when the kids come home take #2

mum, Erin and me ~ or as we refer to it ~ past, present, future

It's been a wonderful time of playing family catch-up over the last week or so. First we had our son and daughter-in-law and their cat, Willow down for a few days......and now we've just said goodbye to our daughter and her little kitten........and hello to my mum!

Erin (our daughter - and youngest) is a high school teacher, so she gets all the long mid term breaks that the rest of the world's 9-5ers envy mightily. She made the most of it by coming down to visit for a few days while her husband was away at work. They have a new little devon rex kitten called Shadow and it was an opportunity to introduce her to the "grandparents" and the countryside.

Erin always enjoys coming down here because she gets fed and sleeps in late and gets taken out (see my last post about Cinderella - where a movie was followed by lunch). It was also a chance for her to see her grandparents (my husband's parents live down here) and to catch up with my mum who came down for a visit too. The picture above was taken as we finished another lunch out and about before Erin headed home with her little cat in tow.

our grandkitten ~ Shadow

There has also been a lot of cat politic-ing going on over the last week or so, first with our other grandcat,Willow - the wild burmese, who comes down and takes over ownership of everything around her. Our timid cat goes into hiding and our sociable cat does a mexican standoff - where there is an ongoing stare-out that they each think they're winning, until Willow growls and heads off to sulk.

Shadow was a different matter altogether - our timid cat thought she was small enough to ignore (which was simple and straightforward) but our sociable cat thought she was a giant mouse who was getting way too much attention that should have been hers. So......she started doing Willow-ish growly noises (which we hadn't heard before) and going off to sulk. Never a dull moment.

Peace now reigns supreme again and order has been restored. I love that our kids enjoy coming down to visit, they will never move back here but they both enjoy returning to their roots for short periods of time. The nest is empty again for a while and we will just enjoy each other's company and the pleasure of two contented cats...........until I get lonely and we head off to visit the kids on their own turf (our cats will stay home safe and sound!)

Cresting The Hill