Let’s see, what’s happening around here?

Lady spent the weekend with us on a trial adoption. She’s a very well-adjusted cat, especially considering she’s operating one leg short.  Cats usually take a little time to adjust to a new environment, and we’ve learned a routine for introducing one into the household, bit by bit. Lady has been doing well. She’s hissed at any cats who have ventured too close but she has stood her ground and seems fine hanging out with the gang as long as she has her space. Today I took her in to Long Branch Animal Clinic to get her sutures removed and to finalize the adoption. I can tell you she is not impressed with traveling in a cat carrier, that’s for sure. She let me know in no uncertain terms.

When we first brought Lady home, I thought about the Ramblin’ Jack story-song 912 Greens. If my memory serves me well, during his performance of that epic song on Legends of Folk, in which Jack shares the stage with Spider John Koerner and U. Utah Phillips, the Golden Voice of the Great Southwest, he talks about meeting a 3-legged cat named Shaky down in New Orleans, who challenges Jack to a race up a set of stairs at 912 Toulouse. If I get mixed up and call Lady Shaky, you’ll understand.

In other news, George’s allergies have been acting up. During the summer of 2014 he had seasonal allergies, which passed when it got cold. This year, they appeared again in summer. He’s on some medication for them which had been working fine until about a week or week and a half ago, and since then he’s been itching and scratching some. George is hardly a delicate thing and he can do some damage to himself scratching with those giant Newf paws of his. He’s going to visit the vet next week and we’ll figure out the best strategy to deal with his itching.

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New additions to the 27th Street Book Box – it’s pretty full right now but some kind soul left a bag of good books at our front door. There is Lord John and the Private Matter by Diana Gabaldon, The Night Watch by Sarah Waters, The Tiger Claw by Shauna Singh Baldwin, and a book I really enjoyed when I read it, The Sisters Brothers by Patrick DeWitt. I’ll cycle these into the book box as soon as there is a little room. For those of you in Long Branch, I invite you to stop by. The box is in front of 15 Twenty Seventh St. Books are free. Take some – leave some, whatever you like.

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If you do come by to visit the book box, don’t be discouraged by all the construction next door and across the street. Today they were pouring a cement foundation at the property next door, and the side-walk and the road were both a mucky mess. Across the street, somebody has been running some kind of stinky diesel equipment. I’m about done with all the construction around here, but it isn’t nearly over yet. I’m trying my best to be patient.

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