Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif., Gary Bogue column: Opportunity to reflect on the incredible Isis.

Byline: Gary Bogue

Jun. 29--Life is the only game in which the object of the game is to learn the rules.

-- Ashleigh Brilliant

Dear Gary:

I just read your Wednesday column. I've enjoyed reading about Tut and Newman over the years, but Isis was before my time.

Kathie's reference to her, and your response (gourmet chef ... drove a red Ferrari??) has me so curious. She must have been something!

Is there any chance you could fill us (me) in about Isis and "Her Rules" so I could become, belatedly, acquainted with another of your treasured kitties?

Jeanie, Walnut Creek

Dear Jeanie:

Isis was a tortie point Siamese with an incredible mouth. Her "Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run" became a classic back in the 1980s.

When Kathie Dreher reminded me of this on Wednesday, I immediately placed a copy of Isis' "Rules" on my Internet blog at blogs.contracostatimes.com/garybogue. You'll get a kick out of it.

The Rules have grown over the years. Our long deceased Lady Dog wrote "Basic Rules for Dogs Who Have a Yard to Protect," and our deceased cockatoo, Lottie, wrote, "Basic Rules for Birds Who Have a Cage to Maintain."

I'll let you know when I get around to adding these other very hilarious rules to my blog.

(Blogs -- online columns -- are really great because there's lots more room to do things like that on the Internet!)

MINTY SPIDERS

Last Sunday Stan Klosinski, from Concord, wrote about spraying mint extract and water to repel spiders and make them stay out of his shed.

Other readers wanted more details:

Gary: I bought two 1-ounce bottles of pure mint extract from Safeway. I used a 22-ounce empty spray bottle -- an old Windex sprayer. I put both bottles in the sprayer and filled it up with water. I could have used a bigger sprayer but I wanted to see if the stuff worked first. That 22-ounce spray bottle goes a long way.

I only sprayed the inside of the shed. I didn't want to invade their outside space. I figured I would make a deal with the spiders. Leave my inside alone and I will leave your outside alone.

I have an 8-foot-by-10-foot Tuff shed in my backyard and I made half of it into a storage shed and the other half into a nice workshop. I love spending time in the shed working on projects, etc.

Before I started spraying there were a lot of webs and spiders around inside but not now. I don't know what it is about the mint, but I haven't seen a sign of a spider anywhere in the shed and it's been three months since I sprayed the first time. I did spray again a while back, but that's it. I still have half of that spray bottle left. (Stan, Concord)

BE A MUSEUM DOCENT

The introductory class on becoming a docent at the Lindsay Wildlife Museum is a great chance to meet museum docents and discover this exciting volunteer opportunity at the museum.

Museum docents provide interactive programs for schoolchildren, both in the museum and in the classroom. Docent classes are offered 10 a.m. to noon July 16 or Aug. 13. The fee is $8 (museum members $6). To register for this class, or for more details, contact the education registrar at 925-627-2913, or visit http://www.wildlife-museum.org.

The museum is at 1931 First Ave., Walnut Creek.

VHS DOG WASH

Bring your pooch down to Valley Humane Society, 3670 Nevada St., Pleasanton, Noon-4 p.m. Saturday for a refreshing soak. Washes are complimentary; all donations are appreciated. Refreshments will be available for you and your canine companion.

Find more Gary in his blog at blogs.contracostatimes.com/garybogue; write Gary, P.O. Box 8099, Walnut Creek, CA 94596-8099; old columns at ContraCostaTimes.com, click on Columnists; e-mail garybug@infionline.net.

To see more of the Contra Costa Times, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.contracostatimes.com/.

Copyright (c) 2007, Contra Costa Times, Walnut Creek, Calif.

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