Yeah, uh, Happy New Year. 2010 is already underway, as far as I am concerned, because the International Date Line rolled on through, hours ago. Here in Boulder, It’s less than an hour away until my Timex ticks over to 2010. I’m not doing a “year in review”-type post, but wanted to wish everyone (anyone) still reading this blog a happy new year. 2009 was a crazy year and very much a mixed bag. 2010 promises more of the same. I guess I’m getting old. The cynic in me grows ever stronger and is provided more ammunition every day; all the more reason to reflect on all the good that has happened to me and my friends this year, I suppose. I’ve lost touch with some, renewed friendships with others, changed jobs, and been impressed by some and absolutely disappointed by others. I guess that’s the way we all go around. In the tightest orbit of my atomic life, the house is filled with joy and wonder; the dog is wonderful, the cat is a challenge but is helping me realize that no cat will ever be Emma (and that that’s OK), and Brenda & I are bouncing down the road toward ten years of marriage and twenty years of companionship. And that, THAT, is fucking awesome.

Settling up, I’m up on points. Here’s to everyone else beating the odds next year.

Life goes on around here, the main story being the cat and dog, who continue to work through their issues. The gate remains, but Ellie is definitely interested in coming down and joining us. If only that damned dog wasn’t down here:

When one of us does take Hooper out for a walk, Ellie is quick to come down, hurdle the gate, and start exploring the lower levels. Of course, she likes to do this from up high, like on top of the kitchen cabinets:

Hooper finally got his own bed, but currently he believes it to be a giant expensive chew toy. Deep down, he knows what he’s supposed to do on it, and eventually he settles down and demonstrates, like so:

This post also is the first one that employs a new plugin that I installed, which allows for a slick Javascript display that enlarges the images in my posts. Try it out; click on any image in the post and it will expand to a slightly larger size, with caption. I plan to refine this a little bit more and then I’ll incorporate this effect into all the previous posts, since I need to update them all to work with my new theme. Feedback welcome!

Say hello to Ellie:

Yes, we got another cat. On December 23rd. And we named her Noelle, a play on the season. But this was not an impulse buy.

Brenda & I have talked about getting another cat since the dawn of discussions about life after Emma. We actually had a kitten on hold the same time we had Hooper on hold, but we decided one thing at a time. But as time wore on, we thought we should add a cat to the mix sooner than later, lest Hooper get too used to the idea of being the sole recipient of our attention. And so, Noelle, a.k.a. Ellie.

She’s three years old, and recently gave birth to a litter, even more recently was spayed, and her owner gave her and her brother up because she was moving out of the country.

We went to the Boulder Humane Society on Saturday, and placed a hold on one cat that we liked, but we didn’t quite have the vibe, in much the same way we didn’t feel a connection with Happy the Plott Hound we tried out the day before we met Hooper. The next day we planned to look at Loki, a handsome tabby who we liked the day before but didn’t have a chance to meet before the adoption center closed. When we got there, Loki was already being visited but we saw that his sister was mewing fiercely and so we met with her, and she lived on my lap, purring, me melting, and Brenda said “let’s just take her home”.

And so, we now have a cat and a dog. They are living separate lives for the moment, but we’ve had some meet and greets. They are going well, and I think it’s all going to work out. Ellie has her claws (which I can attest to), and Hooper seems more afraid of her than anything. Here are some snaps from tonight’s meeting.

First, we have Hooper happening upon the aloof Ellie, lured by treats:

Moments later we have Ellie being petted by Brenda as Hooper retreats to the living room:

Cats rule.