Politics, cats, and books

I spent much of last weekend nurturing little Smudge who weakened every day. She died during the night on Sunday. Sad little soul was too far gone to save, I suppose, but I would have been so happy to keep her! The first photo shows her after a bath to help rid her of thousands of fleas, and the other photo was two days later...

Smudge, about 4 weeks old

She preferred the cool tile over the rug

Last weekend was also Panama's national election day, held on Sunday so more folks can vote. About three-quarters of the eligible population voted! The president-elect is Juan Carlos Varela and he will hold his post for 5 years. Since the fiasco with Noriega, presidents may only serve ONE TERM, and not run again for two full terms. Since they have a multi-party system here, most governments are minority and need to form coalitions in order to accomplish anything. An election means that on July 1st, when the new government takes over, all government employees lose their positions and everything starts from scratch! All those employees started to seek new jobs a year ago.

Our own two cats have been livelier with the coming change of season. The wind is still primarily from the north-east but is slowly favouring a north-west direction. Rain is still not heavy, and not occuring every day. Each bit of rain makes our grass greener, and I am sure the cattle are getting some relief. Cagney races along the hall to and from the bedroom, and Mitzi has tried helping Chris with cleaning. Alas, she is quite ineffective, and grabbing the duster or cloth is so annoying - we just laugh.

Mitzi wantsto try sweeping now

Thursday of this week, I swam a length. Don't get too congratulatory - it is only 18 feet! Each day we both do our water exercises and each swims our lengths...laughable, but it is still exercise. Chris completes at least 30 laps, and I am  up to about 10. It is a lovely feeling of coolness after. I was also busy sending off query letters to pubishers, and entering a few writing contests. One never knows! Other than this blog, I am not presently writing and am eager to start somethng new. Any ideas?