# 2 The cats (by the the fire)

My  new computer came yesterday and that should count as a blessing – but not today when my seat is sore and my shoulders are in knots from working against time to transfer everything before I leave.

All day long Monster Kitty has been hanging about me while I work getting into mischief – hopping up where she doesn’t belong and bringing me peppermint candies and balls of yarn. But once I crawl into my futon tonight she’ll likely snuggle up next to me  and lie quiet till morning .

Tuktankhamen (known also as Fat Boy) on the other hand has probably gone out hunting tonight after a pleasant day of lounging about on the upstairs sofa. I often pause to stroke him on my way through. He feels so comfortable – and  its soothing to sit stroking him for a few moments before going on with my work.

I like to stroke Intrepid, too, but she is intent on her own comfort – perhaps I should take lessons! She seems to be able to make herself comfortable anywhere at all! (See if you can find her in these photos HERE )

Poor Cleo, on the other hand, never really looks all that comfortable these days. We call her the old lady because she’s so frail.  At least 17 or 18, she’s extraordinarily old for a cat and lived a hard life. She’s been hit by a car, locked in shed for until she nearly starved to death, and suffered from a debilitating immune disease for several years – until we had her teeth extracted. But she still seems to enjoy life in her own way. Over the years we’ve learned some lessons from her about enjoying life even in the miserable times.

When I think of all the pleasure our cats give us some how I think of that proverb, “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”

How rich I am to have four cats, a warm wood fire – and, yes, a new computer, too!