following me about like a bad smell...

oh, wait - he IS a bad smell following me about! The rotten dog went and rolled in something fox-like in the woods again today - yyeeurch! He REEKS! We bathed him after tea, it was so bad but the smell's still there, lurking...

He actually climbed into the bath himself this time - unbelievable! Richard was there; he's never bathed him before so maybe that had something to do with it. (he climbed back out again pretty quickly and had to be ordered back in though!)

Now he's curled up in the kitchen refusing to share the living room with us)

St frances?

I've discovered why Murphy wouldn't come and sit near me when I'm studying in the back room - the cat curls up on the sofa (well, on Murphy's blankey which is there to stop her shedding all over it) but he dozed in the living room.

Last week I relented and let him curl up on the other end of the sofa - so from then on he's been inseparable and now when I'm here there's the two of them at each end, fast asleep! I would take a picture but the battery's run out. Watch this space! At least it's company...

woosh, bang, bark!

yes, you've guessed it - Guy Fawkes night finally caught up with us (or we with it) and we had our fireworks and curry night last night. Poor Murphy - doesn't mind bangs normally but the back garden is a bit too near. He was hyper, jumping up, running back and forth and barking. We shut him in the living room to be as far away as possible and eventually I went in to look for him and there he was, ensconsed on the (newly hoovered!) sofa! He got very cheeky and when Nick told him to get off just shuffled along a bit. Told again and he got off and went on the other one. Told again and he moved back to the original one! It took Elle to get him off and stayed off.

Meanwhile Gizzy had shot off upstairs and went to ground under our bed (very sensible). When I went to look for her later she had moved to under Richard's chair next to the radiator so was perfectly happy and cozy - I brought her down to say hello and she promptly went and curled up on the two least cat-loving people in the room. They say cats can tell, you know, and you have to wonder...

omg

geeze, it's been a while! I'm attracting all sorts of technical problems - for a start facebook doesn't seem to accept me anymore - I've changed my password 4 times now and every time I go in with the new one it refuses and i have to change it AGAIN! I'm thinking of giving it up - nothing's worth this much hassle.

Anyway, double trouble are fine. Gizzy's taken to sitting on my laptop or papers at the most inconvenient times - either to say she wants fed or just to say hello. Nice, but irritating! She's in mouse-kill mode - 3 last week. About time too - the garage cupboard is infested and I even saw one running away the last time I was in.

Murphy has chewed the wing off his new toy duck and it's no longer its pristine cream self - looking a bit chewed and mucky now - still he seems to like it so it's all good. I'll find a decent recent photo... oh yes, as you can see he's taking this sofa promotion thing seriously - here are my boys!