Oh Noes!! Mom's Pulling Out Her Hair Again!!

"Ow!  Mom is pulling out her hair again!  I think it has something to do with the camera batteries going kablewy and losing our pictures again!  This is frustrating because mom got some really good ones this time of the new kitchen and everything!"

"I've been doing my best to help out by making mom take naps and sleeping really really hard at night.  I am not doing it just to make Star jealous.  And I am not answering to Star's name.  Just saying.  ::gives best innocent look::"

Wow!!  There are some really great sleepers out there!!"Mom spoke to her friend last night.  They still have no news on her friend's ex-husband's cause of death.  Today is their children's birthday.  No, they are not twins!  The son is older than the daughter (even if she did produce a grandchild first!).  She hadn't heard yet about the kid's grandfather and how his surgery had done.  The children's late father will be cremated per his wishes and any ceremonies will be

held in a couple of weeks"

 "Because of mom's friend's ex-husband (boy that gets confusing!) passing away so suddenly, we've been having to look at the sleeping contestants Catch as Cat Can.  Plus mom has been working on finishing up the kitchen so our food bowls will stay in one place and not move around.  ::closes eyes & twitches ears::  (Mom should give us our own computer account like the young mom & dad have!!  It's not fair!!)  Anyway, as we do, we've been leaving messages about the Cool Cats that we've seen."

"So you, yes you (even you in the back, I know, you think I can't see you because you're scrunched down behind the guy in the blue sweater but don't be fooled!  bwahahahahahahaha!), are being given an extension!  That's right.  Because we haven't had enough time to really look properly, you now have until Monday midnight (because everycat knows that it's not the Witching Hour, it's the Twitching Hour, when we all twitch our ears about making decisions.  So, you still have a chance to put up a picture if you haven't already!!  Our next post will be the place to give us your votes for Catnapping Cats & what Cat-agories where you think they fit!  Things like Synchronized Sleeping, Coordinated Catnapping, and so on.  Keep a thesaurus & rhyming dictionary handy (or bookmarked on your computer! and I'm sure you'll do fine!)  ::grin::  We now return you to your regularly scheduled blog.

Thanks!!

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde"

"There's a reason we made this bumper snicker"

Droooool.... or Why I Want to Hit the Lottery!

I got my Drs. Foster & Smith catalog in the mail the other day.  Of course, I can't really afford to buy anything in there, as much as I might want to get them (drool)  but it's always fun to look through it and see what they have as well as admire the pretty kitties.  But today I went to their website.  This was a biiiiiiig mistake.  Because... they have online only specials.  ::sigh::  Now, I would absolutely adore being able to a) get more cat furniture and b) get something that hides the kitty litter so that I can get it out of the laundry room and c) get some some cooler cat toys and d) get at least one more window perch.  At the moment we have one in the bedroom which is just a regular window perch (this 'belongs' to Zaphoid most of the time) and then there is the kitty condo downstairs which is conviently placed to let da boys go out the window 'door'. 

Which brings another issue, I'd really love to have a real window door, since what we have is one my husband built with plexiglass & a cat door.  They make a few styles, whic are all shown this page.  Now Dale could have made it with wood, using these instructions which would open it up to being used for a longer period.  The window leaks too much to keep it open during cold weather right now.  ::sigh::  Anyway, back to Drs. Foster & Smith.

My favorite two pieces of cat furniture are this one and this one.  Either one of which would go nicely in my 'office' where my recumbant bike & my sewing machine live.  Of course, first I'd need to pay off all of my bills and get up the money to buy all of these things!!  ::grin::  I wonder how much it would cost for me to get the materials and learn to do woodworking?  Hmmmm, naaaah, I'd still have to pay the bills first.  ::grin::  Maybe I can get the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde to go out and get jobs?  On the other hand, my sixteen going on seventeen year old daughter hasn't done that yet so the odds aren't good.  Which explains why I'm just drooling & making pie in the sky wish lists!!

 

The window with the kitty condo in front of it.  There is an outside storage container on the other side of the window so the Teenage Mutant Ninja Horde can get down.  Da boys have been checking it on a regular basis to see if it is open yet.  Until it is, they must rely on one of us to open up a door.  This also entails showing up at my bedroom window going "Meeeeoooom!!  Let me iiiiiinnnnn!!"  Which is fine, until they begin scratching at my husband's screen.  (This is a direct quote btw, "Stop scratching at my screen!  I don't like you very much anyway!"  This from the man who can't resist giving them all scritches.  Well, so long as they don't spray on his music gear!)

