Mouse, the Cat

New Trick!!

2009-03-31T09:54:00.000-05:00

I learned something new this morning.

I have been watching Cheese while he eats. When he is done eating he rushes over to another kitty’s bowl and shoves them aside and eats their food. The MomBean has learned that the way to keep him from doing this is to give him the can to lick while the rest of us are finishing up.

This morning I was the first one done eating. I looked up, looked around, and then went to Autumn’s bowl and tentatively nudged her out of the way. She didn’t even fight and I got to lick the rest of the juice on her plate. I see why cheese does that!

The mombean saw it and said something like “Oh no Mouse, not you too” I don’t know what I have to do with a rock band from Ireland, and really, I was too busy eating to stop and think about it. I think I am going to try it again tonight before mombean has a chance to mention it to the manbean. Heh heh

MURDER!!!

2009-03-13T15:17:00.001-05:00

Wow! There was a murder in Aunt Jackie’s house!!!

She called my MomBean and told her that when she got home that there were bird feathers all through the house! There was no bird, just lots and lots of feathers. She thinks a bird got in the house from the balcony and then couldn’t find the way back out. And with 6 cats in the house…well, it wasn’t getting out even if it could find the door.

She said she asked the kitties which one was the bird murderer…I imagine the conversation went something like:

Jackie: ok. Which one of you carnivores devoured the poor helpless bird?

Cats: …

Jackie: nevermind. I am going to bed.

Much later…
A random cat: hack, hack, h-a-a-a-aaaaaaccckkkk!!

Jackie: WTH? It is 4 in the morning! Like I care at this point!! You are all guilty!

The guilty cat: Heh, heh. I think I will go give her stinky bird barf kisses.

Jackie: aaawwwww, did you come to give the mommy kisses…what a good kitty.

Cat: heh heh.

Well, that’s what I would do if I got the bird. Heh Heh.

Oh, and don’t believe a word Cheese says about his days of living like a rock star…the closest he ever gets is being in the same room when the MomBean plays that stick she calls a Floot.

Wait For MEEEEeee!

2009-03-03T10:03:00.001-05:00

PPPSSSSSTTTTT……

Cheese here.

The LadyBean says she has been living like a rock star lately and I want in on it. I have been waiting, but where are the chicks, man? I am not as interested in the chicks as I am in the M&Ms with all the brown ones removed. Where are the lady poodins to hand (paw) feed me sardines? I don’t miss the noise that Rock Stars make and I certainly don’t miss the throwing of furniture and all the hairballs, but I miss the lifestyle, Dude.

It really brings back memories. Well, it would if I was coherent during my rock star days…

It's About Time

2009-02-23T21:22:00.003-05:00

well! It is about time! The MomBean has all but forgotten that I have adoring fans for so long that I am an old woman now and all my cuteness is behind me. Well, my behind is cute...and really, my little grey nose is pretty cute too...well, I guess I am still cute even if I am a little old lady now. Well, I wouldn't exactly say old...maybe older than I was when I was borned but I still got a lot of pep in me. But, thats beside the point. The point is that the MomBean was neglecting me. Terribly. Scandalously.

For a while it was because she was working all the time. She tells people it is just the nature of the work she does that she has to work all those long hours, but I keep telling her to just take me to work with her. She says I would have thrown up all over the car and having to work and clean up Poodin Barf wasn't her idea of a great day. Well!

Then, she quit working but she wouldn't let me on the flashy box thing because she was on it all the time. First, trying to find a new house, then trying to find a new job to go with the new house, then sitting on the couch for 2 months (she says it is because she blew out her knee, but I didn't see any blown up bits on her). When she finally went back to work, she ended up working more than she did the first time!! The horror! Lucky for me the ManBean was home all the time.

She worked at that new place for 3 months and then she said something about being downsized. I checked and she is still just as tall as she always has been so I don't know what she was talking about. I was expecting another few months of quality lap time when - BOOM - she got another job! It wasn't even 2 weeks!

She goes to work and comes home at a normal hour, not 10 and 11 at night! She says she is still doing Accounting work but she doesn't work the really long hours so I think she is a little confused. She gets to bring work home and do it online. I have investigated her papers and I don't really see her a'countin' anything. All her papers have little boxes and numbers on them (and cat hair now...heehee) but no beans! I checked for the beans as soon as I heard her tell a friend that she was a bean counter. I figure if I can find them, I can steal them, and then she will have to play with me.

Or I can always save them for when I get tired of waiting for lap time and smother her in her sleep. I figure if there is no one to feed me those beans might come in pretty handy.

Home Again

2008-03-25T10:46:00.001-05:00

Yay! The mommy is back…oh, and the man-bean too.

They went to Missouri for a week to visit the Gramma Bean. Mommy said it was a nice relaxing visit and she thought the Woofie named Henry was very funny and cute. But she also said that she was very very happy to be home.

They came in and gave us much needed scritches (In fact, the mommy said she started stretching her fingers when they were still half a mile from the house so she wouldn’t get a dreaded finger cramp from Mega Scritching without warming up first), brought the luggage in and then went out to eat with their friends! What was that about! They were gone for a week so an hour of pettins wasn’t going to go far! But when they came back, the mommy put on her jammies and let me sit on her lap.

Autumn Savannah wasn’t having it though. She came over and sat on me while I was sitting on the mommy, even though I growled at her. Finally, I just gave up and decided to wait until mommy was in bed and give her kisses. I let AS have the lap, and then she started getting mean about it! Every time another poodin would get near the mommy Autumn Savannah would smack them on the top of the head!! I told her, “Autumn Savannah, that isn’t nice.” And she said to me, “I don’t have to be nice, it is MY lap!” and then the mommy picked her up and put her on the floor and went upstairs to read. I was going to stick my tongue out at AS but I didn’t think that would be very lady-like (okay, so I did it anyway, but just a little).

When mommy went to bed I waited until the light was out then I sneaked down and gave the mommy a big, drooly, purry kiss. After I finished slobbering all over the mommy I went and slept with the man bean since he doesn’t move around much. For once, all 4 of us were on the bed and we didn’t even fight. I don’t see this lasting long though…I am feelin’ all smacky

New Stuff!!

2008-03-15T10:32:00.003-05:00

The mommy bean has a new website.

She has been working on it for a while which is why she neglected me so scandalously - or so she says. I think it has to do with all the stuff happening around the house. You know, the decision to implement the M-word and then the decision to not M-word. Looking for a job has kept her busy and then she is trying to get in all the trips that she wasnt able to take last year because her company was busy trying to work her to death.

Now that things have settled down a little she is able to be on here more often so now I get to be on the Tappy Box too. That is until tomorrow...when the beans go to visit the Gramma Bean and her Woofie for a week. Autumn Savannah is worried that with all this travelling that the beans will forget to come home but I reminded her about the Kitty Sitter. We get our own person to come to our house and feed us 2X a day! And the best part is that they leave after a while so we get the house to ourselves again. I telled her, "Just think AS, no one kissing our noses, or trying to give us scritches while we are trying to take our 47th nap for the day!" Well, by this time AS had run off to chase a Nothing (I swear she is so A.D.D.) so I was left talking to myself. Cheese was looking at me funny so I had to tell him that I started out by talking to AS and he rolled his eyes and said, "Suuuuuure."

Pfft...I dont know why I bother someti...OOOOOoooo...a piece of lint!!!

OMG!!!!

2008-03-10T22:22:00.002-05:00

Oh My Goodness!!

Look at what is happening in China! Isnt there something we, as fellow Poodins, can do to help them????

For Girls Only

2008-02-27T19:10:00.002-05:00

Well it is about time some one recognized how special (no, not that way) us girls are. Now we have our own website...and I must admit: if I wasn't so confident of my greatness, I would feel a bit intimidated by all of the beauty on this site.

Something for me!

2007-07-26T10:39:00.001-05:00

Wow, it has been soooo long since I was able to get on here that I forgetted how to use the tappy thing!

First things first….we has a nanny! The mommy hired someone to come in and feed us and play with us, and scoop our boxes every day! She says he is a Domestic Advisor and that he will be with us full time but I don’t care what we call him…he is here just for us! He also cleans house, makes the lunch for the mommy bean, cooks supper and breakfast, takes care of the gardens, and just makes the bean’s lives easier…but I know they got him just for me. It is working out so well that the mommy says everyone should have a ‘Barry’. I disagree. I think if everyone had a Barry, then there would be none left for me!

Barry says that I am his favorite. Problem is, he also says that about Cheese, Bumpers, and Autumn Savannah. Hmmmm…I don’t know if I like that. I took my time getting to know him. He has been here almost 2 months and I finally let him pet me without squashing myself flat on the floor to get away. I figure it is my gift to him. The other poodins liked him right away (and don’t tell him, so did I) because he plied them with treats, but I was more discriminating. I made him wait. That way it looked like I was gracing him with my affection. Now that he knows I like him it is just a matter of time until I let him experience my kisses full of drool-y goodness.

Cheese already sleeps with our Barry. As soon as he figured out that Barry = food Cheese was attached to his hip. In fact, when Barry was a little late with the stinky goodness one morning, Cheese licked his toe. Cheese said it was just to wake the Barry up, but I think he was checking to see if a Barry was a good thing to eat in an emergency.

Sleepy Sunday

2007-04-08T14:24:00.000-05:00

YAWN!!!!!

SPRINGSRPINGSPRINGSPRING!!!!

2007-03-31T16:40:00.000-05:00

It has been so long since the beans turned the tappy thing on that I was confused at first about the big glowing box in here. I know what the big glowing box on the wall in the living room is for (yelling at during Jeopardy), but it took me a minute to a'member what to do with this one.

WOW!! A Poodin would think the mommy had never seen spring before. She has been opening the house and letting us sniff the outside... and one night the Beans actually slept with the windows open! And she actually went outside and took pictures of all the salad I am not allowed to eat. She says this stuff is Sedum but since I am not blind everything is Seed-um..."Did you see the Daffodils?"..."Yup, I Seedum". The whole Happy-About-Spring thing doesn't last long though. After a few minutes of being outside she starts making lists about what the gardner needs to do this year and how quickly he can get it done. Well, the next few pictures prove that he has a lot of work to do because there are a lot of empty spaces still this year.

Last Year:

This Year:

Last Year:
This Year:

Though, Bumpers says that all we have to do is wait another 400 naps and the Hostas will be back again and things wont look bare any more.

The Mommy also has been talking about Spring Cleaning lately. She has been making sure the cleaning lady has been doing a good job and is talking to her about something called an EVENT CLEANING. Well, when the cleaning lady comes it is an event anyway, I don't know how this is going to be any different. The Beans seem to think that since they are having a big party that the house needs to be clean. But get this...the party isn't at the house! It is going to be held at someplace called VENUE. The beans have been talking about it a lot lately..."is the VENUE big enough? Will the VENUE have a bar? Will the VENUE have easy access for the Caterers? Can the Bakery people get into the VENUE early to set the cake up?" I gotta say...I looked at Mapquest and I didn't see VENUE anywhere near us. At this point I have to think the Beans have lost their minds. Something else that makes me think this is that when they check the mail they get all excited about little white cards that tell them who is coming to the party. Ummmm...people...Isn't that what scratching a tree is for? To let you know when and where the party is and who is expected to attend?

We all had to go to the Stabby place and get injected with biohazardous chemicals. The Stabby Dood said it would keep us from getting sick, but every time I go I have to get an EXTRA shot to keep the stuff that is supposed to protect me from making me sick...from making me sick!! Heh, figure that one out...I think it is just torture because we get to stay home and nap all day and the beans have to go out to hunt in order to feed us. I keep telling them that if they would just let me outside a bird might fly into my mouth and it would be one less meal they would have to prepare for me. Though, I don't know how I am going to get a cow to fly into my mouth...I do love the beef Stinky Goodness (even though it makes me barf all over the house).

