After 6 living in this house for 6 months, today Jetty finally climbed the spiral staircase on her own. I have been carrying her downstairs when I cook or am going to spend time down there, but usually she spends all of her time upstairs which is pretty small and not very stimulating for her.
This morning I did three loads of laundry, made re-fried beans, and baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies 6 at a time because that is what will fit in my oven. Jetty hung out downstairs the whole time. A few times I found her half way up the spiral staircase, but she wouldn't go any further. She likes to be able to see either the bottom or the top. I grabbed her bowl of food and set it in the middle, then sat down with her like I have a million times as we have been working on this for six months. This time was a little different. She rubbed her whiskers on the railings over and over, leaving her scent. She was purring the whole time, but she is always purring so that was not unusual. I tried and tried to coax her to come up, but she kept retreating to the bottom. Finally I gave up.
I was sitting upstairs in my room when suddenly I noticed she was beside me. Usually she cries until I come down, get her and carry her back up the stairs. At first I thought I was nuts. Did I bring her up and not remember it? No. She came all by herself! Yay!! Now if I could get her to go downstairs on her own I won't feel so bad for her stuck in one room all of the time. I'm thinking of this as Jetty's Mother's Day gift to me.
I have a batch of cookies cooling on the table. ALL of my bedding washed, the railing dusted (if you could see how intricate the design is you would understand why that is a feat), and beans simmering in the crockpot. I used more electricity today than I normally use in a month. Not looking forward to the electric bill.
I am hoping that my next amazing blessing might be a stove - preferably gas so it still works when the power goes out. But any stove that fits a cookie sheet and doesn't go up to 450 degrees when it's set at 350 will do.
