Went to sleep with a cat on my head as usual. Woke up with her gone, which was nice. Wearing a fur hat to bed gets a little warm. We're going to have a problem in the summer. I was up for a while, went to make tea in the kitchen.
As I was waiting for the kettle to boil, the cabinet door opened ever so slowly, and Maf stepped out onto the top of my head. She stood there for a second and then sat down and hung her tail in my face. Given she can barely make it up onto the bed, I have no idea how she got in the cabinets. And I hope we're not going to find little piles of cat hair in there now.
Anyhow, we watched some tennis I'd recorded (Federer v Djokovic in Monte Carlo, Federer won), and I thought about things. She probably did too, but did not share her thoughts.
Did you know that Gabriel García Márquez died a few days ago? There's a quote from One Hundred Years of Solitude that I think about fairly often. A person does not belong to a place until there is someone dead under the ground. What if you think of it the other way around? If someone you cared for has died in a place, does that mean part of you belongs there? Does part of you stay behind and make a home there? We're supposed to carry the dead in our hearts, but what if they carry us?
I think Maf was probably considering how to bend the dogs to her will and use them as portable heating pads, which makes her far more sensible than I am.
As I was waiting for the kettle to boil, the cabinet door opened ever so slowly, and Maf stepped out onto the top of my head. She stood there for a second and then sat down and hung her tail in my face. Given she can barely make it up onto the bed, I have no idea how she got in the cabinets. And I hope we're not going to find little piles of cat hair in there now.
Anyhow, we watched some tennis I'd recorded (Federer v Djokovic in Monte Carlo, Federer won), and I thought about things. She probably did too, but did not share her thoughts.
Did you know that Gabriel García Márquez died a few days ago? There's a quote from One Hundred Years of Solitude that I think about fairly often. A person does not belong to a place until there is someone dead under the ground. What if you think of it the other way around? If someone you cared for has died in a place, does that mean part of you belongs there? Does part of you stay behind and make a home there? We're supposed to carry the dead in our hearts, but what if they carry us?
I think Maf was probably considering how to bend the dogs to her will and use them as portable heating pads, which makes her far more sensible than I am.
112 comments:
You can always wake me.
But I'm not surprised Maf was out and about, plotting. She was probably glorying in her victory of getting you to herself for part of the night.
As for the dead...I think it can work both ways around. I've known a lot of people who refuse to look at the pictures of where their loved one was killed, because they refuse to let that place be a part of their memories of the person. Guess it depends on the circumstances.
I know, love. It was nothing that bad, really. Just...thoughts. Maybe I'm finally getting used to being home.
I've known a lot of people who refuse to look at the pictures of where their loved one was killed
Yeah, I can understand that.
She did look fairly smug.
She always looks smug!
I thought you were buying her a bed - taking longer to choose it than we took choosing our sofa!
Wondering if there's any point to it, actually... How would we get her to stay in it?
I will make her one!
Out of what, dare I ask? Pure catnip?
Are you going to make her one of those crazy scratching post things with all the levels and things too?
I might've ordered one of those... Just a small one.
Does it, as many seem to, involve the word 'city' - because if so, I refuse to believe it's small.
Will Sherlock want to move into it with her?
Very small. Quite reasonable. You'll barely notice it...
mmmhmmmmmm
It's meant to go up by the ceiling anyway. Suspended.
...right. a suspended cat city for aerial attack missions...
Maybe she'll sleep there? She does like high places.
Well..she likes your head. which is....slightly elevated. Not very high, though ;)
Uh huh...
Can we just...keep putting her in it when she's asleep? Do cats get the message that way?
You've got me wondering about life and death and home and place now John. Also pondering high-climbing kittens, which is rather more scary to contemplate :-p
L - I have no idea. We can try?
Nameless - it's certainly a more immediate concern when you have one on your head ;)
If we're trying that, I'm buying some large welding gauntlets, just in case she protests via claws.
it's certainly a more immediate concern when you have one on your head
Or plotting your death.
