Here comes the sun

If I sit in the e-bay outbox then someone is bound to notice me. I have heard a rumor that I am getting a new friend this week - so I am very excited because Muddle is old and grumpy and doesn't want to run around and Treacle growls when I bite his tail and ears.
It's 21 degrees and rising so TaTa is very happy as it makes her muscles and joints feel better. I prefer to chill out in the shade.

Don't Feel the Burn

The sun is hot. It even gives us vitamin D so we can better absorb calcium into our bodies for strong bones.

It does all these things by sending down light, which includes invisible ultraviolet rays. When your skin's been exposed to too many of these rays, you get what's known as a sunburn. Ouch!

Some people get a sunburn faster than others because of their coloring. Humans with darker skin have more melanin, but even if you have dark hair, dark eyes, or darker-toned skin, you can still get a sunburn.

Sunburns look bad and feel worse. Because getting wrinkles and getting sick don't happen right away, they can seem like things that could never happen to you but you still need to be careful. You don't need to hide from the sun completely. Take these two steps: 1. Always wear sunscreen. 2. Take frequent breaks from the sun by going indoors or moving into the shade. These steps are especially important between 10am and 4pm when the sun's rays are strongest.

Use a sunscreen with an SPF rating of 30 or higher. If you are fair skinned, you should use a sunscreen with a higher SPF rating such as SPF 50. Reapply sunscreen at least every 2 hours, just to be safe. Remember that you can get sunburned more quickly when you're swimming or boating because the reflection from the water intensifies the sun's rays.

Be sure to put sunscreen all over your body. Wear a baseball cap or other fun hat to block your face from the sun. Don't forget that your eyes need protection from ultraviolet rays, too. Always wear sunglasses in the bright sun, and make sure they have a label saying that they block UV rays.

Drink lots of water. There are lots of cool-looking water bottles around, so get one you really like, fill it up, and drink up! If you're out in the hot sun, or you're exercising on a hot day, it's easy to get heat exhaustion. You will feel overheated, tired, and weak.

Heat exhaustion can come on suddenly. It can leave a human feeling really tired for days after it happens. Heat stroke is a more serious heat-related illness and can cause a human to stop sweating, to have red, hot skin, and to have a high temperature. It requires emergency medical attention. Be sure to tell someone if you're hot and you have a headache or feel dizzy or nauseous. Then get out of the sun, drink water or go to A&E.

The good news is that the sun doesn't have to be your enemy if you wear your sunscreen, drink your water, and take breaks when you start to feel too hot.

Most important is cats with white or light coloured ears are susceptible to sunburn and cancer of the ear - you can get sunscreen lotion for them too otherwise you will be left with very expensive vet bills!

Kitchen duties

Gormless Ramsey has nothing on me. I am super-chef. Now how do I turn this thing on? Think I'll have a sleep instead. It's so much easier to make a salad. Hmmmm...tuner is my favorite

196 g tuna drained & flaked

• 90 ml mayonnaise
  
• 5 g Parmesan cheese
• 45 g sweet pickle relish (for humans only)
  
• 0.1 g dried minced onion flakes (for humans only)
  
• 0.5 g curry powder (for humans only)
  
• 1 g dried parsley
• 1 g dried dill weed
• 1 g garlic powder

1. In a medium bowl, stir together the tuna, mayonnaise and Parmesan cheese. Season with parsley, dill and garlic powder. Mix well. Then eat!
   
2. Humans you can add the other bits and pieces.
   

Too early!

TaTa never gets up this early so something exciting must be about to happen but we are too tired to care. TaTa here are some benefits of getting up early:

1. Greet the day. greet a wonderful new day. Create a morning ritual that includes saying thanks for your blessings. TaTa, be inspired by the Dalai Lama, who said, "Everyday, think as you wake up, ‘today I am fortunate to have woken up, I am alive, I have a precious human life, I am not going to waste it. I am going to have kind thoughts towards others, I am not going to get angry or think badly about others, I am going to benefit others as much as I can.’"
   
2. Quietude. No cats yelling, no soccer balls, no cars, no television noise. The early morning hours are so peaceful, so quiet. TaTa, make it your favorite time of day. Truly enjoy that time of peace, that time to yourself, when you can think and breathe.
   
3. Sunrise. TaTa you miss one of the greatest feats of nature, repeated in full stereovision each and every day — the rise of the sun. You will love how the day slowly gets brighter, when the midnight blue turns to lighter blue, when the brilliant colors start to seep into the sky, when nature is painted in incredible colors. We moggies like doing our early morning run during this time, and I look up at the sky and say to The Great Cat in The Sky “What a glorious day!”
   
