Thank you so much for all of the comments last week. What I love so much about all of the things you had to say is that your words become a part of the project for me, forever after. That context and all of the things I learn from it, every day, mean so much to me. I am so lucky for that. Thank you for that.
This morning there are two kitterses waiting for me in my office. One is actually in a sitting position and not lying down with every inch of her body covering the heating vent (can you see that little brown rectangle, just to her right?), which is sort of a miracle. It must mean that the heat just finished being on. Violet is the most accurate thermostat you can imagine. I swear that when the temperature drops to a fraction of a degree just before the furnace kicks on, she knows, and heads right for the vent. She gets to the vent and positions herself over it, covering every possible blow-hole with her body. She becomes a rectangle. Within a minute or two, the furnace starts up; within another minute or two, air starts to (try to) come out of the vent in the studio floor. The hot air starts blowing out of the vent; I can see it ruffling her fur from beneath, trying to get out and actually warm the room, and not just the cat. But it cannot. She has mastered the art of sealing off almost every possible route of escape. The studio, naturally, is FREEZING. Freezing. It's a freezing cold room with one very hot, happy cat.
I feel so behind — I have a lot of work to do. I have really been goofing off this winter, and that's starting to catch up with me. I'm going to try to buckle down this week and get some things done. I think that would be nice!
This photo makes me feel like I´m standing just there, peeking in! :-)
Time to get a space heater that's too large for the cat to cover! Put a nice cozy rug in front of it for cat lazing.
Clever cat! :)
What a really lovely workspace even if it is a bit chilly due to a cat!
Vivienne x
Hi Alicia-I tried to send you a little email but through my POP mail and it won't bloody send so I will tell you here: there are CORGIS in The King's Speech! (in case you haven't seen it yet and needed a reason besides Colin Firth's handsomeness on the screen.:)
Max-the-Dog likes to hog our vents, especially when the air conditioner is running in the summertime. Not good... I can relate to your feeling of being behind. I'll join you in the "buckling down" today. Good luck!
Cats are clever that way, yes? :) 'Lovely space you've created there, Alicia.
Those silly kitties. They sure rule our lives and our homes.
It's amazing that cats like to be so hot, considering they're covered with fur. One of mine has been lying behind the couch against the baseboard heater, sleeping for hours at a time. I kind of worry about the dry heat near her little nose.
Oh kitties crack me up. My son wants one so badly but I am so allergic. I do love them anyway.
OMG... your story about Violet was super cute and made me laugh out loud. Thanks for that. Have a happy day!
These funny beings. We are so blessed to have these funny beings in our lives.
Thanks for the great picture! Your story makes me feel grateful that our heating grates are on the ceiling. I have a feeling our pets would try to do the same as yours!
What a clever cat! We used to have a dog that always laid right in front of the refrigerator where the hot air blew out. I was constantly sliding her aside with my foot every time I needed to open the door to get something out.
Alicia, you've accomplished SO MUCH over the past several months, I'm not suprised that you needed some "goof off" time. I can't imagine how you had the energy to install a patio, remodel and reorganize your studio, renovate two bathrooms, plus redo your front rooms all within less than a year. I think you definitely earned some "goof off" time!!
our corgi fifi is a vent dog...summer for ac goodness, and winter for heat...exact same story. wherever she plants herself, we can count on her comfort much to our discomfort! your photo is lovely....
It is amazing how cats can shape themselves into whatever is needed at the time for their best comfort.
Do you know everything you touch or do becomes beauty - I want to do that to my home/life/world - your an inspiration, thank you for sharing so much with all of us~
Hi Alicia - how are you doing, sweetie? I haven't posted a comment in forevah, sorry - but I still read your blog faithfully almost every day. Your space is just...well....it is welcoming and full of kitties - how awesome is that? Makes me want to have a kitty again, I have my sweet lab Indy but I haven't been able to bring myself to get a cat after I lost mine :( Someday soon I will tho - just so I can watch one suck up the heat from our vents, ha ha! And what a lovely dress in your last post - I wish I could knit!
Tacre care of your puppers, kitties, and your handsome hubby :)
~dt~
I love the coziness of your work space - it inspires me to do an overhaul on my own! And the visual of your rectangle-kitters is killing me. My kitters loves to luxuriate over the vent, too! I'm sure she'd become rectangular, as well, if it weren't that there's a shelf that sits a few inches above the vent - turning the shelf into a warming plate and my cat into the Queen of Sheba whenever the heat kicks on. :) Wishing you a lovely and productive day!
Ha! We lived here for a year and a half before my cat discovered the heated floor in the bathroom. This winter she has appeared positively drunk off the heat. So funny. One happy cat!
Cats are heat-hoggers. My big white fluffy Harry sits on the back of the couch behind my head to catch all the heat rising from the register behind him, his hair blowing like Fabio...
We used to have a vent cat like that at home... she also moonlighted as a newspaper cat. As soon as one dared to put a newspaper on the table for reading, she'd position herself on it... always smack in the middle of the article you were reading. Cracked us up every time... ;)
I live on the opposite side of the country but this winter was sooo long and blah and frankly that makes it hard to get any thing done!
So Violet is in fact a "thermoscat"...
I am embarrassing myself because I'm unable to stop laughing in the middle of this hushed Starbucks full of hushed, serious people. Your cat, like any true cat, is so funny! Thank you for making my day even brighter.
Reminds me of CJ and how he used to squeeze himself underneath the radiators in my apartment in New York. I could hardly stand to be within 6 inches of them they were SO HOT, but he would just lie there and bake, like a turkey in the oven. Silly boy.