Finished

 The real estate agent came, changed over the smoke alarms and left.  Took less than 10 minutes!  All the work and money for a guy being in the house for 10 minutes.

Operation hide the cats went okay.  David and I bought 7 more carriers, we wanted 8 but the store only had 7.  But it worked out okay.  The appointment was a 1 o'clock so before that David got the cats into the carriers and drove off.  A few minutes later I could hear a cat crying, David had left one cat.  When he unloaded them later he left one in the car!  The cats are not happy because they aren't allowed out of the living area yet.  Our walls in the hallways and stairs look really nice and I want to keep them like that.  I ordered some clear plastic film but it only covers a small area, I've ordered more but it won't come until Saturday.  If somebody is with the cats to stop them scratching then they can run around in the halls!

So now I can relax and start thinking about Christmas!

This was the state of the walls before

Not the best of photos but this is the hallway now, a lot better!

The Decorators Are Here

 They came yesterday morning, about 8:30.  The first thing they did was to lay down sheets to catch the old wallpaper that they were taking off.  They've striped all the old wallpaper off, upstairs, downstairs and on the stairs.  They papered most of the downstairs and are finishing off the stairs and the upstairs today.  I was surprised they did so much as they had very long breaks, 30 minutes in the morning, hour and half for lunch, then they finished at 3:30!  As long as it gets finished I don't care!

The cats aren't very happy about all this, the noise and strange smells have them freaked out but it's their fault so they shouldn't complain!  They are locked in the living/dinning area and not happy about that either.  But until the real estate agent has been they will stay there.  I've ordered some clear plastic sheets to put on the wallpaper so I don't have this problem again, wish I had known about this stuff 3 years ago.

Sam's tail shows how freaked out he was

Poor David Part 2

 David managed to get to the dentist just before they closed. He had the filling pulled out and the tooth inside cleaned, he has to go back to finish it.  When he came home he looked awful with his face swollen and being so pale.  He managed to get a few hours sleep before he had to go to work.  Yesterday he was back to his normal self, being daft and chasing the cats!

Of course when bad things happen it is never just one thing!  The same day that David got toothache I noticed that Fred, our black and white cat was limping.  He could stand on his feet okay but not walk.  Tuesday was a national holiday and Wednesday the vets are closed.  I checked the leg and joint but couldn't see any swelling or cuts so I've let him rest as much as possible, he has taken up residence in my room.  He seems a lot better today, so I hope no visit to the vets!

Fred

Poor David

 It's a national holiday here, Labor Day, so everything except shops are closed. So of course David got toothache.  He is working nights, so this morning he did a couple of chores for me, then went to bed after lunch.  Came down half hour later for some water, went back up but kept coming down.  After about five trips I asked if he was okay because he was looking awful, very white.  I thought he had caught this cold that is going around but no it was toothache.  I sent Christopher to the local drug store to get some pain killer to tied him over until tomorrow but that didn't work.  I know that in Japan the doctors and dentists have a system set up where they open on holidays and Sundays, they take it in turns, so there is always somewhere to go in an emergency and for me toothache is an emergency!  So Mikey has just taken him, even if they can't do much but at least stop the pain so he can go to his regular dentist tomorrow!  Poor David, he is working hard at this job, it's long hours midnight to 9am and he is very tired but still tries to help out in the house.  He is usually very cheerful, drives me crazy with his antics and daft jokes so seeing him in pain and down is not nice at all! Hope things go okay at the dentist!

Fluffy balancing on David's knee

Noise

 There is a local election here on Sunday.  I think it's for the city council.  I know it's important for the candidates to get their name out there but the way it is done here drives me crazy.  They have these cars with loud speakers on them that drive around all day shouting out the candidates name over and over.  It drives me crazy.  I feel it is a very thoughtless way to advertise the candidates.  Do they consider that some people are working shifts, doctors, nurses, firefighters, police officers all work nights and need to sleep.  What about people who are sick, or mothers trying to get their babies or toddlers to have a nap.  Sometimes I want to get the microphone and shove it where the sun doesn't shine.  Also they just say the candidates name, not what he or she is standing for or what they plan to do if voted in.  I asked Mikey why they don't go door to door speaking to people, he said that it was illegal here as it is too easy to bribe people.  So another two days of noise then back to the background noise of the construction work a few blocks away!

