Monday

The week is off to a good start. Mundane household and other chores started or completed. Laundry, groceries and cooking for the week accomplished in between thunderous showers. Things are washed and drying and Mercy is flying around gleefully as I play with her favorite bird toy in an effort to both make her happy and convince her to sleep when I go to bed. Being a kitten, she has energy to burn.

Our weather has been a challenge. We have had 90 degree heat with 90 percent humidity so my time outdoors is limited and I've had heat stroke twice, thus hydration has become my middle name. The flat is warmish during the day despite air conditioning because the single paned windows date from 1974 and are in no way energy  efficient. Any cooking has been done on the stove top as the oven heats the kitchen too much. Fruit, yogurt, salads, and sandwiches are current mainstays. My condominium has been a stressful place to be. The budget meeting is tomorrow evening and we will see how much we each have to pay for monthly maintenance. That has become my largest expense other than food.

I've enjoyed a couple of books. One, recommended by blogger Joanne Noragon of Cup on the Bus, is titled Nowhere Girl. It is as compelling as she indicated it would be and I read it in three days. I've since read a set of books about a Florida equine vet written by her husband. My horse fixes are entirely vicarious these days. Are you enjoying the Paris Olympics?

What is going on in your corner of the world?

Mercy has it right...

 Miss Mercy is mightily anxious and taking her hiding behavior to an extreme. Still a kitten, though a larger one, that skill kept her alive alone outside until she found shelter and my friend to care for her, eventually coming to me and her forever home.

Since the fireworks of the fourth, Mercy has been hypervigilant and any outside or unfamiliar noise is suspect and reason to sequester herself behind the bathroom sink cabinet, from which she can be neither seen nor heard. While great for her, that poses problems for me because unless I see her conceal herself, I have no idea whether she can dart out from behind something and escape if I open the door to someone. 

Although intelligent, I'm unsure whether she could find her way home since she hasn't been outside my door in the seven months she's lived with me. I do not trust others to have sense enough to protect a curious kitten so must assume they cannot and act 

accordingly. This means securing her in her favorite stroller and blankets prior to scheduled deliveries, not opening the door to unscheduled visitors who do not call, keeping her well out of the way of any persons who do repairs and monitoring the noises beyond our walls so that she knows I and she are safe. This last has been the most difficult because the upstairs neighbor loves to talk at anyone she encounters coming or going and as bad luck would have it, her voice carries, always putting poor Mercy on alert. She of the recent bathroom ceiling damage is also an inveterate gossip, and despite several attempts to ingratiate herself to me, she does not seem to understand my distaste and distance. The fact that she puts Mercy on edge only underscores to me how smart my cat is learning to be.

After a time of noise and mayhem, Mercy responded to the quiet by eating her supper and playing a rousing game of chase the snake. She is now next to the laptop watching funny things appear across the screen...

Happy weekend...