Watson and Isobel are apparently revelling in their access to the “catio” at Cats’ Paradise, where they can hear and smell the world, and threaten the birds and squirrels without any obligation to, you know, catch one.

As for me, I am again spewing money across the landscape. At Home Depot, Cdn$350 bought me a pleasantly unassuming chandelier for the dining room and new locks for the front and garage doors. The dining room fixture that came with the house belongs in a much bigger room, and I have hit my head on it three times, which is quite enough. As for the locks — well, who knows how many keys to this house are out in the wild? I’m not willing to find out the hard way.

Elias the painter is back from Lebanon and prepared to start work tomorrow — what a relief. The colour scheme will be the same as in Stratford: shades of sage green. I’m told that’s fashionable now. Who knew?

Meanwhile, the carpenters are raising Cain with their table saw, power nailer, and rock-n-roll playlist. The study floor was almost finished when I showed up at 0900 hr this morning, and now they’re halfway across the main bedroom. It will be beee-yoo-tiful up there when the tumult and whacking are done, but right now it’s a No Go Zone unless I want to risk a toe.