Yet, another update, this one is about the possible move out to the
country that I wrote about a while back. If it works out, I'd be
moving to a barn apartment, taking care of the landowner's yard and
providing a little security by living on the property, since she does
a lot of traveling and isn't here in the winter months. I said at the
time that I wasn't too sure about the move, thought there was only
about a 50-50 chance it would ever happen. That was based on the fact
that there's someone currently living there, a friend of the son. I
thought she might just be looking for someone to hold over the guy's
head to get him to start doing what he's supposed to have been doing
all along as part of the agreement to live there rent-free. I also
questioned what the apartment would be like. It's inside a metal barn,
and I worried about the possible lack of windows (I know the gang
would HATE living without being about to watch outside during the
day), and worried about how well insulated it is since I would be
responsible for utilites.

Well, the lady finally got back Monday to me to see if I'm still
interested. She told the guy who lives there now to move (but didn't
give a time limit). She doesn't want to show the apartment until he's
gone since she says he has it pretty messy. We talked about it for
about 15 minutes and she relieved my more immediate concerns. Although
the apartment is inside the barn, it's essentially a building within a
building, which she says is well insulated with central air. It was
originally built when she was thinking about selling the house on the
property and living in the apartment, since she travels so much. She
said it does have windows, and that she lived there one summer. She
said her cats enjoyed the extra large window ledges, just right for
napping in the sun.

There's still a couple things I'd want addressed before I move there -
like the "unfinished" kitchen. If "unfinished" just means the lack of
the stove and fridge, that's no big thing., and the kitchen doesn't
need to be fancy for me to be happy with it. The neighbor who put the
two of us together thinks the owner would put them in without a
problem. A definite plus is that laundramats would be a thing of the
past, as there's already a washing machine and dryer in place. Still
don't know the move will actually happen, since I still haven't seen
the place, but I'd say it's much more likely to happen now.

Who knows, Rocky may become a barn cat yet ;-) For those who don't
know, Rocky was a rescue-feral. When I took him to be neutered I
wasn't planning on keeping him and had a home lined up for him to
become a barn-kitty. If we do actually move, I'm seriously thinking
Rocky will find himself being an inside cat. I don't worry much about
him being outside here in the city, since he spent 6-8 years on the
streets, but I'm not sure about letting him roam out in the country.
Not only would he have to learn about country predators, but the
property is on the corner of two country roads where the speed limit
is 55mph. I'm hoping that, if we move, he'll be happy living in the
apartment, and then having the barn to explore when he wants to be in
the OUT.
--
Steve Touchstone,
faithful servant of Sammy, Little Bit and Rocky

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