Dreams of Falling

Behold, Lady Penelope. (Yes, I am aware I missed International Cat Day. But really, isn't every day on the internet Cat Day?)

As part of our continuing efforts to Explore And Make Friends, Wife and I went to an art museum the other day, which is having a special exhibition of a set of medieval tapestries. We got an SCAdian-led tour of the exhibition, which included not only historical information about the battle portrayed in the tapestries, the people involved, and how the tapestries were made, but also cheerful snark about how if you weren't a famous nobleman, your face looked like pudding; how nobody knows who this one guy is or why he's pointing at the horse next to him ("Maybe he's saying, My horse now?"); how another guy doesn't technically have America's Ass, but only because this is long before America (and whoever drew/wove that booty must've really enjoyed their work); and our tour guide's favorite bit, a fully armored knight lying flat on his back in the middle of the battlefield, all like, "Guys? A little help here? I'm kinda stuck! ...okay, fine, playing dead it is."

Wife finally decided to get a new cat.

Wife wanted a kitten.

Wife was chosen by kitten.

Here is sample photo of kitten. Or, if you want a photo of kitten actually staying still, here. (Seriously, how do people get all those photos of kittens in a row staying cutely still? Either they have much more cooperative kittens than we do, or much faster cameras.)

His name is Yuri. He is adorable! And purrs as soon as you pick him up!

He is also exhausting. Partially because Pallas is Miss Not Trusting This Small Fuzzy Interloper 2020 (so we're Slowly Introducing them, and he's staying shut in a particular room most of the time), and partially because he has no sense of I Have Been Squirted With A Water Gun Every Time I've Been Caught On The Table, Gee, Maybe I Shouldn't Go On The Table (At Least While The Moms Can See), and partially because he is a kitten! and wants to play! all the damn time! Toes are for eating!

Wife has informed me that if she ever again gets the idea into her head that she wants a kitten/puppy, I am to remind her of this time and tell her NO NO NO NOT AGAIN.

EDIT: changed the links so the photos should be viewable, whoops, sorry, my bad

Ways to Pallais's heart:

* One of those fuzzy blankets
* A lap
* A pillow on your lap (even if you were trying to use the pillow as sorta a table to eat food) (especially if you were trying to use the pillow as a sorta table to eat food)
* A lap and also your show is nearly over/you have to leave in five minutes/otherwise you're planning to get up shortly
* A pillow on the bed (extra points if Mom's head is there too, so she can groom it!)
* Canned cat food with lots of gravy
* Any cat food if you pet her while she's eating it
* Cat food stolen from her sister's dish (wait, that's not wooing, that's PALLAIS NO)
* A cat tree with a view of the bird feeder (someday she'll get that cardinal! Someday!)

And, as I was reminded last night:

* A new cardboard scratching pad with just the faintest smell of catnip

(She's been alternating between curling up on the scratching pad - because it's comfy? to steal it from Fluff? - and curling up on one of us ever since I brought the new scratching pad last night. I do not object to affectionate cat! I'm just amused that a $6 scratching pad is apparently the BEST THING EVER and bringing the kitty-love.)

It reminds me, via 'you posted these photos a year ago today! :-D :-D :-D', that it has in fact been a year since I brought home Pallais-kitty.


(Here is a picture of her yesterday, flopped on Wife's computer because All Things On The Bed Are Hers, with the possible exception of our other cat Fluff. I regret nothing.)

The past couple weeks have been...not terrible? Not great, but not terrible? Mostly?

No, seriously, the bad parts have been Not That Bad, just...omnipresent. Church nonsense continues to be nonsense, without either resolving or going away. Family nonsense continues to be nonsense, albeit off In Another State. Financial worries...are not nonsense, but neither are we at immediate risk of losing our apartment and going hungry either. Cat went to vet, and has to get dosed with antibiotics twice a day, to absolutely nobody's pleasure. At least I've figured out how to get it mostly down her throat rather than in her fur, and how to bribe her into a better mood afterwards. (Hooray for food-motivated beasties.)

Now if I can re-find my writing mojo (like, at all), I'll be ecstatic. :sigh:

I have posted the first installment of this on AO3, here. Whee! (I have an outline, so here's hoping that I can get the remaining three chapters written in, y'know, less than a year. :wince: Not a fast writer, me.)

Also, here is photographic proof that the cats are starting to tolerate each other in close proximity, also featuring my wife's hand and my feet. I repeat: whee!