Is it a fruit bat, you ask? Nope, it's actually my new FOSTER KITTEN!

So, in the 300 or so years (hours?) since I last wrote on this blog, all kinds of relevant* things have happened in my life - not the least of which was this...

...which ended up like this...

...all while I was trying to be on vacation! 

* Relevant, as opposed to irrelevant things, e.g., all the times my kids left the door open and let the flies in, or that at least twice a day, a hair falls out of my scalp unbeknownst to me, lands on my bare skin, and makes me think I have a spider crawling on me that I can't flipping see.

Well, guess what? I faked the hack! (not really) Just to collect the (nonexistent) blog-hack insurance money! I got 23 cents, less shipping and handling, which, all told, left me owing a dollar and 18 cents. I do not recommend faking your own blog hack, people. It's not worth it. Just go out and recruit a couple legitimate bloggers (who write well and make good pictures) to do it for you. Please let them think it was their idea, though. You know, so they won't think you're a complete nut job, and wonder whether they need to report you to the FBBI (Federal Bureau of Bozo Impersonators). You don't wanna be on the run from those guys. Trust me.

OK, so where was I? Oh yeah! Stuff that's happened while I've not been writing! Y'all! I've got a bunch of pictures to post from my vacation (most of which include animals), but those are gonna have to wait until another day. That's because I have much more pressing news to share...

And his name is Fitzwilliam Darcy McDrool (Mr. Darcy McDrool, because he drools when he purrs), but you can call him TRAVIS*!

* Travis being his real name. I made up the other one, because I have a major crush on Travis, just like I have one on Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice.

But, lady, I don't even like peaches!

NO, he's NOT a fruit bat (I already told you that); he's my four-month-old foster kitten from the Richmond SPCA, and we're already into week three of his four-week stay!

Here, have another, less batty look...

Hey, that's not "beef purr-gundy;" it's apple butter!

Oops. Hold on...

There's this, and have a peek at these...

Isn't he handsome?!

FYI: Phone charger cords come in a variety of colors, including fuchsia. 

This is his Vogue, angry model look. Underneath, he's a real pussycat. ;)

And, finally, (my favorite, a little artsy)...

What a babe!

* Cell phone photography courtesy Eldest Child. The editing (in PicMonkey) is mine. 

Here's Travis' adoption profile on the Richmond SPCA website. 

(Yes, HE IS AVAILABLE FOR ADOPTION!)

I assure you the Travis in this photo is the same Travis who appears in all of my photos. The difference is that in his adoption profile, the sun wasn't shining directly into his eyes. Sweet boy. 

So, I was sitting on my return flight home from Florida, waiting on the tarmac for takeoff, when I spotted an email on my cell phone from the foster care coordinator at the SPCA. The subject read: Kitten Foster Care. My being a registered foster care provider, I see lots of emails during kitten season, bearing the same subject line. It kills me every time, as taking care of under-vaccinated wee ones, alongside my existing feline crew, is just not feasible. 

However, this email was different. It wasn't the wee ones who needed fostering, so much as the older (3-4 months old), fully vaccinated ones, who'd been waiting for cage space on the adoption floor, and (the clincher) were perfectly fine interacting with existing cats in the home. I thought about it for exactly 79 seconds. Then, while still seated on the tarmac of Orlando International Airport, I volunteered.

Travis was in my home the next morning. I hadn't even unpacked. 

And, you know what? I would do it again in a frazzled, morning-of-the-first-day-of-school minute! (Did I mention today was the first day of school? Oh, well it was! It's also my kid's birthday! And there's another birthday tomorrow! Awesome times, yo!)

So, there you have it! The most important (in a humanitarian sense, that is) relevant thing that's happened in the 300 400 or so years (minutes?) since I've written on this blog!

Do you know anyone in the Richmond, Virginia area who might want to give a silky gray, dog- and cat-socialized, purring, drooling (only when he's reeeealy happy), sweet-smelling, fuzzy, cuddly, hilarious, space-saving kitten a permanent, loving home???? (Think really hard, OK!) If so, will you share this post? Or simply Travis' adoption profile? 

Oh yes, and you'll want to mention these adoption perks!

He'll be staying with me until the week of September 12-19, at which point, if he hasn't already been adopted, he'll join several other kittens on the Richmond SPCA adoption floor. (sigh)

Thanks for reading and listening, everybody! I'll be back as soon as I can with those wild beast pictures from my vacation! (You think I'm kidding...)