BirthdaySummerCat Combo

So the tiger kept me hostage for ONE WHOLE WEEK!!! :O 
That's my excuse anyway, and I'm sticking to it!

February has been a month of birthday, crazy heat and expansion of the menagerie at YurtGirl World!

Februrary 9, I celebrated my 35th birthday.  It was a quiet affair with family at The Seasonal Garden Cafe (owned by good friend of YurtGirl World, Silvia Hart), where we had an amazing lunch.  All veg and all clean eatin' food.  Just what this girl ordered!  I received many beautiful gifts including a stunning silver-cast crystal necklace, Amalfi Coast cookbook, handmade papier mache bowl, Peter Alexander PJs, polka-dot gardening boots and money towards more plants for the garden! Absolutely perfect presents all round!  I was also treated to ANOTHER meal out with my beautiful Michelle, who took me for Tapas at Tasca Viva.  The mojitos are MAGIC... and the food is just stunning.  Apparently the owner is pretty dead-keen on making his tapas as authentic as possible, and without having travelled to Spain myself to verify this, I have to say he's done a bang-up job so far!

 No better way to spend a Birthday Afternoon!

So heading into my 36th year now, and I'm feeling pretty funky!

As I mentioned at the start, there has been some weather which has been on the 'toasty' side.  Living in South Australia, which is the driest state in Australia, it isn't of any huge surprise that we get rather warm summers.  Having said that, the vocanic heat it is usually interspersed by milder days... which seems to be what is lacking this time around!  Even living so close to the ocean, the promise of evening sea breezes appears to be an empty one. Climate change perhaps?  I'm no scientist, and would never purport to be one, but it does make one wonder if it is a contributing factor!  All I know is that I've been battling to ensure my fledgling olive, fig and apple trees survive!  It has however given the illlusion that all the damned couch grass in the back yard has died (however I know couch well... and I know that this merely a ruse designed to instill a sense of false hope that the bastard has finally fafffed off!).  This in turn psycholgically makes me feel that I have started to win the war with the evil one, to the point that I've started to try and smother it with cardboard, newspaper and mulch so that it's resurrection attempts will be thwarted!

We may be having some crazy-hot weather... but the sunsets are still stunning!

When I'm not attempting to vanquish Elymus repens, I am enjoying the company of our newest feline friend, Miss Rosie.  Again, we have been suckered into adopting another wee rescue kitty.  Miss Rosie has come from the no-kill cat shelter Help Save The Furry Ones.  The work done there by Nicky and the many others who help out is nothing short of amazing.  They take in dumped and abandoned cats, ensure they are desexed and if needs be) nursed back to good health, before finding them responsible homes.  This is all not-for-profit, and Nicky uses her own home to house the many cats.  Rosie had been at the shelter for just over 12 months, and at only 18 months old hadn't had the best start in life.  Her gorgeous torti-markings did us over, and I made the almost 2-hour round trip to pick her up.  And it was worth it... we have our own mini-panther now.  Stealthy as anything and a HUGE smooch.  She's slotted right in.

I won't get all soap-box on you, but I will just point out that if you are thinking of adding to your family with a member of the furry variety, please consider your local animal shelters.  The animals there are usually so grateful to have a comfortable home that isn't a small cage.  The money you pay is nominal compared to purchasing a 'breed', and you know that it is going to assist the shelter in caring for the other animals waiting for their furever homes. :)

Traffic Jam

(Fairly standard these days.)

Now that I am feeling all self-righteous, I'm going to head off and do battle with some more couch grass.  *nods*