Tuesday, August 13, 2013

Beach Heat, Fridge Heat and Cat Heat

We had an absolutely fabulous day at the beach on Saturday. It went off without a hitch, I don't think I got annoyed once, I think everyone was just so happy to finally be going! Even the car ride out was fun, with everyone joking and laughing. Nothing makes us happier than the beach! I'm glad I've passed that on to my girls, but sad that they have to miss out on the MONTH-long beach trips I enjoyed as a kid, the 2-3 swims a day, and the spectacular surf. Moments like that I kick myself for not living closer to a beach, but there's not that much I can do about that, except pile them all into the car for the trip at every available opportunity.

One thing we do that I didn't do as a kid is snorkel. I really love snorkelling! I can't wait to visit a prettier ocean; the sea grass and occasional small fish at Nakasakibana is not very exciting, though I still find it so lovely and peaceful, just moving through the water, the snorkel the only sound in the universe, the sand moving along under you, sun sparkling through the water.

And I finally got the definitive Lena beach shot. I've only been trying to get this photo for four years now, since I took a perfect beach photo of Erica when she was 1. I already had one of Amy, so all I needed to round it out was Lena. Now all I need is to print and frame them.

I was half thinking of visiting Katy, but we only left the beach at 5:30pm, right on dinner time, and I thought it would a bit jama for them and tiring for us. Until next time! Chicken and Sav, right?

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We got a new fridge. That's the second new 'white goods' in a month, after the washing machine broke last month. I *think* there's nothing else now that will break in a while, though the microwave is second hand, so I guess it could go anytime. 

About Thursday we noticed the bottled water wasn't as cool as usual.... that could be just people drinking it too fast or opening the door too often, but then Friday it started to make noises like a lawnmower. Amazing how quickly things got stinky after that. I moved some things over to the freezer Saturday morning, then K and I went fridge shopping later in the morning. We got a mid-size Toshiba, with a vegetable drawer in the middle and a separate ice tray and cooling box (so you don't have to leave leftovers out on the bench, OR put them hot into the fridge or freezer). Dull gray, and I don't like it as much as my last one, which was red. 

It was delivered today (Monday) so the rest of the fridge inhabitants moved to the beer fridge in the meantime, itself a sub-par, seal-challenged, dusty outdoor behemoth, useful really only for parties. And mid-summer, 36 degree heat, fridge breakdown emergencies! Only problem is that the outside of it is so HOT! I hope that's only because the freezer was firing up...

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Bloody cat. Or rather, bloody ME! 

Vanilla is in heat. She is NUTS! She is far worse than Genki, who is too skittish, and Cinnamon, who is too lazy to move very far. Cats in heat don't bleed, and keep themselves clean, so it's not gross. They are very affectionate, kissing and rubbing up against you, or the other cats. They miaow a lot more than normal (Genki the most, since she is the most vocal to start with), sleep way less, and spend those waking hours wandering around the house, miaowing and trying to get out. 

Since it's full-on summer and topping 35 every day, a lot of doors and windows are open. We have screens on every single window and door, but the cats can open either the screen or the window. Most egregious is the front door - it has a screen, but one installed by a moron, with a 10cm gap at the top, enough for a cat to fit through. I jerry-rigged it up with an umbrella in the gap yesterday morning, and held it shut with a guitar case, just so we could get some air through the house.

I woke up to Kanji telling me he was off to work when he saw Cinnamon on the roof. He found all the cats and got them inside, but let me know there was a security breach somewhere. I think they got through the bathroom window that time. I opened the front door. She got through the top of the screen, I caught her that time, so that's when I set up the umbrella and guitar case, then I then saw her get out again, after knocking the umbrella down! So I chased her, barefoot in my nightie, then retreated home to change before squatting down to check under the cars, their favorite place to hide. Once dressed, I found her under our neighbor's car - my neighbor was up, peering at me from her living room window, so I had to go say Good Morning, excuse me, my cat is under your car. Oh, you have a cat? she said. She came out, while I snuck behind the wheel and grabbed Vanilla by the scruff of her neck. I thought I had better introduce her to Mrs. Noda, but that freaked her out and she lay a very deep scratch half way up my left arm in her panic. 

Then last night while we were watching a movie, we heard a ferocious screech coming from outside. We quickly counted cats, and found Vanilla missing. Everyone went in all directions to find her, inside and out, and after we finally managed to find a torch that worked, I found her on the kitchen step outside, rubbing and rolling. She let me pick her up this time. The black and white Tom was sighted too, so I was very worried that she had just lost her kitty virginity, hence the screech. 

Then it happened again today! This time, I taped had a yoga mat taped to the top of the screen door in addition to the umbrella and guitar case, but she still managed to open the door - or maybe Erica had left it open for a bit when she went outside to skateboard. Again, the first we knew about it was the unholy screech. It seems that however much she seems to crave it, when it happens, it's a bit of a shock! I just hope it wasn't enough to impregnate her. I'm kind of hoping they have to do what their mother does with the black and white Tom and the ugly white Tom - spend hours together, doing it again and again, all night long, very loudly, for it to stick. 

If not, she's one dead cat. With her blood disorder, she will not survive giving birth, or an abortion. When I look at her sweet, soft furry face, I can't believe she has so much of a death wish. Well, scratch or no scratch, I'm giving her lots of love. I think she is not long for this world. 

Oh, and I just stood on Cinnamon, and she got her revenge instantly, with a very deep claw to my left heel. 

So I am a very bloody cat owner today. 


2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Why don't you have your cats neutered??? The way you write about this situation is terrible! Especially if you know she is sick...

Rachel said...

Because the operation would kill them, they have hemophilia.