Post 668: Andy’s new den…

I should know better. Really, I should. The rule of the house is this: “Do not let the cat brothers see any new boxes that come into the house. Ever!”

Smarty me, I opened a box, thinking it had no promise for a cat playhouse (i.e. “den”!), gathered packaging material into a plastic bag and stuffed it all back in the box, a flat affair I intended to toss as soon as the movie on TMC was over. Yeah!

Then Andy came around, patted me on the arm the way he does when he wants something, and I rubbed his ears and face. That seemed to satisfy him because he rolled over on his back next to my glide rocker. Usually he runs into the next room, expecting me to follow him.

“Say what?!” Andy sees the potential!

I returned to my movie. Shortly after, I heard some noise coming out of the flat box. A fluffy tail stuck out the front. Andy managed to stuff himself in the box, and was “personalizing” it by pushing the plastic bag of packaging material out. He was going to have the whole box to himself!

Andy pops out the “front door” of his new den and…

…looks around for his brother Dougy.

All clear! No Dougy in sight! Andy relaxes and prepares for a cat nap!

The house is littered with boxes claimed by the kitties. Eventually, after I see the boys aren’t using a box much, I “recycle” it into the trash, something that always brings both cats to watch. It’s cute the way they stare in disbelief while I tear up a box and stuff it in a trash bag! It’s like Romans trying to absorb the invasion of Rome by a barbarian horde. 😉

Andy did let me toss the bag of packaging material. Whoopee! But I bet he or Dougy “excavates” it from the wastepaper basket later because they are naughty kitties that tip trash over. They look like a barbarian horde invading Rome when they do that. Where do they learn this stuff? 🙁

Post 667: black cats return today…

Andy and Dougy are back today, with a little drama. Andy worked it out, though, and Dougy probably didn’t even notice anything was wrong. That’s how Dougy is.

“La-la-la! Nothing doing, doing nothing…!”

“Whatcha doin’, Douglas? Nothin’?”
“”Hey! You scat, cat! This is my door! Mine! Mind your own beeswax!”

"Mugger~mugger~mugger! That dang Dougy can just have that door! I'll take the other one! AND the litter box!"

“What a naughty kitty! That dang Dougy can have that door! I’ll just take the other one! AND the litter box!”

“Grrr! This is what I’ll do to Dougy if he comes over here!

“Now I feel better! Nothing like a good scratching to deal with naughty brothers!”

“Mine! All mine!”
Andy works it out!

=(^+^)=

Today is a special day in my life. I usually forget which date in January I retired, so I googled “January 2009”. Turns out it was January 30, 2009. Woohoo! I haven’t looked back! Never! Nev-air! NEV-air! NEV! AIR! Mwahahahaha!

Hmm. January 30, 2015 is a Friday, too!

Post 66X: I’m not superstitious, but maybe you are!

Today’s post hits more than 665 but less than 667. I am not superstitious, but I won’t number it in case you are!

Likewise, since both my cats are kind of black — I think of them as black — I won’t post any photos of them today, though I assure you they walk in front of me day in and day out. I have yet to have bad luck.

Of course, I still haven’t won the Powerball. Hmmm. Damn black cats!

grumpy

Orange tabbies are OK, though. (Poor Louie. Aw well…!)

Louie loved hunting insects in this black bamboo thicket. It was his happy spot!

Louie was a big cat. Sometimes he’d jump up on your lap without warning. Yowza!

AWhen the florist sent the wrong bouquet to the house instead of the church, Louie had to check it out. Or maybe he just wanted to walk on the table. He was naughty that way!

When the florist sent flowers to the house instead of the church, Louie had to check it out. Or maybe he just wanted to walk on the table. He was naughty that way!

Louie was aggressive toward other cats but was scared snotless of going to the veterinarian's in the car.

Louie was aggressive toward other cats but it scared Louie snotless to go to the veterinarian’s in the car. (That’s the boys’ veterinarian in red, incidentally, and the technician holding Louie is the one who shaved a spot on Andy’s tail so she could get his blood pressure. We all go back a long time!)

Hee! Hee!

Louie adored me, I think, but that doesn’t mean he minded very well. Fortunately, he was basically a pretty good boy!

stealth sleeping

Louie took an interest in what I was always doing on the computer. Yeah.

Louie was a semi-outdoor cat. He was five years old when I got him (his veterinarian estimated), and his previous people apparently let him wander. That’s how he ended up trapped by the animal control officer, and was abandoned and “there” when I was looking for a cat.

Louie was a good ol’ cat! He enjoyed watching birds in the fir tree out the back door.

Post 665: “Does it make my butt look big?”

Dougy loves his new Neko BirBug toy. Loves! Loves! Loves! So much so it lost a little feather off the back after lots of rough play. (Andy loves it, too…if Dougy lets him play with it. Sad business, that!)

“My ottoman, my BirBug, et moi! Can life be any better?”

"As good as it gets and it needn't get any better! Well, maybe a fresh bag of salmon-flavored Greenies would completye my happiness!"

“As good as it gets and it needn’t get any better! Well, maybe a fresh bag of salmon-flavored Greenies would complete my happiness!”

“Does this make my butt look big?”

