A Byootaful Life

Puddy’s New Cat Furniture

Katie — Tue, 09 Mar 2010 04:53:24 +0000

Remember how I mentioned Phill and I were going to try to make some cat furniture? Well, don’t get excited … we didn’t. Yet. But there’s a reason for it – on Sunday morning we were at his Dad’s house and I mentioned that Puddy had ripped up her scratching post and we were going to try to make a new one. Phill’s Dad looked at us like we were crazy and said, “Why don’t you just take one of ours? We’ve got heaps.” (It’s true … they have two cats living in the house and a gazillion scratching posts of all sizes and shapes.)

This thought hadn’t actually occurred to me, so I was surprised at the offer. I readily accepted, thinking it would be much easier than making one (okay, so I’m a little lazy!) but I was extra surprised when he pointed out the one we could take.

This one:

The massive, near-new, expensive, gourmet scratching post/cat furniture.

My first reaction was, “Are you sure???” and the second was, “How on earth is this going to fit in the car?” I could hardly believe it – this thing didn’t exactly cost $20! We managed to get it onto the back seat and we drove it home excitedly, wondering how Puddy would react to it – after all, it’s pre-owned and it can be very hard to convince another cat that it’s for them when they can smell the old owner all over it.

We took it out in the garage and brushed at it to get all the white fur off. Remember Isha? Yup, she was the old owner. Don’t worry, she’s happy and healthy – she just stopped using it like she used to. Anyway, once we’d got as much of the fur off as we could, we brought it inside and let Puddy investigate.

Sniff, sniff, sniff… what’s this? Who can I smell?

We put a couple of her toy mice on the platform so she’d feel a bit more familiar. The feather toy in the top perch is also hers, as are the treats in the metal bowl attached to the perch. The dangly mouse came with it.

After a little bit (and much more sniffing) she investigated higher…

And higher…

And higher!

So far so good! She’s being cautious, but is obviously very interested in this new toy. Phill was playing with her yesterday, dangling her mice through the tunnel, and she kept bolting through it to get to the mouse. I’ve caught her batting at the dangly mouse, yanking it towards her (incidentally, I wonder how long the dangly mouse will last?) When I got home from work today, there were little bits of fluff all over the ground – telltale signs she’s been scratching at the carpeted posts.

I’m thrilled (and still in shock!) that we managed to get such an amazing piece of cat furniture for free!

We are still enthusiastic about trying to make a basic scratching post, but now those plans have been put on hold for a little bit, since we’ve now got this new addition, plus her old scratching post which she still uses. It’s pretty awesome, isn’t it?

Scratching Post 2.0

Katie — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 01:42:36 +0000

In May 2009 I bought Puddy a brand spankin’ new scratching post for her birthday and hoped she’d use it, since she’s so unpredictable when it comes to cat toys. Luckily she did use it – in fact, she used it to death! Within a matter of months, it looked like this:

She’d completely ripped the top bit to shreds, revealing the cardboard underneath. She still seemed content with it for a while, so I didn’t buy her a new one, but recently she’s begun scratching at the lounge suite – something she’s never done before – so I took that as a sign that she’s given up on the scratching post and that means it’s time for a) a new one or b) me to fix the old one.

I figured, why not, let’s try to DIY fix this thing, since a new one will cost upwards of $50. I took it outside and put it on the table so I was at eye level. For the first real time, I took in the complete damage and geez, she’d gone to town on the post! The cardboard was even scratched up a little and I felt a twinge of guilt for not fixing it earlier.

First things first – I grabbed a pair of scissors and chopped off all the ripped material and rope. The top half of the post had actually been covered mostly with fur (the fur you can see up the top) and I think Puddy prefers the rope because it’s easier to scratch, but the rope bit was too far down for her to get a good grip. I decided for this reason, to wrap some rope around the top half instead of replacing the material.

Much better. Pulling off all the ripped material and rope revealed just how scratched up the cardboard was. For some reason, this picture makes me giggle when I look at it – it sort of looks like the post has a bowl-haircut.

I wrapped rope (fluro green, unfortunately that’s all I could find, but I don’t think cats care about colour) around the post, tightly winding it so it would be secure when she scratched. I glued both ends but didn’t glue the middle as I figured the tension would keep the rope on and if I found better rope later it would be easier to remove. And whola – the finished product:

But wait – there’s a cat in the picture! That would be because, the instant I turned away to grab the camera, Puddy jumped up on the table and grabbed the post, claws out. I’d tied a spare bit of rope around the top of the post to keep it in place while the glue dried – this will be removed later (so she won’t actually be able to chew on the rope), but as you can see, the bit sticking out proved to be a lot of fun for Puddy. I love the ears back – she was concentrating very hard!

