Carlos just did the feline equivalent of wiping off a kiss. We were having a staring stand-off in which he was looking at me grumpily and I laughed and went to scratch his ears. He’s spent the past 30 seconds trying feverishly to scratch my scratch off of him. Oh I love that little beast.

I think Mike likes having him back at home. He said that he got home yesterday forgetting that the cat is back in residence but then got worried when he couldn’t find him in his room. (Carlos spends much of his alone time in Mike’s room. He likes his windows and all of the places to jump around.) So he looked for him and found him sleeping in his dark, quiet nook at the back of my closet. He also tried to get close enough to pet Carlos, but Carlos, as usual, was having none of it. I’m not sure if it’s because Mike teases him or if it’s because he’s so big, but Carlos has never quite taken to Mike. They were finally at the point where Carlos would hang out with Mike when I was gone, and would sleep at Mike’s feet if I was away and Mike was in charge of food. So here’s hoping that they’ll quickly find a new rhythm – I know how much Mike wants Carlos to love him. I also know how stubborn Carlos is (he takes after his mother), so we’ll see how this goes.

[Does anyone remember Lola the rabbit? A few years ago, Mike got a bunny rabbit named Lola. She was a snotty bit of rabbit – no, seriously – and she’d never let anyone else get close to her. But with Mike, she’d sit right on his chest or his shoulders for hours. It drove me nuts! I just wanted her to love me!]

Today, I’m off to find a teapot (Mike and I got into an argument at about 2:00 this morning about whether or not you can make tea in a coffeepot. I concede: you can. But that doesn’t mean I have to like it.), a vacuum that will be small and work on wood floors, and the second book from this trilogy that I’ve recently stumbled upon and fallen in love with.