Kitten Spam

So, we got a kitten! (ducking to avoid the onslaught of LoveCat squeeees) 

We already have a cat. And a dog. And ducks that think they are dogs. And many chickens. And quails. And several kinds of fish. And kakarikis and budgies. And lots of (lovely, green) snakes that have been let go in our big backyard by my snake catcher husband.

But we've been hoping to add a kitten to the mix for some time. We have room. We have love. We have primary-aged kids who would be over the moon to know a cat from kitten age up.

As things tend to happen in our house, in the end it happened rather suddenly.

Last weekend my husband went to buy some birdseed from a Pet Barn only to find they had a couple of adorabubble RSPCA kittens ready to adopt. When he bent down to have a look at one, the other patted him on the head.  "Hey, look at me!"

So he sent me a video. Oh, baby, that little girl was cute!  Creamy and grey, with Cleopatra eyes.  No question she belonged in our animal-adoring home.

The kids thought we were buying dog food when we took them in to see her the next day. The joy - oh my the joy! - when they finally believed us when we said we were bringing her home.

Then to the name. We went through Glimmer, Errol, Lunar. Bianca came close. In the end we all loved April. (A nice match for our black cat, Friday.) So April she is.

Friday is wary but doing great. Tonight they slept on the back of the same couch. Our dog, Cookie, looooooves her. They are great mates. Seriously. It's the sweetest thing. As for the rest of the menagerie? She'll meet them in time.

Till then, there'll be plenty of Kitten Spam on my Facebook and Instagram!

A new addition......

I absolutely, categorically adore my pets. My hubby and I have two cats, three dogs and several horses. And a couple of weeks ago we adopted another horse. Her name is Roxy and she's just beautiful.

After an unsuccessful stint as a racehorse, due to injury, she's now part our of little herd.

 

Along with my 30 year old golden girl Sharnah ......

 

 

And my beautiful boy Zeb......

 

As for the dogs.....here they are, keeping hubby company as he works on his car restoration project (He is restoring an old Holden FJ ute)

 

As for the cats.....here's Candy doing what she does best.....sleeping.

 

And Oscar, doing what he does best.....tormenting the dogs.

 

Over the years I've other additions.....a bird named Curly, a mini pony called Chloe, a house cow named Ginger, a pair of goats called Milly and Billy, a duck called Doc (That I used to take for a walk on a lead) And a list of other dogs and cats that are now at rainbow bridge.

 

I haven't had a Lama, a miniature donkey or a pig yet.....but who knows what the future holds?

 

Do you have a hankering for a certain kind of pet? A poodle? A pony? A python?

 

Oh, and here's a another picture of Boss....the most awesome dog ever.

 

 

Moving to Acreage and the Great Pet Challenge

In two months time, our family will be moving to 5 acres.  We have never lived on acreage before and quite frankly, I’m a little nervous.  The maintenance.  The wildlife. The snakes!!! 

My husband and I are not DIY handy (do we own a hammer?) and both have brown thumbs, but this is our last ditch attempt to get the kids outside before we lose them to adult life (and the constant battle against the allure of computers and the cyber world). Basically, I plan to throw them outside, lock the door and ensure they enjoy the outdoors until tea-time (well maybe not exactly like that).

I’m determined to have a veggie garden but am already being mocked by my extended family who don’t think I will be able to produce one living thing.  My ten-year-old is very keen to make a productive veggie plot, so I will persevere until we produce something edible.

Toffee the Cavoodle

The kids also want to extend our pet collection.  Our current pet, Toffee the Cavoodle, lives a highly

pampered life on a big deck by the sea so I don’t know how she will cope with the great outdoors.  We are going to have to be vigilant against ticks.

With so much space on offer, the children believe we should add a few more creatures to the family.  I like the idea of ducks. Apparently they waddle around your veggies giving productive manure without scratching up all the plants.  The kids have dreams of alpacas, llamas, donkeys, goats, sheep and guinea pigs. My husband has plans for no such thing.

I told the kids they would have to put forward a compelling case to their father if they wanted any new family additions. 

So, do you have any ideas for appropriate pets and what might convince a pet-reluctant man to capitulate?

Once Upon A Bride.....win a copy!

My latest release for Harlequin Special Edition, Once Upon A Bride, recently hit the shelves and I’d like to share an excerpt and give away a copy to one commenter – either paperback or ebook – winners choice.

I often have animals in my books and in Once Upon A Bride the hero and heroine begin their fraught relationship by watching over her brother's needy French Mastiff for a week while her brother is on his honeymoon.

