Whew! Ok, so let me fill you in on the latest and greatest in my life.

The funniest, and first therefore off the rank, is my Harry Potter dream. I dreamt I was a student at a boarding school where the students individual bedrooms were built in a circle, like an "O", and the centre had been hollowed out and turned into a tropical marine aquarium. Each bedroom had a large wall-to-wall window that was a view into the aquarium. It was sports day, and there was a swimming carnival going on in an aquatic centre annexed to the school building (which was on a reef, wtf?). If you weren't competing, you were entitled to dress up in wild and wacky costumes and support the competitors. I had the genius idea of dressing up as something from Harry Potter. A Death Eater no less. o_O I made it up to the swimming pool area and then had to battle my way to the seating waving my wand and yelling things like "wingardium leviosa" and the like, because I couldn't remember for the life of my how to disarm ("expelliarmus") opponents - of which there were suddenly many non-Death Eater wizard costume wearers! - to my Death Eater look! lol.

My return home to Oscar and Indigo ... let's not address Oscar. Suffice to say he was grumpy and hissed and growled if anyone even looked at him. I later inspected him and found he had a shredded ear. Treatment for that is occurring. Indigo on the other hand was a little cautious but otherwise generally welcomed me back with open paws. She loved me up until I treated her for fleas and clipped her claws. Still, she forgave me and has deigned to sleep on my bed with me these last few nights either spooning or lying belly to belly (she sneaks under the covers). She's also gone absolutely nuts over the fact that I brought back the original scratching post that I had brought over from Adelaide for her to use when I first got her. She launches herself at it in a flying leap in order to attack, bite and shred the damn thing. It's hysterical to watch.

My job prospects are reassuring. Yay! Relief! Etc. One girlfriend alone has two positions she can put my name forward for that are PA roles.

That's all for now folks! Oh, wait, no - Port Augusta was lovely, and it was really great to see Darius again. I really enjoyed spending time with him doing the stuff we both like doing - driving around seeing things and taking photos etc and watching films that we enjoy ... as a start. Good times, good times. We made curry, and we BBQ'd on another night. Yum.

On the topic of meine katzen.

Indigo is fine, recovered - even starting to get fat (rather than just recovering the weight lost) from being cooped up a lot. The cattery, while my mother was overseas, didn't help. Since the cats are going back there tomorrow for a few days while my mother is in Melbourne, I asked the cattery not to leave the food available to them, and to just feed them at dinner and breakfast time.

Indigo and Oscar are used to this, as it is something I implemented to stop Indigo from gorging herself on the available food. She doesn't stop when satisfied, she just keeps going. It's resultant, I think, from competing with 20 other cats in the foster home before I adopted her.

Oscar. And the blood. And the pus. Did I mention there was pus? Because, there was. Twice. On me.

Oscar had developed an abcess on his throat/chin. It burst on me. I did try to clean it and remove as much gunk from the site (and later from my clothing) as I could, once that had happened, but ended up taking him to the vet on Tuesday morning to have it lanced and cleaned out. Tthe alternative - to squeeze it all out ever day - was not viable since I would be in Sydney as of that afternoon and I expected he would try to bite anyone else doing it. He's on antibiotics now, and has a pea-sized and shaped hole in his neck where the abcess was previously located. Heh.

Well, things are considerably more settled after the drama of last week. I reviewed my postings, and noted that five of my six most recent posts have been about Indigo. She would tell you "that is as it should be", and I'm sure she's correct ... but it's commonly said that variety is the spice of life. In that vein, here is some variety.

Virgin Blue's flight service is rock bottom (and I took the time to tell them so in a survey I was offered the opportunity of completing). Both flights with them, in the space of 8 days, were half an hour behind at least in landing and allowing us to board. That would be understandable (although, disappointing that it appears in my experience as the norm for them) but it was sub-standard that there wasn't any communication of the delay and thanks for patience to the waiting customers (some of whom had appointments to keep at the other end!). However once we were in the air, the pilots made the decision to fly higher than they normally would in order to regain lost time. We arrived only 15 minutes later than we should have. Also - I managed to land pole position in seating for the flight. Seat 1F, window and front. Nice. Those things did make up for the lateness, but I still can't shake the disappointment - makes me less inclined to fly Virgin Blue again.

I had an awesome dinner (sushi at my favourite place in Adelaide) with Manda and laughed hysterically with her about my latest idea that I had for a wedding ceremony (how long will this one last, lol) - instead of music while the bride (that would be me) and the groom (Mr Plug-In since I don't currently have a potential groom) were signing the register, I wondered if lion dancers wouldn't be both more entertaining and a little sort of "taste of culture" from my side. Anyway ... that did afford both Manda (and just2draw who had arrived to take me on to coffee and a catch up chat) a lot of laughs.

just2draw and I walked further down the street from the sushi bar and into a cafe where we had hot chocolate in a latte style (that is to say, milkier ... because I prefer milkier hot chocolates, lol). We chatted for a while, and I don't think it would be inaccurate to say that the opportunity to touch base and talk about some more intense issues going on in our individual lives was relished and just what we both needed. I really value the amusement and insight that I can offer to just2draw and that he seems to take from my company. In fact, his amusement often amuses me! And he was kind enough to make a detour when dropping me home in order for me to purchase new batteries for my SLR camera.

Batteries, by the way, were a good purchase, and I took a good number of photos at the wedding over the weekend. I won't post about Indigo's return home, as I did that in the entry just prior to this one. And, I think I will post wedding commentary and reflections in another post following this one.

In any event though, my weekend was awesome! I ate good food, caught up with good friends, my darling Indi came home, and I saw all of Darius' family - which meant so much to me because they have been dear to me for a very long time.

Weekend in Adelaide was joyful! =D

I landed on Thursday evening and my mother took me to meet my brother's new girlfriend Jess ... 19, one quarter Maori, one quarter Scottish, the rest mostly Hong Kong Portuguese with the possibility of some Chinese somewhere. She is, in a word, beautiful. And not just physically. She is the most confident, open and friendly girlfriend James has had yet! (Although, his first ever girlfriend, and one other, still remain very dear in our - the family's - hearts).

On Friday morning I took the cats to the vet. Oscar was chipped (there was hatred glared at me for the rest of the day) and had his claws trimmed (possibly, the chipping didn't bother him as much as the claw clipping - this might be where the hatred comes from). It too him all weekend to forgive me. Indi was scanned for her barcode (hehe) and will be registed on the national register. She also had her claws trimmed but didn't even blink at it.

As a treat, I purchased a toy (feathers on the end of a bendy-ish rod, Oscar ignores it, Indi loves it and tries to play with it by herself even) and a cat bed for Indi. Oscar already has one. She loves that too. It's very cute to see her head just peeking out of the entrance to the little set up. Heh.

Then just2draw came around. He took pictures of the cats! (Here, and here. Also here.)

We went to lunch at a little Malaysian cafe/restaurant I discovered last time I was in Adelaide (August) called Kopi Tim on Gouger Street. Very yummy Hainan Chicken Rice! And then just2draw kindly took me past my mother's office to collect something and then dropped me at the Bead Hive on Pulteney Street for my next catch up (a couple of hours with miss__scarlet spent creating a necklace together, as she is very experienced, to display a large bead of Venetian glass that one of my Italian lecturers gave to me).

From here I managed to get a lift with miss__scarlet to my old workplace and caught up with a number of people there. It was good.

Then I rushed back to the city (only a couple of blocks from these offices) to meet Manda. I ended up wandering on Rundle Street briefly and bought a leather bolero. My necklace, created that day, was also admired by a prefessional jewellery maker! (one of the staff in Blue Chilli on Rundle Street).

Then Manda, her boy and I made our way to T Chow restaurant. We caught up with a number of people there (approximately 8 others). Food was good (well, the noodles and ice cream were ... the chicken was not as good as on other occasions, though not bad either).

Then I dropped past Kami's house ont he way home (scored a lift from Moni!).

Saturday saw me go to the doctor - a number of blood tests and check ups were done, plus the first of the three Gardisil vaccinations. I'm being tested for Coeliac generally and also the genetic Ceoliac test (not requiring gluten antibodies to be present in the blood, and predicts risk of developing Coeliac disease).

