Visits to the vet + Tsuyo's Birthday

  
30 December 2016

In the morning
Although my skin condition was much better this morning, I had to go to hospital again.

My dad and mum want to protect me and prevent the appearance of any diseases – last visit this year surely!

“He asked us to take you again. Never mind, Pinot! Besides, it’s close to where we live. We trust in the practitioner,” mum said to me with a smile.

“Wow, lots of cars in front of the hospital. Oh dear, it must be very crowded inside, I can imagine,” I murmured to myself.
Chaos, everywhere at this time of year, even in animal hospitals. We had to wait, wait and wait, surrounded by lots of dogs. You can guess how I felt. 

In the afternoon
My mum’s nephew, Tsuyo, came over to stay with us.
Ideally, it was getting cold towards the evening as we were planning to have roast sweet potatoes in our wood burning stove.

In the evening
My dad started putting sweet potatoes wrapped in foil into the stove. Everybody including Chizuru-chan was so excited about it, but other guests were late for the roast sweet potatoes. 
‘Can you smell something burning?” said Tsuyo. 
“Oh dear, over roasted,” dad opened the stove door with a bitter smile. 
It didn’t matter to me. I was enjoying myself sitting near the fire.

Suddenly, the light deemed out.
“Happy birthday to you, 
 Happy birthday to you, 
 Happy birthday, dear Tsuyo, 
 Happy birthday to you.”

It was Tsuyo’s birthday.
He was surprised by the beautiful string sounds and birthday cake with brightly lit candles that came down from upstairs, the way mum plotted.

This afternoon, mum secretly baked the birthday cake (chocolate) for him.
When he arrived our home, mum had already baked that. Aha!

“Hmm, delicious!” he said with a big grin on his face.

Anchovy School Winter Break

                                                 

Thank you for studying with us this year.
Thank you also for putting up with me intruding on.
 
School holidays come and go in the blink of an eye.
Enjoy the break!
We look forward to seeing you all again in 2017. 
 
Wishing you a peaceful and prosperous New Year 2017!

I want to go home!

How long have I been waiting …mmm…in such a scary waiting room?
Full of dogs, coming in one after another, I’ve been quiet, timid, sitting in the back of my basket. My mum often calls my name, and I can hear other cats’ mewing, but I just hold my breath.

I still have a problem with my skin, more precisely around left eye and ear. However, as far as I’m concerned, I’m all right – getting better!
I don’t think I have to see the vet any more.

“Pinot-chan, please come in!” 
The door opens, and I can see the treatment table over there. Any way out??

I want to go home, really!

クリスマスとメダカ

ダディは、夕方、思いついたように外出し、熱帯魚用の底砂と水草を買って帰ってきた。そして、庭の手水鉢の中にいたメダカをすくって、そっと花瓶の中に入れかえた。そろそろ寒くなるので、室内に入れてあげるのだろう。

クリスマスディナーのチキンをローストするいい匂いが立ちこめている。ああ、鼻を刺激する、たまらない。

ダディがボクを招いている。
「メダカを見においで、見るだけだよ」
“なあんだ、チキンじゃないのかあ”と思いつつも、テーブルに近づき花瓶の中をのぞくと、とても小さな魚が泳いでいた。メダカだ。小さすぎてよく見えないので、顔を近づけると、
「オー、冷たい！！！」
こんなにも水面が近いとは、うかつすぎた。鼻の頭を水につけてしまい、身震いしているボクを二人が笑っている。
まあ、今年は心配かけたのだから、こうして二人に笑いをあげられたということで、ボクもとても幸せを感じている。

今年は腎臓療法食を頬張りながら、Merry Christmas!

点滴おねがいします

「今朝は、点滴おねがいします」マミーがささやいている。
ダディが準備を始めるぞ。そろそろ二階へ逃げようか、逃げたとて無駄な抵抗なのだけれど。

最近は四日に一度と聞いているが、何だかすぐに来てしまうなあ。毎日、一日おき、三日に一度、そして今は四日に一度となり、順調に良くはなっているのだが、一週間に一度の理想の型にはなかなかならないのだ。何曜日、と決まっていれば、容易なのだろうが、ダディは一々覚えていられないらしく、いつもマミーがサインをおくる。

ボクの専任看護士としてのダディの上達はすばらしく、注射針はもう痛くはないし、（当初は飛び跳ねるほどだったが）工夫して点滴時間も短縮してくれた。でも、でも、やっぱり嫌だ、嫌なのだ。


今でも隙を見ては逃げ出すため、点滴中はずっとマミーが甘い言葉でごまかしなだめながら、確りボクを押さえつけている。
ああ、マミー「ジュテーム」は、もう聞き飽きたんだけどなあ、、、、 。

Emergency!

“Oh, no! What have you done, Pinot!?”
“What!?  What’s happened?”
My dad picked me up, had a look at my forehead closely and said to mum: “June, look at this!”
“Jesus! It’s awful! Take him to hospital immediately, please, darling!”
“All right!”

