Cat and Mouse Games

As seems to be my fate, weekends tend to put my blog reading in the bucket. So right now, yes I am behind in that.

Been having a bit of a rough time the past couple of days staying awake though. Considering I tend to have sleep issues -just can't seem to get myself on any type of reasonable sleep times, which is also exacerbated by the fact if I do fall asleep at a reasonable hour -say midnight or 2 a.m. or thereabout, in a mere 3, maybe 4 hours tops, I will be awake -wide awake -and unable to go back to sleep for at least 3-4 hours after whatever time I wake up. And then, when I fall asleep usually forced sleep by having eaten something, anything, I am lucky if I can cram maybe an hour or two of naptime before frequently being awakened by the damned telephone ringing -incessantly, or so it seems. And this goes on then throughout the day -awake for anywhere from 3 to maybe 6 hours, then the eyes cross, vison blurs, sleep overtakes me for an hour or two and the whole process repeats itself, all over again! ARRGH!

But anyway, enough of that. I am grateful that dear daughter Mandy understands these issues and when I keel over in sleep, sitting up in the recliner, she is kind, sweet and generous and throws a little blanket over me so I don't freeze solid there. Tonight, she even cooked supper too. Daughters are a damned nice thing to have around ya know.

Now, I'm happy to say that tonight, I completed the first project of 2009 -a tabletopper -did it in two weeks and two days. I should have had it finished in just under two weeks, but those damned naps kept getting in my way.

Here's a couple pictures now of the newly finished tabletopper. It's called "Field Flowers" according to the name on the package.

And, here's a closeup of one corner so you can get a better view.
I finished it around midnight and then, after Mandy went to bed -which freed up the computer -I decided to clear out my e-mail, respond to a letter from one of my best friends from high school and finish up till I get sleepy enough to go to bed by reading new posts from favorite bloggers from my reader and my "following" list.

So, here I was reading away and suddenly the cat -dear little Chino -goes on what appears to be a little bit of a rampage. Chasing all over the living room, dining room, skittering all over the place. Then I realise I'm hearing another noise mixed in with her paws hitting the floor -a tiny noise. What is it? Chino stops, starts again, then tiny, tiny clicking-type sounds are heard, more running by Chino and then, she stops by the dining room table and out of the corner of my eye, I see/realize what's going on here.

The cat is playing with a mouse! A live, for real, little mouse! Chino has her paw on its tail, then tosses it in the air, catches it, lets it back down on the floor and proceeds to torment the mouse for several more minutes of this.

At this point, I get to thinking -hey, why not be really creative and get the camera, take an action shot of Chino when she re-pins the mouse down and before she chomps into and bits it through or some such move.

So, I get the camera, follow the action a bit but can't get the two of them in the view-finder and in a decent enough light. Chino then chases the mouse into the sunporch which is also my bedroom area but thankfully, the door is shut and the mouse can't get under there then to disappear in one of the crevices in my room -or worse, into any of the many cloth and/or paper items I have stashed out there too and to ultimately make mincemeat of them because Chino won't be able to find her.

I venture out into the porch though and the mouse has disappeared into the closet area. Lovely. But then, Chino spies her, bats her a good one (Why am I assuming this mouse is a female, I wonder?) and the game resumes.

This time, Chino gives a hit, the mouse flies up in the air but lands on all fours and comes scampering right between my legs, which cause me to jump oh, maybe a foot or two in the air, trying to get out of the way of the chaser and chasee.

Eventually, little mouse comes back into the living room and manages to elude Chino long enough to get under my desk, blocked in to a safe area because of the two storage units (drawers/bookcase things) I have under the desk.

And, as I sit her typing this, I think that is where Miss Mouse still is too because Chino has relaxed her guard pose somewhat -not actively pawing at some small avenue she can get through to get behind my desk and scare the hell out of Miss Mouse into making her run back out into the open room.

Great! Just what I need here -a darned mouse! Gonna have to alert the son-in-law in the morning that it is time to set the traps again. And also, first chance I get, to remind him and my goofball son too, that I have warned them time and time again, to make damned sure they close the cellar door any time they go in and out there! They both have a habit of using that door, hauling whatever precious cargos men like to drag home ya know, through that entry way and letting the door hang open the whole time they are unloading stuff from their truck or whatever. They either don't hear me, don't want to hear me, turn a deaf ear anyway and look, now you see what's happened again -a mouse in the house, which probably means by this time, several mice in the house cause I do think they travel in pairs at least, if not in families!

But by and large, after reading this post by one of my favorite bloggers, I consider myself fortunate that it is only a mouse! Go here, and read about Maggie's little rodent problems at her place!

See, now I just turned this post into something to be thankful for, didn't I?

Nite nite, don't let the little mice bite.