My day did get better though, as all the unconfortable and needle bits were over and done with early! I went with Moni to the supermarket and grabbed a few things (primarily cat food for Oscar and Indigo) before rushing to the Central Markets with my mother and brother to meet up with his new girlfriend for lunch.

James was disappointed as we spotted a school mate of mine (from primary school) and although I wanted to catch up with the friend and reconnect, I was hoping to avoid it then as then was not the time. Unfortunately his dad hailed us over, and I foolishly went (and then couldn't extract myself until it was time to leave for the next thing I had planned). I will look forward to the opportunity to get to know Jess properly though, next time.

I then caught up with Darius. We went to Marion to try and find him a shirt and tie for his sister's wedding, then to the beach to talk and walk, and I scouted for washed glass for his dad's aquarium - something I always automatically do when I'm on a beach. After that, we dropped into his house before heading out again (past the cemetary to visit his grandfather's grave) and then up the hill to get chicken and chips. We ate in the car at the look-out near my house, and shared a bottle of rosé (plastic cups! hehe).

On Sunday, I went to the wedding that had been the reason for my visit. It was nice, though not my style. (miss__scarlet, I'll fill you in when we catch up, instead of writing it ... Hopefully people will put up photos on Facebook, but I know Elisa already has on MySpace).

The reception was High Tea. I had a lactose allergy moment. It was unpleasant, though my own fault (I would try a sandwich from the non-lactose free plate on the off chance it was the same as from the lactose-free plate...). I vomited. Heh. But I felt better after that!

The bouquet toss is something else to write about. I'll do that in a separate post.

Then I dropped past Darius' dad's house and petted their cat and caught up with Darius, his brother and his brother's girlfriend. I also watched a tiny bit of Australian Idol before I headed off to meet Manda and her boy for dinner (stew. cooked by boy, was very tasty in fact!).

Then I had a ridiculously small amount of sleep before I had to rush for the plane. I slept on the plane, but it couldn't land quickly enough. For some reason I was nauseated in the last twenty minutes of the flight (a lot of turbulence, but not the scary kind, just the uncomfortable kind ... I don't usually get motion sickness).

And that, folks, was my weekend.

Excitement plus! I am counting down the (two) hours until I leave for the airport.

Tonight, I will see Oscar's toes! (And Oscar's toes, people, have to be seen to be believed. They're fluffy and kinda large.)

Tonight, I will converse with Indi! (And Indi's conversation skills are awesome - even my parents are amazed at how much this cat has to say for herself.)

Little Indi. Not so little Oscar. My furry children, I wish squish you with love and cuddles!

Moments from my day that rate a mention:

Confirming I will never have a career as a teacher - if I don't beat the children for annoying me, I won't teach them a quarter what they need to know for trying to make my handwriting line up perfectly on the board.

Thinking the airplane overhead was the airconditioning kicking in.

Lunch, take two. My first sandwich wasn't enough.

Anyway, not much to report really. I am focused on making it out tonight and then going home and crashing. I will sleep in, but I intend to also go shopping and do some budgeting for the next few weeks. Note to self: include budgeting for a trip to Adelaide in December when James turns (ZOMG!) 21 ... also must start writing down genius gifts to give him so I have options when the time comes.

I was making myself a cup of tea last night in the kitchen and, staring at the shelf that we keep all our tea and coffee sort of things, I realised how much this little apartment feels like a home to me. Although, I do wish that my friends from Adelaide and my family were in Sydney with me.

Oh, and Oscar and Indi were asleep on the couch last night near enough for Indi's paws to touch Oscar's back without stretching, if she wanted. Of course, then she swiped at him later, and he swiped back. Still, it's progress.

And I'm onto book three in the trilogy previously mentioned. Still unimpressed.

Need new books to read ... sigh.

Dinner last night was a success. The cake was most definitely rescued and edible (even though I left the cream to make the ganache at the office instead of taking it home with me that night).

We had wine (Moondah Brook Verdehlo) and some Kettle chips as starters while I prepped and finished off everything else.

