January Randomness

January brought a new semester of school. We also got rid of our black cat Buyo because of behavior issues. We were sad to get rid of Buyo, and Diaho mourned the loss of his best friend for weeks. Eventually, we got a new tortoise shell cat, Kagome. Kagome was a rescue who had been hanging around a house where several large, aggressive dogs lived. She was still a kitten, but was getting older and was scheduled to be put down later that week if nobody adopted her. She looked so much like my mom's sweet cat Goldie that she instantly stole my heart. She turned out to be a wonderful cat! She was petite, dainty, well behaved, and affectionate but also playful and feisty! She had a few eccentricities such as chasing bottle caps and licking Mike's hair, but they only made her more endearing. Even Diaho was happy to have her in our home. She was the perfect fit in our family. Sadly, I don't have many pictures of videos of Kagome. She was only with our family for a short time before she passed away in May from unknown causes.

My step-dad Sherwin has a wood shop out in his shed. Every now and then, he tinkers with things such as the sunflower lawn decoration he made for my mom one year. His latest project has been making what he has called "tone boxes" for his and Mom's grandkids. He makes them out of different types of hard wood, so no two look the same. The one he gave to Hyrum and Emily is made of cedar and walnut and looks as beautiful as it sounds. He wrote a short message on the underside and signed it for them. Both kids love playing it, and Emily enjoys making up songs to sing as she plays. I'm sure the kids will always treasure it, and there just might be a fight about who gets to have it when they're grown.