Bumpers had to go to the stabby place a week earlier than we did. The beans had to have his pee checked out because he peed in the wrong place. He peed in the Mommy's study on her pretty curtains. Well, I think he was just giving his opinion, but the beans thought he needed to go to the V-E-T because he has poor taste in window dressings. Well, you can be sure I am not going to say a word about the color of the guest bathroom!! Turns out his pee is fine...the nice Stabby lady said that it was behavioral and suggested a few things the beans could do to help. Unfortunately, the beans are doing almost everything the stabby lady suggested (with the exception of the Kitty Prozac). The beans have closed the door to that study and the mommy has been using the Man Bean's study instead but she doesn't like it as much...she says it is too Mask-u-line.

Well, I am going to go bug the beans for some crunchies...all this tapping has made me weak with hunger.

Pix of Autumn

2007-01-03T19:10:00.000-05:00

KC requested more photos of Autumn Savannah so here they are. I adore showing off my Tough A*s Tortie so here are some of her best stuff.

She loves her bear. She shows it love by beating the tar out of it every day.

Here she is helping build the kitty condo.

She is definately a bag kitty...

Poor Cheese

2006-12-29T08:39:00.000-05:00

The mommy said that Cheese is a Basket case. She was laughing but I don't think it is anything to make fun of. Cheese seems pretty normal (relatively) so I don't know what the mommy thinks he is so upset about. He doesn't seem particularly bothered by anything so I don't know how she thinks he is a basket case. But looking at this picture I have to say...he has some pretty impressive muzzle puffs.

Finally!!

2006-12-26T10:55:00.000-05:00

Wow, I didn't think Mommy would ever turn this on again. She has been sooooo busy!! I didn't think she could get any busier once she started her new 'job' thing-y, but boy was I wrong!

Shortly after this 'job' started, the man bean's mommy came to visit. They had to put up a place for her to sleep in the man bean's study. That is where this computer is so I wasn't going to go in there and bother the grandma bean. She stayed for a week, and I had a great time with the grandmommy while she was here. I was all 'cited before she came out. Here I am checking out the quality of her bed. I am helping the beans put her room together acause you know they needed my help.

Shortly before they put the bed together the man bean came to ask my opinion of the bed. When I told him that it would do he gave me some head scritches. Shortly after the grandma bean left, the mommy was doing some work in her study and Autumn and I were helping, apparently, by keeping look-out. Mommy is an 'A-Count-Ant' and she brought home some papers from work so we had to make sure there was no corporate espionage stuff going on. At one point she looked up and this is what she saw. Heh Heh, I made the mommy jump a little. Finally, after mommy was done doing work at home, she went into her craft room to frame a wedding picture. She was using lace and tulle on the frame so Autumn and I had to inspect that too. Well, Autumn was in such a hurry that she didn't let me do a really thorough job. You can see that she is in the background trying to hurry me along. Well, as soon as I was done checking it out, Autumn was able to do her job. It passed 2 cat-scans so now mommy can use it on the frame.

FOR KC - Tough A*s Tortie Tuesday

2006-11-26T16:58:00.000-05:00

Here is the infamous picture of Autumn Savannah when she was sick. Unlike KC, Autumn hadnt had her Ladygardenectomy yet. She was too sick and the V-E-T wanted to take care of the more important thing first. Autumn had an Abcess in her lung that was blocking the airway and it had to be removed. The V-E-T assured the mommy that after the recovery Autumn would be a completely normal poodin (right, like any of us are 'normal').
Well, the mommy worried, and worried, and worried some more and finally, after 3 days of being in the Poodin hospital, Autumn was allowed to come home. The beans had the spare room set up for Autumn and since she was still taking pain medication she just slept a lot. At night the mommy wrapped Autumn up so she wouldnt bother her staples and mommy said she looked like a Jedi Master - whatever that is. During the day mommy let Autumn run around nekkid and Autumn never bothered her staples...until 2 days before she was supposed to have them removed. Then she pulled one out, it popped her incision open and mommy caught her just as she was pulling on the stitches under her skin holding her muscle together. ICK!!!!!

The Beans rushed to the car and drove really fast to the poodin hospital (it was 11 at night) and they stuck another staple in her. 2 days later all the staples came out - on schedule, and things have been okay since. Though, as a result of all of the poodin drama when Autumn finally had her Ladygardenectomy the v-e-t called mommy and asked if the mommy could take Autumn home early since she was being very 'uncooperative'. When anyone walked past the cage Autumn would charge at them and try to bite them. As soon as the mommy got there Autumn was a little angel again and has been fine since.

Now that her fur has grown back from the bad haircut days no one would ever know how sick she was. I am sure KC is going to be the same way - as soon as she gets home and the Beans shower her with love and attention she is going to get better by leaps and bounds. Just wait and see.

Getting Annoyed

2006-11-05T09:27:00.000-05:00

I have to say, this Mommy working business is getting on my last nerve. She is never home for me to give kisses to, or for me to sit on her lap, or for her to turn on the tappy box so I can update this thing. And I know that she gets grumpy without the kisses and the snugglies a'cause when she gets home she just looks at the house and goes 'ugh' and goes upstairs for the rest of the night.

When she is upstairs she is working on her kwilt and that makes her happier. She has set up a new table to put the hot thing on and, I swear, these prints were already here when I hopped up to investigate. I think Autumn Savannah did it. They are too big to be hers but she is usually the one in trouble so they must be hers.

When the mommy came in and saw me on the new table she said I was cute. I was still mad at her for letting some other poodin see the table before me so I decided to shun her. I figure if I cant see her then she must not be there. That is how it works right?

2006-10-25T19:18:00.000-05:00

Ok, here is the deal... Now that the mommy is working and is all tired and stuff when she gets home, us poodins have decided to mess with her mind a little bit.

She isnt spending nearly enough time with us and every poodin knows that we should be supervised. So to reward (punish?) her for working we are going to shred something important of hers every few days. Monday it was the bank statement, last week it was the insurance policy...I am eyeing the phone bill for tomorrow.

Since everyone knows that poodins dont have opposable thumbs (or I would be out the front door like a lightning bolt) the missing paperwork cant possibly be blamed on us. Tee Hee.

BBBRRRRRRrrrrrr

2006-10-17T20:48:00.000-05:00

Things are getting desperate here. I have to resort to sleeping on the printer in order to stay warm. My winter fur isnt in yet and I am
c-c-cold. I kep trying to jump up and smack the box that makes the house warm but nothing happens. When the daddy changes the box the mommy goes around a few minutes later and changes it back. In the summer this happens a lot a'cause the mommy likes it cold and the daddy doesnt like icicles on his lip fur.

still trying to grow the winter fur
...uuurrhhh...uuurrrhhh... nothing yet...I will keep you posted on my progress.

Here we go again.

2006-10-16T20:31:00.000-05:00

Well, Poodins, it is that time of year again. It is time for us to start growing the winter fur and trying to locate the best sun spots in the house. Bumpers is practicing by...ummm...sleeping in a tight little ball.

The winter fur is important as a back up. It is something that seems like overkill until you really need it. Mommy has a habit of letting us run out of the house when it is super cold and there is snow on the ground. You would think we would be wary since she never lets us run out of the house any other time, but noooooooo...we fall for it every time. We get outside and run into the snow and stop dead in our tracks (not really dead). It is at this time that the extra fur comes in handy. And if for some reason the beans dont heat the house enough then it works well for smothering them. I have been practicing smothering the mommy. I wait until she is asleep and then I lay on her face. I think the reason it hasnt worked so far is a'cause I dont have winter fur yet. I am trying really hard to grow it but it doesnt seem to work on demand. I dont understand that since I can shed on demand. I mean, at the stabby place, I can shoot fur about a foot off my body. Heh Heh.

Just so ya know...

2006-10-04T12:07:00.000-05:00

Ok, here is the deal - if you are sleeping, I am bored. Furthermore, I dont sleep as heavily as you so if you move I can get out of the way and not get squished. So when you stick your foot out of the covers in the middle of the night I am going to know about it. Consequently, your foot becomes my toy and it doesnt matter to me that you were sleeping.

Just so we are clear on this...

Uh Oh.

2006-09-30T17:38:00.000-05:00

Well, I dont know what got into Autumn but suddenly she decided that she didnt like the filters for the humidifier. The mommy was cleaning out the hall closet and had put these aside a'cause we will need them soon and the next time she went into the bedroom she found this mess.

At first she thought Cheese did it cause he was resting like he just did hard work (like trying to clean his back leg or something). In fact, Cheese was resting so hard that Autumn thought he was dead and tried to do Mouth to Mouth on him (I think she was gonna eat him but mommy was watching). But later, she was going back into the bedroom to clean up the mess and Autumn was following her around. As soon as Autumn saw the filter boxes again she went and attacked them. Mommy laughed so hard she had to sit down. I dont know why that is funny, when I kill something I get into trouble. Wait...I never really kill anything. I am still trying to figure out how they get the vishus deer in the can.

New Job

2006-09-27T20:35:00.000-05:00

Well, I dont know what has been going on. The mommy leaves the house at 7:30 and doesnt come home until 6 at night. I have been waiting patiently but I have no clue what is happening. Mommy says she has a job now and that is where she goes every day.

The good thing is that we get fed at 7 in the morning instead of 10 so I am pretty happy about that. Mommy says she is a Bean Counter at a company and it is the END OF THE FISCAL YEAR so things are crazy at work. Well we had company last week and I liked them but not enough to go see them every day for all day. I wonder how long this is going to last. I may have to put my paw down...

My Bad

2006-09-17T12:45:00.000-05:00

The other day the Mommy said that she was going to use the Man bean's study to lay out the quilt pieces. Well, silly us, we thought she said she was going to lay out the 'kill-t pieces'.

We thought mommy went hunting and was going to bring all the prey into the house. Needless to say, we got 27 kinds of excited and ran into the room. When we got there we only found these pieces on the floor. We sniffed and sniffed but didnt find any victims. We thought that maybe they were hiding under the stuff on the floor so we laid on the pieces to wait them out. One by one, the mommy would take a piece away but we didnt find anything worth eating. Finally all the pieces were gone AND THERE WERE NO KILL-T PIECES!!!

I dont think Mommy's hunting skills are all that great cause her victim got away. Maybe I will show her how to catch and eat a bird...wait...she would have to teach me. I assume she knows how a'cause the beans have dead bird all the time and I only get what they give me. All this hunting for kill-t pieces and the crushing disappointment has worn me out. I am going to see if I can find where I left my nap. I know it is laying around here somewhere...

2006-09-13T10:45:00.000-05:00

Good thing I took that nap...cause now I have to help the mommy with the quilt pieces. It is really hard work inspecting each piece.

Cheese decided to help too. He did some inspecting, but not as much as I did.

And he didn't pace himself so he got tired real fast. After a little while he had to go rest.

It's a Bird...It's a Plane...It's...

2006-09-10T19:26:00.000-05:00

Awesome Autumn!!!

Able to eat a can of food in 10 seconds...

Able to tolerate 3 neighbor kids hands at one time...

Able to melt your heart with one tiny "Mew"...

Thats Much Better

2006-09-09T20:43:00.000-05:00

Well, it is about time the mommy realized that I was deserving of more appropriate accomodations. This box is not only the right size for my petite frame, but look...it even has flowers on it. That is more like it. How can I be a dainty little princess if I have to live in a big freakin box!!

Now read quietly so I can get some shut eye. I have only had 76 naps today and I am getting behind...No, Cheese, I said I am getting behind, not getting A big behind...Sheesh, brothers...

Tagged!

2006-09-04T21:49:00.000-05:00

Yay!!! We got tagged!!! we have to list 5 funny/strange things about us. I will start a'cause it is my blog.

