Time to Reboot:

[dreamflower]

They have changed my DH's schedule again! Instead of working F-Sa-Su from 11AM to 11PM, off M-Th, he will now be working 5PM to 2AM five days a week. (On either schedule there's an hour's commute both going and coming home.) He'll have every other weekend off now, and will be working shorter shifts, but it will add an extra tank of gas and lots of extra miles on our Pikepass to the budget. So there are pros and cons.

I will have to completely reconfigure my routines, though, and just as I was beginning to get on a roll. To top it off, my nasty cold has returned.

OTOH, I DID manage to get almost everything done on my today's list with one exception--writing! Errands took a little longer than I thought. (Lost half-an-hour wrestling our dog Sophie into her new seat-belt safety harness, + extra crowds at the grocery store). But no work on the sewing room at all so far this week.

I'm going to attempt to do some writing from now till he gets home around 3ish.

Oh well, the good thing about FLYlady is that you always get "do-overs".

(Above cross-posted from flylady)

A little question for my fellow pet owners:

It's been years since we owned a young cat and a young dog. We are gradually trying to pet-proof things, but Sophie's a real little thief, and finds the most amazing things.

We have no wall mounted TP roller in the bathroom, and no place to mount one that we can reach. We'd gotten in the habit of keeping the TP on the tub ledge within easy reach, but it's too much temptation for Sophie. So we tried putting it on a shelf above her eye-level but still within our reach. She still managed to get hold of it. If we put it where she can't reach it all, well, then neither can either of us when we are, er, sitting on the throne so to speak.

Any suggestions?

Comments

[labourslamp.livejournal.com]

Keep the bathroom door shut?

[dreamflower]

LOL! That *would* be the most obvious solution, but I forgot to mention we have only an old-fashioned floor furnace for heat. Any room we have to shut the door on is going to be freezing in the wintertime! We do have a little space heater for when we need to shut the door, but we don't like to leave that on unattended.

[ramblin_rosie]

Is there some kind of people-friendly but pet-proof latch you can use that will let you leave the door open enough to let the air circulate but not let Sophie open it enough to get in?

[dreamflower]

Not a latch... the childgate might work, though I worry that we might forget in the middle of the night. Still, it's a thought.

[claudia603.livejournal.com]

I have found toilet rolls in disarray before, but Helo is not a kitten anymore and he has quickly lost interest in it. I happen to have a window sill where I can keep them in a place that's hard to get to for Helo, but you probably don't have that. I wonder if there's some kind of TP roll holder (forgot the name for them!) that you can install? I know that gentlehobbit installed one for me really easy-peasy when I lived in FL and she was visiting...

[dreamflower]

Well, Miss Bell just likes to bash at it a little, but Sophie will just carry it off!

We do need a TP roller, but don't really have a good spot for one.

[addie71.livejournal.com]

Maybe you could keep the TP put away? You've have to remember to take it out before you sit down and put it back after, but until another solution arises? Good luck!

It's a shame DH will have to add two extra trips each week. :(

[dreamflower]

Maybe you could keep the TP put away? You've have to remember to take it out before you sit down...

LOL! Yes! I hate having to holler for the TP! And if I'm home alone...

Well, he'll be making a little overtime again, so perhaps that will help pick up the slack. The only thing is I figure we'll just get adjusted to this schedule and they'll change it AGAIN.

[mumstheword54.livejournal.com]

Perhaps mounted on the inside of the door under the sink?

There are narrow little cabinets made just for storing TP rolls. And I've seen magazine-rack stands that have TP dispensers.

And I think I've seen a dispenser that hangs on the side of the tank, hooking under the lid.

[dreamflower]

Under the sink? Now THAT's an idea!

[shirebound]

Are there little containers with lids in which you can nestle the TP? Maybe you could improvise something with Tupperware or a pitcher. Good luck! Pippin avoids the bathroom because that's where BATHS happen.

[dreamflower]

Some kind of unopenable container could work! Thanks!

The DH has given Sophie a bath-- she didn't seem to like it a lot, but she didn't fight it the way Sugar and Sissy always did. But she will nose her way into the bathroom if one of us is in there.

And Miss Bell comes in there too. For some reason she really likes to walk around in the empty bathtub. She just gets in it and strolls around for a couple of minutes. I've no idea why.

[gamgeefest.livejournal.com]

I hope you feel better soon! *sends hobbits with chicken soup*

As for cat training, the most effective tool is a squirt bottle. You'll have to catch her in the act a few times, but a squirt in the face, accompanied by a firm "No!" so she learns what the word means, will stop that quick - and anything else she's doing wrong. Eventually she'll be trained to stop with just "No!" alone. Or you could just keep the door closed all the time.

[dreamflower]

*sigh* If anything I felt crappier today than I did yesterday. But I could certainly use chicken soup and hobbits! I've been sneezing all day and my nose has been dripping like a faucet.

[cairistiona7.livejournal.com]

Pipsqueak loves to unroll and then shred toilet paper. We keep the door shut in our upstairs bathrooms and the downstairs guest bathroom we keep the TP under the cabinet, all in an attempt not to go bankrupt buying new TP all the time. I don't like having to keep the doors shut, though, because it does mess with heating the rooms even with our forced-air central heating. If you come up with a better solution, let me know!

[dreamflower]

Well, so far I like Shirebound's idea of putting it in a container. I just have to find one the right size...

[nancylea57.livejournal.com]

sounds like im kidding but... do you have a shower rod?
think in terms of a pulley system when not needed tp is pulled up and secured, when you sit down and need it, you release the pulley chain and lower the tp to retrieveable levels.

[dreamflower]

Now that's a clever idea...

[mews1945.livejournal.com]

I was going to suggest trying to find some sort of container for the roll, like Shirebound. Otherwise, you may have to put it away and only get it out when you need it.

[dreamflower]

So far Shirebound's idea sounds easiest! I'm going to see if I've got any empty plastic containers the right size.

[elandulin.livejournal.com]

You know, that's so strange! I have had a lot of cats, and none of them, including the current two, will have anything to do with the toilet paper roll! Even when I take the time to SHOW them how fun it would be! But maybe you should out one roll for Sophie, and hide another for you and the DH.

[dreamflower]

Miss Bell's not that interested in the TP except to bat at it a little, but Sophie will steal it and carry it off and pretty much eat it!