My smoke alarm has been chirping again; not as much as it did on New Year's Eve but enough to let me know that all is not well with it.
The maintenance person came today to try out a new fitting for my shower recess to see if it drains better. If it doesn't work then it will have to be re-tiled with smaller times. A hassle but probably better than having to squeegee it out every day in order to let the floor dry. While he was here I asked if he was the person to speak to about the smoke alarm so he tried resetting it which sent it crazy. He removed it from its fitting on the ceiling and has promised to return with a new one but even so, it has chirped once - unless it is one of the other ones and my directional hearing is playing tricks.
I am including a photo of Parsifal pretending to be king of the computer. He loves to play Freecell and makes it extremenly difficult for me as he sits up and tries to catch the cards as they move, completely blocking my view of the screen. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Yesterday D3 and SIL with various kids in tow came over and fixed up the bottoms of the couches where the kittens had torn the bottom lining down. When it came down to the crunch there wasn't enough calico so they used red and white gingham on one couch and blue and white on the other. It is very neat and the gingham doesn't show but the red one reflects a bit onto the floor so that it looks as though there is a small red light underneath. I have no quarrel with that as, at night, I get a rosy glow from Hungry Jacks down below, not to mention all the other lights which the Claremont Council installed after the three girls went missing some years ago. We are now lit up like a Christmas tree; every nook and cranny has its own light.
The kittens have discovered one of their new beds and use that although Parsifal is currently asleep in one of my clothes drawers. He is putting on weight and is a complete clown. Poppy is very cuddly and now purrs as loudly as Parsifal does. They are learning that I don't approve of being bitten and scratched and now mostly reserve their toughing up for each other.
They are getting bigger and more energetic and are sleeping less. They seem a great deal of time galloping from one end of the apartment to the other or toughing each other up. In their rest periods they like to take a flying leap into my lap and curl up to sleep. Flying leaps are a specialty and Parsifal once took a flying leap into the litter and landed spreadeagled. I didn't laugh, of course ...
I have finally got around to having my eyes tested and, as I suspected, my distance vision has become more distant but that is the only thing which has changed this time so it is only one new pair of glasses instead of three. This means that I might get extravagant and get a second pair of distant ones; choosing frames is fun!
I have discovered that one of the hinges on my shower recess is getting rusty. I can't imagine why anyone would install rustable hinges in a shower recess but it has got to a stage where nothing about the workmanship of this apartment any longer has the power to surprise me.
This morning I took the kittens to see Dr Dave to be vaccinated and microchipped. They need another injection in a month's time and at that consultation we will discuss spaying Poppy and neutering Parsefal. The boy is still thinner than the girl but he is doing OK and eating well. At the moment he is trying to type this blog as he f54ls4, quite rightly, that if it is about him then he should have some input. 9
Obviously he is going to be a mathematical genius; he m walked on the numpad,,,,,,,,,,n n n -n
Poppy is asleep in her spinning basket. 56jjjjjjj I took a photo ... Click on the photo to enlarge it.
This morning I trimmed the babies' fingernails. There wasn't much to trim but they were feeling a little bit prickly. I didn't do their toenails as there wasn't enough to trim. They were as good as gold and it only took a second.
Tomorrow morning we are visiting Dr Dave for vaccinations, microchipping and de-worming and to discuss the imminent spaying of Poppaea in a couple of weeks.
I am starting to be able to tell them apart some of the time without looking at their rear ends. Parsifal is into everything and always in danger of being shut in somewhere. He managed to get himself shut into my sliding pantry arrangement and was there for about an hour before Poppy told me that he was in there. Ever since then he has been desperate to get back again; I can't see what the attraction is but he loves it and tries to open it with his paw.
Poppy is a bit of a loud-mouth, less adventurous and has decided that her aim in life it to be a lapcat; she is very cuddly and shouts for attention if she thinks that she is being neglected. She has taken over my spinning basket which, since she lies within the Lazy Kate, is too small for Parsifal to get in with her, not for want of trying.
The Selfs came for an early dinner last night so that they could meet the kittens who were so exhausted after playing for so many hours that they put themselves straight to bed and didn't stir again until I got up this morning - not even to use their litter. Then they both decided that the small emergency litter tray in my bathroom was exactly where they needed to go for their morning 'internal hygiene'. At least it was only one to clean out.
