Move Over, Elf and Other Good Stuff

 

We all like to explore, am I right? Our home provides some places for me to check out when I get really bored (which seems to be often). Until mom went and moved some stuff around to make it more difficult, one of my favorites was the second shelf up from the floor on this bookshelf in the living room.

Now that things have been rearranged, I'm forced to make do with the bottom-most one, which is fine, I guess, considering they probably don't want me jumping any more than I need to (what with your advanced age, dear girl). 

Says the one with more and more white furs sticking out of his head & face...

Update: Well, now they've gone and done it. Even my bottom shelf spot has been taken. Mom and dad have been on a puzzle thing again, and mom recently found some at the Good Stuff Thrift store up the road in Buckingham, where proceeds go to helping kids in need in the community.

 Mom and dad enjoy simple, old-fashioned and inexpensive fun, like jigsaw puzzles, Yahtzee and Dice (mom's wicked competitive, and both can be sore losers), and this is how they spend most evenings. 

Warmer Weather is (almost) Here to Stay

Except for today, of course, we've had a few days recently when mom has been leaving the front door open for me so I can keep watch again over all that happens outside through the storm door glass. The elderly lady over there with the yappy little mutts, the robins bobbing and skittering across the front lawn, the fat, juicy geese honking away over by the pond and decorating the lawns, and the seemingly steady stream of Amazon trucks whizzing back and forth all hold my attention for like 2 1/4 nanoseconds a pop. 

   Oh, the choices I'm forced to ponder-

The warmer weather also brings the removal of the Coleman sleeping bag from the bed. You can probably guess where this is going. 

How 'bout Them Pink Beans

Big S-T-R-E-T-C-H

Half Awake & In a Daze

For a crusty old lady cat who meows like a duck/frog hybrid, routinely grunts like she can't be bothered to open her mouth for a meow, provides more side-eye than your average teenage daughter, and typically can't give us the time of day, Smudge provides her mom and me with so many tender moments like this that give us the warm fuzzies and let us know that deep down, there's a sweet, gentle, loving kitty in there. Somewhere. Maybe. I think. 

 

Whatever

 He's all better, folks. He calmed down. He still hasn't figured out the video thing, but after taking a little road trip for mom's birthday last week, his demeanor changed with a replenishment of one of his favorite things (you called it, Mackerull!). 

In spite of some clouds, mom and dad caught a glimpse or two of the eclipse during their outing, and although they had those special glasses, the best pictures were taken without them.

No, he didn't look directly at it...

There are a few dad took through the glasses, but they just look like a hazy, blurry little sun. Maple syrup? Total eclipse? As far as I'm concerned, I couldn't give a rat's butt.

Mom and dad call this my annoyed face, which I apparently give them all the time. Whatever.

Newsflash

  We interrupt this post with a special bulletin: A 62-year-old man-baby has gone off the rails in a fit of rage, causing his feline companion (me) to run and hide behind the sheet that still hangs over the front entrance. Thankful that the mom slept through it all, said feline companion alleges that the man-baby tried to insert a video in a post and failed, then tried to edit a funny photograph of a poster seen at the V.E.T.'s office so it was clear enough to read and failed. Grateful to have escaped the flying java and horrified by the unrepeatable venom and spittle spewing from the man-baby's angry mouth, the feline companion remained out of sight as she feared for her very lives. Details are still a little sketchy but trickling in, and we'll be sure to keep you updated as we get information. For now, we'll leave you with something a little more soothing-

Sleep-deprived, under-caffeinated and tech-savvy NOT if you ask me

TV Time with Dad/Strings/Easter Greetings

 I have my moments with both mom and dad when I feel like being the adoring little feline companion and not my usual crusty senior self. Here, I'm enjoying a bit of TV (translated: laptop) with dad,

and here, the hood string on his jacket got my attention while he was coming in close, his scruff invading my personal space.

Even though I have a plastic bin of random toys, I find joy in pretty much any kind of string. Until I don't. You know, as much as he has plenty to say about my belly, I'm noticing more than one chin in this last photo, am I not? Anyhoo, Happy Easter, everyone. Dad's off mutt-sitting again this week while mom and I hold down the fort, just two gals, all alone with only each other for company. We kind of annoy each other equally, so it's all good.

A Snoozy Smudge Session

 As determined as I've been to make a concentrated effort to keep Smudge's posts entirely from her perspective, it's hard not to want to simply share some of my favorite photos of her, pictures that need no captions or explanations. Smudge is probably the most quirky, moody & snippety cat we've had, but she has her moments- mostly when she's asleep, of course😊- when her mom and I can't help but look at her and feel our hearts melt away. Smudge just passed her 1-year Gotcha Day with us, so what better time to share the joy she brings us-

And last, I know I said no explanations, but note who still to this day gets more space on the footrest.

