Tag Archives: Don Giovanni

Pavlov’s Cat

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DSC_1038I suppose this is not without fault of my own: I only need to enter the kitchen to trigger alarm with the cat, wherever he is at the time. Initially, he’ll be monitoring the situation with one lazily lifted eye, but as soon as a chopping board and knife emerge, he’ll be on full alert.

He’ll come over and give periodic meow, approximately once every 5 seconds. Eventually, he starts making figures of eight, brushing against my legs to ensure that I shall not forget him entirely. I can show him a carrot or an onion for deterrent on rare occasions, but when red meat, white fish or seafood comes out, there’s no deterring any more.

I notice that his anticipation is building up to such an exciting level that he begins salivating at this point, frequently and audibly swallowing and licking his lips.

Thankfully he’s usually content with a small morsel, but he makes me roll me eyes, then laugh, every day.

 

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Home Improvements No 4 of Many

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newPatio The new patio, right where the evening sun hits it. Made from reclaimed granite paving blocks just like the new front path.

We were a little worried about the fact that the table would forever be wobbly, given the very uneven surface of the granite paving. The surface is in fact so uneven that tables, chairs, BBQ and everything else don’t rock at all, but instead easily find a rock-solid position.

Excellent! Some pointing and painting is needed in the rear left corner of the back wall, but that’s just cosmetics, really.

Also note the new fence. Also lovely, but without a handy gap fro Don Giovanni to slip through to the neighbor. Some jumping does him good (I suppose).

 

Sofa Affairs

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Sofas might be boring, but some old ones are pretty embarrassing, too.

So, we persevered and found what we liked within… well… within reasonable prices, over at Supatra of Windsor. Nice chap there.
We then managed to convince ourselves that this sofa is so nice in fact, and the added benefit from partly being made from quickly renewable resources (water hyacinth) combined really outweighs the fact that poor Don Giovanni is going to endure some pretty serious piece of education with regards to scratchable, and not scratchable things.

Feel free to come around and have a look some some time in late August onwards. The ship is still in some southern Chinese harbour and our sofa still drying in the sun, but should be here late August.

Oh, here is a pretty picture.

 

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Cold-blooded Murder?

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DonGiovanni This week's congratulations go to Don Giovanni. He is now nine years old, and has last week managed to catch his first ever mouse – at least as far as we know.

He brought it home and found himself flying all the way to the cherry tree ten seconds later, while the mouse flew into into the opposite direction (the rubbish bin). Thankfully, the cat had done the deed and the little rodent was already dead, but I assure you that it was fresh. I hate having to complete the deed (and where are those slippers anyway?).

So. Don Giovanni catches a mouse. Who would have thought?

We are not sure what was going on. Presumably, the mouse died from a heart attack, and Don Giovanni just happend to find the body first. It is quite possible that he brought it in on a rescue mission. Or, he caught and killed the mouse by accident. He might have been chasing a dried leaf and accidentally hit the mouse fatally, or the mouse might have been watching him, inquiring about his age, and laughing itself to death.

I cannot believe that we were facing the results of cold-blooded murder, though.

The Weather… According to the Cat

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donGiovanniDrinks According to Don Giovanni, the weather will be turning into a pretty warm spring really soon. He sheds his fur by hand fulls.

In his short term forecast, however, he always recommends vigilance, and staying in doors when only the slightest doubt arises.

And stick closely to the humans following short periods of their absence.

 

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Cats’ Menu

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DonGiovanniDrinks  On his old days and after having lived on high quality dry food all his life so far, Don Giovanni now sometimes gets canned cat food. I felt sorry for him and thought he might enjoy a change, but of course he complains no matter what.

Canned cat food selections strike me as funny. Beef in Gravy or Chicken or Cod and Salmon are hardly a cat’s natural food, is it?

You’d expect to see cans of Mice in Stale Water or Spiders and Moths, or maybe Goldfish and Pigeons.

If cats were the buyers, I’d just found a business opportunity.

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Swan Quadriptychon

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Swan_familyFollowing the swan double bill with Swan Lake and Lost and Found, I am thinking of making two more. The four together could form a quadriptychon, replacing the triptychon above our sofa (consisting of Dagmar, Myself at the Sound Barrier, and Don Giovanni).

I can think of Flower Power maybe (with a girdle of daisies), a Trumpeter Swan with the beak tied shut with a ribbon, or a Black Swan maybe. Or maybe a forgetful swan (with a knot in its neck), or an upside-down one (during the Upping)… ?

I am open to suggestions.

Triptychon

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Dongiovanni_detail
Finally, the triptychon above our sofa is complete. What started with Myself, at the Sound Barrier and an early attempt on Dagmar in Mosaic has finally reached its conclusion as the third and final piece, Don Giovanni Goes Garfield, joins us.

I looked long and hard and must admit that, the longer I look at it, the more flaws I find. Subtle details noticeable only to the trained expert eye, but it is true that Don Giovanni doesn’t look like Garfield at all, he doesn’t hang his tongue out, and he ain’t orange to begin with.

I hope you like it nevertheless:

Don Giovanni Goes Garfield. Oil on canvas, 16 x 20", medium: linseed oil. June 2006

(click here or the thumbnail to reveal the complete picture)

 

Kafka on the Shore

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I have finally finished Haruki Murakami‘s Kafka on the Shore. What a wonderful book!

Half adventure, half romance, half fantasy, half classic storytelling… Oh, I guess these are four halfs already. Well, anyway. Highly recommended reading!

I have always be certain that it should be possible to converse with cats. My hair is getting grey already, so I shall rub it thoroughly and talk to Don Giovanni in earnest. I shall let you know when we solved the pressing questions of mankind.