This is a picture of Parsifal growling mightily in case someone steals his toy. D3 and I had to go out and buy another 'fishing line' toy to stop arguments over
that particular toy. Click on the photo to enlarge it.
Poppaea prefers balls, particularly the sort which she can carry around in her mouth. My apartment is looking very lived in and the bottom of one couch is a total write off but I am reluctant to recover the bottom and block access for the babies as that is their safe house and sleeping quarters at the moment. Hopefully when the bottom falls out completely they will find somewhere else to sleep. By that stage they will probably be able to jump onto my bed but although their jumping ability is increasing all the time they have not yet managed to reach such dizzy heights.
D3 and I went over to the Selfs for morning tea so that Herself could show D3 how to go about doing the tapestry which she has set her heart on doing but had no idea how to go about it. Herself is an expert and a good person to go to for advice. The tapestry is one of the Lady and the Unicorn series; D3 and I saw the originals in the Cluny Museum in Paris and she has wanted her own ever since.
They are both asleep ... inside the couch. Knowing that the underneath lining on one of my leather couches was coming adrift I asked if D3 and SIL could, as a Christmas present, buy some unbleached calico (stronger than the stuff under there now) a loan of their staple gun and some manpower to upend the couches. Regretfully, they had already bought me a Christmas present but promised the couch fix for Mothers' Day instead.
The girl kitten, Poppaea, found the hole yesterday afternoon and both kittens slept inside the couch last night and are back there now so peace reigns for the moment and it is better, and I am sure it is more comfortable, than sleeping on the hard cold floor behind the litter box.
They slept on and off until yesterday afternoon when they suddenly exploded into activity and explored the apartment at high speed. Last night they were not able to jump up onto anything but this morning Parsifal hopped up onto my lap and helped me to do my meditation. That involved using me as a ladder to get onto the back of the couch. Poppaea contented herself with chewing my toes; not a very meditative meditation.
However, they are eating well and what my pharmacy euphemistically calls 'internal' hygiene' is all working as it should.
Poppaea is a bit shy and doesn't really seek out attention ... but shouts if she thinks that she has lost her brother; and she is very, very clever. Parsifal is the outgoing one with a purr like a buzz saw, demanding attention. I have yet to hear Poppaea purring. I am sure that will come when she is more comfortable with me.
This morning I girded up my loins and drove to Canning Vale to collect the kittens. Compared to Boy-cat who weighed eight kilos they are tiny and feel totally fragile but the way they have been rioting around since they got here belies that impression.
They were both asleep in their carry box when we arrived and I left them sleeping for a couple of hours after which they started to explore. So far they have not ventured very far; to begin with they set up camp behind the washing machine so I had to lure them out of the laundry and shut the door. I wasn't happy about them being there. So now they have chosen to rest behind the biggest of the litter trays which has rounded corners and a big overhang. Except for the cold bathroom tiles they are very neat little hideaways, one kitten to each corner.
I am starting to be able to tell them apart without looking at their rear ends. Parsifal is super-friendly and is going to be an ankle winder, I suspect. Poppaea is less outgoing but is clever. She tried to play with her own image in a mirror wardrobe door and when she realised that she couldn't reach the other kitten she dashed out into the passage in the hope of attacking it there. For a baby that is very creative thinking.
They are asleep again, having thoroughly toughed each other up. I have left their carry box available but they have lost interest in that; the litter tray is the thing ...
D1 went back to Sydney yesterday and arrived safely. Tomorrow she will be signing transfer documents and giving notice that she intends to break the lease on the apartment she rents. I think that settlement is next month and she is already planning to get a pair of kittens. Hopefully there is nothing in the Body Corporate rules to say that she can not have a companion animal or two.
My smoke alarm went crazy on New Year's Eve and the book of words said that there were no user-replaceable parts and that the smoke alarm should be replaced immediately. Faced with the thought of three days with it chirping every minute or so I phoned the Multiplex contact person who sounded as though she was at a family gathering. However, she gave me the name of the electrician whom Multiplex uses (but not until after the holidays) and as a last resort suggested that I try pressing all the buttons. I pushed the "test" and then the "Hush" and after a couple of chirps of protest it silenced itself.
Hopefully there is nothing else which can go wrong but I am not holding my breath; there is a gale blowing through the eaves and something went 'thump' somewhere and it wasn't the babies.
