Much Needed Mini Vacation

Been home for the last 3 days on a much needed mini break. I had made lots of plans & even a list of things to do around the house that simply never get done. I'm glad to say that the things to do list has got lots of things ticked off but my plans have mostly stayed on paper.

All I've done is rest & sleep........lots of it, every afternoon infact. Can't say I managed to stay away from the laptop (hasnt happened) but I've resisted opening my emails.

Watched Paris Je T'aime 2 days back. Very interestng idea, having 18 film makers from around the world present their ideas of Paris. The cinematography is beautiful, paris looks stunning...I can easily see why so many people love Paris.

I've actually been to Paris when I was eight, we were flying to New York via Air India & our plane had stopovers in Paris & London. I was travelling with mom & my great grandma (who was in her late 70's at the time) The whole plane had disembarked at CDG airport, we had stayed on board as it was difficult for my great grandma to walk & as is often the case with elders was reluctant to use the wheelchair being offered to her.

I still remember that the captain had offered to show me the cockpit during the stopover and he chatted with mom & grandma while we walked around the tarmac to stretch our legs.. It was so exciting ...there were all these planes taking off & landing.......they were so close. All I have are these fleeting memories of Paris, seeing the movie makes me want to catch the next plane out to Paris & spend a week there.

Couldnt sleep much last night (must have been the afternoon snooze) so decided to watch "Dil Chahta hai". All the songs are nice & good acting all-around. I loved some of the scenes...like Saif getting robbed in Goa by this firangi girl he's going out with. Hated the ending...how does Dimple die? someone pls tell me, there she is suddenly in hospital...did i miss something.

On a lighter note, been playing hide & seek with this cockroach that is residing in our washbasin. Dunno how long it's made its residence in our house, havent actually seen my new tenant, all I see are its antennae everynight when i go to brush my teeth.

First night I almost went to get the spray of Baygon which is permanently kept in the toilet to deal with just such unwanted guests. Then thought its hiding in the small gap in the washbasin, how much of a threat is it to anyone, decided no harm done...let it live.

Been 3 days now, how girlie my super killer has missed this one I dont know, methinks the roach hasnt ventured out of its hole for girlie to spot it. It's probably a pretty shy roach, even I havent seen it completely yet... all it does is waves its antenna's around.

All in all it has been a "be kind to roach" week at our house this week, so roach lives to do what roaches love to do.

Another one bites the dust !!!

Caught girly yesterday evening....hehe...she came down from her lofty perch a little earlier than usual. Around 7, as soon as madame had her snack & was thinking of going for a walk, I decided to catch her.

She howled as loudly as she could (which believe me is verrrrry louuuuud) But the deed was done. Caught a cab & took her to the vets. She stared at me all through the ride (If looks could kill......)

She took injections very quietly. Doc thought she looked very chubby (which she does) New cat food agrees with her I guess.

Now only Pinks is left. I hope to catch her today. Madame sleeps on top of the cupboard to avoid getting caught. But she has to come down & I'm patient :)

Annual Woes

So every May is the cats Annual Vaccination, one day a year I have to manage to take all 4 to the vet's office & ensure that they're vaccinated against rabies & other deadly diseases. We have done this successfully for the last 4 years so why should it be different this year...but it was!

All my planning was undone by the 2 ultra smart females (why couldn't thaku give birth to 4 boys, my life would have been so much simpler...guys are dumber...fact of life...I love them all, but the guys are more attached to me than the girls who always prefer my brothers)

Everything was in place, appointment set for Saturday afternoon at vets office, K said he'd come over to help me carry the rascals. We got the baskets all ready while all 4 were snoozing lazily away in the afternoon ...plan was to carry Jerry & Pinks in Trip # 1 and Girly & Tangy in Trip #2.

Of course in life..things never go as planned. Girly has taken to sleeping on the inaccessible loft (inaccessible to humans i mean...she happily jumps from the washing machine to the loft in one very graceful leap) and pinks decided the top of the cupboard was her spot for the day.

That left both the boys....luckily both were sleeping...fast asleep on my bed [or is it theirs?...i wonder...cause they spend more time on it than me...how does one decide ownership of something...somehow i always end up feeling like they are sharing their bed with me (rather than vice versa...why??)]

