I did something nice yesterday

We have a screened in porch that our cat, Minnie, adores and our cat, Clara, fears. Clara had just grown comfortable with us out there at the end of our first summer in the house. Last summer, though, it was a mess of saw dust, wood and tools since we used it as a work room. I felt sad for Minnie, but it was better than hefting the large pieces of wood or drywall up from the basement and having the laundry area filthy. Then the fall came, and John's teaching career took off. No time for those projects, AND no time to do the final vacuum. The shopvac rested in the basement comfortably unaware that it had neglected the porch.

I hoped and requested that John do the porch justice when he brought the shopvac up to clean the mess of gardening this spring, but he always found something else to do-- always worthwhile, but still Minnie couldn't enjoy the great out doors just a little bit closer and bigger than windows allow.

Earlier this year I had a slipped disk, and somehow I got deconditioned, so I couldn't do much about hefting a shopvac and bending over for 30 minutes to collect as much sawdust as possible. But yesterday, while John was out teaching, I schlepped that big, grey "sucker" out onto the porch. I now understand why John put off this "little" job! It was hard work!

I didn't get all of it. Dust jumps, you know! But I'm satisfied that our obsessive-compulsive bather of a cat will be able to enjoy the out doors and not get sick on small particles of wood.

After the horrendous noise of the big, grey scary thing stopped, Clara thought about going out, but chose to hang out in the kitchen. No matter. It was a pleasure seeing Minnie enjoying herself out there watching the birds and squirrels in the evening sun. Ah to have the life of a cat....