My kitty likes very much the little round thing next to the radiator, and usually sleeps on top of it. Very occasionally inside (it's one of those carpet covered sono-tube cat-den things) she will also sometimes climb up onto the one on the pedestal/scratching post. (that one is just a sort of dish made of a segment of sono-tube, carpet covered) She'd probably like that one better if I put it in front of a sunny window. I am looking at how to do that with the more elaborate one we just "inherited" from the housemate who moved out. I've never had a cat who slept near my head... only near my feet, or within easy petting reach. I would imagine repeatedly pushing her off your head would eventually get the idea across?
S
Taht sounds like a more sensible Easter than I had mine was mostly VODKA which makes me realize my highsocool would ahve been much better drunk the whole time. I wish there had been a cat. Just hand stroking from the father of the kids I used to babysit while he told me that mostly men get raped in the military, and he always knew I'd go far because I was 'such a sharp kid.' Also someone who's working on getting Ted Cruz elected president? He was wearing pink trousers, and he kept clenching his butcheeks so they danced. And "Hashtag SPOILED!!" and cheek kisses. I don't understand.
Did Sherlock consume his body-weight in sugar? Were there any easter-egg hunts?
Do cats fart when they sleep?
His sugar intake was strictly monitored.
She does fart, but not much, and no more when she's asleep. Usually when she gets up, has a stretch and then waltzes off, blaming the dogs.
Well that's good, if she's asleep on John's head. Very clever to blame the dogs.
Sorry, vodka interfered with the first post.
Usually, female cats will stop with the farting after they'd been spayed. Good luck on the training. Will we get to see pictures of her suspended kingdom? ~Echo
...does that mean females in general fart because of hormones? Do human women stop farting if they've had radical hysterectomies?
Am I focussing on the wrong things? [Nah.]
The first question is correct, Z. :) I'm not sure about humans tho. XD
~Echo
The living tie me to places more than the dead, though even then my ties are to the people. The dead come with me in my heart, to the extent we keep them with us. I find they fade distressingly.
What really ties me to a place is seeing the seasons turn, more than once.
fA
Also, I have limited experience with cats, but nothing leads me to think they are very trainable unless you convince them they want to do what you want them to do.
The quote I ponder from One Hundred Years of Solitude is the oft-quoted "There is always something left to love."
I can't help but think it is oft-quoted because people want it to be true. I am not sure that it is.
Ah well. Hope everyone is asleep now who should be.
fA
(I just noticed your tag for Maftet. Excellent. Though possibly feeding L.'s mild paranoia.)
fA
There's nothing mild about my paranoia. I know they're all out to get me.
As someone who has trained their cat to sit, come, roll over, stay (not too sure if she is actually staying or is just to lazy to move...), and stand on her back legs, I claim that it is possible. I think that there is a positive correlation between how much your cat likes you and their willingness to learn. Also, positive reinforcement with treats always helps.
Mentioning cats, my boyfriends cat just had a litter of five last week! It was amusing how long it took before he actually realized that she was pregnant and not just getting fat.
I'll let John do all the training then ;)
We just got caught in the most ridiculous rain shower. We are soaked through.
Just so you all know, Mycroft managed that bloody 2048 game within about an hour.
I still can't do it.
I can't say that Mycroft's success surprises me.
fA
Yeah, horrible having geniusses around the place :) He's now just getting far too much pleasure out of me failing to do it.
As would you, were your places reversed?
I can imagine who it is that's modeled good-natured ribbing for him. ;-)
fA
fA - no idea!
Anyone who thinks this game thing is hard should try putting Sherlock to bed on the night before term starts. He's the only kid who invents homework he hasn't done, just to try and stay up longer (he doesn't, actually, need to write a whole presentation on Pine-martins.)
Pine-martins ARE totally awesome though....would make horrible pets, but so awesome.
I wonder if the dead creating a tie to the locale is sort of the thing that makes Americans want to travel to the land of their ancestry. Even if they don't actually know anyone who lives or lived there, an awful lot of folks want to visit 'their homeland'. Well and good, but it'd be a long trip in my case: Ireland, Italy, Germany, Wisconsin, maybe England or Wales.
And it occurs to me that the yearning for that connection may be what's behind genealogy.
Kestrel, I think you're right, but I see it (or, really, feel it as it's based only on my own sense of being tied to place) as us wanting "the homeland" to somehow tell us something of the dead as they were in life, something we the living can carry away with us, living rather than finding bits of ourselves held in the land our dead are buried.
Not sure if it's not the same thing, just approached from two different directions.
fA
Well and good, but it'd be a long trip in my case: Ireland, Italy, Germany, Wisconsin, maybe England or Wales
One of these things is not like the others.... ;)
As for your question, Doc, I don't think those parts of us die there, just are tied with strings that get plucked sometimes. The older you get, the more strings you have. ....or something
DW - must be Germany, because it's the only European country on the list that's not part of the Six Nations Rugby Cup ;)
Ah, Sherlock at school, Mycroft at work, just me, the husband, the dogs, the cat, security left...
It's odd how quiet it is when the kids disappear isn't it?!
These school holidays seem to have been really short we haven't done half of the things I wanted to!
I hope you enjoy your day :-)
DW and SH: Ha! Yes, Wisconsin is a bit of an outlier there. But my grandfather was 1/2 Oneida, which isn't quite the same as being a cheese head.
I thought that, too, SH, but my knowledge of rugby is limited to old men in cravats who give good tips.
Mine is limited to fit men in shorts who give good.... Errr... Yes.
...massages? :)
Yes. Indeed. Very good massages.
Safe to say it's nice to have a quiet day at home with the husband, after the scrum of the holidays?
It's a happy life when the days are so different but one can find much good in all of them.
Enjoy the rest of today, everyone. If fun isn't on the cards, let's try for productive. Still morning here, so I've time to disillusion myself on the productive, yet. ;-)
fA
It's not fair you went to see Mycroft at work and I can't.
What wouldn't have been fair is unleashing a distraction, small in stature, big on decibels, on Mycroft on his trial day. He needs to concentrate. I'm sure he'll tell you all about it when he's home.
We have to take Mycroft back to school but after we're getting fish and chips and Mycroft gave me a cake and John got olives and Lestrade got cheese.
I hope you had a successful day Mycroft; I hope you have an enjoyable term at school, if you can enjoy a term that involves GCSEs :-)
I had to go to school today already!
I hope the trial went well, Mycroft, and that you have a good end of semester! Do British schools have finals at the end of the semester or some sort of equivalent?
Did you enjoy school today, Sherlock? Any plans for exciting projects this term?
He's in a little grump now Mycroft's gone back to school. I'm sure he'll be back to tell you all about it soon.
Just as soon as he's stopped telling us how much he doesn't care that Mycroft's gone...
Did Sherlock settle for sleep ok?
I hope you two are enjoying the relative peace of the evening :-)
Eventually, still grumbling about the unfairness of the world!
And we are. Maf has even deigned to sit on me. Which is partly, perhaps, because my legs are in her usual spot on John... she did ensure to prod me with her feet for a while first though.
Hve just realised. My legs in Maf's usual spot = Maf sitting on my legs.
Ergo, way to make her sleep in new hanging cat contraption thing? Hang it on John's head.
And people say it's our boys who are geniusses....
genius is obviously rubbing off on you Greg ;-)
Congrats on a day well done, Mycroft.
Pandabob, I'm just going to stay well away from that comment.
I just got my cast off today, it was six weeks yesterday. We took a photo of the decorations this morning as I forgot to do it earlier. My mom painted it - painting your own foot being incredibly awkward - no Sherlock, this is not a challenge.
All is well. He approved me moving into the boot and putting thirty pounds of weight on it, with sixty next week, ninety the next, and full weight bearing after that. Good news is I don't have to sleep with the boot on, just with an ASO brace, which is what you see on my other foot. Which is, while a long story, mostly prophylactic while on crutches.
Picture here: https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/--KpVpMerzPg/U1cyFPpdLZI/AAAAAAAAAY4/bko-o65k0dw/w532-h709-no/flower+cast.JPG
Becca! YAY! (Thanks for the picture, very cheery art work, and I would not have known what to imagine for your brace.)
I know it's not as if the recovery is anywhere near over, but it's progress! And it must be nice that your appendages will be more or less symmetrical at least for sleeping. Are you dreadfully impatient to find out how well this surgery "takes," or have you learned patience and are content to heal day by day?
fA
Hope the work day went well Mycroft, and they decide they need your assistance.
Should any cat accessories be hung from Dr. Watson, I hope to see pictures in the blog. That goes double if Maf is actually in or on the contraption. Sherlock, if you see signs of such foolishness, get ready to take the photos. ;-)
fA
Great news Becca. That cast was impressive and deserves being viewed across the globe.
Very nice, Becca!
We have a huge dangling cat home. We are trying to hang it up. Or I am, John is holding my arse so I don't fall off the ladder...
Well, that's the excuse he's giving you... ;)
Have a fun child free day. :)
I was in no danger of falling until his hands started wandering!
Maf ran away when the drill started. I think she's hiding somewhere now. Probably being treated nice by Mrs H.
Oh dear. The things my mind came up with...holding your backside while on the ladder...wandering hands...drill started...
I think I need to put myself on a time out!
We did Shakespeare this morning and I was loads of people because we did acting and this afternoon I'm going to be a dragon.
That sound brilliant Sherlock :-). What a fun day you're having!
What fun, Sherlock! And a dragon should be an exciting and challenging role. (I can't think of a Shakespearean play with a dragon--is that from something else, or are you doing your own interpretations of a Shakesprearean plot?)
I'm also looking forward to hearing about the cat bed you make for Maftet, Sherlock, I'm sure it will be most excellent--and it's very good of you!
I'm thinking your trial day went well, Mycroft? Have a good--is it a term or semester?--whichever is the proper expression!
Yay on your progress, Becca'
It's hard to tell, in the muddle of getting told everything at top speed, but I think the dragon was because its st George's day.
Sounds like we're all making progress this week. Mycroft at employment, Sherlock in his general goal of breathing fire and wreaking havoc, Maftet in her gradual enslavement of the household, Becca in her reacquisition of mobility.
This week, I got health insurance on my own through my job for the first time (Brits will be confused but Americans understand) and ran 5k for the first time in the history of ever. Hooray for us all!
Ella
I think the dragon was because its st George's day.
Ah! That makes sense. Also, cool!
Congrats on the health insurance and the run, Ella!
Ella - I shall assume it's a little bit like Mycroft, who, if employed, will start paying off the insurance debt to the NHS he's been racking up since 9 months before he was born (unless, of course, mrs H went private).
5K - go Ella! I've kept unsatisfactory jobs for no other reason than the health insurance, so I know that's a big one, Ella! (And rest assured that the terms of what is covered in the way of tests and well-woman visits are better now, under the attempted healthcare reforms than they were five years ago. Whatever those people on t.v. say.)
On the evidence, I'd say Maf has effectively claimed dominion over the entire household at this point. Even those who talk a game of resistance are clearly planning and working for her benefit and are guided by her wishes.
Sherlock, sounds like a good day. Acting can be enormous fun.
fA
Greg - only insofar as that money will come out of her check (and out of her employer's pocket) for the health insurance premiums. It covers only in real time, neither before nor after her employment there.
Health insurance in America should only be as straightforward as in the UK - which, I know, is not necessarily all that straightforward itself. Our current political travails over it don't begin to discuss all of the problematic aspects.
fA
Congrats Ella, that's fantastic news!
fA, I'm very patient with these things. Taking 2 minutes to go up or down a flight of stairs rather enforces patience.
fA - ours is straightforward in that if you work, you pay it. And our current politicians in charge are currently trying to get rid of it...brilliant.
our current politicians in charge are currently trying to get rid of it
They clearly have no fear that they can't pay their own, and don't care about anyone else--just like a great many of our pols, grrrr. This past year, between my insurance premiums (since I'm self employed, I pay for my insurance myself), copays, deductibles, and uncovered costs, my medical expenses added up to more than 85% of my income for the year. :( (I don't think that can happen for you lot, right? At least until it's got rid of.)
No, they don't have that fear, because they all have interests in private medical companies.
And no, on a basic level, that can't happen to us. But only if the NHS cover the treatment you need. There's another story in the news at the moment about certain drugs being deemed 'too expensive' for cancer patients, so if you wanted a treatment that the NHS didn't provide you would have to pay 100% out of your own pocket. Thankfully it just doesn't happen to most of us, most of the time.
Yeah, we have that too--how much or whether a treatment or drug is covered here depends on the particular insurance plan a person has. (And until the ACA, even if a treatment or drug was covered, there were yearly and lifetime caps on what an insurance company would pay, even if it were a treatment or drug they covered. Hit those limits, and you'd be on your own. At least they can't do that any more.)
