There is a saying.

That saying is, "You find true love when you are not looking for it."

That saying is quite true. That is what happened with ZMrK and I.

It happened to both of us last weekend. We were not looking for another cat, and we absolutely were not looking for a kitten. Then we met this little booger who was for adoption at our vet's office.







(Gratuitous "cats n rack" shot there.)

Luciano is about 3 months old, and is as devilish as he is cute.







We realize that he looks like a mini Ken, and I realize he looks like a mini George (another former cat of mine) as well. Most black domestic shorthairs have this look.

He hasn't quite grown into his legs, which are like that of a Great Dane puppy.

He sure knows how to stretch though:



Ellie is slowly warming to his charms, but for now looks perpetually annoyed.



They have at least both been sleeping on the bed with us the past two nights. Luciano seems to be a pillow cat -- he likes to sleep next to our heads. That works for now, while he weighs about 3-5 pounds, but within a few months he is probably going to more than double his weight. It will be very interesting to see how that happens, huh?

He had a buddy at the vet's office in Atari, the office cat. Atari is a big love, and he and Luciano had some wrestling matches:



There are also some kittens a month younger than Luciano for adoption, but he was a little too much for them to play with.



The good news is that Ellie does like to play rough; she and Ken did it constantly, with her usually being the instigator. I think she'll be happy (and maybe lose a little bit of excess weight) once she realizes that Luciano is game for it. I can't wait to see the forced grooming!

So, welcome Luciano to our family!!!

Sheep! Wool! Yarn! Sun!

A couple of weeks ago, we went to the CT Sheep and Wool, and boy, was it a glorious day! It was that rare April weekend where it's in the EIGHTIES and sunny. It was just lovely.

There were, of course, freaked out sheep:



Annoyed llamas:



Bunnies that were oblivious to their own cuteness:



and, something that doesn't seem to be at every sheep and wool festival, ox cart rides:



ZMrK highly approves of these oxen.

I bought 8 oz. of spinning fiber for about $20:



I think it was from Hampden Hill Alpacas, but I'm too lazy to go check the label.

I also got some sock yarn:



I know the colorway is "Hunt for Red October", but have forgotten the vendor's name. I could walk ten steps to the yarn hutch and check it out, but the hutch is a little. . . less. . . orderly than it was two months ago when I organized it, if you know what I mean and I think you do.

I also bought four bars of soap from Sleepy Moon Soaps, who don't seem to have a working website at the moment, which is a shame. I got four bars of her soap last year and fell in LOVE with them. The bars are $6/each or four for $20, and they are HUMONGOUS. The scents are to die for as well. Last year's soaps lasted me 8-9 months, seriously! Apparently they are sold at some Whole Foods stores in New England, which is nice, as I may try to pick some more up for gifts.

We were with my friend Jean and her sister Susan, and we dropped Susan off at her house and met her dogs. ZMrK hit it off with Maggie:



Bailey is a little more shy, but just as beautiful.



We went on a nice long walk on a nature trail with Jean. I decided that, instead of recapping those on my blog, ZMrK and I would do a joint effort blog so I created one here. That way, I can keep my knitting and personal rants here, and post the pretty nature pictures there. Of course, we haven't done anything with that yet. :)

To cap off my weekend, I started our vegetable and herb garden:



Or should I say, tomato and basil garden, because that's all we have. We went with Roma tomatoes this year, and decided to get Thai basil along with sweet basil. I also have some Hungarian hot peppers sprouting indoors, but they won't be ready to go outside for a while. We made some kickass hot sauce with last year's Hungarian hots! I hope to get more this year.

I always was thrilled to be able to show off my knitting in the sunlight:



This is coming along; I knit a few more inches on it since I took that picture. I also finished the pair of 2x2 ribbed socks that I've been working on since March. I haven't taken a picture, yet, but I'm wearing them right now.

Ellie's been doing really well as an only cat. She gets excited when she sees another cat outside, and she's almost always looking out a window:



I do think her personality has "blossomed" toward us. Ken was her life and love before, now, it's us. She's getting her own routine going, and we're beginning to figure out which meow means what, depending on the situation. Have I ever mentioned that she's very vocal? She has hello meows, she has feed me meows, put me down meows, play with me meows, etc. She also has 5 a.m. meows, which aren't always appreciated. She's been cuddling on my chest when I read in bed at night, which is adorable. Don't get me wrong -- she had a personality before, and was quite lovable. She's just showcasing it more, or we're paying more attention. Either way, we're happy.

Next up should be the NH Sheep and Wool Festival. Let's hope for good weather!