Inchiostro returned after 48 hours

I'm really glad that this morning Inchiostro returned after 48 hours of absence! I was really starting to worry, but I didn't want to say anything on the blog before being sure he would return, so I only spoke to Annelies about his absence. Especially with the stormy weather we have...

Those are two pictures of Inchiostro (black and white) and Foglia (gray) taken a bit more than one month ago, on the rooftop of the barnhouse.

Inchiostro and Foglia are brother and sister. They have two other brothers. Mandorlo (who is white). And Calamaio (black and white) who mysteriously disappeared 5 months and a half ago, and did not reappear yet. Calamaio disappeared on one of the worst days of the war, so perhaps something he heard (distant noises) unsettled him. 

We never had a cat reappearing after more than 10 days absence. But I read stories of cats who return after several months or even several years. So, I still hope, and I still call his name every day. 
 

-

And there was a great resemblance between Inchiostro and Calamaio, as they almost looked like twins. So, there could be another symbol, another thing behind the disappearance of Calamaio. 

Twin cats... twin souls...

If you watch the videos of last summer, you will see Calamaio often appearing in them, as he loved to play with water when I was watering. 

I personally love each of our cats like little children. It's been three years and a half I give them all their meals personally, each and every day, with the help of my mother who helps me prepare them (except when she is in Beirut). Since 2020, I did not go on vacations, did not travel. So our cats are used to see me every single day. Sometimes my brother helped me, but lately he really doesn't have the time, and is here only during the weekends, with a lot of studies for his master and for his work.

-

On another note, you know already that my mother bakes bread with the yeast she herself prepares and keep alive over the years. Her "mother yeast" (lievito madre) has been alive for more than two years now, since she first started using this old Italian recipe. With this yeast, she can prepare any kind of bread or of cake, without needing to add any other form of yeast. The preparation is a bit longer, but it is very healthy and tasty.

Now, in the last weeks, my mother kept her preparations to a minimum as she had to stay all the time with my grandmother. But this is one of the breads she prepared (really not the most impressive, as she's been really very busy).

-

Red-Oak, aren't you ashamed of what you did?