Cat Shelter Deluxe

Who is this sitting on a comfy bed inside Riverside Lodge? It's Piggy, of course. But wasn't this once the Periwinkles' bathroom? Why has it been turned into a bedroom for cats? 

The answer is that Piggy's arrival started a migration of stray cats to Riverside Lodge. The next kitty to arrive was Mittens, who you can see sitting on top of the blue cushion. The Periwinkles aren't even really sure whether he's a cat, but then it didn't matter to them. He turned up on their doorstep in need of help and that was that. 

The next one to arrive was little Pip. Did you spot him yet? He is sitting inside the pink cat tree, playing hide-and-seek.

Another cat in need of a home was Joseph. He is downstairs relaxing on top of the warm stove. 

Little Molly was left on the Periwinkles' doorstep inside a basket. Apparently her former owners were no longer able to take care of her and had heard of the Periwinkles taking in stray cats. 

Jemima has fallen in love with the tiny cat and would like to cuddle Molly and carry her around.

But Molly is still a little shy and creeps into the back of her Rilakkuma cat house as soon as Jemima comes too close.

Jemima decides to see what will happen if she hides behind the step. After a while Molly walks onto the porch to greet Quackie. 

Pip is hungry. He has come downstairs to eat. Jemima accompanies him into what was formerly the Periwinkles' dining room. It is now the cats' dining room!

How can this be? Where are all the Periwinkles' furniture? Well, if you have ever lived inside a tiny wooden lodge with five sick and malnourished cats you would know that they do a lot of sneezing, pooping and chucking up... It simply didn't seem like a good idea to James and Julie to keep on  living there.

They love the cats, but they had to think of Jemima's health, too. So they moved in with the Babblebrooks, rented a garage where they put their beds, chairs, table, Jemima's toys, etc. into storage, and decided to turn Riverside Lodge into a cat shelter.

Today James is making photographs. The Periwinkles want to promote the shelter on facebook, in newspapers and magazines, so that people in and around Riverside will know where they can adopt a kitty.

They will also be printing some leaflets. Julie is acting as a model for them.

"But where are the Periwinkles going to live???" you may now be asking yourself. "Riverside Lodge was perfect for them and they were so happy there!!!" 

All this is true, but I think you should come back for the next story and see for yourself how (sometimes) letting go of a good thing can allow for the beginning of another, even better thing... :)

The miniatures featured in this story are part of the 

Rilakkuma Cat Café Set. 

Porridge for Piggy

It was a beautiful day. The sun was shining and the snow was covering the ground like a soft blanket. Little Jemima was on the terrace of Riverside Lodge, riding her rocking horse with Quackie, her toy duck. Mr and Mrs Periwinkle, Jemima's parents, were inside the house taking care of chores.

Suddenly, Julie Periwinkle heard a strange shuffling sound. It seemed to be coming from outside. Had a neighbour dropped by for a visit?

She opened the front door... and saw no one.

Then she heard someone sniffle and looked down. There was a little white cat sitting on the front steps, staring at her. It looked awfully hungry and cold. "Oh my, you poor thing!" Julie exclaimed.

 

She turned around and called her husband. "James, there is a cold and hungry cat outside looking for shelter! I think we should give it something to eat and a warm place to sleep tonight." 

"Hello you! I wonder what your name is... Would you like to come in?" James asked the cat.   

 

The cat felt a little unsettled by so many questions and was obviously reluctant to enter the house, so James decided to usher her in. 
"Go on," he said, "there's no reason to be shy. Come on in and have a nice warm cup of tea with us!" (Of course, he was just kidding about the tea for the cat!)

Finally, the white cat went inside and Mrs Periwinkle dried her off with a pink and fluffy towel, while Jemima watched from a chair.

Unfortunately, they didn't have any cat food in the house, and not even the tiniest piece of meat. Stores weren't open today, so the cat had to make do with a plate of porridge. They sat her onto their warm stove and placed the food in front of her.

Mrs Periwinkle sat down and had a cup of tea. Everyone stayed to watch the cat eat. 

"Mommy, kitty fell into da powwidge!" Jemima suddenly exclaimed wide eyed. "Kitty eat like piggy!" 

"Oh dear, the poor thing must be dead-tired!" Julie said. "Let's clean Piggy up, give her some water to drink and put her to bed for now."

And that is exactly what they did. Before James and Julie went to bed that evening they checked on Piggy one last time. She lay wrapped in a warm pink towel in front of the stove, purring contently. "Why have we never thought of getting a pet, James? I think Piggy's lovely." "If we can't find her owners, let's keep her," James suggested.

That night, Piggy dreamt she was so tired from walking that she fell face-first into a plate of sticky, grub-coloured goo... 

"Oh wait! It actually happened," she remembered and fell back asleep.

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Thank you so much! :)

A Surprise On New Year's Eve

It's New Year's Eve. The Periwinkles are at home, relaxing.

Look at these elegant frames with pictures of the Periwinkle family inside them. They are Christmas presents from their cousins in Plumcake. 

