Been away far too long

And so much has happened.

We made it through Summer well and happy. The galleries are doing well.

We started and completed a total remodel on the kitchen. Is it ok to be in love with a range? My Pilot treated me to a terrific Thermador gas range, six burners and a convection oven. Stainless steel. So beautiful. And NOTHING BURNS OR STICKS!! Even in my stainless All Clad cookware. Not even rice. Perfect every time. Cookies aren't burnt to a crisp and the oven temperature gauge is spot on to the thermometer I bought to double check it. Heavenly!

We got two cats from the Huane Society. My Pilot fell in love with the picture of one, who was striped like our beloved Muffin Man was. We went down to visit, and were told, "Poor Finn- he's a year and a half old, and he's been with us for a whole year."

Naturally we had to adopt him.

Then the volunteer said, "Well, he has a brother, you know..."

So we took Austin, too. We renamed him Bug because he's small and grey and curls up like a roly-poly pill bug when you pick him up.

The kitties took a super long time to settle in. They liked the house and the other cats right away, it was just me and my Pilot they couldn't stand. We started referring to them as "the Brothers Grimm." They'd sit in their little cat pod and scowl at us. And I swear we saw them flip us the bird a time or a thousand.

Turns out these were feral kitties. An important bit of info we had to find out upon reading the September issue of the Human Society newsletter, which had a short article about the "special people" it takes to adopt feral kitties. I think by "special people" they really meant "soft-hearted, gullible idiots." Oh well.

And then, one night, the door blew open and all 4 kitties escaped. They are all indoor cats, and we were frantic trying to get them herded back inside. Three of the four were fairly readily replaced inside the house. But Bug went missing.

For six weeks. 42 whole days. And nights. And many of them were cold and rainy and miserable. And we have eagles, owls, bear, coyotes, foxes, racoons and all sorts of critters around for whom a small kitty could be a tender, tasty meal. We were frantic. Put posters up all over the neighborhood. Put flyers in ALL the mailboxes in a three mile radius. Offered up a $100 reward. Set gentle traps in all the likley places and baited them with catfood, kibble and sardines. And nothing. Well, we did catch the neighbor's cat once, and we watched a mouse harvest kibbles for a while. I'm sure there's a big stash under the footing of the house, and a whole colony of very plump little rodents working through it. Oh well.

Until October 13, 41 days after Bug went AWOL. We got a call from a fellow on the other side of the runway. He said, "I think your cat has been hunting in my field."

My Pilot rushed over and actually saw bug! Hurray! We moved the traps over, and by 10am the next morning we had our Bug back. His brother Finn was thrilled!

Truthfully, both kitties benefitted from their separation - I think they never individuated, or perhaps they share a single soul. Anyway, in Bug's absence, Finn began to look to us, his people, for physical contact. And now we can pet him. And he purrs, for the first time in his life, according to the Humane Society folks. Bug returned home just a bit thinner and hungrier, but otherwise unhurt. He's a bit calmer and also now lets us pet him. Just a little bit, but still - what an enormous breakthrough!

And the best part of the summer - I am now a grandma!

And that certainly deserves its own post!