About a year after we got Marsha, I decided we needed another cat. A cat to keep Marsha company. Because I thought she was lonely, wiling away the hours while Rockford and I were at work.

See? Even back then I put far too much thought into what the cat might be thinking. I may have a problem.

So I thought Marsha needed a friend, and so I called a local rescue operation and asked them who they had available. They had a fellow who’d recently been found in a Dumpster behind the Juvenile Justice Center. He was young and very thin, and he was, they said, pretty friendly. Because we had Marsha and Marsha hadn’t lived with another cat since her foster home days, the rescue guy and I decided the cat should come over for a few days to see how well they got along.

They sat on opposite ends of the living room for two full days, staring at each other and making the most horrible sounds a cat can make. So maybe I was wrong about the Lonely Cat thing.

And yet we (by which I mean I) couldn’t send that poor, emaciated cat back to the agency.

That is the story of the first time we saw JJ. He and Marsha never really became BFFs, but they did learn to tolerate one another. JJ was much more of the stereotypical stand-offish cat than Marsha, who is more canine than feline in many ways. JJ, though. Every now and then he’d deign to allow you to scratch his head, but that was about it. We loved him anyway.

JJ went to live with Rockford’s sister six or so years ago when we moved. Then a few years later she moved, and JJ went to live with a friend of Rockford’s sister. And then last year she moved, too, and JJ went to live with the parents of a friend of Rockford’s sister. They didn’t move, but they also didn’t want a cat.

But I did. And last week Rockford’s work travels took him oh-so-close to the home of Rockford’s sister’s friend’s parents.

And so.

Welcome back, JJ. We’re pleased to have you home. (And by “we,” I mean “all of us except for Marsha, who is not happy about it at all.)

We didn’t get a chance to see my brother and sister-in-law over the holidays, so they came over last weekend to exchange presents, watch the Lions game and knock a few things off my Mighty List:

• On Saturday I made sizzling rice soup. It wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t quite what I wanted it to be. The broth was a little too heavy but not quite flavorful enough. The rice, though, sizzled beautifully when it hit the soup. I’ll try it again.

• I tend to wear a T-shirt and jeans every day, and one of the items on the list was the rather nebulous “Upgrade my wardrobe. (Fewer T-shirts).” On Sunday, Carrie made good on her pledge to help out with that particular item. We went to the mall, where she made me try on every article of clothing at Lane Bryant. And then in an overly extravagant bit of birthday/Christmas gifting, she bought me a bunch of stuff.

• Carrie had also expressed an interest in fulfilling the Get a Manicure item on my list, so we also did that at the mall. She picked a lovely deep purple for my nails, and I chose a dark, dark, dark blue for hers. It was my very first manicure, and I liked it. Even though I promptly smudged the nail polish in the process of trying to free a shopping bag from the wheel of my chair. I’ll probably try it again sometime. I like having fancy hands. (That sounds vaguely Clampett.)

None of that explains, though, what that “What I Wore Wednesday” button sitting up there is all about. It’s about this: Just because my wardrobe has seen some upgrades doesn’t necessarily guarantee that I’m going to change my T-shirt-wearing ways. So in the interest of accountability, I’m going to (try to remember to) take a picture of what I’m wearing every day. And I’m going to post it here on Wednesdays and link it up to The Pleated Poppy’s linky thing.

This project is likely to give me fits for two reasons: 1. T-shirts. They are so tent-like and comfortable; and 2. I will have to take pictures of myself and put them on the internet. This is not a prospect I savor. I don’t like pictures of myself in general, and full-body pictures are absolutely the worst. But I feel like I probably need some accountability on this dressing better idea, so here were are. And here I am, Sunday through yesterday:

The December list was all fun stuff, but I was still (pleasantly) surprised that we actually did the majority of the things on it. Maybe there’s something to this list-making stuff after all.

So I thought maybe I’d make a list for January, too.

1. Reorganize my “office.” It’s actually just a closet, but it’s a very functional closet. And right now, it’s a very cluttered and disorganized one.
2. Paint the living room and hang pictures. I’ve gotten as far as picking a color, buying a sample, putting it on the wall in a few places and then deciding I don’t like it. (I need something that looks nice with the “Vanilla Brandy” on the walls in the dining area and the light sagey green drapes. Suggestions are welcome.)
3. Put the Christmas stuff away.
4. Start “Five in a Row” with Pete. (Done!)
5. Reinstate the poetry memorization work with Poppy; start it with Pete. (Done!)
6. Finish unpacking everything in the basement. Rockford actually made a ton of progress toward this one right after I made the list.
7. Lose 5 pounds.