On the day that Nelson Mandela died I drove to Anchorage on icy roads through freezing rain to bring home my beloved

Note: I originally prepared this as the first post in new Squarespace 6 blog I had planned to launch at this same address, to include all the work I have done in this Squarespace 5 blog. But things went wrong. I have asked Squarespace to refund the money I spent on the new blog and am bringing my Squarespace blogging to a permanent end, save for the upcoming holiday post referenced above. I do not want this post to go to waste and so have transferred it from the new Squarespace 6 blog that now never will be to being an archive, at this same address. While much of what it says no longer applies, I leave it just as I prepared it for the new, canceled, blog"

This is the first post I am putting up in the new Squarespace 6 blog. At least, I hope I am putting it up. As regular readers know, I have been running a

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Touch those cat ears gently, Lynxton!

I returned from coffee ready to take a quick shower and then drive Margie and Lynx into town. The plan was to drop Lynx off at his house and then I would take Margie to see 12 Years a Slave and afterword drop her back off so she could babysit for the rest of the week. But that plan changed while I was gone. I now learned we are going to keep Lynx one more night. I sat down for a few minutes. Jimmy came over and sat on my lap. Then Lynx came to touch Jimmy's ears.

"Be gentle to the kitty," I said to Lynx. He can get exuberant. Jimmy's ears are not laid back in the way an angry, hissing cat will lay back its ears. He is holding them this way in anticipation of the coming touch, which he is not sure will be gentle or exuberant. Lynx was gentle with this touch and several more that followed. 

Chicago joins two vegetables by the fire

I'm still feeling lazy, still vegging by the fire with Jim, but Chicago has joined us so I had better put it in a picture that includes her. You haven't seen her yet since my return, because she usually waits until the initial flurry of greetings is over before she comes out and by then my battery was dead. Whenever there are little people in the house she just disappears. Lynxton is still here, but he's asleep. Margie is grocery shopping. So it's just us three - Jim curled up on my ankles, Chicago snug on my chest – vegging together by the fire. If Lynxton should wake up before Margie returns, then Chicago will disappear, I will have to get up to care for him and Jim's comfy rest will get disturbed. 

Text added at 4:53 PM. 

Lazy today

Feeling lazy today. Don't want to do anything but sit by the fire with Jim and veg. Don't expect much from me today. This selfie just might be it.

Jim's a damn good cat. 

Logbook: Nuiqsut to Wasilla, entry 5, final: Jim

As always upon my return Jimmy went nuts with joy and relief to see me. I got a couple of frames off and then my iPhone went dead. I sat down at my computer for a few minutes. Jimmy was all over me, jumping onto my lap, climbing onto my shoulders, standing on my head, meowing both in happy greeting and scolding. I joined Margie and went to bed without finishing the logbook. It was 2:00 AM, I was tired and I figured it could wait until I got some sleep.

In Anchorage, the airport temperature had been -4F, downtown Wasilla -10 and -17 in our driveway. We got the fire stoked but the heat never really warmed up our bedroom. Jimmy got cold and so tapped on my head with a paw. I let him under the covers. After I fell asleep he decided he was warm and so slipped out and got on top of the covers. Pretty soon, he got cold again. He tapped me on the head again and woke me up. I let him back under. And so it went, all through the night until finally I got up.

Still, by my standards I slept pretty good.