Day 50: Our own private 'pool'

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 50: Our own private 'pool'

Yesterday, Dieter and I became the proud owners of a swimming pool. We already have a pool in our condo building, but now we had a private pool in our home, more specifically, in the bathroom. I’ll bet you want to know more about that ...

It all started when the toilet in the bathroom started acting up. Water still filled the tank, but it took longer and longer as the water came slower and slower. Sometimes we had to wait a whole ten minutes for the tank to fill. Dieter investigated the situation and was going to repair it.

He went to Canadian Tire where he bought a filler. While I did the dishes he set off for the bathroom armed with pliers.

Suddenly I heard a scream, followed by “Maaaaaaaa!” Not knowing what happened, but fearing some kind of personal accident I sprinted to the bathroom where I found Dieter on his knees in front of a tap that gushed water all over the place. 

“A towel, a towel, quickly!” he commanded. 

He pushed the towel I gave him against the tap, but within seconds it got soaked. Fearing that the water might come into the corridor I grabbed a bath towel, thus trying to block the flow. 

Since there was nothing really I could do I made myself scarce. 

In due time Dieter came into the kitchen ... soaked from head to toe. He asked me to follow him to the bathroom. Upon arrival, he flushed the toilet and it appeared to be fixed. Unfortunately, we now had our own private pool in the bathroom or at least a pond where we could keep koi.

While I finished the dishes he returned to the bathroom to mop up, dry himself off and have a change of clothing.

While all this was happening I had an accident of my own. While doing the dishes the rim of a drinking glass broke in the water. Having thrown away the glass I noticed that there was a gash in the index finger of the yellow rubber gloves I was wearing. Moments later I felt something sticky ... blood. The glass had cut through the rubber gloves into my finger. I consider myself lucky, without those rubber gloves it would have been a lot worse.

All the finger needed was a band-aid, as for our own private pool ... it’s no more.

Day 4: Can cats talk

Between You, Me and the Lamp Post

Day 4: Can cats talk

Oh dear, it’s only day four and I’ve already hit a bit of a snag … I can’t think of anything to write about.

At times like these, I turn to my cats: Charlotte, Holly, Halley, and Greyson. Cat lovers will agree, our fur kids are a constant source of inspiration.

Take Greyson for instance. He recently celebrated his first birthday and with it, he developed an appetite for wallpaper.

Don’t for a moment think that the poor thing might be hungry because I can assure you that he’s not. Greyson, along with the others get wet food for breakfast and dinner and they have a constant supply of dry food to snack on during the day.

So why does Greyson go for the wallpaper? Just to be clear, he doesn’t eat it, he merely tears off pieces and then spits them out on the floor. First, he attacked one of the walls in the bathroom, then he moved on to the kitchen and finally had a nibble in the living room.

See for yourself …

Shortly before his first birthday, Greyson also found his voice and he’s been using it ever since. For the longest time, he was a quiet cat, his Toronto Cat Rescue foster mother described him as a Zen kitten. When there’s nothing Zen about him anymore.

He starts in the morning, practicing his vocal cords with a series of meows. Once warmed up he goes quiet.

Then he starts again in the evening. He talks to us, he talks to the other cats, he even talks to the walls. Now that creeps me out. He will sit by a wall, look up and start a flood of ‘words’.

Sometimes it gets so bad that we have to shut him up with a firm ‘Greyson, enough!’ He will go quiet for a while and then start again, talking to another wall.

When Greyson isn’t talking to walls, he tries to climb them. He will sit, calculate his move, and then jump as high as he can, front paws outstretched. Of course, he’s not going anywhere as he slides right back down. That doesn’t discourage him though, he’s a firm believer in … if at first you don’t succeed, try and try again. Which he does. Over and over again until he gets tired.

And when he gets tired, he curls up, or rather drapes himself in his favorite spot. This has been his favorite spot ever since he was a kitten. Once again, see for yourself.

When he’s awake, Greyson is a rather curious cat. Lately, he’s taking an interest in potato peeling, dishwashing, and laundry. When he sees me taking the potato bag out of the cabinet, he wants to see what I’m doing. 

When I fill the sink with water he will come and stand by me and let out a loud cry. That’s my cue to pick him up and put him near the sink. He’s afraid of the water and the soap bubbles, I can see that, but he will sit there and keep an eye on me.

The same with laundry. When I fill the machine with clothes, water, and soap, he wants to see what’s going on. When I pick him up he’s not just scared, he’s terrified, but cranes his neck to see. In the meantime, I’ve learned that a safe distance is of great importance to Greyson.

When I first pick him up he lets me know … a little closer, please. A step closer and he cranes his neck to see better. Closer still and he starts to squirm. One more step closer to the machine and the message is clear … that’s far enough.

Can cats talk … you bet they can, you just have to know how to listen.

Day 27: How to cope with things you’re dreading to do

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 27: Dread – How to cope with things you’re dreading to do

We all have things we don’t want to do or put off for as long as possible. For some people it’s house chores, for others it’s a task around the office, for others still it’s simply getting out of bed every morning. How to cope with things you’re dreading to do often have a simple solution.

Waking up

Few things are worse than waking up early in the morning to an annoying bell of an alarm clock. For a more pleasant awakening experience, select a musical tune on your iPhone. Waking up to music is far more preferable than hearing beep beep beep.

