Saturday, March 03, 2012

How can it already be March the 3rd?

I spent 14 hours coming home on March 1st, leaving
Key West around noon, March 1st: driving from Key West to Ft. Lauderdale

driving to Ft. Lauderdale to catch an 8:15pm flight home to Toronto.

March 3rd: my York region backyard

I had a companion with me, a calico kitty named Tinkerbell. She was found dehydrated and starving across the street from my sister's in Key West a couple of months ago. She was one-too-many-cats for that household and since I have a cat, Caesar, who longs for a friend the decision was made that I would bring her home.
Calico Kitty beside her orange travel bag

The Canadian Gov't required a rabies shot for her, with papers to prove it, and that was about it for bringing a cat into Canada. The airline asked for a soft sided kennel that would fit underneath the seat in front of mine. They both wanted to visually see the cat to make sure she was healthy and fit for travel.

Toronto from the sky: March 2nd around 12:30am

This cat is deaf. I discovered that a deaf cat is a good traveler. She doesn't react to all those changing sounds, just vibrations and movement and smells. She was super-quiet during the whole trip, only fussing in her bag twice as we waited for our, sigh, delayed flight.Kitty in the bag: March 1st around 8 pm Ft. Lauderdale airport

A 1.5 hr delay and you are strictly forbidden from removing any animal from its carrier while in the airport or on the plane so once she was in, she was there for the duration.
Kitty in bag on airplane under the seat: duration 3hrs

It just killed me and it was worse as I was so exhausted from my travel, the stress of winding things up and heading home, and then caring for a kitty with a personality that I barely know.

All went well and all IS well. Two cats doing really well with each other
Caesar on futon back, Key West Kitty mid-groom


The cats are really calm around each other. I kept the new one away from Caesar for a day, all of March 2nd, while she recovered from her trip. I, too, slept most of the day away. Today we were both out and about and it was obvious the cats were ready to meet, and so they touched noses without incident through a crack in the door this morning and then we just opened the door and they came face to face and there was one swat to Caesar then for getting too close too fast and a second one hours later when they unexpectedly came upon each other in the narrow hallway.

Caesar re-claiming me on March 2nd
I went back to bed after this attempt to be awake


Even this Key West Cat has been easy going, like the town she's from, and is just ready to just settle into her new home.

I have two deadlines this week: one for the international mini print exhibition at the end of the week, and the other a drop off of a painting for jurying into the Richmond Hill Studio Tour this fall. The print exhibit gets me back to the lino carving and the jurying reminds me to keep working and moving ahead. I hope to hear back from the farmers' market soon too. I sure hope I have a regular Saturday at a market. I really miss the market interaction with other vendors and the public. I just have to be patient but it's tough.

Before I left Key West I made the decision to keep carving a lino a day as an on-going project. I'm planning on doing this for one year, and printing a cumulative print every two weeks, perhaps also doing another print to represent a whole month as well.

I have no idea what I will carve around here.

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