Baby Gates

Note to self:
NOT ALL WOOD NEEDS TO BE POLISHED. Specifically, NEVER POLISH WOOD STAIRS WITH PLEDGE.
Sadie fell down the stairs last week. Not the back stairs that I slid down but the front ones that end in the slippery parquet. She tumbled down the stairs, slid the length of the foyer and was stopped by the den carpet inches from the glass table.


I needed to keep Sadie on one level for a few days and as she is my shadow we had to dig out the baby gates we bought when we first laid the bamboo floors. They may be ugly and awkward for us to negotiate but they do the job of keeping the dogs on the ground floor.


Surprisingly enough it is Polly who has suffered more with the re-introduction of boundaries. It really hampers her herding instinct when she can't reach those who need herding (usually kittens) and she's taken to spending even more time in the yard, occasionally tapping on the door so someone can answer her call and reassure her that we haven't left her.


Luckily there were no permanent injuries from my over-zealous cleaning jag but just to remind me that it's all my fault, the dogs reproach me by looking at me like this.

Spoiler Alert-injured toe pic below (fuzzy)

Yep, I managed not to hurt myself at all doing the demolition on the boys' bath, not with the flying shards of tile, not even carrying the heavy stuff out to the curb. Then we farmed out the trade work, plumbing, electrical and tiling so I couldn't injure myself there could I? Well, I suppose I could have dropped a 24"x17" Ferroker floor tile on my foot while appreciating its beautiful bronze and pewter tones but, no, I managed to photograph it without crushing anything vital (or breaking the tile) so kudos to me.
Yesterday evening, though, I was excitedly running upstairs to see what the tiler had done during the day, when I failed to leave enough clearance between my toes and the baby gate we use to keep the dogs out of the tiler's way. It hurt like hell and this morning it is a pretty shade of purple. Can't bend it either.
Worst is, I can't brag that I did it engaged in a house renovation project. It was just a clumsy moment. Bah.