.. goes to The Housekeeper this week, I'm afraid. The Housekeeper isn't proud of herself at all and is almost too ashamed to type this entry, but feels that it isn't right to just post about the good and silly things that happen and also it serves as a warning to just how quickly things can turn from good to bad.
After sewing on Tuesday, The housekeeper had tidied up and put everything away - or so she thought. She always hoovers after sewing in case there are dressmaking pins on the floor for little paws, or big feet, to stand on - but she remembered after the incident, that she had put down something in a hurry and gone to answer the telephone and left the offending object out in full reach of all four cats.
Late on Wednesday morning, The Housekeeper saw Crystal sitting on the conservatory, shaking her head and rubbing the side of her mouth with her paw. She was also dribbling a lot and whilst not foaming at the mouth, as such, something obviously wasn't right.
The Housekeeper caught Crystal in the kitchen and after a struggle, she got away, leaving The Housekeeper with some beautiful scratch marks on her wrists which look like human suicide attempts (Not far wrong when she realised what the problem was later)
Crystal sat in the front room, still pawing at her mouth, so a couple of minutes later, The Housekeeper managed to catch her again and settle her between her legs so that she could try to check what was in Crystal's mouth. It was a sewing needle, with a piece of thread attached that was approx 6/7 inches long and which had already been swallowed. Very, VERY gently, The Housekeeper managed to withdraw the length of cotton from a very frightened little cat and then held her tightly in her arms for a good 10 minutes and had a damm good cry.
It just goes to show just how easy it is for an animal to pick up something so innocent looking to them, to play with, which could cause untold damage. The Housekeeper is feeling very relieved that she was there to deal with the situation at the time it happened, but of course it should never have happened in the first place.
Showing posts with label Costumes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Costumes. Show all posts
Friday, 1 April 2011
Tuesday, 29 March 2011
Bubble Trouble
The Housekeeper has been a bit busy this week. A huge trunk of Aladdin costumes came back from hire recently and she decided to make the most of the good weather last Thursday and Friday doing 9 loads of washing. A friend came round today and they both spent the day mending seams, hems and re-elasticating in the conservatory. The four Abyssinians all lent a hand. Scissors, cotton bobbins and pin boxes are all VERY interesting to an Abyssinian, as is a sewing machine. Worryingly interesting!!!!!
Three of them managed to supervise whilst one helped by airer surfing on the remaining drying clothes, sitting in the crate of unchecked costumes and sitting in the trunk of finished ones. Thanks Jasper!
The Housekeeper suspects that Jasper may just also be responsible for the latest misdemeanour. She had a consignment of bubble wrap delivered on Friday and has yet to take the excess to her storage unit where the hire costumes are stored.
The result. Plastic wrapping everywhere .......
Three of them managed to supervise whilst one helped by airer surfing on the remaining drying clothes, sitting in the crate of unchecked costumes and sitting in the trunk of finished ones. Thanks Jasper!
The Housekeeper suspects that Jasper may just also be responsible for the latest misdemeanour. She had a consignment of bubble wrap delivered on Friday and has yet to take the excess to her storage unit where the hire costumes are stored.
The result. Plastic wrapping everywhere .......
Friday, 18 March 2011
Yeee Haa! Arhhhhhh
Jasper's in trouble again ....
You know that blue check bag that was hanging on the back of the dining room door? Well, it had costume hats in it that had been returned from a hire - and The Housekeeper had put them out of cat reach in the bag.
However she didn't anticipate Jasper, the High Altitude Kitten. Having retrieved Jasper from the green and white plastic bag and from the top of the door, she assumed that all was well, until she came to take the bag to the storage unit and looked at the contents.
And Yes, It is definitely Jasper that's to blame, readers. The fur on the hat is fawn and the Crystal girl is just too laid back to contemplate such a misdemeanour. It's not so much The Cat in the Hat as The Cat who trashed the Hat. Remember the blog about Dino and the tricorn?!!!
Mr Housekeeper suggested that The Housekeeper should keep the hat and say that its a bullet hole in the crown ... Hmmmm
You know that blue check bag that was hanging on the back of the dining room door? Well, it had costume hats in it that had been returned from a hire - and The Housekeeper had put them out of cat reach in the bag.
