Nero's New trick!

Today my cat Einstein, and my Brother's cat, Nero, had a vet appointment. I rolled out of bed somewhere around 9:00, with their appointment at 10:00. I came downstairs, got a drink of water, let Nero out, then waited around for a bit. A voice came from upstairs: "You didn't just let Nero out, did you?" Oh dookie. "You'd better catch him now!" My dad shouted angrily from upstairs. Clothed only in my long johns , a t-shirt, and my slippers, I ventured forth into the snow-covered landscape. Luckily, Nero had not gone far. Standing on the garden wall, he looked me in the eyes, a twinge of fear in his, a twinge of pleading in mine. His body tensed, and in that moment I knew that this was going to be a bad start to the morning. The chase had begun!

        He scampered off into our front garden, making light tracks in the icy snow. I quickly pattered after him, trying to maintain a balance between speed and not falling on my arse. We then went through a pattern of him running around on the snow, hiding under a car, then jumping over into a neighbor's front garden. I am thankful it was early enough in the morning that nobody was out doing anything, for if you had been there, you would have seen a man clothed in slightly more than underwear attempting parkour in the snow. This went on for 2 or 3 times, before he went into someone's back garden and scurried under their porch. At this point, I thought I might try a stakeout. I even uttered a quiet prayer, I'm serious! Lo and Behold the small furry critter snuck out and poked his head 'round the corner, and I managed to corral him away from the porch. Unfortunately, he lept over into someone else's backgarden behind a door, and I could imagine the police arresting me in my underoos for tresspassing, so I went home, a broken and defeated man.
           After a while, I spotted him in the back garden, and my mom suggested we bribe him with tuna. So I'm shuffling outside, while grappling with the tuna can, and it opens juuuuust a little too quickly, getting tuna juice on my jumper. I now smell quite fishy, and as I look up from my tuna-laden mess, I realize that Nero has scampered off somewhere again. I leave the can of tuna our back garden and shuffle back into the house. As I watch from the window, Nero crawls closer and closer to the can, until he starts hastily chowing down on the tuna. I exit the house and cautiously manouver towards him, each step drawing him that much closer to scampering off. I take a step, and he scurries off, stopping after a few feet. "Come on Nero, there's tasy tuna, come get some." I coo in a reassuring voice. He crawls back. Another step sends him scampering again. He returns. But one step eventually proves one step too far, and he runs off for good. I bring the tuna inside. 20 minutes until the appointment. They'll have to reshedule him. That'll cost money, and my dad will be quite upset. Nero pops up onto the windowsill. My dad says "Hey Nero, you want in?" He opens the door. Nero comes in. "He's mocking me, you know. He's just mocking me, dad." I walk into the dining room, and say to my brother:
"Hey Grant, your cat learned a new trick."
"Oh yeah? What trick is that?"
My face turns from a smile to a demeanour as icy as my feet.
"Spite." 

Snow an' Stuff!

So! We got off an hour and 20  minutes early from school today due to, you guessed it, snow! I love snow.

          I say this every time anyone even mentions it, but I just have to say, it really reminds me of Utah. One of the best parts of Utah. Because it's a desert, it gets really hot in the summer, and really cold in the winter. The sheer freezing temperatures truly freeze the water, creating dry snow. Snow in which no water can be found, simply fluffy ice, which make perfect powder for skiing. It was absolutely beautiful in the mountains, you guys. I have such fond memories of my childhood's winters, making snowmen with my dad and my brother, snow forts, snow fights, snow caves, and for new years, leaping face-first into a snow bank in naught but my undergarments in a desperate bid to stay awake. Ok, maybe that last image isn't quite so beautiful, but the mountains and forests covered in snow were breathtaking. There's but a shard of my morning view at the top of this post, but few things match it's wonder in person.     

    Anyway! Enough of my blabbing about Utah.  It just occurred to me that some of you might not know this, but I've been living in Ireland for the past 5 years, I used to live in Utah. I wouldn't really consider either my real "home", but I do call each of them "Home" from time to time! Oh, and click the image for it's full view, it's really pretty! 
     
  The snow really reminded me of God though. In Isaiah 1:18 it says:
"Come now, let us reason together," says the LORD. "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson, they shall be like wool."

I thought that was really applicable. I think to some extent, living with God is like living in a snowstorm. No matter what you do, it will be covered up. No blackness or stain can ever outlast the driving  white of forgiveness. There was so much muck and filth in the gutters, but every time a new storm came along, the snow completely covered it, making it white again. Even my footsteps were filled in quickly, I felt like I was at the abject mercy of this downpour of snow, like no matter what negativity I did, it would be covered and made beautiful again. No matter how dark or tarnished, made to reflect the light and shine once more. I thought that was really beautiful.