Through The Mud Clearly

Well it finally happened. Marmalade invaded Sparky's personal suite. I knew something was up when I saw the door wide open. I go in to see Marmalade sitting on the bathroom counter looking very pleased with her self. I'm pretty sure I heard her laughing....bwahhahaha meow! Not too long after that discovery I see that Sparky is in the process of exacting her revenge. She is using Marmalade's cat box. Need I say more? So, things have settled down a bit between the two of them. However, Sparky is definitely the ALPHA kitty. This can be seen every morning when she chases Marmalade down the hall! You have to see it to believe it. Oh, and Marmalade has not even tried to take a swing at her! Uh oh gotta go...Sparky is spewing up a fur ball. Good thing the carpet cleaner is handy!

Ahhhhhhh....a rare moment of quiet! Nobody is trying to get out of the refrigerator, the freezer isn't moaning and Dusty isn't running amok on her wheel. Lady is zonked out on the dining room floor. Sparky is asleep on Bethany's bed and Marmalade is sleeping on Daniel's bed. I think I will go take a nap too!

**Kathy I love your non-stick skillet!!!!**

Well I have to say that morning coffee with Lady is just not the same as morning coffee with the Wrights (big sigh). OK next subject. Every time I open the school room door Marmalade is right there. At first I thought she wanted to eat Dusty (she may secretly want to) but its really because she wants to go outside. She LOVES the back yard! However, I can't leave her back there unsupervised, so I started a back yard project. She's happy, Lady is happy, I assume Sparky is happy that Marmalade is outside, Dusty doesn't care because she is sleeping and I am dirty....off to the shower!

Got up early and spent about 45 minutes with Lady on the swing. It was a very nice morning...weather is still nice in the a.m. Marmalade was out there also. She wasn't on the swing,she was out stalking unseen things. No coffee though because I had just taken my medication and can't eat or drink for 1 hour after taking it. Then I decided since it wasn't hot yet I should go over to my house to mow the yard, check on the garden, pick up the mail and get a couple things I need. Managed to mow the first 1/2 of the yard before I decided I had had enough! Thinking I will finish it on Monday morning. The garden is growing nicely as are the weeds. Spent a little time harvesting and pulling weeds. My garden is the only thing I really miss about about not being there. On the way home I stopped at Lowe's and picked up a couple of plants. I figure since I am mostly either here or at work I might as well take advantage on the garden area here. Probably by the time the Wrights return the plants should be about ready to harvest. So....now I have 2 gardens. Came home, had coffee and everyone took a nap. Marmalade on the white couch, Lady on the floor, Sparky on the brown couch and me on the love seat. I thought about making Sparky move but, I was afraid she would revolt and chase me down the hall!! It was a very nice nap. Now out to plant crops!

This morning I went out and shocked the pool! No, I didn't wander outside in a bathing suit...that would be shocking though :). While out there I picked some delicious tomatoes. Thanks for planting them Kathy! I finally got Marmalade to go outside this afternoon. After exploring the backyard she found a grassy spot and immediately went to sleep. Both she and Sparky (the drama queens) are sleeping on the couches right now. I hope this doesn't mean they are going to be up all night!! I successfully cleaned Dusty's entire cage this evening...including the "big wheel" which looked like it hadn't been cleaned in a very looooonnngggg time! One week down and five more to go.

Before I tell you about day six I have to ask a question. Did anybody read day 3?? I'm fairly certain no one did because there were no comments...not even one! Of all the days I have written about; day 3 is most deserving of a comment. I mean really! Day 6 picked some tasty tomatoes mmmmmm good. I have an idea for two new Olympic sports. One is "dog food hockey"....Marmalade is in training already. She knows how to whack kibble down to the freezer and back....several times. The other sport is "cat wrangler extraordinaire". I sure you can imagine what that entails. Its purrfectly alright if you want to paws and reflect on the possibilities. Oh hey I even remembered to put the recycle bin out this morning. I take very little credit for that however because there were already a bunch o blue bins out there!

I must begin by clearing up something from day 4. Lady, although she threw up twice, is just fine and so is the carpet.