Guilt

To make the house look like there are no cats is going to be a big under taking! The cats have taken over almost every room!  The biggest problem is that they have scratched the walls, pulling off the wall paper.  We have to repaper the downstairs hallway, the stairs and upstairs hallway.  In some places they have made holes in the wall.  They have scratching boards but somehow prefer the walls.  We thought about doing it ourselves but parts of it are impossible to reach with out special ladders.  So we contacted a company.  They came this week and told us it would cost about 1800 pounds to fix.  If it wasn't for this real estate coming I would wait a few more months but no choice.  Problem is I don't have any money, I keep trying to save but my income is too low,  I can just manage to cover the bills and buy what we need, no savings, no fun money.  So Mikey paid the down payment and will probably pay the rest.  I feel so bad about that, he has been working an extra job to make some money for himself but he has to use it for the house.  I don't mind the kids helping out, they should help out but to ask him to use all his savings feels so wrong!  I will try to pay him back but it will take time!

I'm still down with this cold/allergies, keep loosing my voice, which doesn't help when teaching!  Both Hannah and Christopher have started with it as well.  Lots of hot drinks and trying to rest as much as possible helps!

Collage of cats

Miserable

 Allergies started last week. Used two boxes of tissues in one day.  The sneezing has eased off but it looks like I now have a sinus infection and my chest is tight.  Sleeping is hard as I'm wheezing so loud that I wake myself up!  Hannah has the same as well, she ended up with a fever of 37.8C at one point.  Then Mikey started today. So all the plans to clean the house before the real estate agents comes have been put on hold.  I really don't see how we can manage to repair the damage that the cats have done in the next couple of weeks.  All I can say is "Oh bother"!

This month Mikey and I are teaching at a local community center.  It's an adult class that meets about 3 times a year.  It's basically volunteer work for us but a good way to connect to the local community.  It's two hours long so a bit hard but I enjoy it.  Of course the first lesson was when my allergies started so half way though I lost my voice!

Fluffy getting comfy on David's jacket.

Christopher

 Christopher made lunch for us today.  He doesn't get in the kitchen very often but he likes to try out different things. He really likes Japanese cuisine and spends time on google searching for recipes to try out.  Today he made kinko takikomi gohan, which is rice seasoned with mushrooms and other vegetables,  fried mackerel, salad and soup.  He cheated on the salad and soup as he bought premade salad and instant soup.  It was a nice filling lunch and the best part is that I didn't have to shop or cook!  Now if he washes the dishes that would be great, but I guess that is asking for too much!

Nice lunch, thanks Christopher.

Up the Creek

 We live in a rented house with a no pets contract.  But we have 9 cats.  I had hoped to keep this from the real estate company that we deal with and for the past 3 years we have managed to do that.  Last week we got a letter from them saying that they have to check the smoke detectors that were installed when we moved here.  I have no idea why they suddenly need to check them, they were installed 12 years ago and have never gone off.  I'm so worried about this, I can't focus on anything else, I can't plan anything or think about Christmas, just this real estate person coming.  We could put the cats at mother in laws house but that would take a lot of planning with work shifts for Mikey and David and getting the power turned on at the house.  I really don't want to loose this house, I like it here.  Also Christopher's work is just a few minutes walk from here, he has a chance to do really well there.  What a lousy situation to be in!  

Some photos of the trouble makers!  I never wanted cats, but I'm not kicking them out or having them put down, it would break my heart and the kids too.

An abundance of cuteness!