You see, I told the cat
that we have things to do today.
And what did he have to say?
Nothing, because he
is still fast asleep,
monopolizing my lap.
Priorities…
So, I suppose the work can wait.
After all, what’s a little
procrastinating
between feline and friend?
Guess I’ll just have to wait.
(But seriously, may we all be so loved and wanted as Graham and me on Monday morning when Merlin basically demands all of our attention to play and cuddle. I wouldn’t change a thing.)
But in the best way possible.
Seriously, is there any higher honor than being chosen by a cat? (He did eventually get up. Then we went to bed. And he slept on my foot.)
I know y’all are probably tired of Merlin content, but just look at him:
He’s growing so fast! And I feel like we only brought him home, like, a second ago. How time flies!
As most cats do, Merlin has found the laundry basket. And claimed it.
Cats, y’all…
But seriously, this little kitten – who won’t be little for long, judging by how fast he’s growing – has brought us so much joy since we brought him home. I’m grateful. I firmly believe that cats, if we listen, can teach us the value of slowing down, of being quiet and still, of observing.
And of a very good nap. (Yes, even on a busy Monday.)
He’s new here.
No cat could ever, ever replace my sweet Gatsby, and I know I’ll always have a Gatsby-shaped hole in my heart. But we’re so happy and excited to bring Merlin into our little family, and I know that there is always space in the heart for more love.
He’s about four months old, and I’m pretty sure he’s going to be a big kitty. He’s silly, playful, affectionate, curious, and obsessed with feathers. He’s settling in well, and Annie has been…well, not friendly, but tolerant. I think they’ll get along fine. Eventually.
I’m just so grateful that we get to be his humans. Welcome home, Magic Cat.
Happy Monday, y’all! Here’s a picture of Gatsby, taken with Graham’s new camera earlier today.
I just had to share, and I hope his handsome face makes you smile.
Gatsby’s sixteen, and in addition to the eye issue he’s been dealing with, we know he has a heart murmur and kidney disease, which is not advanced, thankfully. He’s also had some digestion issues in the past couple of years, which seem to have settled for now.
I adopted him when he was a kitten and I was nineteen.
We’ve basically grown into adulthood together.
It’s funny, watching a beloved pet get older. I still look at him and see the scruffy little kitten he was, even though he’s going gray and he’s slowed down quite a bit. He used to play fetch. He used to play at all, for that matter. His days now are filled with naps in the sunshine and cuddles and snacks. It’s quite a life.
It’s been a quite a life.
I don’t know how much longer this sweet old man has, but I will treasure every second I get to spend with him.
Is there any happier creature in the world than a cat in his favorite sunny spot?
I really don’t think there is, y’all. And yes, this is an older picture, if you feel like you’ve seen it before. He is so very comfy and asleep right now that I just couldn’t bother him with the camera. But trust me, he looks almost exactly the same, just absolutely at peace, dozing in the sunshine.
At any rate, after several days of cool temperatures, clouds, and rain showers, the sun is out and shining today. It’s a nice change for all of us, but I think Gatsby’s enjoying it the most.
I hope it’s a sign of good things to come this week!
Y’all. You guys. It’s been some kind of weekend. Where do I even start?
Okay.
Let’s start here. After a hiatus of several months, the Better Friendships podcast is finally back and posting episodes! My co-host (and very dear friend) and I are so happy to be back at work on it, researching and writing episodes and planning for a very good second season. And of course a strong finish to our first season. You can find our latest episode – which features a fun interview with my mother-in-law, who was a flight attendant in the 1960s – here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/4iTAsxjl7NcAYK1qq3L1pu
So, that’s the good.
The bad? Well, Friday night, we discovered that our upstairs shower was backing up into our basement sink, because that is totally a thing that can actually happen. We called in a plumber yesterday, and he couldn’t fix the issue. So, we called in a different plumber today. He discovered that, just like we anticipated, the pipes in our house are part of a serpentine labyrinth that makes no sense at all. But after moving our basement wet bar and cutting a hole in the wall behind it…
…he found the issue, and thankfully, it looks like it’s fixed. We just need to deal with a hole in the wall and a displaced wet bar. Luckily, this particular plumbing company has people on deck to handle all of that. So now, we wait until they can make it out here to do the work. Which, I mean, things could be so much worse, right?
To top it all off, Gatsby’s favorite food is out of stock. Everywhere. So he’s a very unhappy, grumpy, hangry little big cat right now. Don’t worry – he has food. It’s just not the food he wants, and so he won’t eat it. At least not until he’s good and hungry. Kind of like when your mom cooks you a healthy, nutritious, made-from-scratch dinner but you wanted pizza.
Speaking of dinner…er, supper…and of pizza, what’s on tonight? Leftover pizza. I don’t have the mental energy right now for anything else. And also, ice cream. Because it’s just been the kind of weekend that makes me want ice cream.
Cheers to a hopefully better week!
This is where I found Gatsby earlier today. It is one of his most favorite places for an afternoon nap. Yes, it is a basket of dirty laundry. House cats are such strange (marvelous, but strange) creatures.
A Virginia Writer's Diary 