The drafting table has to leave the kitchen, and I am turning the cats into winter hats … just as soon as I am capable of walking (or even sitting) without pain.

I had gotten out some beads and wire and planned to sit at my kitchen work table and fuss around with them. I needed my pliers and other jewelry stuff. I start walking from the kitchen to the den to get said things, when Myu jumps in front of me, throws herself down and demands attention. Unfortunately, I was in mid-step, and the cat was now under my quickly descending right foot, so I threw my weight to the right side to avoid stepping on and killing the cat. My left foot swung wildly, slid across the floor, wedged under the very tight edge of the drafting table stand, with one toe in particular jamming itself under the somewhat sharp metal leg … as I started to fall forward.

I did what I always do when experiencing a pain unlike any other pain I have have ever experienced and went limp and dropped to the floor right where I was, howling and, of course, cursing loudly. I think that was the only thing that kept me from sitting here telling you I broke my toe. Well, I don’t think it’s broken. It moves, and a manual examination and comparison of both feet indicate that everything is where it should be and feels solid. I have ice on it now, and it doesn’t seem to be swelling, though it’s going to be a horrible shade of bruised blue, and it’s going to be excessively painful for who knows how long.

When I say excessively painful, I do mean excessively painful. I can’t express how painful it is without cursing like a sailor, so I won’t even try. The toe hurts. The foot hurts. The leg hurts. The hip hurts. The small of my back hurts. I hurt. I did not need this. This sucks beyond words. It’s a holiday weekend, and I can barely walk. And the PAIN!!! OMG! THE PAIN!!! It is unreal. Almost the worst pain I have ever felt in my life.

The next time one of the cats pulls this stunt, I am stepping on the cat. Whichever one it is, I am certain it will make a nice winter hat or maybe the lining for some gloves. Perhaps the two survivors will learn not to throw themselves down in front of moving humans in tight quarters (like doorways or near tables).

And that table has to move ASAP. I have maimed myself on it one time too many.

See, I knew it. That all three cats were adorable affectionate creatures yesterday meant that today they would be hellions.

We have already had hissing, spitting, and a fight.

It isn’t possible for there to be a lasting cat peace in this household, and there’s always one of them to blame for starting it all off. Today, it’s Myu. She got grumpy, because I’ve been busy this morning and didn’t let her crawl into my lap for a nap. Therefore, she decided to beat up on Tora. This woke up Ronin, and now all three of them have lost their minds.

Well, at least yesterday was nice. I look forward to some future day when yet again I have three sweet cats.

Every rare once in a while there comes a day when all three cats are blessed and wonderful creatures full of love and joy at the same time. Today has been just such a day. There have been no unauthorized cat activities, no fighting, and most importantly, all three have been lavishing me with attention and affection.

I have been enjoying it as much as I can, because I know that come tomorrow, these three adorable and sweet cats will turn back into the little monsters they usually are once again, and there will be unauthorized cat activities, fighting, and the shunning of humans^†.

Why can’t they be like this every day?

It is entirely possible they have committed some great cat sin and I just haven’t found the evidence of it yet. They do tend to be extra sweet under those conditions as well. For now, they get the benefit of the doubt though, because they really are being wonderful kitties.

1. † Except Tora. She never shuns us lowly humans. She’s still a little monster though. [↩]

With snoopy cat, of course! Can’t have a photo without one!

I’m having my morning coffee, in preparation for going at the garden this morning. At 83ºF, it’s pleasantly cool outside. It’s also cloudy. There’s thunder rumbling just over the horizon. Might we get some rain? As much as I want to get some things done in the garden today, I would not be at all upset to have to call it off on account of rain. In fact, it would be so glorious to experience rain, I might even work on the garden out in the rain. It’d be really great to get some rain. I miss rain. Rain is good. Please let it rain!!!

Anyway, I don’t feel like processing a bunch of carrots and herbs today, but it has to be done at some point. The sooner I get it done, the sooner I can start getting the garden ready for the next round of growing things, and it would be nice to just pull a pack of frozen carrots out of the freezer for dinner, without the pulling, washing, cleaning, and cutting having to be done on the spot. The coffee is giving me the energy to do it (I’ve been so low on energy the last few days), but the willpower is still lacking somewhat. Too bad there isn’t an additive to put in coffee to give one willpower!

