Telling The Weather By Cat

I judge the weather but only by doing the very British habit of looking out the window or more than likely through it as I can't find the window key.

I think the  window keys must be fronting a revolution with the lost socks and food lids(that's a whole new blog post makes mental note on back of hand to write that blog post ) 

Back to talking about our national pastime which is talking about the weather. I can tell who the weather is going to be like by my cats , granted you are not going to see the weather person saying



"The cat is curled up in the bed so the temperatures will be a  colder than Game Of Thrones , I would stay at home instead and be productive"

You see if both cats are in there the weather is really cold you're are going to need your winter coat, scarf and of course a bobble hat.


If Rollie is in and Jack(black cat)  is out then the weather is changeable and take every weather aid you can think of including an umbrella also Rollie does like his fur getting cold believe me he is a very odd cat.



If the cats sneeze then it will probably rain ....


If Jack is in and Rollie is out then a storm is probably coming as Rollie does like to defy the weather at times.



Disclosure You won't be seeing the cat weather forecast on anytime soon. > but you never know

SureFeed Sealed Pet Bowl The Review

I would have written this earlier but I was bust requesting car pet samples in order to cover a hole that Rollie has made in the front room for no apparent reason, it could have easily spend the door with its paw but no , it could have indeed been vocal to perhaps alert one of its staff to open the door * staff=me ( but no it didn't do that either . Instead Rollie  got cross and created a bit of a hole which will no need repairing * big sigh.


Rollie has a bit of a history with carpets which you can read about here.





There is  a new cat bowl in town * drum roll please!

The SureFeed Sealed Pet Bowl is a daily use feeder designed to keep wet food fresh, reduce odours and keep flies off the food. It opens when a pet approaches and is suitable for cats and small dogs. Keeps wet food fresher for longer by sealing in moisture, it prevents flies from contaminating food. Uses infra-red sensors to detect a pet approaching the bowl. Rollie has reviewed a Sureflap product before in the shape of a catflap which you can read about here.


Sure Flap are a great company to work with and as such I wouldn't write about them if I didn't whole heatedly believe in their products and more importantly the cats give they them their paw of approval. 


There is a training mode you can use with the SureFeed Sealed Pet Bowl in order to get your cat used to the feeding process , but as Rollie is a bit of a diva we just decided to dive right in. As Rollie does everything on his own terms you 'll see from this you tube video that Rollie had no problems using the bowl. And right on cue after doing a star performance he decided to try and boycott eh new bowl on and off but I stood firm and didn't let with Rollie or Jack sway how I was going to introduce the bowl to them as they do work as a bit of a double act to be as awkward as only as cats can be . 

We've all been there they want to go out the front door only to come back in 30 seconds later!


And this bowl is brilliant for my cats who don't partake in segregated feeding PS don't even suggest that to them as no doubt they will just had it to the list of their ever increasing diva demands.


So I and the cats honestly recommend this bowl and look forward to the other innovative products that SureFlap will bring out .. I am hoping a cat door bell isn't one of them!




Rollie and Jack were sent this cat bowl and their thought and opinions are their own  as our mine. I must rush Jack wants to go out the front door again.

No One Owes Me A Bean

I thought no one owes me a bean on the Internet , and I wish for simplicity at times , I wish at times I was borrowing Spectrum games from my friends ( mostly boys ) . A sudden realisation has come over me that I was in the in crowd ( but my in crowd was the out crowd and I never really fitted in at school )  , cycling round at break neck speed to borrow the latest game from one of my friends . Leaving my Mother wondering where the hell I was , bearing in mind this was the age before the age of the mobile fun so she rang every single boy on my Spectrum 48k list till she found me . If I had been in the pouty girl group this of course would have further dented my street cred . I was the girl with the bicycle the one that had 10 gears So I could whizz here and everywhere and it was my beloved Raleigh Wisp and it was a racer, the boys though how dear a girl have a 10 gear speed racer bike.

Sadly I no longer have my beloved bicycle but I do miss it greatly.

But I wasn't one of  the pouty girls I did like my music like AHA and a splattering of Duran Duran and so forth but I was very independent , that's not to say at times I didn't try and blend in but much to the horror of my mother I was up trees and jumping out of ground floor windows at Church youth club. I was the bespeckled girl living on a council estate going to the posh school ( an ex grammar school built for baby boomers) so just getting to school I was running the gauntlet from the kids on the estate going to the school of hard knocks. I was the one wandering along with my Latin book in hand pondering if I should cut through danger alley as I was running late for school . Staying individual is very much key to my survival at school and yes I was bullied like there was no normal but my bullies didn't define me.


I remember going to the Post Office to pay some money into my savings account and the lady in the post office pointing at the way I had written number 7 in the continental style saying

"What the hell is that  ?"


I remember saying


"That is my style and that is all that matters "



We can led our bad times drag us down and I hope people get more help nowadays I did get some help in my time but my individuality certainly helped , I defined myself .


Let no one define who you are .




Patience is indeed a great venture and good things come to those who wait ) except my cat who decided to get cross with the carpet again but that is a blog post for another day .

Patience was learnt through waiting for my Spectrum games to load it was the digital version of Russian roulette and the world was yours if the game did indeed load.




My name is Claire dedicated defier of Fashion



GOSH how forward was I .. indeed how forward I still am !

Silent Countryside

Slow Cooker Gammon With Sweet Potatoes

Finally it's Spring ! lighter days make my soul shine , it's been a mild winter . We are just chalking up to double digits in the temperature stakes which I'm loving. I've even got the outdoor furniture out but the next day it rained ! There has been more good days than bad ones and even then I've my beloved cup of tea . I think tea must be one of the words that I use most often and I get very cranky if I can;t have a cup of tea , I do take my favourite tea bags abroad with me.

You might think that a slow cooker is just for Winter but I don't think it is , a slow cooker is a brilliant helping hand in the kitchen , especially useful for the days when we are busy running around here there and everywhere.

Ingredients 

Gammon joint 

Pack of small sweet potatoes

Method 

In your slow cooker pour in about 3 cups of hot water.

2 Tablespoons of brown sugar 

A joint of Gammon 

Switch the slow cooker on low and least for at least 6 hours .

Make sure the water covers the sweet potatoes, I used a pack of small sweet potatoes.

You'll find that sweet potatoes have held together.

Prepare the additional vegetables that you want to accompany your meal .

Once everything is ready switch the slow cooker off 

Carve the gammon 

And then plate everything up .