New furniture and Stinkerbell

The new furniture arrived on Friday, and it was indeed brand spanking new! Still in it’s box / plastic! I was ecstatic – but the Mips? They were traumatized! They behaved as if I had brought two dogs in to live with us! They hid in the bedroom for the longest time! Then they dashed past to get out of this madhouse!

I put the fleece throw over the couch. Although it is lovely and soft, it is a bit of a pity, since the couch itself is quite pretty! Then I sprinkled catnip over the throw and put Mewthos’ twirly-jersey and one of the blankies on the couch.

I tried picking up mips and cuddling them on the couch – but they seemed to fear it would bite & would struggle to get free and dash off! Frankie, Rose’s tomcat, had no fear, though. He rubbed himself on the catnip on the couch – no problem! Snoopy also showed no fear, he curled up for a nap on the couch!

Lady Jane’s first attempt at making peace with the couch was ill conceived: she tried to use it as a scratching post. Mewthos was the first to take a nap on the new chair, followed later by Lady Jane.

I waited just a bit too long to carry the box into the garage, as it had just started to drizzle. I wasn’t feeling too well on Friday, a combination of a monthly plus the change in weather, again! After mid-summer temperatures, we now get to enjoy something akin to autumn.

I decided to put the white fleece throw over the chair – also a pity to cover up the lovely pattern, but that’s life with cats.

By now they’ve all made peace with the furniture – so much so, that I don’t get much chance to use it! I find myself sitting on the Ottoman taking photos of the cute cat family taking possession of my lovely, comfy wing-back chair!

Rose came to look at it as well, and she didn’t want to leave – it really is awfully comfortable! She also fell in love with the fleece throw, and went to get one for herself.

I had a bit more energy on Saturday, so I cleaned the kitchen and the litter box. I put clean sand in the box, but Lady Jane no longer gets exited over it. Both Mips came to watch, and went inside to inspect, but none of the exited scratching Lady Jane used to do to show her approval. When I took a bath that night, though, Mewthos went scratching around in it – I thought he was planning to use it … well, he did: he curled up in the hollow he’d dug in it, to watch me bath!

Ziva was quite agitated about me taking a bath last night, she strolled all over the rim, even tried to investigate the side by the wall! I discouraged that – I really don’t want her slipping and falling in while I’m in the bath! Never dull bathing with cats! I don’t know why they all insist on coming into the bathroom with me – sometimes they don’t but most of the time they are all crowded in with me.

Rose and I are surmising that maybe Romeo’s habit of spraying every bush, wall and surface is not so much about him marking his territory, but that they are markers for Snoopy. Snoopy’s eyesight is clearly not good and Rose has often observed Snoopy following Romeo like a shadow. And I’ve seen Romeo come running when Snoopy calls. Those two really are such darling cats, each in his own way. Unfortunately Romeo’s way is to stink the place up! I keep referring to him as Stinkerbell and make sure I chase him as soon as he’s finished eating, before he gets a chance to spray. Poor Stinky, doesn’t deserve it – but neither do I deserve the pong in my home! I took bleach to the walls and every surface in my home today. I caught a few new places, hopefully all! I had washed the bin inside and out yesterday, and today he had already sprayed on it again! Sigh.

Well, the lounge is a bit of a maze at the moment, I still have some re-arrangement to do. I have some ideas, but I haven’t made up my mind quite yet.

In case you’re interested, the game is now practically running itself. Well, of course, not quite, but it no longer takes up much of my time. Someone volunteered to take over the weekly tournament co-ordination and that frees up the last of my intense involvement. There still isn’t much communication going on, I’m afraid, but now that’s no longer frustrating me. I spend more time in the new city now, which is also coming along nicely – as is the fellowship. There are several potential candidates for the big Fellowship and I’ve got two ‘helpers’. One of my big fellows and another Archmage who also started a little city, although not for recruitment but for something to click while waiting around the big one. I may have to do some recruiting again, we’re down to 21/25, but there’s no need to really worry, yet. People might stumble in soon; and when the northern hemisphere moves into winter, more people will play online games again.

It is so lovely to sit in the wing-back chair, with my legs up on the Ottoman, watching a lovely old fashioned movie! When the Mips let me use my chair, that is! At times all three of them are curled up on it! And I haven’t the heart to dislodge them.

Right now, Mewthos is curled up on the office chair, Lady Jane in my lovely new chair and Ziva? Well, she’s in the bedroom again. She sometimes comes up to me, puts a paw on my leg and mips at me – but when I try to give her my full attention, she turns around and stalks off!