And there’s some cat news this morning. Overnight, my sweet and adorable baby, Tora, has become a teenager. Yes, the cat who almost never got into anything, who was always sweet and wonderful, has become a bit of a terror. Tora is developing an attitude. She’ll be a year old next month, so it isn’t like I am surprised by this change. One year old kitties are terrors of the worst sort. I’ve noticed that’s when they begin to push the boundaries of acceptable behavior just like human teenagers do. Hopefully, this is a stage she will outgrow quickly –more quickly than the other two, who are just now, at 3 years of age, beginning to clue into the fact that there are things they are never allowed to do.

The thunder is really rumbling now. The radar shows it raining to the south of us and to the north of us. With my luck, we won’t get a single drop at my house. I’m keeping my fingers crossed though, because I would really like to have some rain today. Not even for the garden, which has been recently well watered, but because it would be nice to have some kind of weather other than hot and awful. It could even hail, and I wouldn’t be too heartbroken about it. I just need some sort of weather other than the weather we have been having! Of course, if it does rain, it will only make the heat worse when the sun comes out (which it will), but still, it’d be nice while it lasted.

My coffee is done, and I think I have the willpower to get pull up the carrots and do all the things I need to do to get them into the freezer. Once I get them done, maybe I’ll feel like doing the same with the dill and scallions … and pulling up the non-producing aphid hotel cucumber plants will just be the icing on the cake. I’ve also done research on the beans, and my fears that they won’t set fruit due to it being too hot turns out to be true. I still like how easy those beans are to grow, but now I know not to bother planting a second planting during the summer. Live and learn! I am consoling myself over the waste of an entire pack of seeds with the fact that beans, even when they don’t produce anything edible, help increase the nitrogen levels of the soil they grow in.

Well … I am off to work on carrots. Maybe I’ll get rained on while doing so, and that would be just fine with me!

I haven’t made the cats new catnip toys since we got Tora (almost a year ago), so I decided they should have some today for being so cute since I got home yesterday. Five minutes later, three small muslin bags of catnip in hand, I went to the living room (followed by three cats) and tossed one bag to each cat. If they could speak English, this is what they would have said:

Tora: “Cool! A new toy! Hey, this toy is sort of boring. Why are the other two cats having so much fun with their toys? Maybe if I watch them and do what they do mine will be fun too. Nope. Does nothing for me. It’s just a boring little crunchy bag. Where are the feathers?”

Myu: “Cool! A new toy! Oh, it has that smell. I remember that smell. It makes me want to throw the toy in the air and catch it over and over and over and over, but I think I’ll have a nap now.”

Ronin: “Oh my god YES! YES! YES! Gimmee more! MORE! This is the best stuff ever! I could roll around and drool on this toy for the rest of my life! It’s awesome! It’s the best toy EVER!!! Nom nom nom…”

I love my cats.

The cats seem to be taking turns making sure I don’t run away again. This morning it was Myu glued to me while I was sleeping and then while I was having my “morning” coffee. Then it was Ronin attached to my feet. I couldn’t walk or sit anywhere without him directly underfoot. Now it looks like it’s Tora’s turn, and since she is still a kitten and full of youthful energy, she is bouncing around me everywhere I happen to be an attacking any appendages that move in an enticing way. When I hopped in the shower, I didn’t give any cats the chance to get into the bathroom with me, so there were three of them sitting and pawing at the door for the entire half hour I was basking in the flow of hot water.

Well, at least I know they love me! Or, more likely, they are concerned the primary sustenance-giver might make another escape.

Without the pillows in my desk chair, how can I possibly be expected to wax philosophic about the wonders of modern cataract surgery? My keyboard feels like it’s even with my chest! It’s impossible to type like this. Argh! Damn cats!

The substitute pillows I currently have in my desk chair are unacceptable. I have been looking forward for days to getting home and sinking into my nice comfy desk chair, and no … this had to be denied me by a cat (or two or three) and a travel mug of tea. It’s completely unfair.

Lin fell asleep about 30 minutes ago, and I think I am headed that way myself. Probably best I go to bed anyway. Very soon though, I will be extolling the awesomeness that is modern cataract surgery. I kid you not … it is the most amazing thing!