"Hey, Yellowboy! Don't laugh at me! I'm a merciless killer. Check out my point "Teeth of Doom for Small Critters and my Throat-ripping Claws of Total Annihilation! Yeah, man! Yeah!" [Psst!]

“Hey, Yellowboy! Don’t laugh at me! I’m a merciless killer. Check out my pointy ‘Merciless Teeth of Doom for Small Critters’ and my ‘Throat-ripping Claws of Total Annihilation’! Yeah, man! Yeah!” [Pssst!]

After the short distraction, Dougy killed BirBug a hunderd ways! {Grrrr!]

After the short distraction, Dougy killed BirBug a hundred ways! [Grrrr!]

Then, Dougy ran off to take a serious nap. That’s what cats do.

=(^+^)=

Post 664: It’s a blizzard! But not here.

The East Coast is enduring one of those “Storm of the Century” events, though apparently the worst of it shifted east of where the worst of it was predicted to fall. Even then, they got and are getting amounts of snow that exceed what I’ve seen here this year. It is the only thing on the news.

While the East Coast is shut down, however, we in mid-continent are enjoying a curiously springlike forecast.

January 27, 2015 at 4:21 AM.

Yes, the predicted high here today is 65°F/18.3.°C! It reached that yesterday, when the predicted high was a little lower. Maybe today will be the same.

Then there is the current temperature, at 4:21 AM, of 40.5°F/4.7C. This is April or May weather!

Most of our snow from or last snowstorm is melted, yet New York City (1625 miles/2615 km east of me) and New England are in shutdown because of a blizzard.

It is a lovely old fashioned yellow climbing rose with a soft, floral scent. I can't wait for it to bloom again this spring!

It is a lovely old fashioned yellow climbing rose with a soft, floral scent. I can’t wait till it blooms again!

What to make of this? Woo hoo! I’m not on the East Coast today! Good luck to those who are. Keep warm and don’t be stupid dealing with the vicissitudes of power outages, nasty roads, snow removal, and plans made before the storm came through.

If I’ve learned anything about winter survival skills it is this: virtually nothing is important enough to risk your life going out into a severe storm.

Post 663: What needs to happen today?

Monday. What needs to happen today?

The boys have the right idea for today...take it easy!

The boys have the right idea…take it easy! Nothing needs to happen today!

We’re taking it easy today. Tomorrow, I’ll need to wash clothes. Could do it today, but, frankly, I feel like a “do-nothing” day!

Post 662: I may be an ungrateful @&$^#~! What do you think?

Blogger Yvonne, for those unfamiliar with her work, does a blog featuring her experiences living in Venice.

Her insights and in-depth enthusiasm for the minutiae of life there makes for lively, informative, interesting reading. Her photos are an added bonus because they transcend that old tourist variety one might expect for such a famous touristy city. Thanks to Yvonne, you start to think of Venetians are citizens of a real place, not some Disney World recreation, all tarted up for the tourist trade.

Yvonne dates here obsession with Venice back to 1980. (Some of her early photos....)

Yvonne dates her obsession with Venice back to 1980. (Some of her early photos….)

I like Yvonne’s blog a lot, being one of those people who loves Italy but was never fortunate enough to make it closer to Venice than Pordenone. (Ugh! Almost there! Almost!) I invite you to take a look!

So, it was frustrating to me to see my name on a list of bloggers Yvonne listed after someone nominated her for a blog award: I don’t do awards! The exchange between us follows:

Uh oh…!

I have to be nice about it because the thought is appreciated. Really!

I want to be nice about it because I appreciate the thought. Really!

Graciousness abounding!

Yet I feel I owe Yvonne more than a a lame expolanation...so I write a... lame explanation!

Yet I feel I owe Yvonne more than a lame explanation, so I write a…lame explanation! [Cringe!]

This brings up a blog issue I never feel comfortable handling. No matter how I feel about these awards, when someone thinks enough of my little cat blog to encourage others to take a look at it, there should be a graceful, polite way to handle it without getting into maths. Or lame explanations…!

How about you? If you’re nominated for a blog award, what do you do? How do you feel about it? Do you check out blogs others nominate and (maybe) subscribe to some of them based on your inspection? Are you pleased or not pleased when your name appears on a list? If nominated, do you follow the standard instructions to thank the nominator, nominate x more blogs, and tell x number of things about yourself?

As Joan Rivers used to say, “Let’s talk!” 🙂

Post 661: …a quiet Sunday morning

My arm warmer stopped by for a snooze.

Oops! I woke him up, and he ran off to snarf down some kitty chow.

Post 660: dead asleep…

I got up at the usual 2:30 AM to feed Andy and Dougy. They insisted on it. Then I went back to bed.

“I’ll catch the news on television, then think about getting up for the day,” I thought. Then I went back to sleep.

OMG! ...and that dark presence is there again!

OMG!
…and that dark presence is here again!

Out cold to the world. Dead asleep. You can’t wake the dead from their sleep.

“Ummm…. Mothra in flames! It’s almost 8:30!” Dougy sniffed me and woke me up. (No doubt thinking, “…if he’s dead, he’s meat!”)

[Shudder!]

I hopped right out of bed.

Paws for Peace & Understanding

Those of us blessed with a relationship with animals stew about those who don’t get it: Animals deserve our protection and care, and people who harm them deliberately or through ignorance need to be brought to the attention of the authorities for appropriate legal action.