Nigella …

Happy Mother’s Day!  And who knew that the day is dedicated to each individual mother and that its creator Anna Jarvis “insisted on this particular punctuation placement”, with the apostrophe before the s, when she created it in 1908.  It didn’t become a national holiday in the US until 1914 when President Woodrow Wilson made it one.  It was first officially celebrated in Australia in 1924 although it had been celebrated in church services as early as 1910.

 Fun (?) fact:  Anna Jarvis spent much of her later life actively fighting against the holiday’s commercialisation and exploitation. She envisioned Mother’s Day as a day to honour mothers through personal expressions and visits, not as a commercial enterprise.  She actively campaigned against the commercialisation, organizing boycotts and even taking legal action against companies using “Mother’s Day” in advertising.   By the early 1940s, she had become infirm, and was placed in a sanatorium by friends and associates. In one of her last public appearances, Jarvis was seen going door-to-door in Philadelphia, asking for signatures on a petition to rescind Mother’s Day.  She died, alone, on November 24, 1948. Rumour has it that a portion of her medical bills were paid for by florists as she had lost her personal fortune in the legal battles she waged against the commercialisation of Mother’s Day.

Wow, M Kaz, that’s all a bit dark for a Sunday morning in May!
Let’s think about something a bit cheerier.  I know – let’s start Cat’s Day. Oh wait …. there is already one. That would be International Cat Day which is on 8 August.  It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare.  Hmmmmm …. I think the Mummies have to lift their game.  I haven’t see International Cat Day celebrated at Jannie in the six years I’ve been here!  Now you know that I know, M Kaz and M Sooz, let’s hope that changes!

I’ll wait in my television or on the recliner.  It is getting cooler in the evenings and I somehow don’t think those Mothers are going to be bringing my (Mimi) cat tower back inside any time soon. So I’ve moved inside in the evenings, and even on some of the colder mornings.  The chances of me not having to run Outback to use my litter tray are not looking good either.  Brrrrr …. I don’t think I’m looking forward to doing that in Winter!

At least M Kaz is proving quite adept and diligent about making sure she keeps my water glass full. There’s nothing worse than a half-empty glass when you can’t get your head in quite far enough to have a drink. And she knows how thirsty I get sometimes and she knows there are times when I just don’t want to drink from my other water bowls in the bathroom or the kitchen or wherever else I’ve told the Mummies I want to drink. (They do love me!)

It is getting colder now and I’ve started inside on M Sooz’s recliner. It’s quite comfy. I still do go into the bedroom to sleep with the Mummies but only when I know they’ve settled and won’t be gabbling on like they sometimes do.

M Kaz and I were playing with my stringy thing the other evening when there was a disaster (of First World proportions). The string on the stringy thing broke. M Kaz hasn’t fixed it yet but I’m hoping she will, she just needs to find a long piece of string and a way of attaching it to the fish. Let’s see how clever she is. (Phew. It’s good that Uncle Wayne is only a couple of weeks away.)

Since the stringy thing is out of play for a bit, M Kaz has given me a paper bag and I can fit in it ! She must have a guilty conscience because she’s taken away at least one of my table boxes. Rumour has it that M Kaz still has her eye on my floor boxes. That’s okay though because I’m taking over those little drawers in the bottom of the wardrobe.

What’s that Mummies?  You can hear me?  I always knew you could but it’s good to have that verified by an audiologist.  Yes, the Mummies went to see about their ears today and came back knowing a few more things about ear tests – thanks to Josh explaining it to them as they went along.  Neither of their hearings is as bad as was suggested by the first audiologist-folk they went to see so it is good to get a second (or third or fourth) opinion as it turns out. 

The other good news from today is that Uncle Wayne has phoned to say that he will be at Jannie mid-May (or thereabouts).  The Mummies are very excited that he’s coming to stay – as are S and A who have a job or two that they want him to help out with at their place.  I think M Kaz mentioned that there’s a ladder involved – and possibly a nail gun.
Let’s see.  What else has been happening except that it’s getting colder and I am planning to sleep inside from now on?  I think the Mummies are happy to have me on their beds.  I know I’m happy to be there as long as they don’t move their feet around too much and disturb me with their talkings (and snorings!).  It’s hard getting both of them to think they’re my favourite though.  If I’m not on the bed, I’m sleeping on M Sooz’s recliner, or maybe on Aunty M’s cushion under the table.  I have lots of places where I can comfortably lay my head. 

Oh, the other thing is that I have a sneaky suspicion that M Kaz took one of my favourite boxes out this morning so the recycling people could take it away.  I’m not terribly happy about it, but at least my penthouse is still there. 

I’m not sure what M Kaz was doing with the yellow paper on the table last night.  She mentioned ‘dinosaur’ and then a few swear words as she kept folding and unfolding a square of paper.  She ended up making a dog (when Aunty W thought was a rabbit!) out of the paper – one sheet of it at least.  The others she put into the drawer.  If I were a betting cat, I would put money on it not coming of that drawer any time soon.  What was that, M Kaz.  Do not bet on that.  And what was that about seeing if you could find some instructions on YouTube so you can follow along with them? 

M Kaz is usually up pretty early in the morning – but she was up even earlier this morning. Aunty W was too. They were dressed and out of the house by just after 5 am. The reason: it’s Anzac Day and they were going down to the Broadwater for their own Anzac Day service with the folk who congregate down there for coffee most mornings. And speaking of coffee, they did take Yeti cups full of coffee with them. I think it was because M Kaz wasn’t sure she could wait the 20 minutes until Pelicanos opened so they could buy their coffee.

When they came back a couple of hours later M Kaz and Aunty W were both soaked to the skin. They were under cover for their ‘service’ but they had braved the rain to get another cup of coffee each – and, of course, the coffee they brought home for M Sooz.

I thought they wouldn’t go out again – but I was wrong. Mind you, though, they did have a quiet morning at home – M Kaz was playing with FaceBook (how many videos of people getting hit with balloons filled with shaving cream and water can she watch?) while Aunty W was chilling and having a phone call with a mate and M Sooz was having a nap – she didn’t sleep that well again last night.

I was very thirsty today and luckily M Kaz saw me with my head completely in Aunty W’s glass – trying to drink water, but not quite able to get my head in far enough. She filled the glass for me and was kind enough to take photographs (and a video) of me drinking and sent it to Aunty W so she could see what I’d been up to. It didn’t phase her tough – I think she’s used to be around furry folk that share food and drink with her.

Would you believe that come Monday, I have been living with the Mummies for five (long) years? I wonder if they will surprise me with an anniversary party or something.

The Mummies and Aunty W watched a movie set in Amsterdam last night. It was called “iHostage” and was about a man who had left his earbuds on the train when he arrived in Amsterdam and then went to the Apple store to get a new pair.  While there, he was taken hostage by a man wearing an explosive vest and carrying a machine gun. It was based on a true story. Luckily that didn’t happen to M Kaz after she’d left her earbuds on the boat in Amsterdam.