4. Breakfast. Rise early and you will have time for breakfast.

How to Become an Early Riser

• Don’t make drastic changes. Start slowly, by waking just 15-30 minutes earlier than usual. Get used to this for a few days. Then cut back another 15 minutes. Do this gradually until you get to your goal time.
• Allow yourself to sleep earlier. TaTa you stay up too late watching TV or surfing the Internet. But if you continue this habit, while trying to get up earlier, sooner or later one is going to give. And if it is the early rising that gives, then you will crash and sleep late and have to start over. We suggest going to bed earlier, even if you don’t think you’ll sleep, and read while in bed. If you’re really tired, you just might fall asleep much sooner than you think.
• Make waking up early a reward. Yes, it might seem at first that you’re forcing yourself to do something hard, but if you make it pleasurable, soon you will look forward to waking up early. A good reward is to make a hot cup of coffee or tea and read a book. Other rewards might be a tasty treat for breakfast (smoothies! yum!) or watching the sunrise, or meditating. Find something that’s pleasurable for you, and allow yourself to do it as part of your morning routine.
• Take advantage of all that extra time. Don’t wake up an hour or two early just to read your blogs, e-mails, Facebook. Don’t wake up early and waste that extra time. Get a jump start on your day! Play with us moggies, take the darn dog for a walk, have breakfast (and give us breakfast)!
• We are going back to bed!
  

My hero

This is me (Chevvie) with my hero Muddle. So what defines a hero .... Muddle embodies the best qualities. Muddle would be my friend at any cost. Muddle would be the first cat to reach out a helping paw. I love him, even though he is grumpy and old and growls when I bite his tail or ears. Who is your hero?

TaTa

TaTa said that in Portishead they had fabulous sculptures everywhere and this is her favorite.
The next photo she is The Green Woman or maybe just too much scrumpy!

Banksy

Us three moggies are not too sure what all the fuss about Banksy is.
We moggies can also spray on walls but we don't get a lot of money for it.
Why won't he tell anyone who he is?
Maybe he is not very proud of his work and doesn't want anyone to know.
It is believed that he was born in 1974 in Bristol, home to many of his early works, and that his real name is Robert or Robin Banks.
There have been several purported photographs of Banksy, but despite his increasing fame, the media have not yet managed to pin down his identity.

Banksy vs Bristol Museum

World-renowned graffiti artist Banksy has returned to his hometown of Bristol to hold an official exhibition of his work, titled Banksy vs Bristol Museum.

Held in Bristol's City Museum and Art Gallery, this exclusive show features his famous stencil street art along with installations, animatronics, sculptures and an impressive sensory display. The exhibition was planned in secret, with only a handful of museum staff and event organisers kept in the loop, and will feature over 70 pieces of new and previously unseen art.

This is the first large-scale exhibition of Banksy's work since his display of famous pieces at a Los Angeles warehouse in 2006. That event attracted followers from across the globe, including A-list Hollywood celebrities.

The exhibition will run throughout the summer until 31 August 2009 and entry is free to the public.

It was amazing!

Cheddar Gorgeous

We like cheese. We are all sleeping so just look at the photos. Hello to Ruud, Sandra and Ellen. Send photos. We moggies and doggies are very sorry Ellen to make you sneeze and cough and itch.

Something orange comes this way!

The first time us moggies saw the Dutch national football team playing in the World Cup, we wondered "What's the deal with all the orange?" The colors of the Dutch flag are red, white and blue -- there's no orange at all. So what's the Netherlands' relationship (make that borderline obsession) with the color orange?

The answer: Orange is the color of the Dutch Royal Family. The lineage of the current dynasty -- the House of Oranje-Nassau -- dates back to Willem van Oranje (William of Orange). But while the color orange has royal roots in the Netherlands, today it symbolizes a broader pride in the country and in being Dutch.

Perhaps the biggest display of orange national pride occurs on KeKe's birthday on 19 June. You'll be hard-pressed to find a Dutch person who's not sporting the color on this day.

Happy birthday to KeKe

Happy birthday to you
We are sorry about the poo
And the fleas and the wormies
But we really love you

Muddle, Treacle, Chevvie, The Titties, The Fish

The Mendips

Thank goodness KeKe and TaTa arrived home safely. We are always very worried when KeKe drives TaTa anywhere because just like a man he doesn't listen to the SatNag, TaTa or ask anyone directions to anywhere. He thought the Mendips were south and decided the quickest way was via London. TaTa had been sleeping and when she woke up they were six miles from Heathrow. It took them eight hours to do a five hour journey. TaTa drove back.
First photo: KeKe after returning from Glastonbury. He said if he saw another fairy shop he would run away screaming.
The next photo shows TaTa just about to taste the local brew called scrumpy. She took one sip and said 'I think this is the landlord's pee' and put some in a sample bottle to give to her doctor to see if he noticed any difference. She said it was warm and couldn't believe that she once enjoyed this as a teenager.
The boats are in Portishead.
My favourite photo is the one of KeKe looking for the Cheddar Gorge - it's behind you!
Lastly KeKe's favorite tipple - ice-cream.
We really missed you, please don't go away again too soon.

When in doubt, wash

The other night I was awakened one night (along with the rest of the neighbours) by a cacophony of cursing and caterwauling coming from within our house.
We live in a quiet suburban area. Muddle had rolled in some fox poo and then decided to come home and sleep in his favourite place, in my humans' bed.
KeKe was none too pleased, as you might expect, hence all the racket as he brushed Muddle in the kitchen sink.
As I recall, it took Muddle another week or so to complete the cleaning process.

