So… I didn’t get a lot of sleep last night.

I was dozing off when something warm and fuzzy suddenly slid onto my face. I could reach my phone and was able to try and get some pictures in the dark. Which basically involved putting the phone on self mode, holding where I hoped was facing the right way, closing my eyes so as not to get blinded, and using voice activation to take a picture.

I was at least able to get one good shot!

At the time, I actually had all 5 of the older kittens on various parts of my body. Which was fine, until they got playful. They have very sharp little needle claws!!

Also, there is something amazing when all five of them are loudly purring at the same time. Suddenly, I don’t mind all the little pin pricks all that much.

But sleep would have been nice, too!

I had quite a crowd of kitties outside, too, though I could only count about 23, I think, before I gave up trying.

Would you look at the cheeky b******d!! That grey and white cat on the right? That’s Sad Face. The girls call him Shop Towel, but you can see why I call him Sad Face. He’s getting bold, to come up on the roof like that!

As long as he’s not attacking the other cats, I don’t mind.

I also had a Nozencrantz sighting. She slithered over to the bowl under the shrine, the slunk away when she saw me moving by the house. Later, I saw her watching me through the stack of wood near the shrine that the kittens like to play in so much.

As much as I wish I could get close to her, it’s been fascinating to see her moving around. Once again, no DNA test needed to know who her father was! We used to have a tom we called Nicky the Nose visit regularly, until Sad Face drove him away for good (it looks like The Distinguished Guest is driven off for good, too). We called him Nicky the Nose because of the distinctive patch of colour on his face that made his nose look much broader than it was. Nosencrantz has that patch, but she also has his mannerisms! That quite way she slinks around, with her body hugging the ground. It’s so much like Nicky the Nose that it’s almost disorienting.

And now we have another Nosey. One of this year’s kittens has a patch on her nose, very much like Nosencrantz. I’m not sure where that gene came from this year, but I’m sure Nicky had other progeny in his territory!

After I finished my rounds and headed in side for breakfast, I had a chance to chat with my younger daughter. Having lived in my brother’s house, alone, for almost a month, she got used to a level of cleanliness we just haven’t managed to maintain in this household. I’ll be honest. It’s a disaster. My focus is on the work outside, so there’s only so much I can do inside. My older daughter is shifting from working nights to working days, so there’s only so much she can do without keeping everyone awake. My husband can barely make it to the kitchen to put dishes in the sink, never mind pick up after himself or anyone else. That leaves my younger daughter. She’s been trying, but with so many cats making a mess of things, it’s really hard to keep up. Add to that things like the worn out condition of the linoleum floors, or the stickiness of the paint used on the kitchen cupboards, and cat hair EVERYWHERE, it get overwhelming, fast. Not to mention depressing as hell. But she’s been trying.

Well, today, she’s decided she’s going to work at it more, starting with the bathroom. While I went outside, she cleared the bathroom out and started cleaning and scrubbing. Which is fantastic. The downside is, we’ve only got the one bathroom.

My main frustration was when I finally made it back to my room and discovered things trashed by the kittens again. Ghosty has decided she WILL get to the top of the wall shelf, no matter how many things there are to block her way. A few things got knocked down (not the antique lamp, thankfully!!!), but there was something my brother had left up there before we moved in. The container is like a small margarine container, and it has a moisture and odor absorbing compound in it. That ended up dumped on my bed. It’s been up there for 6 years, so it was mostly granules. Something I did NOT want the kittens getting into! Plus, it landed on my pillow, too.

So there was a lot to clean up, including changing the bedding and getting the sheets that got covered with this stuff, first.

At least the tiny kittens are behaving. Mostly. The only issue with them is that they still pee on the puppy pad, right next to the litter box under my desk. *sigh* I’m glad they are no longer peeing on my bed, at least – that was mostly Toni, but since she’s been out of the isolation ward, she has only been using the litter boxes! I’ve actually run out of puppy pads but, thankfully, the care package my friend gave me included some bed pads used as packing material along with the first aid supplies! So I’ve been using those. Thanks again, M!!! Anyhow, it’s mostly Tiny that uses the puppy pad, even though I’ve seen her use the litter boxes, too. I’ve caught Pom Pom doing it, too. Frustrating!

The lack of sleep is starting to catch up with me. I’ll just do another post, and then I might just try closing my eyes for a bit.

If the kittens will let me, at least!

The Re-Farmer