Personally, I hate waking up at 6:00 a.m. in the morning and I think I inherited this from my father. One morning he got so annoyed by his alarm clock, he pitched the bloody thing out the window.

Doing dishes

Ask 9 out of 10 people what their most hated chore around the house is and they might say doing dishes. Why do you think automatic dishwashers became so popular ...

If you have no choice but doing the dishes by hand, make things a little easier on yourself by doing part of the dishes before sitting down to lunch or dinner. 

After dishing up, you can wash the pots, that way after dinner all that’s left to do are the plates and cutlery. 

Or better yet, have your partner or children do the dishes. Hey, you cooked the meal, it’s only fair that someone else takes care of the clean-up.

Ironing

Another much-hated chore is ironing. The iron may have become more sophisticated over the years and lighter to handle, but it’s still a boring activity that takes its toll on one’s lower back and leg muscles. 

In all my life, I’ve ever come across one woman who stated that she loved ironing. She loved it so much, she ironed everything, from her husband’s underwear to his jeans. 

If you’re like the rest of the population and think ironing is boring, watch something on TV while you’re behind the ironing board or listen to an audiobook. You’ll be surprised how much more enjoyable ironing is while your favorite author is whispering sweet nothings in your ear.

Around the office

Personally, I love filing, but a surprising number of people hate it. I used to too until I decided to change my routine. Shortly after I started with the company, my filing basket was groaning under a number of papers and it took me hours to create order out of chaos. 

When I was finished I vowed never again to let this happen. From that day forward I did my filing daily. Usually, it took me less than 10 minutes to have everything in its proper place.

Going to the gym

Many people know that they should go to the gym to lose weight or simply stay in shape, but they keep putting it off. They’re too tired, they have too much to do, they don’t have the right clothes, they hate going alone ... you name it and they’ll use it as an excuse.

Fact is, once you’ve been to a gym, you’ll want to go again and again. If you don’t like going alone, ask a family member, a friend, a colleague or even a neighbor to come along. They might feel the way you do and might just be waiting for an invitation.

If you don’t have anyone to accompany you, go anyway, chances are before long you’ll hook up with someone who is alone too.

Going on a diet

Most people have gone on a diet at one time or another in their life and failed spectacularly. In most cases, that’s because people tend to be way too hard on themselves. They make their diet so strict that within a matter of days their good intentions go out the window. Or they don’t see results quick enough and hurt their toes by kicking the scale in a dark corner.

The right way to go about a diet is to make an appointment with a dietician. These people are trained professionals who can advise you on losing weight the healthy way. They can also recommend the right book for your weight loss program.

For everything you dread to do there’s a solution. If you can’t think of anything practical, give yourself a reward once you’ve dealt with something.

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Day 19: Cleaning - Getting a little help from my cats

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts.

Day 19: Cleaning – Write about doing laundry, dishes and other cleaning activities.

Cleaning? They want me to write about cleaning! In all my years, I have never come across anyone who likes to clean. Most, if not all people, do it because they have to, including me. Still, let’s see what I can come up with. Since today is international cat day, let's involve cats in this post.

Making the beds

In our house, the cats dictate when the beds are made. I never make my bed right after getting out of it. I believe that a bed has to air to keep it fresh. Unfortunately, while I shower, get dressed and have breakfast, one, two or even all four cats have taken possession of my bed. And I mean really, look at Charlotte, would you have the heart to disturb her slumber?

Dusting

Once again, the cats have to be taken into account. When I see Mickey sprawled out so elegantly on the coffee table, or Charlotte resting on the cabinet, I just let them be. There’s always time to dust the table and the cabinet later.

Window washing 

If there’s one cleaning task I like to do it’s washing windows. If I didn’t have such a fear of heights, I would have applied at a window washing company in Toronto. Unfortunately, I can’t imagine dangling by a rope from the 82nd, 43rd or even 16th floor.

Anyway, when I wash the windows here at home, I invariably have an audience. Mickey, Charlotte, Gabriel, and Holly sit on the other side of the window and watch the sponge go up and down and from left to right. While Charlotte, Gabriel, and Holly quickly lose interest, Mickey supervises until I’m done. He even points out places where I've missed a spot.

          

Vacuuming

Mickey, Gabriel, and Holly couldn’t care less about the vacuum cleaner, but Charlotte is terrified of the machine. Even though we paid attention to buying one that doesn’t make much noise, it’s still too much for Charlotte. When the vacuum cleaner gets switched on, she goes and hides under my duvet. 

 Meanwhile, Gabriel lies on the cat tree or sit on a chair and sees to it that the work gets done properly.

Dishes

I’m not a fan of doing dishes. Then again, who is? Not sure why I dislike it as I generally like working with water. I get at my most creative when I’m surrounded by water (maybe I should move to Hawaii). Occasionally though, Dieter volunteers and on this occasion (this was several years ago), Mickey was once again there to supervise.

Cooking

When I cook, I generally keep the cats out of the kitchen. When I’m working with boiling water and hot butter, I like to keep them at a safe distance. However, when the potatoes are being peeled, Mick is there to count them.

Now in case you’re wondering why there are no pictures of Holly ... Holly is a lady and stays far away from housework. She prefers sitting in her basket, relaxing on her cushion, lazing in front of the fireplace, or spending time with Dieter while he reads her a story.

Feel free to comment. I’d love to hear from you.

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