Happy New Year! The cats are safely ensconced at my house as Azeena said. They have been with me for a week and a half since Christmas Day! Azeena brought them out where they promptly said we are mad at you CCL. You left us. You didn’t visit us, you didn’t play in the garden with us. That next week was touch and go. Jean-Claude slept in the basement. Roxie only consented to spend part of the time with me and neither cat really acted like they wanted to be bothered.
Then as the only truism that applies to every situation good or bad – this too shall pass. It passed. They became used to my house. They had a new big litter box. They found solace on the bed while I slept. 
They relearned that they can go watch the world from a second story deck. Roxie learned that she had new plants to pee in (which she likes the actual dirt). And now in my house we have a routine. They’ve adopted.
So every year we see a cycle. The new year starts and people roll out new promises – to lose weight, quit smoking, be better to your fellow man. Most of those are already broken by now. I stopped making resolutions at new year’s awhile back. Today is the day to start the rest of your life. Not some arbitrary date. I can understand the appeal though. But today we are going to push forward and leave what was in the past the past. We’ll carry the lessons forward.
With the new year also comes new spam. I received the following spam message. I found it hilarious and I hope you do as well!
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MONETARY CRIME DIVISION AND ANTI-TERRORIST.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
935 Pennsylvania Ave, NW
Washington, DC 2053, USA.
ATTENTION:
Acting as a Federal Commission, our job is to protect the interest of citizens, whether a citizen of the United States or not. Now the reason why we are contacting you is because your Name and other personal details were found in the custody of a long wanted internet fraudster and they also pointed you out as their business partner.
The Cyber Crime Division of the FBI gathered information from the Internet Fraud Complaint Center (IFCC) of how some people have lost outrageous sums of money to these impostors. You are required to response immediately and know what you are required to do so as to stop your name from been on the web list and if you refuse to comply with this, we will now include your name and picture on our official website and you will join the other wanted persons. Go through this link carefully.
[link deleted by me so you don’t accidentally click]
You have involved yourself in so many illegal activities such as illegal transaction, from illegal lottery winnings, to illegal bank transfers, diplomatic consignment and so many others and you have brought a lot of charges upon yourself knowingly and unknowingly. But I want you to know that ignorance is not an excuse in the law.
If you do not do anything fast to remedy this situation, you will be arrested wherever you are and you will go to jail. I am not trying to scare you but I am telling you the position of things and the law will never be compromised.
To response to the email is your choice, but you have been warned.
Timothy P. Murphy
Executive Deputy Director.
Federal Bureau of Investigation.
Cats & All That ™ 