Jimmy Joe's Pad

Yeah, that was more than a month...

2009-06-22T09:54:00.002-04:00

Sorry, buddies. That was three and a half months. Here's why:

Momma hasn't been good at writing up my posts. She got her dissertation done, defended it against her Special Attack Committee of Professors, and got her Ph.D a month ago. She was very stressed and sometimes unhappy, so I didn't have the heart to bug her about my bloggie.

And actually, I haven't seen her for a month now. Coco and I have been at Granny and Poppa's in Michigan, with my cousins Sophie, Sassy, and Cheetah, because Momma went to a conference in Spain and is going to move away from our 'partment next month so she thought we should just stay comfy at Gran & Gramps so we don't have to help pack stuff up and put it on a truck. Momma is pretty sure she is going to come here and stay with us at Granny and Poppa's because she doesn't have a job. She is very, very upset about this, which I don't really get, because living at Granny and Poppa's house is grate:

See how comfy I am? They have a nice sunporch and you can snooze out here all day and watch lots of birdies! The food's okay, too. I've assured Momma I'm getting enough to eat.

So while Momma isn't too good these days, I'm doing just fine, buddies! Sorry if I'm not back again for a while this summer, but it is hard to telecommute when Momma's computer is all the way back in Ithaca and I'm here in MI. Have a grate summer, every-buddy!

Just taking a break

2009-03-07T10:04:00.002-05:00

Hi Every-buddy--

Thanks for checking in, buddies. We're just taking a break from blogging so Momma can finish her doctoral dissertation. She has to give it to her committee in less than three weeks. She hasn't heard back yet from the university where she interviewed three weeks ago, so she doesn't think she will get that job, either. So Momma is very worried about not only finishing her degree but also getting a job.

So, as you can imagine, Coco and I are very busy keeping Momma from getting too down. I'm sure you understand how time-consuming that is, buddies. Coco and I will give you an update later this month.

Your buddy, Jimmy Joe

Wordy Wednesday

2009-02-11T09:44:00.004-05:00

Oh boy, buddies, I got another grate award! This is exciting. This is the LOVE-YA! award, which my grate buddies the Orange Tabbies, Turtle and my nose-twin Pippin (and their tortie sister Ava Grace) gave me.

This is the description of the LOVE-YA! Award: "These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers. Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

I'm gonna pass this on to my grate buddies:
1) Wally, Ernie and Zoey over at Island Cats
2) Sunny, Olive Oyl and Rascal of Mommy's Little Fat Boy
3) Princess Isis the Doggie
4) and Luna over at CatSynth

In other news, guess what I saw went I went out with Coco this morning?

LOOK!!!

GRASS!!!!!
Coco and I found lots of fascinating smells in the long-hidden grass, so we had to spend quite a while doing a thorough investigation.

Finally, Momma is going away tomorrow for two days for a Very Important Interview. I thought I'd ask for some of the grate Cat Blogosphere Magic to help her, so could you chip in with some good luck purrs and furs for her?

Thanks, buddies!

TGIF

2009-02-06T11:23:00.007-05:00

First of all, super thanks to my new li'l buddy Tuck, who gave me a grate award this week!This is the Proximity Award:
"This blog invests and believes the PROXIMITY - nearness in space, time and relationships! These blogs are exceedingly charming. These kind bloggers aim to find and be friends. They are not interested in prizes or self-aggrandizement. Our hope is that when the ribbons of these prizes are cut, even more friendships are propagated. Please give more attention to these writers! Deliver this award to eight bloggers who must choose eight more and include this cleverly-written text into the body of their award."

Wow, what a wonderful award to get. I'm gonna pass this on to my grate buddies:

* Sweet Praline

*Tybalt

* Camie's Kitties, Tavi, Cody and Miss Jade

* Jeter Harris

* Whicky Wuudler, Angel, Oliver and Gerry at Everycat
* Eric and Flynn

* Earl Grey, Tazo, and Titus of the Furry Kids

*Laila and Minchie at Cat-a-holic

This award means a special lot to me since I haven't been able to be as good a visitor as I'd like to be, buddies. As you know, my momma is under a lot of Bean-stress because she is finishing a dissertation and teaching a new college course and trying to get a grown-up job at another college. So she usually only lets me use the computer a couple times a week to visit you all. Sometimes I don't have time to leave comments for everybuddy, but I love catching up with your news!

So Momma said she's just never going to be not-stressed-out this semester, but Coco and I at least had a better week this week. We had lots of naps, and Coco got to take some good walks and I got to visit some of the neighbors, which I like to do because I'm a friendly guy. I didn't get a chance to enter my sister Coco into the Best Fur Sibling contest, but I decided to give her a shout-out today, because she is a grate sister, even though she is a doggie and not a kitty.*

*Coco thinks a correction is needed: she says she is not "a doggie," she is a Wiener Dog, which is something special unto itself.

Coco is a grate sister because she is supportive when we have to take the Long Ride in the car to Granny and Poppa's and Momma pushes drugs on me. We go out exploring the yard together (except in winter when it is Tundra out there), and sometimes in the summer we go on hunting trips. We also enjoy sharing sunbeams together in the morning:

These are some of the reasons why my sister Coco is a grate fur sibling.

TGIF

2009-01-30T08:58:00.005-05:00

Oh man, buddies, what a week!

