caerula's Diaryland Diary ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- just a normal day at our house We had one of those straight-out-of-a-sitcom, could only happen to us moments last night. I painted our front door yesterday. It was white, and we have white siding and blue shutters, so it was all a bit boring. Off to Lowe's we went, and picked out a turkey-red. And I painted. And painted. It went well. No paint on the carpet or the tile, none on me except some round my fingernails, everything neat and tidy. I even taped off the trim and stuff and avoided getting paint on anything else. Blue returned from picking up YMB from the Dementors around 8 last night, shortly after I finished the last coat. I picked up all the paint stuff and dumped it in the sink so they wouldn't step in it, intending to go right back and clean it up. Then we chivvied YMB into bed, I read to him for a few minutes, and went back and collapsed on the couch with Blue, forgetting all about the paint. A few minutes later, we hear a thump. Then another one. And a yowl, and crash. I go into the kitchen to find what looks like a murder scene. Red smeared all over the counter top and the sink, across the kitchen rug, and a trail of red footprints leading out into the living room reading area and behind the recliner. Blue is already tense from having to drive out to the dementors and back, and yells "Charlotte, damnit," which drives her out from behind the recliner and under the side table. I go to grab her, Blue lunges, and Charlotte flies out from under the table and across the floor into our bedroom, where she runs around the room and then dives under the bed, emerging in the corner where the headboard is set at an angle against the wall and we can't reach her. Blue is yelling this whole time. I have to lie flat under the bed and drag her out, getting red paint all over me in the process. I send Blue to start cleaning up and head into our bathroom. I drop Charlotte in the tub, close the door, and turn on the water. Of course she freaks out -- and this is a cat who will happily sit on the tub ledge with her tail in the water and stare at me the entire time I'm taking a bath. I pull my sweatshirt sleeves over my hands so that I don't get shredded, turn off the water, and start trying to scrub her paws. Luckily this is a water-based paint, but she's got it everywhere. Paws, whiskers, belly, tail. After she gets over the shock, she takes off, jumping straight up out of my hands, splashing reddish water everywhere and slicing one of my fingers open in the process. She dashes madly around and around the bathroom while I bleed. It looks like a mass murder scene. There is red dripping down the sides of the bathtub and splashed across the walls and mirror. I manage to band-aid my finger and find an old towel to wrap Charlotte in, which takes care of most of the red dripping off her. I clean up the tub as best I can, leave Charlottle closed in the bathroom, and go to help Blue. The kitchen and living room aren't in much better shape. There is a sink full of reddish water, dripping over the sides, down the cabinet onto the rug, and little red pawprints all over the carpet. Fortunately the paint did come up easily with water and some Goof-Off (miraculous stuff, let me tell you). And amazingly, Charlotte the Red came no where near our new sofa. The paint came out of the carpet, although the countertop has a slight pink tinge in places. It took us nearly an hour-and-a-half to clean everything up, including ourselves and Charlotte, and I went to bed, exhausted, at eleven. What a night. And the poor kitty still has red on top of her paws, in her whiskers and ears, and across her belly. She looked pretty horrific this morning, although of course YMB thought the whole thing was hilarious. He is of the opinion that maybe now Charlotte will stop getting up on the counter. Um, Phelps, you know that bucket you keep promising me? It needs a lid. A tight-fitting one, that can't be pried up by little kitty paws. Fun google hit of the day: "oompa loompa pictures". Something tells me they weren't looking for midget porn. 9:29 a.m. - 2001-11-19 ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
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