RIP Ben

A few days ago a sweet little kitty was hit by a car. He died instantly. Even though his life was short, it was filled with love and adventure. Ben was adored by his family and friends and will be greatly missed.

Top cat

Our very cute little kitty cat turned one this week. He has grown a bit, well quite a lot actually, but he remains as cute and playful as ever (although we would prefer it if he were a bit more affectionate).

Ben got special cat food treats for his birthday and we celebrated with cat cup cakes.

Happy Birthday Ben!!

Remember, remember the 5th of November

Guy Fawke's Day (GFD) is not something that appears on the Aussie festive calendar as the sale of fireworks for private use was outlawed in the 70s. NZ on the other hand, does not share the same safety concerns. Perhaps they should but I won't debate that here because for me, GFD means one thing only – fireworks!

Last year we missed the boat not being sure of how the whole thing works. You see, you can only buy fireworks for the four days leading up to GFD. Little stalls pop up everywhere and that's where you get your gear. People obviously take advantage of it and stock up because you keep hearing them go off for days, even weeks after GFD.

Last Saturday we joined some friends, each with our own supply of explosives, for our own not-so-little fireworks display. The kids, lined up on their little seats and bean bags (at a safe distance), thought it was awesome. As each one was set up, the crowd paused and took in the neighbours display. Being the responsible adults that we are, no one was hurt although there may have been a few scared dogs in the neighbourhood. Sorry poochies.

When we finished burning off our fireworks, we had boxes and boxes of sparklers to hand out. Interestingly, sparklers are considered fireworks here and therefore the same rules apply to their sale, just like all other fireworks, whereas in Australia they can be bought all year round. I guess that's the consolation prize for not being allowed the big guns!

Dog days are over

Sad but true. I can say with some confidence, these holidays will forever be known in our house as the Dog Holidays. We spent three and half weeks in Australia visiting family and friends and there was a resident dog at every house. In no specific order, they were:

Charlie (again–after a bath)


Otto


Max


Jack (not your best side Jack–sorry)


and Eddie


Sorry Chester, we didn't get any photos of you :(

The girls have become real dog lovers. Geez, there was even an outing to the RSPCA and Ava took heaps of photos but I'll spare you this time!