Hi, all. I've been asked to do a few check-ups, so I thought I'd do them all together. First, Odin. He did indeed take a trip to the Dog Afterworld to visit his Brother in Fur, Max. They cruised the many excellent sights and attractions there, though if I am to be perfectly honest, he was not keen on all of them. Some of them were just too...doggy. But he was polite about all of it. Then it was time to move on to the Ferret Afterworld full-time (He had only been for a short visit before he went to visit Max.) Well, now that he was back to stay, he was properly greeted by his Business of Albus and Hermionie, who knocked him down and war-danced on his head, but in a nice way. (You might need to be a ferret to understand that!) At the moment, the three of them are hanging their hammies together in a marvelous sky blue Dodge Dart from the early 1960's. They have been working on the upholstry, and the stuffing is all pretty much out, just the way they want it. Odin says that he is very happy with his new life, and is eventually hoping to go exploring at the seashore with Hermionie. Albus has been, and does not want to get his feet wet again! Odin knows that some time, a long time from today, he will see his Hoomins again, and be able to thank them for all the love they gave him in the world of the Living. I had a hard time finding Baby! She was not anywhere in the Ferret Afterworld, per se, she was in the Big Guy's Greenhouse, where she works everyday re-arranging mulch and burying seedlings in fresh dirt. The Greenhouse is a wonderous place. I know where its *outside* is, but I am not so sure about its *inside*! Anyway, you'd hardly know that she was an albino to look at her. She is gray with mulch and soil, but she smells wonderfully of earth and growing things. She says that she absolutely loves the place, especially the little koi pond where the Victoria waterlillies grow. Those lily pads are so big that it is no problem at all for a ferret to hop on them, and look at the beautiful black, white, and orange koi swimming in the water below. She does admit that, well, it sort of stirs her Hunting Spirit, but she has never disgraced herself! Sometimes she does take a day off, and goes to visit her Brothers and sisters in Fur, other members of the Kalter Klan Business. Still, she says that after a day or two she misses the steamy heat and wonderful smells of the Greenhouse, and she has to go back. I asked her to describe her life here. She wiped a bit of mulch off of her whiskers and said simply "wonderful!" It was pretty easy to find Mystry Girl, Cleo, and Elsie. Just look for loose shiny things, and the three girls will show up, sooner or later. They are a wandering gang of thieves. I don't say that in a bad way, it's what they are! They are dedicated stashers, and they really don't care if the things they stash just happen to belong to someone else or not. We actually have several large gangs of thieves who wander the land, this is a relatively small one. It is unusual in that so far, all the gang members are related. They are all members of the Somethin Up My Sleeve Business. I spoke with the three of them. (Yes, there was a price. I had to bribe them with a silver baby spoon.) They say that they are having a wonderful time, going from one treasure to the next. There just aren't enough hours in the day to collect it all! Spoons, knives, forks, necklaces, rings, pins, earrings, soda can pull tabs, tiny pairs of sewing scissors, crochet hooks, tiny staplers, metal hose clamps, screws, nuts, bolts! You name it. If it shines, they snatch it and stash it! They say that they are having a wonderful time! Sandee [Posted in FML issue 4613]