Not yet ready to pose properly but here she is: introducing Holly

It's a hard life being a cat, trying to train a new human to understand your requirements... and what's with all this business of being confined to part of the house until you get used to the place?

Holly arrived last night and has been busy exploring the parts of the house she's been allowed into.  I suspect she's still hoping to find an escape route back 'home' and no way is she going to sit still long enough for me to photograph her.  She has the inscrutible face of the sphinx - and has once or twice adopted a sphinx position - and a very swishy tail!  This morning she deigned to speak to me and even jumped up to let me stroke her (after I'd replaced her vet food with some of her favourite flavour it has to be said).  Training (of me) will no doubt take some time.  Until then she paces, sniffs and now and again relaxes and rolls over onto her back.

Photos will follow once she feels she has enough control to demean herself to sit still for that long.

Whilst I'm out working today she will no doubt occupy a window seat and survey her new queendom.

I have added a few new-to-blogroll links in my list of blogs I read regularly.  I haven't deleted any this time, though one or two are as good as defunct and may go next time I update.

It's good to add more blogs by women, which may reflect the fact that the last year has changed the emphasis of this blog a bit.

By no means everything I read is on my blogroll.  Some blogs are anonymised or their writers need privacy/protection.  Some blogs are linked to major organisations.  Some are updated very infrequently.  Some are so new I'm waiting to see if they last before I link them.  All of which is to say, if I missed you off, please don't sulk, it's either (a) an oversight or (b) an attempt at being pastoral!

For a while now, I have been following Alice's photo blog which, alas does not seem to permit RSS feeds.  With a photo for every entry, it gives a glimpse into Alice's life as she prepares to leave her current employment and head north to go the 'Vicar School' for Baptists in Scotland.  Some nifty camera work and interesting thoughts.

More recently I discovered Cat Johnson's photo blog which has some simply stunning photographs that really capture a mood or a moment. With grace, humour and wisdom, here is someone living life to the full and making every word, and every moment count.  This one does have RSS feeds.

Do take a peek at either or both of them if you have a moment, I feel pretty sure you'll find something you enjoy

Something very special is going to happen either later today or tomorrow... I'm going to become a foster carer... for an orphaned cat.

This time last year I was seriously contemplating looking for a cat and had begun trawling the websites of local cat rescue shelters for a suitable house-cat.  I didn't want a kitten or a young cat, and I wanted one who would be content to be left on her own while I am out.  Ideally I wanted one who is OK with people as I like to have folk round, sometimes in quite large numbers.

Events then took the turn they did, and there was no way I could consider taking on anything new.

I have to admit I had not been thinking catwise again, but when this particular cat was orphaned quite suddenly, I felt it was absolutely right to offer her a foster home.

Holly is nine years old, and a gorgeous long-haired black and white cat (no songs about "Rev'rend Cat and her black and white cat", please) and I will post some photos once she arrives.  Today she is having a bit of beauty treatment at the vet and I am about to cat-friendly-fy my house so that when she arrives she feels welcome.

Suffice to say, this cat-loving minister is as gleeful as a child at the prospect of her arrival.

Altogether now, the minister's cat is an adorable cat... (please feel free to continue via comments; you can use a pseudonym or put 'anon' in the name box if you don't want people to know you're playing!!)