Gini Newsflash!

O my, o dear... she caught her first mouse today... of course I have no pictures - the panic was too great. The mouse (a tiny one) was still alive and kicking, and escaped in our house. I had to lock up our wild cat and Jeroen caught the mouse, but that took a while... he placed it outside, in our 'forest' and we kept Gini inside to give it a headstart. And then it started to rain and we kept Gini inside longer. She is SO angry with us now! That's her new goal in life now: out, to hunt...

Less updates on Gini but just as much fun

Heidi's back in town - she doesn't need to be updated so often! I will still post from time to time if there's something really funny or a great picture or movie. This picture here is a breakthrough - she never wants to be on my lap in the evenings (she does in the morning!!) but tonight after 3 tries she decided that despite the shortness of my legs she wanted to sleep on them!

100 places to sleep III

Hi there! Everything AOK here in the South - despite a lot of rain the past days (A LOT!) Gini goes outside, complains loud, looking at us with eyes that say "come on, switch off that rain!!!" And if we don't she goes anyway!!

I'm off to Holland until Monday for the last time this year, so Jeroen can bond with her a bit more... He might just post a piece too, and maybe not but in any case I'll be back with you next week Wednesday :) and always available by email!

For now, here's part three of the 100 places to sleep... On the blankets and sheets

On the stairs to the atelier

In Jeroen's cupboard -on his shoes (a favourite sleeping spot everywhere in the house)

In the fireplace...

Gini says Hi

A very sunny day - Gini and I went out for a good long walk. She loves that! Sometimes I take the lead, but often I stand still and wait for her to go somewhere... This was filmed close to the house, but we also go deep in the forest! Because of the bright sunshine the quality of the movie is not so good to say the least, but you can see Gini run, roll in the pebbles and if you listen carefully you may even hear her purr...

And did you notice that she speaks fluent Dutch now?

Another remarkable thing is that she is crazy about Jeroen. It is not that she doesn't like me, but, well, I'm not HIM :). A couple of days ago, J and I were coming down from the stairs of the atelier - and Gini was just coming that way, minding her own business, not really noticing. We both called her and she RAN, in a straight line, to Jeroen! Didn't even look at me... She's daddy's little girl, so much is clear... Have a great weekend!

Message from Heidi

We got a message from Heidi with a very lovely picture of Gini Herself when she was stil a supermodel - isn't she gorgeous!! (by the way: In her new life she needs to be brushed because she is dirty and full of 'things' from the garden. She even has a spot in the bushes now where she sleeps!!
Anyway, back to Heidi's message from Cambridge...

There's Cat life over there too! And cat wisdom... And another furry friend - to comfort Heidi when she misses Gini too much? (he's cute too!!) Maybe slightly less elegant when cleaning himself and sleeping :)

Have a great weekend!

100 places to sleep part II

OK - Gini sleeps basically everywhere - and around 20 hours per day - so 100 places to sleep is not overdoing it if we give her a couple of weeks! Of course the camera is always not there when the bed is funny, like "in the fireplace" "in the cupboard under the stairs" (we think of changing her name to Harry) and in "small carton boxes". But we keep trying...

...here the camera was close to Jeroen's lap

...on our bed...

...on the bureau...

... on the garden chair...

To be continued...

Gini and the birds

Just a short one - busy week with lots of commissions to finish and tomorrow anothe gallery-hunting day with Sally :) All is very well with Gini - she really is our little girl and since a couple of days she goes out alone at night, and often comes back with a present! Feathers mostly - we have almost enough to build a new bird!! Around midnight she comes home, regular like clockwork - sleeps on our bed and in the morning when Jeroen gets up she runs to the door to go out again... and she talks and purrs and strokes your legs; It's exactly as Heidi said: Gini IS happiness!!

100 places to sleep

Gini sleeps on top of Jeroen, on the bed, on her orange blanket, on Jeroen's shoes, on the garden chairs, on the table, under the table and she is very creative in finding other "beds"

In a tiny cupboard in the laundry room...
...in the cupboard on top of my clothes...

Ah! ...looking for a possible new sleeping-spot...

