Cafes, hoarfrost, vacuum cleaners and Miss New Kitty

This week I needed to take my year-old vacuum cleaner in for its first annual checkup, so off I went to West Liberty, Ohio, where I purchased it. The night before we had fog that froze on the trees and bushes, otherwise known as hoarfrost.

This huge tree was all alone in the middle of the field.

After dropping off my cleaner at Mr. McCulla's, I walked across the street to have a bit of lunch at the Cream and Sugar Cafe.

It was a charming restaurant with small town friendliness. Not only did I have a bowl of tomato bisque soup and a chicken and spinach salad, but I also had a pot of English Breakfast tea. Made the proper British way with loose tea, not tea bags. They even gave me a complimentary lemon muffin which was just the right size, not one of those giant ones that most bakeries serve.

I had a table by the window and it wasn't crowded the day I was there, so they didn't mind my sitting for a while, sipping my tea and reading while I waited for Mr. McCulla to finish. I was saddened to hear that my favorite book store had closed due to the owner's retirement. She always had cats in residence and I had planned to take pictures of them and her store. I had to make do with the thrift store across the street. There I found a used hardback copy of The Mists of Avalon, which will make a perfect book to read for the Read the Book, See the Movie Challenge (in the sidebar) in which I'm participating this year. I have a whole year to read four books and watch the movies to compare in a blog post. That shouldn't be too difficult for a challenge-phobic person like me!

Update on Miss Sassy Clementine New Kitty:

She's still here, as you can see, and is currently running the household. See the word on the back of the little chair? Just remove that last letter and that should have been her name!  She keeps the other cats hopping.....and running, wrestling, and playing! She has doubled her size and is in danger of developing a little kitty fat belly. Unfortunately, her right ear and the tip of her tail was frostbitten. She has already lost about a fifth of her ear. She's going to the vet tonight and we'll see what Dr. Julie says. I don't know if she needs to have the damaged parts removed, or not. I'll keep you posted. Meanwhile, Sassy says "Hi, y'all! And can I bite your cheek? Or your fingers, toes, stray body parts? It's all good!"