Then we sat down to beef Masaman curry and Thai green chicken curry served in the sweetest of clay pots (images courtesy of miss__scarlet) with rice and garlic fried bok choy.

We finished with warmed mud cake with a scoop of ice cream and some strawberries.

Yum. We laughed a lot - talked about boys, boyfriends, cooking, childhood experiences, my mum (and her vegetable regime, her new experience that she had recently in Sydney, and her "your fertility/ovaries/future generations" spiels). People were in hysterics over the last bit. People also laughed at stories of me pretending to be a horse as a child, lol.

The kitties were petted and admired (and Oscar was humiliated and razzed up by me which ended in a "snake strike" style attack with tooth and claw on my hand which only glanced off my wrist lol). L says: "your kitties are beautiful! (but scary)."

The night was a success and there are plans to have a cocktail and dessert night (dessert only, no dinner or anything). And I plan to have people over again (thinking: roast and roast vegetables, followed by brown sugar baked peaches or cinnamon poached pears with chocolate frangelico sauce).

I have friends in Sydney! I'm over the moon ^__^

Mmm ... Oscar and Indi did not scrap, fluff or hiss this morning. Positive! Also, we are back to making progress!

Both cats suffered the indignity of being ushered into their carriers and hidden in the (ajar) boot of our car this morning at 6.30am ... It was Regulation Fire Inspection day. Evidence of cats was squashed into one bathroom with the door closed. And cats were relocated temporarily.

Oscar and Indi were understandably reluctant to enter the carriers. Oscar used to jump in as soon as the door was opened, but after his flight from Adelaide to Sydney, he is understandably hesitant. I had to pick him up and put him in, and he did - for the first time ever, relating to his cat carrier - try to escape me before I grabbed him.

Indi went in, but only because I tricked her by scratching at the back of the carrier - "Oh! Whatsit! A mouse? I must go in? In I go!" - as she is also not tempted by the carrier. Her strongest memory of the carrier is, I believe, the time she was spayed.

We rescued them one and a half hours later and they were subdued and quiet rather than yowly like when we first hid them that morning.

Oscar has been hiding under the bed since we released him back into the house. Indi recovered, like the resilient little young thing she is, and was claiming ownership of sunbeams and checking nothing had changed in the house in her brief absence within minutes of exiting the carrier. Although, she did wait for Oscar to exit his carrier and walk past hers first before she was brave enough to come out of hers.

And to tie up the loose ends of the cat news ... lolcats/icanhascheezburger present ( a meme. Stoled from Eneit! Who stoled it from someone else... )

The cats were happy last night, and tolerant enough of each other - nothing out of the ordinary in either direction (angsty/friendly) but goodness me. This mornin after I fed them, and seemingly completely separate to any food squabbles ... they were sitting metres apart, Oscar growl/groaning and Indi with her fur and tail all puffed out and hissy.

Please do not let this be the apertura to increased tension and squabbling.

Ugh.

Oscar and Indigo had their first scrap this morning. Indigo did invite it by attempting yet another steal of Oscar's food. There was "staring down" and then a pounce from Oscar which resulted in a yowl-yelp from one or both, and then sulky, self-directed separation and staring down again. But, that was all. I think Oscar has done remarkably well to limit himself to putting the kitten in her place only once (that I am aware of) since they have been together in the same house for a week and a half now. I'm also glad that it just seemed to be a scrap in the way of telling the kitten she had overstepped but without making it much more worse than telling Indi her place.

He has otherwise let her rule the house.

I'm not sure that's a good thing.

However, it has made for a relatively peaceful household, and for that we are grateful. I did, however, warn them that if I came home to bloodshed, bottoms would be smacked. Or something .... anyway.

Les chats are chasing each other. Well, they were this morning. Indi was chasing Oscar around the house. They were silent, which I have read and seen said elsewhere as meaning that they are playing. There certainly weren't any hisses or claws as far as I am aware.

This is a good sign, right? If they are playing, I mean.

They are definitely touching noses (infrequently, but still) without hissing or anything, now. Oscar is still his roly poly, heavily furry, escaped-Ewok self. Indi is still her cheeky, affectionate self too.