Mouse:

I am a dilute Tortie. That means I have a dilution gene that washes out my colors and I am all greys and beiges. In fact, the mommy thought I was all grey when she picked me out. After a few months my colors came in and everyone was surprised.
I dont meow - I meep. Mommy calls me Meepers
I am trying to train my mommy. I go to another floor in the house and call and call and call. When mommy comes and finds me I am sitting there with a mouse to play with.
I give kisses in the middle of the night. I wait until everyone in settled in and then I find the mommy and kiss her chin and knead her neck. She has to keep my nails cut all of the time.
I cannot eat any beef. If there is beef in any of my food I barf a lot and often. It took almost a year for the beans to figure that one out. Now I have prescription food that is Venison and Green Pea. Skeezix would be proud that I get to eat Vishus Deer.

Cheese:

No one thought I would live. I was only 8 oz at 6 weeks and was malnourished and parasite ridden. The mommy took me cause she wanted me to have a comfortable ending. Now I am 3 years old and weigh 18 pounds. I showed them
I can do lotsa tricks. I can Sit, Stand Up, Give High Five, Lay Down, Roll Over, Through the Hoop, and the best one I do is Play Dead. It is true. The vet seed it.
I am a big boy, but I have a teeny tiny little meow. And I didnt start talking until I was almost a year old.
Mommy says I am a Trick Savant. She says I am pretty dopey and silly and she sometimes wonders how smart I am. But I can pick up a trick in just a couple of repetitions.
My butt is shaved. I get infected anal glands...nuff said.

Bumpers:

When I meow I take my time and make it last a looooooong time.
when I meow, it sounds like I am gargling.
I only lick the juice off of the stinky goodness. I prefer crunchies
I am a grey tuxedo kitty (maybe I have the dilution gene too).
one of my fangs has a long brown stripe going down it. The vet says it is just the way it grew in.

Autumn Savannah:

I had half of a lung removed last February. I got very sick and almost died. The mommy rescued me and I had to go to the kitty hospital cause I needed the oxygen cage to help me breathe.
Cause I was so sick the fine bones in my nose fused together and now you can hear me breathing from across the room. When I play I breathe through my mouth. It does not slow me down a bit though.
I got my name cause the last people who had me named me Ralph cause they said I had all the colors of Barf. Mommy said that after a name like that I deserved a real Girly-Girl name. But she mostly calles me Princess StinkyBreath.
When the beans first got me I was completely house trianed. I would tell the beans when I needed to go out. Mommy would carry me out, I would do my business and then sit next to mommy until she picked me up and brought me back in. Mommy said it was the most charming thing she had ever seen.
Even though I am only 5 pounds I am not afraid of anything. I dont mind the loud carpet sucker and when Mommy uses the electric razor on her legs I put my paw on it to help.

OK, Now that all the poodins have spoken, I tag Calico Girls, Ayla The Grump, 2 Carolina Cats, Nemo, and Shaggy, Scooby, and Scout.

New Project

2006-09-01T20:00:00.000-05:00

Well, Mommy says now that she graduated she can no longer call herself a student; she has to say she is unemployed now. She has been looking for a job though, and she says that is a job in itself. I only see her sitting at the computer all day so I can't tell the difference. She did that the whole way through school too so it is all the same to me. As long as I get fed on time I don't care if she goes to school or looks for a job.

Mommy says now that she is finished with school for a while and she doesnt have a job yet she has to figure out what to do with her time. She decided to make a quilt.

Mommy fell in love with a design called Newport Beach. She loves the way the blocks seem to hover over the fabric. She left the house for a while last Sunday and when she came back she had all this fabric and a really big bag for us to play in. We decided to help her with the quilt instead of playing in the bag. I didnt know there was so many steps to making the quilt.

First we had to help her cut the fabric into pieces.

Then, when it came time to put them together we had to inspect the sewing machine. I had Bumpers help us out on this part a'cause he is a guy kitty and he knows about machines.

Poor Cheese tried to inspect the iron but it was already in use and was too hot for him. He sniffed it a bit, squinted his eyes, and left. I guess that means it is ok.

Then, when Mommy was sewing the pieces together, Autumn and I slept so we would be ready for the next part. I think that part involves some words that we arent allowed to say. At first mommy said them a lot but now I think she has the hang of the pieces and she just zips right along.
Tee Hee. Autumn still sleeps with her tongue sticking out!!

Goofy little kitty

2006-08-21T12:10:00.000-05:00

I swear, the beans think that Autumn is the best thing since sliced bread. She was in a bag on the floor and was attacking anything that came across her path. Mom Bean thought this was the best thing ever and ran to get the camera.

Let me first say: she isnt the first kitty to ever do this. It is well documented that cats and bags rely on each other.

Secondly, I dont think she is the bees knees (whatever that is). I mean, she sleeps on my bed, bogarts my scritches, and is as bad as Cheese when it comes to treats.

Add that to the fact that she wants to play with me ALL THE TIME and you have a recipe for disaster. I dont mind chasing her sometimes, and I dont mind a quick rassel some times either. But if I am sitting in my box, I dont want to be bothered. I am relaxing - I dont wanna play!!

Bumpers

2006-08-16T17:05:00.000-05:00

I figure that since Bumpers never gets any time on this site I would post a few pix of him.

I think I see why he is never on this site...he isnt the most exciting poodin on the block.

I think I am seeing a pattern here...

I keep telling him that he doesnt have to act up all of the time to get on here, but he does have to...you know...move every so often.

More flowers

2006-08-11T09:58:00.000-05:00

Before things got crazy around here the mommy took these pictures:
She is so proud of her flowers one would think that she made them herself!!

Some One's In Trouble!!

2006-08-08T12:31:00.000-05:00

Cheese has been having a fun week. In addition to all of the stuff that has been going on around the house, Cheese learned a new trick. He learned that if he gets on the counter top he can open the cabinet up there. This wouldnt be a problem if there was boring stuff up there, but the cabinet is where the beans store the poison. you know...CHOCOLATE!!!

Well, Cheese got on the counter and was able to fish down a chocolate covered protien bar. Mommy heard the crinkling of the package but thought it was one of us playing with a toy. when she went into the kitchen she found this mess:

As if the half eaten chocolate bar wasnt bad enough, whoever did it walked around on some paperwork with messy paws! She looked around and Cheese was licking his chops and looking pretty guilty. Well, mommy put the protien bar in a baggie and put it in the cabinet (at this point she thought she had left it out and that it was her fault). She was keeping it just in case we had to run Cheese to the emergency vet - of course this happened after normal vet hours. A little while later she went back into the kitchen and the protien bar was back on the counter! Well, now she knew it wasnt her fault and that Cheese knew how to open the top cabinets.

Mommy kept an eye on cheese for a while and then went to bed at normal time. When she got up the next morning, there was the tube of hairball paste on the floor with numerous puncture holes in it. It was a brand new tube and it was the big one! Cheese had taken it off the kitchen counter, carried it to the steps and proceeded to eat it on the first landing. And when mommy tried to pick it up, it was stuck to the carpet. I have to say, I have never heard mommy say those words before! I wrote them down and am planning to look them up later.

For the next few days the beans had to keep making sure Cheese's booty was clean since the combination of the chocolate and all that hairball paste made him quite runny. And mommy was scooping the litter boxes, like, a squillion times a day...and we have 4 of them!!! Mommy says that the only good thing about this is that Cheese's booty was shaved last month (he gets infected anal glands) so he didnt have a whole lot of maintenece to do.

SSSHHHHH!!! Be Vewwy Vewwy Qwiet!

2006-08-04T10:19:00.000-05:00

Ok, I have to make this quick. Mommy is in the other room doing 'stuff'. Things have been nutso here for almost a week! I dont know what to think! I dont know what is going on but we have been able to maintain a schedule! Ok, here is what has been happening...

Monday - we got something called DirectTV.

I dunno know what that is about...I always thought that if the tv was in your house and was on it was direct. Anyway, we had a guy going in and out, and on all 3 floors of the house for almost 4 hours. that didnt bother me too much cause he wasn't crazy and didn't make a lot of noise. BUT THEN...

While the DirectTV guy was at the house the biggest truck I have ever seen came to the cul-de-sac and started spilling stuff out of it's middle. Mommy looked out the door and said, "Good, the moving guys are here."

ummmmm...WHAT??? Moving guys??? No one cleared this with me!! Mommy scooped all of us up and put us in the bedroom and closed the door. Well, I ain't gonna lie, I was happy. I had my stuff with my smells and the door was closed so I felt safe. And to make things better, mommy bringed in some crunchies and water for all of us. The only thing that I didn't really appreciate was the TV guy kept coming in to look at the picture box.

After a lot of noise and voices it got quiet...eerily quiet...like the calm before a tornado quiet. Mommy came up and opened the bedroom door and the 3 goof balls ran out into the rest of the house. I ventured out slowly, like I didn't really care one way or another. Well, let me tell you...I was stunned by what I saw. There was furniture everywhere!! And not in the right places like it normally is. But that was fine as far as I am concerned because what was even worse was the smell!!! This stuff had other poodins smells on them!!!

Mommy was on the phone with Aunt Jackie and it turns out that grandma and grandpa moved to California and didn't need all the stuff that they had so they sent it to us. Well, I knew we had cousins at the grandma's house but other than when mommy and daddy went on vacashun I never smelled them.

We decided the best way to handle the whole situation was to divide and conquer. Cheese and Bumpers smelled the furniture and Autumn checked out the...TWO NEW KITTY CONDOS!!!! I took care of making sure everyone did their job properly. I am more of a management kitty. After about an hour the group reported back to me that while the stuff smelled like other poodins, there were none to be found. We also decided that it was going to take a few weeks before the stuff smelled like us.

Wednesday - Mommy and daddy were gone ALL DAY.

Not a big deal, but mommy doesnt usually stay away for that long. After it got dark I started to wonder if she got lost. Not that I was too bothered...it wasnt feeding time yet.

Thursday - it was the middle of nap time and mommy said the dreaded words: Oh good, the truck is here.

Man! will this never end???Now what was going on? I looked outside before scoping out the best hiding place (under the bed) and there was this big truck in the driveway. It wasn't as big as the last one but it was still pretty big. The guys were pulling the biggest box I have ever seen off of it. Then they brought it upstairs and ...RIGHT INTO THE BEDROOM. They were making so much noise that I bolted out of the room as fast as my paws could propel me. Mommy was helping them and the next thing I knew they were gone. Now I really didn't know what to think. I couldn't tell that they left anything. Something smelled different, but I couldn't figure out what. I decided that it wasnt that important after all and hopped up on the bed to resume my nap. I knew right away what was different! There was a new bed! I liked the old one just fine! No one ever consults me on this stuff.

Mommy said that it was a Tempurpedic bed and would be better for Daddy's back than the water bed. They ordered it 4 weeks ago but since they were putting it in the waterbed frame they had to special order a California King. Well, the bed got here but I am still waiting for the king. I just hope it isnt that creepy king that is on the TV that tries to sell burgers. He scares me.

As if that werent bad enough, every night the beans go out to something called a 'hot tub'. It came from the grandma's house and as soon as the electrician was finished they plugged it in and it worked fine. Now when they come in from outside at night they smell funny...like bleach a little. They get a shower after that and then crawl into bed. After their showers they smell normal again so it must not be too big of a deal, I just dont know what a bean does in a 'hot tub'. When I watch them from the window it looks to me like they are just sitting there. Sometimes the water looks like it is boiling. That scares me, what if they are really bean soup and they won't be able to open the cans of stinky goodness for us anymore. They dont seem worried though and they come back in after about an hour so I will just wait and see what happens. But in the meantime I am going to eat as much as I can just in case I have to go a few days without food if they do become Bean Soup.

Mommy has been moving furniture around to get it into the right places and has been doing lots of cleaning...Shhhh! Do you hear that...Crap, the mommy is coming. I gotta go...