It was a wonderful surprise to receive something they could decorate their home with! The Periwinkles from Plumcake also sent a gorgeous card showing a Christmas tree in the snow.

 Jemima is riding her pony. 

"My dear," says Mrs. Periwinkle, "are Quackie and Hans getting along with the new stuffed doggy Santa Claus brought you?"

"Oh yes, Mommy, I think they are all friends already!"

Upstairs, the three toys are conversing. Quackie is glaring at the doggy. She does not like to get new siblings. She is afraid she might no longer be Jemima's favourite...

"So Jemima hasn't given you a name yet?" she asks. "No," answers the stuffed dog shyly. "Is this important? What do you do with a name?" 

"Well you will need one," says Quackie. "Hans and I have one, too."

And to herself she says: "If the dog doesn't have a name yet, mabye there is hope for me after all and I will stay Jemima's nr. 1..."

 Downstairs, James has turned on the heater and the lamp in the living room. Julie and him are talking, watching Jemima play, and looking at their cousins' presents.

Julie is happy. She feels happy, because her family is well and also because of the cosy atmosphere in their living room. She is also happy because of something else. Something that she hasn't told James about yet. Now is the perfect moment!

"James, my love, I have a surprise for you." James is a little astonished at this and says, "Didn't we decide to not give each other any presents for Christmas or New Years, so we could save for a special family trip?" 

Julie smiles at him.  "My surprise is this: I bought a lottery ticket for the Christmas lottery in November. I didn't seriously think we could win anything, James, but we did. We won the grand prize! We are millionaires now, James! This means that next year we can travel anywhere we want to!!"

James is speachless. "You are pulling my leg, my precious willow!" he stammers. 

"No," says Julie, "It's true! It's really true. I wanted to wait until I was sure they would send us the money. Because I couldn't believe it myself! Today I saw that the money was put onto our bank account." 

 "Hooraaaaaaaaay!!!! Julie, you are the best! I cannot believe this! Think of all the nice things we can buy for our family with this money! And all the people we can help!" 

Jemima does not understand what has happened, but she sees that her parents are radiant with joy and happily hugging and kissing each other, so she gets off her pony to join in.

"Come here, my little muffin!" cries James and gives his daughter a big hug and a kiss.  

The clock strikes midnight as the three rabbits hug and kiss each other and rejoice about their good fortune. 

What a thoroughly unexpected and exciting beginning to the new year...!

A Letter from Plumcake

It's Saturday afternoon and the Periwinkles are enjoying their weekend. 

 James is gardening and little Jemima is helping him.

Quackie is watching.

James is watering a plant, as Julie steps onto the porch. 

She is holding a letter in her hand. "James! Jemima! We have just received a letter from Plumcake! Let's read it all together!"

James carries the plant onto the porch. Jemima runs after him. "Wait for me, Daddy!"

"Do you want me to help you?" asks Julie, as her daughter tries to climb onto the porch. "No, Mommy. Jemima a big girl!"

Now they are all sitting on the porch, eager to hear their relatives' news. James starts to read the letter out loud:

Dear James, Julie and little Jemima,

How are you? Does little Jemima like your new home? 

We are very happy to hear that your new job at the Water Mill Bakery became 

successful! A few days ago, a stranger came to Plumcake and told us what 

a lovely bakery there is in Riverside!

She told us, it had been Hello Kitty week. She had tasted a 

Kitty muffin and an apple cake and found them amazing! Do you know this 

stranger? Unfortunately we forgot her name...

So, congratulations!

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Love, 

Zelda, Zachary, and Zara

"Do you think they are referring to Teresa, James?" Julie asks her husband. "I know that she sometimes goes to Plumcake to visit her mother! It must have been her. She had a Hello Kitty muffin, and a piece of apple cake, too!" "It must have been her then!" replies James. 
"Daddy, they don't tell Quackie hello. Why??" Jemima asks with an upset look on her face. "I'm sure they didn't mean to be rude, my dear," her father says. "Are you sure, they have already met Quackie?" Jemima tries to remember the last time she met her relatives and shakes her head in response.

"Let's answer them right away!" says Julie. James has an idea, too...

Julie goes inside and takes out her prettiest Cath Kidston stationery.  

Hmm... which design should she choose?

She decides to use the sheet that has birds and flowers on it.

Finally, she starts to write the date on the upper right of the page.
But what has James been up to? 

Papa Periwinkle has brought his easel into the garden and a very large canvas. 

 He couldn't reach the top of the canvas, so he went into the house to get a stool. Now he is ready to start. "What are you doing, Daddy?" Jemima wants to know. "I am making a present for Zelda, Zachary and Zara."

Jemima watches her Daddy intently, as he starts to sketch the outlines of something onto the big white canvas...

Dear reader! If you would like to know what Julie Periwinkle wrote in her letter and see how James Periwinkle's present turned out, please visit Kate Dante's blog about "Life in Plumcake"!