Cat sitting

Jane has gone to Fort Myers, FL for a month. “It’s 80° and sunny here,” she said when she arrived.

“It’s 15° and dreary here,” I replied.

She sends pictures of sunsets on the Gulf and tells me of nesting eagles, roseate spoonbills, and brown pelicans. I, in turn, send her pictures of her cat, Skip, and tell her how cute he is.

Skippy on my lap being cute

In fact, this post will mostly be about Skippy because I have done hardly anything except be a lap for him all weekend.

Jane dropped him off on Tuesday, which turned out to be a good thing because she and Jan left for Florida on Wednesday, a day before they originally planned so they could avoid the anticipated ice storms in St. Louis.

Skip was nervous for the first two days. We keep him in a big kennel when we aren’t home because he has a history of chewing wires. When we let him out, he spent much of his time cowering under the futon with brief lap walkovers.

Beginning on Thursday, he became lap greedy. He likes to stretch out between my legs, which makes one appreciate what a large cat he is.

Stretched out between my legs on his favorite red blanket

When I’m trying to work, he is fond of worming himself in between me and my laptop. I am getting better and typing with a cat lying on my forearms. It’s a skill.

Typing with a cat on my forearms

He was on my lap all morning today. I finally bumped him at 11:00 to go get my lunches ready. He stood in the doorway and meowed in a tone that clearly communicated, “What the hell!” Eventually, he gave up and settled on the top of the futon for a nap.

Napping on the futon

Later on, he found a new spot to hang out, which is on a chair under the table.

Hiding out under the table

The sun was out today, and the temperature edged above freezing. I thought about Jane hanging out on the beach while I put on my coat, boots, hat, and mittens. I tried to reposition the row cover that had blown off the garlic bed, but it was still frozen to the ground. It is supposed to be warmer tomorrow; maybe I can do it then. I walked all around the property, being careful not to slip on the icy spots. The creek was completely frozen. All was quiet. No wind, one bird called. It was a nice afternoon, as January goes in Illinois. I was a better person for having gone out.