Hi, keberoxu -- Watson and Isobel are in fine fettle, now that the tradesmen have ceased to trample through their little feof. They spent Christmas sitting on laps, even the laps of my brother (a cat person) and sister-in-law (not a cat person), and show unmistakable signs of comfort and joy.

The tiler is coming in January to fix the kitchen floor and install the backsplash. One of his primary tools is a diamond-bit power saw for splitting tiles; it makes a curious shrieking sound that must be heard to be believed. I don't know what the cats will say about that, but I'm fairly sure it won't be Parliamentary.