We have a couple of crazy weeks coming up -- no, make that three weeks of crazy. Among our scheduled activities are a meet-up with an internet friend, a learning forum with Lions from all over North America, a convention of writers who also have connections to the military, and a reunion of Tennessee Lions who have held high offices in the state. Oh, and I must not forget visiting local markets along the way to pick up early Ohio apples, the new crop of southern sweet potatoes, and the last of the Ripley tomatoes.  It's times like these that make me very grateful for our cat-sitter. Without her, we would be facing one of two scenarios. (1) We could leave the five cats alone with self-feeders and come home to absolute destruction. (I tried that exactly once, with just two cats, and came home to discover they had taken down all of the curtains and piled them in the middle of the floor.) (2) We could take all five to the nearest boarding facility and then take out a second mortgage to pay their bill. (It would be cheaper to get them a couple of hotel rooms!) I suppose some would say we should just put them outside and let them catch mice, but I wouldn't relish coming home to scrape cat carcasses off the street.So a cat-sitter, it is. The cats are happier, and so am I. Our sitter is infinitely patient with our schedules, even when I tell her things like "We don't need you Monday night but we'll be leaving again on Wednesday" or "We'll leave the full garbage can at the curb on Tuesday, but you'll have to bring it in by Wednesday morning." I'll try to post once in a while, whenever we're home for a day or two, or whenever I can get a reliable internet connection and enough time to pound out a blog. The bad news is that you should not count on anything like a regular blog schedule until sometime in October. The good news is that when we're back for good (and "good" is a relative term, since I also have a book tour scheduled for November), I should be ready with an announcement of the official releases of the second edition of "Left by the Side of the Road." |
