The Great Kitzmans and Catsby

We hosted a couple of very special guests recently: Grammy and Papa Kitzman! They stayed with us for the week and doted on Edie from sun-up to sundown each day. Dave and I sat back and enjoyed the reinforcement, taking advantage by working out in the morning and crashing on the couch while our poor guests did the dinner dishes. It was like having two loving live-in nannies.

Unfortunately they didn't get a great taste of East Coast spring weather. However, they were googly-eyed over Edie so I don't think they noticed the cloudy skies. They tried to get their fill while here, snapping as many pictures and stealing kisses at will. They took us out to eat and we brought them to the Bushnell Park carousel, the Capitol, and the Michaud lake house on sunny Mother's Day. All in all, we had a great time with Dave's folks, and they're planning to come back at Christmas.

In other news, we adopted a cat from the Humane Society. Dave and I are more dog people, and have never been into other people's cats. They're so fickle. But we don't have the time or energy to devote to a dog right now, and Edie is a huuuge fan of cats, so we thought, why not? Now that we own a house we can make these kind of grown-up decisions. Uh-huh.

All the cats at the pound have bios that include their name, sex, health issues, etc. They indicate whether they tolerate kids, dogs, and other cats. Pretty much 90% of the cats do not 'like' young kids. If Chairman Meow has sat on Grandma's lap while she crocheted for 10 years, it's understandable that he doesn't care for sticky-fingered toddlers. There were two non-obese female cats that didn't outright detest kids, so we took 'Bubbles' into the adoption room and got a closer look. Bubbles seemed chill, friendly, and curious, all good cat qualities. Because I am the mother of a toddler, I will give her age in months: 17. We filled out the paperwork and promptly changed her name to Catsby. (I was reading The Great Gatsby for book club...the name stuck, but I can't say I finished the book).

I'll spare you all the furry details but this cat is cool. I'm pleasantly surprised that both Dave and I really like her. She tolerates Edie, who's not inhumane, but does chase her and throw treats in her face while she's eating. She sneaks around our yard acting like a little lion, and then comes inside to get a drink and take a nap. And she is cuddly and affectionate. I told Edie her purring means she's happy. Edie said, "Happy? Happy. Happy!".