The Importance of Eat-a-cake

2006-07-19T16:34:00.000-05:00

Autumn has gotten behind in her correspondence. When she was very sick back in January the family sent all kinds of hopes and prayers and good wishes. Well she still hasnt sent out thank you notes for all the good vibes that helped her getted better.
She says that she means to send out the cards but she just cant find the time. I dont see what she has going on in her day. Here is how she spends her day:

Sit on the mommy

rassle practice with Cheese

sit on the man bean

stalk stuff

and then drink entirely too much at supper

Well the mommy bringed her some purrty cards to write out as thank you's. Would you believe she pawed through them looking for treats before sitting down on them?? I keep telling her, "Autumn Savannah," I says, "ya gots to be aware of eat-a-cake. It is proper manners to write thank you cards for when beans does nice stuff for you." She just looks at me and then goes to find Cheese. Emily Post, (the writer of many eat-a-cake books) would be apalled.

See what I have to live with. The Heathens!!

Yay Kukka

2006-07-15T15:46:00.000-05:00

Kukka-Maria has been blogging for a whole year now. That is, like, 2,854,691 naps ago!!

In order to celebrate, she isnt having a party, but, like any proper poodin, she is accepting gifts.

This is what I gived her. I know it was supposed to be a collar for a bean, but I thought her fur would look so pretty next to it that I couldnt resist. I just hope she doesnt hold it against me and wears it anyway. It is supposed to get to her today. I maked sure that it was well purr-tected so that may be why it is a little late. I know that sometimes motorcades attract attention.

Tee Hee

2006-07-14T12:53:00.000-05:00

Tee Hee!!!!! Mommy was doing the 'puttering' thing today. She says it is just like cleaning the house but in an unorganized, scattered way. She puttering in the sewing room today and We all gotted in the way!

She made the mistake of putting a blanket in the chair and when she turned around to look at something else I jumped on top of it and went to sleep. Ha Ha! Then she didnt want to move it!

Then Autumn went to sleep in the sunshine and mommy gotted a picture of that too cause she said Autumn almost never sleeps there.

When Mommy went in the other room to put something away she found Cheese. She figures there was too much going on in the Sewing room for him and he went to hide out in the study for a while.

And here is how Autumn spends her mornings. Mommy listens to the radio in the morning and does some kind of needlework or knitting and Autumn has to sit in the mommy's lap. Yesterday Cheese was already there and Autumn came over and SAT ON CHEESE!!

Surprise My Paw!!!!

2006-07-08T11:16:00.000-05:00

Here are the surprises that the mommy bringed us back from va-ca-shun. I have to say, I am neither surprised nor pleased. This isnt the first time mommy has gone on va-ca-shun and bringed back a poodin. That is how Autumn Savannah came to live with us. AND THAT WAS BACK IN JANUARY. Isnt it a bit soon to be thinking about new poodins.

And as if this werent bad enough...they both like woofies!

I have been checking out the other sites to see if any other poodins have to tolerate this kind of behavior and I was really surprised that there are others in my same situation. And they seem to be doing rather well. I was really surprised that Derby, Zeus, Princess Mia and all the
other poodins with 'ramic siblings seem to be okay with sharing the house with them. Then I read that the 'ramic siblings dont get sick, get hairballs, or get to sleep with the mommy. Well, that is okay then.

I wont be as hard on them as I was planning on being, but I will be showing them who is boss around here. In the meantime I think it is best that we stay out of their reach while they explore the house.

PS. the reason Cheese isnt here is cause he cant get his pudgy bootie up on the high shelves. Ha Ha!!

Time to start practicing

2006-07-07T08:00:00.000-05:00

Just because the Catolympics are over doesn't mean a kitty can rest for too long. Cheese and Autumn were so happy about their final standings in the Catolympics that they are already practicing for next year.

But I think Cheese really wants to win a medal next year. He started playing dirty. This move got him a minute in the Time Out Lap.

However, Autumn is no angel either. She actually tried to rassel with Cheese while he was in Time Out...

...which, in turn, got her a minute in the Time Out Lap.

I think we have a long way to go.

Purrty Flowers

2006-07-03T10:28:00.000-05:00

Here are the silly flowers that mommy is so happy about. I think they are just flowers but mommy thinks they are something special. I dont see it.

Plus, this morning when the mommy went out to take these pictures she didn't even take us with her. She said that she was only going to be out there a minute,

but then she watered the plants in the front, did some pruning, checked out all the stuff in the beds, and, if that wasn't enough...she started weeding! I mean, she was out there for days and days!!

I knew it was bad when I got up in the kitchen window and started yelling at her and she didnt even look up. I know the window was closed, but as the mommy, she shoulda sensed that I was there yelling at her. All I could do was watch as green stuff - stuff that looked perfectly chewable - went flying everywhere.

Finally, after about a month, she came back in muttering about the
darn wild strawberries. Like I care about fruit. I wanted FOOD. She was a whole 10 minutes late with the stinky goodness. I thought I was going to have to find a way outside and catch some birds for my family...I know I could do it...as soon as I lose a little weight (baby fat) and grow my claws long again.

Note to Malcolm

2006-06-30T15:25:00.000-05:00

This is an open letter to Malcolm. He holds a warm spot in the hearts of Poodins everywhere for his brave and selfless actions.

Litter training:

When the beans rescued Autumn Savannah she didn't know what the litter box was for either; she was used to humans but grew up on a farm so she always went outside.

When she got pneumonia the owners of the farm took her in at night since it was January but let her out in the morning so she usually held it until then. When the beans rescued her they kept her inside and let her sleep with them in the bed.

They didn't know what to do about the litter box. Autumn didn't seem to understand what it was for, but she was such a good kitty that she never went to the bathroom in the house. Mommy was afraid she would explode!! The first night that she was with my humans she started giving the mommy kisses until she woke up. Somehow mommy figured out that was her way of letting her know she needed to go out. Mommy put on a robe and took Autumn outside. Once outside, Autumn did her business. When she finished, she went and sat on the sidewalk next to the mommy. Mommy picked her up and they went back inside and back to the warm bed. Mommy thinks that is the most charming thing she has ever seen...a house trained kitty.

Well, that solved the problem of Autumn not blowing up, but she still needed to learn what a litter box was for. Mommy went out and got bunches of dead leaves from around the area where Autumn chose to do her business and put them on top of the litter in the box. Still no go (pardon the pun).

Finally, mommy fed Autumn a LOT of stinky goodness and waited. About an hour later Autumn started telling the mommy that she needed to go outside. Mommy just waited. Finally Autumn started scratching around in the corner of the room. Mommy snatched Autumn up and placed her in the litter box. Since Autumn was already 'committed' at that point, she went in the box. After that she understood and there has never been an accident since. In fact, even now when she goes outside with the mommy she doesnt do her business outside, she always goes in the litterboxes in the house.

Also, mommy fosters abandonded kittens. we call them the Tiny Ones since sometimes they are only a day or two old. When the right time comes, mommy puts a litter box over the area they have chosen to do their business. They usually sniff the litter a lot and then pee next to it. Ha ha. Everytime this happens mommy just picks them up and puts them in the litter box. If they make a doodle anywhere other than the litter box, she puts that in there so they will know where to do it next time. It is kind of instinctual for them to bury their waste to avoid predators finding out where they are so they figure it out pretty quickly. But dont be surprised if there is an accident from time to time, they forget where the box is sometimes.

This process can take up to a week so dont be discouraged if it doesnt happen right away. Mommy says that even though it takes some time to litter train the Tiny Ones, it is much harder to wean them.

I am so annoyed!

2006-06-29T13:43:00.000-05:00

Mommy and Autumn went out this morning to weed the garden. Mommy was pulling weeds, Autumn was eating the ones mommy missed. I am starting to think Autumn isn't really a kitty. I am thinking she is more of a grass transport system. Shes eats grass outside and then brings it inside to throw it up.

While they were doing the gardening, mommy saw that her lilies were blooming. She was so happy over some silly flowers. The lilies are peach, and dark purple, and white with peach on them and they are all mixed together. I have to admit, they are pretty, but still, all I see is salad.

Mommy was sad before she left cause she thought that they would bloom while the beans were on vacation and she would never find out what colors they are. When mommy planted them last fall they were just little brown things but she knew she got all different kinds. She knew her lilies would be a surprise this year and was bummed about missing them.

When she got back, she saw that her SweetPeas were blooming at the mailbox, and that her Japanese Irises were finished blooming. But on the happy side, the lilies are just blooming now, the Gladiolas are getting ready to bloom and the grandma gave her about 100 more Irises. Apparently the grandma doesnt like irises and her new house has tons of irises all along the south side of her house. As soon as the rain stopped for a few minutes Mommy and Autumn went out to the side of the house and planted Irises all along the wall and the fenceposts. Mommy doesn't expect anything to happen with them until next year though. Good thing she has Glads on the fence posts, they would look pretty bare without the Glads. I wonder if the fenceposts are glad to have the Glads. Ha ha ha.

While the mommy was weeding she found a spot with lots of little feathers. She didn't see anything else, just lots of feathers. She thinks an outside kitty may have caught a bird and ate it.

I DIDN'T KNOW WE COULD DO THAT!!!!

Why didn't any one tell me we could do that! What have I been missing out on all this time. I mean, I LOVE chicken so I am sure I would like bird. I mean, doesn't everything taste like chicken? I have been practicing on the moths that get close to the screen at night, I am pretty good. In fact, I would bet that I would be so good at it that I could support my whole family on the birds that I could catch.

Well, maybe just the kitties...

...well, ok, just me...

...ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! The only way I could survive on my hunting skills is if birds flew INTO MY MOUTH. And even then, I would need stinky goodness once a day. Sheesh.

Stoopid mommy and stoopid Autumn and their stoopid weeding and finding the stoopid little feathers.

I am all mad now.

I am going to go find something to shred to bits...wait, mommy cut my nails last night.

OH! WILL THE HORRORS NEVER END...

Mommy Came Back!!

2006-06-28T10:06:00.000-05:00

The Beans came back the other day! I was so happy to see them that I forgot to ignore them. AND when they came back they took about 10 minutes and petted us and then fed us stinky goodness right away! I was so happy that right after I ate I fell asleep. And then, later, they came and slept with me. I gave mommy kisses in the middle of the night slept RIGHT ON HER NECK to tell her how happy I was.

The next morning, when I went downstairs, there was all this...stuff...Downstairs that smelled funny. It must have smelled like the woofie that they were staying with cause it sure didn't smell like our house. The beans went all the way to Missouri and Kansas for a couple of weeks. I don't know why they would want to go there, but mommy says that my grandmas live there. Well, I guess that is okay then.

Mommy said that she brought back some friends for us. I can only imagine what that means. The last time the beans went to Kansas they brought back Autumn Savannah. I don't think I need any more friends, I don't like the friends I have. I don't need new ones.

The Beans still have all their clothes in the suitcases. I wish they would hurry and unpack so I can play in the empty ones. Mommy keeps saying that she is getting to it, but she always seems to have something else to do instead. I cant seem to make her understand that I want to play in them, therefore she needs to do it now. Human Beans...They have been back 3 days and they are already getting on my last nerve. I think knocking something off the table will make me feel better. I'll let you know if it worked.

Woofie!!!

2006-06-15T15:58:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of the Woofie that the beans are staying with. I just know that everything she brings home will smell like woofie. I can tell he is a needy dog. Needs food, needs water, needs petting, needs walks...you know...needy stuff.

I miss the beans. I mean I have Emily here to cater to my every need (at least mommy thought that far ahead) but I have needs too. I need to kiss the mommy and slobber all over her in the middle of the night. I mean, it isnt like she doesnt go back to sleep. Oh, and I need to yell at the mommy too. I get to do that a lot when she is home. Sometimes, just to annoy her, I will go down to the basement and yell and yell. She actually gets up and comes to find me to see what I am yelling about. Tee Hee. A couple of times I stood at the bottom of the stairs with a toy and when she came down she threw it for me.