While I wrestled with fitting Jerry in the basket, K picked up a fast asleep Tangy & put him in the second basket. Tangy is usually very frisky...he'll keep trying to get out of the basket, so its always a struggle to ensure that he stays put. He gave K a rough time, kept putting his paw on the lid & raising it enough to peek outside. Finally K got the basket tied up & him safely inside.

Jerry howled all the way to the vet, cab driver was very amused by it all. Tangy was quite sleepy, he seemed to enjoy the cab ride & while is usually very vocal on all these journeys was unusually quiet y'day. He'd emit a howl or two just to let Jerry know he was there too.

Injections were given, return journey was again done with Jerry announcing his displeasure at this interruption of his afternoon nap. We tried to lure the girls with cat food, but they were not budging. Finally we just gave up. I'll have to manage to catch & take both the girls on my own in the coming week. (I have no idea how I'm going to accomplish that)

Jerry ran out of the house as soon as he was let out of the basket (methinks to vent his fury...I hope it was spent on something rather than someone) he was back in an hour, and i was forgiven for all the pain he endured.

The rest of my weekend has been spent with salt water gargling, gulping kanthil, drinking hot water in this immense heat.....why u ask....sorethroat (nasty one since friday) I even picked up some strepsils as a last ditch solution, let it kill all the organisms. I'm fine with that. Anything to stop the pain, throat is painful & sore.

Decided to ditch all the rules & had a cool glass of wine for lunch. Mothers Day today, so got some flowers for mom & ordered some food. It was too hot in afternoon to venture out for lunch.
S is making omlettes for dinner, he gets into these cooking moods at times, I had scrambed egg at around 11pm on Wed night. S had made some for himself, it looked so temptingly yummy that I succumbed & had some. He makes great pasta too, loaded with cheese.

How i miss those times, when all of us as a family would eat scrambed eggs or pasta made by S at some godawful hour at night. Usually after watching some movie...all of us would talk late into the night. We had some really good times as a family. Even Micky our dog would join in & munch away with us.

I'm getting all misty eyed & nostalgic. Now both Mick & Dad are gone.....I miss them both so much. Dad I don't think I'll stop missing....ever. It was strange but I couldn't pet a dog after Mick died for almost a couple of years, everytime a dog came near me I'd start crying. I'd miss him so much. I can't imagine getting another german shephard, if i ever do get a dog it'll be another breed for sure.

Not that I'm thinking of getting one anytime soon, the cats are enough for now. I'd be worried about them doing something to the poor puppy.

As for me I hope the vaccination gods are on my side this week cause it has to be done. Any ideas on luring the girls will be welcome.

Decisions Decisions..........and cooooold air

Finally got air-conditioning done at home after days of should we or shouldn't we. All the tales of (electricity woes) read in the newspapers added to my guilt. So I was left pondering the question, if we lose power..........am i indirectly/directly responsible for the power crisis in the state.

Deciding between a split ac or a window was another question i didn't need to have to answer. The estimates given by fabricators for work to be done to get the damn thing fitted had me wondering...why...why do i have to decide these things.

Luckily answers were closer to hand & easily obtained, my brother's friend who is an electrician was consulted by me. Of course he came up with all the answers. Split ac has live wire covered with insulation (cats could scratch & get zapped) so window ac it was......phew that was so simple.

So decisions made, ppl contacted.......work done over the weekend. We had nice chilly bedroom to sleep in by Sunday evening. Felt that was so simple, decision making should be easier to do.

Cats were all most suspicious, as they are not used to closed doors. So having the bedroom door closed all of a sudden was viewed very suspiciously by all of them, the ac was also inspected very closely.

The only cat who is bold enough is Tangy. He ensures that he is in the bedroom before the door is shut, makes me open it for him at least twice every night (for him to have a midnight snack or two) ensures the door is opened in case he is left outside by howling outside the door. Loud enough wails that I race to open the door a few inches & he jumps into the room.

Yesterday I was at home & decided it was cool enough not to use the ac in the afternoon, what do i get..........accusatory looks from Tangy. Apparently Mr.Cool Cat wanted cool air during his afternoon nap, looks of great longing were flung at the ac, I almost succumbed......almost.

Resolution for the week (& going ahead):
Do not fall for pining looks from cats, they are all very manipulative. Learn to say NO !!