… because although she appears to be just another cat, she’s really a devil in disguise. Don’t be fooled by her pretty face - she’s been terrorising my neighbours.

Alright, she’s not that bad. And some of my other cats have pulled worse stunts - like the time George jumped in the window of No. 36’s downstairs loo, twice, while one of my neighbours was actually sat on it;  or the time Bailey nicked the bacon off the kitchen counter of one of the houses down the road…

But Friday night, half-way through the first half of the France v Wales rugby match, when my nerves were shot to pieces anyway, the woman from No. 34 knocked at my door. I was a bit surprised to see her jump in shock when two of my cats leapt off the bonnet of my car, but when she started with “One of your cats…” my heart sank.

Thankfully, no, it wasn’t that one of them had gone under a car. No, Clover had gone into the car of next-door’s daughter-in-law, and she was scared stiff. The daughter-in-law, not Clover. She’s utterly fearless.

Anyway, I went and opened the car door and Clover ran straight out - apparently the back window had been left open, so I’m guessing she just jumped in and went to sleep on the backseat. There is a very good reason why I don’t ever leave car doors open when the cats are marauding down the driveway…

No harm done, anyway. I hope. At least she didn’t get driven off and dumped.

However, I think Clover has been doing some harm to the local dogs: short-term physical harm, and long-term psychological damage. They’re all scared of her, since most of them have had a whack on the nose at some point, and she’ll happily chase them out of our garden. Next-door’s lab, a big soft friendly eedjit, was happily playing on the lawn with a football yesterday until she went out and stared at him. He then sat down with the ball between his paws and didn’t move again until she stalked off.

Poor sods.

She also sneaked back in the house last night after Colin put her out (he had to get something out of the car a bit later), and I found her dozing in her bed (one of those doughnuts, which fits in an armchair) at 11:30 this morning when I got up, not a bit repentant.

But then why should she be? She’s a cat, and she cares only for her own comfort and amusement… mostly.

I love her anyway.

… and more specifically, if I could have been any meaner to my cats last Saturday night?

No animals were harmed in the making of these photos. (It’s amazing what a good sleep and some catnip will let me get away with.)

… because I seem to have been very absent.

Well, ok. I know why I haven’t been blogging, and it’s not because hayfever did get the better of me (despite what Mr Anonymous suspected from my last post). However, work /did/ get the better of me for April and May, and I’ve only really just caught up with myself in the past few weeks.

So what has happened? Well….

Work happened. Lots of it, with lots of accompanying stress and long hours and hair-tearing. But it was all over and done with, with much rejoicing, on May 31st…
… which was the day that George was killed by a couple of greyhounds, which completely ruined my good mood. But at least I never have to wonder again about who he’s living with and where he is; he’s buried in my back garden, safe and sound. I do miss him though.

I bought a new car at the beginning of June - a bloody big diesel-fuelled dark blue Nissan Primera - and Colin & I took it all over Wales in the middle of June. Ferry to Holyhead from Dun Laoghaire on Saturday 9th; a night’s stay in Llandudo; a drive the length of Wales down to Barry to stay with my parents; much visiting of relatives and places (a couple of trips into Cardiff, and a visit to the Roman Baths in Bath); a night’s stay in Llangollen on the way back up, and then the ferry home again on Sunday 17th.

My birthday present from Colin was an engagement ring to replace the one I’d lost that I’d had last year in June - garnet & silver again, naturally. On my birthday, I also got a new cat, Clover, who’s a skinny little tabby about a year old. She’s my lap-cat replacement for George, although I’d already arranged to have her well before he died (she was being looked after by a friend who volunteers for the rehoming centre, and had already had her kittens rehomed). She’s a sweet girl and I’m very fond of her already - she’s settling in with the other 3 ok.

Had a week off work in July too, and cleared out the study so we could paint it. I have several other decorating projects in mind for the summer, too, especially since my parents will be over at the start of September. It’s a good excuse to clear out various rooms though… but I have to sort through all the junk that came out of the study first into keep/chuck/charity piles, before we can start on anything else.

I need to start my regular blogging again, anyway. It’s good for my creativity (which was entirely stifled by trying to meet my last work deadline) and I really need to start writing other things again, too.

Just under nine weeks to my next deadline anyway, and I’m going to try and enjoy having a busy life for the next few months.

Also today, I am mostly … recovering from reading the seventh Harry Potter novel twice in two days

… but it had to be done. I can’t help reading it fast the first time. I’m too greedy and impatient to ration it out as friends of mine do; I had to read it in one sitting (just under three hours) and never mind the fact that I spent the final 40 minutes desperate for the loo but unwilling to move. The re-read was much more leisurely and almost more enjoyable in some ways because I could see where things were leading.