Settling in back home

I don't know about you, but I always find travel tiring. Returning from the cattery in the back of Martin's Saab only takes about three minutes (or about eight in Annie's Renault) but when I get home, I have to run around the house, earnestly checking that everything is in its place and where it's meant to be. I also have to rub the sides of my chin and some other fragrant parts of my anatomy onto some hard furnishings - like table legs and banisters - to make sure they're still registered as mine. In an old and rather full three-storey house, this is more exhausting than it sounds. When I've ticked everything off on my mental list, I treat myself to a good lie-down. This is me relaxing on the top landing, where I can simultaneously snooze, absorb the sunlight from the cupola, and keep an eye open on the terrain below, looking out for antelope like a panther in a tree. (I don't know why I like to do this, as the only prey we get in our house is spiders. Must be an evolutionary throwback.)

A and M came back to a house almost devoid of food and haven't had time to do much shopping, so lunch today was out of a packet. They're both at home as today is Fair Monday, a local holiday in Glasgow, but M is back in the office tomorrow. As I understand it, they've been in Spain for the last week, where they have another house, or at least they will have when it's finished. I assume they will have two gatos in their Spanish house, because in my mind, two-cats-per-house is an EU legal minimum. When Annie and Martin are in Scotland, their Spanish cats must be in the carcel, and that's for at least 47 weeks a year! ¡Pobres gatos!

Anyway, here it's as hot as Spain, or perhaps hotter. Firstly, Scotland is basking in unusual temperatures of over 30 Celsius, and secondly something odd happened to the central heating system while they were away and it's been on full-blast for days.

Martin tells me he sent me a postcard from Spain, but it didn't turn up. Perhaps the people at the cattery will forward it when if finally does arrive.......