OK...I promised...

All right. I promised. I have to deliver. Now that I'm back in the States, I'm going to be writing a bit more about France, from the point of view of this vacation. It has been 7 years since my last trip, so I was curious if anything had changed. I must admit that it has, and I'll be trying to chronicle some of the "misadventures" that took place on this trip.

However, that's to come. As for now, I'm just going to place a bit of updated information here.

Today is "kitteh day" in our household. Our rescue kittehs are here, and they have refused to be timid and wait in the single room that we had set aside for them. Instead, they decided that running down stairs and investigating everything was far more fun.

They are still a bit skittish when it comes to noises and being held, but as time goes by we hope that they will relax and become people cats. They already have some of those inclinations, and after the newness wears off, I'm sure they will let it show.

What have I learned about kittehs so far? First of all...poop stinks. Even with deodorizing litter. It stinks. But it isn't as bad as the bathrooms at work can smell, so that's good.

Second, they are indeed "kittehs". I use this spelling as a salute to the "ICanHazCheezburger" website. These two, Jezza and Stig, are already showing major personalities and I can see lots of photo ops in the future. They are nuts and are truly of child/adolescent age, and will attack anything within the immediate area that needs attacking.

Finally, I wish I hadn't waited so long to get cats again. I forgot how wonderful it is to see these creatures at play, and while they can be a pain in the keister, they are also well worth the effort. So, the "kitteh years" begin in our household.

By the way, if you are interested in very helpful information about cats, be sure to check www.about.com and search for the section written by Frannie Syufy. It's quite good.

Back to the kittehs, and watch this space for the vacation observation complications.

Coming Attractions

I can't give any details here, but I will be posting some very new stuff shortly. Give me about 10 days from now. I can't promise you'll enjoy it. I can't even promise that you'll want to read it. But at least it will be new!

Ready For Kitties

You know what? First pets are expensive! When you stop to total everything you need to own a cat, it really adds up.

First, there's the adoption fees. In our case, $75 per kitten. But for that, we have 2 healthy, neutered, well-taken-care-of-and-well-loved little buddies. But let's add the rest, shall we?

Dry food (not the cheap junk that will ruin their health), a variety of healthy canned food to see what they like, litter box, litter, litter disposal container (not required, but huge benefit), pet bed (they have to be comfy), scratching posts and toys (to keep them from destroying what they shouldn't), food bowls, collars, tags...man! It's like preparing a nursery!!

Still, when one considers the cost, one also has to consider the benefit. You get two little creatures who can actually show affection, who lower blood pressure (in some cases), who amuse...I think it's worth it. I don't deal well with losing a pet, but hopefully that's a long way off in the future. For now, I find it amazing that God created creatures like this who can provide humans with happiness and who have such amazing abilities. (How do they jump like that??) And, let's face it, kitties are cute. They are. Even the most jaded heart can't look at a kitten and think, "What an ugly creature." No way.

So, I'm looking at 2 weeks and counting until we have our new little friends. Life will never be the same. And I'm glad.

Long Time, No See

Okay. I admit it. I got lost. Somewhere between recovering from injury and learning French and taking care of everyday mundane matters I forgot that I had a blog.

I do that a lot.

Still, it isn't all bad. Very few people read this blog, and those who do haven't said anything. Until today. Until I got a frowny face with a tear from Asiavou. (Sorry, Asia.)

So where do I go from here? I think I'll try to get back into this over the next few weeks, with new observations about culture shock, cultural differences, and a variety of experiences. One of the newest experiences will be that of raising pets again. No, not children...pets.

My wife and I have gone ahead and arranged to be adopted by, not one, but two kittens. They are about 5 months old and were rescued by an organization called Itsie Bitsie Rescue. We will pick them up at the end of the month, but have already met, and fallen in love with them. I'll give you a brief description in today's blog.

The kitten that caught my eye was a beautiful little orange tabby. He was named Cheeto at the time, but we have decided he will be called Jezza (a salute to Jeremy Clarkson of Top Gear). This kitten's markings were so unusual that I had to adopt him. He has a circle on either side of his body, with stripes around them, and three racing stripes down his back. He is a purr-machine and seems to think that he is part parrot, as he loves sitting on shoulders. Why? I don't know. He's a charmer, though, and we can't wait to have him running roughshod over our house.

We were worried about Jezza being lonely, though. So we asked if he had a best friend at the rescue organization. They gave us an enthusiastic "yes" response, and with that we met a cute little white male kitten with a dark gray mask and "cape". The name "Stig" was a natural. He is much calmer, and is a bit hesitant around people, but he was very glad to be held and is best buddies with Jezza. The "foster parent" was worried that Jezza was a bully to Stig, until she watched them interact for awhile. When Jezza would playfully attack Stig, Stig would wait until a bit later when Jezza wasn't looking, and then...revenge! (Best served cold, eh?)

Anyway, we are hooked on these two kittehs (the lolcat word for kittens) and can't wait to get them home. It should be fun, and it will certainly create some experiences to blog about. Stay tuned.