That was an incident at home yesterday evening. Dad took action in preparing for our urgent matter, meanwhile mum called my hospital to tell them my condition. But it wasn’t that simple.
What happened was that  it was nearly closing time. They told her to come the following morning. You can guess how we felt. 
Dad’s reaction was very quick. He called another hospital –  luckily within the consulting hours.

“OK! Pinot, let’s go!”
“All right! If you insist, Dad!”

I couldn’t stand that ointment applied on my forehead. What I did was scratch my face, near my left eye a lot, but too much.
My new vet could imagine why and what I did, and said: “No more ointment, give him these tablets daily instead, and come back in five days time. Please let me know if he has any problems.”
Dad found him kind and efficient.

Now we are all at ease. I have to take two tablets every day for a while though. Mmm!

Two Lovely Vases – sleepyhead!

With lovely sunshine, two lovely vases – green & pink – on the wall look so warm and beautiful this morning.
My giraffe (scratch pole) standing in the sun looks so sleepy.  
 
Yesterday evening, my mum picked up some lovely flowers in the garden and put them in the two vases, and told me that they were from Dai’s wife especially chosen for us.
 
While looking at the green one, I’m scratching my paws, feeling so warm and sleepy – oh, contagious!
“I’m home!”
‘Ah, dad! You’re back!”
He’s just come back from Haneda airport to see M-chan off. He looks tired and sleepy. I’ll be in his arms in a minute and go back to sleep again together… Zzzzz…

M-chan & Pinot + Eggs

Yesterday, Dai left our home for London. In place of him, today, my dad’s relative, M-chan from Kochi, has arrived. 
The guest room has been busy these days with our guests. Dad told mum that she was staying with us for three days.

Because of the winter holidays, this lovely girl, junior high school student, wants to go to the centre of Tokyo and visit trendy shops. Tokyo has a lot to offer, so my dad wants to take her to Sky Tree – good idea!

Tomorrow morning, dad is cooking some eggs for her for breakfast. 
The other day, mum’s best friend kindly brought some eggs, a huge pack of eggs – amazing! 
We all know they are very good, special ones. Unfortunately, this time I’m not allowed to have them, not even one due to high calorie and protein for me.

Well, I’ll watch for a chance tomorrow. I can’t think of a better way than this to cope with the present situation.

おばあちゃんの誕生日

17 December 2016
今日はおばあちゃんの誕生日。ダディとマミーは介護老人ホームに暮らすおばあちゃんを訪ねた。なんと、御年９７歳になった。
ボクたちが日本に引っ越して来た４年前に、ここに来てくれたそうだが、おばあちゃんもボクも全く覚えていない。おばあちゃんにいたっては、昨日のことも覚えていないそうだから、ボクのほうが多少マシのようだ。おばあちゃんは、もう長時間車に乗るのは我慢できないらしく、ボクも外出はできないし、もうボクたちは会えないかもしれないなあ。
マミーが写真を見せてくれた。子、孫、ひ孫に囲まれて、嬉しそうだ。歯が一本もないけれども、笑顔がほんとうに可愛らしい。

ダディ：あれなら、百歳まで生きられそうだね。
マミー：そうね。

ボクも頑張るから、おばあちゃんも百歳めざして、がんばれ！

When I'm home alone

My dad and mum have gone to the theatre. I’m home alone this evening.
Dai, composer, invited them to his concert.
 
I like to do a lot of things when I’m home alone. There are certain activities that bring me such pleasure. 
And I think it is right to do.
 
Sometimes when I’m home alone, I run up and down the stairs and sniff my food.
Usually when I’m home alone, I scratch myself and pull my hair out.
Sometimes when I’m home alone, I roll around the floor and grab a spider.
Usually when I’m home alone, I look for a plastic bag and put it over my head. 
sometimes when I’m home alone, I get in my litter tray, scatter my droppings and pretend it’s accidental.
Usually when I’m home alone, I cover myself with my blanket and pretend I’m a good boy. 
 
My dad and mum always pretend to know what I do when I’m home alone.

柿の収穫

たわわに実った柿、本日いよいよ収穫！
ちづるちゃんが手伝いにきてくれている。と思ったら、物干竿のように長くて大きい、『タカ枝ばさみ』とやらを長身の彼女が振り上げたのだから、たまったもんじゃない。恐ろしくて、ボクはすかさず家の中に逃げ込んだ。
大収穫に歓喜している三人とは違い、元来ボクは柿には全く興味がないのであるが、裸になった木を見ると、柿の実をつっつきにやってくるやかましい小鳥達に、もう昼寝を邪魔されなくなるなあ、と思いつつも何だか寂しさを感じた。
「あっ、あそこにも、あっちにも。まだ二つ三つ残ってるよ、ダディ！」
「あれは小鳥達のためにね」
「へえ……っ」
この干し柿は、いつ頃あまくなるのだろうか、穏やかな晩秋の昼下がりに思うボクである。

13 November 2016

Manon & Pinot + November 18th

The other day, Manon-chan, one-year-old French girl from London, visited us with her mother. There weren’t any toys for her here, she played with me, patting me on the head, grabbing my tail with all her might and so on. 
“Pinot! Pippy, P…”
“Ah, au secours!”
 