However she didn't anticipate Jasper, the High Altitude Kitten. Having retrieved Jasper from the green and white plastic bag and from the top of the door, she assumed that all was well, until she came to take the bag to the storage unit and looked at the contents.
And Yes, It is definitely Jasper that's to blame, readers. The fur on the hat is fawn and the Crystal girl is just too laid back to contemplate such a misdemeanour. It's not so much The Cat in the Hat as The Cat who trashed the Hat. Remember the blog about Dino and the tricorn?!!!
Mr Housekeeper suggested that The Housekeeper should keep the hat and say that its a bullet hole in the crown ... Hmmmm
Tuesday, 1 March 2011
Ears and Tails
The Housekeeper has been somewhat busy over the last few days. Understatement!
It's World Book Day in the UK on Thursday 3rd March and as one of the primary sales lines in The Housekeeper's company is children's costumes, she's been inundated with orders as all children in the UK go to school dressed as a book character on World Book Day.
One of the best sellers this year has been some brand new sets of animal "Ears and Tails" from her supplier in Cat, Dog, Fox, Mouse, Rabbit and Tiger.
Sadly, the Abyssinians would like to point out, the sale of Fox Ears and Tails is on a ratio of 6:1 to both Cat and Tiger. They feel that this is wrong, somehow.
They feel that it is even more wrong for The Housekeeper to be threatening to don a pair of Ears and a Tail for World Book Day itself.
Humans. Tsk.
It's World Book Day in the UK on Thursday 3rd March and as one of the primary sales lines in The Housekeeper's company is children's costumes, she's been inundated with orders as all children in the UK go to school dressed as a book character on World Book Day.
One of the best sellers this year has been some brand new sets of animal "Ears and Tails" from her supplier in Cat, Dog, Fox, Mouse, Rabbit and Tiger.
Sadly, the Abyssinians would like to point out, the sale of Fox Ears and Tails is on a ratio of 6:1 to both Cat and Tiger. They feel that this is wrong, somehow.
They feel that it is even more wrong for The Housekeeper to be threatening to don a pair of Ears and a Tail for World Book Day itself.
Humans. Tsk.
Thursday, 24 February 2011
Showing Off
A customer and her two daughter's came to the house "out of hours" yesterday to collect a costume hire from The Housekeeper and all four Abyssinian's were on top form.
The boys allowed themselves to be picked up freely, after they had fully examined the hire bags which had been put on the floor, having been hung out of cat reach all day. They stood on laps, ran round like lunatics and were generally showing off by running up the stairs in the hallway and putting their heads through the banisters.
Amber strode into the room confidently, positioned herself in full view of everyone and proceeded to give the visitors a very comprehensive demonstration of Abyssinian cat yoga positions and hygiene at the same time.
Crystal kept her distance until the very end and then allowed herself to be picked up by Mr Housekeeper, just so that she could show them that she is a one man cat and although beautiful, will not stoop to showing off for an audience.
As with many work related visitors who come to the house, rather than the workshop, conversation regarding work was brief and conversations regarding cats took over which was especially nice in this instance, as they had lost a cat fairly recently and were enjoying the attention from the Aby's, I think!
The boys allowed themselves to be picked up freely, after they had fully examined the hire bags which had been put on the floor, having been hung out of cat reach all day. They stood on laps, ran round like lunatics and were generally showing off by running up the stairs in the hallway and putting their heads through the banisters.
Amber strode into the room confidently, positioned herself in full view of everyone and proceeded to give the visitors a very comprehensive demonstration of Abyssinian cat yoga positions and hygiene at the same time.
Crystal kept her distance until the very end and then allowed herself to be picked up by Mr Housekeeper, just so that she could show them that she is a one man cat and although beautiful, will not stoop to showing off for an audience.
As with many work related visitors who come to the house, rather than the workshop, conversation regarding work was brief and conversations regarding cats took over which was especially nice in this instance, as they had lost a cat fairly recently and were enjoying the attention from the Aby's, I think!
Tuesday, 15 February 2011
Crystal the Shed Cat
Crystal's second favourite place in her whole wide cat world (No 1 being under the duvet, curled up in Mr Housekeeper's arms) is the workshop where The Housekeeper works.
Originally she only used to visit the workshop in the arms of Mr Housekeeper when he came home early from work. However it's now become a bit of a routine. After breakfast Crystal sits at the conservatory door and waits to be taken to work by The Housekeeper.
