It's getting cold

Gene was walking home from the public library the other day when a Siamese kitten began following him. A mile later, the kitty was still at his heels, so he invited it into our house. The girls were napping when the duo made it home. They awoke to a dream come true, their very own kitty cat.
"See you later," Clara tells Meowy when she leaves the kitty in the kitchen and joins me on the couch to read a book. "I'm going over here now." "Kitty cat, kitty cat," Margaret whispers to the kitty as she kneels beside the kitten at her water dish. Margaret sometimes will touch the kitty gently on the back.
Lucky for us, this cat tolerates a grabbing kind of petting. When things get a little too close for her, Meowy jumps away and disappears through the gate on the stairs. She likes to sleep under Gene's desk on a pile of papers. I'm just happy she doesn't scratch. I've been awakened the last two mornings at 5 a.m. by a mewing kitten, whose face has been right up next to mine. I'm not sure what she wants, but I have gotten up, made coffee and petted her. Maybe she just wants some company.
We had a breakthrough on Sunday. Margaret went to the church nursery on her own, thanks to the patient understanding of Donna, the wonderful director. Donna has been very kind and friendly to Margaret. Just waiting for her to feel comfortable enough to come back to the nursery. There are all sorts of exciting toys there, like a dishwasher and a play ironing board, plus all sorts of blocks. And eventually, Margaret had to return. There were no tears, just a declaration, "Margaret stay with Donna," and off I went, relieved.
On Sunday afternoon we walked to Five Points, our nearby commercial district. There was a Christmas open house, yes, way before Thanksgiving. One business was giving away ice cream (we all had some with sprinkles) and someone had paid to have free pony rides. Margaret got on a pony three times, and she would have happily stayed there most of the evening. Clara became concerned that the pony might bite her and rode only once. But fearless Margaret rode on and on.