Building a small fortress

I start with an apology to all of you out there with little patience for the felines in our lives; bear with me though, this one's for you too..

Twig the kit has reached the charming age of two, or in cat years, her teens. Never have I so realised the wisdom of the x7 calculation of cat years until this crucial milestone. Twig thinks that however long we sleep is far...too...long. Wake up calls arrive at anywhere between four and six a.m. and take the form of pulling cables on the electric and telecommunications equipment next to my bed; modems are unplugged, phone scooted across the floor and electrical knobs and arials chewed and (for want of a better word) 'boinged' with little claws. After this morning's particularly psychotic awakening at 4am, I set out to Twig-proof the telecommunications corner in whatever way I could.

Enter IKEA. Lets face it, with my name it would be rude not to shop there, and I entered with high hopes and optimism that a solution lay within. Eureka - purchased a small but sturdy two-drawer unit with the potential for further customisation to accommodate wires through the back and set about the task of assembly and installation. This is a hazard in itself of course; all tools are to be kept under my legs as I kneel, all small items in their plastic bag shoved in the waistband of my jeans to avoid ingestion by cat. Luckily the furniture comes with free cat toy in the shape of packaging, so while the two furries busied themselves 'sledging' around the living room in the box and leaping on each other, I hammered, sawed and wood glued (minor sawing error) my way to a good nights sleep. Installed in the bedroom we now have a modem and phone drawer containing wires, cables and equipment, with the added bonus of book and glasses drawer to prevent the use of these as wake up noise-makers too.

I hasten to add that I am a realist and will no doubt wake to a new and wonderous percussion from whatever else she has discovered will make a noise - or failing that her voice - but at least the constant threat of missed calls and disconnected modems is past. Cat Lovers, I hope you are impressed with my inventive solution to common feline problems; Cat Intolerants can shake their heads in disbelief and further fortify their list of reasons why not to live with one.

This aside, I managed to rescue a painting I have been staring at for days knowing that the only way out was a radical reworking, received an invite to show pics at a charity event and met up with a friend I lost touch with about seven years ago. Turns out she lives four doors away from the gallery where I paint on Sundays.

The painting is called 'The birds of fortuity' after a Kundera quote likening the arrival of chance fortune and good luck - 'blessings' if you will - to birds settling on the shoulders of St Francis of Assisi. I have had plenty downs as well as ups this last year, but I couldn't help but reflect on the quote at the moment when so many chance happenings and meetings have come to pass.

Or maybe we just notice them more when they appear in flocks?