Don't these make you want to just curl up and nod off?

Dangling Purrticiples

 

Longing for feline companionship, mom's hand couldn't resist the urge to reach for my dangling paw.

Luxuriating in the warmth from the portable heater, the footrest provided the ideal spot for my morning comfort.  

Knowing fully well I wasn't in the mood for a picture, dad's phone ruined a perfectly relaxing moment.

Did we get these right?

Guilty as Charged

sMUdGe SHOT- Get it? See what I did there? I know, keep the laughter and applause to a minimum, thank you. Don't hate me 'cause I'm clever.  

Dad took this picture of me the other day and said it looked like I'd been arrested and photographed for high crimes and misdemeanors or some sh*t. Hmmm, maybe I should have T-shirts, mugs, and bumper stickers made and sell them for- oh, never mind...

Marching Into Spring

 

Kitchen Floor Sessions

Cats and routines- we all have 'em, am I right? So as life goes on here I get into some habits with mom and dad. One of my more recent routines involves both of my humans, though it's become a favorite early morning pastime with dad.

I typically look for lovin' wherever I can find it, so when dad gets off his butt after reading in my chair & guzzling his java, and starts his morning routine in the kitchen, I know I've got a captive audience.

I'll go into the kitchen meowing, where he's busy prepping his breakfast & lunch, and sprawl out right in the middle of the floor, looking up at him oh-so-longingly.

If he's running behind, he just steps over me, but I'm irresistible and I've got him trained so he always gets down on all fours, groaning all the way down (more so on the way back up), and gives me the scritches, pats and belly rubs I so crave until I've had my fill.

So you might be thinking, "Who puts carpet in a kitchen?". Well, based on what I'm tired of hearing almost daily this winter, the porcelain tile-over-concrete-slab thing here feels like an ice skating rink. Yeah, there's socks & slippers, but I still hear about it. The rug's ugly, but it was free and my claws are loving it. Plus, I'm sure this tile will be nice in the summer. 

A Little Behind Again

Oh dern, where to begin? Dad's been a little lax again about keeping up here. Week before last he was supposed to help me do a post, and he was getting ready to spend yet another week catering to his boss's mutts . Well, wouldn't you know, he and mom both tested positive for COVID for the first time. They thought they were simply coming down with head colds but dad's brain told him to pick up a couple of tests. Dad says at first they just felt kinda (rhymes with kitty) and thankfully they didn't get the fever or anything worse. It wore them down a bit, and somewhere along the line the big ding dong also pulled something in his knee so he's been hobbling along while trying to keep his canine charges occupied and exercised. All in all it's just been a couple of (there's that kitty word again) weeks. Prior to leaving, dad managed to snap a couple shots from when mom was packing his (rhymes with fit), which she does most every time he goes away. No, he doesn't ask or tell her to- she's, well, a control freak in most every way and likes to make sure he's well-prepared. Honest. So, on that big old bed the only place I found snoozeworthy was, well. . .

and one from the other end

Sheet Happens

 Dad hung up a sheet across the front entrance to our place because the cold air, as he puts it, seeps right through the effing walls. 

That's me on the right

So I thought, great, cool, a new play area! It didn't take me long to learn to use the sheet as a hidey place, or mom & dad too long to get off their butts and use my toys to keep me entertained.

See My Paw?

Of course, they'll say things like "We always try to get you to play" or "You hardly give us the time of day when we try to engage you", or "Whenever we try to give you attention you usually turn and walk away" and, mostly "You sit there, begging for attention with your eyes and when we come to give it to you, you up and walk away!". I know, what whiners, right? 

 I'm tired now from all the complaining, so I'm gonna just sit here, half in & half out and rest a while. Bye.

Oh, Him Again?

So dad's got another upcoming stint taking care of the boss's mutts. Check it out- this guy's about as tall as dad on his hinds (the mutt, not dad. Dad's normally on his hinds anyway. Usually).

Here, they're looking at a handful of whitetails that went bobbing off through the woods as dad walked him along the driveway. 

Okay, enough. You KNOW I do not like sharing space here, Pops. I'm done.

Ahh, Winter in the Northeast...

What? More snow? Good gosh, if we get any more snow the roof will collapse, won't it?

Isn't that a bit of an exaggeration, old girl?

My Go-To Safe Space

Whatever. Says you, dad. I'm not taking any chances. You'll find me right here in my safe spot until it's over. I mean it. Now bring me my food and water. And my string. Chop chop. 

A tad dramatic, don't you think? I mean, there's, like, a crusty dusting of white up there. 

Yeah, kinda like your hair. Better safe than sorry, old man. Better safe than sorry.

Taking a Break

See you soon!