friends, and the furry kind, too

You may have already seen in previous pictures Jordan holding a kitten like she's its mother...well, we decided to bring him home and see if we can get our antisocial cat to accept a playmate. So far, when we let Rocket observe the kitten within the safety of a carrier, she is completely freaked out and growls and hisses. Interestingly enough, she appears to be afraid of him. I mean just look at him, so ferocious! I've read up on some cat psychology and am going with the advice of other people, some of whom have WAY too much time on their hands. The kids are calling the new kitten "Neo," after the character in the movie The Matrix.

We also had a short but sweet visit with our friends, Jeff and Donna, from the mountains, our old stomping grounds. They are our super low-maintenance friends whom we can go more than a year without seeing and when we get together we just take up where we left off, like we still live in the same town and see each other regularly. I guess they're what you'd call kindred spirits, just so much fun to be with, always full of life wisdom and a refreshing and reassuring view of the world. Donna is the one that first introduced me to homeschooling, and I've always held her advice close during my years as a homeschooling mom. Their children (two of them grown, one with children of his own) are amazing individuals, so the proof is in the pudding that Jeff and Donna are doing something very right. Anyway, we were able to hang out and catch up on our lives, eat great food and drink great wine, and most importantly, we got to share some laughs. One of the things we appreciate so much about them is their quirky sense of humor (Donna comes up with the best nicknames for people and things), it's so original. We also spent the day with our other kindred spirits, Dub and Carla, and together we threw together some serious grub (mostly they did, I just purchased the steaks!). Good times.
Carla's amazing bean salad, Donna's delectable pesto potatoes, and Jon cooked steaks to perfection. Not pictured is the dessert Carla made, which was a pound cake trifle with some ridiculous lemon-y icing and blueberries.