A Strange Noise in the Night

Last night I woke up again to a very strange noise.  I knew it wasn't a burglar but I wasn't quite sure what it could be.  So I stealthily got up out of bed and crept toward the living room from whence the noise came.  I turned on the lights to find... Zaphoid in a large box which was on the floor.  Of course, being Zaphoid, he totally freaked being found out.  Now, having had cats for... ummm... going on 49 years now... I have to say that I have never heard a cat make the noises that he was making with that box.  My goodness!!  He is now curled up on the cat window ledge.

This morning my husband emailed me a few pictures of the cats.  Several of these are of Mister Kitten when he was still a 'she' named Miette.

 

what big paws he has!!

Since I was up last night, I went outside for a few minutes and the cats came out and scampered in the moonlight.  They all wanted back in before I came back in and Thomas sat by the door and waited for me to come back inside.  Actually, all of the cats do that.  Gee, do you think they like me??

 

I think I'm going to put in a section of

Cat Mommy/Daddy & Breeder graphics today

opinions??

Starry Starry Night

Last night, my husband and I were lying in bed watching late night television.  As we were laying there, Star came wandering up my husband's side of the bed and lay down beside him.  Per his usual habit, my husband began petting Star and saying, "I don't like you very much."  Star purred.  Now, you need to know a wee bit about Star at this point. 

Star was an abandoned kitty.  My ex-husband found Star and his sister on a walking trail when they were about four weeks old, covered in encrusted tuna and fleas.  He brought them home, holding them both cupped in his hands as he came into the bedroom to see me.  "You're going to be mad at me."  "Why would I be mad at you??"  He came in far enough for me to see the kittens.  "We found them on the trail."  (He'd been walking with a friend of ours.)  "Oh my goodness!!  You'd best get them washed & dried quickly and have someone run down to see if Petco is open to get kitten milk and two bottles.  If they aren't, check Krogers."  "You're not mad?"  "Why on Earth would I be mad??  They're babies!!"  (Although he should have known better, I was well known in that neighborhood as the Woman Who Takes in Strays.)

At any rate, Star's sister never became civilized until she went to live on my ex's parent's farm where she bonded with his father.  Star, on the other hand, became my ComputerKitty (the BitCat came from the fact that he was our eighth cat at that point, what can I say?  I picked them up & neutered them and never could find them other homes!) and to everyone else was the NinjaCat.  So, you have Star's background.  He's a bit wild.  But there he is, laying beside my husband being petted and purring whilst my husband says, "No, I don't like you one bit, not at all." (He sounds just like my dad who does the exact same thing.)

Then he picks Star up, still purring, and sets him on his chest.  Mind you, if I do this, Star will tolerate it half the time but often wriggles out and does the indignant dance.  But did Star do that with my husband??  My husband, who only feeds the cats in the morning and never gives them treats??  Oh no, my friends.  Instead, Star came up and touched nose to nose with him (it was soooooo sweet!!) and then relaxed back and just purrrrrred and purrrrrrred while my husband scritched and scratched crooning, "Oh no, I just don't like you.  No, don't like you one bit!  No, I don't!!"

I told him Star just didn't do that with anyone else but he didn't believe me.  In fact, Star spent all night at his feet and when Dale came up from checking his email to eat breakfast; Star leapt down from the bed to go hang out with him.  That's okay, I know Star will be back with me to make sure I don't overdo things once Dale goes to work.  Besides, that now gives him two cats to mug him.  ::grin::

  

Gray Cat is based on Star, even though Star is black with two white patches

(star on breast & belly button).  I didn't realize that I didn't have a plain picture

of Gray Cat in Just Kats!  Hmmmmmm.

Who's That Knocking at Our Window?

"He's furry and a big pain in the a**" is what my husband just sang.  This morning it was Thomas.  You see, our vociferous cats (yes, even Mister Kitten, even though he doesn't have the classic Siamese voice)  have been trained to "knock" at the windows and doors to get our attention when they want into the house rather than scratch on the screens.  Now granted that this doesn't always work, but they are getting better.  So when you hear knocking at the window at our house, you immediately check for errant cats.

