It is hard to write a fitting tribute to Penny Sue because I can’t really believe she is gone. And because of all things, Penny was a very present kitty. Where ever you went, there she was. She slept in bed with me her first year of life. No matter that it was because she couldn’t figure out the cat door; she was poison oak-free, and it was wonderful. Penny approved of only four people in the world throughout her life … Steve, Mike, Westi and me … and she didn’t just love us … she OWNED us. And she kissed us. Sweet little sandpaper tongue kisses. Right on the lips. When we prepared our house for market, Penny moved to Mike and Westi’s, and she reduced that number to two. 
Always skittish with others, she now looked at Steve and I too with great mistrust. It was heartbreaking but I knew that Penny was happy and loved. She tormented their poor Jasmine-kitty, and ruled their household just as she had ruled ours. I am eternally grateful to Mike and Westi for giving Penelope a happy, loved last year of life, and it gives me comfort to know that just before the car took her life, she was snuggled in bed with Westi, and everything was right in her world.
We’re camped at the Navajo National Monument in northern Arizona. We’re in the middle of the Navajo reservation so not a lot of services and one of our trailer tires picked up a screw and is leaking air. We discovered the leak while trying to fuel up at a station that turned out to be closed due to a power outage. The UPS driver who was trying to make a delivery to them told us about a guy down the road to the Monument that fixes tires. Reluctant to take the trailer down an unknown dirt drive in the middle of a reservation, we drove to the campground, unhitched and went back. The driveway turned out to be about 3/4 of a mile long through beautiful and strange (to my eyes) terrain, ending at a home with multiple dogs laying outside. We sat in the truck until a man came out of the house and then told him of our need for tire repair. A man of few words (at least with us), he asked if we wanted him to come to the campground to fix the tire. We took this generous offer to be a polite negotiation and countered with an offer to bring the trailer back to him in the morning. That’s the current plan and it will be an adventure in its own right.