Meet Face

Nick and I were going to pet store after pet store trying to find the perfect playmate/sister/girlfriend for Kitsch. Actually, we started looking for a brother/boyfriend. I've had boy cats most of my life and they tend to be better about not messing in the house or scratching the furniture, etc. Anyway, every pet store we visited I found a kitten that I wanted to bring home, but we always decided against it for whatever reason.

Last week, while visiting my mother, we ran to the local pet store to see what they had and we met a cute, black kitten. She was super scrawny. All of the other kittens were twice her size, and they were mostly the same age (according to the girl behind the counter). We figured she was the runt of the litter. We laughed at her a bit and fawned over her cuteness. Then, we left.

Two days ago, I went back to the pet store and the little, black kitten was still there. She was surrounded by new kittens, who were still twice her size. I asked to hold her. Once I did, I couldn't put her down. So, impulsively, I brought her home.

Nick couldn't be happier. He was in love with her the first day we met her. (I'm still not sure why we didn't just take her home then).

At first, Kitsch was not having any of it. He was pissed that we would even consider bringing another animal into his domain. He growled and hissed like I've never seen before. And let me tell you, he looks pretty evil while he's hissing. I think it's the "no hair" thing.

After two nights, Kitsch now accepts his companion. He's still a bit unsure, but for the most part he's pretty content.



The problem now is that he wants to play with her too much. He gets a little over-excited and starts to bite her way too hard. She's so so so small and just sits there and mews. But, when he leaves her alone, she chases him and starts the whole cycle over again. I'm hoping Kitsch will learn to be gentler in his play tactics.

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We decided to name the new kitten "Face." For one, we thought it was a cute name. Second, she has a cute, little face (as you can see in the very funny picture of her at the top of this post). She has quite the personality. She was not scared of Kitsch for one moment, even while he hissed and growled. And, she took to the house like a trooper. She hasn't tried to hide at all. She sleeps wherever she wants and goes wherever she wants. She's also very fearless. If she wants to get somewhere, she goes for it, no matter where it is. She is too small to jump to very high places, but she will climb in order to get where she needs to go. Exhibit one:





She actually climbs us. If she wants held and we are busy, she will climb up our clothes and onto our shoulders. I love that now, but we'll have to break her of that before she gets too big. Ouch.

HILARIOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Seriously, the exclamation points are necessary. I will giggle about this for days to come. I used to go to Showbiz Pizza when I was a little girl, so this was especially funny for me. Thank you Mary for the link. I needed this laugh.

2:32 -- 3:13 is my favorite portion of the clip. However, the entire thing is h.i.l.a.r.i.o.u.s. :)

I am a collector of things.

1. Bells:



When I was nine years old, I began collecting bells. My father bought me a bell that reminded him of me; that began a life of collecting. Since that day, my father has given me a bell on my birthday and Christmas every year. I've picked up a few on my own; my friends have picked me up one here or there. And now, I have quite the collection. Most of my bells are Fenton glass. But, I have several others also.

2. Frogs:



I used to collect frogs. I only have a few at my current home; most of them are at my mom's house. I have frog figurines, stuffed frogs, frogs in a bathtub, inflatable frogs, frog keychains, frog pajamas, frog slippers, etc. etc. etc. I really liked frogs when I was younger. Everyone knew it. My birthdays consisted of opening frog after frog after frog after bell after frog. I don't get so many frogs anymore... but when I see a cute frog figurine at the store, I can't help but want to pick it up.

3. Barbies:



I always loved Barbies as a little girl. If I wasn't playing tricks on my little brother, I was playing Barbies with my cousin. I had two milk-crates filled with Barbies... But no Ken dolls. (This would make an interesting post later. I really need to remember to discuss this). Soon, I started keeping the extra special Barbies in their boxes. This started with the Holiday Barbies that my uncle would buy me for Christmas. I collected them well into my teenage years (right up until I moved away for college). After I moved out of the house, my mother threw away my crated Barbies. I am still devastated over that. I would love to look through them. Aside from a few haircuts (remember, there was no Ken doll - I had to make "Ken" dolls out of flat chested, generic, skipper dolls), they were all in really great shape. It's too bad they're gone. :(

4. Bing and Grondahl Figurines:



Okay, so maybe this can't really be considered a collection... but it's the whole reason I decided to blog about this topic. I recently found the strangest little figurines and I am completely smitten with them. The little guy above is "headache." There are three others that go with this collection: "earache," "toothache," and "stomach ache." I found a vintage headache and earache on E-bay and had to buy them. I got a fantastic deal. I am currently keeping my eyes open for the other two aches.

I'm not really interested in the painted figurines by Bing and Grondahl. But, I'm enamored by these babies. They're strange and beautiful. So, my collection will probably be complete after I find the other two. But, I may extend the collection into "anything involving strange little babies."

I collect other things... but these are my favorite collections. Do you collect anything?