This means that my husband had to slip downstairs (split-level house) to let whomever was out.  Being half-asleep he wasn't sure who did what, although he did know that Zaphoid went Out, and that the skunk smell was back.  Our street backs up to about ten to fifteen acres of farmland (okay, they just grow hay) so we have a lot of 'critters' around.  Oddly enough, we're also within walking distance of a Krogers shopping complex.  Go figure. 

Back to Zaphoid, I'm not sure if I've mentioned this before or not, but Zaphoid doesn't care for kitty litter.  This means that we're constantly letting him in and out while we're awake.  This also means that he does his kitty best to hold it near our waking time so he can go to the "bathroom".  He has been known to wake me up for this purpose.  "Mom?  Mom?  Mom!  Mom!  Mooooo-ooooom!   Meeeeeee-oooooooom!  Gotta Go!" rather like a small child learning to potty.  Zaphoid is probably our most vocal cat so far as his own needs are concerned.

He is also known as Emo Kitty.  Poor Emo Kitty.  He often jumps up on the bed and when you ask him what he wants, he doesn't know.  He doesn't head out toward the food or the door.  He isn't making a "I'm sick, please take me to the vet." meow.  He talks and talks to you while you pet him until your arms fall off (and hopefully give him a good brushing as well).  Then he either gets up on one of the pillows or down at the end of the bed and lays with his head on his paw looking like a black poet.  I swear.  The picture of Emo Kitty comes straight from one of Zaphoid's favorite poses.

Sometimes I expect him to put on a black beret, start snapping his fingers or beating a drum, and reciting poetry about death, doom, and despair.  He lays his head over the side of the bed with the most worried look (and will purr if you pet him while he's doing this!).  When he first started doing this, I took him to the vet.  Nope!  Perfectly fine, absolutely gorgeous (all of my Tims can con the vet techs out of a gazillion treats! ::grin::), and completely healthy.  He's just our Emo Kitty.

 

journal (more items available)

wondering if I should switch this to b/w

Excuse Me, Whose Bed is This??

I like foot warmers, really I do, but last night was beyond ridiculous.  Every time I tried to stretch my legs out straight, and admittedly they are long, I kept finding obstructions which would not move.  These said obstructions were also made of lead.  No, really!  Every cat, except perhaps save Thomas, had decided to sleep at the bottom of our bed all in a row.  This forces my husband and I to sleep with our feet scrunched up.  Now normally this is not a problem for me as I've always tended to sleep in a semi-fetal position.  Howsoever, since my total knee replacement I've rather preferred to have that leg out straight at night.  HA!

As for Thomas, his role is to sleep in between my husband and I, rather like an errant toddler.  And like an errant toddler he stretches out.  A lot.  If you have children over the age of two, you are familiar with the ability of the child to knock you out of the bed.  Thomas behaves just like a two year old.  No, really!!  In fact, one night I just barely managed to catch myself before I hit the floor.  My husband has not been so lucky, but his daughter is 23, while my children are 16 & 13 (alright, he'll be 14 next month...where does the time go?!?).

I just wish my children, who love and adore the cats when they are awake, would just let them into their bedrooms.  It would significantly lessen my bed load at night.  Maybe we should look into that king size bed, regardless of size & monetary limitations!

 

mousepad (other items available)

You are Getting Sleepy... Very Sleepy...

My husband went to a friend's birthday party last night and returned around 11:00.  When he returned home he had two plates full of goodies for me, one of which was three different kinds of birthday cake.  He got into bed and immediately Thomas hopped up to perch on his tummy.  Suddenly, huge Siamese Cat eyes were staring into my husband's head. 
"You realize that Thomas is staring at you."
"I know that Thomas is staring at me." 
"I wonder what Thomas wants?" 
"It's Thomas, there is no telling what Thomas wants."

on the other side...

"You are getting sleepy... very sleepy...  
You will get up out of bed.
You will get the BBQ out of the refrigerator and put it down on the kitchen floor..."

 

BBQ apron! (other items available!)

It's Raining, It's Pouring...

