Drive-by post

I have Athena on my lap meowing at me and I've got all sorts of things to do to get ready for the start of my college teaching semester (tomorrow!) so this will be a quickie.Not much to report on the writing front, but I did write a few notes for a chamber opera based on a familiar nursery rhyme, but definitely not kid-oriented. I'd like to do a series of these, for maybe 8 singers and wind quintet. The only trouble is, I'm really a composer, so I'd have to find someone to collaborate with. I'm thinking that perhaps I should focus on artistic collaborations with regard to my writing, like doing more writing for the stage, because it combines my interests. But I don't want to give up on those stories and novels either. I clearly need to join the church of Learning How to Prioritize.Pearl, the kitten who had been hanging around has gone missing for a week and we fear he/she "didn't make it" as is often the case with feral kittens. And this was just after I'd gotten Pearl to take a piece of chicken from my hand (and run off and eat it at a safe distance), then the next day, I got to pet Pearl briefly while he/she was eating, but got hissed at. So it's possible that Pearl decided not to stick around these humans who gave food but also tried to invade its personal space. Shasta has been napping alone in the yard in the usual spots where for a while, he would be curled up with Pearl. I wouldn't be completely surprised if Pearl showed up again, but I'm not counting on it. I have my own kittens to look forward to meeting for the first time in mid-September!My email box this morning was full of about 20 returned messages I didn't send from an account I no longer use but have forwarded to one of my current accounts just in case something pops up from an old friend, I suppose. I haven't had this happen in a while. It really makes me want to track down the spammers who are sending things purportedly from an address of mine and scream in their ear really loud or something.Ok, so this got longer than I thought. I need an editor. I'm looking forward to seeing new and returning students tomorrow.