Update!

A new member has joined our family recently, but it isn't a tall dark lady.  Oh, Ashanti did arrive last Friday and, barring a few scuffs and some disappointing mold lines, she was simply beautiful and posed even better than I imagined.  She just didn't speak.  I brought her around the apartment, tried on as many wigs and eyes and clothes as I could find and... nothing.  She kept staring with empty eyes, her face always expressionless.  There was no way to tell her preferences.  Or anything all.  I found the silence rather irritating so I shipped her to Europe on Monday.

The experience was instructive, though.  It made me realize that in general, kids must have to figure out everything about their toys when they play: their stories, characters, favorite accessories, battle stances... all of this without any input from the toys themselves.  That never happened to me...

I hope the people who wanted to see Ashanti will forgive me... I took a few snap shots when she arrived but only resized one so far:



Most of my attention was actually devoted to the introduction of our actual new family member:



Little calico kitty is between ten months and a year old.  On June 16th, I visited the SPCA looking for other cats and she caught my eye... and my finger, which she grabbed with a paw through the bars of her cage.  How could I resist?  The Ninja didn't appreciate the intruder at all during the first few days, but as you can see on the picture, he quickly warmed up to her presence. <3