untrained cats and dogs at xmas

 So, Mr Siili and I made it to his parents' house yesterday. The drive was uneventful and the cats were actually quite quiet most of the drive. It took Mansi and Rusty some time to calm down and settle in at this "new" place, but after an hour or two, all was well.

In the evening, I made choclate chip cookies, took a nap and then I just couldn't be bothered to do anything else for the day. We had take-away pizza for dinner and watched some TV.

Today, we had rice porridge for breakfast. It's a traditional food that can be eaten any time of the year, but usually during xmas. In Mr Siili's family, it is xmas eve's breakfast. Also, one blanched almond is put in the batch of porridge and the lucky person who finds it is supposed to have good luck the upcoming year. I didn't find the almond this year, but that's ok. :)

One of Mr Siili's sisters came over for some porridge and she brought her dog. Thankfully I heard her coming and was able to get Rusty holed up in a room (it was actually easy, because he was already sleeping in a chair there), but we didn't know where Mansi was. I asked the sister to wait a sec, but that lasted maybe 30 seconds and in came the dog. Two seconds later there went Mansi running past me and the dog close behind.

The sister said it was ok if the cats' claws were clipped. Uhm, sure, it might be ok for your dog if the cats' claws are clipped, but we'd still like to have cats after you leave. Alive and in one piece (well, 2 pieces, as we have two cats). So, we got both cats, their litter box, food and water in the same room and shut the door. Rusty didn't mind too much, as it was his nap time. Mansi, the ever curious and friendly one, just wanted to see what was going on. I moved a chair near the window so she could watch what was going on, but when the dog barked at her, she got a bit scared.

The sister and dog have left for a while, but they will be back for sauna and dinner. Same as last year, Mr Siili and I are left to figure out what to do with our cats. The dog is not trained at all and the sister gets upset when no one controls her dog or if her dog doesn't listen to her. *sigh* And the cats, well, they are cats and they are not trained. We'll either put them in a room again for the evening. :( Or, we'll put them upstairs and find a way to block the entrance and I'll be sitting at the bottom of the stairs to keep the dog from going up there. Mansi will get curious and come down the stairs to check out the main floor and it will rile the dog up. Mr Siili isn't too happy about either option, but less so of the later one. But I've got to do what I need to protect my cats. If I try to say something to the sister, it will most likely create an unhappy political situation and we don't want that now, do we? I totally forgot about this whole issue since last year, but I've got to remember it for next year. Who knows what next year will be like...

Anyway, I managed to finish baking the chocolate crinkles, coconut macaroons and assemble the pesto torta this afternoon (pictures later). My MIL and FIL have assembled the tree. The ham has been cooked (over night) and most other foods are ready, they just need to be re-heated and put in serving dishes. Pretty soon we'll go to sauna and then have our xmas dinner. After dinner, Santa will arrive with the gifts. Then we can all relax, play games, watch a bit of TV and sleep until we feel like getting up on xmas day.