Cat Management

The cat from this post died a couple of years ago. After a while, the place seemed far too quiet with only the dogs (my husband, I suspect, feels differently about that.) By an odd coincidence, at about the same time, a friend was fostering kittens for the local shelter and had the cutest little ball of fur that needed a home. If you do the math there should be no real surprise that we have a new kitty.

Initially he was small and cute and helpless.. ish. Kody, our big, female German Shepard, took to Jasper right away. She loved him and washed him and played with him just like he was a puppy. Eighteen months later we have a twenty pound cat in the house who thinks he's a dog with super powers. After all, the other dogs can't jump or climb like that, and they don't have claws.

As is typical with young adult males of any species Jasper has lots of energy and likes to test how strong and fast and awesome he is. Generally, his antics are cute, impressive, funny or some combination thereof (again, Clint may feel differently). However, at 8 am on Sunday morning Jasper is a bit enthusiastic for us. Unfortunately, one of Jasper's powers is almost complete indifference to the whims of the people. The question now arises how one convinces a young cat.. sorry, dog (with super powers) to be quiet for a couple of extra hours.

Clint may have found an answer, albeit probably a temporary one. At one point this morning Clint lifted his head from his coffee long enough to mutter "I WILL throw you outside in the snow cat"

"Hmmm," I thought to myself, "it's only -10, true, it is snowing but he does keep trying to follow the dogs out."

I opened the back door and stood back as the true canines charged outside to play in the snow. Usually at this point Jasper makes a mock dash behind them (being very careful to call it off before he actually touches the snow), I close the door before Jasper "leaves" and he settles for making faces at the dogs from the window, after all they have to potty outside. Today I called his bluff. I held the door open;

Jasper looked up and blinked;

"well..." I said, looking down;

"ah, in that case, i suppose.." he said as he gingerly stepped out onto the step.

Instantly Kody was on him! Jasper got to participate, however unwillingly, in a half hour backyard romp.

When I opened the door to let the fuzzies back in Jasper was the first one in, I think he had actually been trying to phase through the door just before I relented.

Then everyone got treats and settled down on their respective beds for a little time out. Including one very disheveled kitty who had a quick wash and hasn't been seen since.

Ahhhh peace and quiet. Too bad it won't work in the summer when the challenge is to get the kitty to come in before bedtime.

Grandpa's Fishin' Cabin

My grandfather had a cabin, my mom and dad are the current owners but no-one's been using it for years. Clint and I (funded by Mom) are getting it back in shape.

First we got the power and gas on then we fixed the well. Then it was time to get down to business.. we put in a new back step. The 20 year old one is on the way to the dump and the shiny new one above will hopefully last long enough to make Grandpa proud.

The next step will be the installation of a full bathroom complete with hot water and a shower, both of which were noticeably lacking before.

In the bonus category, the dogs had a good day and the kitten had the house to himself for a few hours.

Nekkid Steps

That was harder than I thought it would be. Clint is really really strong.

House vs. C&H round 3 - stairs - before

Living room done.. we're on a roll

Round 2 Coat 1 complete

Round 2 part way through

Round 2

Living room taped and cut

Kitchen's done.. ish.. just have touch ups and trim but that will come at the end.





there is more red to cover but the stuff under the brown worked out so I'm not too worried about it.

stay tuned if you're really that bored...

Paint! Before-

The theme for this summer is paint. Whatever that was the contractor put on the walls sure didn't last. The German Shepard vs. kitty wall scratches were also a problem. There shouldn't be any new scratches because now we have a different kitty who doesn't play the same version of tag as the old one.

The plan is to do the entire main floor and maybe the front porch if we have time and money.

Clint's parents came down to visit and help look at paint colours (thank you) They suggested we go with Benjamin Moore instead of Rona brand. Probably a good plan. We decided on a green kitchen (misted fern) a brown beam (livingston gold) and something that isn't yellow or brown or gold precisely but some mix of the 3 in the living room (summerdale gold).

This is what the place looked like just before the paint went on: