Oooomph

Part of the stress of departure has already gone away because both boyz took their sleeping pills. Cornelius got his 2 in 2 pieces of strawberry - went down perfectly. He's already as good as asleep, and I put him in the carrier, to avoid possible incidents or injury, since he couldn't walk properly anymore.
With Lucius I tried: small butter balls (he loves butter) mixed with ground catnip drops (he loves catnip drops). He scorned them.
I tried white cream cheese, which he loves. He didn't even deign to sniff it.
Then I thought what the hell and put the pill, which is only slightly bigger than a pinhead, on my palm together with a catnip drop, and he ate them both. But I drugged him almost 1h later, so I'm still waiting for the pill to take effect. One ought to have done the job, for he weighs only about 3 kilos.

Big suitcase is packed, passports (yes, ze boyz have their blue EU passports as well) and tickets are in the handbag. Fortunately I don't have to clean or anything (only empty ze boyz' toilet and put the garbage out) because the cleaning lady will be coming twice while I'm away and make my place nice and clean and tidy for my return.

So, dear friends, next time you'll be hearing from me from Vienna. Have a good weekend, everybody!

Soooooo tired

The trip went well altough not without hitches.
Ze boyz had taken their pills and were fast asleep by the time we went off to the airport. But then there was airport security.
Now there's one thing you have to know about Turkey: They give themselves these airs about being modern and developing and almost part of Europe. But then you come to the airport (brand new, huge and very pretty) and nobody there, except for the people at check-in, speaks any foreign language.
Pet carriers usually have to go through the x-ray, which isn't a problem because it's not very intense and doesn't harm the animals unless you put them through twice a week.
So I put ze boyz on the conveyor belt. Big fuss, security staff manages to convey the message that this is forbidden. Shrugging, I take boyz off belt and walk through the detector frame, then back and take the carrier.
Security staff comes running after me (I suppose I ought to be grateful those pillocks didn't shoot me in the back). Another pretty pantomime to make me understand that they haven't controlled the carrier. By that time, there's 5 of them, one even speaks ten words of English. I tell him that I'm willing to put cats through x-ray. He shakes his head and tells me to open the carrier and take out the cats. I pull my diplomatic passport out of handbag and tell him that he has no right to search my luggage. Either cats through x-ray, or nothing.
We have now arrived at 7 security pillocks standing around me and scratching their heads.
They repeat that I ought to open carrier etc. etc., I continue to refuse. One of them extends a hand towards the carrier, and I say in German, but the tone seems to carry the message pretty well, 'If you dare touch that carrier with so much as a finger, you arsehole, you're going to be in bigger trouble than you can imagine!
They step back and let me proceed to ceck-in.

AND THEN THE SAME BLOODY SCENE AGAIN AT THE GATE!!!!!!

My nerves were so frazzled when I entered the plane, I would have needed to smoke at least one package of cigarettes.

But the rest of the trip went well, and ze boyz immediately recognized their old territory and had to inspect it with pricked ears and ererect tails.

Did I mention that the sight of proud, elegant Lucius, staggering and tripping when the pills took effect, was heartbreaking?

I suppose 'l'll be going to bed quite soon. So very, very tired.