Today you are two years old. We celebrated with a stinky meatcake and lots of scratches. Pepper, I love the way that you stretch out beside me when we take a nap together, your expert bug catching, and the little trills you make when you jump up on things. Mint, I love your clicks when you spot a light on the ceiling, your sleepy belly, and the way that you stand up on two feet to grab your treats. Happy Birthday to the Kitten Sisters, thank-you for joining our family and filling every day with Supercute.
One of our major renovation works for the past five months has been upgrading the spare room. First, we have removed the 1960′s wallpaper, which had been painted over repeatedly. We then washed down all the walls, filled the holes, and then made a trip to Brico to request new paint in broken French. One coat of primer on the walls and ceiling, two coats of eucalyptus Levi wall pain, two coats of white Levi ceiling paint, one trip to Ikea, a clock from San Marino, items from etsy, and we are nearing completion.
Some people have also asked about my current progress. For them, I have put together a short montage below:
We brought a new friend home from France. He is a chien du coupe froid (cold-stopping dog), who is working valiantly to frighten away the icy drafts that try to sneak in underneath our kitchen door. With temperatures predicted to range from from -6°C to -13°C (21 to 8.6 F) on Thursday, we’re going to need all the help we can get to stay safely snug.
Adrian has been away from his girls for nearly two weeks, in Cuba and the USA for conferences. We are all glad that he has returned safe and sound. I watched the live status updates for all his flights, and I was always relieved when I got a message telling me that he had checked into his hotel. His luggage arrived a day late, but when it did he pulled out a sack of gifts for all of us.
He brought me home a snug purple scarf, luxury socks, some French Grammar study cards, and cute photos of puppies from his travels.
Little Peppermint were treated to a Purrfect Feather Cat Toy and a catnip-filled bird, as well as plenty of treats. Adrian was concerned that I had trained them not to eat people food as well as to wait quietly while their food was served. Now that he is back and spoiling them, they seems to be drifting back into her old bad habits. All his girls are happy to have him home again.
Two Australian scientists who emigrated to Belgium, and are enjoying the charms and challenges of living in Europe. We were joined in our adventures by our kittens Pepper and Mint in 2009, followed by our son Hayden in 2011. Most of the time, Adrian takes the photos and Lydia writes the words. Adrian's blog can be found here. We can be contacted at
Entries (RSS)