Welcome Home

The unpacking is done, furniture is arranged, books are put away and pictures are hung. I can now introduce you to the new abode.

I find it a cosy place, small, certainly, but with almost enough room for me and the cats. I know they would like more space, and indeed, I require a bit more myself - enough for one more bookcase, to be exact. However, that is a thing of not much consequence, and I am pleased with the transition, so far. Come with me, won’t you, on a short tour?

We’ll start in the sitting room. And yes, the pictures are not quite centred on that far wall, and no, I’m not going to re-hang them.

You may note the rugs on the fitted carpets. Redundant, you say? Not if you have cats. Cammie has been feeling poorly and has thrown up a few times. Josie, with her sensitive stomach, has emptied her belly on the floor once and Tucker…that roly poly...didn’t finish his pooping after leaving the litter-box one time and wiped his bum on the floor. Fortunately, all of this was done on the inexpensive, easily cleaned and ultimately disposable rugs.

Continuing clockwise through the apartment, we come to the kitchen. It is little - tiny, actually - but for someone who, though he cooks, does not make big productions of it, the dimensions are quite adequate.

The dining area has a spare rug for the moment. Josie thought to add her scent to the rolled rug, was a bit too vigorous, rubbed against it, and tipped it over. It fell and knocked the clock off the wall. The clock hit the table, the battery flew out and landed in the kitchen sink. The clock continues to tick. So does Josie.

The storeroom (with litter-boxes) and bathroom may be imagined. And so into the bedroom. Quite bright and relatively spacious, it contains a couple of cat-trees and, in one picture, a couple of cats. It also houses my memorials to those who have gone before.

The library is cramped, to say the least. The little couch and its accompanying ottoman were such good furniture, however, that I didn’t want to part with them. This is where our Saturday night movie is watched. To save space, the television set is kept in the closet, the door of which is opened for weekend viewing.

And thus you are familiar with the new residence. The cats seem, to my surprise, to have settled in very quickly. They were largely untroubled by the changes, the actual move itself being the biggest bump in the otherwise smooth journey of their lives. That was of course my greatest worry.

Giving up the house is a bit of a wrench. One never likes to surrender an ambition but, with financial concerns as they are, the new arrangement is not only more practical but gives me peace of mind. That peace of mind is contained in a smaller location now but that doesn't matter much. What matters is that I and the beasts are together, we are safe, and we are home.