Well, what do you know! We made it through March, though it snowed almost every day that last week and the thermometer couldn't make it above zero part of the time. At least we didn't get seriously oil spilled, earthquaked or typhooned ... just the usual stuff ... though Miss Jerrianne was grousing about not getting to see the planets lined up in the evening sky. Clouds and snow blocked the view, except for the very last night in March, which was awfully cold for stargazing.

But it all worked out pretty well. On April 1st we went to our Reiki Circle, and as it was breaking up, Miss Jerrianne mentioned the planet show, noting that the sky was finally clear. They all trooped out to have a look, with me in the pouch, of course ... trying to keep warm and hide where those dogs couldn't see me. I couldn't see much through the mesh in the pouch ... it's sort of like those burqas the ladies wear in Afghanistan ... it keeps me safe but it ruins the view.

Anyway, they didn't see Mercury, which may already have set, but would have been hidden by a distant building even if it was still up. But the usual suspects were all out there ... Venus, the evening "star," the reddish one they call Mars, Saturn with the ringy dingy thingies and Jupiter with its moons, up there by our first quarter moon. Well, it was a sight to see ... best view in 60 years, I think they said, and not another opportunity to match it for another 40. We missed the first one and we'll probably miss the next one, too, but this one's marked off the "To Do" list.

After that, we went to the grocery store in search of good things to eat and we found a few. (Did I tell you that roast turkey's my favorite bird?) No one ever notices that I'm riding along in the cart in my pouch and I don't make a sound. It's rather fun traveling around incognito! Miss Jerrianne tried for another look at the planets when we finished, but there was a rainbow ring around the moon by then and the sky was fuzzy with moisture. Sure enough, before long it was snowing again.

After the groceries were unpacked, we had a snack and played with my new bouncy balls, until the pink one hopped right into the big flower pot with the Croton and didn't come out. It nestled into crumpled up aluminum foil put there to foil my urge to dig in the dirt around plants. Miss Jerrianne saw the ball disappear under the Croton leaves. She reached in for the pink ball and came up with a red one that looks like a cherry tomato instead. The red bouncy ball had been lost for weeks. She fished around a bit and found the pink one, too.

I napped while she worked on the computer and it looked like the day was going to end without her ever noticing my April Fool's Day joke. I was kind of bummed out about that. (I know, people don't think cats understand big ideas like April Fool's Day, but let me tell you, that one's practically a national holiday for cats. We love to play little tricks on people, even if we don't tell jokes.)

So ... we were all ready for bed when Miss Jerrianne snatched me up, before I could pull off my nightly disappearing act. The very last thing she did before turning out the light was pick up her pillow to fluff it ... and what do you think she found under it? My black and white and hot pink mouse! I'll bet you can guess how it got there!