Twos (2)

2 - the number of new molars Abi is cutting on her bottom jaw. (For a total of 4 molars)

2 - the number of days until Aunty Corey arrives!

2 - the number of people visiting Abi from BC on Monday.

2 - the number of cats who live in this house and who are getting along okay.

2 - the number of cats who keep visiting my sliding screen back door, presumably looking for either Fenwick or (sadly if so) Monkey.

2 - the number of times I had to drive downtown to pick Robin up from work today. (I got lava cake as an apology.)

2 - the number of fairy dolls I have made .

2 - the number of times I have to knit the heels (and then feet) of each sock in this pair.


2 - the number of odd socks I've knit so far and don't plan on knitting the other half of the pair for quite some time.


2 - the square root of the number of little girls who will be very excited to receive their toys from Aunty Mandy (plus a dragon for their mom).

2 - the hour I will probably go to bed at.

2 - the number of shoes one usually wears, unless you are Abi and insist on wearing only one shoe around the house and stomping with it.

2 - double the number of hours Abi napped today (recent trend due to teething).

2 - the number of children's clothing consignment stores remaining near me now that Angel Worn is closing in 2 days.

2 - forty less than the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything.

5 Years

It's been five years (and a day) since Robin and I were married. I've been told that's quite an accomplishment, but it doesn't seem hard - so I guess that's a good sign that we'll have many more anniversaries.

We're not really the type to celebrate anniversaries, but we did have a fun evening picnic in the park (with Abi) and then going to see Transformers (without Abi).

Abi had fun too, while we were at the movie, playing with a kitten and kids.

I also wanted to share some of her art with you. A few weeks ago she found some pencil crayons and this leftover poster board and she began to doodle. Fortunately she has an innate desire to put crayon/pen/pencil to paper rather than on walls, furniture, etc. (Granted, paper includes books). I have some videos of her colouring that I will eventually edit and share. Today I pulled out her baby paint/markers and let her build onto her art piece.

Most of this was done by Abi, but I'm sure you can tell which brush strokes are mine. She actually finds these difficult to work with because she is used to holding a pencil and she holds a pencil quite well. Unfortunately, in this picture you can't see her pencil-crayon doodles - mostly below the painted area above the blue ball. Abigail was also quite colourful by the time she finished.

George and Festivals

It was feeling a little quiet around here with only one cat, one dog, and one one-year old...
so we are fostering one cat.
And only fostering!
This time we will not fail fostering 101.
No more adoptions until we move (i.e., not soon).
I have a very specific cat type in mind and I'm not telling too many people because I don't want you suggesting cats you know, as well-intentioned as you may be.
Anyhow, the specific expectations *should* keep me from wanting to keep any fosters. That is part of the intention; that and wanting a specific cat. I'll give you a hint: it's not a brown-caramel tabby.

Yesterday we took in George. He is a friendly, baby-tolerant, laid-back cat. Still getting used to relationships with Darla and Fenwick, but I'm hopeful that they will get along well.

Abi is enthralled by the new cat in the house, but fortunately she's not throwing herself on him like she does with Fenwick. She seems to know to keep her distance from strange animals. Recently we visited a friend with a lovely Rotti, but he was a little too big for Abi's liking and she was shy towards that baby-loving dog. I think if we'd visited for another hour longer, though, she was ready to crawl all over him and he would have been in his glory.

Abi and I spent a week camping near Sarnia at the Spirits of the Earth Festival. As expected, we had a fantastic time. It is a wonderful community of people. I loved laying under the stars with her, nursing while she fell asleep, listening to the evening concert; then wrapping her up and dancing around the revel fire.

Setting up camp - and then we were having too much fun to take any more pictures.

Watering a friend's garden in the new dress grandma sent.

This weekend was the annual local Beer and Ribs festival - Robin's favourite. We visited every day (Friday, Saturday and Sunday). My new favourite beer is Steelback red maple beer. Imagine a honey brown with maple syrup instead..... mmmmmmmmmmm.

