Cat Conspiracy

 

How innocent they look.  Wrong.
Caleb is merely regrouping.

I have discovered a new conspiracy among cats, at least the ones at our house.  They are having a secret competition to see who can make us look behind us the most.  You know that thing cats do, where they look all saucer-eyed at a spot directly over your shoulder, so you feel there must be a tarantula on the wall directly behind you?  And then when you look behind you they do the cat equivalent of Ha! Made you look! and laugh behind their paws?

Well this week I dreamt that Mischka was sitting next to the bed looking intently at the wall behind me – and I woke up and looked behind me!  Of course there was no spider, there never is, but there was Misch sitting there looking all intently at me.  So OMG she ESPed me to wake up and look behind me!  She is so the winner of the Look-Out-There’s-A-Tarantula-Behind-You! Cat Conspiracy.  She is snoozing on my lap as I type, looking the picture of domestic moggie bliss, and if you didn’t know better you’d never suspect her expertise as Chief Cat Conspirator.  You’ve got to keep those humans on their toes, you know.



New on the website - American
Sphinx Brand Aurora Borealis
& Red Rhinestone Brooch

Surprisingly, given the on-going hot weather, we’ve had another busy week in the shop.  On Saturday it was so hot that people at the Markets were fainting, and although we were fine in an air-conditioned shop it was pretty horrible out on the streets.  And yet there were still plenty of people milling about and coming into the shop.  We’ve now sold half of what we’ve called the Jamie Oliver Boards, which is good going.  If you’ve seen his cooking show you would have seen him serving food directly onto these giant wooden boards, and his presentation always looks interesting and attractive.  And in his latest cook book, which is beautifully styled, every single photo features the food presented in vintage kitchenware.  His use of vintage kitchenware has made buying good pieces so much more difficult for us (because everyone’s now after it), but it also means that the things we have in the shop now have a wider appreciative audience.

Calypso has a tiger-orange colour, but other than
that she doesn't look one bit like a tiger.
And she's definitely a girl.

And, as with last week, when you have lots of visitors the probability is you’re going to get your share of Strange Ones.  As if last week wasn’t enough!  This week it was another woman (gels, what’s up with the strangeness?).  She wasn’t aggressive or a fraudster and didn’t do anything to incur my wrath, but was just Strange.  How’s this:  she came into the shop with a friend and spotted Calypso.  Oooh look! she said, A tiger cat! It’s obviously a boy.  I’ve found that most people incorrectly identify Bengals with tigers rather than leopards, which is a sad indictment of general education levels because they don’t look one bit like tigers and look entirely like little leopards.  Anyway, I told her that Calypso is a girl, and she said It can’t be – tiger cats only come as boys.  I said How would they breed, then?  Her friend laughed and said Good question!  But the first woman said Well that’s what I’ve heard, and I believe it.  I said But Calypso is definitely a girl, and she just shrugged and said Well I believe what I heard and then she left.  Her friend and I exchanged a Yep, She’s Stoopid look and then her friend followed her out, shaking her head and laughing at her.

 

There's always a willing photographer's
assistant when you're photographing
stock at home.


 

We started to bring out the vintage copper pots and pans this week, and the wall where I hang it all is looking spiffy, with more to come. Doug has seized several choice pieces, so a lovely lidded casserole pot and a big preserving pan will now apparently be staying at our house, but there are still plenty of good pieces to come. 
 



Willing assistants in the shop, too.

 

More esoteric things like Victorian sewing bodkins are also now on the shelves, although many people don’t know what they are. Bodkins are intended to allow a sewer (or embroiderer) to make bigger holes in fabric than needles can, but still small, controllable holes. I had one woman look at them and inform me that my description was wrong and that they were actually for extracting lobster meat from the shells. But the fact that she was incorrectly using her bodkins doesn’t make them lobster picks. I guess they would still kind of serve the purpose, but they started life as sewing implements. 
 

New on the website.  Victorian sewing bodkin, bone handle with bee hive design.
 



Who's a gorgeous boy?
And with award-winning relatives.

We heard this week that Calypso’s litter-mate and favourite brother, Catwalk Faberge, won Reserve short-haired Cat of the Year 2012. Because he is 17 months old and has only been shown in the adult cats division for a few months, this is quite an accolade. Lots of people have asked if we will show Calypso (Faberge’s full sister) and Caleb (Faberge’s half-brother) but I think we shall simply bask in his reflected glory. When the prizes are cash we’ll be there, but until then we don’t need any pretty ribbons. Nice to know that they are from award-winning stock, though. As if we didn’t know they are beautiful!