Round 2 with Fudge the cat today. I have obviously become too relaxed and off my guard. I needed to go out into the back garden this morning to empty the veg waste into the compost bin. I checked through the window first, no sign of cat, so I sidled through the door, shutting it behind me and went down to the bottom of the garden to the compost bin. Came back up a couple of minutes later and still no sign of him. Feeling pleased with myself that he must have found pastures new in which to camp, I opened the door to let myself in, noticed a plant pot that needed moving, picked it up and moved it and walked into the kitchen, almost falling over Fudge! I hadn’t noticed him around and let out a small shriek, at which he shot off from the kitchen into the hallway and disappeared.
As I was about to go out for some shopping, to say I wasn’t exactly delighted by this intrusion is an understatement, as I couldn’t go out and leave him in our house but I had no idea of how to get him out without picking him up, which I don’t feel able to do. I have an inbuilt fear of cats that must arise from some early childhood experience with a cat; the name Whiskers comes to mind when I think back. I shouted out that he needed to leave as I was on the verge of going out, my language was slightly less polite in fact, and I looked around the house to locate him. He was installed on the front windowsill, jumping down onto the arm of the sofa when he saw me and looking affronted at being asked to leave. I took out my phone and took a photo of him and he instantly jumped down and made for the backdoor to be let out, so not only did he leave, but I may also have discovered an easy mechanism to remove him on future occasions when I need to if he is always so camera-shy.
I’ve had three days on the run this week of being at home all day, not counting the daily walk to the shops, and I can honestly say that I’ve experienced no difficulty in filling the time. Planning, preparing and cooking good food plays a significant role, as does cleaning and tidying the house, catching up with admin tasks and keeping in touch with people online. Tomorrow I am meeting a friend, an ex-colleague, for lunch and on Friday am meeting one of my oldest friends, retired last year, for a walk followed by lunch, so this week seems to model a good balance between socialising and being at home and operating in my own space. I feel like a routine of sorts is beginning to emerge on the “at home” days, which incorporates the physical exercises, the meals, household duties, walk to shops and some time for reading, and bang, the day’s gone! Next week will be rather different as I am going to visit my sons at their respective Universities to transport boxes of stuff they want and will combine this with an overnight with some friends who moved away from the area a few years ago and who I haven’t seen for 4 or 5 years, so I am looking forward to that.
I think some routine & predictability can be a good thing, but I like the idea that it can be loose and flexible and that every day/week will be different and include something surprising or unexpected.
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