Freedom Next Week

I have a break starting after tomorrow and returning to the shackles on 8 July. So mood is reasonable. I've been rather isolated but hope for this to improve. The gulag didn't want me in today (this after going so far as to make me sign a document promising to be there for the next four Thursdays) so it has been spent grocery shopping and gardening, to wit, beginning to remove the plumbago hedge.

This is in the Disaster Zone [right-hand side of back yard, to be built on]. Time it got done in any case; it is a quite aged and twisty plumbago. I've found two more seedlings it's thrown which can be transplanted to grow along the dividing front fence to join the one already there. When I say this will drastically improve the appearance of the front fence, you know it's baaaad. I'm picking up a bunch of local plants from the Bassendean council on Sunday and plan to settle them into the garden over the following week.

I've a list of stuff to do over the break such as change the smoke alarm batteries, but I want someone holding the ladder while I do that, since I'll have to twist around with a screwdriver at the top. More gardening supplies, mostly compost. Doctor's appt. Buy a second rat carrier to replace the one Eli destroyed in a spaz attack at the vet's. There's also stuff I want to do such as meeting up with folk; see a movie if there's anything good on and eat burgers out at least once.

Eli, btw, is a rat who does not really "do" humans. He's domesticated but he's not tame. Pick him up and he will grow ten legs and ninja kick you in the throat. This is purely personality. I adopted him with his brothers as little rats and he came from a loving home which experienced an "oops" litter. Their mother broke into the cage of two male rats and had her way with them.

Eli's brother Finn is more sociable but doesn't much like to be held either. Luckily he's better about travelling to the vet, because I had to take him this week. Unluckily, Finn is too fat for my carrier [640 impressive grams of rat] so I had to take him in the backpack without it. The backpack has just done a round in the washing machine because I could not remove the pong. He was pushing them out nonstop.

stephen_dedman is going to England so I can't catch up with you next week, but have a great time. :-)

Random Rat Feet

I've added two little rats (not quite 3 months) to my mischief: Fergus and River. They run around everywhere, including on my tablet comp's small keyboard. A few days ago they had me applying for a Lotto grant; went right to the page with the forms. Tonight they achieved a screen capture. I'm not too sure what the screen shot is of! I don't even remember how to do that, and they did it with random rat feet on keys. Shakespeare will surely be next.