Nora the Pianist

Jackie Got Caught

From: Ju's Little Sister [mailto:######@gmail.com]

Sent: Thursday, 1 May 2008 6:37 p.m.
To: '####@nzfrogs.org'
Subject: Frog ID

Hi,

I found this wee kung fu master in my house on Wednesday night. I suspect my cat brought him/her in.

I tried your ID chart, but couldn’t really be confident as to which kind of frog had visited me. As far as I could tell the frog was pretty much 60mm in length which didn’t help much with the greater than / less than comparison. It’s certainly the largest specimen I have ever encountered!

I managed to use a plastic container to return Jackie Chan to the small lot of native bush behind my house, but wondered if you would be able to spare a moment to let me know which frog I have encountered?

Also, I have locked the cat door to allow Jackie a clean get away, just in case.

Thank you for your time,

Sarah.

-----Original Message-----
From: froginfo [mailto:####@nzfrogs.org]
Sent: Tuesday, 3 June 2008 5:39 p.m.
To: 'Ju's Little Sister'
Subject: Re: Frog ID

Hi [Ju's Little Sister]

Your Jackie Chan was Litoria aurea - the green and golden bell frog - hope you
gave your chat a good chastising!?

Phil

-----Original Message-----
From: Plumpy [mailto:plumpy.prouting@gmail.com]
Sent: Wednesday, 4 June 2008 5:39 a.m.
To: '####@nzfrogs.org'
Subject: Litoria aurea

Hi Phil.

I have developed an interest in the local wildlife around my home as I often hear some beautiful music at night but until now have not known what sort of creatures made these wonderful songs. I have recently encountered the lovely green and golden bell frog, and through extensive research of my own I have even learnt its latin name - Litoria aurea. This is such an interesting creature and I find myself fascinated by its song, its appearance and the interesting way it jumps rather suddenly when you touch its tail.

Would you be able to send me some more information? I would be interested in its day and night-time habits, choices of habitat, the food it eats, and the best way to observe one in its natural environment. Especially how to find one without it knowing you are there, just so that I can see how it really lives. Because apparently they aren't allowed to live behind washing machines or in shoes. That's what Mum says anyway.

Thank you for your help.

Plumpy.

Techno Mantis

The filming isn't very good, because Mum's no good. But T-Rex isn't the only guy around here with musical friends.



It's a pity he got away, Mum sent it out the door.

Something's Not Quite Right Here

A Present from Kiwi Mother

Kiwi Mother gave me a cup. It has a picture of me, AND Scaredy on it!!! I'm not so sure about being called Fat, though. That's a bit unfair.

Now we're getting flash!

Here's our latest creation!

The lighting was horrid when I filmed this, and as Plumpy mentioned earlier we have an awful motion picture recording facility so I apologise for the yukky quality. Nevertheless we worked hard at this with fading scenes and all!

Plumpy chose the soundtrack!

So prepare for: PLUMPY PROUTING AND HIS CATNIP PARROT

Plumpy gets Plumpier...

Keep Scratching, Please!

Hello all!

Finally Mum has found the time to help me out with my next post. We are sitting in the living room and lots of sun is streaming through the doorway. Mum has opened up the large glass sliding door to let some air into the house but there is no breeze. There are a lot of cicadas chirrupping though. I am HOT!

I needed help for this blog because it is a video she took and I don't know how to get videos working. Mum only has a normal digital camera, so when she takes moving pictures with it they don't come out very clear. So sorry that the picture isn't any good.
Also, it's completely UN-edited, so the sounds and music you hear were playing at the time, it hasn't been added for extra effect. We don't know how to do that yet.

Anyway, here's my first ever video:



Did you all know Scaredy has his own blog now? It's here.

What was Christmas?

I'm sorry I haven't posted. Mum left me for the holidays and she took her computer with her. I am being looked after by Stace which is hard because she and I don't like each other very much. But we're getting there. Do you like my festive picture friends?

But really, this is what my Christmas was like;

I can't use the computer much until Mum comes home with hers, so I'm sorry that I haven't had time to read everyone's blogs and comment on them. Merry Christmas Scaredy and the Ladies - I hope yours were better than mine. Love Plumpy

Plumply R. Prouting (Esq.)
Dean's House
Auckland
New Zealand


To my most dearest fans and readers - and the rest.

I regret to inform you of the untimely death of my mother, who was only twenty four years old at the time of her demise.

The police inquiry finally (after much deliberation) declared the death an accident, despite what they called 'suspicious chewing' marks on the brake lines of her car. Eventually this was attributed to poor maintenance and an underfed cat.

