This little cat has been in the house for less than 36 hours, but he has completely settled in. I've never seen a pet acclimate so fast: no slinking under couches, no shyness about strange hands and voices, no litterbox confusion, no pining. He is a comical, cheerful, sweet-tempered little imp, who readily settles down at bedtime and even let me get work done at my desk yesterday.

We still haven't chosen a name, but we're cogitating.

Otherwise, things are quiet around here. I'm back to editing, back to class planning, back to garden and house things. I've been rereading Lampedusa's The Leopard, one of my favorite novels of all time. I went out to write last night and maybe scribbled a blurt worth looking at again. Here's hoping.