under another sun

Happily beeswaxing new bookcases that have arrived from the recycled wood place. Less happily cleaning the Augean Stables of the cat litter trays, a labour that is necessary due to the inability of fat Basil to squeeze through the catflap. This leads to having to have a litter tray in the house, into which all three defecate with copious abandon. Minimal writing done as I mind mapped and wrote lists of things I need to do, which is far easier than actually doing anything. Eye test this afternoon by a loquacious optometrist. Interesting to see photographs of the back of my eye on his screen, which I was told are in decent shape. Better shape than the feeble jokes the man was creaking out. Still he was friendly, and told me that despite recent eye strain, I don't need a new prescription, a boon for the Kenny coffers. Home and a quiet night, listening to my Audiobook of  Ulysses , which has got easier when I realised I was listening to it on 1.5 x normal spe...

The strange ways of cats A peaceful sleep. Celebrated by dragging beds and futons around with Lorraine. My ear is still drearily deaf and half my head painful. I can't identify the source of sounds and have to ask Lorraine to repeat everything. Gah. Meanwhile Calliope blatantly tormenting the tabbys Brian and Basil. She clearly does it for fun: rushing them, sprawling provocatively in their way or ambushing them from strange angles. I feel ashamed of her: I didn't bring her up to be a bully. Beyond these domestic struggles are The Black Cats: three black cats who have staged invasions of the house and stare insolently through the glass of the front door. Brian and Basil are their sworn enemies. I don't know how Calliope fits with them yet. Oddly Brian and Basil don't hate Calliope, and they all touch noses from time to time, and rub along. The ways of cats are strange.

A bit of a shocker Calliope given the run of the house today, provoking growling and hissing from Basil, and staring matches with Brian. Despite this, they all rubbed along surprisingly well and were all seen in the same room from time to time without fighting. This is a great result as I had been dreading this part. Calliope not intimidated, which is makes me happy. Arduous unpacking of boxes, and Lorraine and I both felt very tired. Then as Lorraine was cooking a lovely Sunday lunch, the fuses tripped and precipitated hours of fiddling with electrics. This also meant that after futile attempts to light the oven, it had to be carried into our neighbours who kindly finished it off for us. Beth and Mark had Sunday roast with us, when it was eventually ready. But I felt so tired I could barely speak to them. Lorraine frustrated by not being able to get things straight, but spoke to her dad Pat about it who has been a Sparky. But there seemed little logic to how the electricity is...

Catnip bananas Received a note from Rufus explaining that he and his sister are not Highland Terriers but Border Terriers. I always thought there was more going on inside that dog's head than he let on. A busy day with Lorraine. Off to Top Cats this morning with Brian and the bulky Basil squeezed into the carrier. It is relaxing going to Top Cats, drenched as it is in plug-in cat pheromones. You can browse in Cats magazine, and chat about the ways of one's naughty torties with the nurse receptionist. Calliope, apparently, has a genetic reason for her willful behaviour. Lorraine brought two cloth bananas stuffed with dried catnip. She threw it to Brian who indeed went bananas writhing about, kicking and biting. Then to Hove Town Hall, where I got some visitor's parking tickets. My Twitten did not appear on their lists, as it doesn't have a road on it, so I had to point out exactly where it was. Unlike Top Cats, I was not among my tribe - all these people could drive, and...