Thursday, November 20, 2008

Kitties, parties, and upset tummies - it's all just another week in Auckland

As you know, we miss our pets desperately.
So when we spotted a GORGEOUS kitten being chased by some kids after school the other day, we just had to rescue it. Said kitty was a Bengal Cat – very valuable, smart and friendly – so we knew it wasn’t just a stray, despite the fact that it had no collar and was covered in burrs.
No one knew who it belonged to, so we picked it up and brought it home for safekeeping before it was hit by a car or something.
Living close to the supermarket, I zipped across to pick up some cat food and kitty litter, while K. and the kids got him a drink of water. Poor thing was so hungry and thirsty.
Anyway, the kitty soon made himself at home. Within an hour, he’d cleaned his own fur, was fed, watered, had used his kitty toilet, and was enjoying plenty of love and attention. He followed us around the house, played fetch (told you Bengals are smart), and was basically the perfect houseguest.
It was all too soon before we found his very grateful owner, but we enjoyed having a pet around the place for a few days.
We won’t be rushing to get a permanent pet any time soon though. I’d forgotten how much extra work pets are, and even the kids agree that we’d hate leaving a pet home alone during our forays around New Zealand.
The kids are lucky that there is a resident rabbit at school called Lola May. She belongs to one of the teachers, who brings her to class each day. She’s gorgeous and very well-behaved.
And we’re lucky, that there are loads of pets in our neighbourhood to fuss over.
Speaking of which, it was a sunny Auckland morning today, so we walked to school.
Walking with kids always takes a little longer, since we have to stop to:
Smell the roses (literally)
Make wishes with Father Christmases
Talk to anyone walking a dog
Pat said dog
Pat any cats we come across (and there are quite a few)
Wave to drivers who stop for us
Pick wildflowers
Today was a little different, as, having set the alarm to get a start on work early, I was able to take some time out to attend school assembly.
It was really informal and fun. The kids walk into assembly to the sounds of RESPECT, which they all groove along to. Then during the assembly, the business side of things was interspersed by the whole school breaking into song. This week it was I Can Believe I Can Fly and We’re All In This Together (High School Musical), which sparked plenty of seated dance moves. Even C. got into the spirit of things.
Their enthusiasm was infectious, and I smiled all the way home.
In other news, we recently attended a fab birthday party at an indoor playground here. (Thanks G!)
The kids had a ball. But what was funny was seeing how all the little girls gathered around to try the make-up G. had received as one of her presents. The boys were too busy playing!
And in case you're wondering, here's how the mussels turned out the other night. I’d like to say they were a hit, but I was the only one who ate them – and I ended up with a really upset tummy. I’m not sure if it was the mussels or the rich sauce, but I won’t be repeating the experiment!
And finally, instead of the Wine of the Week, it’s the Sign of the Week (It's clucking good!):

1 comment:

Jordão said...

Hello nice blog, I liked!
I find it by chance.
Greetings from here from the other side of the world - Azores

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