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| Buckled in and very scared after just getting him from the shelter |
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| Meeting little diva&divo |
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| Meeting more friends! |
And somehow, all of his cuteness makes up for the fact that he has completely taken over my pillow.
Since I couldn't join my family for Easter, I took road trip to Ashley, IN to the "Ashley House" where my mom's side of the family and I have many 4th of July and other reunion memories as it has been in the family for just over a century. The smiley face water tower is an main Ashley landmark, and on road trips growing up, we would always see who could spot it first on our way up I-69.
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| Road trip hair and the smiley face! |
I used to admire the Hydrangeas my grandmother planted while walking around the yard with my bug cage searching for a new critter and picture myself as an adult living at the Ashley house, since I loved it there so much. Then later on in life my sister and I started joking that we'd live there together forever like two of our great-great-aunts did.
Here's where Menken comes in. I was reading a book just after arriving for my relaxation escape from Chicago, when a mouse climbed down the drapes, ran over to a chair, climbed up the side, and settled onto the armrest, and stared at me. Then, another one shot up the couch from the kitchen and stared at me until I noticed it and shrieked. That's when I called my mom who suggested getting a mouser kitty from the nearest animal shelter. That idea was way too appealing to me, as I've been wanting a cat for years. I arrived at the animal shelter just before closing time, and my heart broke over all of the homeless adorable dogs and kitties. I couldn't make up my mind in the two rooms filled with cats, until a fluffy orange face that had just woken up peeked out his cage at me as I was leaving the room. I turned around, opened the cage, picked him up, and immediately knew this snuggly sweet cat was the perfect one. While talking to the worker, I learned that he had been at the shelter for 8 months, and had no idea why he was overlooked all the time. That was it. I had to adopt him. I couldn't take him home until the next weekend, so since the mice weren't cooperating in singing songs and sewing surprise ballgowns, I set up traps to get rid of them. The next weekend when I came back for Menken there was no sign of the mice! After he settled into the Ashley house a bit, my Aunt came over to meet him and bring him toys before we left for Chicago. :)
His original name was Pumpkin, but in the new family tradition of naming our animals after artists/composers, I now call him Menken after Alan Menken (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Newsies, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Enchanted, Tangled...You get the picture) who has been a big part of musical lives.
Here's where Menken comes in. I was reading a book just after arriving for my relaxation escape from Chicago, when a mouse climbed down the drapes, ran over to a chair, climbed up the side, and settled onto the armrest, and stared at me. Then, another one shot up the couch from the kitchen and stared at me until I noticed it and shrieked. That's when I called my mom who suggested getting a mouser kitty from the nearest animal shelter. That idea was way too appealing to me, as I've been wanting a cat for years. I arrived at the animal shelter just before closing time, and my heart broke over all of the homeless adorable dogs and kitties. I couldn't make up my mind in the two rooms filled with cats, until a fluffy orange face that had just woken up peeked out his cage at me as I was leaving the room. I turned around, opened the cage, picked him up, and immediately knew this snuggly sweet cat was the perfect one. While talking to the worker, I learned that he had been at the shelter for 8 months, and had no idea why he was overlooked all the time. That was it. I had to adopt him. I couldn't take him home until the next weekend, so since the mice weren't cooperating in singing songs and sewing surprise ballgowns, I set up traps to get rid of them. The next weekend when I came back for Menken there was no sign of the mice! After he settled into the Ashley house a bit, my Aunt came over to meet him and bring him toys before we left for Chicago. :)
His original name was Pumpkin, but in the new family tradition of naming our animals after artists/composers, I now call him Menken after Alan Menken (Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Newsies, Pocahontas, Hunchback of Notre Dame, Hercules, Enchanted, Tangled...You get the picture) who has been a big part of musical lives.
He's still kind of wary of new people had hasn't fully bonded to my roommate, Denise, but oh, he will. How could two gingers not become best friends? ;)
