Basket Cases, Part Two

This weekend I got lumber, stained it and brought it into the dining room to complete my shelves. Kitten Thunder, as usual, was on hand for inspection.

And then we had a little conflict.

Obi decided he’d “prefer” the baskets on the floor.

If you’re wondering why our bookshelves have no books, it is because I measured the room. I asked The Boy to measure. I reminded him that my family can NOT measure things. But he left town this weekend and I convinced myself I could do it; I only had to measure from the wall to the center support on each side.

That distance was approximately 70 inches. Since I am 65 inches tall, I decided I needed 7 foot shelves.

If that seems wrong…it is. I am NOT six and a half feet tall.

The Boy is home and he’ll be trimming the shelves so they fit tomorrow.

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Basket Cases

Since Zensai, my bearded dragon, died and his tank no longer took space in the living room, I have wanted to put the bookcase that is the dining room in the living room with the coffee table it matches. And I wanted to replace it with a full-wall set of shelves.

And I’ve been thinking. And planning. And getting frustrated.

But not doing.

Today, on a whim, I went into a store to look for supplies to build the shelves. And there, already built, were shelves almost exactly like what I wanted. On clearance! With baskets! A quick trip to the lumber store and some stain is all I need for my dream shelves.

I drive a compact car. But, thanks to the genius minds of Subaru, I can fit almost everything I need in it. Six boards that are seven feet long? Tomorrow’s trip to the lumberyard will be a piece of cake. However, my confidence was proven faulty this afternoon when the large shelf wouldn’t go into my car; it was half an inch too big to squeeze past the light in the trunk.

Drat.

So…I don’t have pictures of my completed shelves since I had to wait until my friend Sarah, and her SUV, met me for dinner.

While we were waiting, Kitten Thunder inspected the baskets.

They approve.

Saint Patty Snapshots

No one in the house is wearing green today. No one is getting pinched because if The Boy pinches me I will pinch him back. And Kitten Thunder has no apposable thumbs.

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Oliver and I stayed in bed today, reading, until 1:30 this afternoon. Then I got up and made lunch. Then I started reading again on the couch. Obi supervised from the quilt pod for an hour. Then he decided intensive supervision was needed so he moved up to lay on my chest. He stayed like that for an hour before his brother showed up.

I told Obi to be brave. I told Oliver not to run Obi off. In his defense, Oliver plunked down behind Obi and seemed perfectly content to share. He even gave Obi a bath. But Obi felt pressured and went to watch some OutTV. He’d oversnuggled anyway.

The book, by the way was excellent. It is a little weird. A little supernatural. But it left my heart pounding and my nerves on edge. If you like unusual books, check out The Mercy Of Thin Air by Ronlyn Domingue.

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We had super veggie spaghetti tonight. Oliver did not approve. But he licked both plates spotlessly clean – just to survive, though, not because it tasted good.

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The basement flat mousie is upstairs.

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Yesterday, a squirrel was hanging upside down, eating out of our squirrel-proof bird feeder. Obi looked at me helplessly. He did not approve. I didn’t care until the end of the day when I looked out and saw an empty birdfeeder. A week’s worth of food, gone in a day. I do not approve.

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Look closely at the picture above. That’s two, two cats in one.

Tag Thunder

So. There’s this game of bloggy tag going on where you are supposed to link to the blog that tagged you and then answer these questions and tag other bloggers. Since we’ve been tagged by about everyone on ye olde blogroll, we are crediting everyone and tagging everyone there.

As it has taken me a long time to respond to this – you know how hard it is to get cats to cooperate in such things – I may very well be the last blog to do this.

Here it is, Kitten Thunder responds to the taggy questions:

1.  Book or movie and why?

Oliver: Books. The Girl reads in bed. I love bed. Though movies mean the couch. I love the couch. And sometimes there’s food on the couch.

Obi: Moving!

2.  Real book or e-book?

Oliver: Real books. I like the shape and texture under my back when I’m reading with The Girl. And sometimes her fingers get tired from holding the book up so she can see it over me – then she just puts it down and pays attention to me. As she should.

Obi: Depends. How many e-books do we have to stack up so I can see out the dining room window without standing? Right now we have four real books stacked there.

3. Funniest thing you’ve done in the last 5 years?

Oliver: Once I got The Girl up and down to serve breakfast without Obi noticing so I got both breakfasts. That was a funny joke.

Obi: I’m funny every day. I go into my cave and scare The Boy, The Girl and Oli when they walk by. They are ALWAYS unsuspecting! You’d think they’d learn! It’s so funny when I get them!

4.  Do you put yourself in the books you read/movies you watch?

Oliver: I put myself in The Girl’s book every time we read. I thought I answered this already.

Obi: Naw, I like to lay on The Girls feet. And to put myself in boxes. And paper bags.

5. How would your best friend describe you?

Oliver: Obi would say I’m comfortable to lay on and that I taste great. That comes from hours of bathing every day.

Obi: Oli would say I’m coming along nicely. And that I need a bath.

6.  Favorite kind of car and why?

Oliver: My favorite car is a dead car.

Obi: Any car I’m not in. And that The Girl’s not in.

7.  Would your choice of party be a catered meal or a barbecue out back?

Oliver: Yes.

Obi: As long as The Girl stays out of the kitchen, that’s alright with me. She makes the loud beepy thing go off. I don’t think she knows what she’s doing.

8.  What’s your favourite season and why?

Oliver: Fall. Smell-o-vision on and none of that stuff The Girl says makes me wheezy and gaggy. Plus the blankets come back out.

Obi: I like today. Lots of smell-o-vision and all the things on OutTV are doing stuff in pairs and chasing each other and stuff.

9.  What important lessons have you learned?  Spiritual, educational, and occupational?

Oliver:

   Spiritual – When all else fails, take a nap.

   Educational – Practice makes perfect; take a nap.

   Occupational – It’s my job to get us fed in the morning. Then I can take a nap.

Obi:

   Spiritual – Ear kisses are heaven.

   Educational – Laying with the people is a hard skill to learn. But it is worth it.

   Occupational – I still haven’t figured out why The Girl stores her peanuts on the window sill. But I have learned that the squirrels and nuts are on one side and I am on the other. Also? Glass is hard.

10.  Besides writing, what’s your favorite thing to do when you get some extra time?

Oliver: Writing? Napping. Eating. Sleeping. Playing with Obi. And snacking.

Obi: Cave monster. Bed monster. Blanket monster. Stair monster. Closet monster. Condo monster. And napping.

11.  What’s one place you can be found at least one time every week?

Oliver: The condo. It’s like our desk when The Girl has decided we’ve done enough work on her desk.

Obi: Our house! We live there.

Thunder in My Drawers

"Hey, I had The Girl open this drawer for me!"

"You snooze you lose, bro."

"I'm coming up whether you're in my drawer or not..."

"I win! Now...how do I get The Girl to open that cupboard?"

Yesterday I had an Usborne Books party at my house. Obi checked all the books for quality – knocking them off the table, knocking them off the mantle, bending the binding backwards as he jumped from the mantle to avoid being blamed for all the books on the floor…

They are, in fact, high quality books.