Soft Spots (and Merlin)

The onset of winter in Seattle always seems to trigger some sort of hormonal condition in me that leaves me in a perpetual state of PMS which shows itself most obviously in a new-found ability to tear up at nearly everything.

Exhibit A: I have nearly cemented a morning routine that has me on my little elliptical (aka, hamster wheel) for the 7:30-8:30 hour of the Today Show.  For those of you doing more productive things at that hour of the day, let me fill you in, 7:30-8:30 is after they've finished glossing over major headlines, but before the team dives deep into any issues (or hot shopping trends).  This usually means that I get a solid 30 minutes of human interest stories.... 

The firefighter who rescued three guinea pigs from a burning shed... the adorable 9 year old stricken with cancer who's collecting toys for her hospital... the family who's 6 kids all tragically died from carbon monoxide, you name it.  They are all sentimental tear jerkers. It;'s like watching the Olympics, but without any medals..

What happens with those other 30 minutes you might ask?  Commercials.  The ratio is definitely 1:1, but I'm okay with it, because this time of year the commercials are all about soldiers coming home to Folgers coffee, or blue collar husbands surprising their wife with spectacular jewelry they've been saving years for...(more tearing up).

And the kicker?  The kicker is that damn trailer for War Horse that I can't even begin to watch 30 seconds of without nearly losing it.

So, there you have it.  Me.  On the Elliptical. (in ancient, ragged workout clothes). surrounded by a box of flipping tissues.

Charming, isn't it.

In other news, this spike in sensitivity has also led to a need to foster something.  So, after sharing a giant plate of nachos (dammit) and a few margaritas (oops) The Boy and I had our hearts set on bringing a new pet into the house.  Fortunately for me, the GREAT DANE BREEDER didn't respond fast enough so I was able to pacify The Boy with a new Kitty from the Humane Society.

(Footnote, we actually DO want a great dane, and that's not an impulse buy - but I feel like maybe we should wait on a puppy until after the wedding and month long trip to Africa...)

So we had a fabulous day at the Humane Society.  We played with all sorts of kitties, and waited till we found the right guy, who was CoCo.  He was mellow, but very social... happy to be on a lap or held, but not mean when you shooed him off... (I was sold).

We got him home and after he cleaned himself up from a rather upsetting urine incident during the car ride, he set about to exploring the house for laps to curl up on.

He is quite possibly the friendliest cat I have ever had.  He's posable, floppy, let's you rub his tummy, play with his paws and roll him around.  He's dandy and he looks like a wizard, which led to his new name - Merlin.

Wizard Face

 All we know is that he's about 5 years old, was picked up as a stray about an hour south of Seattle, taken to the PAWS shelter, then transferred to the Humane Society about a month ago.  He is FIV positive, but we don't have any other kitties anymore and I have no intention of letting him outside to be Eagle Food, so I'm happy to give him a home.

So far he seems more than happy to have a home.  He's been on his best behavior and already paid for his $25 adoption fee in hours and hours of cuddling on the couch.

It's so nice to have a cat again! I forgot how much I missed their purring....