Of course it didn't take long before, being an Abyssinian, Crystal had made it her own space. Its her sanctuary, away from the madness of the bouncing kittens. As the days got colder last November, The Housekeeper relented and even bought her a bed, just for the workshop. It's sat on top of a pile of flat pack boxes, at window height, from which she can survey the garden, watch the birds and keep an eye on the open back gate for the delivery men and any visitors.
And YES, it really WAS that sunny yesterday morning!
Originally she only used to visit the workshop in the arms of Mr Housekeeper when he came home early from work. However it's now become a bit of a routine. After breakfast Crystal sits at the conservatory door and waits to be taken to work by The Housekeeper.
Of course it didn't take long before, being an Abyssinian, Crystal had made it her own space. Its her sanctuary, away from the madness of the bouncing kittens. As the days got colder last November, The Housekeeper relented and even bought her a bed, just for the workshop. It's sat on top of a pile of flat pack boxes, at window height, from which she can survey the garden, watch the birds and keep an eye on the open back gate for the delivery men and any visitors.
And YES, it really WAS that sunny yesterday morning!
Wednesday, 2 February 2011
Gerrrrrrroff
The Housekeeper has just leapt into action in the Dining Room. There was obviously a serious fight going on. She could hear loud, threatening growling noises coming from the corner of the room and so she assumed that maybe Amber had been cornered by a kitten whilst she was asleep under the clothes airer and had woken up, grumpy.
But no.
The Housekeeper found three of the cats in a semi circle, watching Dino in the corner of the room. His paws, mouth and little body all wrapped around his latest conquest in the "stolen object, now to be a cat toy" department. He was protecting it with every inch of his kitten might and was absolutely resolute that none of the others were going to play with it or steal it from him. The Housekeeper has never heard such a large growl from such a small kitten.
And what had Dino stolen?
One of The Housekeeper's Dick Turpin style tricorn hats with white marabou fur on it which had just returned from a hire !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
But no.
The Housekeeper found three of the cats in a semi circle, watching Dino in the corner of the room. His paws, mouth and little body all wrapped around his latest conquest in the "stolen object, now to be a cat toy" department. He was protecting it with every inch of his kitten might and was absolutely resolute that none of the others were going to play with it or steal it from him. The Housekeeper has never heard such a large growl from such a small kitten.
And what had Dino stolen?
One of The Housekeeper's Dick Turpin style tricorn hats with white marabou fur on it which had just returned from a hire !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Friday, 10 December 2010
Pink Negligence
Otherwise titled "Who killed the flamingo in the conservatory?"
The Housekeeper has just returned to the house from the workshop after 2 hours of packing to find shredded cerise pink marabou feather EVERYWHERE.
I should explain ..... The Housekeeper is also a Wardrobe Mistress and the conservatory currently houses the costumes from the entire cast of a pantomime, waiting to be washed, in black bin bags. Amongst the costumes was a bin bag containing a pink dressing gown which was edged in thick marabou boa, referred to in the script by the dame as her "negligence".
Considering the volume of pink feather now strewn across the floor its a wonder that the negligence doesn't look like it has been touched (a good job as it is being borrowed tomorrow!) Also, consider that The Housekeeper sits in the workshop in full view of the conservatory and didn't see any of the above happen.
Now we just have the feathers of a dead animal strewn across the whole of the floor and four Abyssinians, all with different expressions on their faces. The kittens are sat on the settee in the conservatory dozing. Amber is sat on the scratching post in the conservatory with a puzzled look on her face of "what the hell happened here" and Crystal has the innocent, look of a cat who has been in the workshop with The Housekeeper all morning and "didn't do it so you can't blame me".
The Housekeeper has just returned to the house from the workshop after 2 hours of packing to find shredded cerise pink marabou feather EVERYWHERE.
I should explain ..... The Housekeeper is also a Wardrobe Mistress and the conservatory currently houses the costumes from the entire cast of a pantomime, waiting to be washed, in black bin bags. Amongst the costumes was a bin bag containing a pink dressing gown which was edged in thick marabou boa, referred to in the script by the dame as her "negligence".
Considering the volume of pink feather now strewn across the floor its a wonder that the negligence doesn't look like it has been touched (a good job as it is being borrowed tomorrow!) Also, consider that The Housekeeper sits in the workshop in full view of the conservatory and didn't see any of the above happen.
