Two Cat Family Again

It is March 1, 2015 and the beginning of another Slice of Life challenge of writing a post in my blog for each day of March.  At first I was not going to participate this year, but I have decided to begin, but not obsess if I don't get a post every day.
I have done a lot of traveling since last March, but have not written much about it.  My niece, Maggie, was married to a man we all love, Mike.  That was such a fun wedding. There was also great sadness this year.  My dear friend, Rae, died in October.  It feels so strange that there will be no more Rae adventures...but there are still some Rae stories to share.  Ray and I are so glad that we decided to go on the cruise to Alaska with Rae and a number of friends this June.  We had such a great time, and Rae enjoyed the fun times we all had.
So, for my first post this month...on such a snowy day...I will share a few pictures of our two new kitties that Ray and I adopted in February.  We usually go on a trip in February...a birthday gift to each other.  My birthday is the 9th and Ray's is the 18th.  Valentine's Day is right in the middle...so, we clump them all together and usually take a nice vacation.  Well, this year, things were just not falling into place.  We thought we would be able to visit our place in  Warsaw, Illinois.  We like to go there in the winter because there are so many eagles that migrate there then.  We like taking pictures of the eagles.  But, the weather did no cooperate...it was either too cold or too snowy.

Ary is the orange, Molly the grey.  They have made themselves at home.

What could we do special to celebrate our birthdays?  Well, a little mouse made our decision.  One evening while watching television...I thought I saw something zip from under the television stand to under the organ.  A mouse!  I was not sure if it was just my imagination...so that evening we left three bits of cracker on the floor.  The next morning it was gone.  What to do!  We figured the mouse or mice had entered the house since we left the back door to the porch open most of the day so that our stray feral cat, Monk, could come inside and eat his dinner in the warmth of the heater...and take a nap in his heated bed.  (He never spend the night there...so I know he must have a warm den someplace to spend most of his time.) 
Neither Ray or I wanted to use a mousetrap that would kill the mouse.  I went to Lowes and picked up a no kill trap...but the mouse was smart and could get the peanut butter snack without getting caught in the trap.  Ray and I wondered what we would do with it if we had caught it...I mean it was below zero outside.  We decided we would put the mouse in the garage.  But...alas, we did not catch the little critter.
Holding the empty trap minus the peanut butter, I looked at Ray and said, "I think it is time we get a cat.  We have waited long enough.  It has been almost a year since Nimbus died...and we said we would know when it was time to get another kitty."  I believed this was a sign...a message. 
Our next dilemma was what to do if the cat caught the mouse.  My hope was that when the mouse (mice) smelled a cat living here...he would pack his bags and move to the safety of the brush pile out back. 

We have removed everything from the mantle because
Ary likes to sit there looking like a statue.

Molly does not get on the mantle often.  She usually likes to be
on someone's lap or on her kitty tree perch.

I had donated money and newspapers to the no kill cat shelter, Paws and Whiskers, and decided to check out the kitties there.  Ray and I thought it would be nice to get two adult kitties since adult cats are more difficult to find homes.  How lucky we were to find Ary and Molly....siblings...a year old.  That meant that their birthday was in February.  This was just meant to be!  Since we did not know the exact date of their birth, we decided that Valentine's Day would be purrrrfect.  We changed the spelling of Ary's name from Ari to Ary (so it would have the same letters as Ray).  Ary looks a little like Willie, who lives with our cousin Ruth.  Willie is a more dusty orange...very handsome. Where There's A Will, There's a Way We changed the name to Molly from Miley.  I just did not think Miley suited her...and Molly works out fine.  She has such a sweet face with what looks like white eyeliner accenting her eyes.

I will probably write more posts about these two.  They have already become part of the family and had no problems adjusting.  And as for the mouse (mice)....no signs of any....but so glad that was the catalyst for us to become a two cat family again.

Ary yawning

If you want the best seat in the house, move the cat.
Molly likes sitting here...but usually if Ray is there.