Red Sky in Morning...

..Sailor's Warning? Didn't work out that way.The day was just fine.... another day of mild temperatures including sunshine.

I started my day with a trip to the lake while my house-guest brother slept; luckily we had switched cars in the driveway yesterday, putting his ahead of mine, so I had a way to get there! (Sunrises have been missed when I have forgotten to do that! Not everyone gets up before the sun) 

At my brother's request, we did the usual tour of local charity and antique shops looking for things we did not need. It was a hard sell this time - nothing caught my eye. - oh except a James Kent chintz cream and sugar set for which I have absolutely no use except to admire it! I do wonder..does anyone  actually use those things anymore? But then, who cares? I love old chintz...and it cost me a mere pittance. 

To compensate for adding one more thing to my cluttered household, I will select something of equal charm from my various collections and donate it to the Salvation Army, and take pleasure in knowing that some other collector of frivolous things will come across it and be delighted. Sometimes it is little things, like a "lucky find", that can perk up our day..

My brother is considering getting a cat, and endlessly weighing the pros and cons. (He is quite attached to his furniture and worries about claws) We stopped in at a pet shop on our shopping tour to check out all the cat accessories he would need to have if he went ahead with this project...and of course to get a wee cat fix as they always have cats in-house awaiting adoption. They had only one cat that needs a home but she was recuperating from surgery and wasn't ready to be petted...but they did have an amazing house cat called Max..... Max was hilarious. He spends his day in cat heaven..hanging out in the cat aisle..surrounded by walls of cat food and treats!. And..apparently on occasion he tears open a bag or two..but what could one expect? Of course he would. But the pièce de resistance? As my brother was petting Max in that aisle, the clerk approached and Max went right up to her, looked her in the eye and assertively meowed..just one meow..that's all it took. The clerk said, "OK Max", picked him up and stretching as tall as she could reach, lifted him up to the top shelf from where he then climbed up onto a tall cat tree and settled in! This, apparently is the routine. Funny in itself...but more so when we noticed the sign on the shelf...(see extra) "Yes", the clerk said, "Max always asks for assistance" .... I just loved it...

All in all It has been a good visit with my brother; he will return to the city later this afternoon,  but we will plan some more outings soon and try to take advantage of this good weather while we  have it.