I finally caught up with Harriet the manager of the retirement village and had a very business-like conversation with her. Yes, dad can move in this week. She would prefer this to be done on Thursday, rather than Friday, since at weekends the staff are less numerous and if more attention needs to be paid to dad, it will make things difficult. Yes, he can move in and yet still officially be resident at home. In fact, we have a grace period of nine weeks of 'respite'  for him. I understand that this is an annual allocation. At the moment this appears to be ample time for us to get mum's admission properly squared away.

Harriet asked if we wanted to move dad straight into the same complex as mum. I am unsure about this. For dad, no doubt this would be the best option, but for mum, I don't think so. She seems perfectly all right without dad - better than the constant bickering and inevitable misunderstandings that took place between them at home. We concluded that it might be better not to for now, as dad may not yet be quite ready for that level of care. When he is, it might be worth a try. If the experiment fails, it can always be undone, though it might not be easy.

I called Greg and made sure he could help with the move, we will meet at 10 am on Thursday morning and start by moving the furniture over. He also told me that the building contract will be ready on Thursday - one more piece of the puzzle in place.

I then called Rachel to see if she wanted to be around for the move, just on the off chance that she might. As Greg and I feel capable of sorting out some clothes for dad, this didn't appear necessary, and so she thought. She will contact the care workers and the day care centre to tell them dad is moving. I will contact meals on wheels and the nursing service to give them the same news. Rachel had had a meeting with the undertakers today, and signed the contract. All I need to do is send them a cheque and they will send the countersigned contract to us. That will be the final piece of paper we need to apply for mum's aged care admission.

From Thursday night then, I shall have both cats living with me. This is far from ideal. I hate the idea of having to keep meat in the apartment. I am not looking forward to the fleas, hair, paw prints, furred and feathered 'gifts' and other side-effects of living with two cats - including the early morning wake-up calls (miaowing and clawing at the bed) and the need to leave a window open. It is, I feel, a big problem. However, since Fluffy was originally mine and it was me who bought Tippi as a kitten for mum in 1992, I have little choice. Moreover, I am not allowed to keep pets in my apartment, even if I wanted to.