This morning I believe Sparky has made it clear that Marmalade is restricted from a couple of places, The first one of course is Sparky's private residence. I had already made that known to Marms and she has not been in there. The second area is Bethany's bedroom. Sparks has a meowing hissing fit when Marmalade tries or even looks like she might go in there. This morning the 5 pound cat chased the 15 pound cat down the hall. Marmalade now understands. Somehow they both get that Daniel's room belongs to Marmalade and the rest of the house is fair game. Except for the schoolroom where Dusty is safe and secure behind a closed door! Currently, Lady is asleep on the floor having one of her running dreams. Marmalade is asleep on the floor about a foot away from Lady. She is snoring. Sparky is lounging on Bethany's bed and Dusty is running on her wheel. All is semi-normal!

Where shall I start? I know....can you say "sleep deprived"? Let me tell you a story. Last night I put Sparky in her suite and went to bed. Marmalade too. Soon I heard Sparky begging to get out of her room. I mean it sounded like she had gotten some of Danny's tools and was attempting to dismantle the door. I tried to ignore the racket but I finally gave in and let her out. You see; I hadn't let both cats run around all night because I didn't want to have to referee. But, like I said, I gave in. Then I couldn't sleep because I was concerned for their well-being. Of course nothing happened. As a matter of fact Marms didn't even move from the bed all night! This morning they greeted each other by touching noses, then Marmalade tried to rub her head on Sparky's head and Sparky returned her kindness with a big hiss. (Thats hiss not kiss) This has become the norm! OK, so, I let Lady in and gave her the required amount of attention. She then laid down on the floor; seemingly content. A few minutes later she got up and immediately threw up....twice....on the carpet before I could get her outside. I cleaned the mess up while issuing myself a non-gag order. I then began a search for carpet stain remover/cleaner which I actually found. No worries..you can't even tell where the incident took place! I think I shall sleep well tonight.

Wow its day 3 already...only 42 more to go! This morning I didn't have to sit in the hall between two cats. I only had to stand, point fingers at both and say "be nice". Apparently they understood this because neither one chased the other one through the house. Progress! There was one incident where they tried to see who could be the expanding fur queen. I think Marmalade won that contest. Before I went to work I secured S. Dodah in her plush accommodations, coaxed Lady outside and left Marmalade sleeping on the couch. Of course Dusty was all snug in her cage behind a closed door. Of course I worried about the cats all day. I shouldn't have worried though. I came home to Marmalade lounging on the kitchen floor. When I let Sparky out; Marmalade tried to rub her head on S. Dodah. Sparky then voiced a loud opinion regarding this. Then a few minutes later they were both in the living room...NOT having a staring contest! As I write this, Dodah is sunning herself on the living room windowsill and Marmalade is...brace yourself...asleep on the dining room table. Lady seems to be relieved that all of Marm's attention is not on her! Dusty is sleeping peacefully.

Do you ever get the feeling like maybe you forgot to do something? Like turning off the iron before going to church? Well...it my case it wasn't the iron I was concerned about. I couldn't remember if I had secured S. Dodah in her quarters before I left. I was pretty sure I did but still had this nagging feeling that she was on the loose! As it turns out...she was safe and secure. Whew! I again had the middle of the hallway conversation this morning with both cats. There was a lot of screaming, yelling and raised hackles...and that was just me! They are doing better... kind of. There is still a massive staring contest going on but there has been no fur flying or claw swinging. I must admit it was pretty funny when Dodah snuck up on Marmalade! Right now they are all taking an afternoon nap. Marmalade on the couch, S. Dodah on Bethany's bed, Lady on the living room floor and Dusty-who sleeps all day anyway and runs around all night. I would take a nap too but evidently I drank too much coffee. It was good though..made it iced! Mmmmmmmm.

First of all let me just say it isn't my vacation! Actually what is being chronicled here is my stint as a house, dog, cat(s) and hamster sitter while their family is on an extended vacation. Only one cat is theirs; the other is mine. So, picture this: I am sitting on the floor in the middle of the hallway with my cat Marmalade blown up like a puffer fish and spitting like a camel. On the other side is S. Dodah who somehow has managed to puff out her face but nothing else. As loud caterwauling is going on, I am explaining to Marmalade that she is a guest in this house and she must be nice. I have to explain this several times and even threaten her with exile. Finally she wanders off and allows S. Dodah to move about the house. Lady (the dog) seems to be uncertain about my cat. It seems Marmalade is intent on befriending her. Lady just looks confused and even a bit nervous. On a brighter note; I successfully put Dusty (the hamster) in her exercise ball, cleaned the cage and fed her without incident. YAY!! More to come.