I guess even though it’s a fugly colour of green, Puddy is pleased with her new and improved scratching post … and hopefully this means the furniture will be saved from her claws!

Phill and I are actually thinking about going out this weekend and buying some wood to make some cat furniture! We’ve been looking online at some simple plans and there’s a few really nice designs that don’t look too hard to make. Have you made your cat furniture? Heaven knows it’ll be cheaper than buying it!

My Amazing Magic Bean!

Katie — Thu, 04 Mar 2010 02:28:40 +0000

I absolutely feel like Jack from Jack and the Beanstalk right now, because last night Phill came home with a present for me – an amazing magic bean with a secret message! Well, I must admit, it’s a regifted gift – Phill got it from a customer who bought them to give to his clients, but this one’s secret message was “With Love” and, well, that would just be awkward.

Sliding off the (slightly battered) case reveals a beautiful wooden box.

The lid isn’t properly on – WHY don’t I notice these things until after I’ve taken the photo?? Anyway, the first thing I spotted was the secret message spoiler – I thought it would be something that emerges after planting, but evidently the Amazing Magic Bean people want you to know your secret message in advance. I guess that’s a good thing – you don’t want to accidentally give someone an inappropriate message.

Anyway, here’s the contents of the box: “special” soil, bean and instructions.

The bean also spoils the secret message, because written on it is “With Love”. I guess this was never meant to be a secret afterall.

Okay, so the instructions are pretty detailed for something as simple as planting a bean. First of all, you grab the wooden lid, turn it upside down and place the box on top of it. That’s pretty cool – the lid becomes the base. Then, open the special soil and tip 2/3 of it into the box. Next, get your magic bean and put it in the middle of the soil with the black stripe facing downwards. You can *just* see the black stripe at the base of the bean in the above photo.

Cover with remaining soil and whola, the magic bean is planted! The instructions say to lightly water it every two days. You just want the soil moist, not overly wet. In 7-10 days, my magic bean will sprout! I’ve just got to keep it in a well ventilated place, remember to water it and, of course, not let the cat tip it over or eat it.

I will report back on my magic bean’s progress – I don’t exactly have a green thumb, but there’s no way I can mess this up, right? Well … we’ll see.

The Cat Sleeping on the Dog Pillow

Katie — Tue, 23 Feb 2010 23:57:16 +0000

Occassionally the snuggly, fluffy thing I like to curl up with (Puddy) needs her own snuggly, fluffy thing – a huge toy dog that came to visit when my brother stayed with us for a while. It’s massive and so incredibly soft, so I wasn’t surprised when I came downstairs to find Puddy half on it, chin resting on its tummy, drifting off to sleep.

Of course, in taking the photo I managed to disturb her enough to get the pointy-eared reaction, but she quickly closed her eyes again. I don’t blame her – that dog is really cuddly!

Astronomical Clock, Prague

Katie — Thu, 18 Feb 2010 07:50:23 +0000

Phill: What’s the point of a clock if it doesn’t tell the time?
Me: I’m sure it does … we just can’t figure it out.

The Astronomical Clock in Prague, located in the Old Town Square, is one of those sights that you look at and just don’t get. It’s colourful and interesting and quirky – but I couldn’t for the life of me figure out how to read the thing!

According to Wiki (yes I am a Wiki addict), the clock is composed of three main components: the astronomical dial, representing the position of the Sun and Moon in the sky and displaying various astronomical details; “The Walk of the Apostles”, a clockwork hourly show of figures of the Apostles and other moving sculptures; and a calendar dial with medallions representing the months. Phew – that’s a lot of things all going on at the same time!

There was a large crowd gathered at the clock, but they weren’t all there for the same reason – we quickly discovered the clock was a popular meeting place for pub crawl groups. We saw four or five groups waiting to go to their next pub, and we were offered flyer after flyer inviting us along. It wasn’t just a meeting place for pub crawls either – Phill was offered drugs by a man who “accidentally” bumped into him and muttered, “Wanna joint?” Phill, of course, declined and we both watched as the man moved on to some teens standing near us. Another bump, another mutter, and the three of them walked off together.

I remember looking at Phill and saying excitedly, “OMG, our first drug dealer!!”

Yes, it’s small things that amuse me.

