Griffin is home

Alas, all is not going well. Eli and Griffin are not especially fond of each other, though I'm told they have touched noses and have chased each other. But now Eli (because of stress) has diarrhea. My son reports that it has been quite stressful for them because of the hissing and fussing. I'm hoping for new photos soon, but here is one of Griffin after he was ousted from the cat tree:

You can tell from his expression that he is a bit feisty and maybe not ready to accept the loss of a position on the cat tree. I think Eli has his paws full with this newcomer. It has been a dreadfully busy week. I had a committee meeting this past Thursday afternoon, and much to my unhappiness, our chair decided that because the committee members last year had been so unproductive, we needed to meet again this coming Thursday to do some of the work that they had not done last year. Uh, excuse me? Is it too late to get un-elected to this committee? I also am being observed by the department chair on Wednesday. Yes, as early in the semester as it is, I already have been observed once by the tenure committee member assigned to me, and now the usual department chair observation. Groan. It always goes well. It's just another stressor for the week. When I finally got home yesterday morning, Simon hid from me, under my chair. I guess he was wanting to punish me for not getting home Thursday night, as planned. I was just so darned tired that I could not face the 75-minute drive in the rain. Poor Simon does not like his routine being upset, and all this moving around of furniture is getting him nervous. We've moved the sectional sofa into the formal living room, have sent the previous sofa and loveseat to a consignment shop, and have moved two chairs into place temporarily, awaiting our leather recliners. I do hope they will arrive by our anniversary (October 23). We have also installed a television in the formal living room/dining room, in an effort to make ourselves eat at the dining table more often. Rain is expected today, just when I was looking forward to sitting on the deck and enjoying the fall weather. Yes, Autumn arrived this week, and the trees, they are a-changin'. It won't be long until the first snowflakes. Groan.