Nemesis

Olga hates this cat.

To be clear, she hates all cats. But this cat, in particular, is her sworn enemy. It lurks behind this brown gate, which has a little cat-sized hole cut into it. We pass the gate every morning on our walk. And every time, Olga has to....

...shove her face as far into that cat-hole as she can get it. If the cat is on the other side, it often comes out swinging.

They've never actually fought, because I always pull Olga back. But that cat sometimes follows us out onto the sidewalk, just to make sure we're leaving. It's a tiger! And you can't blame it, really -- it's just defending its turf.

I'm always afraid whoever owns the cat is going to come out and yell at me, but I just can't resist allowing the animals a frisson of excitement.

In other news, the management company for our flat sent a handyman over yesterday to take care of some minor problems -- cracked floor tiles, a ceiling that needed painting, a broken doorsill and a gate that wouldn't close, among other things. He worked pretty much all day, and supposedly will get answers about a few other repairs we'd like to have done, including carpet replacement (or simply removal) in the dining room, repainting the kitchen and possibly re-enameling the bathtub.

Meanwhile, Dave made plans for a tree surgeon to visit us next week and give estimates for removing the holly (won't Mrs. Kravitz be thrilled?) and trimming a few other trees. Now that we're leaning toward staying here as renters, we're trying to spruce things up!