chainsaws & tacos

On an unrelated, not-cat related note, last night I completed my 500th trip as a certified miniature train driver. It’s funny how balanced it’s been. At the end of my shift my lifetime total was 512 trips. I’ve done 245 as the driver and 267 in the back.

Choo choo, damn it.

Sprechen Sie Meow?

We lost Detective Pigglesworth in June. His passing came out of the blue. Lady Blubbington fell into a deep depression and we lost her in October. They were both crushing blows to me and Erica. By the time Lady Zoe left I had also lost two cousins and two friends in 2022 (Eff this year!). I was able to compartmentalize my grief a lot better than Erica. She has had an awful time letting go. I’ve explained to her repeatedly that moving on does not mean you’re disrespecting them or love them any less. But you can’t hang onto the pain forever. At some point you have to move forward.

I was the one who picked out Zoe and Ziggy and brought them home to surprise Erica. Knowing she was having trouble getting past their deaths I told her the selection of a new kitty was her job. Whenever she was ready, she was in charge. The past couple weeks I’ve been pushing her a little more because she needs this. I stumbled across Wake County Shelters website Monday. In the process of scrolling I saw a cat with a funny mustache. I showed the picture to Erica on a lark expecting her to just grin. She scrolled through the rest of the pages but ultimately kept going back to the mustached feline. She decided Monday that kitten would be our new family member. We drove over to the shelter yesterday and met her. Erica fell in love instantly. Right as we were ready to exit the kennel, the kitty meowed at us. We went to the cashier and filled out the paperwork. The cat (who is currently named Daja) will be spayed on Friday morning. She will be available to be picked up between 4 and 6 PM but unfortunately that’s when I will be at work. I enlisted J-Nic for the job. She will drive Erica to pick up the little fur baby. I’m super proud of Erica for beginning a new chapter. I know it was hard to say goodbye to Ziggy and Zoe but it’s nice to say hello to Daja.



I am an copious keeper of lists. By far, my favorite app is Notebook where I jot down thoughts and ideas all day (Currently I have 67 lists/notes). One I have been keeping for years is names for a future cat, both boy and girl. Erica is handling the naming as well. There was one name on the girls list that I was secretly hoping she would pick. We were speaking last night and she said she was leaning towards a name. I was thrilled that it was the same one I had picked out. It’s not final yet but when it is, we will let you know.

Erica joyously inserting the "I'm adopted" slip in Daja's info packet