In the middle of winter in Middle Tennessee it likes to rain.  This means that whichever member(s) of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Cat Guard coming in from the outside are wet.  And I don't mean damp; oh no, I mean wet, as in sopping.  So, what is the first thing that Thomas, Zaphoid, Star, and Mister Kitten do when they come back inside??  Yes, you guessed it.  They immediately come up to the first handy human(s) and start using them as towels; until they're dry.

Now in the spring this isn't as much of a problem.  In spring, the rains are not as heavy.  In spring, the rains are not freezing.  Now the freezing part is quite important to me because of my health issues; and who do you think they like to go to first??  Ohhhhhh yeah.  Momma is a cat magnet.  Now yesterday, Thomas and Mister Kitten both came in at the same time and jumped up on our bed while my husband and I were standing there talking.  "Oh joy!  Bliss!!  We each get our own warm towel!!"  So with much joy and purring, they began to get the worst of the water out of their fur.

 

1.0L Sigg Bottle (more items available!)

Ummm, Mom? That white stuff is still there!

While it was actively snowing, none of the cats would venture outside.   Instead, whenever anyone opened a door, they would stand before it in shock at the inconceivable change to their ordinary world.  The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde was Not Happy.  It snowed from Friday afternoon to Saturday afternoon.  Four cats dug in on the bed in the master bedroom, sure that the storm would never be over!!  They only came out for occasional forays to eat, hit the kitty litter, and check the door from a suitable distance to see if, by some chance, the world had suddenly become sane.  Alas and alack, that was not to be.

I exaggerate.  Saturday afternoon it finally stopped snowing.  Now you have to understand that we live in Murfreesboro, TN.  We usually see snow once or twice a year.  Normally it's about an inch of snow and not 6 or more!  At any rate, kitties don't have to face evile snow & ice storms like this on a regular basis!  But once it stopped actively snowing, Thomas calmed down.  'Ah,' he said, 'I remember this.  This is that cold white stuff that gets in your paws!'  The first time Thomas came in, he was covered in snow.  Thomas likes to roll!

Once Thomas had conquered the snow, his brother Zaphoid decided that, perhaps, this change in the scenery might be safe after all.  He too went outside (but doesn't stay out as long as his brother!!).  Mister Kitten could not be outdone and thus also ventured outside.  Only one cat has stayed by my side.  The cat that, in the past, has always raced outside as fast as he could.  StarWalker BitCat the ComputerKitty.

Of course, I had my husband pick up some new kitty treats at the store the other day.

It must be cupboard love.

Treats!!

Last night my husband brought in two different flavors of cat treats when he came home.  Noses lifted, ears perked, eyes brightened... oh, and the cats were excited too.  ::grin::  No, seriously, as soon as Corwyn had opened the chosen package (the other being carefully put away) all four members of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde were suddenly on my bed alert and ready to snack.

It was all we could do to parcel out treats to each of them.  We made sure that each of the boys got four or so of the treats.  The hardest part is making sure that they don't eat someone else's treat!  I find it amazing that I can open the small (quiet) tupperware where I put the treats and have a cat that I know was downstairs suddenly appear on my bed 'paw out'  saying, "Please, Mum, may I have some?"

Star is still trying to figure out how to be a computer kitty when I'm working on a laptop in bed.  At the moment he's at the end of the bed, facing the door, in guard position.  hmmmmmmmm

Happy New Year!!

We stayed home so that I wasn't exposed to any germs.  Once my husband was asleep, Thomas decided that I was the driveway.  You see, Thomas enjoys entertaining you by rolling back and forth on the driveway.  So he was rolling back and forth on me, wriggling with joy, when I noticed (ouch!) that his nails needed a trim.  Fortunately I know how to do that by cutting the clear part of the nail and not the white. 

So I clipped his nails and he settled into the crook of my arm. Ah, baby Thomas.  ::snicker::  While my husband is playing with moving our bed, the cats are being conspicuously absent.  I'm not sure where three of them are, but Star is in here, creeping about until he found a box lid to sit in.  I've work to do myself.  I hope that everyone had a safe and happy New Year's celebration!!

A Tumult of Teenagers

I'm not sure exactly how many young women from JCL will be invading my house tonight.  They are working on a project for Latin class on the founding of Rome.  Fortunately for my son, he'll be going to his father's house.  Star is laying on my lap at the moment, supervising the blogging, and keeping me from cleaning the office.  This is probably to do with him supervising my cleaning out of the van.  Three small trash bags of trash, two large bags going into the house of things that should have been brought in much earlier.  But now everything is back where it should be.