... on top of the clean laundry...

...on a plastic bag...

...and in many, many other places - still collecting and taking pictures - to be shown in future posts :)

Gini goes for a walk

Every day (and night) Gini tries to get Jeroen or me to come outside with her. She really enjoys our company and we actually go for quite long walks! I have tried to make a movie tonight when she was out with Jeroen, meowing softly and going really far, walking next to him in the moonlight, VERY cute, but it was too dark.

Yet here's a movie composed of pictures that I took when she and I were strolling through the greens a couple of days ago. With a surprise at the end...

1 october

Been very very busy, done great things with Gini but no time to write about them...
Today Sally was here, she confirmed what I also thought: Gini seems to be growing!
Plus she still sleeps on the plastic bags, plus she eats really well, plus she is outside as much as she can, plus she is hunting bigger prey - the mice have left the building :).
Sleep well Heidi! Your cat is doing finer every day...

29 September

Not much to report today: Tuesday is teaching day. But in the morning, before I left, I was able to take a picture with my phone (not a very good one) of Gini, sleeping on two plastic bags!! She is growing out of all kinds of old frustrations, too busy to sweat the small stuff! I also noticed 2 gekko's without tails by the way... I wonder...

28 September

Back from Holland! Gini and Jeroen have been living peacefully together for a week, developing their relationship... The messages I received from him made me fear she was now a one-man-farm cat, but luckily when I returned home, she was.. purring, stroking my legs, on my lap, in other words: happy to see me!!
But there definitely have been developments. She 's become positively un-scared, and begins to get seriously interested in birds...

We had a great day today, I was finishing a painting outside, Gini was around, relaxed and communicating, she is meowing: "proot proot" all the time. And walking long tracks, not low and scared, but she is clearly aware that this is her house, her terrain!!

Tuesday 22 September

Just a short one tonight - will go to bed early! This morning she's been sleeping on her orange blanket, while I was painting. When I came home this afternoon, Gini was standing next to the table, meowing loudly and walking towards the door: "let's go out!" So we had our walk, looked at the frogs in the fountain and she had a good "roll" on the pebbles...

Then she slept for a while on one of the garden chairs, ate with gusto and ended up on this computer! Tomorrow very early I'm off to Holland until Sunday night! Jeroen will have Gini for himself and he will try to give updates on this blog...

Back on Monday for sure!

Monday 21 September

We love here more every day! I had to teach a class this morning, and then a lunch meeting. To make my absence up to Gini we went for a walk in the afternoon. She really likes being outside and begins to get used to new things like grass, insects, loud birds, far away dogs barking.

The only thing she can't get used to - but even there we see some improvement - is the sound of plastic bags... but you don't hear that kind of noise outside...
And we also were inside, where Gini amused herself with her ball-toy. Mostly when I was NOT filming but I guess for Heidi this one's nice anyway...

Sundaynight 20 September

We're back, from a great sailing weekend... Gini came to the door immediately - and looked very dissappointed that is was us. I think. But maybe I'm projecting... Anyway, all's back to normal now, we're on the couch with Gini in between us, after I've brushed her for an extra long time and she has played with Jeroen's other shoes (he is wearing his boat shoes). More tomorrow!

Saturday 19 September

We're on the boat this weekend, and the live-in cat sitter doesn't know how to switch on a computer - so no updating until Monday! But you can be sure she's ok, Ginou loves Gini and has promised not to vacuum...but extra brushing

Thursday 17 September

Happy Birthday Merel!

We had internet problems yesterday, due to the rain... that's why I couldn't write a post! Also due to the rain, nothing much happened - but today, the sun was back and Gini was HAPPY! We also notice new developments: Heidi told me Gini doesn't eat much, merely licks the jelly from the meat, and a couple of croquettes... But now... she eats the whole dish and wants more! She performs a ballet when Jeroen prepares her food (Remind me to make a movie of that next time, funny! :)) I guess on the farm she uses up more energy! She is also much braver outside and loves the rosemary bushes. She runs after flies (and runs away from big ones) and jumps on the table and asks to be brushed, purring loudly when I comply (and I am allowed to do her belly!)