Unfortunately, she is smarter than I give her credit for because she only came down and threw the toy for me twice before she caught on.

Mommy Called!!!

2006-06-14T11:12:00.000-05:00

The mommy called. The beans went on vacation last Saturday and we have a babysitter. The Babysitter has been talking to the mommy but this morning I was able to get on the phone and discuss the staff situation with her.

The babysitter's name is Emily and she is living in my house until the Beans comes home. I have to say, no disrespect to the beans, but I think I am going to keep Emily. She plays with us much more than the mommy does. And Emily brings her friends to the house so I can have more people to pet me.

Mommy said that it was a long trip. They drove from Baltimore to Indianapolis the first day and then from Indianapolis to Springfield Missouri the second day. Mommy says it is too hot for her and that there isnt enough grass and trees. The grandma moved to Springfield this month cause she says it is better for her old bones. The other grandma is going to be there today. She is driving from Kansas to Springfield and will be there around 3 in the afternoon. So for 2 weeks the beans will have both sets of parents in the same house. Just thinking about it makes me get all poofy. I am glad I am here and all I have is Emily and her friends. I think they each have 8 hands cause I get scritches a lot from them. Mommy just tries to give me kisses.

DONE!!!

2006-06-04T21:12:00.000-05:00

The beans finished the yard work! Finally! Here is the yard on the side that took up so much of mommy's time. (Time that could have been spent brushing me, I might add).

She was telling the man that it is finished just in time for them to go on vacation. And, if they weren't going to go on vacation then it will be too hot to use it anyway. Mommy says she can't wait till fall now so she can go sit in her garden.

I am glad all that is over.

Mommy was too tired to do anything 'cept groan about how tired she was. The daddy is injured so he can't do anything either! I swear - are you guys 80?!? - what's with all the griping about hard work. I work hard every day and you dont hear me complaining!

Do you think it is easy to look this good all the time? There is maintenence involved here! Stuff like getting you to brush me, getting you to pet me, getting you to give me kisses and snugglies. It isnt easy to motivate your lazy butts. I dont want to hear about how tired you are after doing all the yard work or working in an office with no air conditioning all day! And I certainly don't want to hear how the woman had to do so much homework her eyes crossed. Come On!!! You were home all day! How tired can you really be. SHEESH!!!

Snow!!!

2006-05-30T08:07:00.000-05:00

I dont unnerstand! Somehow it snowed last night. Mommy has the cool air blowing through the floor cause it is hot out so I know it isnt supposed to snow. But when I looked outside there was snow on the ground! But it must have been smart snow cause it was only in the path.

She calls it 'Progress'

2006-05-29T08:35:00.000-05:00

This is what the yard looked like before mommy got a bee in her tail...

And this is what has been going on in my yard in the past few days.

I thought she was just getting mulch but she had different plans. She didnt even clear them with me! I think it looks worse than when she started! She keeps saying it isnt finished yet and that when it is all done it will be a nice, inviting little space, but I gotta say...it looks BAD!!

She was telling the other bean that she ordered the Bee-strow set this morning. I think she pronounced it wrong. I think she meant 'Bee-Stow' set. I think that is where she is going to put that bee that is in her tail when it is done making her do lots of work.

She says that now she can start working on the other side of the house. She has been putting it off until she got one side situated but she cant work in the garden while the landscape artist is there so she might as well start on the other side. She doesnt want to get in his way and break his concentration. She is convinced he is an artist. I beg to differ...I dont see any pictures or any painting happening. I think all the sun has made her confused.

2006-05-27T07:06:00.000-05:00

WOW, the mommy has been busy! She hasn't even wandered into the study to turn on the glowing box in almost a week! I keep trying to tell her that just because she is busy doesn't mean I don't have obligations to my fans, but all she hears is "meowmeowmeowmeow!"

Mommy has been getting the garden together. She says that now that the plants have started growing that she can figure out the pathway and where the bistro set is going to go. She finally got the front beds and the side garden mulched. I have to say that from my vantage point in the window, it all looks much better. I was starting to think it was looking kind of sloppy. I even told her that it couldn't look worse if there was a car on blocks in the front yard. Then I thought about it and started hoping she would put a car in the front yard. That would be a great place to play!

Yesterday she took the landscape artist with her and they gotted the rest of the stuff they needed to finish the side garden; Lots of bricks, some stepping stones, lots of white chipped marble for the walkway. It took almost 2 hours! They were going to start on it yesterday but as soon as they got everything unloaded it started to rain so they decided to just start on Saturday.

When mommy is stuck in the house she is painting. She finished all the big painting last summer but by the time she was done painting the formal dining room, the center hall, the foyer, and the living room she was sick of painting. She decided to put off painting the spindles on the stairway until she felt like painting again. She painted the spindles up to the first landing and then stopped for the day. It took 3 coats of paint - 2 primer and one color - to cover up the nasty beige that was there.

The last person who lived in the house liked the Shaker decor so everything was hunter green, beige and deep Burgundy. Mommy hates dark colors and has been spending the summers of the past 4 years painting a room here and there. Before they moved in, they had to paint the entire upstairs cause mommy said it was all a nasty brown color - even the ceilings! It took the beans a week to paint 4 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms since they were working at the same time. When they finally got moved in mommy spent the weekends painting the stairwell, that ceiling and the upstairs hallway. Now instead of brown they have pretty colors (in fact, mommy's study is lavender with hydrangea border!).

Another thing that the last owner did that mommy wished she hadn't was that she painted the wood. The kitchen cabinets were hunter green and the spindles on the stairs were ugly beige. When the kitchen and breakfast nook got painted mommy painted the cabinets white and they look much better. The last thing to get done is the spindles and mommy is a quarter of the way through with that (you didn't know I was a math kitty did you?)

I think the reason mommy is dragging her paws on the last little bit is that Autumn Savannah is a very curious kitty still. Mommy had been painting for a whole 2 minutes when Autumn ran through the paint pan. Mommy had to grab Autumn and clean her paws before Autumn could lick them, and when she was done with that, had to go clean the paint off the wood floors. Well by then the paint was dry and it took mommy some doin' to get it up. I just watched. I mean, it wasn't my paint.

Scandal at the CatOlympics!!!

2006-05-21T19:27:00.000-05:00

I was really hoping it wouldn't come to this. I was hoping we could get through the CatOlympics without this being a problem. Unfortunately, the training schedule coupled with the stress of performing only exacerbated the problem. I was really hoping that I could get Cheese through this rough patch and then immediately after the CatOlympics get him into a treatment facility.

Cheese has a drinking problem

At first it wasn't bad. He was funny and passed out in odd places.

But after a while he started sleeping with strange kitties in order to support his habit. However, Cheese is neutered so all he did was sleep.

Finally, when he started getting paranoid I knew I had to take action.

He says that having to rassle Max drove him to drink; Max is his hero and the pressure was just too much. Cheese isn't going to pull out of the rassle but he needs to deal with this problem before it gets too late.

Wave to the nice kitties, Cheese.

Dear Magnificent Zeus

2006-05-19T11:32:00.000-05:00

Please don't feel like you have to apologize for Isis. I wasn't offended at all. In fact, I kinda liked knowing there was another dilute tortie in the blogosphere. I was starting to think I was the only one with pink fur (mommy calls the color 'Fawn'). I welcome Isis' input.

Also, just because she is a little...Different...From the majority of poodins doesn't mean she is psycho. I mean, what kitty doesn't have little quirks? It is precisely these quirks that make us poodins. If we were all the same we would be...dogs. In fact, I have some things in common with Isis which I have included in my list of quirks:

Who hasn't bitten her own foot while playing with another kitty?
And I have chosen only one bean as mine (the mommy). Don't get me wrong, the other bean is good too, and when I hear him open a can of Stinky Goodness I can believe that I love him.
There have been times when I see Mommy's hand come down to pet me and I squash myself almost flat on the floor to get away from it.
I save most of my kisses for the middle of the night when I know they will be most appreciated.
Who hasn't been spooked by another kitty entering the room unexpectedly?
I too hate a bathtub full of water
I run and hide when I see small sticky beans
I barf all over the place when I eat beef in anything (dry and wet food)
I wag my tail like a woofie
My favorite toy is a duck

and...

Just because Isis is paranoid doesn't mean no one is after her.

Mommy says that loving a Tortie is like having a Hersheys chocolate bar with almonds...It is half sweet, half nuts. But, if you notice, a Hersheys bar with almonds is a top seller. There must be something about those nuts.

If Isis is as...unique...as you say however, I commend you for your patience and tolerance in the face of such personal hardship. It takes great character to be kind to those less fortunate than us perfect poodins. And...did it occur to you that perhaps she is smarter than you give her credit for and she is just getting back at you for stealing her toy?

Happy Gotchaversary!!

2006-05-18T10:32:00.000-05:00

Mommy and the man bean celebrated their gotchaversary yesterday. They went out to supper to celebrate the day they gotted each other. They were actually a few days late since Mommy had finals on the same actual date. They got special leashes when they gotted each other. They don't wear them like regular kitties...They wear them on their finger...And they are pretty and sparkly (that is my new favorite color...sparkly). Well, mommy's is sparkly, the man bean's leash is kinda plain. He said he just needed a plain leash cause he always beats up his hands anyway. That is why mommy doesn't ever get him a really nice watch.

They gotted their special leashes 18 years ago. Gosh! That is a long time! And, I didn't know this but I am completely scandalized by the info, they already had Pretty before they got their leashes. Imagine! Having a poodin before your leashes! The horror! Well I guess times change, but I am still an old fashioned kitty...Well, as old fashioned as a 3 year old poodin can be. And you would think that after 18 years they would be tired of each other but the mommy flirts shamelessly with the man bean. I keep wondering if she is in heat but she seems to act all normal when he isn't around. I still cant figure out these beans!

To Isis:
I don't know how secret I am but I admire any poodin who has to live in the same house with boy poodins. I have 2 brothers (one litter brother and one house brother) and it is always the same thing: what channel is the game on? Where is the remote? Honey, where is the catnip? Here is Cheese hanging out with the man bean watching the game. Honestly, us pretty girls hafta stick together.

Whew!

2006-05-16T11:17:00.000-05:00

Mommy has been busy!! She went out on Saturday to get some big bushes that would make the front of the house pretty and she came back with Rhodedendrons. I like the purple! She also had some Columbines and some Dwarf Columbines (I think they should be called Vertically Challenged Columbines). Then right in the front she put Coral Bells. She says that is the most amount of work she should have to do to that area. After this season, they all should come back and grow in nicely. I hope so, I hate having to watch from the window. But I did get to see Autumn help the mommy plant all those. Mommy would dig a hole, Autumn would come over and sniff it, then she would put her paw in it and try to play with the worms. after the hole met her approval Autumn would sit next to it and let mommy put the plant in. Sometimes mommy would have to move Autumn in order to move the dirt back in place, but not often. They started on Saturday and finished on Sunday. I think it makes the front of the house look much better. this is what it looked like on Friday.
Since it rained last weekend we didnt get our mulch for the beds. Mommy says that it is ok since she wasnt ready for it anyway. she is going to be working on the side yard this week to get it ready and then when the mulch comes everything will look pretty all at one time.

And mommy says the nice thing is that in spring the bulbs will come up first and when they start to die back the other flowers will start growing. When they are done blooming, the Gladiolas will start to bloom. When they are done, the mums will be out and then it will be winter again. I cant wait to see if she is right.

Lookit da bunbuns!

2006-05-15T16:15:00.000-05:00

Oh Oh Oh!

Lookit what the mommy finded in her garden the other day! She was trimming some grass around the ivy in the back and just glanced over and saw these guys hiding under the big trees. Mommy thinks they have been there ever since she moved in so that is almost 5 years. She doesn't know why they were hiding under the trees.

At first she didn't know what they were so she brought them in and cleaned them up. I sniffed them a lot before mommy cleaned them...We all did. We didn't know that bunnies came in fuzzy green colors. When mommy cleaned them though they turned grey and they aren't fuzzy anymore. I am 'fraid that mommy scrubbed the fuzzy off! I hope she doesn't decide that I need a bath...She might scrub the fuzzy off me too!!

Turns out they are Magic Weather Bunnies. I didn't know what that was either. I know bunnies are mysterious creatures (to me at least) but I didn't know they were magic. Mommy is going to put them outside in the front bed so we can see them. Also, Mommy says they can tell the weather. She says when they are wet it is raining, when they are dry it isn't raining and when you cant see them it is either foggy out or it is dark. I cant wait until she puts them outside so I can see them in action!!

The Nerve of her!

2006-05-12T16:30:00.000-05:00

Can you believe she did that? I have never been so angry in my feline life!! The nerve of her...going out and gardening without us! She just went out and started gardening! No warning, no asking if we wanted to come along...nothin! I gotted up in the kitchen window and reminded her that we were still in the house and that, maybe, we would like to garden too...or at least supervise her progress (you have to keep your eye on the help at all times). She just ignored me...and she wasnt even wearing her Ipod! Honestly, do you think her flowers would be this pretty if we werent around to constantly tell her where she needed improvement?
And I just found out that this weekend we are getting 2 truckloads of mulch for the garden and the 2 front beds. There are 2 problems with this: #1 Did I say that I was free to supervise the delivery and placement this weekend? and #2 I dont want mulch in my bed! It is hard enough to have to sleep on the poor excuse the beans call a bed, the last thing I want is ground up wood chips in it. What was she thinking? On the plus side though...there might be a bug in the mulch...that might be fun if she finds a bug. Lots of screaming and flailing kinds of fun. Hmmmmm

Mommy says she still has a lot of work to do in the garden so we poodins might get to go out more later. Mommy still has to weed it all, lay some plastic for the walkway, find some pretty stones for the gravel walk, find some border plants, find a pretty archway into the garden area, and keep it nice and neat so it doesnt get over grown. Mommy says it is going to take the whole summer to get the garden just the way she wants it. Then she is going to work on the front beds some more. She wants some Peony bushes to line the front of the house in the big bed, and a couple more Hydrangea bushes. Mommy says it wont look really pretty until next spring. I cant figure out why she is doing all this work now then...why not just wait until next spring when it looks pretty. Beans...you cant tell them anything.

Oh, and look what Autumn got to do today...now I am all mad again...Harrumph.

Rain, Rain, Go Away...

2006-05-11T10:12:00.000-05:00

The sky is spitting today. It is raining this morning and then in the afternoon we are supposed to get thunderstorms. Mommy says it just figures...Yesterday when she couldnt get into the garden it was beautiful out, today she can get into the garden but it is raining now. I tried to tell her that she can still go into the garden...she will just get wet.

Mommy went out for a while yesterday. When she left she smelled all anxious and worried but when she came back she smelled like BBQ!!! She got on the phone and told a friend that she was finished with Finals this semester and her and the man went out to dinner to celebrate. I tried to ask her about the finals...I mean final...what? Final answer...final warning...final countdown...I dunno, but it made her very happy.

As soon as the beans got home mommy let Cheese, Bumpers and Autumn out to play in the front yard. Cheese tried to climb a tree but his butt was too big and he couldnt even get a foot off the ground. Mommy laughed so hard she had to sit down. Then when it was time to come in Cheese wouldnt come! I think he was getting back at the mommy for laughing at him. He went and hid under the car in the driveway. Mommy just sat and waited. Finally, a neighbor kitty came over and meeted him. I dont think Cheese liked that much cause shortly after that he let the mommy pick him up and bring him in.

The mommy is still very very happy today. She has been giving us scritches and hugs all morning! I've had just about enough of that! Who said she could pick me up and snuggle me and kiss me? I am appalled that I liked it so much!! I am hoping she does it again soon but dont tell her, I like her to think I am mad at her so I get treats.

Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge, Conclusion

2006-05-09T07:00:00.000-05:00

Pretty had a routine that any poodin would envy: sleep with the beans, get baby food and stinky goodness, sleep in the sunshine on the floor, get lots of head scritches, get brushed, get more head scritches, sleep in the sunshine on the heated bed, get baby food and stinky goodness, and finally, sleep all night with the beans.

After a while the beans notices that Pretty seemed a little stiff when she got up so they bought a bed for her. It is called a waterbed and they put it in the guest room for her. I cant imagine that any cat would want anything with water in it but Pretty loved it. The beans heated the waterbed to about 95 degrees and put lots of pillows and blankets on it. After that, they always knew where to find Pretty!

One day last December Pretty didn't want her stinky goodness. Mommy was worried but didn't think much about it since Pretty was a little old lady. That night Pretty didn't want to eat either. The next day mommy took Pretty to the vet and they drew blood to check things out. They said not to worry much cause Pretty was 19 years old now, and maybe she just didn't feel like eating. They gave mommy an appetite stimulant and said they would call her the next day. Pretty was completely normal other than the fact that she didn't want to eat. Mommy brushed her a lot and spent a lot of time with her. The next day the vet called mommy and said to bring Pretty in right away...Her blood test showed that her kidney levels were wrong. Pretty stayed in the kitty hospital for 5 days. The vet gave her lots of IV fluids and vitamins and medicines. On the 5th day they checked her blood again and sent Pretty home.

The next day the vet called and said that the kidney levels did not change and Pretty was in kidney failure. The beans decided to keep an eye on Pretty and just make sure she stayed comfy. They brushed her a lot and gave her lots of head scritches. They cooked ham for her (but she didn't want food) and made sure she had fresh water all of the time. Mommy stayed in bed the whole time and let Pretty sleep on her all she wanted. Mommy cried a lot and Pretty stayed with her while she was sad.

3 days after they brought Pretty back home she was too weak to walk very much so the beans took her back to the vet. The daddy held Pretty while the Vet gave her the first shot. She got very happy and the vet said the shot was a disassociative drug and that she was probably already chasing mice. The beans cried a lot more and then said it was ok to give her the second shot. The beans stayed for another half hour and cried a lot more and then went home...Without their beloved Pretty.

They got her back a week later and she was in a pretty little box with the Rainbow Bridge poem engraved in marble on the front of it. They keep her on a shelf in the bedroom so she can always sleep with them. Mommy still misses her and cries, but not as much as last December. She says it is hard because Pretty was with them for almost 20 years, and even though now they have 4 poodins, the house seems kind of empty without Pretty.

Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge, Part 3

2006-05-07T09:20:00.000-05:00

When Pretty turned 13 mommy noticed that Pretty was getting thin so she took her to the vet to see what was going on. Turns out she had hyperthyroidism...she had a tumor on her thyroid that was making it not work right. The vet said it was no big deal and put Pretty on Tapazol. After a little bit of tweaking the dosage she started gaining weight again...all was good. She was a happy, sweet kitty who liked to sing.

When Pretty was 16 the beans noticed that she was ignoring them a lot. They would call her to take a nap with them, or for some treats and she wouldnt come. They would go to check on her and she would be sitting at the window or napping on the desk. They didnt think much of it cause Pretty was now officially a 'Little Old Lady' and she could do as she pleased. When the beans were able to start sneaking up on her they started to wonder if she wasnt ignoring them, but instead, was losing her hearing. They took her to the vet who confirmed that, yes, she was going deaf. 'Huh', thought the beans, 'another interesting part of Pretty.' It didnt seem to bother her much so they figured it just happened slowly over time. The good thing is that Pretty could really sleep deeply if she didnt feel any vibrations in the house (like people walking around).

Pretty still played a lot and was so lovable and sweet still. She would sit on the mommy at night and let her know how much she liked the book she was reading by rubbing all over it. She would get all happy and purry and start to drool. Then she would shake her head and spit would go flying all over the place. They called her Spitty Kitty when she did that. LOL.

Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge. Part 2

2006-05-06T06:25:00.000-05:00

Pretty always adored the man bean and she was his favorite too. She slept with the beans and as she got older she slept on the beans a lot too. Mommy said that it was because Pretty liked a soft mushy place to sleep and mommy was good for that. Ha Ha. And Pretty never got sick. She didn't catch colds, didn't have infections, and never needed a vet visit other than her yearly shots and check ups. The beans figured she was a hardy cat since she was a mongrel. They said that she was so healthy cause she got the strongest genes.

For as much as she traveled Pretty was never a very social kitty. She would hide when visitors came to the house, and lots of times people thought the beans only had one kitty - Slippers. That worked out well when the beans would have to get a new apartment. They would tell the apartments that they only had one kitty and then they would have to pay less of a deposit.
Pretty also loved to sing. She would serenade the beans at different times of the night. Right after the beans went to bed Pretty would sing to them until they called her. When she heard her name she would go and sleep with the beans. Also, if she couldn't see the beans she would break out in song. After a while the beans figured out that she only used her singing voice for when she was sure the beans couldnt see her. Other than that she had a very petite little voice, but when the beans couldnt see her, she would belt one out like Ethel Merman! A couple of times the mommy would be doing something quiet and Pretty would forget she was there and break into song. When Pretty realized that mommy was in the same room Pretty would get all embarrassed.

Waiting at the Rainbow Bridge. Part 1

2006-05-06T06:03:00.000-05:00

This is Pretty. Well, actually, her name is Scarlett, but she was like silk velvet so mommy and daddy called her Pretty. When mommy and daddy moved to Pennsylvania together they decided to get 2 kitties. One of them was Pretty, the other was a darling tuxedo cat called slippers. Slippers was a kitten, but Pretty was already a year old. When the beans were deciding who to take home the man insisted on Pretty cause she was so friendly and purry. As soon as the beans got Slippers and Pretty home, Pretty hid under the bed for a week! The daddy crawled under there and laid there with her. He fed her there and made sure she had water and lots of scritches. She eventually came out and loved the beans. She went all over the country with the beans...California, Iowa, Rhode Island, Maryland...She was never a problem when it came to traveling. I guess she figured as long as her beans were there then she was going to be okay.
Pretty hated to be outside but she loved Slippers and would follow him anywhere. Unfortunately, Slippers loved being outside and would break out any chance he got. That meant that Pretty would get outside, realize where she was, and try like heck to get back in. Many times Slippers and Pretty would find a screen that would give a little and squeeze out of it. But as soon as they were through it, the screen would pop back into place. Well, mommy adored her kitties, but still couldn't help laughing when Pretty would panic and start trying to jump back in the window they just jumped out of. In fact, sometimes that is how mommy knew the puddins got out...She would hear the bonk, bonk, bonk, of Pretty trying to get back in. HAHAHAHAAA.

Hello?

2006-05-05T11:04:00.000-05:00

Is there anyone out there?

I can hear you breathing...

Rasslin' Trainin'

2006-05-05T10:52:00.000-05:00

Cheese and I have been practicing for the sumo rassling part of the olympics since we were tiny ones. we have done our best to rassle in different places so we can get used to different surfaces. Sometimes we even do a Bi-athelon: we race around the house and when one of us stops, we rassle with them until we start running again. We dont do that as often as we used to. Cheese says it is to hard to run and rassle. He can do one or the other but not both at the same time. I keep telling him that if he does that more often it wont leave him winded. He says that it is his sheer size that makes him best at rassling. I kinda hafta agree with him there. He sat on me once and I am still trying to get up!

2006-05-03T08:17:00.000-05:00

Finally! It is getting warm here and the mommy is leaving the windows open. We all love our shelves by the windows, but sometimes a kitty needs a change of scenery. This chair is good for that. I can get sun and be confused when I wake up. Look...it is the only excitement I get during the day...unless there is a bug in the house.

