Friday, Corinne and I drove to Burlington, Vermont (from our home in Mystic, CT), with two goals. The first was to deliver one of Wynona's kittens to his new owners, in Brattleboro. The second was to pick up a new kitten in Burlington.

We'd planned to leave at 9 AM. We left the house at 10 AM, right on time. We both knew we'd leave later, and 10 AM was what we actually expected! Traffic was light all the way up, nothing happened that's worth mentioning.

Our first stop was at the Yankee Candle Factory in Massachusetts. I lived in Vermont for seven or eight months, and used to drive past the factory on Interstate 91 on almost a weekly basis, as I'd drive back to Rhode Island to visit family and friends. I'd never been in, and Corinne loves candles.

The "factory" was awesome. We never saw the actual factory, instead it was like going to a small version of Disney World. They have millions of candles for sale, but they also have a car museum, games, shows, cinematronics displays, and truly fantastic decorations. The view when you first walk in is breathtaking. (Corinne's sister Jodi loves candles more than anyone else we know, so we'll be back up there the next time she's here.)

We met the kitten's new parents at around 2 PM in a Bickford's parking lot, in Brattleboro, VT. They were very happy with him, and Corinne apologized about a dozen times for not having a chance to give him a bath. They didn't care, and he was still totally adorable and happy that his new Dad put him right under his jacket to keep him warm. (We've heard from them once since then, and so far they're just calling him "baby" and are quite happy with him.)

After a quick lunch at Pizza Hut, we continued up to Burlington: this is when the trip turned ugly. It started snowing, and we were a couple hours later than we should have been. We finally reached the hotel in Burlington at a little after 5 PM. The snow wasn't bad yet, but it was just getting started.

The kittens name is, believe it or not, "Xtra Chezz". That wasn't our choice as the breeder had already named her, but we're not going to change it. So far she's been called, "Cheesey", "Cheese-bot", "Cheese-but", and "cry-baby" (she's a talker). Our first impression of Cheezz was wonderful! She has a fantastically clear coat, great markings, and big beautiful eyes. I'm sorry that I don't have any pictures of her yet (and I'm in a little trouble for that, too), but I will soon.

It was a nightmarish drive home. It snowed the whole time, and though I have plenty of snow-driving experience, Corinne is really panicky in the snow. She took her contacts out hoping that it would help, but it really didn't. She spent most of the ride with her seat back so that she couldn't see the road at all.

It was almost midnight when we pulled into our driveway. Xtra-Chezz slept between the pillows on our bed, and licked our faces and our hair all night long. She's a sweetheart, but she has a "diamond tipped drill bit sandblasting tongue." All cats have rought tongues, but this was something special!

The next day, as soon as Shane saw her, he claimed her as his own. He worked for a few hours in the basement (which is his living area, it's finished) to protect wires, set up the litter box, and brought down food and water... and now Xtra-Chezz has claimed him as her own! She follows him around everywhere, cries like a baby when he's in the shower even if I'm standing right there, and purrs happily on his lap while he's playing video games.

The trip wasn't much fun (to say the least), but we're glad that she's here and that "baby" is at his new home.

Sunday night, I was at the Westerly Hostpital with Roy's family, along with about twenty others from the ecclesia and his family. Corinne had been there, but we didn't know how long he was going to last so we eventually traded (she came home, I went in).

After talking to everyone for awhile, I found a pay phone and called Corinne to give her a status update, and to ask her to call everybody that would want to know (the family was all at the hospital, so they couldn't do it).

When I was walking back to the ICU waiting room, I saw a stooped little old man in a skimpy hospital gown shambling towards me, apparently just out to stretch his legs. He made me feel huge... he was about 5' 6" tall, and weighed about 120 pounds. I'm almost 6' 10", and close to two and a half times his weight.

As we passed, he looked up at me and said with a twinkle, "Wanna wrestle?"

I immediately answered, "As long as you tie one hand behind your back."

He thought that was pretty funny!