White Smoke!

 

Yesterday, while visiting with Steph and Dan, Steph asked if we had made a decision on a name for the new little girl.  I told her we were narrowing it down.

Dan asked, "Will there be white smoke when you make a decision?"

I chuckled.  Steph had no idea what he meant.  "When a new Pope is selected, the papal conclave releases white smoke, and the new Pope and the name he has selected, is announced.

No, her name is not White Smoke.

We are proud to announce: Welcome to the family, Stella Rose.

The decision came about this morning.  I told Joan, "I am good with Skye Blue or Stella Rose - I have taken Starr Angel out of the mix."

She said, "Let's go with Stella Rose.  I read that it is good to have a two-syllable name for a cat."  The decision has been made.

After getting Murphy and Stella their lunch, Joan and I made another drive to PetSmart: Stella Rose needs a name tag and Steph wanted some more of those after Christmas deals on dog toys.  Then, a stop at the Neighborhood Walmart in the same plaza, and across the street to pick up Panda Express... because, as we all learned from A Christmas Story (the movie), Chinese food is a Christmas tradition: "fa ra ra ra ra, ra ra ra ra").  ;-)

This is what we saw when we came into the house...

 Yes, the big furry boy was on top of the catio; the little girl inside on the third level.  No fussing, just chillin'.

We ate, then Joan took Stella out of the catio and put her on my lap.  After some petting, we decided it was time to put her down and let her explore the living room.  Murphy followed her around, still no fuss.  After a while, I took Murphy outside so Stella could explore without an audience.

Murph and I hung out for a while.  I took this shot of Murph...

 

Joan sent me this in a text...

 I don't think it gets any sweeter than that!

After exploring a bit more, Stella went back into the catio on her own, had a bit more to eat, then back out again...

 I was very impressed that she went in there, with no persuading.  And then back out...

 Then, playing with Murphy's tunnels...

 Another day of firsts.  She is progressing faster than I thought.  I think she likes being a part of the family.  I think we'll all sleep good tonight.