Happily Ever After
Life in The Rural Retreat with a beautiful wife, three cats, garden wildlife, a camera, a computer – and increasing amounts about running
Earlier posts can be found on Adventures of a Lone Bass Player, where this blog began life. Recent entries can be found here.
In Pursuit Of Plastic
by admin - 14:18 on 29 October 2013
As you may have guessed from the lack of blog, life continues exceedingly quiet at The Rural Retreat. We didn't even get the apocalyptic storm suffered by the south of the UK (and which was heartily scoffed at by Matchgirl's Shetland chums who considered it no more than a brisk breeze).
Quiet for me, that is. The Fearless Ones are as frisky as ever, and for the last few days Maia has showed an unexpected turn of speed and kittenish qualities after discovering the playtime potential of a dropped water bottle cap. Regular cat toys have never been of much interest for her, but give her a scrap of plastic junk and she'll bat and chase for hours.
Yesterday she knocked it beneath a cabinet, beyond reach of outstretched paw, and had an anxious wait while Matchgirl hoicked it out with the aid of the poker. Five balls, two catnip mice and a champagne cork were retrieved first. All were ignored – Maia knows what a real toy looks like.
Matchgirl's almost as active as our black moggy. On Sunday she completed her second 10K run in four weeks (Matchgirl, that is, not Maia) over a hilly course in Culloden. If the route had been flat she'd have achieved a personal best.
Her new-found fitness is such an inspiration that her plan is to concentrate on half marathons in 2014, building up to a record-breaking marathon time in 2015. Malta and Iceland have been pencilled into her half marathon schedule. Fortunately I've been invited to accompany her as bag-carrier, providing we can find minders for The Pride. (I'll be in touch soon, Soo.) Before that, a nice flat 10K is sought before the end of the year so that Matchgirl can smash through the hour barrier. Not that she's competitive, of course...
Very little snappery's taken place of late, but a burst of literary creativity has happened since I became a member of Black Isle Writers. One short story is finished, bar a final polish, and another couple are gestating. You'll read them here sooner or later, if you wish.
Amazingly, none of them involve cats.
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