Monty will climb into any box left lying around – including one I’ve already flattened for recycling :D

This particular carton just arrived with 150 more shipping envelopes. It’s a packing-mailing frenzy at N&B HQ this week! The early holiday season is always hard work but I really enjoy it and feel so grateful for all your business. Ah, loves.

(Photo by Rob Isaac)

These two rapscallions joined our family a couple of weeks ago! I mentioned to a friend that we were going to visit a shelter to look for a kitty or two, and as it turned out her mother was fostering a litter that needed homes. We went to visit and fell in love with this pair.

The kitten on the left is Montgomery, shortened to Monty or Merry for everyday use. (Technically he is actually a girl, but we didn’t find out for some time because they were very timid to begin with, and by the time the discovery was made the name and pronoun had firmly stuck.) He is almost all grey except for a little white tuft in the middle of his belly.

The kitten on the right is Pippin. She has white socks on all four paws, anklets in front and knee-highs in back, plus a white chin and chest.

They are wonderful little cats, very naughty at times but so sweet and soft. Monty is turning into a snugglepuss and spends most of the day in the office with me, winding around my legs and playing with his catnip mice, whereas Pippin is a little more adventurous and loves to climb trees. They sleep at the foot of our bed and have the loudest purrs. It is so nice to have cats in the house again :)