Join with me, friends, and mourn for the monster who dared publicly display that which she did not have permission to publish.

All condolences to be donated please to your nearest Cats Protection League or SPCA.

Thank you,

Plumpy.

Take that Photo...

... and i KILL you

Someone has to do it

Mum won't put me on a pedestal,

So I found one for myself

It's All Mum's Fault!

Hello everyone.

Look, I know you all think I've been rotten and selfish and ignoring you but it's just not true!

Mum took the computer away and Dean wouldn't let me use his! Dean has done a really good job of feeding me, he's much more reliable than Mum! But there was mention of something called a 'feeding chart' and he had to cross things off when he'd fed me so he knew where he was up to. I didn't think this was nessesary because *I* would have told him when it was time to feed me. Mum gave him all sorts of unnessesary warnings like "Plumps will pretend he's hungry when he's really not."

After a couple of days Mum still hadn't come home. She might not be as good as Dean at feeding me, but his cuddles just aren't the same. I really started to miss her. I missed Elbi too, and couldn't even TALK to her 'cos Mum had the stupid computer. And now I hear she's been flirting with someone else. Oh well I suppose that is the price an ex-tom must pay for not being attentive enough. Though I am sure I could show her why she should come back to me.

So I went on a bit of a hunger-strike and by the time Mum came home she accused Dean of over feeding me because there was so much left in my bowl.

But Mum is home now. And while she's up doing the ironing I have managed to get onto the blog all by myself. I reckon she'll be telling you all about her weekend away - but not till I've caught up on cuddles.

Love, Plumpy.

Leave Me Alone Mum!

Can't you see I'm busy?

Photo Journal!!

What's this? Mum has finished with the phone!

Hey Scaredy! Scaredy! Hey, should I make some international phone calls while she's not looking??

Oh, Hi Mum!! Um, no of course I wouldn't do that to you - I was only kidding!

Who cares about the camera - that hand better be coming back here where it can give me a good scratch!

Yes that's right - you should be cuddling me, not embarrassing me in front of my friends!

Tagging Tagging

I am very excited. Lorenzo the Llama tagged Mum and she was going to follow the rules exactly, but after some serious reconsideration (prompted by yours truly) she has agreed that I would do better!


So here goes!

Rules of this tag:
1. Name the person with link who tagged you.
2. Complete the questionnaire without changing the questions.
3. Tag 6 or more people.



Q1. Are you happy/ satisfied with your blog, with its content and look? Of course I am. My blog is one of the best. Especially when my best friend Scaredy and the girls drop in for a visit.

Q2. Does your family know about your blog? Mum knows about it, but she's only really allowed to read it when I'm too ill to write up a post for myself.

Q3. Do you feel embarrassed to let your friends know about your blog or you just consider it as a private thing? Why would I write about my life on the internet if I didn't want anyone to read it? That's what diaries are for. Not blogs. Silly.

Q4. Did blogs cause positive changes in your thoughts? My thoughts are perfect already. And now they include Scaredy, Mahou, Beeps, Elbi, Llamas and Raelha. These are positive things. Maalie likes birds, and so do I but for different reasons so that's not so good. On the whole though I think things are okay.


Q5. Do you only open the blogs of those who comment on your blog or you love to go and discover more by yourself? Sometimes Mum visits my friend's friends. But I'm too busy babysitting the sun, or keeping the couch warm to do too much on the internet. It's all about prioritising one's life.

Q6. What does visitors counter mean to you? Do you care about putting it in your blog? Mum has one on her blog. I already know where my friends live.

Q7. Did you try to imagine your fellow bloggers and give them real pictures? No. I have pictures of the girls and Scaredy, I have seen a picture of a llama. All humans look the same to me, and there's no way you can send smells over the internet yet.

Q8. Do you think there is a real benefit for blogging? Can you get food out of a blog yet?

Q9. Do you think that bloggers’ society is isolated from real world or interacts with events? Both of course.

Q10. Does criticism annoy you or do you feel it’s a normal thing? It is a normal thing for people to criticise. Anyone who criticises me is wrong, of course so it doesn't annoy me.

Q11. Do you fear some political blogs and avoid them? What is a political blog?

Q12. Did you get shocked by the arrest of some bloggers? Huh?

Q13. Did you think about what will happen to your blog after you die? Mum will turn it into a temple in memory of my life amongst the mortals.

Q14. What do you like to hear? What’s the song you might like to put a link to, in your blog? I like to hear the sound of Mum's car arriving in the driveway. I like to hear the sound of the biscuits pouring into the bowl and I like the sound of Mum inviting me onto her lap. Oh, and birds.

