Well, At Least They'll Have Good Teeth!

That's it! That's the last time I take pity on our putty tats and let them sleep inside when it's raining...

Why? Well, I came through this morning, wondering why they weren't begging for their breakfast as usual - and then I saw this:

That is what is left of the tub of Whiskas Dentibit treats that we bought them yesterday! They'd only had half a dozen or so out of them yesterday afternoon, and now it's empty!

I can't even give them a row, because I don't know if it was Leia or Gizmo to blame, or if it was a joint effort.

Naughty, sneaky putty tats!

Reversal Of Roles...

If you look in the tank containing our two turtles (and fish), you will most commonly see Aristotle and Atlas sitting on their stone, basking under the lightbulb... generally looking something like this:

Well, that was until recently, when it seems Aristotle has got fed up of always being on the bottom of the heap... as sometimes now when we come to the tank they are sitting looking something like this:

Judging by the expression on Atlas' face, he's none too impressed with this new arrangement - no wonder, considering Aristotle is about 3 times the size of him, and considerably heavier!

(Get) Out Of The Frying Pan...

Thank god the cooker had been switched off for a while and the frying pan was cold!

Peedie Peedie has a lot to learn yet...

Added Some Photos To "The Fairick's Fotos"...

Check them out here.

There are some more set for auto-publishing later on tomorrow afternoon, so don't forget to check back the morn!

You've Got To Hand It To Me...

Woke up this morning, and something felt strange about my hands... something to do with my rings...

Now, I normally wear 4 rings... like this... 2 on my right hand (one on the ring finger, one on the middle finger)...

and 2 on the left hand (one on my ring finger... I'm not married, but as that might never happen, I'm not going to waste it, and one on my middle finger)...

However... when I was aware enough to check... my hands looked like this...

Right... with both middle finger rings on the middle finger...

and left... with both ring finger rings on the ring finger...

Now... all I can think is that I've done it myself in my sleep! I'm not entirely sure how because, as you can see from the second lot of photos, they were pretty tight with 2 on... and when I tried to recreate the photo to show Viki, I couldn't get the second rings on as far as they were in the pictures.

What the hell was I dreaming about that I did that to myself!?

Look Who Came To Visit My Brother With Us...

See the story here...

Here's Gizmo visiting my brother with us, strutting around the yard like it was his home:

And here he is weighing up his chances against the gulls as we were feeding them... Wisely, he decided that, if it came to a fight, he would probably not come out of it as the victor...

Lobster Carnage

Having a flatmate who works for a local shellfish producer (who just so happens to supply crab and all to the likes of Marks & Spencer ("This is not just any crab...")) has its uses sometimes (especially if, like me (but unlike Viki, which means even more for me), you like crab)...

Like today... when she texted me to inform me that the staff were being offered cheap lobsters and she had bought one... a whole lobster... for - wait for it - £2!!!!

I've never tried lobster before, and neither had she, so we decided we would take it down to my brother... and he could help us get into the thing, and let us know if there were any bits that were poisonous and shouldn't be eaten...

So, after work, he came and got us, and we went by Tesco to get some smoked mackeral (coz the lobster wasn't big enough between 3), and some nice crusty bread... and then down to his for a feast...

Viki had a taste of the claw and tail, but decided it was too much like crab... I had a bit more of the claw and half the tail, and decided that lobster is like most other shellfish for me (I like the good bits, like the claws, but any bits that look like stomach or organs or (as this lobster had) eggs (yeuch!) I will not touch)... and my brother happily got wired into the brown, mushy stuff and the afore-mentioned eggs...

So, here's Nippy before...


and after...

(Cat)Nip It In The Bud...

Or, "Why Drugs Are Bad"... Or, "Time To Have The 'Dangers Of Drugs' Chat With The Cats"...

Yesterday when I was at the pet shop getting the identity discs for the cats' collars, I decided I would try them out with some dried catnip, see if they liked it or not (Harriet and Minnie weren't interested, but Thomas, the cat I had before them, went demented for it). Took a small box home, and just left it lying on the table in the living room, but at the back...

Came through this morning, and in the half dark, I could see what looked like a wet patch on the carpet... "Oh, no", I thought, "One of the cats has peed on the floor... I guess it had to happen sooner or later"...

But on closer inspection, it was a clear plastic bag, torn open... and then there was a cardboard box, shredded, lying nearby... THE CATNIP BOX!!!!!

The little buggers must have smelt the stuff through a box AND a sealed plastic bag last night, and temptation was just too strong... So they resorted to theft for their fix.

The whole box of catnip was scoffed... apart from a thin covering on the carpet. And I had a couple of slightly stoned moggies looking at me sheepishly... before Gizmo set about shredding the box further to try to dispose of the evidence.

I did, however, manage to get some photos of the crime scene:

Exhibit A: The Shredded Box
Exhibit B: The Empty Bag
Exhibit C: More Bits Of Box
Exhibit D: Drug Residue All Over The Floor

And a video of prime suspect, Gizmo, trying to dispose of the evidence before realising he's being watched!

I'm a bit worried now... How long will it be before they decide they want their next fix? And, if I don't buy it for them, will I waken up some morning with a half-crazed, withdrawal-suffering cat holding a kitchen knife at my throat...? Or, will I come home some day to find the telly sold for a score of 'nip?

