The Dining Room

We went away for a week. Its nice albeit hard to get away with four kids. The planning is always the hardest part. I make lists of lists to make sure nothing is forgotten.

One of the many things to remember is pet care. I arranged for a cat sitter via an agency. They sent the same person we had last time. I like that they are bonded and insured. I don't even really know what bonded means, but it has an official sounding ring to it.

Upon our return we were met with a lengthy list of all the cats' activities and foibles. I find these lists reassuring albeit boring. At least I have proof that someone actually came in and fed the creatures.

Generally I skim these lists of cat activities. Not being insane I don't need to know exactly how the cats managed their time in our absence. This time around however something caught my eye and my interest.

Apparently one of the cats, irritated by our unexplained absence, decided to poop on the floor. While not intriguing in and of itself, the note actually read " someone pooped in the dining room". This is where it gets interesting.

We don't have a dining room.

When we bought this house some of the alleged selling points included an eat in kitchen, and a separate dining room. The eat in kitchen was in fact a bit of counter that juts out awkwardly and hits the refrigerator door. I suppose someone could grab a stool and sit there and hope no one opens the fridge. But I wouldn't really call it an eat in kitchen. The next mystery was the separate dining room. We've never found it. We've looked. We've hoped to discover a secret extra room. I rearrange furniture a lot. I secretly hope that one day I will happen to trigger the sliding passageway and the separate dining room will be revealed. I imagine it will be dusty but well worth the discovery. However, as of yet, its location remains unknown.

The fact that the cat sitter, whom I have never met, uncovered the secret of the hidden dining room, is making me lose my mind.