Today our gardener came again, he spent the whole day just clearing the weeds from the path! They had nearly overgrown the entire path by the garage, again! I re-planted a couple of Nasturtiums and Cosmos which had tried their luck in the lawn and path. And, of course, I pulled weeds – just can’t help myself! That patch of lawn is being taken over, yet again!

Romeo came in to munch and on his way out he went and sprayed my new couch! Fortunately, I had a thick blanket hanging over that edge, so nothing actually got onto the couch, but that was the last straw: He’s not coming in again! As endearing as his reasons for spraying and caterwauling are – the actions themselves are not! I can not have him keep spraying inside anymore. So I’m filling the red bowl with food and putting it outside for him to feed.

Rose and I watched today, as Romeo started caterwauling, Snoopy got up and started moving towards the sound! It is so sweet the way he helps Snoopy! Just such a pity it is such intolerable behaviour for us humans.

Lady Jane, on the other hand, has very much un-endeared herself earlier today! The Mips absolutely love the, now featherless, toy, but the plastic rod has broken in several places and I don’t want them to hurt themselves on the sharp edges, so I took it out to remove the plastic. Lady Jane got so excited she clawed into my thigh to try and reach it on the desk! Ouch! That is still painful! Well, I finished cutting the rod and stuck it into the scratcher – Mewthos played with it a bit and then they left it there.

Now they’ve curled up on the office chair – Ziva is on the bed. Again!

I’ve at least got through three loads of laundry today – the jerseys were dry by late afternoon, so I could hang up the blanket Romeo had sprayed. Now I’ve got the towels & dish towels in to wash and dry.

Tomorrow I absolutely must get some groceries. Best go early in the morning, first to Spar and then on to Makro. I think that’s about as much as I’ll be able to stand.

Bargain!

I spent most of yesterday cleaning and re-arranging the lounge – something I’ve been wanting to do for quite a while. Turning the desk was, of course, the toughest part of the job; so I removed the drawers to make it lighter … and Mewthos immediately jumped into that lovely new hidey-hole!

Lady Jane had some blood on her ear – looks like she stuck her head where she shouldn’t have, and scraped it a bit when she pulled her head out again! Nothing serious, though.

Then, today, I had finally made up my mind regarding the furniture I had looked at and went off to purchase my choice! The sales-man was standing outside the door, as if waiting for me, he he! Well, when I looked at my choice, I found – to my delight – that the price had gone down! By a 3^rd! That’s quite a reduction! And then I saw, that one of the wing-back chairs I had been eyeing is also reduced! Drastically!

It would be spending more than I had initially planned, so I thought about it for a while. Those wing-backs are strangely expensive most of the time, though. And getting one for the price of a cheap sleeper-couch? Doesn’t happen often. On closer inspection, I saw the reason for the reduction: there was a tiny damage, underneath the chair, the material had come loose. But that’s easy to repair.

I decided to get both! Plus an Ottoman! When he took down the chair & Ottoman, and I tried it out – I didn’t want to get up again! It was so comfortable! I won’t regret this decision, I’m sure!

As we sat at his desk, and he was taking my details, the salesman mentioned that he, too, has cats, but finds them typically aloof. I shared how cuddly and loving my little family is, and how far they go out of their way to please me – well, I didn’t mention the needy, whiny, want attention part. He couldn’t believe it! He always assumed that cats are naturally aloof and treat their ‘owners’ as food-givers and cleaners. We talked quite a bit and he was really happy to hear his preconception was not true; he wants to give ‘attention’ a try and see how that will work.

When he came back for the office he told me that he was so happy to hear how to improve his relationship with his cats, that he’ll put the ‘show’ pieces back and will send me new, out of the box, furniture straight from the warehouse! So the wing-back won’t even be damaged! Isn’t that a bargain!

I can hardly wait for the delivery, tomorrow! Oh, I’m so excited, now! I picked such a lovely, old-fashioned wing-back chair! It looks like it’s covered in curtain-material, striped in three shades of brown with a ‘golden’ thread in between! And the Ottoman! Well, even though it looks like leather, rather than material, it goes with the chair plus I can put stuff inside it! And the sleeper-couch! I’ll put it behind the desk, so in the evenings I can watch a movie or an episode with all my cats curled up around me!

I’ve been dreaming about one of those chairs ever since I moved in here, though at the time I imagined it in the spare room, the library. Yeah, that’s how long I’ve been wanting one of these chairs! Long before Ziva even appeared. So, dreams can come true!

I popped in to Checkers, next door, to get some bread and milk and they had some ‘throws’ on special! Some lovely fleecy big ones! So I took three of those for my new furniture! The lounge is going to be quite crowded, but I’ll move things around and open it up a bit.

