Friday 17 July 2009

Open thread - England and new kitten

Here are some photos of the island. We finally sold our houseboat (above) and took the opportunity to take some pictures. We're going to miss it, but it had to be done...


This lovely boat belongs to Joe and his wife Penny. Joe works at the boatyard on the island and is also our resident handyman. He's refitting the shower enclosure for Kate, the new owner of our boat.. She and her partner Alex will enjoy life in their new community.

This is Pegotty, a Dunkirk boat. It was one of the many small vessels involved in the rescue and evacuation of Allied troops in the Second World War.

From Wiki:

The Dunkirk evacuation, codenamed Operation Dynamo by the British, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 26 May and 4 June, 1940, when British, French and Canadian troops were cut off by the German army during the Battle of Dunkirk in the Second World War.

On the first day, only 7,010 men were evacuated, but by the ninth day, a total of 338,226 soldiers — 198,229 British and 139,997 French— had been rescued by the hastily assembled fleet of 850 boats.

Joe brought up his two children on Pegotty. Then he bought Violet Ellen and his daughter lived in the historic boat with her partner until last year, when Pegotty was refitted and sold. We were on the island last year and we watched while Joe lovingly restored the hull of the boat and told us all about its heroic past.

A lovely view of the river Thames, looking towards Twickenham and Richmond. The nice building on the left is St James's School.


This is Pirate, our new kitten. He's adorable, very curious and incredibly affectionate, considering the two baths he had since his arrival on Wednesday. We're doing what we can to rid him of fleas without resorting to chemical treatments. The second bath worked well. We used a natural "recipe", consisting of a gallon of warm water, salt, balsamic vinegar with orange peel and two pairs of extremely scratched arms, followed by a long rinse. The fleas just dropped off and drowned!


Our son is coming for a vacation with his cat-crazy girlfriend in a couple of weeks. He has already warned us that she will monopolize our little Pirate for the duration of their stay.

That's all for now, folks! Back to $P in the morning...
.

17 comments:

Anonymous said...

Avon's Skin So Soft is a miracle for fleas. My Sweetey weighed 12 ounces when my friend found him in her barn. He was eaten alive with fleas so I bathed him with Skin-So-Soft and it killed all his fleas. He is now 9 years old and weighs 21 lbs. He is one of my seven (7) kittie-babies. I adore each and every one of them.

Your new kitty-baby is adorable.

KaJo said...

Adorable kitten, even better name!

I'm a cat person, so I love 'em even after they've grown up and start developing habits to get attention... :P

If you are cat people too, here's a story of Hope the Rescued Kitty that appeared on Facebook a month or so ago -- heart-wrenching, but so far a happy ending...

(yes, Hope was one of my donations, in addition to various and certain Alaska bloggers :) )

If only people always treated their pets and other people as caringly as Denise and Michael did for Hope, the world would certainly be a better place.

Lisa K said...

Thanks so much Regina for posting these photos. How fun a houseboat!! I have always wanted a week on a house boat. And you son is adorable!!! And cute girlfriend and kitten too!! Glad you are back!

Anonymous said...

Ummmm, your son is a HOTTIE!

CC ... said...

Regina ... what lovely photos!

The houseboat is adorable ... and so is your son, his girlfriend and that kitty .:)

We are glad to have you back but I'm so happy you had a wonderful sojourn..

Tara said...

Anon beat me to it. Skin So Soft works wonders for fleas.
Congrats on the cute furry addition.

AKPetMom said...

Thanks for the view into your world which is nearly an entire 150 degrees of longitude away from ours in Alaska!

Adorable son (and girlfriend) and super cute kitten! It's been many years since my cats have been kittens, but some of them still behave in a kitten manner every so often.

Elena said...

Your son is handsome! and he and his new girlfriend make a nice couple...Spanish food - ahhh would like to know what you had. I love olive tapanade

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ProChoiceGrandma said...

WOW!
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2009/jul/17/long-list-of-palin-records-sought/

“Shirley gave Davies a July 27 deadline to narrow his subpoena request or present proof of the records' relevance and admissibility.”

Did you notice JULY 27? Palin is resigning effective JULY 26, the day BEFORE the hearing in Tennessee. When was the date that the request for subpoena was filed – usually about 1 or 2 weeks before the hearing. Seems like it would be the week of July 1, and Palin hastily announced her resignation on July 3 in a shaken, hyperventilating voice that EVERYONE noticed.
What is the significance of resigning on 7-26-09? It is not the last day of the month, it is probably not the last day of a pay period. It is an odd day. But when I just read this article about the subpoena request being delayed until 7-27-09, IT JUMPED OUT AT ME WHY SHE PICKED THE ODD DATE OF 7-26-09 TO RESIGN.

(PS - love the kitten picture!)

KaJo said...

ProChoiceGrandma, good catch!

I have a feeling that $arah Palin can run, but she cannot hide...unless she hightails it for a country with a non-extradition treaty.

Anonymous said...

Looks like you had a fantastic holiday Regina! And your kitten is beyond adorable - enjoy!

KaJo said...

This site would be an interesting one to keep an eye on, and perhaps help update...

MrsTarquinBiscuitbarrel said...

Thanks for a look at your lovely family, and the glimpse of the "green and pleasant land" I haven't seen... yet. Mr. B actually hinted that we might go, next year!

All best to you, and a tickle to the kitty!

Anonymous said...

If you continue to have fleas in the house, try sprinkling Borax around. It is sold here in the US as 20 Muleteam Borax...it is a laundry additive, non-toxic, I think it is primarily salt so safe for you and your kitty.
We just went through the same thing when we found our new kitten in our horse barn, alone, tiny and covered in fleas. They were everywhere in the house after bringing her in, and now after the Borax treatment in the house and a bath in Dawn dishwashing liquid we are flea free!
Best,
K8KZ

the problem child said...

Oh, okay, I am late to the party, but your new furkid is as handsome as your real one! Pirate is a purrfect name for that sweetie. Was he born in the houseboat colony or is he a genuine chat?