Less than 40 days to go and the nerves are starting to set in. The hardest part of this trip is going to be leaving behind our Scooter cat. He has been absolutely fantastic lately; we figure that he's sucking up to us in hopes that we won't leave him behind. Don't worry, Scooter will living with in Sudbury with Jonathan and Kate, M's cousin, so he will be in good hands. Nonetheless, Scooter is being affectionate like never before. We are loving it, but it is definitely making it harder to leave. While we are in Lesotho, we won't miss water or electricity nearly as much as our Scooter. The funniest thing is that the Basotho (the people of Lesotho for those keeping track) will think we are absolutely nuts for letting an animal sleep in our homes. Remember, points of reference. Cats in Africa are huge; although Scooter isn't that slim these days either since we give him treats for every cute thing he does-which is everything! That said: we know for certain that this trip is what we want to do even if it means leaving our cat at home for a little while. It will make coming home even happier for us. - J& M