Rain, rain and more rain

It's been raining steadily since 3:00 yesterday afternoon. The basement has a shim of water on the concrete (which is why I call it the dungeon), but luckily, no flooding. There is a crack in the floor where the water came bubbling UP yesterday, but it went straight into the drain. Thank goodness we are on a hill. Kira seems to be completely unafraid of rain or thunder. Ziggy hated thunder storms, or any loud noises. He really hated to go outside in the rain, but he liked to play in water (especially a running sprinkler hose). Kira, on the other hand, is perfectly willing to be in the rain. In fact, she is perfectly willing to lay down in the wet grass in the rain. I like the rain, too. I just want to keep warm in it.

This reminds me of a story. In 2002, I took my mom to Scotland. It does indeed rain a lot in Scotland, and I really love it. It smells wonderful. It feels wonderful. It makes me want to PAINT. Anyway, enough of that. Back to the story. A friend of mine joined us in Edinburgh and went out to the Western Highlands with us, specifically Fort William. One afternoon, we left the B&B to walk around the pedestrian mall and visit the shops. There was a slight mist in the air; I wouldn't even call it a drizzle. Less than 15 minutes into the walk, my mom (who was wearing one of those ridiculous clear plastic things on her head, in addition to holding an umbrella the size of New Jersey) turned to me in exasperation: "Please call me a taxi. I want to go back to the B&B. I have to get out of this pouring rain."

So we sent her back to the very comfy B&B, where the host and hostess graciously served her tea and cakes in front of the fireplace in a beautifully appointed solarium (yes, even in Scotland, they have solariums). Of course, my friend and I had a wonderful time, stopping in every pub so that we could try a different kind of scotch in each one. In Scotland, there are hundreds of yummy varieties, because it is, after all, Scotland. I brought home a little sample bottle of each one we tried so my favorite husband (who had stayed home with the then-not-so-elusive offspring) could share in the experience. Another thing we were able to do was listen to live music in smokey pubs...kilted musicians singing and playing bagpipes. Mom would not have tolerated the smokey atmosphere and loud music. Oooch, but it was lovely!

I think my love of Scotland started when I was very young, long before I ever saw the country, and I'm sure it has to do with race memory. I especially love the ruggedness of the Western Highlands. I'm not really so far removed from my Scottish heritage, only a few generations back. Of course, I believe my family clan (Scott) was a lowland clan, and judging by the way I love the Scottish sheep, there were probably some sheep thieves back there somewhere. But I still absolutely love the highlands.

Someday, I'd like to do a really thorough research into that part of my family tree. Separate the passed-down stories from reality. At any rate, I can't wait to get back there in June! I can smell it now!

Ok, so we took Kira in and weighed her yesterday. What a disappointment to find out we have only put THREE pounds on her!!! She eats now. But she's still not putting on the pounds the way I had hoped. We have at least 15 pounds to go. At a minimum. You can still feel her spine and hipbones, but not as sharply as when we got her. People aren't looking at us as if we are abusing her. I think that's because her coat is getting so lush. Obviously the food is doing a good job of shining and thickening her coat. Scarey thought: is it the thicker coat that gives her more weight? Right after we got her, the vet confirmed that she does NOT have worms. On the other hand, maybe I should be glad she's putting it on slowly, because it is a healthier way to do it.