This is Mia, the new addition to our family....
Starting a new Journal page was one way to draw a line under September. The distressing death of my lovely pussycat Cleo affected me dreadfully and I was glad when the month came to a close. I imagine readers will fall into two categories - those who get the whole pet thing, and those who don't - well, I guess because I don't have children and having tried so hard to save her, it hit hard and I ground to a halt in terms of new creativity for a little while, though orders went out just as normal.
I miss her all the time, but the studio became a sad place for me for a while because she had always been my little feline muse; in the end I did pick my work up again and I produced new pieces - Mark's cat Blue began to visit the studio (he previously didn't dare as Cleo always made it clear it was her room...), and I am lucky to have had the distraction of my beautiful horse - we had some healing rides out in the countryside whilst we had that blissful bit of Indian Summer...
Its impossible for me to remain catless, (technically I had a cat before I was born - Mum had a cat who would purr against her tummy whilst I was in there) so I visited the local animal sanctuary and having initially decided to take all of these cats home (well, OK, I would have done it but Mark didn't seem so happy that we would suddenly have 25 cats), I adopted a three year old white and black kitty with a sweet disposition; I've called her 'Mia' (so she is actually a 'Mia-cat')...sadly her previous owner had to give her up because she was admitted into a hospice but she does know her cat will be loved.
Mia is settling slowly...things I took for granted with Cleo like the understanding between us that felines don't jump on the table in the studio was one we fell foul of when she decided to do just that and sent just about everything flying (which on the positive side did lead to me tidying up). We had a little word or two about that. It's also become apparent that Mark's cat Blue has homicidal tendencies regarding the new usurper...Cleo had reminded him of his inferior status on a regular basis, but clearly to him, Mia ranks lower and he has had several attempts at eating her with a nice bottle of Chianti if you get my drift.
Being catless is not an option, and as with each cat I have shared my life with I know we will get these little wrinkles ironed out; right now she is curled against my leg as I sit in an armchair, and she is purring loudly and with deep contentment. She's not my sweet Cleo, she is lovely Mia, and she is very special too.
