Welcome Ginger

We got another cat.

We got home on Saturday to a message on our machine. Some friends of ours was found by a cat. They were out BBQing and she wandered up to their deck and didn't seem to want to leave (no wonder, it's cold out there!!). Their girls lured her inside with some tuna and she decided that she'd rather not go back out (no matter how many times they opened the door for her). After a week of hanging posters and visiting the SPCA it didn't look like anyone was going to claim her. However, after a week, the Mom's allergies were off the chart. Knowing we lost our dear Roxy a couple months before they gave us a call. 

We were planning on getting another cat...but in maybe three years when Paris calmed down a bit (assuming she ever does). This upped our game plan by a few years. However, once they sent her picture to us we were sold. She's a Roxy look-a-like. I thought for sure Rene would say no but he didn't even hesitate. He claims he likes the assurance of no mice in the house but we've been here for 3 years and never even found a mouse dropping...I think he has a soft spot for cats that he's trying to deny.

After much deliberation she has a name...Ginger. This time we're going to take our time introducing her to Paris. And we're making her an indoor cat, at least that's the plan. I'm hoping that since she didn't want to leave our friend's house she prefers the indoors but I think spring will be the test time. 

The plan for now is to have her in the toyroom until she seems settled with the house. Then we'll crate the dog and let her wander the house, then maybe in a couple weeks they'll have supervised visits. I really hope this works. Roxy freaked out every time her and Paris met which made Paris go nuts. Hopefully Ginger will have a calmer disposition around dogs. 

Only time will tell. But for now, she sure is a sweet cat. Very friendly, loves to be pet and so far very gentle. Even when she swats she doesn't bring her claws out. Hopefully the girls won't be scared of this one!

Evelyn's Piano Recital

Evelyn was invited by a good friend of mine to be in a piano recital. She's a teacher and holds a small recital for all her students. When she found out I was teaching Evelyn on my own she said she would love if Evelyn played with her students. When I asked Evelyn what she thought she got sooooooo excited. I love when Evelyn gets excited about something. Even as a baby she was so expressive, she wears her emotions on her sleeve, her body barely able to contain what she's feeling. So, we picked a Christmas song, Carol of the Bells and went to work. It is 2 levels above where she's at so I was a bit worried about her being able to play it but she was determined that was the song she wanted to do.

She did fantastic tonight. I know I'm biased but when a couple of 13 year-old boys rank her as second best of the night (there was a 10 year-old girl who played beautifully) I know she really did do well. There were about 12 students playing and she was probably the 3 youngest. I was so proud of her.

Another thing (of many) I love about Evelyn is her smile. She smiles the whole time she's going something she loves. And it's not just a little closed mouth half-smile, it's a full-open-mouth-toothy grin (or in her case, toothless). She smiled the whole night, she was beaming.

If I can get better at being consistent with her practicing I think she has some real piano talent. I'm learning with her that she's better to have 3 or 4 ten minute practice sessions through the day rather than a 30-40 minute sit down. At this stage though she wants me sitting beside her the whole time to help her out. But where I am, Lucienne is, and she's not the most helpful when my attention is on someone other than her.

She loves playing and I hope we can keep that love alive. It's hard to know how much to push and when to back-off. Some days she really doesn't want to practice but I know it's the only way she's going to get better. And as she gets better I think she'll love it even more.

Where did I put that Evelyn Instruction Manual?