Our Cat; Dougal

Today I decided that I really must start to tidy my workshop. It was reasonably tidy some two years ago when I went into hospital for an operation on my spine, but when I came out of hospital, I could not do much for quite a while. During this period, various items of junk got parked anywhere in the workshop, until the workshop could no longer be used as a workshop. Further health problems developed and more junk got chucked into the workshop until it was not really possible to get inside the door, so this was my starting point today.

Over the last few weeks, despite the ongoing health problems, I decided to be bloody-minded and take as much exercise as I could, dosed up with the maximum safe dose of a cocktail of analgesics. Well, to some extent this has worked, as at least I am fit enough to start the job in hand. Once I started, I discovered just how weak I now am, I had placed various heavy items on shelves, when I was fit, but could no longer lift these, the same problem occurred when I went to move a 28 pound anvil, I could not even slide it and that really surprised me, I used to quite easily lift over one hundredweight. Well that indicates the degree of muscle wasting that has happened and what has this got to do with Dougal the cat? Dougal likes to be with his human friend when he can and particularly when that friend is working. This has two drawbacks when tidying in a confined space, not falling over him and not inadvertently locking him in when you have finished. Well despite the fact that my legs have trouble supporting me these days, I managed not to fall over him and just to prove that he was not locked in, here is a picture of him, in the sunshine, after I had finished for the day. This job is, however only about 10% completed; still it ought to be good exercise and a couple of weeks ago. I was not fit enough to start it.