Wednesday Hodgepodge: Remembering lovely cats

Wednesday is here so of course that means time for another hodgepodge with the questions set by Joyce at the blog, From This Side of the Pond. 

1. What pets did you have while growing up? Tell us a little something about them.

My first pet was our farm cat Keiran, a lovely tabby cat, who adopted us when I was about two years old and disappeared when I was about eight. The picture shows her in the middle with three of my brothers and me on the left (I'm the youngest by a few years).

Our next cat was my cat Tiddles whom we got when I was nine - can you tell that I named her? Technically our next cat was Tiddles sister Fluffles (yes, I know my names are very original) but we'd only had her about a week when dad accidentally trod on her with disastrous results. Luckily the people we got Fluffles from still had Tiddles left to find a home.

We had Tiddles until she was 16, and the below photo was taken in her last year - I can tell by how scruffy she looks. Tiddles was so lovely, she used to tell us off if we'd been away and when she was happy she used to drool all over us.

2. What is one thing you absolutely must accomplish today?

Finish this post - I'm struggling to come up with a random thought this week. Hopefully by the time you get to the end there will be words that magically appear before your eyes.

3. Where were you ten years ago? What were you doing there?

Ten years ago I was living in outer London with my beloved, Bertie Boo (our Springer Spaniel), and the Brats, Princess Cookie Cat and Muffin Monster. I was the Senior Sister in a Hospice but was in the process of applying for my next job which was Palliative Care Lecturer Practitioner (fancy title for a nurse who also does education).

4. September 26th is National Dumpling Day. Did you celebrate? Apple dumpling, xiao long bao (steamed Chinese dumpling), chicken and dumplings, pirogi, matzoh balls, or gnocchi...which dumpling on this list would be your dumpling of choice? Have you ever made homemade dumplings of any kind?

Another weird national day that I might have to put in my diary for next year - who doesn't love a day that gives you permission to eat food. I do love Chinese dumplings in the form of Dim Sum and I've eaten gnocchi, but I'm not sure I've ever had any of the others.

Dumplings that we had growing up were Golden Syrup Dumplings (Click here for the recipe) which are lovely smothered in runny cream. I've never made them but writing this post has made me think I should give them a try, especially as Ken has never had them.

5. 'There are two kinds of adventurers: those who go truly hoping to find an adventure and those who go secretly hoping they don't.' William Trogdon

So which kind are you?

I think we're the first. When we go to other countries we try to immerse ourselves in local things such as avoiding the restaurants that have all the tourists in them and instead find the ones that the locals are eating in. We love exploring off the main tourist route as you always find really wonderful things that most people on holiday miss.

One local restaurant we ate at in Turkey really showed this - the owner dragged us into the kitchen to choose our fish, stood at the end of our table watching us eat, and at the end sat down with us and we carried on a disjointed conversation with our small amounts of each others languages.

We've gotten lost in the hills on a Greek island, stumbled across a taverna with a family party going on and been given free drinks whilst we regrouped. In Turkey we stopped to ask someone directions and a total stranger jumped in the car to show us where we needed to go as he didn't know how to tell us in English. I could go on, loads of little moments that we would have missed out on if we'd stuck to the normal tourist attractions.

6. Insert your own random thought here.

Tomorrow September 28th is National Poetry Day here in the UK so I thought I would share with you a really short piece that I wrote when I was either late teens or early 20's - I'm not sure. It's about my blonde brother in the picture above, who died when he was 16 and I was 9. He grew sunflowers in the garden and there is a lovely picture of him standing next to them.

I saw a sunflower the other day

and instantly thought of you.

God must have made you chief

sunflower carer, as your smile

is in every flower I see.

I wonder what your answers to the questions would be, especially thinking about pets you may have had growing up. Before you go, pop over to Joyce's Blog to see what my fellow bloggers have come up with.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and read or write some poetry tomorrow.

Pamela & Ken
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Winter Sunshine in Tasmania

Mother nature is being very good to us, granting us with clear skies for the days we want to explore beautiful Tasmania - it's still cold, and I've had to buy a hot water bottle for nighttime, but the days are glorious. Our first day trip out was heading west along the coast to Stanley, one of my favourite spots in the Northwest.

On the way we stopped at the Table Cape lookout to get the view of Wynyard and east along the coast - the sea is such a stunning blue.

On table cape there is a deer farm (the vegetarian in me calls it a deer sanctuary where they get to live out their lives in tranquillity). In the middle of the second picture is a lovely white deer.

Looking west from Table Cape - in the distance between the two humps on the right you can just make out the pale blue of the Nut in Stanley.

A very funky mailbox. If I was a postie this would brighten my day every time I saw it.

Stanley is a cute little town with a population of less than 500 people, though in summer I'm sure it grows as it's a very popular tourist spot. I've written a couple of blogs in the past about Stanley, check out Top Ten Thursday: Favourite Place on Earth which of course had to be this place.

The Nut from the car park for the chairlift which takes you up to the top - unfortunately it wasn't working that day, probably because it's the middle of winter.

Sunny selfie with Stanley behind us - who would have thought I'd need my sunglasses in Tassie in July.

One of the beautiful long beaches that surround Stanley - you can walk for miles on pristine golden sand.

One of the lovely little shops in the town - Providore 24 which has food, drink, clothes, jewellery and lots of things of loveliness.

The Plough Inn on the left of the picture which is one of the oldest buildings in the town and next to it is St Paul's Anglican Church which was built in 1887 after the original stone building was demolished.

Time for a refuelling break and where better than a place called the Chocolate Gallery and Cafe - sounds like my kind of place. I loved the orange colour theme.

The menu that was in the window - I'll have one of everything.

The orange theme continued inside, even with Ken's cup of tea and jug of milk.

Inside the cafe.

Me and my mum.

There are over twenty flavours of ice cream on the menu so after much deliberation I chose salted caramel and peanut butter, which came in a chocolate basket with chocolate sauce - scrummy!!

Looking up the main street of Stanley - I love the wide streets that we have in Tasmania.

View of Stanley in the shadow of the Nut, a long extinct volcano that is popular with tourists to walk up or travel up on the chairlift.

On our journey back towards Wynyard we stopped briefly at Brickmakers beach for me to have a reminiscing moment - I remember swimming at this beach when it was very cold and then ending up with a nose bleed. It's a lovely spot if you ignore the smoke from nearby Port Latta which is where Iron Ore is exported from Tasmania to the rest of the world.

Looking back towards Stanley from Brickmakers beach.

Our road trip continued and we came across this farm which had an interesting sign and name in front of their property.

And in their front yard was this fabulous creation - I think you would call it a hybrid tractor and motorbike.

Back in Wynyard and this is the great painting on the side of one of the shops  - a giant pirate octopus with his boombox under one tentacle among other things.

The next day we stayed home as we had a visit from three of my very lovely aunties (mum's sisters). It was great to catch up with them and wish it could be more often.

To stretch our legs after everyone had left, my beloved and I went for a walk and we found this friendly koala near one of the schools (I should point out here that koalas are not native to Tasmania and only exist in wildlife parks).

The sun starting to set and leaving a lovely pink glow in the sky.

We hope you're enjoying our holiday with us even if it's only vicariously, and hope that you stay with us through the next couple of weeks.

Until next time, be good, stay safe, and treat yourself to something delicious this week.

Pamela & Ken

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