At 1 a.m., when I was sound asleep, I heard a strange noise outside. Not really loud, but loud enough to wake me up. It was a kind of scratching sound, and I wasn’t sure what it was, so I got up to look. I really should’ve had my camera ready before I turned on the outside light, because although what I saw was still there, I wasn’t holding my camera, and when I grabbed it to take a photo, the flash accidentally went off. Dang. Because what was out there were two big fat raccoons raiding my suet feeder!! As soon as the flash went off, they took off running, and I missed getting them. However, I thought I should post the photo anyway. Hahahahaha…

This next photo made me laugh and cry all at the same time. When my beloved ʻUkulele kitty was still alive, she used to present me with gifts of balls of yarn that she’d found. Sometimes in my knitting bags, sometimes from somewhere else. She’d pick them up with her mouth, bring them to the hallway near my office door, and then make a very particular meow that she only used for her triumphant acts. I’d praise her and tell her what a good kitty she was.

About three months ago, I could have sworn I heard ʻUkie’s meow out in the hallway. It was eerie. I got up and went out into the hallway, and there was Kalakoa, bringing me a ball of yarn, sitting there in triumph at the awesome thing she’d done. She sounded exactly the same as ʻUkie used to sound, and I knew right then and there that ‘Ukie had sent this kitty to me. I cried every time, missing ʻUkie, yet “seeing” her at the same time. I mean, really, what are the odds?

Well, today there were no tears. I just started laughing. Because when I heard the “Look Mom!!” today and went out, this is what Kalakoa had brought me. It’s a large felted fish that I knit… almost as big as she is, and how she dragged it out of the basket and into the hallway I will never know. All I know is that ʻUkulele had a part in the whole thing.