And Hubert makes 7....

Pets, that is.

Meet Hubert. No, not the kid with the goofy grin. That's Calvin.

Hubert is little and fuzzy and only 6 weeks old.

When we first asked the kids what they thought about moving to Alberta, Janelle said, "Sure!" Calvin thought for a few seconds, then asked, "Can I get a pig?" At the time we were intending to buy an acreage, so we said yes. Because we bought a house in town instead, Calvin got a kitten.

Where we got Hubert is a story in itself! I wish I could've taken pictures!

We saw an ad in the paper about kittens for sale. Calvin and I drove into downtown Edmonton to a seedy little apartment building along a road of 50 other seedy little apartment buildings. Shirley let us in. She was probably 60 but looked 80. She smoked the entire time, hacking and coughing and talking in a raspy voice -- usually to herself about stuff Calvin and I couldn't quite understand!

Shirley is the ultimate crazy cat lady. At least 3 adult cats and more kittens than I could count were running amok in her filthy, smoke-filled, greasy-smelling, ran-down one-bedroom apartment. Hubert was the only cream or orange kitten we could find after 2 weeks of looking, so we really wanted him, but he had runny eyes. Finally we decided that even if he was a little bit sick, we would take him to the vet and make him well. Shirley would've just continued letting him live in the filth with all his inbred relatives. We're just suckers for poor, pathetic animals that need rescuing.

So Hubert is home, checked by the vet and basically healthy except for his little kitty virus, which will clear up in a week with medication. He bonded instantly with Calvin, crying whenever Calvin leaves him. This should complete our animal kingdom, at least until we buy acreage. And then......Smallville Petting Zoo!