April catch up

So April saw Buster going outside for the first time.  Oh this little boy has my heart now, yes it took a while.  What if we opened the door and he never came back!!??   So one sunny afternoon we just left the back door slightly ajar.  Well he stood with two front paws out and two back paws in for an absolute age not knowing quite what to do.  Then the look of discovery on his little face was a joy to behold.  He never ventured beyond the back door porch area mind you for about the whole month, just happy to sit and enjoy the breeze or he ventured as far as the cars in the driveway.  Always coming back when called (or when the biscuit bag was shaken) !!

Meanwhile Buster and Lucky were getting on like a house on fire.  Every now and then Lucky will give a growl, but for the most part he's just happy to have a best mate again.   Even when Buster is trying to wake him up to play.

Excuse the blurry shot here but it must be shown.  I was aghast when I woke one morning to find this, they were even sleeping in the bed together.  I aimed in the dark, hence the blur.

Buster, you are busted !!! 

Mike spent a bit of time in the studio during the month.  Some paintings made it past the half way mark.  Some were trashed.  A couple were finished.  YAY !

Meanwhile my training was ramping up with the 23km GOR in May.  With day light savings now finished, bah to that!  I ended up doing early morning runs.  Weather was still okay so I'd be out there at 5am running laps, with my awesome head torch.   Love my light up reflective shirt, I call it my disco shirt!!  I tell you you could see me from the moon with my flashing bands around my ankles and reflective gear.  Don't let the black shirts fool you.

 

Seems to be a 'thing' with us now, Easter saw us go climb another mountain, this time the beautiful Mount Abrupt just out of Dunkeld.  I'd done it once before, but Mike hadn't.  We got to try out the new walking sticks we got, they were great.

How's this for magnificent.

Righto Mike, yes you made it to the top!  

He was pretty jazzed.

  

Proof that I got there too.

And look at the magnificent view from the top.  Magic!

So worth the climb.

I also rejoined Aths Club for the winter season, 

so got to run with my running friends again.

I say "with" figuratively!  They are way faster than me!  ;-)

April done, on to May.

March catch up

Back to catch up on March with more gratuitous kitten pics, although the kitten is getting bigger.  Buster Q has really settled in, looks rather comfortable in his plush new bed too I might add.

Oh to be a kitten with not  a care in the world

He looks rather relaxed doesn't he?

We tried for a family photograph.

I don't know what we were thinking.

It was never going to happen.

This is as best that we got.

Lucky had been suffering from allergies and grass seeds, apparently it was a bad season for dogs in our town, so we booked him in for a hair cut.  Oh dear.  He doesn't look impressed.  It only marginally stopped the scratching.  He looks like quite a different dog.

But at least peace was reigning supreme in the house.

Buster probably thought there was a whole new dog in the house!

Mike and I decided to go up Mt Noorat. 

Well for me it was a training run, hills!  Get some strength in the legs.

For Mike he wanted to take some pics.

However some kind strangers took this one in front of the crater.

Yes it is a volcano.  

My training run had me jumping for joy.  

There are electric fences and narrow pass throughs (to stop the cows from getting out.  Plus some climb over areas too (kind of like a stye).  It's a great walk around the crater, an amazing view from the top, and really windy up there too.  So lovely that this privately owned mount is open to the public to appreciate.

On the garden front Mike's grape vines started fruiting.

I think it's still going to be another year before the grapes taste nice and sweet though.

I went to a CWA craft day and was thrilled to make a three tiered cake plate.  It cost me all of about $8, op shop plates and the handle fitting.  So scary though drilling into the plates, how on earth they all don't break is beyond me.  It involved water and a diamond tip drill.

And I made this folded paper art book, whatever on earth it's called.  I gave it to mum and she loved it and thinks I'm super smart.  But I tell you, it was such a painful exercise for me to make this, all the measuring and folding, that as soon as I finished I threw the instructions away never to do it again.

And really March was pretty uneventful.  Some lovely Autumn evenings, long afternoon runs after work before day light saving finished.

