Scratching in the Attic & Show and Tell Friday

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(The Show & Tell is explained at the bottom and the graphic is the link to more participants.)

Last night I put my son to bed, turned out the light and went downstairs.  He calls down, “Mommy, something’s scratching in the attic.”  I thought, “Maybe the cat got in the attic when I was in there earlier.”

I went back upstairs, opened the attic door, and looked around.  Couldn’t see anything.  I called the cat - nothing.  So I told my son that it was probably a squirrel on the roof or something outside.  “Good-night, go to sleep.”

Back downstairs I go for about 5 minutes.  “Mommy it’s making that noise again.”  I went back across the living room and up the stairs, but I couldn’t hear anything.  I explained to him that the wires come from the poles and connect to our house close to his window.  The squirrels use the wires as highways to get to our roof.  “It’s ok, just be quiet and go to sleep.”Ten minutes later I’m deep into the blogosphere when he says, “Mommy, it’s outside, right?”  This time I heard it.  It was a scratching sound all right.  I grab my heavy 3 cell Mag lite and head back up the stairs.  It sure sounded like the cat, but my husband had told me that she was outside.  [Yes, Bebo, we let the cat out and in when she wants.  It was either that or shoot her, but that's another story.]  I opened the attic door again - nothing there. 

The scratching came again.  It’s behind his wall mounted AC unit.  Now, I’m thinking.  What is that?  Oh, please Lord don’t let it be a squirrel.  My sister had squirrels in her walls and it was A MESS.  What do I do?  Oh, I wish my husband were here…  OK - I’m going to slide the side of the air conditioner over and if something jumps out at me I’m going to smack it with this flashlight.

Just then I saw a paw through the hole.  I shone the flashlight into the crack and sure enough, it was our cat.  She’d been stuck in the attic.  Poor thing went right to her food bowl.  At least it wasn’t a hot day and the attic had stayed cool.  My son could now go to sleep in peace.

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To elaborate a little more here is a picture of our stairs to the loft.  It’s difficult to explain, but we fixed our roof about 5 years ago and closed in our porch which created room for a dining area and a loft over the kitchen.  The peak of the roof is at that second horizontal board above the stairs.  The loft is slightly over 5 feet tall at the peak so my husband can not stand up, but it works well as a room for our son right now.  That is how I could be in the living room and just hear him when he talked.

The air conditioner pictured above [please excuse the dust] is mounted in the wall of the loft where there is a 3 foot wall.  For the cat to get behind the AC she had to go to the back of the attic [towards the back of the house], go through another opening cut in the old roof part, back under the main part of the house, and into the space created when we finished the loft.  Clear as mud, right?  My point is that she couldn’t just quickly come when I opened the attic door and called her.

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If you kind readers permit, I would like also like to use this post as my show and tell.  I’m showing you the stairs and railing that my husband built.  Do you know how expensive ready made railing is?  Too rich for our blood.  The stairs are easy to wipe clean and the railing works well for the kids.  Our son does like to slide down.  All 3 of the children will sit on the stairs to look out the window.  I made those green and tan lace, striped, tab curtains.  They were remarkably easy.  Now if the kids would just leave them straightened.

Possibly Related posts:

1. Show and Tell Friday - Rose Petals
2. To Co-Sleep or Not To Co-Sleep
3. I’m Stuck In a Mattress Rut
4. Walking Like Elephants
5. Jael and Sisera

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