Kuchma Kot and Krasotka Koshka

Lina moved in with us after Roman died and will stay until she feels able to face the empty flat again.  She has her best friend from childhood visiting her this week and they have been staying at the apartment together so that is good.

When Lina moved here she brought Roman's cat. Krasotka (Babe) is a very pretty one year old female with soft silky black fur which she keeps very clean.  We have had quite a few smiles watching this young cat adjust to our house and to Kuchma and watching Kuchma adjust to another cat and a female at that. When one or the other had been outside and came in, they would run up to each other, touch noses and then she would bat him upside of the head.

At first they squabbled, then they mated and now they ignore each other.  She will have kittens in mid March sometime of which we will keep one, maybe two.

Because the apartment was ground floor, she entered and exited through their kitchen window, sitting on the ledge until it was safe to jump down or until Roman opened the window to let her in.  She is not fussy about using our front door to go in and out, preferring that we open the living room window so she can enter and exit as she is used to.  She bangs on the window to be let in.

Kuchma comes home after hours away all dirty and ragged looking; Krasotka comes home as clean as when she left.  Including feet.  One day she banged on the window to be let in, then ran and used her litter box.  House trained!

She is the most curious little critter especially when it comes to shelves.  She climbs up on the book shelves, climbs into and empties the shelves in the closet. She loves to sit on things and look. Like Tanya's desk or the coffee table or the kitchen counter.  Actually she likes to sleep on the kitchen counter as it is right over the radiators and nice and warm.  She will climb on my knee at meal time and sit.  If Lina isn't here she will jump onto the table and park her butt on Lina's place mat and watch us eat.

She likes to play but has no one to play with.  Kuchma does NOT play.  One day, the two of them were sleeping on the divan in the front entry.  Kuchma's tail would twitch and she would grab it.  Finally she dragged it into her mouth and chewed on it.  Kuchma woke up and stalked off.

Sandbox Training the Cat.

Andrei was here Thursday afternoon and using our electric chainsaw, helped Tanya cut down a dead apple tree and trim up a number of others.  I worked on my report so I could ship a chunk of it out Friday.  I have used chainsaws but they terrify me.  Along with pressure cookers and deep fat fryers.  When you make Clumsy Carp seem like Rudolph Nureyev, you should avoid things that have potential to wreak grievous harm to yourself and others.

Friday morning I helped Tanya clean up all the branches and haul them to a burning pile over on the abandoned lot because it was threatening rain and could have turned to winter before it dried out enough.  The burning pile will still wait for spring as most of it is too damp.  There was a barrel of garbage in the dogs' yard that hadn't been burned in two years.  Mostly dog hair and food bags but likely other stuff too.  I didn't tell Tanya but dumped some BBQ starter on it and lit it just before I went in the house.

It caught and burned as I could see smoke drifting by our north window.  In a couple hours the sky cleared up and the day brightened.  We were both upstairs on our computers when we heard this awful "BOOM".  I said it must be thunder.  Guess there was something in the barrel I didn't know about.  Good thing the dogs were gone.

I had let them out in the morning for a run and they disappeared until this morning.  They were happy to come home and were so tired they could hardly wag their tails.  They are still young enough to stay out all night.  

And such a nice night it was.  The temperature had gone up to +15C (60F) Thursday night and the wind howled all night.  Friday and Friday night it stayed +15C which broke a more than 100 year record in Ukraine.  There are actually lilacs blooming in southeastern Ukraine near the Azov Sea. Crazy weather.

So the flower garden is all ready for winter, if it ever comes.  Earlier in the week we banked loose soil around the bases of the rose bushes and raked most of the leaves and dead flowers off.  I was allowed to help though I almost wrecked it and cut off one of the small stems of a clematis.  Normal for me.

Kuchma is getting old so we will try to keep him in the house most of the winter instead of booting him out at night.  Which means we have to train a 12 year old cat to use a litter box.  I locked him in the passageway between the house and outbuilding with the litter box.  It worked.  He used it.  And didn't use one of Tanya's boxes of dirt covered bulbs and roots.

So I tried it again some time later. He used it again; but only half in the box and half over the edge on the floor.  This presented him with a problem as to covering it so he dragged a floor rag to cover his deposit in box and on floor.  Not very accurate but can't fault him for neatness.

