October 7, Fall, year 20

The kittens are doing well, which makes me happy. I've been able to stretch out times between feeding to handle a few of the farm chores again, much to Uncle Tak's relief. I know it's not fair of me to expect him to make the deliveries into town and come home to help with the animals, but what else can I do?

Constant kitten supervision is at least letting me catch up on both sleep and reading. I should soon be finished with the last of the books I borrowed from Mary this spring. Uncle T says that she was happy to get back some of the ones I'd already finished, and I feel a little bad about keeping them for so long.

Work happens though, so I'll just talk to her a bit when it's time for the fall horse races.

Which is actually coming up pretty fast, and I've been trying to figure out who I can leave the kittens with so that I can go and see. Gray ought to be there this time, he usually is in the fall, and I know Jill said she wanted to enter the races again.

I'm thinking maybe Ramona, she's raised cats before and knows how to take care of them. I'll ask her tomorrow if it would be okay, and talk to Lumina as well. I've been so busy I've barely had the time to talk to Muffy some days, let alone Lumina.

Well… maybe before Jack's wedding—which, before I forget again, is on December 20—I can host a sleepover or something. It's been a while since any of us Valley girls crashed in one house, watched movies and threw popcorn at each other.

Heck, I might even invite Eve, Jill, and Karen! Eve can let off some planning steam, hehehe. This is probably the longest time ever between an engagement and a wedding… Usually there's just a week between them, but it's already been several months.

I wonder if Eve and Jack are staying in the same house, or if she's still with her family until the day of the wedding? I almost want to call and find out, except Jack's probably in the middle of chores, and getting a hold of Eve is almost impossible unless she's working at the tavern.

It's Karen's birthday soon too! Between kitten watching, flour buying—I'm broke everyday because I have to buy so much to give to those little Sprites—and book reading I've been doing some sewing. She's not one for fancy dresses, but I think she'll get a kick out of this.

Pretty much I've made her a long-sleeved vest… with frills. She's going to kill me, but it'll be worth it! And I know she'll wear it, since she's needed a new long-sleeved vest since last winter when hers got torn beyond repair.

That was also the day we nearly went skating on thin ice… we had our share of near-disasters that day. Thin ice, slipping on snow-covered rocks, almost falling into the Goddess Spring… Heh. Good times.

I wonder what I should do for the Full Moon festival? Make moon cakes definitely, but I don't really like the festival in and of itself too much. It's too… mushy for of those festivals where you ask your boy-or-girl friend to a private spot and watch the full moon rise.

Bleh. Most couples I know—even those in the worst forms of denial (Marlin and Celia!)—are going to be hanging around everywhere on that day. Though I wonder if Muffy will have the courage to ask Griffin? Oh, won't that be a sight to see?

I mean, Lumina and Rock are a given… for all he annoys the crap out of her Lumina is definitely smitten with him, and it shows. It's adorable in some ways. I think that if Lumina does marry Rock, he's going to get his ego punctured more than a little. Maybe it'll drag him back down to bearable, the way it was when we were kids.

I've seen a lot of nothing with Flora and Uncle Carter, but she's admitted that she likes him more than an assistant probably should, so there's hope there. It's a little weird to think about—she'snot that much older than me, for goodness sake—but I guess I don't have any real complaints about it. I mean, they work well together, and she doesn't belittle him.

And Uncle C's been pretty lonely since Dad died. I haven't had the genuine time to listen to his theories about our ancestry beyond the tidbits I collect while digging in the Excavation site. So this might be good for him.

Oh, and Nami's been spotted with Gus a lot! They share stories about travel, and she even manages to put up with him and his endless music. Which is pretty awesome, considering. I hope she sticks around with him they're a cool pair, even though their personalities are extremely opposite.

It's fun though, to listen to them get started in on a discussion. Nami doesn't sit passively when she's talking to him the way she does when it's Rock asking a question.

Truth be told, I'm… a little envious. I haven't seen Skye since I got back, and I haven't gotten the chance to actually… apologize for the slam to the jaw.

Which I still think is justified, but maybe a little overboard now…

I can't leave the kittens here alone, and I don't feel comfortable shutting them up in my room just so that I can go and talk to him. Mom always said I'd make a good mother myself some day, with how much care and thought I put into orphaned animals… Though the raccoon that one time got me in a fair bit of trouble…

Heh.

Maybe… Maybe I'll ask him if he wants to spend the festival with me. If memory serves, the original Moon Festival was actually a celebration cooked up by his people to show off to us down here on earth. Maybe he could tell me more about it.

Nnnn… maybe not. I don't know the first bit about asking someone to a festival… And one as 'romantic' as this might make him think too much into things. I won't deny that I like him… probably more than I should, but I don't want to send the wrong sort of message.

Argh… now I'm thinking too much! Nng… It's supposed to rain soon, I'm gonna go put away the animals before I try beating my head into the wall. It'll be more productive at least…