Anyway, back to the clock. It was pretty impressive and we spent a while there trying to figure it out (but with no luck). The clock itself is mounted on the Old Town City Hall and it’s possible to climb to the top to get a birds-eye view of the Old Town Square, so we did that. There was a religious concert(?) being held in the square. I’m not sure which religion it was, but it was quite popular. You can see the yellow shrine in the photo and the stage is to the left, where there was singing and music.

It was very crowded at the top of the hall and very windy too. The walkways around the top are very narrow, so we had to keep squeezing to one side to let people pass. After ten minutes or so, we decided to go back down and look at the clock one last time.

We still couldn’t figure out what time it was, but it was definitely interesting!

Dancing House, Prague

Katie — Sat, 13 Feb 2010 04:19:08 +0000

There was one very famous building in Prague that Phill and I wanted to see – the Dancing House, nicknamed “Fred and Ginger” after Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, because the building, when viewed from a particular angle, resembles a pair of dancers.

Isn’t it beautiful in a strange way? The buildings in Prague were so interesting – at times it felt like we were standing in completely different centuries just blocks away from each other. Fred and Ginger are situated on the end of the building, as you can see in this next photo, so to see the “dancing building”, you need to go to the end and view it from this angle. I remember seeing the building and thinking that I couldn’t see the dancers at all, then we came to the end and turned around – and I saw it immediately.

The top floor is the fancy Celeste Restaurant, which has stunning views of Prague. Unfortunately we didn’t make it up there to eat, as much as that would have been an experience! We crossed the road and headed out onto the bridge, snapping photos like crazy tourists. I love being a crazy tourist sometimes, taking millions of photos of buildings and food and plants and animals. Nobody is going to roll their eyes and say you’re taking too many photos – you’re supposed to!

I love this photo because it shows the contrast in the style of the buildings – in just one photo, you’ve got such a range of design and colour! It was seriously amazing. At this point I was a little addicted to the Dancing House and Phill had to tear me away from taking more photos. I just wanted to make sure I had the shots I wanted, since I wouldn’t get another opportunity to photograph it in a while.

The Dancing House is on the banks of the Vltava River, which is the longest river in the Czech Republic.

Some of our best lunches were simple store-bought food, eaten while perched on the wall running along the river, watching the boats go by. We actually walked along the river one day for hours – it was very beautiful but very long too and by the end of it, we were absolutely exhausted!

I know it’s been a while since we returned from our EuroTrip, but Terri’s comment reminded me that I’ve been very slack in posting about it, so I’ve finally got my act together and started writing up some posts. I’ve only done one so far and already it’s bringing back fantastic memories of our trip! I’m excited about sharing our experiences overseas and I hope you enjoy reading about it.

My Cat is Being Bullied… by Birds!

Katie — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:47:19 +0000

Puddy likes to go outside for a few hours a day, spending her time curled up under the trees in the shade, or on our table and chairs. She’s not very adventurous – she sometimes takes off and leaves the yard but she’s getting old (ha!) and prefers the lazy approach now. She’s never caught a bird (or come close to it) and there’s no other cats in the neighbourhood anymore so she’s safe from nature and nature is safe from her.

Well, that was how it used to be. Now nature seems to have some beef with Puddy because there are two little squarking birds who have targeted her. They sit on the wall and scream their heads off at her, ruffling their feathers, while Puddy crouches on the ground, staring up at them, chattering away.

I don’t know how it started, or when, but all of a sudden whenever I let Puddy outside, the birds are there only seconds later, squarking at her. It’s not a cute little squark, it’s a loud, annoying scream that drives me nuts, especially when I’m trying to relax inside. I end up having to go to the door and clap loudly to scare them off – but even then they simply fly up, hover and come back. Phill said he’s seen them swoop Puddy and I wouldn’t be surprised – everything about the confrontation screams “bully”.

Puddy doesn’t even try to run after them, she just chatters away with a few little audible meows in there. When I come outside and scare them away, she turns and looks at me as if to say, “Hey, I was dealing with it!”

They are worse than the crows in the morning because at least the crows stop making noises once we’re awake. These little birds are there all day long and it’s really not what I want to hear on my day off!

I’ve brought Puddy inside because of the birds, but also because I just spotted a wasp-infested tree out the front and I don’t want Puddy to think they’re something to play with. As I bent down to pick her up, I spotted another nest hanging under the outside table, which is pretty much right next to the screen door, with wasps buzzing around it, so I might get Phill to deal with that one when he gets home. Until then, Puddy stays inside.