It's been cold lately and all of the cats have been staying with us at night.  I started out the night with Thomas on my feet and Star on my chest.  However, when I turned to my side, Star freaked out and went over to hang out with Kitten on the other side of Dale.  Thomas has been trying to play a dominance game and I've been having to explain to him that "No, Mommy is the dominant cat in the house, not you".  We've been having a lot of staring contests lately along with a few nose bops.

I'm going to see if I can finish putting up the New Year's kitties while Star is sitting on my lap and then make some more tea and get started on this... mess.

Sleep would be nice...

Yesterday my husband and children did yard work.  As a result, the cats went... elsewhere.  Elsewhere was somewhere unknown to us all.  In fact, they didn't come in until I was going to bed.  I had become rather worried that I would have no cats sleeping with me at all.  However, first Star, then the 15 pound Kitten, then Zaphoid came in to share the bed with us.  I'm afraid that sleep still eluded me and made getting to church... difficult.

Right now, I have Kitten laying on my lap, sleeping & purring.  Normally this job is taken up by Star.  I'm not sure why Kitten chose this particular place to sleep.  Eventually he Will Have To Move™.  Let's face it, 15 pounds of cat on your thighs for any length of time just doesn't do.  ::shakes head::   Now I just wonder where Thomas has been keeping himself.

Today I am but a servant...

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Kitty Horde is paying absolutely no attention to me at all today.  Well, except should their water or food need refilling.  Ah well.  Last night I was treated to some lovely views of Zaphoid and later Zaphoid and Thomas.  You see, my husband put out a packing blanket in hopes that my son would put leaves on it and carry them out to the street.  He left it on the porch in disarray.  So at various times, when I stepped out onto the porch I found 'da boys' curled up on the blanket.  ::grin::  They didn't want to come in, they were having too much fun lounging gracefully on the blanket.

The Commodore Cats Fight

The Commodore Cats have been fighting over who gets the right to sit/sleep on my lap lately.  While Star has the seniority, Kitten aka Oberon aka the Cat with the Identity Crisis outweighs him by five pounds and a massive attitude.  ::shakes head::  However, this competition only lasts until my husband lays down on the bed.  Then... suddenly!... there is a Kitten worshiping him, purring up a storm, staring up at him as though he were the only human in the universe.

While he is doing this, normally being  a flop cat with his front paws either up on Dale's chest or hugging him, my husband is petting him and saying, "You know I don't like cats.  I don't know why you're up here.  I don't much like cats at all."  It rather reminds me of one of my favorite books as a small child - Go Away Dog by Joan L Nodset.  I read that book over and over.

At any rate, I'm almost out of treats and it will be awhile before I can afford to get some more, so I can't work on getting the two troublemakers to behave right now.  Zaphoid is continuing his "oooooh!  No one looooooves me!!  Peeeeet mmmmeeeeeee neeeeoooooowwwww!" routine.  Thomas is playing it cool.  He's rarely seen except to complain about food being needed in the small bowls or to let me know that Timmy's in the Well™ (iow a cat wants to come in).  He'll stare at you through the door and the minute you open it walk away.  You start to call him and sure enough, another cat comes sauntering along, wanting out.  ::rolls eyes::  Silly boy. 

 

Oberon or Kitten??

While we've been calling the 15 pound, 3 year old 'kitten' Oberon, he still hasn't really responded to it.  I was beginning to think that he was deaf.  Seriously, no response from this cat no matter what you called him.  Not on Mommy Brown's Table™, not trying to get him to come in, not trying to get him to get out of the sink so you can wash your hands, and so on and so on and, well you see the dilemma.  Oddly enough, for the last few nights I've been able to get him to come dashing in (there being no other way to get inside other than using his Amazing SuperSonic Powers™) by calling "Kitten!  Come on in Kitten!" and such.  ::shakes head::  After three years, we may have finally hit on a name he will respond to, rather than being the Cat with the Identity Crisis™.

