new boys next door

 As predicted, Cristina adopted two of the seven kittens and now they have names ~ Pippo and Gigetto, very Italian, of course. They are fun and rambunctious and adorable. So glad, however, that my Annabelle is lazy and quiet, like her constant companion. 

almost all spoken for

 There were 5 (out of the original 7) kittens to visit yesterday ~ good homes have been found, thankfully. My neighbor Cristina (middle photo with kitten inside jacket) will be taking two, she thinks. These kittens are trilingual: English, Spanish and Italian. They are non-stop and such fun to watch, but I'm happy with just one lazy 9 year old feline. 

the kitten update

 All seven are flourishing and will be going to their forever homes soon. I admire Cristina and Deanie so much for taking on this chore. The mother was never found in the field so these kittens have been bottle fed and cleaned are as healthy as can be. Annabelle does NOT want a little sister or brother, so there.

first one kitten then...

 ...a jumble of kittens. Neighbor Cristina ended up rescuing seven from some construction sight, but they couldn't capture the mother so my friend is feeding them. She is getting help from cat loving friends and I am trying to keep my distance, except for a photo or twenty.

cats, coffee and baseball

 The top photo is of a very young kitten found by a neighbor (long story, only interesting to cat lovers) and my next door neighbor Cristina (seen here cuddling my girl, Annabelle) jumped in to save the day. Check out these $8 lattes that Terri and I sipped at Hedge, a relatively new spot that is getting lots of publicity. A bit too "I'm in the tech world and super cool" for the likes of me, but it was good to catch-up with Terri and prepare for the baseball game last night. Opening Day. Argh. Giants lost to the Yankees. At least the rest of the world saw our beautiful city and fine weather.

dinner with Ozzie

 ...and Heidi, Rob and Lily from Denver. Here is Ozzie appreciating the scarf that Amy gave me about a year ago. Who knew? It was a VERY good paella dinner with lots of happy conversation with me thinking at some point, "so glad I'm not young anymore." Lily is 35, by the way. A lovely evening for all, for sure.

cat ladies bond briefly

I always follow The Dogist on Instagram and yesterday I became The Catist when I asked a young woman if I could take a picture of her cat. Conversation ensued. This is Pete who is young and rambunctious and curious, just the way he is supposed to be. Of course I told her about our orange cat, Uncle Junior, who was SUCH a sweet character. Ah, memories...

cat lady gifts

 A new front door mat from Neti and appropriate socks from the Blogmaid. Annabelle was delighted with her new sleep-and-stretch outdoor bed and of course I really like the socks.

my cat-centered return

 Non-stop purring here from Annabelle and her servant. We now have this glorious Cats for Kamala front porch sign thanks to the Blogmaid. Also a new dish towel which states correctly that "home is where my cat is" from dear neighbor Heidi. I'm busy doing laundry and attempting to restore order to my life after a delightful vacation. The cupboards are bare and I will address this issue shortly. The drive home yesterday was okay except for some heavy traffic problems which will be forgotten in about three seconds. Happy to be home!

I'm officially an old cat lady

 Wonderful card from my trash buddy Emma in Portland. See how nicely it matches the cat art? 

another animal report

 On Friday I went to tea at Gini's and I got to meet the new kittens who live upstairs with the grandchildren (and their parents) so that was a delight for me. Such a pleasant afternoon.

Eric and Jillian (people), Buddy and Ruby

 Doug and Barb and I went for a long lunch and cat appreciation day over in Concord yesterday. Eric is in our writing group and we had a good time talk/talk/talking. It was HOT over there, one forgets that SF is fog-filled and cool until we get out of town once in awhile. A lovely day indeed.

endlessly amusing

 We cat lovers share photos like this. Annabelle is the only cat I've had who has no desire to go outside, having lived (I fantasize) on the streets of Modesto before I found her at the SPCA. Neighbor Heidi sent this picture from a friend-of-a-friend. Too perfect. 

and more cats in Bernal

 Okay, this will finish my animal-filled blog posts for the week. Top photo is 17 year old Gingi who lives right next door. She is dependent on Lynn, the wonderful woman who feeds me. Ozzie belongs to Heidi and Rob, two doors down. He is a bit of a terror who brings all sorts of little critters into their home ~ a real show off. Yes, Heidi and Rob feed me too. Ozzie is named after the baseball player. Ever since our orange cat, Uncle Junior, I have come to believe that these are a superior cat sub set. Right, notthat?

a favorite puzzle for obvious reasons

 Annabelle and I enjoyed this jigsaw. She likes to hide one important piece from me until the end when I discover it on the floor behind a chair or table leg. 

perhaps a little cat-obsessed

 Honestly, Annabelle watched a lot of this documentary with me. Here we have the cats of Istanbul who freely roam the streets and are taken care of by the citizens who love them. One woman cooks 20 lbs. of chicken every day, some fisherman seem to give half their catch to the cats. Quite a few friends have recommended this movie Kedi on Amazon Prime to me and I finally succumbed. A fine way to end Impeachment #2. Also a terrific travel movie and now I want to go to Istanbul. Annabelle says NO.

I am not THIS cat-obsessed

 I did, however, sort of stalk the young woman who was carrying this one-eyed cat on her back. When she put her burden (not really) down on the outside bench at our Precita Park Cafe I asked if I might snap a photo and of course she nodded and smiled proudly. And no, we do not want one of these cat packs, honest. Not even for xmas or birthday. 

Eleven

 Not that you could ever tire of Annabelle photos, but a change of cat works too. This is Eleven, or Elle, El, Kitty ~ one of the Blogmaid's three felines. She is doing the meat loaf and thinking deep thoughts. A beautiful picture with a new iPhone and thank you Blogmaid.                    

finally ~ El Chapo warms up

 This was a happy first yesterday. El Chapo has been visiting Doug and Barb's backyard since March when I first visited them every Thursday for lunch. He belongs to their neighbor and he roams freely using Doug's freshly planted areas for his bathroom. But he never wanted human contact until yesterday. I bet it was all the scary rioting in Washington, DC ~ El Chapo wanted reassurance. Don't we all?

Carlini and his two cats

Yesterday I drove to Walnut Creek to have lunch on Carlini's patio. Fake mice were one of my hostess gifts and yes, a hit with both Miss Puma (calico) and the new Bessie Coleman who is still a feisty kitty. Just the idea of getting in the car and driving to have lunch with a friend seemed like a huge pandemic breakthrough. It was. But I was amazed to see so many cars on the road. A lovely time indeed.