Lo siento means, I'm sorry,  in Spanish. I'm thinking in Spanish right  now because I'm listening to some great Reggaeton from Columbia. Acutally, from the Netflix series, The Queen of Flow. I didn't expect to like it, pero me encanto mucho! I loved it! So, now and then, Spotify plays one of the songs form the series and I end up thinking in Spanish.

But that's not why I'm writing today. I'm writing to apologize for no new additions to the store. I do plan to have a winter theme, but it will begin in February, which is still winter in Pennsylvania. I feel for folks still dealing with the weather.

We have actually had some low temperatures for Florida, but what 59 means to us has a far different meaning up north. When you live here for 23 years, your blood thins, and colder temperatures (meaning down to 35 at night) set the arthritis in motion. But that never keeps me from posting and getting new products up in the store. My cat actually did that.

I had a small scratch from one of our new fur babies. We adopted two kittens in September -- Kai and Alex. Kai has a lot of British Blue Shorthair in him, and he was 7 months when we adopted him. He's quite the proper gentleman, much like a teddy bear. He's great.

But Alex? He's a heller. He was 8 weeks, and four months later, he's almost bigger than Kai already. We think he must have some Maine Coon in him. He has the tips on his ears, fur between his toes, which are black, and he's growing at a rapid rate. But he's also got some Bengal. He has the spots on his tummy and he totally acts like a Bengal. But he's harder to train because he's deaf. We didn't know it until a day or two after we brought him home, but c'mon. That wasn't a deciding factor one way or another. We just had to take him.

Alex started screaming at the top of his lungs the instant we entered the animal area. Manatee County's Kitty Town rescue keeps the cats wonderfully well. They have big cages that fit multiple cats with plenty of room for them to play, and they're all clean. Wonderful people volunteer just to help the animals. They're truly wonderful people.

But I digress. I have a penchant for that.

Anyway, Alex gave me a small scratch about three weeks ago. I thought it was nothing, but I had a hair appointment and it was bleeding. I put a bandage on it and then, opened it up again when I got home. It healed pretty quickly, but... Under my skin was lurking an infection.

I woke up last Monday with a huge swollen, red arm that hurt. I thought it was arthritis, but ended up at the doctor. I'm taking big antibiotics and it's almost gone now, but what one tiny scratch can do! I'll be much more careful in the future and never again think that a scratch is nothing. I've had cats for almost 50 years and never had anything like this, but there it is -- Alex. He's a little bum, but we love him. He'll learn eventually.

I'll be adding new products February 1. Be ready!

- Patricia