He has also taken to sleeping with my husband.  Very sweetly.  Enough so that you tend to look around for a camera.  Yes, Kodak moments.  ::suppresses laughter::  Mind you, while Kitten is doing this, my husband is petting him and saying things like, "I don't want cats." "I don't like cats." "You are nuisance." "I don't like you much, I don't know why you're here." and "You know I never wanted any cats at all." (I had five cats when we got married, he had one).  But my husband sounds just like my Daddy used to sound.  He would be all grumpy sounding, going on about how the cats weren't worth feeding, they never did any work around the house, they couldn't fetch slippers etc... but then you'd catch him petting the cats saying, "You know I don' t like you very much, right?"  And the cats keep on purring.

.

Anniversary , the naming of Cat Groups, and Hunting for Kittens or would that be...

Yesterday was my third anniversary.  My husband brought me roses and I put cards all over the house.  The kitchen, the bathroom, his dresser, the place where he hangs his jeans, his computer, his pillows.  No, I am not the card fairy.  ::whistles tunelessly and stares innocently at the ceiling::  He made us dinner; steak with
béarnaise sauce, broccoli, and baked potato.  A lovely wine and a chocolate jello I had not incountered before which tasted like a mousse.  mmmmmmmmmm  The kids were banned from the bedroom whilst we were feasting, although my son acted as waiter when I as being served (oh yes, I forgot the salad of my favorite green... spinach... mmmmmm).  We ended up being joined by Star.

Later in the evening, Oberon got into the act.  We call these two the 'Commodore Kitties' when they hang out together.  Vanderbilt University's (in Nashville, TN) colors are black and gold.  So, given a black cat and a orange tending toward gold cat... well... what else would one call them??  When the three eldest cats are together they are Tres Gattos Ombres (don't ask me, it's my husband's fault!).  Of course, these are the three who triangulated the mouse one day.

I don't recall if I've told that story.  Here's what happened;  we came outside one day to find Thomas sitting and staring intently.  About a foot away, his brother Zaphoid was also staring intently facing in the same direction.  Then there was Star, yes, you guessed it.  Star was also staring the same way.  All three cats were in a perfect equilateral triangle, staring at the center.  In the center was a field mouse.  First, it would dart one way... ooops!  There's a cat.  Then it would dart another way... ooops!  There's a cat.  Then it would dart another way... ooops!  There's a cat.  You could tell by the flicker of their tails and the set of their mouths (btw all three Tims were standing, not crouching) that they were quite amused about this predicament.

Now, I was outside for quite awhile and this went on... and on... and on.  In fact, I'm not sure how long it went.  My boys can play with Things They Consider to be Toys™ for hours.  ::sigh::  At least they didn't bring this one inside!  The worst time they did that was when Oberon was a kitten.  No, really!!  Evidently all of the Tims felt that it was imperative that they teach Oberon to hunt.  So they would bring in prey that... wasn't quite... gone yet.

This is because all of the Elder Cats™ (including the late Quigley whom we still miss, Tanis didn't get into the act) are at least half Siamese.  Siamese cats were bred to be temple guards.  Because of this, they were all kept in one room during the day; Toms, Queens, and kittens.  One can not have the Toms eating the kittens as they would do in the wild.  Ergo, the Siamese were bred to help take care of the kittens.  I remember my grandmother's cat being whacked out when she had a litter by a Siamese cat who was rather put out when she wouldn't let him help with the litter!!

At any rate, being Siamese, means that whenever a cat with Siamese blood encounters a kitten, their first instinct is to take care of it.  That means bathing it, making sure it's eating right, giving it toys to play with, playing with it; and, of course, teaching it to hunt.  ::rolls eyes::  Which explains why we spent to much time going, "Take that back where you found it!!" or some such.  Zaphy was the only one who wasn't that good at understanding that, although I believe I've trained that a bit better into him.  It's only taken five years or so.  ::rueful grin::  As it turned out, Oberon doesn't care for hunting, even after his tutelage (private lessons being given by Star).

Now, things are back to normal; whatever normal is around our house.  Oberon still trys to see if he can flop on someone.  The Boys (Thomas & his brother Zaphoid) usually disappear for the night.  Star spends his days with me, no matter where I am; oh wait, he tends to do that at night as well.  Hmmmmm, does that make him a NinjaBodyguard as well as a ComputerKitty??  hmmmmmmmm  Oberon has actually taken to flopping on my husband (or beside him).  Of course, Dale pets him and goes, "I don't like cats.  I don't like you.  I wonder how big a pot we'd need to cook you in." etc.  All the while Dale is scritching the cat and Oberon is purring like there is no tomorrow.  ::chuckles::  This is exactly like my dad.

