Suspicious Noises

I'm sitting in the family room and watching as one cat runs into the front bedroom, suspcious noises emanate from said room, the cat runs out. One minute later the other cat runs into the room, same noises, runs out.

As a cat parent, I have innate instincts for knowing when trouble is brewing. And as a cat parent, I prefer to be kept in the dark. So I ignored the little buggers for 10 minutes and watched them run in, run out. Curiousity finally got the best of me so I walked in, half expecting to see a mouse or cricket. No, it was something better.

Carpet samples.

I'd brought home carpet samples and the kitties were having a little carpet fiesta, running in, scratching them up, then running out. How I will explain the shredded remains of the carpet remanant to the people at Lowe's, I don't know. But at least I have a solid idea what my soon-to-be-new carpet will look like in a month. Thanks, girls.

How Long Does It Take You to Unpack From A Trip?

When you arrive home from a trip, do you let your bags lie around or instantly dive into unpacking? Me, I'm a diver. We left my aunt's beautiful Atlanta home this morning at 6 AM and pulled up to our house at 11:30 AM. By 11:45 I was unpacked, luggage stored, and laundry sorted for loading. Can't stand to have bags sit around. Can't. Stand. It.

After unpacking, I paused to chat with the pet/housesitter who does such a marvelous job for us and goes the extra mile by having all her towels and bed linens washed and back in place by the time we get home. PLUS, she made brownies for us. This is a woman to be reckoned with.

Being pent up in a car for 5 hours apparently filled me with an energy burst that I translated into putting a second coat of paint on three walls in the front room (ran out of paint for the fourth--darn it), planning the Thanksgiving meal with Blair, grocery shopping (Serious lack of decent sweet potato's. We're not panicking--yet.), and trying to trap 2 tiny black and white kittens we saw on the sidewalk on our way home from the store. I went back with food and a carrier, but couldn't find them. I left some food out. It's supposed to be COLD here tonight and they're so young and small. I hope they'll be all right. I may go out again tomorrow and see if I can find them. They're young enough to be adoptable.

If I ever doubt that I am loved, I need only leave on a trip and then come home to my cats. Both my girls followed me around, anxious, until I sat on the floor and gave each a good brushing and back rub, with lots of lovey-talk. We're currently in the front room watching the Panther Game under the watchful gaze of both cats.

Currently wading through wads of e-mails and getting ready to hit the ground running tomorrow. Literally and figuratively. It's been a week since the marathon so it's time to slowly start upping my mileage, and I also have--let's just say " a lot"--of work to do and leave it at that.

Wonderful to be home. Olivia and Lucy say hello.

Dena

Cat Writers of America - Atlanta Conference

Soon I will hop in a car and head south for the annual Cat Writers Association. I'm presenting a workshop there Friday on "Publicity, Promotion, & Pulling Your Hair Out." I've been feeling a tad guilty I haven't done more to spice up the workshop like PowerPoint or a laser show or interpretive dance. But then yesterday I received a call from a fellow presenter who has spent the last 2 months pulling together her PowerPoint presentation only to be told there will be no computer access. (People--always, ALWAYS confirm you have the A/V you need in place.) So now I'm not feeling so bad...

On an entirely separate note, a local radio station has gone to all holiday songs, all the time. Normally this annoys me but I spent the morning driving around GSO singing along to "Jingle Bell Rock," and "Have A Holly, Jolly Christmas." Who AM I?? If you see me handing out flowers at an airport, please intervene.

Happy Tuesday.

All Lucy, All The Time

It's the Lucy show, starring the world's cutest black and white cat (who could still stand to lose a few pounds)... LUCY!!

The first photos are of our living room--we're obviously big fans of the Halloween holiday. The pirate was in Lucy's chair and she decided to befriend him. That, or we're seriously not paying enough attention to our cats. Regardless, she's decided to nest there, and won't budge from the spot.

Lucy with her pirate Happy kitty!

These photos are of a mattress in our hall. Lucy was thrilled with the height and slept there non-stop.

I'm Queen of the World!!!

And lest anyone think we've forgotten Olivia, here's a picture of her from this summer, checking out the breeze from the bedroom window.