*cue happy dance*

WE GOT A KITTY!!!!!!!!

And she's the sweetest kitty ever!

Her skin is stripey!
Her hindquarters had been shaved since she's allergic to fleas.
But she doesn't have fleas anymore.

In the other pictures, her eyes look REALLY amber.
They're actually more of an olive, like you see here.

Can you tell that Miss Bucket is glad that she got to pet the kitty?

After I had that dream where Gingi-cat led me to a new kitty, I geared myself up to go back to the Humand Society.

(Gearing up = taking 3 Valerian caplets. Since my brother-in-law C got me all misty-eyed about Di-di cat that morning.)

Saturday, after noon, we headed out. And we spent most of the afternoon in town. I looked at all the cats there. I asked about the ones in foster care (one set of kittens was, as it turned out, going to be adopted by their foster family. The other foster family wasn't in town to arrange a visit).

I was interested in two cats ... but they just weren't quite right. One was a young brown and white tabby. She was okay. But she would hiss whenever she saw any of the other animals. The other was a fluffy white cat with ice-blue eyes. And she got really rough the second time I handled her.

We were headed out, to think about them, when I saw "Vanilla Shake!" in the cage in the lobby.
I took her out ... and ... it was good.

We still left for a bit. There was another cat at a pet store (still from the Humane Society) to look at. And we needed (Hey. For me, it IS a need.) to go to Borders.

The other cat wasn't right for us. I really wanted a pretty young cat. I've had two cats that passed within 18 months of each other. And, really, the hedgehogs are of an age that they could go at any time of natural causes. I do NOT want any more pets going in the near future.

And the more I thought of it, the more it felt right. And the more excited I got.
So I filled out the adoption application and we headed back. And we were approved.
(This is the first time that I've adopted a pet from a Humane Society. My aunt got Ginger for me from the classifieds. And Diana was birthed by a cat that adopted my folks. Most of my other cats, from when I was little, were either from kids giving away kittens by the store or schools OR were from litters from our cats. Mom adopted the dogs while I was at Girls' Camp or away at school, so I had only been to the Humane Society back home to surrender Rosie, Mittens, and a litter of kittens [and, OH, I miss Rosie] or to give up Poochie [who had started biting kids].)

M, at the desk, recommended that Vanilla Shake! receive a new name ... "A new life, a new name."
Which is what we were planning anyways.

Bucket suggested Strawberry.
Um ... No.
Bruise posed something like "Kitty girl." (Though, if we had gotten a black cat [ESPECIALLY one with a red collar], he'd name it "Darth Kitty." Obsession -- U haz it.)
Michael offered "Freya."

We spent a few hours thinking about it (Hours spent letting our kitty explore the house -- and, BONUS, proving that she knows how to (AND DOES) use the litter box -- and putting together the Lego Hogwarts Castle. Which we got on a WONDERFUL coupon. ^_^) ... and we decided that our kitty girl is, from that point on, "Freya."

Which we will spell as "Freyja," as per a friend's suggestion. (Yes, I am TOTALLY LUCKY to have Karen as my Visiting Teacher. You SHOULD be completely jealous.)

Technically, her name should be pronounced "FRY-ah" ... but "FRAY-ah" rolls off the tongue a little more easily. So that's why we left the 'y' in her name.

But she's really perfect.

• Young (Today, according to the paperwork, is her first birthday!)
• Short hair, doesn't shed too much.
• Grey fur
• Beautiful eyes
• Soft purr
• Nice meow ... which is used on occasion. ^_^
• Spayed
• Cuddles on my lap, curls up next to me on the couch, sleeps with me
• Is nice to the kiddos
• She'll be great with the hedgehogs. When she was given free reign at night to prowl the lobby, she would just watch the dove in its cage and the rats in their cage. She's really mild-mannered and well behaved. ... We've had to tell her not to scratch the sofa and rug once. And to not get up on the counter and table once. (I don't care if she's on my desk, really.)

My house has a soul again. And I feel so much better. I didn't totally realize how much NOT having a cat around really made me feel. (Even when I was in the dorm and sharing an apartment with roommates, I still had Gingi at home. And, during fifth grade, my aunt had cats at the house. And, once we moved back home, she got Gingi for me pretty quickly. While in Seattle, my neighbors had cats ... so it was okay...-ish.)

But, really ... Saturday was a GOOD day.
Michael passed his HAM Radio test. He'll get his call sign ... sometime soon. In a few weeks, maybe.

We got the new issue of mental_floss and Lego Hogwarts.
(Best part of setting up? I put the invisibility cloak on Harry. "[Bruise]!! Where's Harry Potter??" Bruise looked for a tic, then spotted him and grinned, "He's invisible." Hee hee.)

I GOT A KITTY!!!!
A shipment of edited DVDs came in the mail -- Last of the Mohicans, The Crow, and Glory.
(We watched Glory last night. They did a really good job. The swears that were taken out [not a lot of them] were edited really well. And they took out the guy getting beheaded by the cannonball.)
(I still need to watch the edited Shawshank Redemption and Love, Actually that we got for Christmas.)
(I ordered some more before the place goes out of business on the 15th: Amelie, Zombieland, Kung-Fu Hustle, Shaun of the Dead, Little Miss Sunshine, and The Lost Boys.)

Just for the record? The Lost Boys is one of the BEST vampire movies ever.
My other top Vamp flicks? Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dracula: Dead and Loving It.
Obviously, I like my supernatural infused with humor. ^_^

But .... I GOT A KITTY!!!!!

And she's soft and pretty and has a wonderful personality and loves Michael ... Life is good. Life is really, really good.

Somehow ... even with how crazy life has been ... as long as I have a cat in my home ... things seem SO much better. Their little spirits are a balm to my soul ... as corny and cliché as that sounds, it's true. It's therapeutic, running my fingers through purring fur.