The Cat thinks it is Spring

Just because we are having unseasonably warm weather with temps in the +5C to +10C in the day, the stupid cat thinks it is spring.  He comes in grabs a bite to eat and a cat nap, then meows loudly to go out again.  Then he wants to come in again...then go out again.  This would not be so bad if it were dry outside.  It is not.

We are having "West Coast" weather.  Cloudy all day and night.  Mist, drizzle and once in a while rain.  It is cold, wet, muddy and miserable. If Kuchma sleeps outside in his chair long enough before we let him in, his feet dry off and he just leaves lumps of mud inside the house where ever he cleans his feet . 

But when he comes straight in, mud to the hocks, leaving tracks, he is less than welcomed by some parties. He seems to know when he is going to be in trouble.  He comes in through the door and ducks behind the furniture so Tanya can't grab him.  Doesn't work.  He is quickly hauled into the bathroom where a wet rag is used to scrub at least the thick of the mud off his feet.  Kuchma does not really appreciate this but will grudgingly accept it since it means he can eat and sleep inside.

Once a day for this is enough but three or four times is too much of a nuisance.

Mouse in the House - GiST #8

1. Kuchma caught a mouse on our upstairs landing.  It is fall; mice move indoors for winter. I felt sorry for the mouse but better the cat caught it than if I had to try.  Tanya was not going upstairs ever again with the mouse on the steps.

2. Skype - talked to all four of my kids and both spouses this weekend.  A 2 cent phone call to get them onto the computer and the rest is free.  Connection is hit and miss so the webcam is only on for a minute but at least we get to see each other.

3. Refillable ink cartridges for my Canon iP4300 printer.  Fast, easy and cheap (That's me). Brand is Color Way.  Website is in Ukrainian but the spelling is American.  Maybe it is available in NA too?

4. Ky and Lyn are successfully dealing with the challenges of their new jobs.  Meaning they haven't killed anyone yet or taken to strong drink.  Ky is marking assignments from her first year students.  She is quite positive about it.  Positive they are dumb as bricks but are teachable and will improve.  Lyn is coping with teenage boys who make her library smell like goat and with a filing system that appears to be more random than librarians are used to.

5. Tanya is feeling better this morning.  Got up, made tea, took her meds and went back to sleep. Head colds are no fun.  I gave her hugs and will try my hand at making soup.  Not chicken.  We ate that for supper last night.

Ever the Optimist

We didn't put the cat out before we went to bed last night.  Partly because he had not caught fire.  (Please forgive me if I used that line before). He was sleeping peacefully on the couch upstairs and Tanya hated to disturb him.  There is a rule that if you do not disturb Kuchma* before you go to bed, he WILL disturb you late in the night when he decides he needs to go outside.

I got up at 1:00 am.  Kuchma was still sleeping.  When I came out of the bathroom, Thump, he hit the floor, Meow, he wanted out.  We started down stairs.  Now, fog may creep in on little cat feet but they are not Kuchma's.  Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump all the way down stairs but instead of heading for the door, he headed FOR THE KITCHEN.

I don't think so.  Boot!!!

*Kuchma Kot aka Kuchmishka when we are rubbing his tummy and scratching under his chin or &^%%$#@!!! when I find him on the table eating the butter.

Gnus and Vous

Tanya went with Andrei to Dnipropetrovs'k today in his Lexus.  He had to go and adjust the seat for her.  The seat adjusts 16 ways to breakfast with a whole collection of buttons.  Too complicated for Tanya, she of the two-button microwave (Make Hot; Open Door).  Tanya would like only one button for seat adjustment "Make Comfortable".

Tomorrow is Tania's birthday.  Masha got some materials from her Babushka and is making her mother a hand-made birthday card. See what you started, Dana, with that lovely card you made? We will be going for ice-cream and cake sometime tomorrow, not sure when yet.

Masha went to school Thursday and Friday and then was home sick Monday and Tuesday.  She told Tanya that she thought she was allergic to school.  Good try. 

Kuchma Kot sits outside the bathroom door in the morning, waiting for Tanya to come out and feed him.  This morning she took too long and he clawed the door open and meowed at her. When we are eating, there is one chair by the table that he jumps up on to wait and hope we feed him something good.  When Masha is here, she sits on that chair.  Kuchma jumps up behind her and tries to push her off the chair. That is HIS chair.

