Happy 20th Anniversary Gramo and Grampo!

You May Want to Bring Your Own Tissues Next Time You Visit

It started with a shattered coffee mug full of water, a water-strewn wooden train set, an overturned garbage bin, a bruised shin, a sleep deprived, irritable teething baby wanting to play with said wooden train set, and an overly curious orange cat. It ended with this. I'll let you fill in your own details.

I decided to leave the mopping for another day.

Happy Adoption Day Boo!

Boo joined our family 3 years ago today. Bill and I originally saw Boo at the Humane Society in Woodbury. We'd visited the shelter to see a different orange cat but Boo (then named Bernardo) caught our attention. He was in the top row of cages reclining on his side, one paw dangling out of the cage, watching everything. He was big and orange and adorable. But, our hearts were still heavy from the loss of our previous cat and we weren't certain we were ready for another. We left without meeting him.

Two days later, we were still thinking of "Bernardo". We made a second trip to see him only to find he'd been sent to the local PetSmart for promotion. We debated adopting him on the drive to the store. We weren't sure we were ready, but we knew we wanted to spend some time with him and see.

He was in a big cage behind glass. His litter box was filthy and overflowing. His food had spilled and mixed with the litter. His water dish was dry. The employees let us take Boo into their break room to spend time with him. He was warm with a fever - dirty and smelly, parts of his tail and back were covered in poop. He was a sorry sight but he purred and purred, played like a kitten, and was friendly with everyone. There was no way we could send this loveable cat back to such awful conditions - so Boo became ours. Our crazy, cuddly, chipmunk obsessed, attack cat - Boo Radley.

Happy Adoption Day Boo!