Morcilla, first of her name, queen of her realm, destroyer of soft furnishings, nimble of paw, frisky of nature, cuteness personified. Also, a very silly girl 😉

I know we’re not supposed to have favourites (children, pets, etc) but we always do. Before it was Azar, and now it is this little monkey. Morcilla is six and a half and still looks – and acts – like a kitten. And she’s hilarious. Loves to play and has me wrapped around her cute little paw. I cannot resist or deny her anything. Could you?

… as evidenced by massive belly FLOPPED OVER HIS BACK PAWS. But that look!

I speak for all three of us – myself, Luna and Morcilla – when I say that this morning’s exploits were nothing short of heroic. Leaving Loki out of this because, well, he’s a big lazy galoot and chose not to get involved. It all started when I sat up in bed and saw both girls staring intently at the little bookcases that are under the bedroom window. And I just knew it had to be my worst nightmare, something I always dread in summer.

Of course I am speaking of Periplaneta Americana, AKA the massive cockroaches that arrived in Spain on the ships travelling back here from the Americas. The largest of the cockroach family, these muthafuckas also FLY. Yes they do. Arrrrgh.

In all of my years here in Sevilla, in the various casa azahars, sightings have been limited to maybe once or twice a year and always in summer (they “come out” more when it’s hot… shudder). Until now I thought my latest casa az was somehow magically protected from these creepy crawly horrors. Alas, it is not. But I suppose I’ve been lucky as it’s been over two years without having seen one.

Anyhow, back to this morning. The girls were not budging. They sat with their bodies rigid, eyes fixed on the bookcase, ready to pounce, and all I could think was… PLEASE DON’T LET IT RUN UNDER THE BED (this actually happened once at the previous casa az, resulting in the disassembly of the bed in the wee hours). I was too stricken with terror to move the bookcases, mere inches from the end of the bed. It was a stalemate situation.

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