DETERMINATION

Over the past couple of months I have noticed that a spider has made a home in the overflow vent of our bathtub. We have one of hose fancy corner tubs that we never use, both of us preferring a shower.

I don’t know why these corner bathtubs are so popular as their shape and location make them very difficult to clean. The back and sides of the tub have moulded shelving in various widths, to fill in the spaces left by the shape of the tub. On these shelves I have an arrangement of knick-knacks:- candles, shells, bath oils and other assorted junk that are supposed to give the appearance of a spa.

As previously stated, neither of us use the tub so the oils are never used and the candles remain unlit. Neither Dave nor I feel the need to sit in bubbles in a candle lit room, much comfier to have a quick shower and sit on a chair, with our feet up. Every week the whole lot has to be taken down for the washing of the shelves, although the tub is never used, it gets very dusty and needs attending to. At five feet eight inches, I am considered a tall woman but to reach and clean the shelves, I have to either stand in the tub or bend over an extremely wide space to wash the shelves, whilst steadying myself with the remaining hand.

Once this acrobatic feat is accomplished the tub gleams and the chrome taps twinkle in the light of the spotlamps that are installed above each vanity. A comfy place to sit and admire the clean bathtub is the toilet and, as I admire my handiwork from this spot, I notice that once again the spider, or one of it’s relatives, is back in the tub. Every time I visit the bathroom, the spider is there. He can’t find much to eat but he rules his domain and climbs up and down the thin silk rope he has spun, from the overflow to the base of the tub. I never touch him, he is happy in his little porcelain world and, as he retreats when I bring out the Scrubbing Bubbles, he never gets swept away on the cleaning rag.

Another very determined creature of habit is our cat. Once Rosie has decided where she will sleep for a few hours, there is no shifting her. She likes to settle down on different places for morning naps and afternoon siestas that sometimes just turn into one, long sleep. If she can manage to inconvenience someone or something, whilst taking her naps, so much the better. One of her favourite places is in a doorway. Sleeping in a doorway means that the dogs are afraid to walk past her. The dogs and cat get on quite well but, quite often the dogs will gang up on her and chase her through the room. This results in dogs being told off and the cat stalking off in a huff. A good way to show dominance over the dogs is to prevent them from following me, so while Rosie naps, the two miscreants stand whining behind the sleeping feline. Both dogs have known the power of the claw slashing across a tender nose, when they have pushed her patience too far, so they are reluctant to pass her while she is pretending to sleep. They know that in an instant the claw can whip out and sink into their leg like a flying fishhook.

Another of the cat’s favourite places is on the back of one of the couch cushions. Always the same cushion so it has acquired a permanent dent which I cannot get rid of. It also leaves a ring of fur that has to be taken off with a damp rag, causing the cushion to have a rather different colour that it’s companions. I have moved the cat countless times, when she settles on this cushion, but to no avail, a few minutes later, she is back in place.

Should someone with an allergy visit us, the cat will zoom in and insist on rubbing and twisting her body round the legs of the victim and, if possible, getting on their lap. Last year we had friends passing through who asked if they could overnight with us. We agreed but warned them of the cat, knowing that one of them was allergic to anything with fur. The cat must have had some instinct of it’s victim’s allergies as, upon returning from dinner out, she found the cat, not only on her bed but curled up on her pyjamas. During the night, both visitors had visited the washroom and, somehow Rosie had sneaked in the room. When morning came, there she was curled up between the pair of them. Our runny nosed, weepy eyed friend agreed that the cat had won the battle.

Maybe next time they visit they will opt for a motel, you cannot defeat a determined cat.