anything under your bed? Meowmie lives in a flat so storage is not great, therefore she has some storage boxes under there with books and things in. There is still room for me to hide though.
Chore you hate doing the most? Cats do NOT do chores! I guess the chore my Meowmie hates doing the most is cleaning up my tummy-ups :(
What retro items are in your home?Harry Bertioa butterfly chair, 1960's arc lamp, two 1960's Habitat sofas (now ruined by my tummy-ups) and and some retro-inspired modern items such as cutlery, wall clocks etc.
Do you have a separate room that you use as an office? No, our home is only a 1 bedroom flat, 550 sq feet
How many mirrors are in your home? Three altogether
What color are your walls? white - they need painting though.
What does your home smell like right now? Cinnamon and manadarin candles and lemon anti-bacterial wipes
Favorite candle scent? Sandalwood, cinnamon anything spicy!
What kind of pickles (if any) are in your refrigerator right now? Branston pickle
Ever been on your roof? Good god no! It is 12 floors in the air and I am not allowed out!.
How many house phones? There was 2 but Meowmie put the wrong batteries in the handsets and then they melted into their cradles, luckily I am the one who alerted her to the problem by batting one of the handsets around. Now there are no home phones until Meowmie finds one she likes. She has her mobile and Skype for now.
What style do you decorate in? Comtemporary with some design classics thrown in
Do you like solid colors in furniture or prints? Yes to solid colours - no patterns in this house at all - it wouldn't match mine and Castle's colourings
Is there a smoke detector in your home? There is one in the sitting room, the one in the hall broke somehow and needs replacing.
In case of fire, what are the items in your house which you’d grab if you only could make one quick trip? My family and if I had time my photos and memory box.

Cos this is such a long-list I will tag anyone who wants to do them - but I would love to see Yao-Lin's answers and maybe Latte's too! :) Hint Hint!

Frootbat Friday

Here are some Frootbat's that my Meowmie met in Hampi which is in India - they are Homeless Frootbats who live on the streets...aren't they cute!




These particular Frootbats decided that the best place to hang out was outside what has to be one of the best restaurants my Meowmie has ever been to - wonderfully fresh food, amazingly cheap, incredibly friendly staff and the best location ever - in the middle of a lush green valley which itself is located in the middle of a boulder-strewn desert landscape, brimming with ancient derelict Hindu temples. The first picture is the view from the restaurant terrace, the second is a view of the valley taken from atop a hill which was home to a Monkey Temple (that's another story...)

If you ever go to India and visit Hampi, the restaurant is called The Mango Tree and it cost about £1.50 to eat a gorgeous curry platter and have a drink! Don't forget to save some food for the kitties!




PS - I still haven't tummy-sick-upped and my appetite is like that of a forgetful pig! :)

Thursday Thirteen

Today, something a little different, I am going to give you some little-known and strange facts about my home town London, England.

1) The shortest distance between two stations on the underground system is between Covent Garden and Leicester Square - it measures 300 yards, but it is also one of the busiest stretches on the whole network, mainly because tourists don't realise how close the two places are so they have no idea that they can actually walk it in quicker time than taking the tube!

2) Prehistoric remains that have been dug up in London include elephants and hippos (Trafalgar Square), Lions (Charing Cross), Crocodiles (Islington) and Sharks (Brentford)

3) Jack The Ripper was left-handed.

4) Buckingham Palace was built on the site of a notorious brothel

5) London taxi-drivers are permitted to urinate in public, provided that a member of the police force acts a witness.


6) In December 1980 a journalist Duncan Campbell made an unusual and illegal journey across London from Bethnal Green in East London to Westminster. He descended down a mysterious access shaft near Bethnal Green tube station into a well-lit tunnel. He found an extensive network of well-maintained tunnels and passageways beneath the city centre streets. He didn't need a map as the tunnels were even signposted! His route took him to telephone exchanges at St. Pauls, Holborn, Covent Garden, Leicester Square and The Post Office Tower. A tunnel is also supposed to run from Buckingham Palace to Westminster Palace, the entrance is rumoured to be the strange extractor fan just by the Institute for Contemporary Arts (ICA).



7) The foundations for Chelsea Football Club are made out of the excavations dug up during the construction of the Metropolitan tube line.

8) Some of London's old street bollards are actually made out of old cannons with a cannon ball welded to the end.


9) The little mock-tudor hut in Soho Square stands over one of London's biggest World War 2 air-raid shelters.


10) There are 13 towns /cities in the US called London

11) Houndsditch in East London got it's name as it used to be a dumping ground for dead dogs, literally a ditch full of Hounds.

12) The Number 11 bus is the unofficial sightseeing bus. For £2 a tourist can see the Bank of England, St Pauls, Millenium Bridge, Tate Modern, Fleet Street, Royal Courts of Justice, Aldwych, Somerset House, The Strand, Charing Cross, Trafalgar Square, Whitehall, Downing Street, Houses of Parliament, views across St James Park to Buckingham Palace, Sloane Square and the Kings Road! Sure beats the £15 charged by the 'official' tourist sightseeing buses!


13) Noel Coward said of London "I don't know what London's coming to - the higher the buildings the lower the morals!"

I was going to tell you about the origins of the streets called Grape Street and Grub Street (almost every UK town has one) but I'm not sure I can bring myself to type out the original name! Look it up on Wikipedia - it's amazing how our language evolves and changes.

As for me...I have had my firat non-sick day for ages - for the past few days I did one vomit per day, i have been vomit free since yesterday lunchtime now! I think, and hope, that I am now getting on OK with the Zantac! Hooray!