time

I mentioned in my last post that my plans to travel back to New Orleans on New Year's Day had changed. Through some cosmic bank error, I received an email from the airline changing my flight from the 1st to the 3rd. Two extra days with Mike in the desert have been pretty wonderful.

After rushing around like a madwoman for two weeks, it's been nice to just relax. My brain has been all sorts of confused about time zones. It doesn't help that we are less than three miles from the time zone boundary. It also really doesn't help that as of tomorrow, I will have been in all four continental US time zones in nine days (Eastern time at home in New Jersey, Mountain time in Arizona and Utah, Pacific time in Nevada and California, Central time in Louisiana).

The extra time in Arizona allowed me to be part of something Mike and I have been planning for a while-- acquiring a small friend for our beloved Red. She's never been an only cat before, and we thought she might like a playmate since Mike is at school all day. Mike and I went looking for a cat before I knew about the flight change, and it was love at first cat when we saw this little guy in the shelter:



He had a holding period of a week after his Christmas Eve dropoff. We imagine he was a nixed Christmas present. We picked him up today, and he has been an absolute love. He only stopped purring when he fell asleep and when we bathed him, but that's about it.



We named him Palo Verde after the state tree of Arizona! But we've been calling him green cat, our little pal, orange cat, stripey baby cat, etc.

I fly back to New Orleans in the morning, and get back to work saving the wetlands, but will very much enjoying a little more time hanging out with Mike, Red and green cat first.


Red Oak, the state tree of New Jersey!