Early Sunday Morning...

My sister moved to her new house on Friday and for two afternoons in a row I have been over there making myself a little bit useful, although most of the work had been done by the movers and a large group of her friends who had all showed up early in the day to help her out.

My sister had moved to a brand new house in which everything had yet to be done. The painting, the floors, the window treatments. the garden and the patio, the fencing and the pathway to the back gate. She got most of this done except for the planting. The dirt needs to be prepared and the top layer of soil needs to be removed as it is all waterlogged clay and not good for anything you want to grow there.

She's had to downsize, coming from a large sized house to a smaller sized one and she got rid of a lot of things ahead of time. Now everything fits down to the millimeter in the shed and comfortably in the rooms.

My help consisted mainly of supervising and thinking of good ideas while I sat at the patio table with a beer and a cigarette, doing the occasional job when called for. Unless I can get in there and do all the work myself, I supervise.

I have to ride my bike to her house now, but it isn't too far and I can get there in less than ten minutes. It maybe only takes me a little over five minutes, but I would have to time it.

Because my sister's boyfriend was there, we spoke three languages again and sometimes it was quite funny and I got addressed in Italian and even responded correctly to it. I'm thinking of learning to speak Italian and I can use my sister's text books. It will be a new challenge to my mind. With my knowledge of French, it shouldn't be too difficult. Ha, ha!

I couldn't be gone too long, though, because I didn't want to leave Toby on his own for such a long time. The first thing I did when I came home was give him food and water, which he was more than ready for. Then he wanted to be petted and almost unsuccessfully use the litter box in his own clumsy way. I have to keep Tyke away from him, because Tyke thinks everything is interesting that Toby does.

Much as I would like to, I see no improvement in Toby, except that he's learning to deal better with his handicap and tries harder to compensate for it. He falls off the litter box quite a few times, but gets back on it until he gets it right. Eating and drinking are going quite well now as we have a good system. He hardly has to move to do it. It will be a tough decision to make on Monday.

Gandhi absolutely avoids him and does not even get near him. She gives him a wide berth. Tyke, on the other hand, is always sticking his nose right into the box to see how Toby is doing. I think Gandhi likes being the only functioning cat now. She doesn't constantly have to worry about her place in the hierarchy. Toby did have a way of reminding her of that and he always made sure that she knew he was the top cat. That is no longer so and things have shifted. Maybe Gandhi was meant to be an only cat. She's especially close to Tyke now, sleeping in the same places where he is and actively seeking him out.

I have gotten the new clothes I had ordered in the meantime and I'm much pleased with them. I especially like the harem pants as they are comfortable to wear and they look quite funky. I've got some ankle boots to go with them and they make the outfit complete with a sleeveless tunic over it. It is black with flowers in a red and green print and the pants are olive green.

I've also got a burgundy red India cotton dress with pockets on the skirt that I wear with leggings. It is sleeveless as well and perfect for this weather. The pockets are handy and allow me to go places without my purse. I can put my keys and my mobile phone in them.

I had ordered a long sleeved bolero a few months ago and it was too tight, but I put it on yesterday and it fit very well, much to my pleasure. I must have lost weight, although I did not go on the bathroom scale to find out. I'll let my clothes speak for themselves. I lost at least one size at the top and I have flabby arms as a result.

We've regularly had rain for the past week or so. It's been very pleasant and the temperatures have not been high. It's been bearable weather. Cloudy with sunshine and a shower now and then. That's my kind of summer. The heatwave is over. I hope one doesn't happen again.

My sister gave me some English language books. One of them was "The Girl Who Played With Fire" by Stieg Larsson. That was the book that I wanted to order after I had read the first one in the series. Luckily, I hadn't yet and got sidetracked by the Inspector Linely thrillers. So, when I'm done with "Careless in Red, " I'll have my next book ready to read. How lucky can you get?

I've got to take my medicines now and take the dog for an early morning walk and then probably go back to bed. It will be pleasant to sleep some more. I'm more than ready to get under the covers again.

Have a nice day.

Ciao,
Nora