Christmas Gift Guide For My Cat

I never thought I would ever be contemplating a gift guide for a cat ( a four legged whirlwind of destruction)

Currently I am tidying up after my cat ( again as the static from it's tail has attracted all the straw type packaging and every surface it brushes up against it is leaving a trail of mess everywhere)

Any gift guide for a cat has to include the box in which the item you've actually brought for your cat as cats and boxes are to coin a phrase


 "Tail as old as time  "

As much as boxes are fun I can’t boxes forever in my house although the other day I stopped my husband throwing away a box a cat liked ....

“The cat will be so sad if you throw look at his face he’s got tears in his eyes “

Possibly a overreaction on the part of my cat but you know there’s one diva in each family I think and that’s my cat he is such a drama llama. You can buy stuff for your cat but in your heart of hearts you know full well that they’re just going to sit in the box in which the item came but when your cat is bored of a box then I reccomdnd the Kickaroo which will send them loopy loo with delight and will delight for ages.

Roast Potatoes Chilli Shallots

Today in Claire’s kamikaze cooks we have Chilli shallot potatoes which is as easy as a penguin in a freezer.

Ingredients 

Shallots as many as you want ( did you know 3 shallot count as one of your 5 a day )

Crushed dried chilles as many you can handle 

Sliced potatoes 

Olive oil 2 tablespoon s or a little less

Method 

Preheat the oven to 200 c or thereabouts 

Slice the potatoes and par boil them or whack them in the microwave for a minute or 3

Mixed the crushed chilliest with the olive oil 

Peel the shallot s and roughly chop them 

Toss the shallots potatoes and olive oil in a oven dish making sure everything is covered and leave to cook for about 30 minutes.

Perfect with Gammon which is what I served it with ...

Owning A Cat Is The Biggest Inconvenience To My Life

Owning a cat is the biggest inconvenience to my life , it nags me for food , stalks me for ice cream and cake and stops me watching television amongest things.

You go into the kitchen to make a cup of tea and you discover that it has taken the kitchen roll like a zebra on the Serengeti, once  a rare and noble kitchen roll its hopes and dreams lay shredded on the kitchen floor.

Literally I’ve just had to step over my cat as it was watching me eat my tea at the table it just flops down and plays dead ....

But you know what owning a cat may be the biggest inconvenience in my life but you know what it is really one of the best. For saying I’m allergic to cats you would I’d avoid them but I’m a slave to their fluffiness domination. I’ve a little bit of a cat immunity as I grew up with cats , you see how cats plant themselves into your lives that is why I think cats really are trying to take over the world.

My AirBnB horror

My Airbnb horror .

It appears we had a double booking when we arrived at a rural chalet at a farm.

We went to see the owners and all seemed good , we settled in drank the tea ate the biscuits.we thought it was strange there were a couple of bags there but thought they were the owners ...

Imagine our surprise when at 8.45 pm to people cane through the patio doors bearing flowers vodka and other nibbles.

We were all taken aback and all showed our booking s on AirBNB 

So off we marched to the farm house in the dark to talk to the owners .

It appeared our booking had gone through and with Airbnb you don’t get the address till you have a booking.

But the other people’s booking it seemed was confirmed... on the owners end of AirBnb

Mystery it seems I hadn’t verified my details and Airbnb had emailed me to that affect but I hadn’t got the email.So my booking was cancelled.

I mean surely you should have to be verified before you make a booking ???!

As I can see this problem occurring else where !!

First time I’d used Airbnb and maybe the last !!🤣

Ps the owner had spoken to the other people on the phone and the chap had said he was with his girlfriend . I turn up and speak to the farmer and say I am with my husband...

This is why I think they thought we were wife swappers ...

I mean I enjoy nibbles but not that sort of nibbles ...

Thankfully we stayed in the farmhouse thanks to the owners ....

Hilarity and calamity seems to follow me ...

Travel Prices Hiked Up At Christmas

I thought I'd look at travel at Christmas time and of course the travel prices are really hiked up but luckily when I travelled to Rome this August , we traveled with BA and it was around £1100 for the 4 of us with a further 90 pounds in city tax which we paid in Rome .

So a cheap holidays by all accounts and I am really impressed with British Airways so far all airlines I am sure do have their problems but I haven't encountered any. So much did we enjoy Rome that we have booked to go to Venice this Christmas which I know is a crazy crazy time to go away as it the most chaotic high volume time to travel but c'est la vie.

I hadn't planned on us going to Venice but with the advent of the annoying  you have to claim PPI before August 2019 I thought I had better look into our household situation and I was glad I did as the money I got back has helped pay for Venice. Venice for 3 of us (adults is £879 ) including breakfast . I have just got to sort out the transfer s from Marco Polo airport to our hotel so I am just getting my head round that at the minute as Venice has a shed load of water round it !

I am anxious not to be caught up in the tourist trap side of Venice so I’m doing my research and asking around, have you got any tips for me in Venice ?