HI there
I've been away for 15 days. Queenstown. Wanaka. The West Coast of the South Island. Hokitika. Kaiteriteri.
I hired a car in Queenstown and drove up the West Coast to Kaiteriteri. Scary drive, lots of curves.
More later. I only arrived back home a few minutes ago. So tired.
Hi there
I've been thinking about how there are people who need to have the latest in pets. Years ago, when the movie "101 Dalmations" came out, I was tripping over dalmations everywhere I went. Two of my friends bought dalmation puppies.
Now...? I havent seen a dalmation dog for yonks.
Just a few years back, the pug was the trendiest pet to have (think "Men in Black"). Today, the husky is the new reigning king; blame this on "Game of Thrones".
When I decided to get a siamese cat about a dozen years ago, the siamese wasnt all that popular. But I liked their dainty pony-like way of walking, haughty nose in the air, their obvious inner-knowledge that they were sooooo superior to other cats (and humans)...
I traced down a siamese cat breeder, brought home my little chocolate-point kitten but not before the breeder had handed me the book "Cats in the Belfry" by Doreen Tovey. She insisted I read it before making any decision about whether or not to adopt a siamese.
OMG... were siamese cats truly as naughty as Tovey described them? Could I live with such a pet?
Yes! I wanted a cat with personality. And that was exactly what I got. StarGirl never gave up loudly proclaiming to me her needs and wants in high-pitched siamese squeaks. And bellows. She followed me around the house, tail high, bat-like ears flapping, and issuing orders like the queen bee she most certainly knew she was.
There was a song in Disney's "Lady and the Tramp" called "We are Siamese if you please, we are Siamese if you don't please". It was StarGirl to a 'T'. She did whatever she wanted. My house was her house, and I had better believe it!
Because of "Lady and the Tramp", the siamese cat was initially very popular. Another movie, "Bell, Book and Candle" (Kim Novak, Jack Lemmon) also showed the siamese as the perfect pet (for witches!).
And darn Disney! The Disney people have since deleted the siamese cat song from their movie. They say it is racist which it definitely is, but, oh, how it portrays the naughtiness of the breed absolutely perfectly.
My siamese passed away a few years' back. Loved you, StarGirl -
Hi there
The powers-that-be are mumbling about how Wellingtonians should be conserving water, what with the summer heat, and naughty house residents using water hoses.
I remember about ... oh, ten years ago (?) the city council, during a water shortage, took the nozzles out of the showers at Hataitai Beach. I hope they've forgotten about what they did way back then -
The changing rooms have been renovated since the above picture.