It's a fun, busy summer - and there is much more fun and business yet to come!

cats

This afternoon, as I watched Abi snuggling (molesting?) Fenwick, I couldn't help but wonder what will happen in the future when it is Fenwick's time to pass over. Abi will not remember Monkey, and that is okay. If Fenwick passed away now, I'm sure Abi would probably forget her too. But I am hoping that at least one cat will live to old age, and if that cat is Fenwick (being the only one left in this house) then I imagine she and Abi will have developed a strong bond over the next many years.
When I was little, younger than 5, we had a cat named Patches. She had kittens. She was a calico. That's about all I remember, but I recall being fond of her - as kids are of cats. Just before my 5th birthday we moved to England and she couldn't come with us. We didn't get another cat (or any pet) until I was 12.

I have a book, for Abi, that I bought about a year ago titled Desser The Best Ever Cat. I break down in tears every time I read it. It evokes memories of Snuggles, Molly, Jenny, and Gryphon all at once. I haven't dared to open it today. It is a wonderful book and I would highly recommend it to any parent mediating the loss of a beloved cat to a child, or for yourself.

Like Desser's family, I think of us as "cat people". Normally I'm ready to open my home to another cat in need pretty quickly. This time... well, Robin says no. But we'll see. I'm in no rush, but if another cat is meant to be here, it will happen. After Gryphon's passing we said we wouldn't get another until Abi started insisting. So long as she has Fenwick, I don't imagine she'll be demanding another cat. But that was when we had two cats already. One cat... sounds lonely.

Already I find myself wanting to snuggle more with Fenwick, which is odd considering Monkey was not a snuggler and I'd been happy to have independent cats at this time in my life. Fenwick does enjoy the attention when she gets it. I wonder how she will change now that she is the only (and thus alpha) cat. Of late, she has become more confident around Darla. This was before Monkey's passing. If it wasn't for Monkey, however, Fenwick might still be hiding.

It's difficult to accept Monkey is gone. In part because she was so independent and I am not accustomed to her physical presence. In part because I didn't see her body. Until the receptionist at the human society compared my lost report with their found reports, noticed they had a DOA from my area, and suggested they might take my photo to the back and check - I had honestly not even considered that Monkey could be dead. I assumed she was wandering. That maybe she was at the humane society in a cage. That maybe a family had taken her in to their home. That she was playing in the bushes. I suppose she is playing - somewhere in the cat afterlife where there are no babies to avoid, plenty of trees to climb, and mice to chase. Monkey would be happy there.

Monkey Missing

RIP Monkey. You will be missed.

It has been a few days now since we last saw Monkey. She tends to keep to herself unless she wants something, but there is usually food and water available, so she rarely wants for much.
Visitors may wonder why we say she is not social. Monkey is always drawn to the laps of guests, but almost never does she seek our laps. Strange cat. And, of course, she avoids Abigail.
Her independent ways have been a benefit. At first we had a snuggly cat (Gryphon) and Darla who took up most of my "petting" time. Then Abigail came along and I was glad to not have to worry about demanding cats. Fenwick is rarely demanding of attention, and she accepts it from Abigail. In truth, the main reason we adopted Monkey, who we were fostering at the time, was because she was successfully socializing Fenwick. Up until Monkey arrived, Fenwick spent most of her time hiding among the boxes under the basement stairs. Now Fenwick has found her place in the home, and I am pleased to say that she is even learning to ignore Darla!

As for Monkey, I'm hoping she will find her way home soon. Yesterday I put up some posters locally on the off chance that a family took her in during the storm. She is also microchipped, so if she was picked up they should check for that and know to contact us. She does not usually stray far. I know all her usual haunts and can usually find her easily. Back yard, under the deck, in the small garden at the front under the tree watching birds, on the deck, or taking a tour around the circle. I always see her and we live in a nice quiet cul-de-sac.

Monkey was picked up the local humane society. Found DOA nearby, but not in our neighbourhood.