Thread 10 - TalkLair: “The candle flame gutters. Its little pool of light trembles.”

[Kucinghitam]

Continuation of previous threads (thread 9).

Although the nights are gradually drawing in, the new lair of JTT escapees is all cosy and homey inside. The hearth is glowing, the walls covered in dubious artwork, books by non-approved authors line the shelves, 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…

My best friend was cleaning/tidying her hall when she heard someone peeing in the downstairs loo. It was her cat! He was crouched over the seat and didn’t leave a single drop, unlike the human men of the house.

Ha, that property is also mine when civilisation collapses. It's well off the main roads, has woodland, meadows, the spring, a well and a bore hole. We'd have to install the solid fuel range, mind.

Clever cat! I've heard of cats doing that but have never seen it.

Ooh! Leave 7 days before putting water on it though… could go a week without a bath I suppose, but we only have one toilet (there’s one in the annexe but we let that out). Thanks for the link, maybe if our lodger moves out - and I hope he never does, he’s so perfect - we’ll do it.

Yeah, I noted the seven days for the sealant to be done! We've got one of those olden-days showers you can attach to sink taps so that would do for washing hair. Then it would be sink washing. 'A lick and a promise' or as my never-had-a-bath-in-his-life grandfather called it, 'A thorough wash'. Mr Tric made a composting toilet for the garden so we could bring that indoors while the loo is being sorted.

This is a great piece from Christina Pagel on the impact of Covid on the NHS and particularly its workers.

https://christinapagel.substack.com/p/i-will-never-get-over-seeing-whole?r=8zv6v&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

@BinturongsSmellOfPopcorn Catching up to the thread, in answer to your Q about FiL's vision:

In a practical sense, it's not clear whether his brain just builds in a fake half of the world, or simply doesn't register that half the world is missing IYSWIM. Either way, the resulting condition was how he managed to drive half his car into a lorry (apparently it was so bad that had there been a passenger, they would have been crushed!). Once he realised that this was what was happening, he's always made conscious efforts to mitigate - e.g. he always seats himself (at meals, at family gatherings, etc) such that his "working" side can see everyone. But it can be hard to imagine what his visual difficulty really is, because he always refers to his "blind side" as though it's his eye that is not working.

George Forman, I think, but definitely a boxer of his ilk, taught his cats how to use the toilet and I think did a video about it. If Francis is grumpy he pees by the plug in the bath which really doesn't bother me much as it's very easy to clean. I'm sure that some of the more hygienic sorts on MN would be appalled and be in search of a new bath if an animal dared to pee in their pristine one.

In other cat news, both of the little bastards decided to bounce off my stomach this morning in order to wake me up for breakfast. Thankfully they didn't go near the jej tube area and while it hurt it was bearable. The issue is I can't sleep on my side so they're drawn to my stomach. To be fair to them both, this morning was their first go at it so they have given me a little time to start healing. Fuckers.

Dear sweet evil cats.

The trouble with having water supplied from a spring (for me, anyway) is that it takes electricity to pump it. I am a little nervous of what effect storm Debi will have tonight - some of the projections put us in the middle of the worst of it - I've been filling watering cans so I can flush the loo, and jugs of drinking water, in case the power is out in the morning.

DeanElderberry · Today 19:38

The trouble with having water supplied from a spring (for me, anyway) is that it takes electricity to pump it. I am a little nervous of what effect storm Debi will have tonight...

We came into shelter in the Firth of Forth, when I was asleep. I realised it was windy when I got up about an hour ago, when I struggled to open my cabin door, the cabin being a shipping container on the upper deck - with a ten m walk through the rain to be inside.

In other news, I was doing an online crossword yesterday and a clue was "Common thrush." I had to cheat the answer, which was:

Mavis.

I never knew that.

“Common” and “thrush”, huh. May have to change name.

You could always change it to Candida.

Nowt wrang wi bein' common, Pet!

Hope you don't need the buckets, Elderberry. We're about as far as you can get from the coast but even here it's quite blustery. An Irish friend is flying to Ireland for a visit today, so I hope her flight isn't too bouncy.

I agree about the concern re electricity to pump the spring water. The option at that property would be to use the well or walk down the hill to where the spring is and both would be a faff.

Evening all and trust all well with you lot and your cats!

Just checking in, really. Caught a dreadful bout of food poisoning, I think atv a conference in Brum, and just about recovering. You think you're going to die and then you wish you were is, I think, the traditional feeling.

Think my sense of smell and therefore taste are returning! Went for a walk just now (bloody hell, the early onset of darkness really caught me out!) and could smell on my face/hair the onion/garlic/beef mince I’d been frying up for a bolognese, so I might even be able to taste it when we eat it later!

Fingers crossed that your electric pump holds up, Dean.

Huzzah for the return of smell and, hopefully, taste, Mavis.

I've started my first tube feed today after I realised that even drinking was a bit of a pain yesterday. I didn't want to start the feed overnight because the first one is ten hours - you basically up the amount that pumps each go so your jejunum can get used to the procedure - and I didn't want to have to go to bed with long tubes waiting for bad cats to mess about with. Tomorrow's feed will be six hours and then on Wednesday four hours. I can up the amount from there but as today's has been a little odd at times I'm thinking I'll stick with four hours which isn't too long.

As I'm typing this Django is going pure mental on a small box getting in it, getting out, flinging it up into the air, running away from it and then chewing at the edges of it. He's such a mad little dude. And now I called him over and he's chirruping next to me.

How’s the soreness now, Mouse?

I COULD taste my dinner and it seemed very hot, whether that’s too much salt, too much pepper or too much chili I don’t know. Maybe too much of all three! Macman is (sensibly) extremely cautious/nervous when asked for his opinions on my cooking so he’s no help.

We were lucky that the wind went a little to the north of us - it sounded scary but doesn't seem to have done major damage and we were not among the 70k households left without power. It did send the cats crazy between about 3.30 and 5.30 this morning, so a restless night, not helped by having two sore arms after flu and covid jabs on Saturday.

Sympathy to all sufferers from worse afflictions.

Still sore, Mavis and itchy! I've got some sort of glue over the other keyhole surgery bits which is hard to remove but I have just managed one! Feed is done, tube flushed and there was some serious discomfort during it but I'm nurished for the day. Six hours tomorrow which is far more doable.

MouseMinge · Yesterday 19:47

I've started my first tube feed today after I realised that even drinking was a bit of a pain yesterday.

It's cheering to hear that you have had success, it sounds like the biggest faff.

Good wishes to all poorly threadsters!

After yesterday's high winds and sideways rain, we are now definitely in "stick season" with all the leaves blown off the trees.

We're in port season, crew change tomorrow. It was a bit bouncy yesterday.