In the blink of an eye...

Even though he looks so sweet and innocent above, we had a scare this morning with Cash. Sammie and Cash love being out on the back porch, and since it's been so hot recently, I only let them out in the early mornings. Sammie likes to clean herself while sitting on one of the chairs, and Cash enjoys watching the birds.

I check on them every few minutes or so just to make sure Sammie isn't walking on the railing and Cash is keeping his front paws inside. After making Herman bread, I looked out and couldn't see Cash. He likes to "hide" on the other side of an old orange desk that faces the bird feeders. I went and looked out our bedroom window and could see him more than halfway out. I called David, but it was too late.

Cash jumped down onto the ground. David immediately ran outside, and I was trying to coax Cash not to run down the hill or around the house. He sat on the ground happily eating grass, but got a little scared when David came around the corner and started to run under the porch. Luckily, David was able to grab him and lift him up so I could take him. David and Cash had clay all over their feet/paws.

Our neighbor cat Darwin had been under the porch since he has a bell around his neck that David heard, and Cash decided to jump down and defend his territory. Darwin ran to the front of the house and crossed the road, and I'm so thankful Cash didn't follow him. I've now realized that Cash is willing and able to jump down, so his time outside will be extremely limited. He doesn't have front claws, so it would be impossible for him to climb back up. I hate even thinking about what could have happened if I had waited a few more minutes to check on them.

This scare comes a day after he went into the garage while the garage door was up. We had returned home from grocery shopping and were unloading when he opened the cracked door to the garage and went out. David yelled at him, and he ran under the car. We were able to get him back in quickly, but after this morning's incident, I think it's time to take cat naps inside the house. My Crazy Cash!

Where did May (and the first week in June) go?

I know I haven't blogged in more than a month, and I'm sorry if the five or so of you who actually read my blog have missed my random ramblings. I haven't been motivated or inspired to write about anything.

So here's a brief update. I finished teaching at the beginning of May, and while I usually teach during the summer, I'm not this year. The additional salary would be very nice, but teaching every day for an hour and a half is time consuming, and I have a dissertation to write.

My brother Jason and sister-in-law Kristen visited us at the end of May. It was great to see them. They had been to Nashville and Pigeon Forge/Gatlinburg on their last child-free vacation for a while and stopped at our house on the way home. Kristen is due in mid-September with their first child, a boy they plan to name Judson. It's a name Kristen found when reading about Adoniram Judson, Jr., a missionary from the United States who was the first Protestant sent to preach in Burma in the 1800s. His work led to the formation of the first Baptist association in America. For some reason, they decided to go with his last name and not his first. :) I doubt he'd ever find Adoniram on a key chain.

We made an overnight trip to Asheville, North Carolina for the wedding of my graduate school colleague Angela. It was intimate and beautiful. I didn't take a lot of photos, but here's one of the yummy cake. The bride was beautiful. Congrats Angela and Greg!

We also had a great drive through the mountains in North Carolina and Tennessee. On the way back, we stopped and ate lunch at the Pancake Pantry in Gatlinburg. It was the Sunday before Memorial Day, so it was very crowded, but we managed to find a parking spot and enjoy the delicious Dutch Diplomat and French Royale sandwiches.

It's been hotter than usual in East Tennessee, and we've already experienced some highs in the 90s. I'm hoping for a cool down very soon. Sammie and Cash still want to go outside on the back porch even in the heat. Sammie enjoys a cool drink of water when she comes in, and my latest trick is putting ice cubes in the water container. They like to "chase" them with their paws and seem confused when they melt so quickly.

Cash is still a bit on the crazy side, but we love him. He loves to lay on his back, with all four paws in the air and demand to be petted and loved. He'll stay in this position for a while until one of his humans comes along and caters to him.

It's hard to believe it's been a year since Dolly left us. We miss her and think about her often, but we know she's in a better place, and Sammie and Cash do a great job of loving us.