In search of sunshine

The weather hasn't been great the last few days but finally Pip found a sunny spot in the lounge for his afternoon nap in preparation for his evening meal.

Too hot for Pip (2)

"What do you mean, 'We don't have air-conditioning'?"

Too hot for Pip!

It's just too hot for a poor pussy cat to handle!

Well, I would work at my desk but...

So I'm just dealing with a 'phone call when Pip wanders onto my desk and flops down preventing access to just about every square inch of work surface.

Oh well, I was going to do a bit of reading anyway!

My new PA

You may recall my study partner, well there's a new member of staff. Been around the house for a while, but he has recently taken on the role of Personal assistant. Seen here having completed the exhausting task of updating my diary.

Mousey the terrorist

Stuart Little might be a lovable little character on film, but I'm not that forgiving of a small rodent invader. So it is that we find ourselves faced with another unwanted house guest. It's an old house, more or less in the middle of nowhere, so we accept that we're the most inviting warm place. 

Usually we find them quickly and return them to the wild, but this time I must confess we decided it was time for more drastic measures. It was mouse trap time. No biscuit tin and gentle persuasion, this time it was personal!

The uninvited guest was discovered one evening when Anne opened the under-sink cupboard and a small face looked up as if to say, "Excuse me, but don't you knock?" Knock I thought, I'll give you knock!

We cleaned out the cupboard and set a trap under it near the wall. Mice tend to run along near walls, they rarely go across the floor, just in case you wanted to know! Taking the advice of a friend, I used apricots and sultanas for bait, and sure enough two of the small creatures have been sent to a far better place than our kitchen. 

Now, as you may know, we have two cats. Yes cats. The kind of animals that catch the kind of animals that had moved in. Sniff, poke about, stare at the corner of the kitchen for hours maybe, but catch them inside the house, well that's not their job, that's ours. You see a domestic cat seems to think that its job is to go out and catch mice and bring them back to you for you to play with. If they're in the house they must logically be yours not theirs.

Really helpful.

I can imagine that if our big cat, Pip, could speak the conversation would go a little like this:

Pip (wanders into the kitchen and sniffs around the kickboard under the sink): Smells like a mouse has been around here to me?

Me: Oh really, that would explain the small furry creature that stared at us when we opened the cupboard door.

Pip: I was right then, a mouse. Got any cat biscuits?

Me: You could help me catch the mouse and have biscuits as a reward.

Pip: It's below my dignity to work for my food. 

Me: You don't appear to have much dignity when you're having a wash in the middle og the hall.

Pip: I'm hurt. I'm very dignified when I'm awake. Most of the time.

Me: Anyway back to this mouse situation. You catch them outside. 

Pip: That's different.

Me: How so?

Pip: Got any biscuits?

Anyway, the said mouse has been caught but not before it has done its work. Before capture it managed to chew a rather large hole in a pipe in the dishwasher causing a spectacular flood and a bill for £85 for the repair.

It may be one of god's creatures, and I don't mind sharing the earth with it, but the house is clearly out of bounds. So any mice reading this blog, be afraid, be very afraid, because my biscuit tin might not be what's waiting for you if you try to share my home!

The boy doesn't feel well

When Pip, the one on the left of the picture, doesn't feel well, you can usually tell. He sits quietly and looks to his sister, Jade, for some sympathy and care. 

Usually the only reason he gets this close is to give her a wash prior to biting her because he wants her to move.

Today is different, he needs a little nursing and she's happy to oblige him.