The hounds have been running free for a few hours each day.  However that has ended.  They started collecting girl friends and bringing them home.  Last night, they came home quite cheerfully when I called and I locked them up.  Thirty minutes later they tried to kill each other; serious, no-holds-barred murderous fighting.  This time, I left them to sort it out themselves.  Apparently they did, because a few minutes later they were all best friends again. Their girl friends hang around at night hoping the gate will break or something.  We can hear Bobik and Volk howling pitifully several times during the night.  Tough luck, boys but you can stay home.

More Flowers

Tanya was out with the camera again this evening dodging rain showers.  She said post 'em so here they are.  She is pretty proud of her garden this year and I am pretty proud of her.

At least we haven't had the torrential rainfall that other parts of Ukraine have had.  Last evening we were looking at videos of cars floating down the streets in Kyiv; piling up agains an underpass and tropical storm like wind and rain with accompanying flooding in Kharkiv. A week ago Cherkassy got flooded.  We just get rain every night.  Tomorrow is supposed to be hot and no rain.  Hope so.

This picture is for Mel.  Tanya's first Calla lilies

I know what it is but can't spell it

These blooms are HUGE

White Snap Dragons (Russian: Lion's Mouth) with a huge bumble bee.

Kuchma, felled by a sudden nap attack

How to Resurrect a Dead Cat

Kuchma gains and loses about 500 gm (1 lb) per year.  We fatten him up all winter so he will survive Spring Break.  About June 1 he looks like the wrath of God, thin, scruffy and unhealthy.  We worry about him.  He is sick.  He looks like he could die.  The cuts, gouges, missing pieces of hide and bite marks gradually disappear, he regains health, gradually puts on weight and the cycle continues.

This year he looked worse than usual and we really did worry.  He was off his feed all this month.  Usually he likes his "kitekat" dry cat food but he now would just nibble at the kibble.  We buy fresh whole farm milk with lots of cream.  He normally drank two dishes a day but now was just sort of looking at it.  He followed us around meowing like he wanted something but he himself didn't know what.

Three days ago I gave him store bought milk.  He drank two dishes.  We bought a 14 oz can of Whiskas tuna cat food.  For the first time in weeks, he smiled and his eyes sparkled. We spread it out over three days which he didn't approve of as he would have inhaled the entire can had we put it out in his dish.

Today he was sleeping in the arm chair.  I opened the new can in the kitchen.  He didn't move.  I walked into the living room and stood in front of the chair.  He didn't move.  I stuck the open can of tuna under his nose.  He moved. He could not have woke up faster if a mouse had bitten him on the nose.

Kuchma in late winter with some weight on.

A Quiet Easter Sunday

Saturday morning three guys from the gas department were going door to door along our street telling everyone they needed an inspection certificate for their gas furnaces and chimneys every two years or they would be cut off. New regulation, I guess, but Easter weekend???

Tanya called our gas man who couldn't come on Saturday but was Sunday morning at 9:00 OK?  Sure, why not?  He was here for three hours.  Our furnace had not had regular maintenance for a year or so.  It didn't work well most of last winter and we had no hot water, no matter how hard we DEMANDED it for several days.  We need a new connection pipe to the chimney and we may need a new furnace or a very expensive repair to get the hot water heating to work right.  But we don't have to heat water on the stove for dishes, at least.

I had two naps, which is a good Sunday in my books.  Tanya had one long nap.  No gardening yesterday and no business plan writing. We took the dogs and the next door kids for a long walk up to the lake and then had Easter dinner of poached salmon and Salad Olivier.

Today Tanya was up at 6:30 setting out bedding plants.  Over 100 Astors, I think she said.  It is warm and looks like rain so she is anxious to get things in the ground. Two days until we leave does not give us much time. She came in at 9:00 to hot biscuits, fresh coffee and a clean kitchen.  I can do some things.

Kuchma is all happy.  Our neighbour Victor has a new cow so we have farm milk again.  With lots of cream.  There was a litre of store-bought milk in the fridge.  I gave it to the dogs.  They are too dumb to know the difference anyhow.

Here is the picture of the Easter baskets Tanya and Masha made.  I didn't think the picture turned out very good but Tanya said post it anyhow.

Why We Have Mice

Sound asleep

Sunday

Rained all night and again all day.  Slow soaking in kind.  I hope it doesn't freeze before the surface dries off a bit or it will be unfun driving the rest of the winter.