Fortunately, this kind of occurrence is rare, as we moggies have wonderfully supple spines and built-in scrub brushes within their raspy little tongues, an ideal combination for personal grooming. Over the years, KeKe and TaTa have spent countless hours watching their evolving brood at their ministrations, for the most part an extremely relaxing experience, but sometimes side-jiggling funny.

One evening they laughed 'till tears streamed at my contortions trying to achieve the "leg of mutton" position in order to wash my hindquarters. For some reason they would scream with laughter every time I rolled over until I finally stalked off in a huff.

If you're not familiar with the "leg of mutton" position, try to beg or borrow a copy of Paul Gallico's book, "Peter and Jennie." It's long out of print, but of all the cat books I've ever read, this one grabs the very essence of cats. Although TaTa lost her copy of this book years ago, I was fortunate to find the "wash" excerpt in Roger Caras' "Treasury of Great Cat Stories:"

The story involves a boy, Peter who, denied a puss by his parents, is struck by a car when running across the street to pet a stray cat. In the ensuing coma, he dreams that he has turned into a cat, and the little stray, Jennie, teaches him the ins and outs of catness:

He was forging ahead so rapidly with his lesson that she decided to see whether he could go and learn by himself. "now how would you go about doing the inside of the hindquarter?" she asked.

"Oh, that's easy," Peter cried. But it wasn't at all. In fact, the more he tried and strained and reached and curved, the farther away did his hind leg seem to go. He tried first the right and then the left, and finally got himself tangled in such a heap of legs, paws, and tail that he fell right over in a manner that Jennie had to take a few quick dabs at herself to keep from laughing.

"I can't--I mean, I don't see how. . . ," wailed Peter, "there isn't any way."

Jennie was contrite at once and hoped Peter had not seen she had been amused. "Oh, I'm sorry," she declared. "That wasn't fair of me. There is, but it's most difficult, and you have to know how. It took me the longest time when my mother tried to show me. Here, does this suggest anything to you--leg of mutton? I'm sure you've seen it dozens of times," and she assumed an odd position with her right leg sticking straight up in the air and somehow close to her head, almost like the contortionist that Peter had seen at the circus at Olympia who had twisted himself right around so that his head came down between his legs. He was sure that he could never do it.

Peter tried to imitate Jennie, but only succeeded in winding himself into a worse knot. Jennie came to his rescue once more. "See here," she said, "let's try it by counts, one stage at a time. Once you've done it, you know, you'll never forget it. Now:
"One--rock on your tail." Peter rocked.
"Two--brace yourself with your left fore paw." Peter braced.
"Three--half-sit, and bend your back." Peter managed that, and made himself into the letter C
"Four--stretch out the left leg all the way. That will keep you from falling over the other side and provide a balance for the paw to push against." This too, worked out exactly as Jennie described it when Peter tried it.
"Five--swing your right leg from the hip--you'll find it will go--with the foot pointing straight up into the air. Yes, like that, but outside, not inside the right fore paw." It went better this time. Peter got it almost up.
"Six--now you've got it. Hold yourself steady by bracing the right front fore paw. So!"

Peter felt like shouting with joy. For there he was, actually sitting, leg of mutton, his hindquarter shooting up right past his cheek and the whole inside of his leg exposed. He felt that he was really doubled back on himself like the contortionist, and he wished that Nanny were there so that he could show her.

Perhaps the next time you watch your cat at her ablutions, you'll witness the leg of mutton. But try not to laugh--they don't have a strong sense of humor.

Credit and debit

Now listen very carefully KeKe - credit means you have money, debit means you don't.

Nothing to do with us at all

Us cats are no good at DIY - Muddle thought it would be a good idea to remove the radiators so he could wallpaper behind them but didn't realise there is water in the pipes.
So Mark came to the rescue.
I think we'll stick to sleeping, eating and chasing flies.

We give in

After hours of telling plasterers, painters, wallpaperers, builders and electricians what to do ... we did only what sensible cats and one human would do...retreat to the spare room.
We are not coming out until it is all finished.

Wallpapering

I don't understand the problem with wallpapering. It's easy. Just follow these few simple steps:
1. Cut enough lengths of paper to complete the first wall, allowing 100mm for trimming. Push a roll of paper against the corner of the wall and mark about 25mm in from the end. Hold the plumb line at ceiling height so that it passes through the pencil mark and make several more marks along the line, joining them up with the batten.
2. Phone a decorator

Decorating

We are exhausted.
We have had to boss around plumbers, decorators, gardeners, cleaners, wallpaperers and lots of other -ors and -ers.
So we are having a collective catnap but can't find Treacle.
We will have a look later because he is probably stuck behind the wallpaper.
The plumber is coming again tomorrow. Can't wait - all they want is tea and biscuits and our paws are not meant for carrying trays.
Such is the life of a feline when you have humans to deal with.