Gini helps Jeroen with pulling weeds

Tuesday 15 September

Terrible weather aujourd'hui!! Gini was a little bit depressed as she couldn't go out today - she wanted to but it was just too wet, too noisy (thunder!) and too cold... She ended up on her mink in the dressing. When I came home from the atelier she was still there (but my clothes, in the cupboard were all on the floor... mmm wonder who did that?!). After her dinner (she eats sooo well!!) when she found out that she still didn't like it outside

it is VERY wet, Jeroen saw a waterspout in Cannes and took a pic with his phone

Gini played for a while with her girly toy - one of many that she brought with her from home in Cannes

and then moved to her now-familiar napping-spot: Jeroen's lap

Monday 14 September

Fine Monday today, I was doing house work, and preparing my class. Gini was close, had fun with one of her mice (a fluffy pink one). She went outside around lunchtime, but there was so much wind, and the tractor of the neighbours, and children nearby, she ran back into the house and slept all afternoon on her mink (hgrm)... When Jeroen got home, we let her out, and together walked long distances, even behind the house and in the field. After five it is quiet here, and she feels much more confident! We hardly got her back in... and after dinner, in the dark, she went outside again! She comes immediately when we call her - running out of the field, jumps from the low wall of the terrace on the table and from there into the kitchen!! Farm cat - in only 5 days!! When we closed the door (we don't want her to be alone outside too long...) she was outraged! She sits on top of the chair in front of the window and meows!!
She's now given up - sleeps in the chair, not between us. She's angry. What a cat!!

Sunday 13 September

A rainy Sunday... We used it to get to know each other better. And it works. Gini is now used to the fact that she has two humans instead of one! Of course she is still a bit shy but we clearly notice a change and she likes to sit and sleep on our laps, while we read or work on our pc's or watch television... I say "our" laps, but she's not so fond of mine actually (too small?) she merely stands on me. The lying around she does on Jeroen's lap and on her old blanket, that we have now moved to the middle seat of our couch so that she can be between us :)

Saturday 12 September

A day in the garden... It was a real outside day today, not too hot, not too sunny, not too noisy...
After her first careful steps on the terrace yesterday, Gini ventured out much further!

She went quite far, and stayed between Jeroen and me! Ran back to the house when she was afraid, lots of times in the beginning, but less and less... I took loads of pictures and made a couple of movies, if you want to see more leave a comment and I'll post them later...

The movies are not in the right angle I'm sorry to say, you'll have turn your laptop - or your head - some 90°...

Gini has found the spot where the alpaca's used to hang out (they belong to our neighbours - they will not come here anymore now that we have a cat again :)) - and she liked the scent so much she kept rolling around... smells like a little lama!!

It's time for a good sleep. After having been on Jeroen's lap for a while she is now on her old blanket in the chair... We LOVE her!!

Friday, 11 September

She is slowly accepting us as her humans - but we have the feeling that she is very confused that we are more than one! We do have real contact, yet only one at the time... O well, she'll get used to it! She has a real favourite place now: on the mink blanket (I made from my grandmothers old coat) and it looks great on her! (bit hard to fotograph though) A true princess...

Gini has been outside today, she found it very very interesting, she stayed on the terrace and rolled on her back over the floor (shame! no camera present) and ran back into the house with every unknown noise, good sign - she sees that as safe... She ate very very well - of a can "Pro plan"we had left. She loved it!

Thursday, 10 September

Gini has had a good, relaxed day!

She has played long (and wild) with Jeroen's old boat shoes, especially the laces, she has eaten well, we've had much fun talking to each other and she has deserved her second name: Swiffer (a dutch brand that makes dust-cloths)... Whenever she is scared, which still happens from time to time, she hides far under furniture, where vacuum cleaners don't come... and when she comes out she is covered in spiderwebs and dust - and needs a good brushing! (But the floor has never been so clean!)We love her very very much - and it looks like she is ok with us too... And I can tell you that she is very interested in "outside"... we keep her inside for the time being, but she is looking through the windows all the time, fascinated by everything that happens there, so watch this space!