Shelly the Succinct

MeowM,
I refer you to a question from your recent letter.

"Weren't we lucky that the BFF took us to the vet?"

No.

Love Shelly

My Reply

Dear Shelly,

Grandma and Grandpa are on a long holiday.  They are driving south to visit the family.  They haven't been sent to the vet.  I didn't take them to the 'farm' for their retirement.  They left of their own accord and they will be back soon enough.

Yes, they do bug me sometimes, but I agree that they can be entertaining most of the time.  G&G also pay the mortgage so we should probably be thankful that they let us live here.

By the way, I open the door for the children when they come to visit, because if I didn't, they would climb over the fence and break the windows.  I joke.
They are family.  We open the door for family.  Like when I open the back door for you to go on one of your outside adventures.

That guy, won't be around much from now on.  He has decided he would rather spend some time unattached to anyone for a while.  This means that I'm all yours for the moment.  There's no reason to be jealous!  

Weren't we lucky that the BFF took us to the vet today?  I have to say that your nails are much better now.  They were starting to get so long that you wouldn't have been able to walk.  Quite frankly, you looked a bit like an... (whispers) outdoor cat.  There, I said it.  You are my precious pet and so much better than your outdoor neighbours.  You deserve to be taken care of by experts.  I love you so much.

Shelly, my lovely girl, you were so good at the vet today that I'm going to give you tuna for dinner tonight.  Aren't you lucky?

I sometimes wonder what you are thinking when you look at me like that.  Oh a yawn.  Am I boring you, my darling?

I can understand that you miss Grandma and Grandpa because I miss them too. You must find it rather boring when I'm off at work and you are home by yourself.  I'm so glad that you haven't been destructive like the other kitties that I see on the internet.  I don't want to show you the pictures... in case you get any ideas.

Hang in there, my Shelly bean, G&G will be home in a little more than two weeks.  Before long, you will be writing to ask me how long we have to wait for their next expedition.  Enjoy the quiet, my fluffy friend.  Don't forget, that while G&G are away you have unfettered access to their bedroom and no one chasing you off the bed.  Not to mention the fact that no one is relocating you with cuddles.  You poor dear.  Grandpa loves you.

Meanwhile, I could use a snuggle with you.  I have a headache from all that nasty school work I had to do this afternoon.

Hark, what's that I hear?  You are meowing.  Must be time for dinner.

I will have to crack open the tuna.  I'm coming...

Meow, Meow,
Love MeowM

A Letter from Shelly

Dear Mum,
Where are Grandma and Grandpa?
They were here and they left... like usual... although the house was really really tidy... I don't think I've ever seen it this tidy.  You came home.

They have been gone for days and days... I know Grandpa goes away for days and days sometimes.  I miss him and I'm really rather annoyed when he comes home and wants us to act like he never left.  I have a long memory.  I know he leaves without saying goodbye.

Mum, they have been gone for over a week!!  You are not the easiest human to live with, you know, it is nice to have a different human to play with sometimes. I keep picking up on the scent of other people... Aunty the BFF and that GUY that you seem to snuggle with a lot... they've been here.  There was an invasion of children.  Again! Why do you even open the door for them? But, Grandma and Grandpa still haven't come home.

What's with that??

GASP!! OMGGM... MUM?
Did Grandma and Grandpa get sent to the Vet??
Did they get .... (whispers) put to sleep?  Gasp!

I know they bugged you, Mum.  Everyone knows that I didn't appreciate the way Grandpa relocates me (with a cuddle) - talk about inconvenient.  But we had them trained fairly well.  They know how much food I like to eat and they can open the door.  They were pretty good value the last couple of months when you were off with that GUY.  They can be entertaining when they try to play with me.  I miss Grandpa!!

I miss Grandpa and I even miss Grandma and her squawking.  She is really loud, but it has been way too quiet lately.

When are they coming home, Mum?  When?

Love Shelly

Talented Procrastination

Today's title is the reason I have managed to post something everyday so far this week.  I actually drafted a bunch of posts ahead of time... who'd have thought I could be so intelligent and organised.

However, while I have been drafting blog posts for AGT there are several things I haven't done.  For example I haven't:

• finished the laundry
• done my lesson planning for this week
• written the end of term exam for my class
• constructed the criteria sheet for the teaching unit I'm supposed to have finished writing by now
• done the dishes
• written feedback in my students' notebooks
• marked the homework
• modified the lesson resources for my two 'difficult' students
• laminated the game cards for my class
• cooked extra meals so I don't have to cook when I get home from school
• had a nap
• organised my diary and appointment schedule
• checked my work emails
• completed a yoga session
• written on the other blog (which hasn't had a post for weeks and weeks)
• trained Shelly to sit/ jump/ walk on a lead
• brought the wheelie bins inside
• had lunch

But more importantly, I have drafted several days worth of 'sentence a day' blog posts.  There is nothing wrong with my priorities.  

Today's AGT is proudly brought to you by...

The Number 10.

I like the number 10 and it's the 10th of March so I figured, why not?!

Here are 10 things I want to tell you that are closely (or tenuously sort of almost) related to the number 10.

1. Words like decade, decathlon and December come from the Greek root Deca meaning 'ten'.  Words such as decimal, decimate and decibel, all come from the Latin root Deci meaning tenth.  
2. December was formerly the 10th month on the Roman calendar (you would think this was from deci as it is latin but it was actually from Deca which was Greek: go figure!) but became the 12th after Julius and Augustus Ceaser both decided to add a month to the calendar named after them so they would be remembered forever.  If you click on the link you will see there were other reasons for the development but one must realise that the names of the months themselves were chosen out of pure ego and not just because it was going to make the seasons more regular on paper.  
3. The Prime Minister of Britain lives and works at No.10 Downing Street. It's kind of like the UK version of The White House (in the US).  While there is a residence for the Australian Prime Minister in Canberra the business of governing is usually conducted in Parliament House.  
4. The number 10 is the base for the modern system of counting and recording "how many" of something.  
5. 10 is an even number - which means that it can be divided by 2 with a result of whole numbers. 
6. Counting to 10 is the most common advice given to people who have a tendency to panic or lash out and to those who have difficulty controlling both themselves and their emotions in difficult situations.  I didn't find anything on the internet to back that one up, but next time someone tries to do that, they will find something... here at AGT.  
7. Most people have 10 fingers and 10 toes.  I wonder if that is the reason that 10 is used as the base of our counting and mathematics??
8. Pythagoras and his nutty cult people (did you know Pythagoras had a cult? that's a post for another time perhaps), believed that the number 10 was sacred.  Apparently they didn't actually like pie (not with an 'e' anyway) so I think we can safely say they are a bit wacko. 
9. I like the number 10 because it looks nice and even and rounded.  Being the intelligent person that I am, I know that isn't actually all that more special than the number 6 or 81 or 56 or 42 but I like it.  Besides that, today's post isn't proudly brought to you by any of those numbers so they will just have to get in line. 
10. The number 10 is the most likely number of items in a list.  Even if the last 1-4 items are not actually necessary, many people dislike writing lists that are more than 5 but less than 10 so they will actually make up extra items on the list just so their list can have exactly 10 items and be all even and rounded.  This can be proven just by googling 10 and seeing how many lists come up that start with 10 facts/ 10 things/ 10 people/ 10 myths/ 10 children/ 10 animals etc. etc.  You could also prove this by seeing how many of my 'listicles' have 10 items.  

So there, 10 things about 10.  You might have known them, you might have suspected them.  Now your life probably hasn't changed all that much.  But, you are impressed with all the things I know about the number 10... right, right?!

Love