I’m convinced spilling a full travel mug of tea on my desk chair was part of an evil cat plan. The cats are jealous of the computer, because when I am sitting at the computer, I am not aware of their cuteness and raining affection upon them. To insure sitting at my computer would be as annoying and uncomfortable as possible, the cats stood to benefit from my having some free time … to be entertained by their cuteness and to scratch ears and bellies.

Their evil cat plan worked, of course. As I sit here fidgeting, trying to find a comfortable position in my newly be-pillowed desk chair, I get distracted. This has lead to me noticing some number of cats nearby being far too adorable. The kind of cute that begs to be touched. They have been days alone in the house during the day with all their cuteness going to waste! There was no one there to notice! No ear scratches and belly rubs! It must have been horrible for them!

I have completely forgiven them –one or all, I have no idea– for spilling the tea in my desk chair for one reason only: they are not small, high strung, yappy dogs.

Modern cataract surgery? A wonder of the modern age.

Small, high-strung, yappy dogs? Not so much.

I should have hit post on this an hour ago, but I left the window open and kept adding to it … in between showering the cats with attention and affection. I think I will hit post now, even though I know this post is totally disjointed, like one long tangent. My stomach is full, my brain is fried, and my body is wiped out. I don’t want to go to bed so early, but damn am I tired.

And this chair is just too uncomfortable right now…

At 6:30 am, I was tight asleep –my alarm not yet having sounded– when I was snapped awake by the sound of something crashing somewhere in the house. I stumble through the house but see nothing unusual, except for three skittish and wide-eyed cats. That alone proved to me there had been an actual loud sound in the house, but I didn’t see anything out of place, so I went back to bed.

I just woke up “officially” and went to the kitchen to make coffee, and that’s when I noticed the skillet was no longer on the stove top where I put it, the spoon rest was knocked over, and the small plastic box I keep in the window sill for drying seeds was no longer where it should be … and there were seeds all over the stove, the kitchen work table, and the floor. Unless we have suddenly acquired a poltergeist, I have to assume there was a cat on the kitchen work table, the stove, and the window sill.

It doesn’t take much contemplation to know which cat. It had to have been small and agile Tora. I don’t think the other two can manage getting up there, and I have found Tora hair on the work table and stove before, but I’d been giving her the benefit of the doubt. I’d convinced myself that due to her fur being so soft and light it had been wafting in air currents and landing in places the cats know they aren’t supposed to tread. Well, there can be little doubt now. There is a cat in the house which has been walking around in those very places. Argh!

Time to go make that coffee and get Lin moving. We’re off to Mom’s today. I’m sure all three cats will be perfect angels while we are gone.

The back door was standing open when I made it to the den today. Open! Who knows how long. I locked it on my way to bed last night, but it must not have been pushed all the way shut. I suspect cats were involved with the opening aspect. I also suspect Tora has been wandering around outside. The other cats are in a tizzy this morning. They keep sniffing Tora and hissing. She smells different, even to my nose. Like dirt and damp grass. Definitely smells like she’s been outside in the real world.

I’m freaking out, of course. Forgetting to lock the door is one thing. Having the door standing open is another altogether. Must remember to always check that it’s pushed all the way shut. There’s apparently a cat in the house interested enough in opening it to bother.

Lucky we didn’t wake up with some kind of critter in the house. Or worse. Yup, freaked me out seeing the door just standing open like that, but at least it looks like nothing bad happened, and all the cats are in the house and safe. The only bad things it caused is a little cat unhappiness and me feeling stupid. Thank goodness for minor miracles.

So glad Tora is home. I know she went outside. Who knows how long she was out there. But, she came back! I don’t know what I would have done had I found the door open and her gone. It would have been horrible.

Everything in its place, plus a little room for future additions! This project took a lot longer than I thought it would, even though I really just threw it together slap-dash without much thought. It’s certainly not my best sewing work –if I ever make another one, I’ll do some thing differently– but it’s very sturdy and will no doubt last a lifetime (or two).

And here’s what it looks like all rolled up:

As you can see, Ronin is licking the fabric to see if it has flavor, and lying on it with his incredible weight as well. This technique is known as Cat Steam Pressing. He’s very good at it.

And Tora is showing me exactly how far up the bottom flap needs to be folded. To there, and no further. Who needs a ruler when you have a cat?

Myu was nowhere to be found, thankfully. Two cat assistants were more than enough for this simple sewing job.