Kitties Galore! :D.. and a little more cheese!

As i stated in a previous post, S and i have 4 cats.  Otis, Tortie, Tennessee and Snickers.  I thought i would introduce you to the 4 of them one by one in the order in which they became.. 'ours'.. or more likely we became.. theirs.  Notice the lack of quotations around the last part of that statement.  Because truly it is far more accurate to say that we belong to them.. all heart & soul!  All 4 of them, in one way or another, chose us.  And we love that.  I think it says we're good people.  With lots of heart.

Let me start with Otis.  Our big black Maine Coon kitty with the gorgeous emerald eyes.We brought Otis home with us 13 years ago from the Bonnie Hays Small Animal Shelter here in Hillsboro, OR.  Shortly after we moved into our first house.  When we arrived at the shelter one Saturday morning in March '98, i was determined to find a tuxedo kitty to bring home to love.  I'd always loved tuxes, but had never had one of my own.  So we walked into a room filled with cats in small cages.  Don't like to name them cages, but that's what they are.  Right away, i laid eyes on a small female tuxedo.  S , on the other hand, had no preconceived ideas about what 'kind' of a cat he wanted.  To make a longer story shorter, we looked at almost every kitty in there.  They were all fairly quiet except for one which i kept wanting to tell to lower his voice.  I didn't really pay attention to this one; i just thought he was loud.  S said this one particular kitty had had his eyes on us the entire time.  There was one other, younger couple in the room checking out all the cats, and there was a mother, father and a little girl who looked to be about 4 looking too.  But this kitty paid no attention to them.  S said .. 'how about this black one with the pretty green eyes.  And i said, not very nicely i admit now.. 'you mean the one who won't shut up?'  I had to look up to get a good look because he was in one of the 'top' cages.  It was as if those green eyes looked directly into my heart!  Big loud 'MEOW' he said, and S opened his cage.  We took turns holding him and talking to him, and that was it.  I was smitten.  Very affectionate kitty, and he'd stopped his LOUD talking.  He was now purring the most beautiful purr i'd ever heard.  What a motor!  So we decided he'd be ours.. or more accurately.. we'd be his forever.  We brought him home with us, and we decided to name him Otis.  Actually, that was S's suggestion, I think.  If you remember the Andy Griffith Show, you remember there was always a harmless, but tipsy man in the only cell in Mayberry, RFD.  And his name was Otis Campbell.  So S and myself have always said that we 'sprung' Otis and decided to give him the care and love he deserved.  He'd never be lonely again!  :D

So since i've already run on longer than i wanted, i'll introduce you kitty number 2 in my next post.  I want to give them all equal time and not give any one of them short shrift, after all.  All four are loved equally and have their own unique personalities and endearing eccentricities.

So now.. a brief note about another of my fav kinds of CHEESE!  That would be feta.  In fact, as i write this post, i am snacking on some delicious sliced red bell peppers and a few kalamata olives.. (olives are another of my favorite things in the Universe..) sprinkled with a liberal (there's that word again) amount of feta cheese!  Feta works on just about anything you want!  Also scrumptious sprinkled on a piece of flatbread and rolled up with a little basil and sliced onion..  I could go on and on and on...  But you get the idea, right?  Full of spectacular flavor, that feta!

And i made a book purchase today, albeit a small one.  I brought home 'Before Ever After' by Samantha Sotto.  It's her first novel, and i love first novels!  Almost always great!  And a book called 'A Misalliance' by Anita Brookner.  Another favorite author of mine.  Although she is far from a first novelist.  :)  Will review these when i finish them.. or maybe as i'm reading them.. whatever i want.. know what i mean?  Geez, i have to get on this book review thing.  Haven't done on yet!  Soon.. i promise.

So time to sign off and eat some yummy spicy sausage pasta and some warm, crusty buttered bread! I'm hungry.

Sincerely yours on this August Third, Two Thousand Eleven!