And I'm not going to tag anyone, because there is an obligation for them to answer the questions. Also - it is dinner time and I can't be bothered thinking of 6 people who haven't been tagged yet.

New Things

Today didn't start out very well. Mum is on night shift this week and that means I don't get fed breakfast until at least nine in the morning. Usually a lot later!

So I had to wait around for breakfast, with nothing to do but wait outside her bedroom door. The night before she had let me sleep in bed with her which is a big change. I made the most of it - I tried sleeping on both sides of her and on the pillow and on the other pillow and just on the edge of the covers too in case that was any different. I thought it was very comfortable but for some reason Mum didn't get a lot of sleep. Maybe that was why she didn't let me come back again last night. Anyway the reason the day was starting out so bad was because I didn't get fed a very good breakfast and then instead of apologising like she should have she ignored me! AND she kicked me off the computer so she could check her stupid emails.

And then the worst happened. Scaredy I know you will sympathise. She started talking about the V-E-T!!! And there is NOTHING WRONG WITH ME! Except of course that I'm not being fed enough. It happened suddenly, without warning. No cage hanging around looking innocent by the door. No towels for picking me up, and no long and lavishing cuddles as she told me how sorry she was. One moment she was here. And then she was gone.

With out me.

I knew something was up! How dare she go visit Nicki without me? She knows I am Nicki's favourite, my Mum just can't be trusted. But I guess there is little I can do. Except claw her for it.
This left me stuck in the house with Stacey. Now, Stacey is okay. She and I get along. I mean - she gets along with her business over there, and I get along with my business over here and there is no reason for us to be on the same couch at the same time. I know that sometimes she wants to yell at me. She's not scared of Mum so I don't know why she doesn't. She does complain to Mum a lot. She thinks I have the most annoying meow in the world. Well you have the most annoying human voice Stacey!!! Also, Stace doesn't like the way I sharpen my claws. She thinks it is ruining her carpet. I ask her - "Well then why did you put it there for me in the first place?"

But Stace and I co-existed well enough until Mum came home again just over an hour later. I knew there was trouble when I saw how much stuff was in her arms. She lifted the first box out of the shopping bag. Out from the box came a strange flat rectangle which she placed on the tiles in the kitchen. She fiddled with it, then stood on it. It smelt interesting but I have to say her socks rather needed changing. It had intrigued me enough that I forgot to run when she bent down to pick me up and stand back on the new item again. "Hmmm," says Mum, " # kgs I see Plumpy. I don't think you've lost any weight at all!"
I don't think I like the rectangular thingy very much.

Mum took this downstairs and put it in the bathroom. This was of course one of her nasty little tricks which she pulls on me about eight or ten times a day. You see to get to the bathroom from the couches we pass by the washing machine which is where my food bowl lives. So she indicates quite clearly (by going down the stairs and to the washing machine) that she intends to feed me. Then she laughs at me cruelly when I go there too ready for my next meal. Sometimes she really winds me up!

Back up the stairs she goes and I follow, ready to show her by my silence exactly how annoyed I am with this behaviour. From the bag comes another box, and this one reveals an assortment of parts which require simple assembly. One thing I will say about Mum in her favour is that she is rather deft when it comes to assembling.

Here is a picture of what she made:

"It's for you Plumpy." She told me.

For me?

Just for me?

All mine?

I've never had anything that was just mine before. Except for the sleeping pig and my food bowl. And the litter tray I guess but they don't count. I didn't really know what to do with it though, so Mum got my old feather toy (which, I suppose, is all mine too) and we played about for a while. I noticed the post has a nice surface which might be fun to claw upon. It's not going to be very efficient at sharpening my carefully honed killing weapons however, so I might stick to using the carpet for that.

I was still a little uncertain about this new toy and what I was going to do with it when Mum brought out the real reason for going to the vet. As I said we had been playing together and we had settled down to a bit of a cuddle as I think she actually realised I wasn't too sure about this post thing (though I will say the blue furry base is quite cool). She was getting nice and deep into the hair on the back of my neck when BAM! That old stinging sensation that screamed of flea treatment. I hate that stuff! It's horrid.

Well congratulations Mum. You just ruined my day.

Around the House

Here's the outdoor spa pool. By regulation it has to be fenced in, or have less than 400mm of water in it. Dean emptied it to about 20cm, then it rained for two weeks. I used to drink out of it, but not any more.

At the old house, with Auntie Casey and Auntie Emma, there wasn't a cat door and they always put me outside when they went to bed at night. IT WAS SO SELFISH!
Auntie Casey did buy me a nice warm bed though. Here it is outside the new house. I don't use it anymore because Mum put it in a place that gets wet, and there's a special door for me anyway so I sleep on the couch at night.