Oooh, I’m so excited now! I want to carry on with the re-arrangement of the lounge – now! He he, I should do some work in the kitchen, first, though!

Uh oh! Got a police helicopter circling low over this neighbourhood! Mips came inside, even Ziva came up the stairs – I had to call her a few times before she came in, though. Poor girl is quite scared! Snoopy is also safely inside, and I take this opportunity to wash his eye out. It looks like someone did wash it out since last time I saw him, his eye was nearly shut yesterday, while today it’s open and just some dried gunk outside, which comes off easily.

I just heard on the news what happened: two guys approached a third guy and shot him. One of the two was apprehended, the other got away. So, I’m keeping my door shut for a while! It’s the Mippies Siesta time, anyway, so they’re okay with it. Snoopy insisted on going out, though. And Ziva doesn’t like a shut door during the day. She’s sitting there contemplating whether she can open it herself!

Productive morning

Since I was feeling up to it – though not in the mood – I went out this morning. After the mornings in-and-out-and-in-and-OUT-OUT-ROMEO-OUT I tricked Ziva and the Mips with a sachet and sneaked out.

First stop the vets for some special sachets and FIT32 – feeding 2 extra adults is taking its toll. Then I went to Greenacres and looked for a SpecSaver. I found them and asked if they could repair the frame of my spectacles, she said she might be able to glue them temporarily. I need a permanent solution, though. Since it’s not a SpecSaver frame, they don’t have parts. She kindly phoned the optometrist where I got them – explaining that I’ve moved from East London to PE, as the reason I’m not in their shop now. While we wait for a reply, we looked for similar frames, just in case, but found none. She then took me next door to ExecuSpec, but they also had nothing. They also explained that frame-less was not an option, it wasn’t possible with my lenses. Then she asked if I had other business here, I said, yes. She suggested I go take care of that while she goes through the options.

So I went to Checkers. I had some slim hope they might still have some Tempo Tissues – after all, their shelves were stacked with them last time I was there. But yeah, nothing. Not so much as a single box. And no 3-ply alternative, either. I did, however, get another fishy toy for the Mips. Other than that, though, just groceries. When I finished, I took them to the car and sat in the car for a smoke. While I’m worrying, expecting the worst re my  frames – I’m just seeing dollar signs going ka-ching, being told I’ll have to get entirely new glasses, lenses and all – SpecSaver rang to say I could come and collect! No charge! Well, that could mean they can’t do anything – so I’m still fretting over the ka-chings.

When I got there, though, she had replaced both temples with new ones! No charge! Okay, if you look closely you can see they neither match nor fit 100% - but they do the job and they’ll last a good while! And if anyone is looking at my glasses, instead of me – well, I’ll deal with that! He he.

And then, as I was happily strolling back to the car, I came past House & Home, and – since I’ve just saved a bundle – decided to go look at their lounge chairs or two-seaters. The high-backed chairs are rather pricey, so I went over to the two-seaters. They have quite a nice one, within my budget, too. Then I saw, next to that a … one-seater, though two could cozy up on it, too. With arm-leans and a nice wide back for Lady Jane to stroll along and curl up on. As I was strolling out, I saw a sleeper-couch for the same price. Beige and brown checker pattern, no arm-rests, not a wide top either, but three can sit on it comfortably. Behind that, another sleeper couch coloured grey and bright red – quite ugly colours – but at 2/3rds the price. So, I’ve got some thinking to do, now.

Back at home, Lady Jane couldn’t wait to rush down the stairs, while Mewthos and Zive felt my shopping bags deserved their full attention! Well, I packed everything a way – and got another message from the plumber: he wants to come half four this afternoon. Seemed reasonable at the time, but now I’m feeling tired and am struggling to stay awake.

It’s the middle of winter, and it’s 28°C! This weather is playing merry havoc with me! First the migraine, now the tiredness – well, early night should help. I also struggle to get to sleep at night, so it’s a merry-go-round.

Both Fellowships are doing nicely – in the big one, someone volunteered to take over the Tournament Coordination; which will take a big load off my hands! So I can put a bit more into the Facebook group. I took some time today to re-arrange my big city, but mostly it’s a waiting game now – I need to upgrade all residences, and they take something like 20 hours each, and I have only 3 builders. My mini city is growing steadily, though it feels a bit slow. The Fellowship has swelled up to 22, leaving only 3 open spots! Which means, I no longer need to spend time recruiting (which is quite time-consuming) – just keep an eye on the fellows and expel inactives. Well, a bit more than that, but not much. It’s all falling into place.

