Little Mint loves Saturday mornings. This is the time of the week where I clean out her condo and make up a fresh little box. Mint adores fresh kitty litter and watches me impatiently as I prepare it. As soon as it’s in the box, even before I have time to tape down the bag, she jumps in and plays around like she’s in a sandbox. She’s a sensible kitty, too, as she only plays like this in squeaky clean sand.

Monday has brought the end to my rainy four day weekend. Although the rain caused chaos and tragedy in many parts of Belgium, here at chez moi it was quite welcome. Blue sky days are quite a burden to me – there is so much to see and do in this country. There is a constant bombardment of festivals, carnivals, expos, markets, regattas, fairs, exhibitions, parties, walks, tours, openings, cruises, sales, demonstrations, processions, and shows. Some festivals only happen every five or ten years, so missing a day could mean waiting another decade to experience the event. It is exhausting.

So a rainy day is a wonderful excuse to curl up on the couch with a good book, a chocolat chaud, and two sleepy kittens by my feet. In English we call this vegging out, but en française, c’est cocooning.

We bought the Le Bistro food distributor to ensure the cats got three meals a day while we were on vacation. However we were so happy with it that we now use it constantly. It features a large wheel that rotates one quarter-turn three times a day. However Pepper has figured out how to get her meals a little earlier. Even though little Mint watches her earnestly and reaps some of the rewards, she has yet to figure out the trick for herself.

On our way home from the Caucasus we spent a day in Riga, Latvia. Adrian told me that there would be cats on every corner. The souvenir shops were full of felined-themed merchandise, and we did find the Black Cat House, but the actual kitties hid from us in secret spaces. However, despite this minor disappointment, we had a lovely day strolling around the city and exploring its parks and cafés.