Now we just have the feathers of a dead animal strewn across the whole of the floor and four Abyssinians, all with different expressions on their faces. The kittens are sat on the settee in the conservatory dozing. Amber is sat on the scratching post in the conservatory with a puzzled look on her face of "what the hell happened here" and Crystal has the innocent, look of a cat who has been in the workshop with The Housekeeper all morning and "didn't do it so you can't blame me".
Tuesday, 7 December 2010
Get .....
- Out of the bin
- Out of the bag
- Out of the box that I'm trying to pack costumes in
- Out of the fridge
- Off my pile of papers
- Off my fleece and stop chewing the cord
- Down from the top of the clothers airer
- Down from the kitchen work surface
- Down
- Down
- Down (I'm sure I've already told you to get down)
- Your head out of Crystal and Amber's dinner
- On my lap and have a cuddle!
Thursday, 2 December 2010
Hi Ho, Hi Ho. It's off to Hire we go ....
Six dwarf costumes and a a genie... sitting in the hall in a huge cardboard packing crate with a four way fold top waiting for the 7th dwarf to arrive back from Aberdeenshire, to be added to the box before it can be sealed so that the consignment can then be shipped to Liverpool for this coming weekend.
Unfortunately, four way top folding isn't very strong when something heavy and or live sits on top of it, dips in the middle and creates a gap into which something can fall.
Even more unfortunately, when you push against a four way fold from underneath - the gap closes up and the contents are trapped.
15 minutes last night.........
This morning.
7th dwarf arrives and is packed into box. All cats counted and accounted for at least 3 times before and after the box has been sealed !!!!
Unfortunately, four way top folding isn't very strong when something heavy and or live sits on top of it, dips in the middle and creates a gap into which something can fall.
Even more unfortunately, when you push against a four way fold from underneath - the gap closes up and the contents are trapped.
15 minutes last night.........
- Crystal in box. Jasper tormenting her through carry handles. Crystal headbutting top of box but can't get out as she is closing up gap. Crystal removed from box.
- Amber on top of box. Crystal with paw on Amber's bum "helping" her into the box. Both removed from top of box
- Jasper launching himself at top of box from floor and failing to get high enough so starts leaping from the stairs into oblivion in the hopes of landing on top of box.
- Jasper falls into box. Jasper removed.
- Bag put on top of box as deterant. Jasper and Dino launch themselves into bag on top of box and all fall into box. Bag containing kittens removed from box.
- Ten minutes later - noise from box. Dino removed from box AGAIN.
- Kittens taken into lounge and put on settee and box moved to porch and door closed.
- Noise coming from box. Amber located in box in porch and removed.
This morning.
7th dwarf arrives and is packed into box. All cats counted and accounted for at least 3 times before and after the box has been sealed !!!!
Tuesday, 23 November 2010
Lesson of the Day - Amber
CAT: Diving head and front paws first down a 4 inch gap between a heavy, full box of costumes and the hall unit to chase something seemed like such a great idea when bored because the whole of the rest of the household had gone to bed (approx 1:10am!)
Ending up (literally!!!!!) with just my back legs from the knees to the paws flailing and my RBS logo in full view is not a ladylike look. Not having enough room to turn round, enough height to push myself out backwards or enough room to get into the gap and turn round and having to yell for help, puts a severe dent in one's cat pride.
HUMAN: How the hell do you a). laugh with tears running down your face in the middle of the night without waking the whole house up and b). make a split second decision betweeen rescuing the cat or going running for the camera for blog evidence?!!!!!!!
PS. I chose the rescue option!
PPS. Amber has just bought me here new favourite "moppy" toy as a thank you and dropped it at my feet!
Ending up (literally!!!!!) with just my back legs from the knees to the paws flailing and my RBS logo in full view is not a ladylike look. Not having enough room to turn round, enough height to push myself out backwards or enough room to get into the gap and turn round and having to yell for help, puts a severe dent in one's cat pride.
HUMAN: How the hell do you a). laugh with tears running down your face in the middle of the night without waking the whole house up and b). make a split second decision betweeen rescuing the cat or going running for the camera for blog evidence?!!!!!!!
PS. I chose the rescue option!
PPS. Amber has just bought me here new favourite "moppy" toy as a thank you and dropped it at my feet!
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