New Addition

Well, we're home. The back yard is completely overgrown with some sort of crazy spreading succulent, the spring on the garage door broke in the middle of the night, there's a big chip in the windshield of the car, and the guest toilet is shut off because it started leaking. I have no idea when I'll get the trip pictures sorted and posted. ;-P

On a brighter note, the weather has been staying relatively "cool" with the highs only in the 90s which is a blessing for this time of year! And as we have an unexpected new member of the household, I thought I'd do a quick post and introduce him.

Somewhere along I-80 in the middle of Iowa, Noelle saw a black kitten right next to the road. He was still there when we looped around--a good ten minutes as we were in the middle of nowhere and exits were few and far between. After a bit of a chase he wore himself out and let Noelle catch him; he hissed once and then settled down to purring and didn't stop. We discovered the remains of what was probably his mother on the road; we don't know how long he'd been hanging out next to the freeway, but he was full of ticks, had a big gash/scab on his lip and one back foot, and the pads of his little feet had big sore spots on them. And he was so thin. :-(We pulled out the ticks and got some cat food when we stopped for gas, which he inhaled as quickly as we gave it to him and then drank and drank and drank. We spent the night in Lincoln, NE and called to find out about cat rescue places and the Humane Society, neither of which was open until well after we planned to be on the road. So we took him to the vet and him de-everythinged and vaccinated, etc. Then we got on the road again and he took turns sleeping on our laps.In the meantime of course, his purring and loving was settling him firmly in my heart and after a phone call to Erik, his homecoming was confirmed. The little peanut slept on our laps in the car for 3 1/2 days, purring and healing!

He did not, as you know, come home to be an only cat. Our household has been in a little bit of an uproar as we introduced a new kitten, but things are getting better every day (and the hissing is at an all-time low for the week). He has a little safe spot in the laundry room when he wants to get away, but more and more he's staying out and becoming more bold when the dogs are about. He still purrs a lot, but definitely has a LOT more energy than before. I'm not sure I'd want to take him on a road trip these days! :-)

Anyway, Noelle and I called him "Iowa" for a while, then "Nishna" after the Nishnabotna river we crossed, but Erik and I finally settled on a name which means, appropriately we thought, "hope walks."

Meet Nuri. :-)
Also, for those who heard about the earthquake in Ecuador near Quito this morning, Ben & Pei are fine and arrived at the Galapagos today!