The Velvet Throne And The Very Ill Prince

   The Little Bayou House holds a wide variety of "treasures".  By anybody else's standards, these so-called treasures are mostly clutter.  By my standards...I do not care what others think...my house...my treasures.  That said, one has to have an understanding that these items should perhaps more properly be defined as oddities than treasures but it is all a matter of perspective.  I see them as treasures so that is how it is.  In the living room, there is a very old settee and rocker set.  The set is covered in red velvet which definitely not what one would think to find in a place like the Little Bayou House but I have it simply because it reminds me so much of my great-grandparents' house.  That set started the eclectic, eccentric theme for the whole room..."Anything Goes".  

  Mr. Bat, the Bayou Prince has recently been very ill.  The cat gave us quite the scare when he showed up one evening intensely lethargic and feverish.  A trip to the veterinary clinic found him with a viral infection and extremely dehydrated.  After a complete checkup, two shots and an IV, he was sent home.  The poor cat was miserable.  He slept...and slept...and slept.  For days there was nothing but sleeping...no eating, drinking, bodily functions nor movement.  Son and I tried to keep him hydrated with syringes of water but there was not much else we could do.  Days went by with no change.  We would be elated when he would sluggishly move from one sleeping spot to another. It has been heart-wrenching to see him in this state.  Thankfully, after a full week, he seems to be on the mend...I hope.  At least, he is a bit more mobile and is making attempts to eat and drink.  

   It was during that illness that the Bayou Prince found his throne.  Yep, the red velvet settee became a favorite sleeping spot.  It was either there or on a dining room chair.  Occasionally, he would rouse enough to change locations with the throne being his favorite in the late afternoon when the sun streamed through the west windows and warmed the settee.  He would stay curled up there until late evening and then move back to the chair for the night.  While some would argue that an ill animal should not be "on the furniture", I feel it is his house, too.  The Little Bayou House is his castle, hence, the settee can be his throne.  After all, if he is going to be a prince, Bat deserves a throne!  Get well, little one. You are using up those "nine lives" way too fast.  You have been through enough in your short life from being discarded like trash by your previous owner to being bitten by a cottonmouth and now this debilitating illness.  You can stay on your red velvet throne as long as necessary.

My Throne Is Missing!

  The Bayou Princess is missing her throne.  Ms. Nycto, the Bayou Princess Cat, has claimed the throne room (aka side deck) since the death of the Bayou Queen.  When Ms. Put was alive and well, she reigned over the entire Bayou and...what she wanted...she got.  The princess conceded many times to the elderly queen even though they were unrelated and had only known each other for a few years.  (Both were throwaway cats that arrived on the Bayou at different times. Both stayed.)  Since the demise of the Bayou Queen, one would think that the Bayou Princess would take the crown. She has not.  Even though she is treated royally, she has not learned to reign in the stead of the queen.  Still, she laid claim to the deck and the old bench.  This was the throne and since no queen was ever crowned, the Ms. Nycto figured it was hers.  Good enough.  She would while away the hours snoozing on the old bench. If anyone neared, she would hiss and dart into the jasmine.

  This was all fine and dandy until last week, when we dismantled the deck.  Its time had come as it had become nothing more than a catchall for fishing gear and gardening tools.  The bench was moved to the side and the boards removed.  Now, a large empty spot sits where the deck once was.  The boards, however, are still in a pile waiting to be hauled to the back of the shed where a new deck is to be built.  Ms. Nycto was confused, to say the least.  The first morning after the deck was removed, she darted out the door and headed straight to the nonexistent deck.  She was bewildered.  Where was her throne??

  This afternoon, I went out to find Ms.Nycto relaxing on the pile of deck boards.  Her throne room had been demolished, her throne removed but she was still the Bayou Princess and she would lay claim to anything that her heart desired...the pile of boards was hers.  She is learning...slowly but surely.