Tica and the table issue (yes, created by me) is getting worse. My dogs are spared somewhat from being completely spoiled and indulged, because I know it's bad for them and makes them unhappy. It's kind of hard for me, but I completely believe in "the cesar method", so I can handle it. The cats don't really suffer negatively from being spoiled and indulged, so I tend to spoil them. Tica especially. She has suffered so much in her short little life! I have been trying to keep her off the table. It is a little annoying, and she tends to have a lot of accidents with her little "stumpy" leg (as Mark says). It sticks out behind her and to the side and it frequently knocks things over as she hops around.
As I was getting ready to put dinner on the table, the minute I turned my back to grab food, she made her move, leaping to the middle of the kitchen table. I've been trying to keep her off, but her strategy seems to be just to wait long enough and I will eventually turn my back, and she jumps. M and I both told her, "no", and she turned to jump down. Her little stumpy leg hit his large, 40 oz. cup of peach iced tea. It hit the table and with great force and velocity, the iced tea was splashed across the entire kitchen--walls, floor, everywhere. Despite having scrubbed the kitchen down several times, we are still running into sticky iced tea spots!
As unpleasant as that was, I felt very lucky. Just a few minutes before that, I had moved my stack of Skeptical Inquirer magazings (from the library!!) from that table to the counter. I was really looking forward to reading those mags. and would also have really not been happy about having to pay a replacement fee because they had been soaked with peach iced tea!
The cat then had the nerve to try to get back up on the table after everything was cleaned up. By the time I got to sit down and eat, my food was cold and everyone else was done. She would not stay off the table. It was maddening! I had even given her a generous tablespoon of my (leftover) lentil pilaf on a little 'plate' for her on the stool next to me. She would not touch her food until she was able to get back up on the kitchen table after, and only after, I finished my food and was doing dishes. I am going to continue to try to keep her off the table, and I'm sure she will continue to resist my efforts. This battle could potentially continue for the next 15 years!
Today L & I had a really fun and productive day of learning. We had to take a break mid-afternoon to attend to more messy animal issues. Daisy and Jezebel were enjoying today's gorgeous weather and having some playtime in the back yard. Daisy came in with a streak of dark sticky matter along her right side, from her body up to her neck. She had rolled in something, and it smelled like hell. I mean it was bad and unlike anything I could describe. I have encountered it in the past, however, also smeared along Daisy's body. It was really, really hard to get the stickiness off, and the smell didn't go away for a couple of weeks. Nast! We looked all over our fenced in back and side yard but could find anything that would have caused that. It wasn't crap. It wasn't skunk spray. It was just completely repulsive in every way possible!
We put a reluctant Daisy into the tub and used the handsprayer on her. L. had to stand next to me the entire time, blocking her from leaping out of the tub and making a bigger mess. I soaped her up three times with lavendar castille soap. I then rinsed her with red vinegar. I then washed her again. The sticky black was gone, but the smell, though fainter, still remained. I sprayed an enzyme neutralizer spray on her stinky areas, but that hasn't eliminated it either. I guess time will be the only thing capable of eliminating the mystery stench. At least it brought some unexpected adventure and lots of laughs to our day.
If we get our learning goals met in time tomorrow, we will give Jezi a bath--just for fun. We have art/drawing, and music/piano, along with several fun projects. It should be a great day!
Those have been my adventure-filled days. L & I have a little fall headcold, so it's been kind of a challenge form me to keep up with both of my jobs and our learning, but we've done okay. We should be back to 100% by next week.
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