Here’s the cover and blurb  -

When Gabe Vitali escapes to a fresh start in Crystal Point, Australia, the former physician isn't looking for a storybook ending. For the first time he's living in the moment. His new five-year plan does not include serious relationships. But he doesn't anticipate his unavoidable next-door neighbor…and an undeniable attraction.

Bridal consultant Lauren Jakowski wants marriage. She's just sworn off love and sex! To avoid getting burned again, she's looking for safe and forever-after. But they're not Gabe's to give–for reasons he can't share with anyone, least of all this pretty complication.

Gabe and Lauren don't figure on a fairy tale. But fate has other plans…. 

(She’s just arrived at his house to pick up her brother’s dog)

  “Are you coming inside or do you plan on camping on my doorstep all night?”

  “All night?” she echoed, mortified that color was creeping up her neck. The idea of doing anything all night with Gabe Vitali took the temperature of her skin, her blood and pretty much every other part of her anatomy up a few notches. “Of course not.”

  He dropped his arms to his sides and stepped back.

  Lauren crossed the threshold and walked into the hall. He was close, and everything about him affected her on a kind of sensory level. As much as she didn’t want to admit anything, she was attracted to him. And worse luck, he knew it.

  Her vow of celibacy suddenly seemed to be dissolving into thin air.

  She walked down the short hallway and into the huge, open-plan living area. The furniture looked new and somehow out of place in the room. And sure enough, on the rug in front of the sofa, was her brother’s one hundred and fifty pound French Mastiff, Jed. Fast asleep and snoring loudly.

  “Thanks for picking him up from my brother’s place,” she said as politely as she could. “When       Cameron called this morning, he said the housesitter had left quickly.”

  He nodded. “Her daughter is having a baby. She took a flight out from Bellandale after lunch and said she’d be back in a week.”

  Lauren bit down on her lip. “A week?”

  “That’s what she said.”

  A week of dog-sitting. Great. As much as she liked Jed, he was big, needy, had awful juicy jowls and a reputation for not obeying anyone other than Cameron. Too bad her parents had a cat that ruled the roost, or she would have dropped him off there. She had to admit the dog seemed comfortable draped across Gabe’s rug.

  She looked around some more. “So…you’ve moved in?”

  “That was the general idea when I bought the house,” he replied.

  Lauren’s teeth ground together. “Of course. I hope you’ll be very happy here.”

  She watched his mouth twist with a grin. “You do? Really?”

  “Really,” she said and raised a disinterested brow. “Be happy, or don’t be happy. It’s nothing to do with me.”

  His blue eyes looked her up and down with way too much leisure. The mood quickly shifted on a whisper of awareness that fluttered through the air and filled up the space between them. A change that was impossible to ignore, and there was rapidly enough heat in the room to combust a fire.

Warmth spread up her neck. He had a way of doing that to her. A way of heating her skin. “I need to…I need…”

  “I think we both know what you need.”

  Sex…

  That’s what he was thinking. Suddenly, that’s what she was thinking, even though turning up on his doorstep had nothing to do with her lacking love life or her vow to stay celibate. Lauren’s cheeks burned, and her knees trembled. “I don’t know what—”

  “You don’t like me much, do you?” he asked, cutting her off with such calm self-assurance, she wanted to slug him.

  “I’m not—”

  “Or is it because you do like me much?” he asked, cutting her off yet again. “And that’s why you’re so rattled at being in my living room.”

  Conceited jerk! Lauren sucked in some air, pushed back her shoulders and called Jed to heel. By the time the dog got up and ambled toward her, she was so worked up she could have screamed. She grasped Jed’s collar and painted on a smile. “Thank you for collecting him from Cameron’s.”

  “My pleasure.”

  Pleasure? Right. Not a word she wanted to hear from him. Not a word she wanted to think about in regard to him. And when she was safely back in her own home, Lauren kept reminding herself of one thing…Mr Right was not Mr Right-Next-Door.

Have you ever read a book where the pets played a memorable role within the story? 

Leave a comment and I'll draw a winner tomorrow. 

My Favourite Things......

By Helen Lacey

I was talking to a friend the other day about things we cherished – things that made us smile, laugh or simply feel good. Like family and friends, our pets, that holiday of a lifetime, the sound of rain on a tin roof. So I had a thought about what were my five favourite things and came up with this list (I’ve left family off this list since that’s a given)

1/ Friends …. This is my writing group and we've been together for 23 years. We don’t get together as much as we used to since we all in different places at the moment, but we catch up as often as we can and have become firm friends. From left - Lesley Millar, Laura O'Connell, Me, Helen Bianchin, CC Coburn & Louise Cusack. 

2/ My horse Zeb…..we’ve been together for six years and I love him to pieces.