Indi stole some cooked chicken out of my mother's bowl on Monday night when we had our backs turned. So off, and way out of line. I'm trying to break her of that, although it is the only time she has actually taken something from someone's plate. She is usually limited to trying to lick plates that people have finished with (also something I am trying to stop, since it's not like we let her do it even to start with - sigh). Mum only left her bowl for a moment because she's used to Oscar minding his manners - I don't know that he has ever tried a stunt like that.

I think that's a fundamental difference in their starts to life. Oscar only ever competed with his mother and litter-sibs, and was abundance weaned. Indi has had to compete with over 16 or so other cats for all her life until recently. The problem is that I can't now abundance wean her, because she scoffs everything we put down, and would go for more, and then even more if we let her. She would put on too much weight.

Still, they seem to be getting along. Positive progress! Hooray!

Mm. Cat update.

Indi suddenly began meowing and jumping at some invisible or imaginary thing she saw in the doorframe of the entry to the spare bedroom. Then her gaze darted to the ceiling on the other side of the room and then back to the top of the doorway. She actually tried to scale the door frame for some reason, but didn't use her claws, or get much higher than door handle height. Strange cat imagining things, lol.

Oscar slept the night in the bathroom, and Indi hovered at the door as though she was either feeling the need to stand guard or to laugh at him for being cooped up. I removed her from her position at the bathroom door and locked her into our room over night.

A good night's sleep was had by all!

The cats are getting along much better, day by day. It is still "tolerating" rather than "friendly" but that is better than "hostile". Indi has reduced, through persistance, the diameter of Oscar's personal space. She can now get within thirty centimetres of him without a hiss from either cat. They also slept on the bed, one on either side of Luke, on Sunday morning - how I found them when I got back from collecting my brother from the airport.

Indi is jumping on Oscar's tail quite a bit as thought she sees it and thinks "oh! little, and fluffy, and moving! it is my duty to attack!" only to leap backwards when Oscar jumps a mile out of fright. He has otherwise put up with all her antics.

I have discovered that Indigo is a greedy little cat. I will serve her food first and put her in another room with her food, but as soon as she hears food being poured out - despite having food in her mouth and in front of her! - she comes running to try and get in first on Oscar's portion! Either she drops what she is eating so she can eat his first, or she scarfs hers so fast it's like she's part Hoover. Oscar has however finally put his (big, furry) foot down. This morning she tried to muscle in on his food, and where he has previously backed away and been put off his food, he hissed and took a firm but not "serious" swipe at her and then chased her across the room. before going back to his food. Maybe she has learnt? Also a good sign to see interaction other than hissing or running away on his part, even if it is chasing and food-related territorialism.

Things are going well.

Oscar spent the whole day yesterday underneath our bed. When I got home, however, he had just decided to make an appearance and was remarkably un-hissy. He even allowed me to hold him on my lap and cuddle him for five minutes between indicating he wanted to be let go. He only hissed at me twice - once when I did something that was a bit sudden for him, and secondly when I fed him and moved to reach (while standing) past him for something on a shelf high above him. I guess he thought I intended to steal his food.

He only hissed at Indi three or four times too. Once when she wore down the range of his personal space bubble and got within thirty centimetres of him. A half-hearted but warning swipe (that missed) accompanied said hiss) which caused Indi to leap backwards. Then last night in the middle of the night, my giganticat jumped up onto the bed to cuddle and sleep with us, only to land next to Indi. They sat in silence near each other for three minutes before Indi hissed at Oscar who fled.

He is improving. She is ... still being a bit of a bully.

The introduction of another animal to a household can often be difficult, stressful, and take a very long time.

It seemed we had a fairly good scenario for the introduction of the cats. Indi had only recently (one month ago) come from a 20 cat household (a foster home) and was good with other cats. She is also a girl and much younger than Oscar. Oscar was leaving his territory of five years for new ground (so there was little chance of him being territorial), and is a desexed male. There was very little "omg you are replacing me with an almost identical cat!" likely to happen.

Last night, Oscar touched down in Sydney. According to my parents, he meowed once as they left the house, and then did not meow again and took everything in his stride. When we collected him at the other end, he did not appear distressed or concerned at the trip, flight, strange location he was in, or anything at all.