The weirdest Mips

While I was taking my bath last night, the Mips got weird! Never mind Ziva’s habitual inspection to check whether I really, really submerge myself in water. Never mind Mewthos habitual taste-test of my bath water. Or Lady Jane’s habit of despoiling the lovely fragrance of my bath salts by taking a dump.

Last night each of them decided to investigate the toilet! In turns! I don’t mean the seat or the plumbing, I mean the water! It was the weirdest sight seeing Ziva’s rear on the seat with her head inside the bowl! Followed by Lady Jane – same procedure and lastly Mewthos! The only thing I can think of is, that I had removed some gunk from the drain and dropped it in the toilet before filling the bath – but really, does gunk need such close inspection?

When I went to sleep, Lady Jane for some strange reason decided to sleep on her back! It was the cutest sight! Paws in the air, white tummy shining – just begging to be rubbed! Of course, I obliged! Who could resist?

Remember the episode with Ziva and the four pigeons she brought in? Well Lady Jane sure is her mother’s daughter! Except that she brings in grasshoppers! Four or five today, still alive and doing their best to get away by jumping up … on the curtains! With two excited Mips putting out claws trying to follow! There’s still one somewhere up on a curtain rail, which I know of – at least none were carried to the bedroom!

The weirdest dreams!

I’ve been having the weirdest dreams the past two nights! The night before last I dreamed something about a gun that controls you. I felt compelled to go into my flat upstairs, get my gun and fire a shot at Rose! I don’t own a gun, and if I did, I would never fire it as a joke – so I haven’t the slightest idea where that was coming from! I certainly bear Rose no ill will! Well, the dream continued with Rose taking the gun and another person helping to take me to the police to hand it in. That’s all I remember.

Yesterday I enjoyed the pleasure of a debilitating migraine again – actually the first since the Mip Mips were born. Probably courtesy of this weird weather. One day it’s winter and literally the next it’s a pleasant summer day! Not quite mid-summer heat, but hot enough to qualify for summer. Of course the phone would ring off the hook on the one day I’m not able to answer it. Some plumber wanting access for a quote for the body corporate, my boss’ mother, some other dude – and later, a concerned Rose. Fortunately I managed to get up fairly early, I let the cats out and had a few bites of food followed by my migraine cocktail, so by late afternoon I was much better.

Last night, I dreamed again of the house I’ll be living in. That house has made an appearance in several dreams already, it’s not very big, but lovely. And it has a lovely big kitchen, a lovely bathroom and a comfortable bedroom. I guess that part is fantasy, I’m afraid. It’s quite an old fashioned house, so it’s still spacious and with high ceilings, and lovely large built in wardrobes. Not the squishy stuff you get in the ‘modern’ or ‘renovated’ places – made to look spacious, but you’d have to go outside to change your mind! There isn’t room for more than one thought!

Anyway, I was in this house, in the bedroom and went through to the kitchen. Only, there was a room leading from the kitchen, open-plan, not through a doorway, and in that room there were tables set out like a restaurant. I stepped back into the bedroom, played with the Mips for a bit and went back into the kitchen. Only now there are a whole lot of rooms everywhere, all leading from the kitchen, all with tables set out like a restaurant and each room with its own theme, country-themed, one room looking French, another Brazilian, one German, and so forth. I turn around and there’s a door, so I try it and it’s a bathroom! Only, there’s no toilet, only a bidet, and you need a token to use it. So I go back out, get a token from the chef now working in the kitchen – but when I get back into the toilet, it’s now a massage parlour! Since I have the needed token, I decide that I might as well. Only, it turns out it’s one of ‘those’ massage parlour … so I leave. I still remember something about talking to someone about this, but I woke up soon after that.

Still with a bit of a migraine. After a bad night. Before five in the morning! Hungry. So I make myself coffee and breakfast. The Mips are in a mood. Snoopy and Romeo are crying outside – I let them in, but with Romeo, I try to chase him out as soon as he finishes eating, because he just looks for places to spray. As I’m trying to chase him out, Lady Jane shoots through the door and won’t come back in! That was just the last straw and I snapped. Went outside screaming at the little beech! Shame, poor Rose wondered what happened and came out to see if I needed help!

She got hold of Lady Jane, handed her to me and I carried the protesting little girl back upstairs and inside. That was around half eight, I don’t like to let them out till ten past eight, when the traffic is less rushed. I hope they don’t go into the street, but I can’t be 100% sure and with Mewthos so accident-prone, I like to be as careful as I can.

Well, I calmed down and let them out after eight. Funny thing, though: Normally, when I open the door in the mornings, Lady Jane hangs around for some time – she’s usually the last one to go through the open door!

