The cats have had a busy weekend too as you can tell from the photographic pr
oof. When I got up yesterday I was trying to figure out what the red spot was in the middle of the chess game on the windowsill when I realized it looks like they were playing chess and one of them dropped their catnip mouse in the middle of the board. Then last evening when I was sewing a tree skirt for daughter # 1 I had the help of not one but three feline
seamstress assistants. What is it about cats and material that attract? I kept on sewing and made myself a new tablecloth as I gave the older (larger) one to the first-born daughter. Then curtains for the sauna door as mister has decided it will be more energy efficient and they have curtains at the sauna salon.In between all this I dragged down the Christmas decorations, reorganized the walk in closet and then decorated the house. This all has to be done when the Grinch is lobstering as he mutters and complains. If he comes home to find it done he won’t dismantle but certainly won’t agree to me doing it. And as for getting those exterior rope lights put up around the columns by the doors well don’t hold your breath.
The process was started by an email from daughter # 2 reminding me that December 1st was the beginning of the countdown meaning the bear wall hanging had to be up – always the start of the holiday decorating here. This is a quilted wall hanging from circa 1985 with a bear that is moved from room to room searching for Christmas until he finds it in the living room under the tree on December 24th. This used to cause children to get up early to be the one to move the bear and in-house disputes about who’s turn it was to move the bear. This is the first year in 22 that there won’t be any Nickerson children to ‘move the bear’ so I suggested that the lobster fisherman would have to do it when he got up in the morning however this was met by a snort. When I attempted to find the dowel to hang the wall hanging up with he protested saying “there aren’t even any kids here this year, you’re not going to put that up are you?” So I reminded him that I’d had explicit instructions from one of them and the others would notice as well so he would have to answer to them. He sighed in defeat.
I dropped over to visit with daughter # 1 and deliver the tree skirt and some of her ‘stuff’, which I retrieved from cleaning out the old place. Nice to see her in her natural environment, although it’s taken me quite a while to get there with all the frantic extra curricular activities here.
Lobster catches continue to be low in the whole district, some places worse than others. Mostly the catches are less than ½ of last year and combined with the low U.S dollar this will not go down as a strong year. There really hasn’t been much of a chance to tell yet as it’s been so windy and rough for the past week so they’ve only hauled four times in District 33 and twice in 34. Not whining, just stating facts when you work in a harvesting natural resource industry these things happen. Mind you, fishermen are eternal optimists and the Capt. of the house suggested this would make more time to go back to camp, as traps will be landed earlier this year. As we were discussing the situation it was decided that last year was worse when the hired man was lost overboard while putting off traps on the first day (and successfully retrieved thank goodness) and with a larger boat, which couldn’t get in around the rocks.
To leave you with a smile here is my favorite crabby old lady – Maxine