February catch up

So February commenced and I received this amazing card from a scrapbooking friend Julie from the USA, she made it specifically for me.  Look it's Buster and Bo Bo.  She's even got Bo's distinctive light coloured stripe across her head.  Of course I cried bucket loads of tears.  Oh the kindness of people, a gesture like this means the world, I will treasure this card forever.

Then quite by accident during the month this happened...

We had still been keeping them apart then one day Mike accidentally opened a door,

Buster flew out, and they came face to face.

And they've been fine together ever since.

Buster continued to grow.  How quick do kittens grow !!!

   

Kittens aren't the only things that grow quickly.

Mr. Codan is now 1 year old!  How did that happen.

Flowers delivered to work for Valentines Day.    Everyone say ahhhhhh!  

Peace reigning supreme in the G House.

I did the 10km Bellarine Sunset Run, second year it's been run.

And oh just as much fun as the first year!

Again with a kick ass medal.

Beth and I ran together, soooooo much fun.

And at the end of the month Mike and I ran the Noorat to Terang.

Again V for Veterans.

I again protested, why not use R for Rock Star or S for Super Star.  Hmmmph.

Always one for a grand finish! 

 And lastly another gratuitous kitten photo for the month.

January catch up

So how to catch up on my blog being that we're already past half way in 2017.  How about a monthly catch up, it might be the easiest way.

So we finished 2016 on yet another loss in our lives when our beautiful Bo Bo girl passed away on New Years Eve.  We had started 2016 with the loss of Molly and ended 2016 with the loss of Bo Bo.  Then a few days into the year and this happened ...

We still hadn't had time to process the loss of Bo Bo and step-daughter number 2 turned up one evening after having driven 2 hours with this little bundle.  He and his siblings had been found in a car boot at the wreckers in the summer heat.  The call had gone out to find homes and ... well ... as much as we weren't ready, Mike has always said when a cat needs a home they will find you.  Looks like this little bundle had found us through my step-daughter.

It didn't take long for Mike to fall under his spell, I took a little longer.  We named him Buster Q.   He looks like a little Buster, don't you agree?  The vet placed him as about 6 weeks old, way too young to be without his mama cat, so Mike and I were surrogate parents and we had to bottle feed him the first week or so until he started chewing through the teets of the bottle.

       

And let's just say it took a LOT LONGER for poor Lucky to fall under his spell !

Oh boy we were in for some fun and games.

Lucky would get the whole crazy eyes and body shakes happening with Buster's tiny high pitched meow.  I think Lucky would have ripped his head off if he could.  If Lucky was out of the house, Buster could roam.  If Lucky was in the house we had to have one in one room, the other in another.  We halved the loungeroom with a wire fence, yes we got that desperate, until Buster learnt how to climb.


During the month Mike and I ran the Surf T Surf in Warrnambool.  I ran the 10km and Mike the 6km.  And we got to chat to the famous Steve Moneghetti, always a treat.  Feeling very proud running in our Aths Club shirts.

We dedicated our 16km total to Mike's Uncle Frank in Scotland

who is ill with cancer.  He was chuffed to wake up and see our photo on Facebook.

Although words of  "why run when you can drive missy" would ring in my ears.

In the meantime we had a very special visitor when Miss Aleyna came for a visit.  Already a month old and just as sweet as can be.  Grumpy was definitely under her spell.

  

During the month we could have both Lucky and Buster in the room together under a watchful eye and hand.  Still not able to have Buster roam around with Lucky on the loose.  Still some stressful times.

Stressful not just for us, but for Buster too - keeping a watch out for Lucky...

   

Mel and I had made it to the back page Sports section of the newspaper!

Woo hoo.  Always knew one day it would happen  ;-)  ha!

One might think we were running so far out in front with no other runners in sight.

Ummm, more like bringing up the rear!

And January saw Mike's veggie garden start to fruit, 

and soon we would be swimming in zucchini and tomatoes.

    

And that's a wrap for January!