YUK!
Stupid Diet.

This is Mum on the couch, posing for the camera and trying to look casual. Fool.
I was busy correcting her spelling for her.

This is a picture of a moment I always dread. Dean picked me up. It's not my most flattering side!

Updates and Apologies

Plumpy R. Prouting
Downstairs Bedroom
Mum's House
New Zealand

21 August 2007 (GMT + 12)

To the Cats, Llamas, Birds, and Humans who read my blog,

First I wish to apologise for my silence these last few weeks. I promised you an up-and-coming post and have failed to keep my promise. This is, of course, all Mum's fault. She has banned me from the computer for no reason at all. Further to this insult she has failed to play with me, cuddle me and even on occassion - to feed me. Certainly she will play with me sometimes, cuddle me sometimes, and feed me twice a day - even if it is not until after one o'clock in the afternoon - a full SEVEN HOURS after my breakfast is due! But this is not enough! And I am most seriously depressed.

Some of you have been asking after my health, which I appreciate very much thank you. Mum hasn't asked at all. One time she did say "What's going on now fatso?" but I don't think she was genuinely concerned. My state of health has very much recovered since the surgery (yes I can say it out loud). I miss my eye teeth very much of course but what can a cat do? "Eat dry old biscuits every day" seems to be the answer.
Scaredy - our plan not to ever eat the Science Diet did not work. Mother left me for A WEEK! SEVEN DAYS she was not in the house and The Other Ginge did not feed me anything but the new food. When Mum finally came home she was very very ill and I took pity on her. To make her life a little easier I decided to eat the new biscuits. What a mistake that was folks! Now they are all I am given. In the mornings I am so starving I am forced to gobble them too. I guess the quicker you eat them - the less you taste them. Mother does not appreciate the kindesses I bestow on her. Ungrateful little...well, human I suppose.

You will, no doubt, be wondering what I have been up to as you have been waiting patiently for news. Well, there are some interesting new parts of the house I have discovered. There is a cupboard by the oven. I cannot believe I missed this on the first inspection of the house. I am yet to get in there for a decent exploration but I assure you there will be a fill situation report as soon as I have it sorted. There is also a cupboard downstairs where the water cylinder lives. This is very dry and very warm. It is carpeted, dark, quiet and very very comfortable. I get in there whenever someone opens the door. Mum thinks she is punishing me by closing me in. "That will teach you!" She says. She claims she won't open the door until I have begged for ages to be let out, but I like it in there. She opens the door and chases me out long before I am ready to move! And of course the garage always needs exploring - it changes so often. It is also a dry place and has many interesting smells but it is colder than the house and I don't like being locked in there so much! One of the walls lifts into the ceiling, but it screams when it does so and I don't like that at all! I have sensitive ears!

At the moment I am sitting on Mum's lap and using the laptop. She is studying for her test on Friday, very vigilant of her. I wish she was studying the art of head-scratching. I better seal this off and post it before she sees.

Love to you all,

Plumpy.

A Message from Mum

Hello to you all,
Plumpy and I are both sorry that he hasn't been on the blog for a while but we have been fighting over cat-food and I told him he wasn't allowed on the computer until he ate at least half of his dinner which he has refused to do for quite a few days now. I paid $30 for 1.7kg of Hills Science Diet when I could have paid $12.95 for 1.5kg of his favourite Optimum (with Ocean Pilchards). But the more expensive food provides him with a nutritious and balanced diet which fills him up whilst not fattening him up, so the Hills remains.

Last week when we visited the "funny smelling place" Nicci informed me that Plumpy had bad teeth and he would have to come in again for full surgery - a clean and polish and possibly extraction. I would like to reassure Scaredy, Mahou, Elbi, Beeps and families that at no point was it ever suggested by Nicci or myself that ALL Plumpy's teeth would have to be removed.
By Saturday night/Sunday morning came around Plumpy had begun to sneeze, and although I was away for most of the day on Sunday playing hockey my flatmate (Uncle Dean, the other Ginge) informed me that Plumps had been most annoying - he didn't stop sneezing the whole time. Fortunately Plumpy was downstairs by his dinner plate refusing to eat Hills and didn't hear his uncle's loving comments. I am suspicious this was part of Plumpy's plot to escape. Do you know anything about this Scaredy?

Tuesday was the busiest night I have had in a long time and under a great deal of pressure to get all my chores done in time I managed to get Uncle Dean to the supermarket and Plumpy to the...erm, place... all in one fell swoop. Like all cats Plumpy is more than capable of making it perfectly clear exactly how he feels at any given time. I wish I could say he was angry and sulking at my brutal treatment of him but the truth is he was very scared and frightened and wanted very much for it all to just go away. If Dean wasn't with me at the time I may well have found myself in tears. Plumpy certainly was.

