Chicken Wire

I just realized that I posted those pictures of Zim on the edge of the balcony, but never updated that he actually fell/flew over the balcony one night some months ago.  It was crazy, as we did hear a sound and then could not find Zim anywhere.  Now, he is a cat, so he rarely (if ever) comes when we call his name.  And it's not that he doesn't know his name, as he really does, it's just that he's a cat and will only come to you when he's good and ready, not just because you want him to.  So, we searched everywhere, inside and outside.  Finally after about an hour of that madness (did I mention that it was 10pm? thankfully, a Friday night and not a school-night) we called our downstairs neighbor, who has a fenced in patio, which lies under our balcony.  As soon as we went out onto her patio, I rounded the corner and there is Zim all happy-go-lucky.  I scooped him up and brought him upstairs to find some blood under his mouth.  He either scraped it on the way down or...??  Thankfully he seemed fine otherwise.  But because of that, we were scared it would happen again.  The next day I bought chicken wire from the hardware store and on Sunday we had our work cut out for us.  We locked Zim in the bedroom and finally completed our task after about 4 hours.

Makes us feel much better.  But it was a pain to put up.  We have so many plants on the balcony, we had to move all of them, cut the wire, secure it, and then put all the plants back.  Talk about painstaking work!

I've read quite a few books since my last post.  Let's see if I can remember them...
My Story by Elizabeth Smart was captivating.  I enjoyed it and feel so sorry for what happened to her.  Although I am really glad she has been able to move past that terrible time.  Poor kid.
I Am Malala: The Girl Who Stood Up for Education and Was Shot by the Taliban by Malala Yousafzai and Christina Lamb was a fabulous book.  If I had money to spare, I would give money to her organization.  What a great blend of history of the region she is from and her life story, thus far.  I still am amazed at what kind and loving parents she has.  I highly recommend this book.
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez was a little disappointing.  Firstly, I had thought I'd read it before, but I was mistaken.  I really enjoyed it, don't get me wrong.  I suppose I thought I'd get more out of it or something, the way everyone talks about it.
China Dolls by Lisa See was wonderful.  She's a fabulous writer and I was so excited to hear she had a new book out.  She does historical fiction almost as good as Isabel Allende.  It was a great story and a really wonderful read.
There are a couple more that I know I'm forgetting, but I cannot seem to remember.  I'll have to post again when I remember.

And now I'm reading Colorless Tsukuru Tazaki and His Years of Pilgrimage by Haruki Murakami.  I've all of his novels and am really enjoying this one too.  He doesn't disappoint, which is not surprising, but I have a feeling I'm going to finish it too quickly.  I'm trying to savor it, but it's difficult as I just want to read and read and read.  I suppose this is not a bad dilemma to have!

That's all I have for now...get back to reading!