Cat-owners, I beg you... keep your puddy tats safe... warn them of the dangers of trying catnip...!

A Moment Of Calm...

... in the otherwise frenetic lives of our new puddy tats, Leia and Gizmo:

Don't let their cuteness fool you... most mornings they (er... mainly Gizmo) start rampaging round the living room at about 6o'clock, play-fighting and attacking socks, carrier bags, or whatever other unsuspecting "prey" happens to be lying around. Then, just when I'm heading out at 9o'clock, they get something to eat (their second breakfast, because Viki has to feed them when she gets up, otherwise she gets no peace) and then collapse like this in what has become THEIR armchair (the one that gets the sun, of course).

But don't they look cute like this? Not as cute as Minnie was... I don't think any cat could be as cute as she was... but they're growing on us.

Leia Goes Exploring

It was a nice day today, so we decided to take the risk and let the cats out for the first time.

Both had a good time... Leia just having a sniff around the gardens and lane at the back of us, and she came back fine... Gizmo meanwhile invited himself into one of the neighbours' conservatory / cat area, sitting on the food shelf with one of their cats... before disappearing into their house for a look around! (Er... if you're that neighbour... I can only apologise for the manners of my puddy tat!). And he wasn't in such a hurry to come back in... quite enjoying exploring in the sunshine.

Didn't manage to get a photo of him, but here's Leia doing her best prowl along the wall...

As Promised... Part Two...

And here's Gizmo... looking more angelic than he was at 4o'clock this morning!

He's a big lad... but very soppy!

As Promised... Part One...

...here are the terrible twosome (or, at least, here's Leia)...

She has one or two little ginger & black markings on her, but for a tortie, she's got a lot of white...

Now, That CAN'T Be Hygenic!

Viki got up to go through to the kitchen when we were watching tv last night, and when she opened the kitchen door, she laughed and came to get the camera...

This was why:

Yep, that's Minnie... asleep on the chopping board!

I didn't smell her tummy, but I'd bet that it smelt of onions, seeing as that's what I had been chopping about an hour beforehand!

Damn cat is so cheeky... no surface or area of the house is safe - she'll sleep or sit anywhere!

Check out another couple of recent "favourite spots" here.

Yes, It's Childish... I Know...

...but something about this carrot had us giggling like a couple of kids in Tesco tonight. And we just had to buy it!

Busy Doing Nothing

Got a text from my brother (who lives round the corner from me, opposite the harbour) at around 11am today to say that there were a couple of seals on the Corn Slip again (he'd seen them there last week, but Viki & I missed them). Neither of the two of us were up out of our beds yet, but after 40 minutes or so deliberating, we got up, put our clothes on over our pyjamas (juj), and went round to the slipway to see if they were still there... And they were...

Viki saying "Szia"...



A wider view, showing where they were sitting... on a little slipway, just by a road and roundabout...



Came back later, as it got dark, and they were still there...



We were informed by a local seal expert that they are Common Seal pups, born about June or July of last year.

You can see more of the photos on my Flickr Photostream.

Fireworks

It was the community fireworks display here in Kirkwall on Saturday night. Took my camera, and managed to get some video, as well as photos:

Fireworks Video 2
Fireworks Video 3
Fireworks Video 4

And a couple of the photos (more of mine and Viki's can be seen at my Flickr photostream):

The Viking Invasion Of Orkney!

Last night, Kirkwall City Pipe Band and over 40 members of Shetland's 2008 Up Helly Aa squad held a torchlight parade and burning of a replica viking galley as a "thank you" from the Guizers for the part the Pipe Band played during their Up Helly Aa celebrations in Lerwick in January of this year, where KCPB were invited to join with the Lerwick Pipe Band to play during the festivities.

It had been a cold, miserable, rainy day, but that amazingly held off during the parade (which lasted a good couple of hours)... and the parade was amazing! Here's a few photos that Viki & I took (I think it's fair to say she enjoyed it!)...

The Pipe Band...

The Vikings have come! Lock up your daughters!


The torches are lit in a darkened Broad Street:




The galley burning at The Peedie Sea:


More pictures will be appearing soon on my Photo Blog, and the full set (or at least the ones that came out) are on my Flickr photostream.

Sorry, Auntie Jo!

A couple of photos of my Auntie Jo, who passed away a couple of days ago, aged 93.

Why "Sorry"? Cause woe betide you if you were spotted even working with a camera in her prescence! She HATED getting her photo taken!

These were taken a few years ago by my brother - He must have managed to sneakily take them without her knowing...

First is her sat in her chair, local newspaper on her knee, and cup of tea beside her:

And then, in my brother's car on a run out with her "peedie" brother, my dad... now sadly passed away as well...

A Shameless Plug...

For my photo blog: The Fairick's Fotos

Go and have a look... See how pretty Orkney is!

Announcing....

*Fanfare of Trumpets*

... my new and improved (imho, anyway) photos blog!

The Fairick's Fotos

I've got rid of the doodles, because I've decided I'm never going to rival Salvador Dali in the artistic stakes, and I'm concentrating on photos... because I can go less wrong with a digital camera than I can with a pencil & paper.

And I'll be updating it more often now too (famous last words... lol...).

Come along and have a look... and leave me a comment if you like what you see (or even if you dont... but please be nice... I'm not claiming my photos are brilliant).