3/ The shoreline where I live…..I live on the east coast of Australia at the most southern point of the Great Barrier Reef and it’s a beautiful spot. I never tire of walking my dogs along the beach.

4/ My collectibles….. I love fine china and I collect pink glass. I just love scouring antique stores and yard sales for pink pieces. Here's a pic of some of my little treasures. 

5/ Books....I love books! Particularly category romance books. I read my first Mills & Boon novel when I was eleven...there were two I read and I was hooked - Bride At Whangatapu by Robyn Donald and Winds Of Enchantment by Rosalind Brett. Since then I've read hundreds and here is a picture of a some of my all time favourites. 

So, what’s on your list? 

Vicarious pets

by Emmie Dark

Unfortunately, one of the downsides of all the travel that I do is that I simply can't justify having a pet of my own. The poor thing would be in kennels or with babysitters more often than it would be with me, and I just don't think that's fair. But the upside is that I have lots of vicarious pets! They might not know it, but all my friends' pets belong a little bit to me too. :)

So when a friend of mine announced on the weekend that she'd adopted a new black kitten from the shelter and called him Samson, it wasn't long before I was quickly asking, "When will Samson be taking visitors?"

Lucky for me, Samson was pretty keen for visitors, even if he was a little bit shy at first.

Visitor? What visitor? I'm snuggled here with some milk, and
I'm not overly fussed with anyone else.

Samson was bought to be a companion for Audrey, a lovely little kitten (also from a rescue shelter) who gets a bit lonely during the day when her mama's at work. Although we're sure Samson and Audrey are going to be the best of friends eventually, their first couple of days together have been a little bit fraught. Audrey, like any older sister with a new baby in the house, is quite put out that she's no longer the centre of attention. (For most of the time I was there, she sulked in the bedroom.)

When I visited Audrey when she first came home, she was the most curious cat I've ever known. Not only did she have no problems with cuddling up to stranger, she was off exploring every corner and crevice of her new home. And that little toy mouse I'd brought as a present? It didn't stand a chance.

No hiding under the sofa for Audrey. "Now I've got you, mouse! "

Samson is quite different. We know from the shelter that he was found at the back of a fast-food outlet, scavenging. So it's understandable he might be a little wary of people. While he was comfortable snuggling with his new mama, he wasn't in the least interested in exploring his home. And that big sister of his? Eek, she's a little scary.

I have a mama? And a sister? It's all a bit much for a little kitten to take in...

After he snuggled for a while, he went to his favourite place--under the sofa. Audrey is too big to fit under there now, so he was safe and could have a little time-out from the overwhelming new environment. And given that's he's completely (and beautifully, fluffily) black, when I peered under the couch, all I could see was a couple of little eyes staring back at me. Not scared, not frightened. Just taking it all in. In his own time. While Audrey is a little actress, Samson is more of a thinker. 

I'll just sit right here for now.

Welcome Samson, to the menagerie of Emmie's vicarious pets. I know that once you get settled you're going to feel right at home.

Travelling with Animals

Okay, some might say that travelling with certain friends or family members is like travelling with animals! Not that I would of course. Mine are very civilised.

As you can see by these of photos, my post was inspired by someone I saw recently. Before you wonder, no, I wasn't driving the car at the time. I was a front seat passenger and for a change I had my camera with me just at the right time! Isn't this pooch cute?

It got me thinking about how we don't like to leave our furred family members behind. I've seen middle-aged men cycling down suburban streets while their dog runs alongside, probably keeping the pace slow so their 'master' can keep up. I've seen tiny, tiny dogs in the baskets of push bikes. I've seen a teenager hoon along the bike path not far from us, standing on a skateboard while pulled along by his cattle dog.

Admittedly I've only seen a dog in a handbag on a film, but I have seen a small canine head poking out of a backpack.

I've met people out walking in Europe, with their ferret draped around their shoulders, taking the air together. Also in Europe, I recall walking into cosy German pubs on cold days to find half the space under the table taken up by a snoozing dog.

I can't recall seeing anyone travel with a cat, except to the vet, but I'm sure it happens.

How about you? How do you cope with leaving your furred family members or don't you? Have you had adventures travelling with them? What's the strangest way you've seen a pet travel? Maybe you have an interesting animal travel experience to share. Or if you've never travelled with an animal, maybe you've encountered an interesting one on a trip.

Because it's a miserable winter's day here as I write I've decided it's time to spread some cheer. I'll give a signed copy of UNDONE BY HIS TOUCH, my current release, to someone who leaves a comment. I'll post the winner's name here before the next post goes up so do look out for that announcement.