Bratwurst, etc.

Preparations for next week’s “Bratwurst” shoot are underway: A sneak peek posted for the August issue of fête. A costume fitting at Costume Curio. Prop collection. Shoot logistics.

Also, and unrelated to “Bratwurst,” a heated but productive owners’ meeting last night at Mills Mill and the discovery, which I’m told is no discovery at all, that cats love to play fetch. Like dogs do. Non-stop. Forfreakin’ever.

Acadia’s scratching posts will arrive tomorrow and on Friday she’ll go to Milestone Veterinary for her first checkup. All good. Unfortunately, she’s not exactly hitting it off with the FernCreek cats, three 9-year-old bruisers whom she has failed, rather miserably, to amuse. Much hissing. Such a horrible noise.

The owners’ meeting reminded me, and at least a few other people I would imagine, of the challenges that weigh against the benefits of communal living. Folks like us, former owners of single-family dwellings, are accustomed to having complete and unrestricted control over our home environments. No longer.

Still, as I said, the meeting was productive. Our board and our property management company agreed to keep us better informed, to organize volunteer committees, to take immediate action on certain issues and to redouble efforts in areas where more attention is needed. Talk is cheap, I know, but this is the first time I’ve left one of these meetings feeling like we’d had an actual conversation.