Nevertheless I signed the forms authorising Nicci to give him all the painkillers in the world at my cost and left him with the nice cat-lovers at the...ahem...place.
The house was very quiet without him and I was at a loss at 0600 the next morning when he wasn't screaming at me to feed him! BEFORE your shower thank you Mother!!!

At work the next day I was involved in helping another avionics corporal take a broken piece of motorised equipment down the flight line to the "Support Equipment Maintenance Flight" (more commonly known as SEMF), when one of the junior tradesmen came out to tell me I had a phone call in the flight line office.
"Get their name, I'll call them back." Says I.
"It's the vet." Says junior tradesman.
So I left Loons (afore mentioned avionics corporal) high but not dry and raced inside. There I was debriefed over the phone as to my darling's condition and informed I would be able to pick him up any time after three. I had to do a quick mental arithmetic to ascertain she meant 1500 hrs, thanked her for her time and good work and raced back out into the rain to help Corporal Loons deliver the Talon Lifter.

I had promised rather faithfully to help a friend of mine move house as she wasn't taking any time off work in order to make the move, and I had a long way to go. I was in such a flurry to get home from work, changed, and on the motorway that I went the wrong way home from work and nearly....!! But no, I remembered in time and made the loop to come pick up my baby.
I was attended by the nurse who instructed me in the requirements for his food and antibiotics as Plumpy demanded from his cage on the floor to know where I had been and what I thought I was doing mucking around with her when we should be on the road home. The most humiliating part, he informed me indignantly, was that I had provided these people with his real name - which I knew he hated - and he was sure I had done it on purpose just to rub salt into his wounds. I knew though that he was just venting all the stress he had been through and didn't get offended at his high handed treatment of me as I handed over $315.40 to the nurse for their work.

Here is an excerpt from the bottom of the receipt (right under "balance due")
[Plumpy] may be a bit sleepy for the next 24hrs but should be getting back to normal after this.
Hmmm, I thought, Plumpy is usually a bit sleepy. In fact all he does is sleep all day. It seems my cat might be a bit odd. I little inverted perhaps. Topsy-turvey. Because he jumped out of the cage. He ran down the stairs. He wolfed his dinner. He ran up the stairs. He clambered over the couch. He sharpened his claws in the carpet. He ran down the stairs again. At this point I had to leave to go help my friend so I made sure he had fresh water, soft food and a box of litter as he wasn't allowed outside. I kissed him goodbye and away away!

ooo 000 ooo

When I opened the door around 2138 hrs (that's twenty to nine) he raced up the stairs to meet me, demanding more food. He wanted to know why he didn't usually get jelly-meat instead of that bollox I was trying to make him eat. But he didn't push the issue because I discovered he hadn't used the kitty litter after all. Oh no - nothing so crass as that! Apparently the bath is a much more appropriate place to release the demons! I wasn't too upset though because it could have been much worse! At least this was easy to clean.

And at the end of the day, Plumpy finally got his ultimate dream.
I let him sleep with me.

Though it cost me a cold nose in my ear, eye or neck every ten minutes; though it cost me regular lifting of the blankets to let him under the covers or back out from under the covers and though my 500 thread count Egyptian cotton pillow cases were ripped from pawing and stained from bloody-dribble, it was worth it. Because even though he doesn't think I do, I love Plumpy very much and he has been through a lot of stress lately. I have never heard him purr for so long without pause, he was still going at 0100 and still strong at 0330. I might have fallen asleep around 0430. He was still purring at 0600 when the alarm went off. He is still purring now, Thursday night, but he didn't want to relive the trial and so I promised I would write for him. See - I do love you Plumps!

But I suppose you have all been waiting to know what the damage is? Well I'm not sure he wants you all to know, but I think you should in case you make a faux pas in a future conversation.

As well as a clean and polish on the teeth he still has, Plumps had to have all four canine teeth pulled. Nicci informed me they came out very easily which suggests they were particularly bad, and he also had to have a fifth (upper) tooth removed. He also had an extra dose of pain relief before he came home and is on a course of antibiotics for six days. He's not to bad at taking pills,but doesn't like me sticking my fingers in his tender mouth. :-(

You will all be pleased to know that he totally won over Nicci. I'm sure she's seen plenty of cats in her time, but she told me she really enjoyed his company and it was a pleasure to have him for the day.

Mind you, he was on drugs. ;-)






Love from Ju's Little Sister a.k.a. Plumpy's Mum.