The lady from the Delicatessen called earlier. She said they would be happy to offer me the job.
She also said I was allowed to refuse Lestrade service if he came in whistling Dolly Parton tunes again.
Thank you all for your good wishes.
Congratulations Mycroft you obviously did a great job of your trial day :-)
Congratulations, Mycroft! (And also heh.)
Nothing wrong with a bit of Dolly!
Well done, kiddo, we're very proud of you. Both for getting the job and trying to get it in the first place.
That's wonderful news, Mycroft. :)
Now we just need to farm Sherlock out and we can have a nice rest over the summer ;)
Congrats Mycroft!
I think we could hire him out as a source of renewable energy. He could power most of the city on one ice cream.
Congratulations Mycroft! You may not yet appreciate Dolly, but you may come to - she both epitomizes and transcends the country genre. In any case, I am sure they are getting a good employee and will regret it when you have to go back to school.
One of the issues that all healthcare schemes have to navigate is that at the limits, modern medicine has more extremely expensive treatments and medicines than any insurance scheme could cover and stay solvent while providing care for everyone, including the chronically and very expensively ill - and that's been the case for decades. One of the problems with the healthcare debates in the US is that that's unpalatable news that a lot of people would like to ignore.
But I'll get down off my soapbox, not having any neat solutions to offer.
fA
Who can hate Dolly Parton?! Every song from "The Best Little Whore House in Texas" should be considered a classic!
On a personal note, I just want to say, OWWW. I've started at a gym, working with a trainer as of today...it hurts. I have a new appreciation for what you went through Greg when you started running again.
The coffee maker in the office is broken.
So the police have shut down for the day?? ;-)
Seriously though, how are you going to cope with that?
He's coping by looking pathetic, sending people out on errands which happen to pass coffee shops, and by dismantling the entire coffee maker all over the worktop.
I assume soon he'll just fall asleep though.
Shh. Do some work. Fetch me some coffee.
Crisis averted? Coffee procured? Committee to select a new, upgraded coffeemaker formed? (Committee of one - DI Lestrade?)
As my third cup of the morning drips noisily in the machine in the next room, I commend the defenders of London's public safety who soldiered bravely on today, under-caffeinated and forced to rely on the comforts of tea.
fA
I propose a new service medal.
fA
A daring distraction burglary has taken place, and we are the new owners of a cafetiere. Which I believe some of you on the wrong side of the pond call a French press.
Ooohh fancy coffee!
Well done. Hope the original owner doesn't show up, irate.
fA
How resourceful... ;)
fA - is it fancy? It's just the same coffee as goes into the filter pot...
Original owner should feel proud they've helped an MIT survive the day.
Off home now, to the arms of my loving husband, and the paws of his murderous cat...
...Did you just tell Sally to fetch you coffee? And yet you live? Miracle upon miracle.
Don't worry, the cat's on my side.
L. - the French press, as we heathen Yanks call it, is considered the province of those who care a bit more about coffee than those who brew by drip. At least here far from such cosmopolitan centers as London.
If Sally and Maf are in league, best make sure you stay in John's good graces. Maf will spare you out of her gracious concession to the happiness of her Chief Minion.
Fortunately, John does seem to be enduringly fond of you.
fA
Ah, I'd say that all depended on your coffee bean and your taste! Both methods have their pros and cons.
I have a French press/cafepierrethingy partly because I've never had an electric drip machine and so I distrust them (not even when I was a kid did any of my "supervisory" adult-types have electric coffee makers), but mostly because with my French press I can put it in the fridge and the coffee stays delicious. Drip coffee just gets grosser and grosser.
Ella
Useless trivia for the day: in Australia, a Cafetiere/French Press is called a plunger. Lacks a little romance ...
It is not the case that either I, nor Mrs D dislike Dolly Parton. The song, however, did rather stick in Mrs D's head, however. I explained that Lestrade often sings or whistles tunes he finds fitting for situations, and she was worried this would be a regular occurrence.
Yes, there are many good things to be said about Dolly Parton's music, but having Working 9 to 5 stuck in my head from 9 to 5 would make me more batty than usual.
Congratulations on getting offered the job Mycroft.
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