Gardening and the Catolympics

2006-05-02T20:58:00.000-05:00

OK, we are still practicing for the olympics! Here we are so far in our floor exercises. I think we are making progress since Cheese only falls asleep half the time now. I think the reason he doesn't fall asleep all of the time is cause he is too busy waiting for mommy to open the door.

She has been gardening for almost a week now and we get to go outside with her sometimes. She brings Cheese out with her a lot since he doesn't go anywhere while he is there. He sits with mommy and tries to catch bugs. He also helps her figure out where all of her new plants go. Yesterday she planted some decorative ground cover, planted a Hydrangea bush, and placed the rest of the plants where she wanted them. She planted a Purple Passion Rhodedendron, transplanted some lillies, transplanted some Irises, and planted some ground cover today. It was an easy day. Thursday she is going to finish planting some shade plants, plant some bulbs, and get some morning glories started. She also put a plant that we had in the house out there. It was on a ledge and I would step on it every time I got up there so it was in sad shape. She said that she didn't feel like she transplanted it as much as gave it a proper burial. Ha Ha. If I get to go out there again, I am going to eat it!!

Strange reactions

2006-04-29T08:03:00.000-05:00

The mommy got up in the middle of the night last night to find something in the basement. I don't know why she had to do it right then - I was comfy! But nnnnoooooo! She didn't think about the nice warm kitties in the soft bed did she? She had to get up and and go to the basement right away.

She told the guy human that because she is stressed about school she cant sleep and when she does get to sleep she doesn't stay asleep. She isn't very worried though because this happens all the time around finals. She is so worried about doing well that she stresses about it and then she is up at really weird hours. But last night she was laying there and I could tell she wasn't sleeping cause of the way her breathing was, and suddenly she breathed in real fast. Shortly after that she got up and went downstairs. Well, you cant just let something like that go so we all went down to see what she was up to.

She rummaged around in the guest room (she didn't let us in so I don't know what was going on) and then she came out and went to where they keep the music mirrors (you know, those round little things that look like mirrors but when you feed them to the black box it makes it sing). She moved them around for a while and then she said, "whew!" After that she went back to bed and right to sleep. I didn't think about it much cause, well, it just doesn't concern me.

This morning, she told the guy that she was laying there and this thought popped into her head and she couldn't sleep until she took care of the thought. She realized that when they got the new computers and got them all hooked together that our baby pictures were on the old computers and were now lost to them forever. She remembered that she also had back up see-dees of all of the stuff on the computers but she didn't know where they were. So she had to go down and look where the picture albums were to see if they were there. They weren't so then she checked with the rest of the see-dees and there they were. She was so relieved that she went back to bed and went back to sleep and slept all the way until 6 this morning.

I can see why she was so worried though. She may have lost this and then we would have been beside ourselves, cause, face it...we are adorable at any age.

It is mommy's fault

2006-04-28T16:05:00.000-05:00

Mommy has not let me on the tappy thing in a week cause she has been hogging it the whole time!! She sits there staring at the glowing box and mutters for hours. Strange stuff like case studies, deadlines, and Financial Accounting resources. All I know is that it is never a good thing when mommy starts muttering. It means that we don't get treats a lot cause she is too 'busy' doing homework.

My life is terrible. I don't get to go outside on my own, I don't get treats all of the time, I don't...ummmmm...Have opposable thumbs. Yeah! That's what I want for Christmas this year - opposable thumbs. That way I can get my own treats and work that darn doorknob. I hope I don't have to wait long for Christmas cause now that I know what I want, I don't think I can wait!! I may have to go destroy something to pass the time. And it might make mommy feel bad for me and give me treats. Especially if I sit on the glowing box and ignore her like this...

Outside

2006-04-21T11:06:00.000-05:00

Wow!! Things have been really fun here! The mommy finished a lot of the work that she was working on and now she has some time to do other stuff! Stuff that is more fun for us kitties...Not that sleeping on her keyboard isn't fun...Just in a different way.

We have been outside for 2 days now. Mommy has been working in her gar-den and we get to help her. I help by running like hell as soon as I clear the door. Actually, I get a running start down the hallway and as soon as I hit the doorway I am a blur that sucks every thing after it. Cheese runs out too, but as soon as he hits the sidewalk he just rolls around on the concrete. And, really, I think he is too big to really run properly. As soon as Bumpers gets out side he eats some grass and just checks things out. He is never in a hurry to do anything, which is his way of lulling the mommy into complacency. She forgets he is out there and then he just wanders off. Autumn is the one who really keeps mommy company in the gar-den. She stands on the wall of the flower beds and watches mommy dig. She smells everything that mommy moves and she even helps move stuff with her paws. I think that is entirely too much work. I would rather check out the yard down the street. And I don't go in the house until I feel like it...No matter how much mommy calls for me.

Yesterday when we went outside mommy put this...Thing...On me. I didn't think too much of it until I went to run away. I COULDN'T!!! I could only get so far and then would stop! I tried it time and time again and I just couldn't get past a certain point. So I figured I might as well check out what was in my own backyard. I had a good time even if I couldn't get out of the yard. We only stayed out for 2 hours yesterday and then mommy made us go back in the house. I wasn't ready, but mommy held the leash thing and I couldn't get away. I was mad and yelled at the window for a long long time. Mommy came to pet me but there was no food involved and she didn't have a tranquilizer dart so I just kept yelling. Finally, after a whole 5 minutes I got sleepy and went to go take a nap. It was a good nap...I am going to go see if it is still there waiting for me.

Huh...How about that...It was.

Gimme some tongue!

2006-04-16T10:49:00.000-05:00

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHahahahahahaa!!!! Lookit This!!!!!

I was keeping the mommy company while she was quietly weeping over her homework - something about e-mails not working and having to work extra to get the project done on time...it didn't involve food so I wasn't really listening - and I looked over and caught Autumn sleeping in my chair! And thats not all...Her tongue was sticking out!

I catch her sleeping like that a lot. When the mommy sees that she gets all gooey and sappy and pets the tongue a couple of times. Ha Ha. Mommy says that because Autumn got so sick before she came to live with us that the fine bones in her nose got damaged - a lot of them fused together- so now she can't really breathe out of her nose well. It doesnt seem to bother her at all though. She breathes through her mouth if she is running or playing and she snores at night but it doesn't slow her down at all. It is funny though because she still thinks she can sneak up on us but we always hear her before she pounces. And if the mommy needs to know where Autumn is she just gets real quiet and listens for her...it works every time.

The reason for the duck

2006-04-15T10:35:00.000-05:00

We have been doing a lot of work lately! The mommy has a lot of homework due this weekend and we have been helping her. I sit on the floor and help her read, Cheese stays on the desk and helps her sneeze, Bumpers stays on the bed and helps her...ummm...Well, he sleeps. I don't know if he is helping anything but he is keeping her company.
Autumn, however, is NOT helping. She is constantly bringing her toys to the mommy to try to get her to play. When the mommy ignores her Autumn pats her and meows. When THAT doesn't work Autumn gets on the desk and starts SMACKING the tappy thing that makes words. THAT gets mommy's attention in a hurry. But mommy is a smart girl...She found out that Autumn is a-fur-aid of the quack-y duck. So when Autumn tries to smack the tappy thing mommy makes the duck quack and places it RIGHT ON THE TAPPY THING! Autumn won't go near it. She will watch it from a distance but she stays a good tail length away!

Mommy is happy that SOMETHING scares Autumn. Mommy says Autumn is a little too brave for her own good. I think she is just one of those kitties that needs constant stimulation...Kind of like kitty ADD! I am glad I don't have that. I don't think I had that even when I was an adorable little kitten. In fact, I am one of the most focused cats I know, even...OOOhhhhh is that a speck of dust...

Yin - Yang

2006-04-11T15:02:00.000-05:00

Cheese and Autumn
Sittin' ina chair
s-l-e-e-p-i-n-g...
...wait...that doesn't rhyme.
ummmmm...I'll get back to ya on that...

I think Cheese and Autumn like each other. She plays with him and he gives her baths with his stinky tongue. Come to think of it...Autumn gets baths from everyone.

Huh, maybe she is the stinky one...

Kitty Mansion!

2006-04-11T14:04:00.000-05:00

IT IS FINISHED!!!!
I thought it would never get done!

The people worked on it Sunday and finally got it finished. I even helped! And it is TALL! I can sit on the top and sniff the ceiling. The mommy says that she still has to attach the toys but I think it is fun like it is. Granted, I think chasing my butt is fun too but that is beside the point.

Autumn helped the most. She was able to help so much cause she wasn't afraid of the buzz-y thing they were using to put the screws in...I was! It was loud and it just freaked me out(don't tell anyone tho, it would put a chip in my dignity)!

I did quality control mostly (there I am on the top shelf). I made sure the shelves were tall enough, cushy enough, you know...stuff like that. Cheese did his part too. He checked for structural integrity, load limits, etc. Finally, when everythin...is that a spot in the corner? I had better go check that out.

OOOOHHHHhhhhh...Wait till you hear this........

2006-04-08T06:08:00.000-05:00

The sky is leaking today. It started last night with a lot of banging and flashing. The humans went outside to sit on the porch for a while when it started...We had to watch them from the window. That is ok, it was making so much noise that I am pretty sure I didn't want to be out there anyway.

Cheese got to go outside yesterday before it started leaking. Goofy cat! All he did was roll around the driveway and then go eat some grass. After a while mommy picked him up and brought him back in. Every time this happens I try to tell him that as soon as he clears the door he needs to RUN! I wonder why the mommy doesn't let me out without at leash...

We haven't been able to go outside much this spring. There is a stray cat that mommy thinks is making a nest under our porch. She is going to be having Tiny Ones soon and mommy doesn't want us outside so the kitty wont go away. Aunt Jackie is going to raise the kittens and find a new forever home for them. There is a new road going up around the corner and she is afraid that the strays will get hurt by the big rumbly things. So as soon as the stray has the Tiny Ones my mommy is going to have to gather them up and bring them to aunt Jackie. The stray is the only girl kitty in our neighborhood and I think she is getting way too much attention...First the boy kitties all want to hang out with her and then the humans all talk about her cause she is getting fat, and as soon as she finds some Tiny Ones she will be the center of attention again.
Hmmmmmm...I wonder where I can find some Tiny Ones...

A kitten named Aarrg

2006-04-04T12:12:00.000-05:00

Three days after Tulip and Timex went to their Forever Home, a neighbor found this little guy and gave him to the mommy. He was wild, but he was only 3 weeks old so he got over it as soon as he realized that the mommy equaled food. He was very very sick and mommy was forever cleaning up after him. He 'pooped soup' as mommy called it and he would only go in the litter box if all of the prior evidence was taken away. Sometimes he wouldn't even go then! Mommy was following him all over the house with a towel and a spray bottle to clean up whatever mess he made.

When he wasn't eating and making soup he would sleep a lot since he was still a Tiny One. He especially loved to sleep all snuggled in a blanket, or pile of pillows, or under a cat. Sometimes he would dig into a blanket, get just his head in and get tired and fall asleep that way! He was too funny! The mommy eventually named him Aarrg since he would like to sit on her shoulder like a Pirate's Parrot...And he growled a lot.

He was only with us for about 3 weeks when he went to his forever home. Mommy and Daddy were going to Newport R.I. for a holiday and they didn't want to leave Aarrg home to make soup all over the place, so they had the V-e-t babysit him while they were gone. She let them know that he was up for adoption but only after he got better and was not making soup anymore. After 4 days, when mommy got back she called to see when she could go pick him up and the nice lady at the v-e-t said that some one saw him and fell in love with him.
Mommy was happy that he would have a new Forever Home, but was annoyed that the v-e-t would let him go home before he was better. When mommy talked to the vet more, she found out that the nice person who took him was a Vet Tech who knew how to care for Tiny Ones with Soup. AND that the new mommy was taking him everywhere with her. She was still in college so he went to classes with her, and when she worked at the office he was there too. He gets to greet everyone and play with the big Barkers...He really does think he owns the place. Mommy gets to see him when she takes the other kitties to the v-e-t and I don't know if he remembers her, but he lets her snuggle him and give him kisses.