We got him home, and let him out enclosed in one room with an ensuite (with all the necessary kitty items).

After five minutes, he proclaimed himself ready to explore the rest of the house. So, we scooped Indi up and relocated her to our bedroom. Oscar looked around, he seemed ok and even let me cuddle him a bit.

Then he continued to look around and meow a little.

Eventually, he discovered the closed door to our bedroom and could smell Indi. There were immediate hisses from both sides of the door.

After fifteen more minutes of Oscar wandering the house, we put him back in his carrier and released Indigo. She, not one to beat around the bush apparently, went straight up to the carrier and sniffed noses with Oscar. Then there was hissing on both sides, and on of those strangled-sounding foghorn "I am angry, and don't you forget it" growl/meows from Oscar inside the carrier. Indigo stepped back thirty centimetres and puffed up - her tail was three times its normal size (which meant it was Oscar's normal tail size).

Ten minutes later, we let Oscar out, and everyone was prepared to grab the nearest blanket and drop it on the cats if fighting broke out. However no fighting has broken out, and although there is hissing if either of them encroaches on the personal space boundaries (currently approximately 1.5 metres, although Indi seems prepared to have a much smaller personal space than Oscar) there has been no fighting. Indi has taken to following Oscar around the house and creeping closer inch by inch to see how close she can get. It's sort of like kids where one is trying to wear down the other. Or like she knows he's scared of her*. I had no idea she was so sneaky or so stubborn.

*Allowing for everything being new, and Oscar being on the back foot, he does seem to be somewhat of a coward.

After an hour or so though, Oscar also took to hissing and spinning into the defensive angry cat back-on-ground-teeth-bared-claws-out position whenever someone went to pat him or even go past him. This morning he was still hissy. but let me pat him a few times without complaint and also rubbed against my knee a few times. There is hope, I think.

Anyway, things seem to be going ok. I just hope that he does snap out of the hissy/spitty at people thing. The fortunate part is that he hasn't swiped at anyone yet. Which is actually, for him, amazing. I mean, he was very mellow by this year compared to his first two years, but given the slightly swipey tendency and the shock of the change to environments, etc, it is in fact amazing.

Also, my cat, next to another normal sized cat? I feel like I've been hit with a sledge hammer. I had no idea my cat was the feline version of the Incredible Hulk. I had no idea. I mean, I knew he was bigger and knew that it was largely bone, muscle, and a fair amount of fur .... but wow. He is ginormous. He looks like an overweight corgi is how big he is. And for a cat? That's huge. And there's only a tiny bit of plumpness to him - the rest is muscle, bone size and fur. Luke is fairly sure he doesn't remember him being this ginormous back in March, but maybe we didn't have a realistic marker to compare him to? I mean, Indi is smaller, she's only 6 months old, but she's not a midget for her age or anything.

People have said to me before that Oscar was big. A big cat. And I didn't disagree. But ... the realisation is sinking home as to how big they were trying to make me understand he was.

My cat is a monster.

...

...

...

What odds an escaped lion from the zoo was actually his dad? o.0

I really miss my Oscar. I can't wait for him to come over and join Luke, Indi and me. I want to hug his furry and squishy belly!

Luckily, it's only a matter of weeks (two in fact) before he joins us. I really hope he and Indi get along ok.

I also have to arrange for his Castle to be shipped over too. That will be interesting, given how difficult removalists can be about taking things Adelaide to Sydney. Ugh.

Ehehehe, Indi is such a pain to take pictures of at the moment, lol. It's not that she's camera shy - I think she likes to pose, in fact! It's just that if you try to get her to look at the camera, she comes running over to say hi ... or she won't stay still long enough for the darned thing to focus.

I should pull out my film camera, actually. That'd do it - no need to bother with lag. But then it's harder to share the pictures with you all. Sigh. I waaaaaant a digital SLR! :P

Also, further on the house, and things being added to make it all come together ...

I am hopeful that Oscar will be joining us in July. I am also hopeful that he and Indi get along.

Luke and I added to our family yesterday.

( Guess who! )