......to thwart The Evil (but totally adorable*) Cat Septimus!

For some time now The Evil Cat Septimus has been plotting, and generally succeeding in one way or another, to upset my somewhat ambitious plans to finish the last piece in The Splitting Hares Trilogy, err long. 

Undeterred, I have struggled, nay, battled on, clutching at attached bobbins, catching any hanging by their silken threads, juggling with copious notes, tools and reels of thread while he purrs and sings his little songs to me from his perch that is my shoulder.  Or from his comfy spot, on the table, that are my diagrams, all the while hoisting up such little specimens with so delicate a claw, that appealingly cry out to be chewed.

Then, as yet once more, I had been protecting with one hand, all those precious things such as my bobbins, silk threads and fine crochet hook, which he regards as his......while struggling to write up the working notes, drawing diagrams at a long stretch away on the nearby table, with the other hand......when suddenly, ‘Eureka!’  That was it!  Suddenly, in a flash of inspiration, I knew exactly what I needed!!!  

The Answer?  A cake stand! 

One of the collapsible variety, preferably decorative, that would stand attractively in the corner when not in use......but in use perform the wonderful function of allowing me to keep control of, and a close eye on, all my precious things at all times when working!

This most wondrous delight was won in an auction on eBay! A beautiful vintage Japanese lacquered specimen, decorated with little gold birds on each tiered tray, dating from early 1920’s.  Each of the trays has a raised border edge, so making any covert theft by claw a trickier prospect altogether. 

Even better, it looks well with the vintage Japanese lacquer boxes I already have, dating from the same period, one of them inherited from my grandmother.

Ho! Ho! Ho!  This Cunning Plan of The Evil Cat Septimus has been thwarted......though I daresay he’s already plotting another......twitch......twitch, twitch......

* Septimus, whose whims must be pandered to at all times, insists I put this in.