Tanya and I went to visit Tanya and Masha.  Andrei was in a billiard tournament.  I think that is one way he supports his family.  He doesn't lose often.  Masha showed us her new room which is quite nice, lacking only a computer which she will get when I get a new notebook.  The kitchen and hall are still to finish but it is home.

Masha brought out her English lessons and did her vocabulary for us.  She sounds the words out silently to herself.  It is cute that she phones every night to get me to say words for her that she has trouble with - purple, hippopotamus, orange are some she has called about.  She and the other students taking English have to go for private lessons as there is no English teacher in the public school she attends.  Given pay and other conditions at the school, it is a wonder there are any teachers at all. The private lesson books are much superior to the ones from the public school, too.

Too wet to walk the dogs today and I don't think they even came out of their room.  Kuchma goes outside only on demand (our demand) and the rest of the time stays curled up on the carpet.  Or chair.  He is towel trained in that if a chair or couch has a towel on it, he knows he can sleep on it.  If there are no towels on the furniture he sleeps where he wants, so it is up to us.  Last night Tanya was doing her nails and had a towel across her lap.  Kuchma is NOT a lap cat but he saw the towel, climbed onto her lap and went to sleep.

We've been doctoring this week.  Tanya's bronchitis finally cleared up but her blood pressure is bad again.  She is supposed to get an IV of something for 10 days once a year but had not bothered as she "felt fine".  So now she has had two infusions and goes again tomorrow for a third etc.  Takes about an hour and already she is feeling better.

If you haven't contributed to The Guy's effort to raise money for Prostate Cancer this November, it isn't too late.  The site is HERE.  I went for two more tests this week - blood test and ultrasound.  All good.  So after three tests if there is a problem with my prostate, no one has been able to put their finger on it.

Fall Cleaning

Today was fall cleaning at our house.  Walls, ceilings, corners, cracks and crevasses.  By 9:00 Katya was hard at work on the upstairs. After lunch, Lena and Tanya and Katya were all going full steam ahead.  I just ran taxi shuttle and tried to stay out of the way.  Kuchma just tried to stay out of the way. He got booted out at least once. I was lucky.

The house now shines like  new penny.  One is not allowed to live in a clean house in case it gets dirty again instantly (all men will understand that) but it is worth it.  The area rugs are unrolled for winter.  The summer drapes are down and winter ones are up.  The cobwebs are gone and the woodwork polished.  Ready for Christmas decorating.

Our kitchen sink has been plugged for months.  Drano didn't help.  A 10' snake helped a bit and it would drain slowly, so I would wash dishes until the sink filled with water then stop and let it drain.  I rinse with hot water.  Finding a plumber with a roto-rooter is a non-starter as we don't have plumbers in Ukraine as we know them in Canada.  Katya's husband Yuri found a guy who owned a 50' snake and so today he and Roman set out to see if they could unclog our sink drain.

It is about 25' to 30' from our sink to the corner of the house where the main sewer pipe to the septic tank is located.  The black iron pipe drain has been buried under the floor in concrete (or earth?) for over 20 years.  It may have corroded shut, collapsed or whatever, but there was no fixing the problem.  Yuri sweated at it for three or four hours but nothing doing.  The snake was not going through.  All that happened was enough gunk got stirred up that the drain is totally plugged now.

We have two choices - be shot or hanged.  Wait until spring and trench a new sewer line from the kitchen to the septic tank, independent of the one from the bathrooms.  Or run a white PVC line inside the house, along the living room wall, under the window and figure out what to do with the hot water register under the same window.  Chiseling the pipe into the wall is impossible as is jack hammering up the floor.

The 6 lb pork roast sure tasted good for supper.  There wasn't much left of it when the six of us got finished (seven counting Kuchma).

Kuchma thinks he is Emperor with all this carpet to himself

A Bum Rap

In general, tom cats have the reputation of Republican politicians. However I am beginning to wonder if it is entirely deserved.  Several weeks ago, our neighbour did away with "bilia koshka", the white female cat that had been our Kuchma's friend and companion since kittenhood 7 years ago.  He has been one lonely lost cat ever since.

He got sick and stopped eating, taking two weeks to recover.  Now he eats but irregularly and wanders the nearby neighbouring yards, meowing and meowing, looking and looking.  He will come home, still meowing.  I will give him a dish of milk which he used to inhale.  Now he might just look at it and set out again on his search for bilia koshka.  The nearest house cats are a couple of blocks away.

We may have to get another cat just to keep him company.