Tiny Ones

2006-03-31T07:34:00.000-05:00

This is the time of year when the Mommy starts getting calls about Tiny Ones. People bring her itty bitty kitties who don't have mommies and my mommy helps them get bigger. Last summer we had 4 itty itty kitties. The ones we had the longest were Tulip and Timex. Mommy called the little girl Tulip cause she was so pretty, and she called the little boy Timex cause she said he "takes a lickin' and keeps on tickin'" .

Mommy's friend was caring for them at first but she was working every day and didn't have a whole bunch of time so my mommy got them when they were 5 days old. They slept a lot but they were a lot of work when they were awake.

Mommy was always making bottles and getting up at night to feed them. Those itty bitty kitties ate all the time! And then they wanted to move around a lot after they ate. When I eat a lot all I want to do is take a nap but they wanted to explore...Even before their eyes opened! Mommy was still in school and would take them to her classes. They got way too much attention if you ask me. But you have to admit that they were good for some 'AAaaaawwwwww's'. This is Timex

This is Tulip. They both thought that my mommy was their mommy too. But when they were 10 weeks old they went to their forever home with a nice family who had other kitties. Mommy still gets pictures of them and they look really happy and fat. Mommy is going back to work as soon as she gra-ju-ates and wont be able to take in Tiny Ones this season. That is probably a good thing cause they take up so much time that the mommy couldn't get out for long periods of time with out a babysitter. And Bumpers got confused and thought they were here forever and started to get annoyed. When the Tiny Ones left for good he went back to normal but I don't think he enjoyed them as much as Cheese did. It is funny though, cause the Tiny Ones always went looking for Bumpers when it was time to sleep. I think it is because that is his specialty: Bumpers taught them how to sleep in the good places and Cheese taught them how to play. I supervised their care and development and delegated the duties. That is my specialty. Mommy's best friend, Trala, says it is because I am a control freak but I say it is because I am thorough.

Sumo Demonstration

2006-03-30T06:43:00.000-05:00

After chatting with Autumn about the difference in size between her competitors and her she said that she would think about her entry. After a while she decided that she was the right size for Sumo explaining that her petite size was a benefit. She then demonstrated her agility and speed on Cheese. While I admire her determination, I didnt have the heart to tell her that Cheese is a big push over. It is Cheese who teaches the Tiny Ones to play so he has to be very gentle. Like I said earlier...I hope I get to see her compete.

Autumn Savannah as Sumo

2006-03-29T09:01:00.000-05:00

Autumn Savannah has been working on her Catolympics qualification. She has decided to enter the Sumo wrestling competition. I tried telling her that at a whopping 5 lbs (holding a brick) she is going to get her furry little butt kicked. But then she feels compelled to show me how she can quickly subdue her bear with almost no exertion. I can only hope that I am around when she competes, I could use a good laugh.

I think she should be in the track and field events. she constantly chases us around. When she isnt chasing us she is chasing bits that move easily...you know...fuzz, specks of dust, the air. Goofy little cat.

Anyway, I am practicing my floor routine. I call this the "Show the Goods" pose. Not only is it impressive to see, it helps me make fast friends with the boys in the house.

We have been keeping the mommy company again now that the spring break is over. This is a hard job though since she is annoyed these days...she found out that she is 2 credits short of graduating. She thought she was done and paid the money to Petition to Graduate. Now she has to take another class AND pay to Petition to Graduate again. She mumbled for a long time and even said words that made my whiskers curl!! I put my paws over Autumn's ears cause she is too young to hear words like that...it may warp her permanently and considering how she is already, we really dont need that!

Cat Olympians!!

2006-03-23T10:47:00.000-05:00

I am soooo 'cited!! Mommy finally told us what event we will be competing in, in the catolympics!! I am going to be competing in the gymnastics category, specifically the balance beam. I am soooo good at that!! I have been practicing a lot since I found out. I have perfected the pose I call "not falling off". It took me a while to come up with that one. Before that I was very good at the routine called "Jump, scrabble for footing, hang on for dear life, execute a difficult landing". Cheese is competing in the gymnastics category also, but he is doing a floor routine. He tried to qualify for the balance beam but he was still in the "Jump, scrabble for footing, hang on for dear life, execute a difficult landing" phase of his training. He is having a problem with the landing. Mommy put a couple of blankets on the stairs for a softer landing, but, after a couple of tries, he just lost interest. Now he is working on his floor routine. This is what he has so far...

He gets to this stage and forgets what comes next so he just takes a nap. He doesn't seem too concerned about it though. However, He does practice this part of it a lot... I guess he just wants to make sure he has it down.

Wait till you hear what event Autumn is competing in...

Meet Bumpers

2006-03-22T08:33:00.000-05:00

This is my house brother, Bumpers. The picture is a little fuzzy, but that is ok...so is Bumpers. Mommy brought him home a year and a half ago. She said that he picked her and she couldnt say no 'cause he was so sweet. I don't know if he is sweet...he might be faking it. I think that cause he never gives me licks unless he wants me to move. However, when mommy brings home the Tiny Ones to help he is always sleeping with them. That doesnt surprise me cause he sleeps A LOT. Well, he is 9 years old so he is the oldest in the house now that Pretty has gone to play at the Rainbow Bridge.

Bumpers is the official Greeter in the house. When people come to visit, I usually leave cause they are rarely worth my time (unless there is food involved) but Bumpers is the first to go see them. After he smells them he starts rubbing all over them and bumping them (that is why mommy named him Bumpers). He helps the Orkin man when he comes. He follows him around showing him points of interest and making sure the mommy gets her money's worth. Every one who comes to the house loves him...the big faker!

Bumpers is registered for the Catolympics. He is going to compete in the Curling event. He has an advantage in that competition 'cause if it is warm and soft he curls up in it. It is like he has been practicing all his life!

Autunm Savannah

2006-03-20T10:13:00.000-05:00

This is Autumn Savannah. She is the newest member of our pride. She joined us in January when the mommy went to see the grandma. When the mommy came back she had Autumn. I just hope this doesnt happen every time the mommy goes away. Now when she comes home from doing errands I keep 'spectin' to see new kitties. So far it has only happened one time.
Mommy says that if she didnt bring Autumn home that she would have died - I dont know if she is talking 'bout herself or Autumn, but I am sure glad no one went to the Rainbow Bridge! I still miss Pretty! I will tell you about Pretty later, but now, this is for Autumn. Well Autumn was very sick - I could tell as soon as I smelled her - and she needed lots of medcine. Also she had to go to the 'mergency place a lot too (A.S. said that when she had to go to the mergency place mommy would drive very fast! WHEEeee!). Then mommy started taking A.S. to a different place called TOWSON.

They went there 3 times and every time they came back A.S. would have more of her hair missing. I was worried that she would end up bald. And I wondered why they had to go to TOWSON to get a haircut. The third time the mommy took A.S. there she came back alone!! Where was Autumn? Mommy was on the phone a lot talking to TOWSON so I guess she was scheduling another haircut, but 3 days later A.S. came home and she was almost BALD! And she had things in her side that mommy would always check. Autumn didnt seem to mind cause she was back home, but mommy would keep her in a blanket a lot. I think Autumn was just playing cold to get snugglies.
Mommy said Autumn had nuu-moan-ya and developed an ab-sess and had to have ser-jer-ee where they took out half of her lung. I dont know what that means but mommy thought it was a big deal and gave her lots of kisses and snugglies. And, I have to say, she came back from TOWSON looking pretty ugly. I hope I never find nuu-moan-ya! It apparently makes you get bad haircuts!

Any way, Autumn has growed her hair back (most of the way) and I guess mommy didnt like it much cause she took Autumn to be spayded so they shaved her tummy. Mommy says this is the last ser-jer-ee Autumn will have to have, but then she knocks on the door when she says that.

Fun Stuff

2006-03-18T12:33:00.000-05:00

Look what some one was kind enough to let me have (Yes, Aunt Jackie, I got something for free)! It is the kitty in the upper left hand corner! If you want it to follow your mouse around (and what cat doesnt?) then click on it one time. To make it stop just click it again! I was entertained for a whole second or so!

It's all mine

2006-03-17T21:50:00.000-05:00

Yeah...this is mine too. It is all mine and sometimes I let the other fuzzies play with stuff, but we all know who it really belongs to...

Meet Cheese (not Meatcheese)

2006-03-17T21:24:00.000-05:00

This is my brother Cheese. Mommy got him the same time she got me. He was really little - mommy says he weighed less than a can of Pepsi (whatever that is) and would have died if she didnt take him. Obviously Cheese got over that since he weighs in at 15 pounds now! He is the biggest kitty in the house! And he really is big boned! He is a tall kitty and if he weighed what he is supposed to he would probably weigh about 13 pounds. Still pretty big for starting as a starving little kitten. In fact, the day mommy picked us up he still had breakfast on his face! Our furry mommy brought us a baby bunny but Cheese didnt get much of that cause he was the smallest.

Cheese is really smart too. He can do about 10 tricks. Mommy's friend, Jackie, calls him 'poor dumb Cheese' but I know she is joking. He is really smart but he is a scaredy cat. He isnt 'fraid of new people but of other things...things he thinks will hurt him. I dont know where he gets that from, none of us other owners are like that. But Cheese is really sweet, and he just LOVES mommy. He sleeps on her side with his head on her shoulder at night. Sometimes he gives kisses but the mommy wont let him any more since the last time he did it looked like some one popped her in the nose (he doesnt realize how rough his tongue is).

Oh, that blanket he is laying on is the one my Grandma made for mommy when she graduated from college the first time.

Winter Games

2006-03-17T12:18:00.000-05:00

Around here we have our own version of the Winter Games. Actually, it is only one game but it takes up our whole day. It is called Follow the Warm. It starts in the morning after breakfast and lasts all day. Pretty much, we move from window to window looking for the best warm spot. If there is a kitty already in it, then it is up to the new kitty to annoy the current kitty enough to leave. While this may sound easy, once we kitties find a good spot it takes quite a bit to make us leave.

Well, I had the warm spot in the sewing room all taken care of, and I was doing a pretty good job too! I was all twitchy and everything! And then my House Brother, Bumpers, came in and washed me until I couldn't stand his breath any more. Rather than having my fur smell like the inside of Bumper's mouth I had to leave. So he took my spot after I had already warmed it up! I went to tell the mommy but she just petted me and said she loved me. Well that is all fine and dandy, but I want my warm spot back! There are 4 cats in this house and depending on the weather and season, there are only so many spots one can sit in and be in the sun. I think I am going to go see where my brother Cheese is and take his spot. He is much bigger than me but I am more persistant. I hope he has a spot warmed up for me.

Hi Everyone!!

2006-03-16T22:00:00.000-05:00

Hi there,

My name is Mouse (though my mommy calls me Meepers cause that is the sound I make when I am being cute). I have a brother named Cheese, a house brother named Bumpers and a new house sister named Autumn Savannah (sheesh!).

As the owners of the house we do the things that need doing around here. Things like napping, sleeping, dozing, and chillin'. When we are finished doing all the work around here we also hunt stuff. Stuff like bugs, kibble, mommy, and warm places to sleep.

Our biggest job though, is keeping the mommy company when she does homework. At first this was hard since we only had a spare bed, the floor, and the entire desk to lay on when we were keeping her company. It took some doin' but I finally nagged her enough and she brought a chair in just for me to sit in...now if I could only keep Cheese out of it.