The Furminator

The name pretty much speaks for itself - this ingenious device is designed to eliminate the pesky problem of pet hair being shed everywhere.

I have known about the Furminator for some time now however have only ever seen it sold at pet shops or at vet clinics for around $60 - a ridiculous amount IMO to pay for a grooming tool even if it is for my darling miss holly kitty or harry puppy. However over the course of the past few weeks I have reached a point where I can no longer tolerate the copious amounts of animal hair being shed all over my teeny tiny house. Remember I have dark stained floorboards and pale furred animals - these two things do not mix unless you happen to enjoy being able to see every single skerrick of animal hair.

Click here to see the Furminator website - when I first saw the after pictures I thought "what a gimmick - there is no way you could ever get that much hair off a dog/cat without resorting to subterfuge means like shaving it off!" Despite this I found an Australian seller on ebay who was selling them for $18.99 + free shipping (for the medium size) - I figured surely there are no fake Furminators around and for that price if it doesn't work well never mind really...

Anyway behold the magnificence that is the Furminator:



Yes I know what you're thinking - Holy Cow! There's enough hair/fur there to knit miss holly kitty a jumper made from herself!!! It is also grossly captivating how you can get that much undercoat from such a teeny tiny furry animal in just one sitting!

Unfortunately the Furminator wasn't as much of a success with harry puppy - he doesn't have much of an undercoat so I am still on the hunt for the miracle grooming tool for him.

And to end with here's a video of miss holly kitty eating the fruits of my labour - ICK!

The Cat Palace

I'm sure by now you will have figured out that my kittykins and puppykins are the apple(s) of my eye and very spoilt. Miss holly kitty was originally an only child and as such I indulged her terribly - behold the magnificent cat tree palace that was her 1st birthday present last year.


Isn't it fabulous?!?! There are 7 stories including a cubby hole, it stretches floor to ceiling, and most even features a hammock for all those daytime catnaps. There is also an extensive scratching post network to ensure she keeps her claws sharp and pointy! It does however take up around 2 square meters of precious space and is also the first thing visitors see when they set foot through the front door - ugh. Nonetheless because miss holly kitty loves it to bits and spends most of her day perched on the second highest platform looking down her kitty nose on the rest of us it gets pride of place in my teeny tiny abode.

Goodbye Mr Whirlpool - Hello Mr F&P

Can you believe that I have never bought a whitegood item in my life before? I couldn't either until I went refrigerator shopping last Sunday. Come to think of it I don't think my mum has ever bought a fridge either in the whole time she has been in Australia (around 28 years now!). I've somehow always managed to acquire preloved whitegoods from generous family members - 2 fridges from two different aunts not to mention 1 washing machine + dryer from one of the aforementioned aunts.

Anyway my beloved Whirlpool 257L fridge which neatly squeezes into my teeny tiny laundry between the washing machine and sliding door had already shown that it was on the verge of giving up the ghost in the week leading up to last Christmas. It was 35 C on Christmas Eve eve and I had done all my grocery shopping in preparation for 2 consecutive days of festive feasting for friends and family. Instead of getting home and unpacking the turkey, hams, deli meats, fruits, vegies and ice cream into Mr Whirlpool I had to resort to an elaborate system of eskies and cooler bags and sporadic visits to the local liquor store for bags of ice. Despite this Xmas (well the food department anyway) went reasonably well and none of my guests became violently ill with food poisoning or the like. Post Xmas I was um-ing and ah-ing whether or not to buy a new fridge to take advantage of the Boxing Day sales when Mr Whirlpool decided to come back to life again. Unfortunately it was only to be temporary - I had a month's respite before Mr Whirlpool decided to permanently depart to the realm beyond.

So after a frantic Sunday morning running around and looking at fridges before going home and to read reviews online and discovering Appliances Online, I am now the proud new owner of a Fisher & Paykel 248L fridge. Although he takes up the exact same footprint as Mr Whirlpool, has fancy glass shelves, makes a beeping truck reversing noise when the door is left open too long, and even matches the rest of my F&P family (washing machine, oven, cooktop) I'm still ambivalent however I'm sure over time I'll grow to love and depend on Mr F&P just as much as predecessor.

Here is miss holly kitty saying farewell to Mr Whirlpool in her own catty way: