Merry Merry!

Every time a bell rings...

What a Difference a Week Makes...

It's amazing because I still can't even really believe it all happened, although at the end of the day, I am beyond thankful it all turned out as well as it did. As Sophia would say...picture it, last Monday night...I'm out with Jums for her last tinkle. I happen to glance down the block and see a girl crouching in front of a space between two buildings. Then I see the girl walk away. I knew in my gut there was an animal down there, so I walked over there with the pup to see if it was the deli cat from 8th avenue, though while it kills me, runs around the neighborhood. It wasn't. It was a wee black kitten. The Jumaroos, who has proven herself to not be a fan of the kitty cats, was escorted upstairs, and I went back down to attempt to scoop up the little lady. It was no easy feat. She was understandably terrified, but I finally managed to get a good grip on her, so I brought her up to my bathroom, deposited her and then set about finding her a forever home. I make this sound very easy. There was a definite panic of what the hell have I gotten myself into now, and I don't even know how to take care of a cat, let alone I'm allergic, not deathly allergic, but still! However, finding her a forever home proved to be infinitely easier than I could have ever imagined--a former co-worker had an ex who had lost his cat almost a year to the day and came and met her, and instantly fell in love with her. It would have been impossible not to, not even being a real cat person, I was won over. She was a snuggly one almost from the get-go after she decided hiding behind the toilet wasn't for her. However, he couldn't pick her up until Saturday--which for me was no problem. She was so sweet and very easy to take care of (with the exception of her epic poops, which she may have earned the nickname El Stinko for, she was formerly named Crookshanks by moi). And then Friday night came...

Again, picture it...Friday night, I'm having a glass of wine and watching tv. Jums starts barking like crazy. I paid little attention to it--she's quite the watch dog and takes issue with people walking past our door. Finally I got up and heard a lot of noise in the hallway, so I opened the door. The hallway was filled with smoke and I could see firefighters, I called out to one and asked if I should be evacuating, but no one answered. I closed the door and had a complete panic attack, I even considered for a few minutes staying put. But after a moment, I decided if 9/11 taught me anything, it's get the hell out, so the only thing to do was figure out how to do that. A lightbulb went off and I decided to stick Crookshanks in Jums's dog carrier and then I would carry Jums. Crookshanks was not what I would call amenable to this plan, but I finally got her in and scooped up Jums and opened the door. I couldn't see or breathe. I managed to get the attention of one of the firefighters and he helped me to the stairs a mere foot (felt like a mile) from my door, and down the stairs and then I was outside. For the next two hours, I stood outside and wondered if I'd ever see my apartment or my belongings again. The poor Jumaroo felt the whole thing, she started shaking the second we got outside and I tried to hold her in shifts, she's 17 pounds after all. I've never felt so scared or helpless in my life. Everything that mattered was safe, but the thought of all of my possessions being gone forever is nothing I can describe nor is it anything I ever want to experience again. And then there were the rumors--windows were being broken, doors were being broken down, floors were flooded from the hoses...and then it was finally over and they were letting us back into the building. And more than amazingly my apartment that was two doors down from a place that no longer existed was okay, a wee bit smoky, but otherwise okay. Thankful isn't even the word. I don't know what it is, but I can feel it, I just can't quite put it into words yet, or maybe I just did :).

Chilly Willy

I don't have the words beyond, she was 110% okay with me wrapping her up like this and stayed in the blanket for hours. I haven't laughed that hard in a very long time.