Dear Readers, we have been very lucky so far with the weather in Toronto, but today the skyscrapers have disappeared into the low clouds. It’s difficult to keep your spirits up when the world outside is so dismal and grey, but fortunately R, who is looking after our cat while we’re away, has been sending me updates and photos so I know exactly how Willow is getting on.

To start with she was definitely very suspicious.

But as the days have worn on, she’s started to relax, and to even come downstairs when she hears the door open to see if there’s any food in the offing…

And now she is quite happy to be stroked…

And seems generally much more relaxed.

This morning R tells me that her 3 year-old daughter was ‘reading’ an Ursula Le Guin story to the cat, who was unimpressed but unfazed. I told R that the cat was used to Tolstoy so maybe felt a bit underwhelmed :-). And just look at that lovely London weather! R tells me that the cat is following the sun  around the house, as usual. She’d have a spot of bother doing that here in Toronto today.

One thing that R and I have both concluded is that the cat is probably now completely deaf – last time I tried to get her into a cat carrier she was asleep and I was able to pick her up gently and pop her in before she even noticed, something I would never have been able to do if she’d been able to hear me – I swear that she slept with one ear open. Also, her yowls for food and attention have gotten much louder, so I suspect she can’t hear herself. Still, apart from that she seems perfectly happy, and I’m really pleased that she’s eating well while we’re away. It’s one less thing to worry about.

And so we’re at the turning point of the holiday, with a few more lovely friends to see, and my mother-in-law’s 95th birthday on Thursday. It’s been a hard trip in many ways, but there are many compensations. Still, I find my thoughts turning gradually back towards home. Let’s see what the next few days brings.