It is so nice to be back to the quiet and friendliness of my newly redecorated room. Those birds were driving me crazy with all the tweeting and carrying on. One more day of sitting in that old nest would probably have taken it's toll. It was good to look out the window and see the old alley again. Thankfully they hadn't changed that like they did my room. The dock was still there (although the Big Dog wasn't), the air conditioner was still there (although the cheerleader wasn't) and there were the familiar dumpsters (but without the Intimidators). So many things unchanged yet so many friends missing. My heart sank as I thought of the possibilities. Had they misbehaved during my absence and been caught by the pound? Had they strayed to another alley and gotten caught up in another battle? Would I ever see my dear friends again? I can only sit here and wait to see. I will try to hold back the tears as I imagine the unthinkable and will do my best to welcome the newcomers with a brave heart and a smile. It will be a task, but if I don't run out of chocolate brownies I think I'll manage.

As I looked around the alley I saw more and more newcomers. Some were obviously strays who had wandered in to see what was happening. Some came for the battle and even brought a friend. Others had been there before while I was away. To me they were all newcomers. Suegloss; Jonnie; Jeanneth; Stans_ie; Vastnarrow; Little ladybug and Mr_Fixxit. There was also Junglejorge who I knew before but had now joined the alley. What a wonderful and welcome sight. Eight new friends all on the same day. The presence of new faces obviously tempered the action in the alley. There was very little baiting or name calling. Sure there were a few tries by Macmarine to stir it up but nothing like the old days. A cat even talked Mac into being quiet for six consecutive minutes. The play of the match reflected the peace in the alley with neither side really taking command. The cats jumped out first but allowed the dogs to pass them by the end of the round. One could almost picture a sweeping bow and an "after you" as the cats politely stepped aside. The second round went much the same. In the third round we were beginning to anticipate a dog victory. With not so much as an "as you please", the cats came storming back. I can only imagine the dogs felt sorry for the poor cats as they sat and waited for them to catch up. It looked like the cats and dogs had buried the hatchet and would share the alley in tranquility. No more disputes over who was the best. A mutual admiration society was about to be born. No more squabbles, no more fights. One table left and the score close enough to go either way. As I watched in disbelief, crowds from both sides of the alley surrounded the table. It was so crowded people were on each other's shoulders to get a view. The teams huddled behind their side and whispered to each other. It was obvious that no matter who won, there would be no celebration. There was no fight in the match, no pride for our side, no gloat in our boat. Something needed to happen. Maybe if some of the others were here they might have made a kitty litter comment or one of those "dogs drool" statements to liven it up and keep the rivalry alive, but alas, no one spoke up. Whatever would happen would need to happen at the table. And happen it did!!! The last table ensured that the rivalry would live. The war will be on next week. The match ended in a tie 18 to 18 which makes next week even more important.

This is just a guess, but I'll bet the fur will fly next Saturday.

Believe it or not, there were no subs this week (told you it was calm).

Slams were bid and made by: yadenwise/suegloss 6H; debb26_ca/whit308 6NT; woo/pollyvw 6NT 6C; ryderpuppy/jeanneth 6H; stans ie/vastnarrow 6C and a super grand slam by nuageman/nonny 7NT

Perfect 3-0 rounds were played by: stans ie/vastnarrow

The Cats were: Redbird/francylou; paula/holy guy; IM_qc/Scorpiokirsten; yadenwise/suegloss; debb26_ca/whit308; nuageman/nonny; Bratcats Rover and Max; pob/orla; donkiwi/junglejorge

The Dogs were: macmarine/lorraine; woo7nt/polly; JamesGreyWolf/borderline; jean/jonnie; windstarsun/bearafm; ryderpuppy/jeanneth; stans ie/vastnarrow; cmk/BillsGirl; little ladybug/mr fixxit