Jealous Jim

 I exited my office, thinking I might go to bed, but Margie was watching TV so I sat down on the couch beside her and slipped down into a comfortable position. Chicago spotted me right away, came and claimed the space on my chest and settled down onto it. Then Jim came in, having stopped to get a bite to eat after we left my office and saw Chicago in what he considers his rightful place. This happens every now and then. Jim always feels exceedingly jealous, but Chicago is too tough for him to do anything about it.

Text added at 1:16 AM. The Squarespace nightmare continues.

Quiet settles in

Once again, this house has fallen silent. For the past four days it was filled with the happy laughter, angry tears, chaotic commotion but always wonderful noise of young grandsons. Now they have all gone home. It was a sad departure for the older boys in particular as they badly wanted to stay at grandma and grandpa's house. I shot a little photo series illustrating this, but given the way too many pictures I posted yesterday I decided to hold off. I will post the departure series later today.

Whenever the boys arrive, Chicago, the calico cat, goes into hiding. She does not like the noise and chaos. She has now reemerged into her blessed quiet. The house is hers once more.

In zombie mode, with cats

I am in zombie mode today. Don't expect much from me. While Chicago, the calico cat, never greets me at the door when I return the way Jim does, she always appears a bit later and then follows me wherever I go. She uses me for a chair, for a bed, for a pillow. She wants to be with me all the time.

Jim does too. These are real buds, these two cats.

Chicago cares

Maybe some of you have noticed that when I come home from a trip, it is always Jim who is there to greet me. Chicago stays in the background. That doesn't mean she doesn't care. No, as soon as things settle down she moves in and settles down on me. Never doubt: Chicago loves me dearly. And I love her. When the boys are here, we never see her. She does not like the little boys. She hides whenever they come by.

As fall creeps in upon us

Outside, the air smells, feels and looks like fall. Green is still the dominant color in the birch and cottonwood leaves, but more and more leaves are turning yellow and even the green looks like old, worn out, green. It won't last much longer; nor will all that light pouring through the window. I am exhausted, been napping here on my reclining chair with Chicago, the Calico cat napping on my chest, Jim napping on my legs and Margie on the couch. Got to get up soon and go get my afternoon coffee. To do this, I must wake up the cats. I hate to wake the cats up. They are warm and cozy and snug. I hate to disturb them. I can probably sneak away without waking Margie, but I will wake the cats.