A bit of excitement

A couple of nights ago somebody drove through our yard, hitting the neighbor's mailbox and real estate sign in the process. The really funny thing about it was the timing. The instant (at 6 a.m.) that the loud crash happened, I was trying to lift Princess Tillamina Buttermilk off my stomach so I could get up to go the bathroom. She got spooked and went straight up, using my hands for anchor points on her lift off. So for damages, we had a scared cat (she has since recovered), my poor hands with two nice claw marks on each hand (between the fingers) and four ruts in the yard (they turned around and drove back across the yard instead of driving on through), plus a replanted rosebush.

Spring Hill's finest came out and took a look. We filed a report for the neighbors (who are in Florida trying to sell their house here). It wasn't exactly CSI, so I don't expect a lot of results.
We lucked out in that they didn't cause a lot of damage or hit the house or any of the utilities. They even missed the water meter cover.

New Project

Since I have some extra time on my hands, I've decided to put a much needed coat of paint on the ceilings in the kitchen, hallway, closets and Mary's bedroom. Hopefully to be followed by painting the hallway, closets and Mary's bedroom. You can seen where I've masked the walls in the kitchen (and where Boo is happily snoring away on top of the newspaper). I want to paint the kitchen and the master bedroom at some point, but that involves scaffolding, which probably involves stealing my dad for a weekend. So for now, I will keep busy with the stuff I can actually reach. The interesting point is going to be doing something with the cats long enough to put two coats of paint on anything. With the weather a little warmer, I think I can probably coax them into the train room and garage, setting up some food and water for them. They of course, will think this is a horrible invasion of their feline rights of ownership and fair passage.

A visit to the vet!

Sammy and Libby had their annual checkup today. They both did very well, although Libby was extremely "tense" during the exam and shots. Sammy was not happy, but was fairly submissive about it. We got out with no one getting scratched and both cats in decent moods, although neither will acknowledge my existence because I was the evil one who put them in the boxes and took them. I guess they'll just have to be Richard's cats for a few days :-)

Unfortunately, the saga is not over. We have to return for booster shots in 3 weeks because of a new drug they are using. Arggh.

Updates from Planet Swizzle Cat

I am currently working on photoshopping berets on all the cats. This is much easier than taking pictures of actual cats in berets. Cleo (looking very French) has adopted the unfortunate habit of stirring the ice in glasses we leave unattended. This is mildly frustrating when the glass is on the way to the dishwasher, escalating to very frustrating when you just set it down for a minute. She is VERY frustrated by my workout water bottles. The water is in there, but she just can't swizzle it. There are lids. Cleo is also the cat that enjoys a fresh drink out of the faucet when it is running. It's a lot of fun trying to brush one's teeth.

In other news, Richard's cough is almost better. He can say four words at a time without coughing at this point. Yeah! The bad news is that I have come down with plague. It hit Thursday afternoon and I have been spending a lot of time sitting in my recliner, whining.
The only thing we can't figure out is how Mary managed to infect me all the way from Johnson City.