I got to the gallery today about 9:00 am, feeling pretty good, whistling a little ditty, looking forward to a day of a painting, and perhaps, even selling a painting or two. As usual the two cats greeted me at the front door purring and rubbing against my legs. Always a good way to start a day.
As I walked toward the studio where my computer is, I noticed some papers laying on the floor beside the partition that separates the computer nook from my studio. I peered gingerly around the partition and was appalled by what I saw. The shelf I had installed about six feet off the ground had fallen onto my computer desk. It was hanging precariously by just one screw about six inches above my monitor and computer. The printer that had been on the shelf was laying on the floor upside down with all the paper scattered about the room. Lordy, Lordy, what a train wreck!
I had put the shelf up this high because of you-know-who. So I figured the shelf had just fallen off the wall due to my bad carpentry and short screws. This is where the plot thickens. As I was carefully taking down the remains of the shelf, and trying to keep it from falling on the computer, guess what I found clinging to the dangling shelf on a protruding screw? A little, fuzzy mouse toy! Now, how did that get up there?
Then I started doing some detective work. The previous day I had moved a four-drawer filing cabinet about four feet a way from the shelf never thinking what a foolish thing I was doing. This is what I suspect happened, but of course they are keeping mum.
One of the two gallery citizens discovered she could jump from my computer desk to a credenza, then onto the four drawer filing cabinet. New territory to explore. Then the blinding revelation occurred to the intrepid climber. With a little luck and a big jump, she could get to the forbidden shelf, so up she went in a cloud of dust and a "Mighty Hi Ho Kitty Away". Now, once the pathfinder was up there, the other member of the climbing party could follow in her paw prints. At this point, we have two full sized cats, a rather heavy HP printer, a couple of large art books, some papers, a lamp, and the final straw, a fuzzy toy mouse just asking to be played with. I do not know who brought the mouse up. I have watched them play with their mice and they can get very rambunctious. I imagine the screws in the wall finally gave way under the stress of the jumping and playing and the shelf went down like the Titanic. There were two survivors.
I cannot prove this theory, but I have a very strong hunch this is what happened. Of course, the two little innocent angels would not even look at the carnage all day. There will be no confessions forth coming.
We must live right here in the gallery. Nothing was broken except the shelf. The printer works fine, the lamp was all right (bulb not even broken) and the computer fired up perfectly. After a little cleaning and restructuring, everything was back to normal. Of course there was no offer of help from those two and they slept most of the day. Oh well, another day in paradise.
Here a couple of pictures of the gang of two looking innocent.
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