This morning, my mum said: “You know, we moved back to Tokyo from London today exactly four years ago, on the 18th of November 2012. (with a sigh) Well, it’s been four years since then. Time flies, doesn’t it?”
“Yah, absolutely!” I nodded my head.
She kept talking and told me that after a long flight, how much she felt relieved at the airport when she saw me again sitting in the cage.
 
“Mum, I’m happy. I love my life here in Tokyo with my dad and you. I was very ill this spring, but I’m fit these days, you know.”
“Pinot, I love you, totally, completely, definitely, heartily, entirely, eternally, sincerely, er… ” she listed up all the adverbs she knew, and embraced me softly and narrowed her eyes.
 
“Drink to our health!” my dad shouted for joy.
“Happy life in Tokyo! Cheers!”
“Cheers!”
We happily made a toast.

18 November 2016

New Background in Anchovy Studio

The other day, my dad made a new background board in the studio and painted it grey. It looks absolutely great.
“Well done, Dad!” I murmured, and quietly went near the new grey background.
Dad said to mum proudly: “June, look at Pinot sitting on the chair, posing! He likes my background, doesn’t he?”
“Absolutely, surely!” mum replied with a big grin.

He is going to take a lot of portraits from now on, and to spend a lot of time with friends and sometimes with me.

Today, Chizuru-chan came over again with some upholstery remnants for my mum. Mum wanted to make small cushions with them. 

“Voila, anchovy pizza!”
In return for the fabrics, dad made pizza for lunch, of course topped with anchovies. To tell you the truth, he wanted to try his new rolling pin, and to make perfect thin crust pizza at home.

I’m not interested in their lunch, but I’m enjoying being with them in the garden. 
What a lovely day today!

20 November 2016

New Bike Saddle

My mum is a cycling enthusiast now influenced by my dad.
This week, she got a new bike saddle – women’s comfort saddle – and asked dad to replace previous one with this one. 
She said that the previous one wasn’t very efficient over a long run, nice looking though, causing pain and discomfort, and ruined her enjoyment of cycling.
With a boom in women’s cycling in the UK because of the London Olympics 2012, my mum started cycling when she moved back to Tokyo. 
However, to be honest, she is still an entry level cyclist, I think, and has never tried a long run.
 
“It said that this plush saddle was for female riders with fully experiencing the joy of riding,” she murmured to herself and went on, “Let me have a go!”  and set off …..
Well, let’s wait and see!

4 December 2016

Chair and Sofa Cushions

My mum made cushions – 6 for our heart chairs and two for the sofa.
 
On winter mornings, we felt so cold when we sit on the chair without cushions.
From now on, I can hide under the table (by the way, this is also new, my dad made), have a seat whichever I like and enjoy having a siesta – sounds perfect!
 
It is also good for her students studying while sitting on this warm chair. 
That makes everybody happy!

5 December 2016

New Round Table

This morning, my dad’s friend, Dai-chan, arrived from London.
 
“Hello there! Oh, Pinot! How are you?” 
“I’m very well, thank you, Dai-chan, mew!” I replied with a big smile.
 
“Oh, new table!? Absolutely great!” he noticed our new table.
“At last!” my dad replied proudly as it was him who made this table. 
 
My dad made a special breakfast with tagine omelet for him. He sit down at the table and enjoyed his meal. 
 
Dai, dad and mum started talking, sitting around the table, and they went on and on.
  
They look so happy with this new round table. I’m very happy too, no food for me though, mmm.

9 December 2016

年一回定期健診結果 ８５点！

「あれっ、おでこのところがこんなに毛が抜けて、赤くなってる」とマミーが嫌がるボクの前脚を押さえつけながら、強引に口を開けさせてサプリを与えているダディに言った。
何と、こんな光景が朝晩一日２回、３月の退院後、ずっと続いているのである。
「えっ、こりゃひどい！ 明日病院に連れて行こう」

ということで、
翌朝一番で病院のドアを開けた。
どうせ、皮膚炎の軟膏をもらって終わりさ、もがくことはあるまい、と思っていたのだが…　獣医さんによると、今月はちょうど、一年に一度の定期健診の時期だという。「あっ、注射針だ！ ああ、また採血かあ！」
軟膏、常用の点滴薬を押し込んだカバンとボクを押し入れたバスケットをタスキがけにし、ダディは軽やかに自転車をこぐ。


ということで、
検査結果の封書を待っていたダディは、昨夜ポストから取り出した病院からのその封筒を、今朝、おもむろに開封した。
「オー、８５点！ Pinot, well done! よくやった！」
結果がちょっと気になっていたようで、ダディは喜びの声をあげた。
マミーも「すばらしい、すばらしい！」を連発し、ボクはこの高得点に、我ながら少々照れる。
だが、ダディ曰く、「でも、先生のコメントには、家での皮下点滴の頻度と量は今のままがいいと思う、と書いてあるよ。現状維持かあ」
マミーはがっくりと肩を落とし、ボクはすかさず二階へと走り去った。

「今年は入院などで大変でしたが、今回の検査では良好だったので、一安心です、だってさ」と階下でコメントを読むダディの声がやさしく響いている。

15 December 2016