The bedroom smelled a bit damp, probably a combination of the damp carpet and the laundry hanging in there to dry. And probably the reason for this morning’s touch of migraine, so I put away the laundry and opened the fanlight and curtains. It’s cleared up nicely during the day.

I spent some time in the garden, weeding my patch of lawn as well as the bed. I found quite a lot of ‘grass’ sprouting in that bed, so I transplanted that into the bald patches, where I had pulled the dead roots and dried Kikuyu. It’s not that onion-grass I keep pulling out of the vegetable bed, and it’s not Kikuyu – I can only guess that some of the seeds I threw into the garden have only now germinated. I did try to sow some proper grass seeds one time.

My peas are coming along nicely, though! I think I should start putting in stakes for them to climb up on, before they look for a hold along the ground. I’m also trying something new: Using an egg-carton as a seed-tray! You can simply plant them into the ground, after all, they are biodegradable!

I got so busy with the garden, it was starting to get dark again – the Mips won’t come when I call anymore. But tonight I stayed calm about it – they all came in sometime after six. Lady Jane, closely followed by Ziva, and then I only had to call Mewthos twice before he came strolling in as well. While they all hunched over their food dispensers, I shut the door.

Another week with nothing worth writing

It’s been eight days since I last posted an update, but there just isn’t anything to tell. The cats are no longer getting up to anything special – they love having me at home, ready for cuddle attacks whenever they want. Mewthos’ chin is healing nicely, he scratched it a bit still, but it gets cleaned by Lady Jane or Ziva regularly, so it’s just a matter of his fur growing back. His curly brow has straightened out.

Shadow brought in a dead bird, and upon getting such lavish praise from Rose, brought in a live one the following day! Rose called me to borrow my rescue-cage – but the pigeon died before it ever got to the cage.

We’ve gone through a cold front – and it was winter for a couple of days. We also had lots of rain, but we’re still a water disaster area. Today it’s almost summer again and I’ve got one of those pressing nuisance-level headaches. Exciting, isn’t it?

I missed a call from my boss’ mother last night, she left a message that she’d call this morning, but hasn’t. I tried calling the number, no answer. Sigh.

Romeo is driving me up the wall with his incessant spraying! His latest thing is to spray the green shading lying on my floor for the Mips to play with! Can’t wipe his spray off there! It took me the longest time to figure out where that pong was coming from! I’ve been washing walls like a maniac, but the pong just wouldn’t go away! No wonder!

I got so caught up chatting with Rose this evening, I forgot the time and it was getting dark when we noticed Mewthos jumping through Rose’s far gate towards the road! I had to go inside – but only Ziva came in! She had a snack and dashed back outside – Mips stayed another half hour! They ignored my calling, and they know when it’s inside time. Lately they just make me so angry at times!

And just to end the day with a bang: When I picked up my glasses after my bath, the frame was broken! It had come apart, which must have been wearing down for a long time. So, first thing tomorrow, I better find someone to fix them. I’ve been trying to make a plan for tonight, until I remembered my old glasses. They’re not multi-focal, but they’ll do.

Writing too much other stuff

I’ve been writing so many circulars for the game, that I haven’t gotten around to writing my blog! It’s starting to pay off, though! I’ve got two fellows who volunteered for two tasks, and a discussion going on the way forward with respect to finding active players to join our fellowship. I’ve actually started a second city, with the idea of running a ‘training camp’ – finding new players, build them up and bring them into our big fellowship, when they’re ready! Since everything in my main, big city takes a long time to upgrade or build, I do have time every day to keep building the mini-me as well. It needs more attention at first, to set up when everything is quick and fast; and now I’m recruiting, which is also time-consuming. But once it’s set up, I should be able to manage with my normal evening play-time.

I’m preparing a number of circulars, teaching about basic features, strategies and such – but once they are done, I can rotate through them with every new batch of recruits. There will be a lot of coming and going, I suppose, since I plan to ruthlessly boot anyone not playing daily. Why? Well, loads stop playing after a week or so – the map is full of ‘dead’ cities. With new players, no need to hang on, to wait and see. If you’re not hooked from the start, you’ll most likely quit anyway.

So that’s all coming together and I’m spending more time on housework, at the moment. I had let things slide a bit, but I’ve caught up already. There isn’t much more to tell at this point. I still don’t know when I’ll be moving, or where to. I still haven’t tackled that application – I really must get onto that! The cats are all doing fine, Mewthos’ chin is healing – even though he scratches it bloody every now and then. I guess no news is good news – though it doesn’t make for good copy!

Happy birthday, Rose!

In the morning I sneaked out again, to get some groceries. Ziva happened to be inside as well, at the time – she was not too pleased! Romeo and Snoopy were stretched along my path – and also not too happy about the door to their freebie restaurant being closed.

