Things have been down here lately, so I made up a holiday! Here at Cooptown, we celebrated National Furminator Day by… furminating the cats. Surprise!

This is Fatty’s contribution to the festivities, after I’d gathered it all up into a ball.

I was allergic to cats as a child, but thankfully grew out of it. However, on Furminator Day, the last ember of my kitty allergies roars back, with lots of itching and red, watery eyes.

The cats also celebrated by screaming for food for hours and hours. This is sort of a daily thing, though, so maybe it’s not really a “celebration”.  The cats clearly know exactly where their food is kept and do not hesitate to remind me of its location each day at about noon. If I’m not moving fast enough in the direction of their Overweight Management pellets when they decide it’s feedin’ time, they will try their damdest to break into the closet and tear the top off the food tub. Hence, the door lock, made from a headband. This is about as far as I’ll go with a DIY home improvement project.

Also, Stinky has internet fans! Also an excuse for celebration. He got a hairball treat.

I haven’t felt much like writing lately. I’ve been keeping a little journal, which I thought would make me want to write more, but instead it satisfies my desire to document and then I don’t blog. I can’t decide if this is a good thing, a bad thing, or neutral.

Things are very sad here right now. Our cousin (Logan’s cousin’s wife) has been fighting cancer for several years. She had a period of remission, but last summer discovered that the cancer had returned with a vengeance. She underwent lots of very difficult, invasive and painful treatment for months, trying to squeeze out more time with her husband and their two young daughters, but succumbed yesterday. She had just gotten her graduate degree last summer. Her daughters are 7 and 3. It’s all just heartbreaking. Liz, we’ll miss you.