I'm experiencing morning sickness - no, not that kind! I am sick of waking up so early in the morning. Was up before 7:00 a.m. (By the way - the time noted for the entries is off by 3 hours) Between Sophie wandering around fussing and the sun coming in through the blinds I can't sleep in. GRRR!! We tied back the light blocking drapes so they would look nice when the condo is being shown and I don't want to mess with them so I get the morning sun in my eyes. And Sophie didn't let me sleep much last night as she is more than a bit upset with all the moving boxes all over the condo. The packers were here yesterday and while they were hauling in their boxes I put Sophie in her kennel. I was working in my office when I heard a weird caterwauling - didn't sound like Sophie. Then a short haired white and orange cat walked through my office. Apparently it had decided to come visit since the door was open and was taunting Sophie since she was in her kennel. First time I had ever seen that cat. I put the visitor out, closed the door, and let Sophie out of her kennel and she let me know in no uncertain terms with her voice and body language how she felt about another cat being in her domain. Let's just say it was a long day yesterday between worrying about Sophie getting out and the sound of screeching packing tape and scrunching paper coming from three different rooms in the condo. Four hours of that and I had a whopper of a headache when they left. So I get to live with this mess until Monday when the truck comes to pick it all up. I hope the rest of Steve's boxes from the islands arrive before then. The postal guy was hauling up the last two boxes of the first shipment that came in just as the packers arrived yesterday. If they don't show up by Monday they will get forwarded and we get to pay the forwarding costs. At least I don't have to deal with them until I open them in Lexington.

We closed on the house yesterday and I wasn't there. :-( Steve called me from the backyard - he was determining what kind of grass seed and fertilizer he needed to buy. He is a "house guy" - he needs a yard and a house to work on. That way he gets to buy "toys" at Home Depot. He met one of our new neighbors already and saw the other neighbor's little one toddling around the backyard so our grandkids will have others to play with when they visit. This is our first house Steve and I have bought together so this should prove to be interesting to see how we decorate it. We will be putting in new kitchen counter tops soon, even though the house is only 3 years old. The ones in there are really ugly and the renters the builder had in there were not easy on them. There is a switch for a garbage disposal, but no disposal so we will have one of those put in too. Also need to have the gas line put in for the fireplace. It is in for outside grill, but not the fireplace. Little weird things like that.

Seeing as I had an interesting day with my animal in the house yesterday, I have to talk about Sheila Keenan's Animals in the House: A History of Pets and People. A very funky and fun look at cats, dogs, rodents, fish, reptiles, etc. that we keep as pets, or I should say keep us as their humans. At least that is the case with cats. The text is very informal and speaks directly to the reader, which makes it very approachable for even the most reluctant reader. The merging of color photographs with funky borders and conversation balloons add to the appeal. Just flipping through the book makes you laugh - especially the way-cute pic of a ferret with its tongue sticking out the side of a wide open mouth. The history of the cat is extensive and fascinating - but it should be no surprise that I read that part first to anyone who knows my love of cats. This is not a well rounded look at pets as the emphasis is on cats and dogs. The first 79 of the 112 total pages is on them, with the rest on other types of pets. But, this is a gotta have book is elementary school libraries. What fun! The design and layout will have kids returning to it and sharing pics with each other - like the one of the guinea pig with a crown - you know England's Queen Elizabeth I had one as a royal pet. They were the rage among the royals. :-)

That's it for today. Need to get some of my "car stuff" packed so know for sure I can fit it all in.