I just got some bread, meat, milk and some chocolate for Rose! Well, okay, so I got one for myself as well. But you won’t believe how easy it is to walk past the chocolates now when I have Choc Oats Delight biscuits waiting for me at home!

After unpacking everything, I treated myself to one – and Lady Jane was quite excitedly sniffing my face, wondering where that delicious smell is coming from! He He He! I also heard Rose – now, with her silent new gate, I never hear her coming or going anymore! So I grabbed my flute (or recorder, as I believe it’s called) and played ‘Happy birthday’ coming down the stairs! She was quite puzzled at first, wondering about the strange sound. It didn’t help that I couldn’t find the right notes on the last bit.

I spent some time online, and then followed the invitation to tea and coffee! What a lovely afternoon – and mostly Mip-free! Lady Jane kept wandering in, investigating, and looking around. Mewthos went upstairs to sulk, though. I had lovely, lovely cake – several slices, as a matter of fact. And some delicious scones! I even got a slice of cake to take home – better keep that in the fridge, or some Mip will find and nibble on it!

Back upstairs, it was getting dark and Lady Jane decided to have another go at ‘naughty’ again. I shut Mewthos in the bedroom and went after her, but she wouldn’t come – and it’s not fair to punish Mewthos for being good. So I let him out and shut the door. I didn’t have long to wait, though. And then the ‘I missed you, mommy!’ love fests started! First Mewthos spent about 15 Minutes in my arms getting kisses and cuddles, then Lady Jane wanted a turn. She doesn’t like kisses much, but loves to be close to my face! Now, they’re finally cuddling each other, washing each other and just giving me a break.

Ziva still sulks about the flea collar – but not so much, that she won’t try to get a share of biltong, when I’m eating it! She toppled over the cat carrier – don’t ask me, how!

On Rose’s daughter’s advice, I’ve now sprinkled bicarb on the chair next to me, hoping that will remove whatever the Mips object to. Can’t have that chair completely avoided. The cats might like to curl up on the floor, but I prefer being able to reach out and pet them every now and again. They are all just so adorably cute! Except when they’re not, he he.

In one of the game-related Facebook Groups, I joined, a hot topic got quite a thorough discussion: poaching! As in recruiting players from other fellowships. Finding active players for a fellowship is not easy. Certain game features are only available to you, if you are in a fellowship, like tournaments and adventures. So most active players are in fellowships. I’ve waded through 200+ pages of the ranking list, and researched every player who is not in a fellowship – 99% of them have stopped playing, and of the 1% left, most don’t want to be in a fellowship. That really only leaves two options: Poach players or train up newbies. I’ve started a mini-city with the second option in mind. I’m now building it up and I’ve got two active members in that Fellowship already! I got some great advice from an Archmage, who’s Fellowship has been using that strategy successfully for two years now. It’s fun, but also time-consuming. I just wish I could earn some income doing something like this, he he.

Mippies like their Nippies!

Both Mewthos and Ziva were being a serious nuisance the other night! They want their treats earlier every night, and I’m not having it. So I dosed them with catnip! Happy kitties! Only Lady Jane is not overly keen on it – she is puzzled by Mewthos’ & Ziva’s obvious enjoyment!

The next morning, Frankie, Rose’s tomcat came for another visit – he does that lately! Comes upstairs, looks around, nibbles a bit on the food (he now gets the same food at home!) then inspects the flat until he decides to meander back out. This time, however, he didn’t even get to the food bowl – instead, he smelled the catnip and started licking the carpet and rolling around in it (where I had put the catnip for Ziva – Mewthos licks it off my palm!)! I took some photos and showed them to Rose – she couldn’t believe her eyes! So I gave her some dried catnip and she told me both Frankie and Shadow go wild for it He He.

I didn’t do much today. The washing won’t be dry until tomorrow – and it’ll be a bit stiff, I’m afraid. So I have to wait another day to wear my comfy new leggings! Ah, well.

I cleaned out the filter of the washing machine, with Mewthos’ … well, it’s not exactly help, is it? He inspected the water which came out of the machine, while I was mopping it up. Gave it a taste-test as well, but it wasn’t to his liking. Of course he put his paws in the water – leaving water paw prints all over the kitchen. And finally he decided to settle down on my back, while I was working hunched over like that! Yeah, that’s still weird – anytime I’m bent over, some cat decides to get on my back!

Funny thing, though, the filter wasn’t really full? A bit of lint, some pieces of plastic – but not enough to clog anything. Sigh – I just hope there’s no serious problem. With the stands both still full of drying laundry, I didn’t take a chance on washing a load today. I’ll do that tomorrow, see what happens.

