(no subject)
Yesterday evening, I got back to Nashville. It's colder than normal here, although not nearly as cold as it's been in Kansas City. (I did see a woman who was picking someone up, and was apparently not in possession of anything resembling an overcoat; she was wrapped up in one of those couch throws made from two layers of fleece fabric, with the edges fringed and tied into knots, with No! Sewing! required to make it--you know, a craft project for people who don't really do crafts. Amazingly, we don't have Gulf Coast/Florida winters here--in gets below freezing fairly often, right up to April. I'm not sure what her excuse was.)
WHen we got back to the house, I was greeted by a committee of irritated felines. They were not particularly placated when I turned on the heater in the bathroom for a bath before I went to bed, nor when I dished out the bedtime nosh. We all settled down to bed with an undercurrent of grumbling.
Minerva, who had inspected me carefully in the tub, just to be sure it was really me, was the first. "You're back."
"Yes."
"It's about time. You were gone for forever."
"Only since Wednesday afternoon."
"That's an awfully long time."
"Not even a week, cat."
"Hmph."
"I was visiting my mother."
"If you say so."
Zaza chipped in. "Well, I hope it was a good visit, and that she had time to groom you and everything, what with the other litter and all."
"I don't know how to break this to you, cat, but my mother has not just had another litter."
"Then why would you go and visit? It's nice to have extra help when you have a new litter."
"I'm sure it is, cat, but I just went because we wanted to see each other."
Jemmy spoke up "Well, if you just wanted to visit each other, she could have come here."
"She didn't feel like traveling; she's quite old."
"We would have been happy to sit on her and keep her warm."
"I'm sure she would have been quite impressed by that, Jemmy."
"She should be; we can make things pretty warm."
"Barely warm enough," said Zaza "We've had to huddle together to stay warm since you left; they won't turn on the Infernal Device in the bathroom when they come upstairs to feed us."
Bob agreed. "It's been cold. We need more food and more heat."
"One would think that you had been starved constantly and forced to huddle under the shrubbery outside the whole time."
Minerva began kneading the bedclothes over my chest. "I've probably lost a whole pound."
"Doesn't feel like it, cat."
"Jemmy is barely a shadow of himself."
"It's true; look! And Zaza and Bob are starting to look like those stringy cats with heads like golf tees."
"Given the amount of food you've been through, I doubt you've lost that much weight."
Minerva kneaded more energetically. "We need feeding up. We need more food now!"
"There was still food left from your bedtime snack when we got into bed."
"Bears may come and eat it in the dark!"
"Bears?"
"It could happen! They have bears here in Tennessee!"
"If I get up to top up your dishes, the bed will get colder."
"That's no choice--a cold bed versus not enough food!"
"Woe!" said Bob, settling onto my ankles. "Woe!"
"Woe!" said the others, nestling in a little closer.
"Woe?"
"We can say 'Woe!' if we want to. Woe!"
"Woe!"
WHen we got back to the house, I was greeted by a committee of irritated felines. They were not particularly placated when I turned on the heater in the bathroom for a bath before I went to bed, nor when I dished out the bedtime nosh. We all settled down to bed with an undercurrent of grumbling.
Minerva, who had inspected me carefully in the tub, just to be sure it was really me, was the first. "You're back."
"Yes."
"It's about time. You were gone for forever."
"Only since Wednesday afternoon."
"That's an awfully long time."
"Not even a week, cat."
"Hmph."
"I was visiting my mother."
"If you say so."
Zaza chipped in. "Well, I hope it was a good visit, and that she had time to groom you and everything, what with the other litter and all."
"I don't know how to break this to you, cat, but my mother has not just had another litter."
"Then why would you go and visit? It's nice to have extra help when you have a new litter."
"I'm sure it is, cat, but I just went because we wanted to see each other."
Jemmy spoke up "Well, if you just wanted to visit each other, she could have come here."
"She didn't feel like traveling; she's quite old."
"We would have been happy to sit on her and keep her warm."
"I'm sure she would have been quite impressed by that, Jemmy."
"She should be; we can make things pretty warm."
"Barely warm enough," said Zaza "We've had to huddle together to stay warm since you left; they won't turn on the Infernal Device in the bathroom when they come upstairs to feed us."
Bob agreed. "It's been cold. We need more food and more heat."
"One would think that you had been starved constantly and forced to huddle under the shrubbery outside the whole time."
Minerva began kneading the bedclothes over my chest. "I've probably lost a whole pound."
"Doesn't feel like it, cat."
"Jemmy is barely a shadow of himself."
"It's true; look! And Zaza and Bob are starting to look like those stringy cats with heads like golf tees."
"Given the amount of food you've been through, I doubt you've lost that much weight."
Minerva kneaded more energetically. "We need feeding up. We need more food now!"
"There was still food left from your bedtime snack when we got into bed."
"Bears may come and eat it in the dark!"
"Bears?"
"It could happen! They have bears here in Tennessee!"
"If I get up to top up your dishes, the bed will get colder."
"That's no choice--a cold bed versus not enough food!"
"Woe!" said Bob, settling onto my ankles. "Woe!"
"Woe!" said the others, nestling in a little closer.
"Woe?"
"We can say 'Woe!' if we want to. Woe!"
"Woe!"