Ebony...a travelin' cat

A post about Ebony, my companion and furry friend. Ebony, aka Ebby, has had lots of "air time" here on my quilting blog. She travels over and often appears on the Orphan Train blog as well. She's a "travelin' cat". Her journey began on Oct. 28, 2001, somewhere in WI. I doubt she knew she was destined for travel, and how hard it would be to find a 'forever' home. She did live within the home she was born to for nearly 4 years. She was allowed to have one litter of kittens,and was then spayed and de-clawed. And shortly after, was sent on her way to somewhere else.The Owner's mom took her in, but only for 6 months. The mom was moving and Ebby wasn't to be included. As fate would have it, I was looking for a short-hair, older female cat that already had its procedures done. My DD#1 works with the "mom" of the first owner. On Sept. 29, 2006 Ebony came to live with me, in my little corner of WI.
 Most of you that follow my blogs have gotten to know the many faces of Ms. Ebby, along with me. I've told you of her trials and her successes. Most of you know she is quite anti-social, but seek affection and attention in her own mis-trustful way. We aren't each others first choice, but we need each other. She has a forever home now.
 She's a permanent enough part of my little corner of the world to be included in a "my favorite things" picture! My last post explained the situation with "the babies", and I ended by saying that somehow the whole experience seemed to have brought us closer, that a bit more trust seems to have been established. And today, a small miracle happened...
 
As this last picture shows, Ebby is an indoor cat with patio privledges. She "lives" for me letting her go outside in the early morning, and sometimes the early evening. The door MUST be propped open so she can make a hasty retreat if frightened. And that happens often. I am not allowed to come out AFTER she is outside, or she dashes in again. I can go out first and sit in my lawn chair and she joins me, but if I stand up, she runs for the house. That's been the pattern for the whole 5 years she's been here. BUT...this morning, after she was outside, and sitting over much closer to where the sidewalk meets the blacktop, I came out the door with the watering can to water my plants. The miracle?? Yup! You guessed it! She just sat her ground and watched me!! I watered the tomato plant in the pot, the window boxes and the other plants, and she just sat and watched. When I was finished, I pulled the door open and came back inside, and she just sat her ground...unbelieveable! You have to wonder how having "the babies" here for that 37 hours could have changed her attitude, but something has, and I'm delighted!! I have hope of more breakthrough moments as we continue on our journey together.