I just wanted to post a quick note saying we are on our way back to Florida. We packed more into our car than I thought possible and were on the road a few minutes before seven.
We will stay in Orangeburg, South Carolina, which is around the halfway point. We will probably get there before three. If we didn’t have the cats with us we would probably push it and go farther but they will need to get out of their carrier and use the litter box. The carrier is quite large and we did put a small litter box in it but they didn’t use it on the way up here.
We signed our closing documents for the house yesterday and the buyers will sign late this afternoon. Hopefully all goes well and we can close this chapter of our lives.
Our house is under contract, and if all goes well, it will close on Friday. We won’t be here then. As the sellers, we will close on Wednesday afternoon, and the buyers will close two days later. Our plan is to get out of Dodge on Thursday morning. Of course, there is a lot to do before leaving, so we will get out later than we would like, but at least we will soon be back home to a simpler life with fewer worries.
We haven’t told Frankie and Floki yet. We thought we would surprise them. Frankie might be a little disappointed after meeting a new friend a few houses away, but once we get home, he will be able to see the girl Frankie again who lives next door.
On Wednesday, we rented a boat at a place called Summerville lakes. Once we were sure no police were around we let our visitor, Cindy, take the wheel. Don’t tell anyone but she’s not old enough to get a permit.
My stepson, Nick, and his fiancée, Chandra, arrived late yesterday for a week-long visit. They brought along their French bulldog, Cindy. As I was helping bring their stuff in from the car, I witnessed a meeting between Frankie and Cindy. Cindy was on our catio, and Frankie was in the laundry room. The door was open, and they were both face-to-face, seemingly smelling each other.
I thought to myself, Oh, that meeting went better than I envisioned it. Just then, all hell broke loose. Frankie started whacking Cindy relentlessly. He chased her onto the catio and under the table, where he continued his assault. I tried to get Frankie while Rose and Chandra tried to get Cindy. We were delayed because it was difficult getting them from under the table. When we finally did pick them up, we had to remove Frankie’s claw from Cindy’s back. During the scuffle, Frankie got me. too.
We kept them separated for a while, with Frankie outside while Cindy was inside, and then with Cindy outside while Frankie was inside. One time, Frankie was on the Catio while Cindy was in the yard.
I did bring Frankie in on a leash at one point, hoping to introduce them in a more controlled environment. That went okay, but certainly no friendship developed.
Later, Frankie was outside when our neighbor’s dog went crazy, trying to bust through the fence to get at Frankie. I decided he needed to come in at that point.
Once inside, Frankie and Floki met to plan their next move.
I don’t remember exactly what happened next, but a few minutes later another one-sided fight occurred, this time under the dining room table, and again, my hand got in the way.
Later, we sat in the living room for a while with Cindy on Chandra’s lap with a pillow over her for protection while Frankie lay in a chair giving her the evil eye.
My wife and I usually hang out in the bedroom for a half hour or so before going to bed. This is often the time Frankie comes looking for attention, although it is not the only time. Here he is a few nights ago.
We drove to Parkersburg last weekend and decided to take the backroads home where we saw several deer. Most were either too far away to photograph or scampered into the woods before we got close enough. These were the brave ones.
Today’s post should be called Photos Friday because I found several photos of Princess dated August 2001. Since we are selling our West Virginia home, we have no room in the car to bring back the two large storage containers of old photographs, nor do we have room to store them in our little one-bedroom home in Florida. So, I have been sorting through them, keeping the best ten percent. Here are a few photos of Princess that are keepers.
The last photo is Vinny with Princess.
On another note, I decided to release some of my books as audiobooks on YouTube. I started with The Last Healer. There will be a new chapter released every Tuesday and Friday at 7 p.m. The first two chapters are here.
I would appreciate it if you would subscribe to help get the channel started. The more likes and subscribers I get, the more YouTube will recommend it to others. You can listen to up to Chapter 4, with Chapter 5 coming out this evening.
Bad Cat Chris 