Day? What Day?

I blame my daughter.  I had to take her and her brother to the doctor yesterday.  So, of course, I was sick today.  And had a feeling better but not fever free for 24 hours 16 yo daughter roaming around my bed wanting me to help her cut out the Herald's court costume (Mercedes Lackey anyone?)  It was also raining much of the day so that the cats would go to the door, want you to walk them out to the porch so that they could think about if they wanted to actually be outside or not.  Ergo, not much got done today.  Other than supervising cutting out fabric, discovering that there wasn't enough white fabric (but we found white fabric with butterflies & dragonflies on it so... as well as huge hook & eye strips on 80% sale but I digress), cutting out more fabric, going to get the son from choir practice, and then collapsing.  Star supervised.  Except in the car.  We don't let him drive anymore... although I did have to actually physically remove him from my van when I went to get my son.  Which was odd.  Ah well.  Off to collapse again!!

and kudos to my adoring and adorable husband who came through and hit the high school choir trip meeting... late because my daughter got the time late!  He da man!!

Arrrrrrrrrrgh!

The copy function has ceased to work on CafePress.  grrrrrrrrr.  This means that I can't finish making "Joyous Kwanzaa" and ... okay, it's humorous but I'm not telling... you'll just have to check out More Holiday Cards! later.  Which actually does have some more items in it since I managed to get up four more before doom and destruction.  One of them flipped space with an earlier 'inside'... can you tell which one?  heh heh heh

So for now I'll check on the... kidlets? progeny?... actually neither of those will do tonight.  I've got my ex's wife's daughter here spending the weekend.  My daughter's name is Jennifer and so is her's, ergo we have Big Jen and Little Jen.  Personally, I just go with Jennifer & Jen... well, while Jen is in the house.  All bets are off when she's at her own home, of course.  We'll also have Jennifer's bff tomorrow night.  My dearest love left about noon for Memphis to play a gig.  So it's just me.  Yes, me.  All alone in a sea of hormones.  Be afraid, be very very afraid.  Pray for me.  Awwwww, Thomas just jumped up into the Computer Kitty Chair™ and meowed in his best OMG!  Timmy's in the well!! 

This has been one of our family's big jokes.  Part of it stems from the fact that Thomas will tell you when another cat wants in or out.  Even when the door is closed.  And the other cat is just sitting there.  Trust me, his brother Zaphoid rarely meows to be let in, he feels that you should know he wants in!  If the front door is open, he'll just sit in front of it, staring mournfully in... rather like a child staring into a sweets or toy shop.  It's so sad.  Emo kitty still emo!  Well, evidently Timmy was found, because Thomas just took off like a rocket afire!  And I'm going to run off and see about logistics.  All three of the girls are going on a Girl Scout hike tomorrow and my son and I are having a Mommy/Son day.

Will I ever wake up??

I've been up now since 12:30 CST and it's now 13:30.  I'm still sleepy.  I haven't woken up at all.  I keep leaning to the left in the computer chair and finding my eyes closing.  meh.  Mind you, I did go to sleep.. ah... oh... um... at about 24:30ish? last night.  Well... it wasn't my fault!!  No, really!!  You see, the heart of my heart had taken his daughter to dinner and to see Where the Wild Things Are.   Once I got home from Corwyn's Mass Choir, I was child-free.... ummmmmm Mommy all-by-herself time.

But when I went to sleep I did take one of the sleeping pills prescribed by my pain docs because I haven't been sleeping well and this is not a Good Thing™.  Thomas ensconced himself in the middle.  Star actually made his way to my lap!!  Whooot!  He is often shy about doing this when Tom is around because Thomas, being head honcho, wants to be He Who Gets ALL of the Attention™.  Harumph.  Well too bad for him.  I've been using greenies to start teaching the cats that you do not mess with the cat by/on momma.  Period.

Okay, I'm about to fall over asleep... if you have any questions or comments... Star seems to be ensconced in here so he can answer them.