Thread 8 - TalkLair: “Brewing Russell's teapot”

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous threads (thread 7).

The new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey; we have truly settled here. Outside, the garden is blooming with spring flowers. Inside, the hearth is glowing, pictures are up on the walls, rugs are down on the floors (and assorted pets curled up on them).

We just won’t mention the gnawed bones of our prey over there in the corner of the cave…

Tell me about it. It's shit, this getting old business. And I'm in pretty good health and haven't got much to complain about!

Yeah. I was looking at a recent photo of my twin the other day and, for the first time, thought 'You're starting to look old'. If he is, I probably am too, though I've got a lot more hair than him and it isn't as grey. It was a bit sad.

Ah go on with you - you're a spring chicken!

I’ve fallen in love with this cat, but I’m not sure Kasper would approve. They’re looking for a foster home with vet expenses paid for as she’s elderly. Apparently she’s been treated very badly previously and wants a nice home to retire to. If money were no object I would buy a farmhouse and adopt them all.

Oh, bless her! I adopted an elderly Oriental cat who had been living in a shelter for over a year because nobody wanted him due to his age and ill health. We only had about 18 months together but he was an absolute darling and I was so happy to give him lots of love at the end of his life.

I hope the funeral was okay, @Tricyrtis2022 .

This evening I'm mostly wondering whether I should get a cordless drill or not. Oh, and one of those things that figures out where electrics and water pipe things are on your wall so that you don't drill through them and cause havoc.

Did you have another cat at the time? And was he prone to accidents? Was it absolutely heartbreaking or did it feel different because you knew he didn't have a huge amount of time left?

They haven't specified exactly how elderly she is.

Re cordless drills - I got one from Ikea, it was about £30. Didn't open it until a year later when I discovered it was faulty... the grip thingy is missing. Contacting them is on my increasingly long list of things to do.

@CyanCrystalViolet I didn't. I got Oscar because I'd lost my beautiful Georgie and needed a cat to give some love to. There were no accidents and there were lots of tears and sadness when he died, but yes, I knew we didn't have long together so it wasn't as devastating as it would have been. Although I didn't have another cat when he came to live with me I did end up rescuing a kitten - through Hollygolightly actually, and Oscar was a darling with her in that she was allowed to sleep next to him, curled up with him, on top of him, and he taught her how to properly clean herself. He was just a beautiful, brief part of my life and I'm so glad he came into my life.

Re a drill, I can get a good buy on Amazon at the moment because of Prime Day and although I know I won't get tons of use out of it I do want to put up some shelves, etc. I also want to be a proper grown up and get to play with power tools.

We've decided we shall need to get another cat soon. The new cat of course won't be the Best Cat in the World, because Phoebe had that crown. But our house just doesn't feel like home without a cat.

A cordless drill is definitely a useful thing to have. Mine is cheap and not great but it generally gets the job done. When I was teaching, we had Makita drills in the workshop and those were the business.

@Kucinghitam I think Cat Burglar has been telling you to get another cat!

It was a good funeral, MouseMinge, as funerals go. The woman was a close neighbour and was delightfully eccentric and we were very fond of her. I've got to know her daughter, who is about my age, and get on very well with her too.

That cat, I can see why you want to take her in! I hope she finds a good home.

I'm very glad to hear that @Kucinghitam. The next cat can never replace the one that's gone, but it allows you to use that cat-loving part of oneself that just feels so empty otherwise. Plus cat burglar clearly needs a lot of company.

Will you get a kitten? They are ridiculously sweet, and there are enough of you to spread the relentlessness between.

Quick drop in to share this, as the only thing I miss about the old place is the property thread:

3 bedroom cottage for sale in Castle Gate, Newark, NG24 (rightmove.co.uk)

I was just thinking it looked nice in a quirky way and then saw the en suites.

whyohwhyohwhy

It's lovely on the outside...

You could sort out the en suite problem pretty easily, I suppose. MrG and I once stayed in a "boutique" hotel - I forget where, but somewhere in forrin - with a transparent glass en suite. We hadn't been together very long, but fortunately both found it more hilarious than embarrassing.

Why does it have a stage? Somebody quite mad must have lived there.

I was thinking we'd go for an adult cat again, as I understand it they often find it harder to get adopted than kittens do.

I started reading through the cat adoption threads on the Litter Tray and now I'm worried - apparently many shelters won't approve homes "near" a busy road. So I went and checked our local area shelters, and they do all say such a thing. Our house is on a quiet street which isn't used by through traffic, but it is directly off one of the main roads into the city.

There are a bajillion cats in our neighbourhood though, so clearly people are getting pets from somewhere.

Can you cat proof your garden?

That house is lovely but the en suites are ever so slightly problematic.

I had the first of my six dressmaking classes today and it was ace! There are seven of us in the class and six of us are everywhere from total beginners to we might as well have never done any sewing in the past because we are rubbish and we all fear our sewing machines. By the end of the class the sewing machine fear had gone. I can't wait for next week's class. Between then and now I have to find a pattern that isn't too difficult and get fabric, thread and all of the bits and pieces. I'm excited.

I don't think it would be possible to cat proof our plot. It's not big, but the way everything is arranged, we'd probably have to build an Eden Project dome around the whole thing.

One of Dottie’s pups went to a family who’d wanted to rescue a dog but their garden wasn’t secure, so instead of rehoming a dog in need, they had to buy a puppy from us.