Zacc

Today my mug is white with three angels flying across the side. The angels have "quilted" wings and gowns, giving them a distinctive country look. Woven around the angels are the words, "Grandmas are Angels on Earth". This mug was a Christmas gift from my beautiful granddaughter Celeste a few years ago. I love that girl.

Today's tea is "Precious Dew Pearl", a green tea from The Tao of Tea. This is the most expensive tea I ever bought. Three ounces cost $22. And I can't say I like it all that much. I usually mix it with another tea, to make it more palatable, but today I decided to tough it out and drink it plain. I must be getting used to it, because I don't think it's awful.

I don't normally pay more than $5 or $6 for a box or can of tea—there are too many good teas out there for a nominal cost. But occasionally we go to Jungle Jim's here in Cincinnati, and they carry more teas than I can count in one trip. Each time we go I buy one new tea ("Yeah," Bill says, "we need more tea, don't we?"), and I really felt indulgent that day, and the name was so appealing. Well, names aren't everything, and this tea, as of now, is just tolerable.

Today's quote is from the fictional Sir Percy, from the novel The Scarlet Pimpernel: "This little revolution of yours is monstrous intolerable." I've been saying [kinda] the same thing to my Representative and Senators.

I was going to blog about Tom, my last cat, but Zacc, our current cat, has insinuated himself into my consciousness, so he's in the spotlight today.

Zacc (or Zacc-a-lac, or Zacc-Zacc-bo-back, or Zacc-a-roni) came to us after we lost Tom. I was sad, crying a lot, and friend I will just call Sweet Pea called and said, "My boss found a kitten, and she can't keep it—allergies—and since you just lost Tom, I wondered if you could take him."

"He's a stray?"

"Yes."

Bill was laid off, and we had just spent all our extra income on poor Tom, when he became so ill. "I can't take him. I can't afford to get his shots and any other meds, much less get him neutered." We hung up and I started crying again, over Tom, over money, over poor, pitiful me…

A night or so later, the phone rang again. It was Gail, er, Sweet Pea. "The woman who found the cat says she will take him to the vet, get him neutered and fixed up, if you'll agree to take him."

What? "She would do that for a cat she's giving away?"

"Yes."

"I'll take him."

A few days later I met Sweet Pea and she gave me the kitten (actually about three months old, close to being a cat), cat food, and a bag of litter*.

We had to figure out what to name him. It was just a couple of weeks before Christmas, so we thought about Noel, Chris, Angel, the usual. But Sweet Pea called to see how we were getting along, and she said, "You know, he was found in a tree. It seems to me that would be a good clue to what to name him."

In the Bible, there's the story of a tax collector named Zacchaeus, who wants to see Jesus when He passes by. But Zacchaeus is short ("wee", in the song), so he climbs up a sycamore tree to get a get view of Him.

Zacchaeus it was. Zacc for short.

We already had Sally Mae, our dog, and she had been raised with a cat, so she had no problem with this new addition to the family, but it took Zacc about a month before he finally decided Sally didn't see him as a walking appetizer. And a couple of weeks later they actually started interacting.

At first when Sally passed, Zacc acted like he didn't even notice. But over the past weeks he has been showing signs of depression. He isn't as active; he occasionally goes into a room and just stands in the middle and looks around. It's almost like he's either looking for her, or remembering her… Sometimes I'll be crying over her, and he'll plop down near me, watching me, just blinking. I often wonder what's going on in his little cat head.

But he's also gotten more aggressive recently, and at first I thought it was cabin fever. We have a fenced back yard, so he and Sally came and went as they pleased, as long as Bill or I was willing to play doorman. But sometimes I wonder if it isn't something more. I think he might be lonely. After all, Bill and I only have two paws each and we don't enjoy playing in the toilet. Boring.

Anyhow, he went through that "juvenile delinquent" period a while back, but then he settled down and started behaving better. But in the past week or so he's gotten back into the stalking, biting, scratching thing. We spend a lot of time filling the water bottle we use on him when he gets out of control.

And yet, in the evenings he's become more affectionate. It's like he needs the comfort. I don't know how much he knows or understands, but I think if he could just let go and cry, like I do, he might feel better. I try to tell him that, but he just won't listen. Cats.

Tea's gone, and I'm determined to make soap today. I love making soap. I'll blog about that some time. Maybe next week. But for now, the sun is shining and it's a beautiful day, so go do something. And God bless you.

*That Sweet Pea is so sweet. While Bill was out of work, she would often buy cat food and litter for us. I have so many wonderful friends. How blessed am I?