2023 has started grey and quite dark in Sweden. Snow comes and goes and we miss the sun for several weeks now. Maybe it will get better when the real winter starts….but to be honest I would prefer an early spring ;-).

2022 unfortunately ended a bit sad. Half december I was informed that Brasil, the almost 12 years old son of Kallima and Massimo, was diagnosed with Feline lymphoma. Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers seen in cats.
I felt so sorry for his owner Ronald, but what can you do…I knew Brasil was in good hands and we could only hope that he could stay with him some more time. But things went faster as everybody expected and on December 30 Ronald informed me that Brasil was put asleep at the vet that afternoon.

After Zaina and Thyrza Brasil is our third ‘kitten’ in three months that now has become a star. Time goes by so fast…I still can remember them so well as a kitten. I am thankful that also Brasil had a wonderful life as a deeply loved family member. Rest in peace dear Brasil ❤ .

A bit earlier we also had to say goodbye to Cheetah, our Galgo Espagnol. She’s alive and healthy but not with us anymore. Donna, our whippet girl was not very happy with her. When Cheetah arrived in 2019 it was ok but after a year or so she began to have problems with her and she started t withdraw in the corner of the living instead of being with us like she did before. Of course we tried to change this, and it wasn’t that Cheetah was agressive to her or so, but it was clear that Donna was not happy with the situation. In October we decided that this was not fair anymore and we contacted the German rescue organisation where Cheetah came from. Meanwhile she has found a lovely new home. We miss her, but Donna is happy and back again in my arms on the couch, like she was before. Have a wonderful new life dear Cheetah, you will stay in our hearts forever.

We’ll…so far the not so happy news. But the title of this blog suggests also other kind of news…

Seven months ago we moved to Sweden. My husband’s wish, not so much mine but I wanted to give it a try because he had been talking about it for years.
But when you really feel from the beginning this is not the place that will make you happy, it becomes very difficult. For a while we thought about returning to Holland. But then I found a beautiful house on the internet, in Carinthia, Austria. Austria was second on our list. It was in the area we had been thinking of earlier and it seemed the perfect fit. John went to see it and a few weeks later the house was ours!

Meanwhile our house in Sweden is sold and in April we will move to Austria. Of course there’s lots to arrange again, and Verona and Ganna have to wait for their honeymoon until we get there.

It will also be a long trip for the cats, about 20 hours by car. I am a bit worried about Kallima, she has become a bit older and the switch from Holland to Sweden last june wasn’t easy for her. She needed her time to feel relaxed again.

The coming months will be filled with packing again etc. And I’ll think about the future language for this blog. I speak German quite well but for writing I might prefer English. On the other hand, it would be a good exercise and better for new contacts in my new home country if I choose for German. We’ll see….to be continued 😉