A bed for our cats

We went to Walmart the other day. Jon wanted to look at rugs or something to put on our furniture to keep Rocky from getting it dirty and/or digging his claws into it. The old blankets and fabric currently draped over our furniture just wasn't doing the trick for Jon - he was worried that they were not protective enough. Personally, it didn't matter to me what reason Jon wanted to replace the old stuff; it looks horrible, so I couldn't get in the car fast enough if it meant finding something pleasant to put on our furniture!

Jon had in mind a nice rug, especially for the wing chair. It had to be something big because Rocky fills up the entire seat when he gets himself all comfortable. It needed to be big enough to kind of go up the back of the chair a few inches because Rocky is not happy unless his back is pressed right into the chair. The rugs we saw were not satisfactory for the job, and Jon was disappointed. So I said, "What about a pet bed? They are made for the very purpose we are looking for." Wow! What a concept! We were pleased to have a new option, and we wondered why we didn't think of it before.

We found a nice big bed that fit all of Jon's criteria: It was a nice color, it had a vinyl bottom that would protect the fabric, it was big enough for Rocky to get cozy in, and the price was the same as some rugs he had been inspecting (around $25). So we put the maroon one in the cart. Since we were in that section, I said, "Why not see if there is something here we can put on our sofa downstairs that Timmy sheds on?" (Between you and me, I wanted the blanket back that we were using for Timmy to sleep on - it's the coziest one we have for watching TV.) Jon was amenable to the suggestion, and we soon found a nice size mat that would lay across the center of the sofa where Timmy likes to nestle. It was a good color, also, and cost only around $10. We headed to the checkout lane, anxious to get home with our purchases.

The beds look great in their new homes. But the cats hate them and would rather sleep on the floor under the furniture.

Irma visited this week

Irma's been in town since Tuesday. She's working on Bill's taxes and she's meeting with lawyer's and bankers and all.

They still have not sold the house in Richmond that became theirs after her husband's parents passed on. They had a buyer, but the sale fell through before they got to the settlement table. So now that the work has been completed on Bill's house, when she gets it on the market, they will have two houses they are trying to sell. Therefore, her current thinking is that she'll use the rent from our house to help with taxes and expenses, etc.


She has asked for a list of things that need to be repaired, along with estimates. It sounds like she might be planning to try to get it ready for the market while we are still in it. With all the business going on in her life right now, along with the grief she is still struggling with, it seems that her thinking in regard to our house still changes from day to day. That's understandable to us....


This list for repairs has us in a quandry. There's not much that really needs to be "repaired" except for the problem with the water in the basement and the garage door and the front door. However, a huge list could be compiled of updates and upgrades. Jon plans to see a company over on Petersburg Road about getting a quote for the water-in-the-basement repair. It will be interesting to see what they suggest - and what the cost would be!


Right now it appears that we will not be moving any time soon, which is a relief. Jon told Irma that we would just as soon stay for 3 or 4 more years because we are not ready to "retire" yet, and our future is somewhat unsettled. We'll see what she decides about that.