The one that nearly got away!

As you know by now, I am fairly fanatical about bringing my cats in at night, especially after I lost the second one to a night time driver, so I was rather dismayed when my lovely persian boy, Baggins, went walkabout on Wednesday morning, and hadn't returned by bed time. At the moment he still spends much of his time in my craft room, so I keep the window open and he hops in and out at will. He never goes far, rarely out of sight from my window, and always comes back at mealtimes. So when the others had had their tea, and there was still no sign of him I was really concerned. By my bedtime I was walking up and down the street calling him, and shining a torch into all the gardens, but to no avail. I had to give up and go to bed, but I was up early the next morning calling him again, and he didn't come for his breakfast either. Then at around 11.00 he suddenly appeared on the window sill. I have no idea where he had been, but I suspect he spent the night locked in a shed. He was mercifully free of the sticky grass heads that tangle in his fur if he goes down into the green zone at the back of us, but he was covered in cobwebs, and it took me ages to clean him up.

After this narrow escape I looked back on my computer to see how long they have been with me, and I found these two photos taken on the day I got them. (July 24th). What a sorry pair! The difference in them after just two months is amazing. Baggins is friendly, very at home around the house, and gets on well with the other cats. He follows me like a shadow, and likes to sit right on top of whatever piece of craft I am working on!! He comes for attention at regular intervals, and will even let me sit and hold him for a while. He eats well and drinks lots of water. His coat is much improved though I have had to cut the odd sticky grass out when it has got too entangled to deal with, with a comb. He is still a little thin around his back quarters, but has gained a lot of weight, and I am sure he will continue to do so. He has such a funny face, and looks so disgruntled, but this is his 'Please love me' face, and I do! Arwen is a very different cat. She has only left the house on a couple of occasions, and rarely leaves the room, though just this week she has ventured into the hall, but she scoots back here if anyone approaches her. She doesn't like to be picked up, but will let me stroke her, and even tolerates being brushed and combed on a daily basis. She doesn't trust anyone else yet, and will lash out with her claws if they come too close. She also growls a bit if Paco comes near her, but seems to ignor Luna who likes to visit my room too in the evenings. When I am working she will come up and tap me on my legs, to ask for a quick stroke, and then she goes back to her favourite perch next to the window. She also eats well and now is quite rounded and heavy, and has a lovely coat, and even more lovely green eyes. I am so glad I took them in and have been able to give them a better life than had had up until now.

I am always game to try new things, especially foody things, so this morning when I was in the supermarket, I bought some of what I always think of as 'Black tomatoes'. Of course, they are not really black, but very dark green, with just a hint of red showing through. I always think they look rather unappetising compared with lovely ripe red ones, but the local people buy them by the bagful on market day, even though they are considerably more expensive than the usual red ones. I found on the label that they are called Kumato tomatoes, so I looked them up on the internet. Apparently they originated in Belgium, and are now enjoyed world-wide. Their main difference is that they have tougher skins and they ripen from the inside outwards, so they are lovely and sweet and juicy, without being bruised and squashy on the skin. The one I ate didn't taste much different from usual, but I will be interested to see how well they keep, as the red ones only last for a few days in the summer, even in the fridge.