Oh, and I’ve started placing a weekly order of biscuits – Rose’s daughter makes them. It’s her business, she sells them to various cafe's, schools, etc. They are to die for! I’ve tried three types so far, and each is absolutely delicious!

Well, with the Fellowship thing, I’m working towards spreading the workload – getting fellows to volunteer for some of the monitoring needed to keep an active, competitive team. The more people get to see what happens behind the scenes, the less they’ll gripe about how it should be, in their opinion. The majority want to follow a strategy which will be disadvantageous to some players – and I strongly disagree with it. I’ve tried explaining my point, but that isn’t being heard. So I offered to go along with it and suddenly it’s whoa! Not so fast! Ha Ha! Well, I figure if the biggest mouths get a responsibility – and get a feel of just how little co-operation one gets – that should spread the understanding a bit! I’ll set a goal – and everyone does their own thing. So, if others also start FEELING that, and others also set goals and it’s no longer just me – that will also take the ‘dictator’ perception off the table.

Sneaking out

The mowers came this morning, which chased both Mips inside – so I took advantage of that, shut them in and went shopping.

I decided to get the Makro shopping out of the way, and also get some more Whiskas in Jelly sachets – which all my cats love! I walked past the clothes … and stopped. They had one of those poncho-like tops which I like, and even in my size! Next to that they had some … I don’t know what to call them, the label says ‘Legging’. That’s about what they are. They looked like they would fit only stick-figures, yet they claimed to be size L/XL. They looked like decent pants, even though they’re just stretch material – so I decided to take a chance and tried them on. I was surprised to find they not only fit, but felt really comfortable! So I took three of them! And the top.

Back at home Ziva was disappointed that I carried stuff from the car to the stairs, rather than rub her tummy! The Mips were happy to come out and the strays were happy to come in! I’m seriously getting miffed at Romeo, though – the sod sprays blerry everywhere! I’ve been cleaning walls and bins and the oven … but when I came in after shopping, I could smell there are places I’ve missed! The worst thing is, that with me being inside so much, I don’t even smell it anymore!

I’ve also washed the chair Lady Jane pooped on, and put a throw on the seat. Neither Mewthos nor Lady Jane will sit in the chair now! If I put them down on the chair, the sniff, then get off as fast as they can – almost as if I’m asking them to sit in poop! Ha Ha!

Got another call re work. It sounds like we may not be getting the East London project – so I should get hold of my boss and find out what his plans are for me. Also, it turns out that Dumb & Dumber have hired Dumbest and put him in charge of moving the containers. Dumbest being a subcontractor we used to order mechanical parts from – but they delivered so many wrong parts, or parts that weren’t finished so they had to come to site and finish them, plus they always delivered a day or two late, if not longer – we ended up changing supplier. Ah well, not my circus, not my monkeys.

My own monkeys keep me quite occupied in my own little circus! I did a load of washing and when I took it out of the machine it was sopping wet! Sigh, I suppose I had better clean the filter tomorrow.

Crappy start

I had another of those nightmares last night, this time I dreamt someone stole Mewthos and Lady Jane! Urgh, I struggled to get back to sleep after waking from that!

This morning I found Lady Jane had deposited another load on the chair in the kitchen! With droplets on the floor – urgh does that pong! Even with my diminished sense of smell it turned my stomach! Then, while I sat in the lounge having my morning coffee, she came on to the chair next to me and deposited another load! Right there, right next to me! She clearly has diarrhoe – and man, the stench? I was retching the whole time while cleaning it up! Before breakfast! Oh, and I forgot to mention that she was throwing up on the scratcher while I was making my coffee.

What did she eat? Well, they cleaned out their bowls twice last night, so they got three sachets: One Petley, one Whiskas and one Royal Canin. I guess that’s just too much for my little girl – she usually eats only one, maybe two; well, thirds of a sachet since I divide them.

After I cleaned up what needed urgent cleaning, I went to spend some time in the garden. It was lovely and warm in the sun, right up until it was lovely and cool in the shade! I keep finding Nasturtiums and Cosmos trying their luck on the path, so I’m carefully transplanting them into the bed, where they should have a better chance.

Did you miss me?

Yeah, I know, I know! I just posted the blog I had written on 22^nd June – I’m slacking badly!

Is this the end of the blog? Well, I have thought about it. But no. So, what’s been happening in my life?

Mewthos went and got himself injured again! Sigh – I do not know what happened. He was napping on the chair next to me, then got up, went downstairs – and less than a minute later came back with blood under his chin! No hole, no blood in his mouth, just a bald patch with blood around the edges! Less than a minute, I kid you not!

