Pippin the apparel appropriator

Our cat Pippin has developed a peculiar habit. Over the course of the day he is generally quiet and leaves our clothing alone. Shortly after we go to bed he finds himself some items of clothing from among those in most need of washing and drags them around while loudly purring and meowing. This morning I found that last night's selection had included the shorts and t-shirt that I had used this week for exercising. Sometimes he will bring quite large items of clothing all the way downstairs, though it can frustrate his efforts if they get trapped in the bedroom doorway as he tries to drag them out of the room.

mst3kmoxie sometimes crochets Pippin some large mouse toys for him to carry around. I suspect that part of their initial attraction for him is that they smell of her. We often find that he has brought these mouse toys to our bedroom.

Still frosty

It remains unusually cool here: for example, at present it is around -3°C outside. The grass in our yards is tipped with white and we have to scrape ice off the car windows before driving. The average low in November is above 2½°C and even in December, the coldest month^* here, the average low is just above freezing. I don't know enough about either the temperature variance nor statistics in general to be able to estimate the likely length and frequency of such icy periods.

^*which makes me wonder at people who think that winter starts toward the end of it

Update: I now read from the James Hutton Institute (on our side of Dundee) that it was the coldest November since 1993.