Saturday, September 16, 2017

Federica was a huge success, and I have every hope of impressing at least Archie, if not the Palermitans, with my fluency in Italian. We conducted the whole hour in that language, she speaking slowly and simply, me floundering, but still, we did. We’ll have another, longer, session next Saturday. I need to review/revise verbs, rather to my surprise. In conversation, one skips about from first to second to third person, singular and plural, in ways I hadn’t entirely expected.

She seems to like cats.

Theresa (comment yesterday) – you have given me a dreadful idea. I could get another cat. This thought is partly prompted by the fact that the Beijing Mileses – now the Sydenham Mileses – have recently acquired a kitten, to the astonishment of all, not least of their Chinese cat Mimi. Cathy doesn’t even like cats much.

If I had two, they would have each other for company (after two or three weeks of hissing and sulking) and I could bound off to pastures new with a clearer conscience. I even had a look at Gumtree today, and there is a tortoiseshell-and-white cat (not kitten) (one year old) for sale in Inverkeithing, not far away. She is not nearly as pretty as Perdita, although designed along roughly the same lines. She has been spayed, which certainly is a fact to be set against the price.

I have always believed in getting cats young, but that didn’t make much difference with Perdita. Her character was firmly set at seven weeks.

I’m tempted.

There’s little else to report. Thinking, let alone trying to talk, in a language other than one’s native one, is very tiring. I can’t think how the Pope manages.


I haven’t done any knitting at all yet today. I’ve pretty well finished reading (partly, speed-reading) Parkes’ “Stash of One’s Own”. I would particularly recommend Debbie Stoller’s “Yarn as a Feminist Issue” at the end. The over-all effect of the book is rather sad. Except for the brisk few who have only the yarn they need for immediate purposes, all seem to be feeling sorry for the loss of their mothers. 

11 comments:

  1. =Tamar9:07 PM

    One problem with reading any collection of stories or essays on a given topic is the necessary similarity of certain elements. With something like knitting, which people often associate with learning from their mothers, it's almost inevitable that someone old enough to contribute such an essay will have lost a parent and that will be mentioned. I feel that collections should be read over time, with other reading between segments.
    Congratulations on your achievements in Italian! I've read that it is a very complex language and even Italians don't always agree about how the verbs work.

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  2. If you feel up to two cats I would do that but do it soon as it will take time for perdita to welcome the new cat. I would vote for a kitten over an older cat. Perditas maternal instincts may be aroused. At the very least there will be less competition if the new cat is closer in age. Sounds serendipitous the news of the kitten

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    1. Less competition than if the new cat is closer in age

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  3. Jean, I got our second cat, B, to keep our first cat, E, company. When B was first here, at about 3 months, she definitely aroused E's maternal instincts and E taught her many things and they cuddled and groomed and slept together. Then B got bigger than E and we've had dominance issues ever since, neither cat will cede to the other. They won't sleep anywhere near each other. In spite of this I still think they keep each other company when we go away and have "Pet Nannies" come in once a day to feed, etc. At least they each know the other one is here.....As we've started traveling more often in the last couple of years our going away seems to bother them less, as if they now know that we WILL come back.......

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  4. Anonymous6:53 AM

    Multiple cats are not always attached to each other. But when they are, they may become less atttached to the owner as the other feline becomes preferred companion. I suppose it depends what your goal is (although cats being cats will not always do what you wish or expect).

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  5. Re cat care. I have recently come across the arrangement whereby you advertise your need on a website, and travelling Australians come and stay while you are away, caring for your livestock or companion animal. No money changes hands-I think the agency charges a fee to join. It struck me as a good thing all round.

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    1. Shandy, that tempts me to come over and start house and pet sitting for all and sundry!

      Catherine (Melbourne)

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  6. We always got our cats in pairs. Retired now from the world of cats, I still long for a couple of cute kitties. Travel for months on end and not really wanting to say goodbye again when they come to the end before me are the main reasons. It does seem to help to have that feline companionship though.

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  7. Since I have so many cats I guess I should chime in. Not all of our cats get along. The oldest at 16 has to separated from the others. Mostly because she is small and afraid of them. The boys try to keep the girls from the litter box so there are 6 litter boxes in the house. One for each cat and one extra. It's a lot of work and a lot of expense but I would not give up a single one of them. I do on occasion think fondly of the days when I only had two cats. I'm not going to advise you either way. It is your decision but I do encourage you to travel as life is short.

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  8. I haven't read Clara's new book yet, but now that you've mentioned a friend of mine has a piece in it I will have to get it. About multiple cats: how are Mimi and the new kitten getting along?

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  9. I had to laugh at your comment about how so many seemed to miss their mothers. I lost my own Mom at 8 years of age, but I always sensed that she would have always told me to suck it up and get over it. She had a wicked sense of humor and I've always been grateful to have inherited it:)!

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