I didn’t manage to get a photo of the birds because, surprise surprise, they disappeared as soon as Puddy came inside. I heard their faint squarking which could mean they’ve found another target. I wonder what’s going on? Are they protecting a nest? I haven’t seen one anywhere near our house that Puddy might be a threat to. Are they just bullies? It’s possible. Why won’t Puddy at least run after them to scare them away? Because she’s a wuss?

Does anyone else have this problem? I thought it was meant to be the cats scaring the birds, not the other way round!

Edit to add: Just as I went to hit “publish” the damn birds came back, squarking loudly from the wall. Puddy is inside at the screen door, chattering at them. How do I get rid of them?????

The Beauty of Nature

Katie — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 06:26:12 +0000

I love flowers – I think they are absolutely beautiful and whenever I see them on other blogs I get insanely jealous because the most I’ve ever managed to grow in my garden is weeds and a cactus, which is why I was surprised when I found this beauty peeking out from the overgrown grass:

When we were in Bali, we saw beautiful flowers everywhere – mostly frangipanis. Apparently there is a disease in Bali so their frangipanis don’t bloom, but in Lombok they didn’t have the disease, so all their flowers were gorgeous. I tried to take some close-ups to take home with us because I thought it might be nice to get them blown up and framed, to go on the wall. There’s something extra special about photographs if you took them yourself.

I love how the water is speckled on the petals and it pools in the bottom photo. We got some really heavy downpours while in Lombok – it started suddenly and absolutely poured down, then would stop without warning. Very cool, but also too unpredictable! A couple times we’d put off leaving the house only to be relieved when it started raining minutes later, which would have meant we would have been caught in the rain with no umbrella!

This is my favourite “ugly” flower. I think it’s not typically pretty because of all the short, stubby petals happening there, but they curl out softly, forming little points. The bees were active in these flowers – only taking a break when the rain started.

Orchids are beautiful flowers and also a little strange-looking to me. I loved these white ones, with their hints of purple and yellow – so pretty. It makes me wish I had a green thumb, so my garden could always have beautiful flowers, but in this Australian heat, I think you’ve got to really know what you’re doing or your plants don’t survive.

Yes, there will be Puddy posts coming up – she’s been a bit neglected on here for a while!

Back on Aussie Soil

Katie — Wed, 27 Jan 2010 00:47:19 +0000

Phill and I returned home yesterday morning (Australia Day, how appropriate) at 4am. We were originally due to land at 11pm Monday night, but our plane was delayed two hours due to late arrival, which meant we landed at about 1:15am. Getting through customs in Australia was a huge process, taking about an hour (don’t get me started on their system which involves everyone declaring things to line up in one huge queue to get their bags searched by customs officers) and then we had about another hour and a half driving home. We were so tired we simply stumbed into bed … and I awoke at 7:30am with Puddy wrapped around my leg.

So where were we?

Bali!

I’d never been to Bali before but Phill has been many times growing up, so he loved seeing things that brought back memories. We did lots of shopping and bartering and of course, visited some of the local pubs to watch the cricket with a nice cold Bintang. We rode elephants (they are surprisingly uncomfortable!) and went on a Bali Hai cruise (I couldn’t stop humming the song the whole time) and did a lot of relaxing and swimming.

We are still pretty tired and today begins the process of a million loads of laundry, mowing the overgrown lawn, catching up on bills and credit card payments, cleaning the house and, of course, entertaining Puddy who is now outside and hasn’t seemed to have missed us at all! She followed us around last night because we’d come home in the early hours of the morning, then left again for an Australia Day BBQ at the beach with our friends, so perhaps she was worried we would disappear again if she let us out of her sight!

Anyway, I have a lot of housework to do before heading into work, but I thought I’d jump on and say hi.

Where in the World is Kate?

Katie — Sat, 16 Jan 2010 11:49:18 +0000

I’ll give you some hints:

1. It involved a plane trip, but didn’t take as long as our trip to England.
2. I’ve seen monkeys and puffer fish, and tomorrow I’m going to see (and have a ride on) elephants.
3. I’ve been trying my hand at bartering… but I’m not very good!
4. Everything is so cheap, not like when we went to Japan in January 2009, so I am trying to buy lots of things!
5. The salesmen are very eager and sometimes get annoying, but it’s definitely an experience!

Any guesses?

Puddy is being housesat at our home by my brother, since I think she would prefer to be in familiar surroundings. I’m missing her heaps, especially missing her curling up with us at night, but it won’t be too long before we are back again.

So that is why it’s pretty quiet around here! I thought I would just pop on while I had Internet access and say G’day..