He did act a bit strange that night, so I think he had a bit of concussion as well. But he was eating as usual, so I didn’t worry too much. The next evening, there was fresh blood under his chin – he’s been scratching it; so I’ve had to put the cone of shame on my poor little boy! He looks like a gramophone, and – like a gramophone – is stuck on one annoying note! He’s feeling very sorry for himself! At first he was like a bumblebee, going bump, bump, bump into everything. On Monday I went to the vet and got some ointment. Something to clean it and something to put on to help him heal. He’s moping and feeling sorry for himself and wants to be held all the time! He weighs a full 5kg now! And wants to be held in my arms – no, not on my lap, in my arms!

Ziva still reacts to her flea collar as if it’s made of poop. I have to ‘trick’ her every night – if she sees it coming, she runs away and slinks under furniture, where I can’t get at her! Once it’s on, she goes and sulks in the bedroom. With Mewthos! The two of them act as if the collar / cone weighs a ton! Heads low, slinking movements – oh, the abuse they suffer in my home!

Only Lady Jane is her usual, happy, loving, adventurous self! She is so undemanding and keeps herself busy and amused, that she is in danger of being neglected! I have to make a point of spending time with her. Oh, she comes and mips at me to be held, so she’s not being ignored! She did try ‘naughty’ the other night, when I called them in she stayed out. Refused to come in. I shut the door – and she just stayed out. When I let Ziva in, she still stayed out. Eventually I had to shut Ziva and Mewthos in the bedroom then go out and collect her! Shame, she new she had done something wrong, so she was a little scared of me – but I picked her up, carried her into the bathroom and shut that door as well; so I could lock the gate and shut the front door. Then I let Ziva and Mewthos out – and when I wanted to let Lady Jane out as well, the artificial grass sort of scrunched up under the door. So, I had to sort that out!

Rose has had an electric gate installed, and they fitted the old fencing on the wall between our properties, at the bottom of my stairs. That netting kept breaking along that stretch, and with the cats jumping over it – and me climbing over it … well, I’m careful, I didn’t pull it down any further. But now I can no longer go next door to rescue kitties! Oh, that’s not why she put it up! Firstly, that netting looked awful and secondly, once I’ve moved away, whatever moves in here is not likely to be trustworthy. The owner hasn’t done the minutest bit of maintenance – and this place needs repair! The carpets are getting damp through hairline cracks in the outer wall, the plumbing is up to crap (I’ve now got brown water coming out of the hot tap every first use of the day), the only outside light is broken. Need I go on?

I’ve had another birthday, and I have a new ache. My left thigh. Strange, but there it is. If I lie on my left side any time during the night, then get off it – that whole side burns and stings as if it was on fire! So, I’ve taken to sleeping on only my right side. During the day, the skin feels … asleep? Somewhat numb, yet with an underlying pain. Very weird. But then again, I don’t do normal!

On the work-front, I at least know, that I won’t be handling the move of the containers. Our electrician had asked our local electrician to get serial numbers off certain tools … and when he went to the site, he found his locks had been broken and new ones fitted! Turns out that Dumb & Dumber will be handling the move. Instead of getting the keys for the padlock from the office, to which they have a key, they just break the locks and put their own on! Nice, eh? Well, not my circus, not my monkeys!

I’ve tried calling my boss a couple of times, to find out what his plans are for me – but he has never answered, nor returned my calls. Sigh.

Regarding the whole passport, etc application – I haven’t done anything on that. I must, I know. Just not today.

The fellowship is coming along nicely, the Adventure went very well – we came in 15^th! We’re still going strong in Tournaments. Yeah, I’ve retreated into the game-world for a while to escape reality. So?

On sunny days I did the odd bits of gardening – mostly, I’m pulling out that horrid Kikuyu grass. There are roots criss-crossing under the surface which are hard as rock and some as brittle as … well, something very brittle. I’ve dug up more plastic, a bullet casing and other junk. No wonder the only thing thriving in my garden are parasites! My Nasturtiums are mostly covered with those black lice, I’m cutting every leaf and pulling every plant infested with that – and what’s left is mighty sparse!

On a positive note, though, I have a dozen peas growing! They’re still tiny little plants, but seem to be doing nicely. The Spekboom looks alive still, even though no roots have formed, yet. How do I know? The Mips tumble through and over them occasionally, then I have to re-plant them! I’ve also put some seeds in the flowerbeds – Alyssum again, purple and white, Dianthums, and a few more. No, I restrained myself – I got exactly enough seeds for the space I had! No more!

There. All news in one blog – and it doesn’t even take up much space!