How Cute is This?

The three of us were napping one lazy afternoon and on waking I looked down to see the old girl, who'd been sleeping on my lap, with her paw like this.  My wife had read herself to sleep as she often does, and let her book drop against my side. Ordinarily when Cleo sleeps with us she likes to be touching one or the other of us if she's not actually on us.  It's not unusual for her to curl herself up against a leg, arm, hip or some other body part, and now & then she rests a paw this way. For all her feistiness and 'tude she can be such a sweet girl.

Meowteorologist Report

So one afternoon about a week after Hurricane Dorian blew through here dad got another tornado alert on his phone.  The alert eventually lapsed, but for about 20 minutes or so this is what the sky looked like overhead.  The still photos don't do it justice, but these clouds were swirling and looping like mad, prompting mom and dad to stack my carrier and some blankets near the bathroom.  Apparently our plan is to hunker down in the bathtub in the event of a tornado.

Now flash forward a couple of weeks and here I am on a much cooler early morning with the old comfy fleece on the old comfy dadlap.  

I know to some of you, temps in the upper 50's and 60's isn't cold, but for this trio of southern old farts (mom's technically not an old fart yet as she's about 12 years dad's junior) and compared to the past few months that's cold-ish.  I've also been cuddling more with mom and dad in bed and on the chairs with the onset of cooler temps, so we're all loving it.

Let Me Guess, It's the Tail?

Because Her Full Dish of Fresh Water Every Day Just Isn't Good Enough

One rainy day recently...

Slurp

Slurp Slurp

Slurp Slurp Slurp

Slurp Slurp

Slurp Slurp Slurp

What?  If a dog can drink out of a toilet...

Got Lucky This Time

     Well, we made it through the hurricane safely and it ended up not being as bad in our area as it was in others.  The day Dorian came through here started at 4:00 a.m. with the weather radio announcing one tornado alert after another all around us. 

Keeping a Close Watch on the Forecast

The wind picked up slowly throughout the day, the heavy rain was intermittent and our lights flickered a few times, but thankfully there was no major flooding and no trees or power lines came down.

Riding it Out

     The news from the Bahamas and other areas along the east coast is bleak and heartbreaking, so I'm just gonna say we're extremely thankful that we aren't dealing with the pain, grief and hardship that others are in the midst of suffering because of this storm.
   
   

Wait and See

     Well, as it turns out it looks like Hurricane Dorian may take a close enough swipe at the coast to cause some concern.  We'll most certainly be keeping watch to see how it pans out, but we're hopeful it ends up staying far enough off shore so that all we'll see 'round here will be rough surf, some wind and minimal, if any, damage.

     Mom went looking for me the other night since I hadn't gotten up on the bed with them at bedtime as I most often do, and she whispered to dad to come see where she'd found me. 

Mom had been doing her cleaning and seasonal housekeeping and left a comforter on the floor in the spare room, and I'd decided I'd make that my new comfy spot. 
    

While mom was preparing for the possibility of having to evacuate she'd stacked some clothes and toiletries on the bed, and as is my way I couldn't help myself. 

Up on the bed I hopped, sniffed the bag of things, turned once or twice, and settled in, the crinkly plastic bag my pillow.
     Mom has been updating our hurricane plan stuff for days now and going over it and over it, and she and dad took a break yesterday to head to Carolina Beach for a bit. 

Abandoned Carolina Beach

Even though it was Labor Day they had a feeling it wouldn't be too crowded, and boy were they right. 

The clouds, waves and wind weren't technically directly linked to the storm, but it was amazing to see how empty things were (though Britt's Donuts was doing a brisk business and smelled awesome!).
     The waves weren't exactly monstrous but were rough enough to already seem almost menacing, and the rip current warnings kept most people out of the water. 

Mom, observing from a safe depth

Dorian's exact track is still up in the air as of this writing, but considering we're in a coastal area and the fact that Georgia and South Carolina have now begun mandatory coastline evacuations, we may not be posting again for a bit.
    

We're keeping those who've already been affected by Hurricane Dorian in our thoughts, and crossing our fingers and paws that we'll be spared the worst of it.