So it started out with me and Coco doin' our usual duties, showing Momma how to relax and be happy. I showed her how to enjoy a sunbeam on Monday:

See, I had the wonderful realization that you can use your scratcher as a pillow, too!

You can see how relaxed I am on my scratcher-pillow.

But the week got worse. On Tuesday, Momma blind-sided me by pulling out the PTU and taking me to the v-e-t!!!

It was terrible, buddies. First of all, as those of you who had been reading my bloggie for a while know, I get car-sick. So as soon as we get to the horrible office, I got the barfs real bad. It was very embarrassing. Well, the assistant and the doctor lady both kept petting me and talking about how handsome I am and what a grate guy I am, so I'm thinking, "hey, maybe it won't be that bad this time. Maybe they just wanted to visit with me."

But no! After saying over and over how good-lookin' I am, they promptly took me back to their lair and poked me with needles and STOLE BLOODS FROM MY NECK!!!

Look at this evidence. I think maybe they are vampires. It was a terrible experience, but I think I got through it pretty bravely.

Coco didn't have a grate time either this week. We got lots of snow on Wednesday so she couldn't take a walk, and instead Momma made her play Beauty Parlor, which Coco hates. She asked me please not to put a picture of her all wet and sad on my bloggie, and I'm a good brother so I said okay.

We are going to spend our weekend recovering from our stressful weeks with lots of naps and treats. I advise you all to do the same, buddies.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2009-01-25T10:28:00.006-05:00

Now that we have gotten settled back into our own 'partment and Momma is putting our stuff away, I reminded her that she needs to update my scrapbook with all of the awesome holly-day cards my buddies sent me!

Momma has books for her pictures:

But they are just regular Bean pictures, and I don't think they are very interesting.

So I have my own scrapbook!

I keep all of the grate cards and pictures that you send me in my scrapbook. Thanks, every-buddy!

Wordy Wednesday (I'm finally back)

2009-01-21T11:45:00.008-05:00

Hey all my buddies!!! I'm back!

Whew. We are all finally back in our own 'partment, me and Momma and Coco, after a month at Granny and Poppa's house in Holland, Michigan. Momma kept leaving us there, though. First she went to San Francisco, where she had a business conference and Very Important Interviews. Then she went to Germany, where she traveled with Auntie Julie* and had a Very Important Meeting with her advisor.

(*Auntie Julie isn't really an auntie. We just call her auntie because she's like one).

Coco and I were equally busy. First of all, there was holly-day decorating to snoopervise:

Then there was all of the snoopervising in Granny and Poppa's house while Momma was off seeing things like this castle in Heidelberg, Germany:

And this weird medieval hospital in Nuremberg, Germany:

Personally, I think it was a stupid thing for Momma to do, abandoning us to go to Germany, even if she did need to have this meeting. For one thing, that meant that Coco and I didn't have anyone to snuggle with at night, because my bratty girl-cat cousins sleep with Granny and Poppa. Plus, it was very cold, and only Very Stupid Beans take vacations in cold Germany in January. Beans like Momma:

We had to drive through snow to get home on Sunday, and Momma had to start teaching germy freshmen again yesterday. So even though she was Not Working for a month, she is already stressed. But she promised to try to get my bloggie posts up at least once a week now, and hopefully sometimes twice a week. I'm gonna be busy catching up with you all over the next few days!

That is, between much-needed naps:

Merry Christmas!

2008-12-25T14:52:00.002-05:00

Merry Christmas, every-buddy!

And Happy Hanukkah and a belated Happy Solstice to every-buddy, too!

Momma and Coco and I are all at Granny and Poppa's now. We drove here on Saturday, and since then it has just snowed, snowed, and snowed. I am staying inside and just looking at the snow. My cousins Sophie, Sassy, and the new baby-cousin Cheetah are here, too. Sophie and I have a good time playing, but Sassy and Cheetah are kind of obnoxious little girls. I just ignore them.

I'm sorry I'm not doing a grate job of visiting everybuddy. Momma is still under a lot of stress. She leaves tomorrow and goes to San Francisco for Very Important Job Interviews, she told me. Maybe when she comes back I can convince her to help me catch up with you all!

In the meantime, enjoy a grate holly-day with your families!
Your buddy, Jimmy Joe

Finally Friday

2008-12-19T12:10:00.006-05:00

Oh man, buddies, sorry I've been gone for so long. Momma sent off four revised dissertation chapters to her committee yesterday, turned in students' grades, and got through her mock-job interviews this week, so I told her that she should take a break now to help me catch up with all of you.

This is what Ithaca looks like in the winter:

This was the snow we got last week. It melted at the beginning of this week, and when we got just a little bit of snow, and then that turned into a thin layer of ice over the yard. So yesterday I could just walk on top of it. But guess what's happening today? Another snow storm. Momma says we'll get about a foot today. I'm not too fond of snow. It makes your feets cold and your furs wet.

But sometimes a mancat's just gotta hold his breath and dive in so he can take care of his snoopervision duties.

Momma says I am a very tough guy. Here I am investigating the bush in the front yard. I think we have interlopers.

Yep, yep, I definitely suspect vishus deer. Stay vigilent, buddies.

I'm gonna try to catch up with all of you this evening, buddies! We've been very excited to get all of your beautiful holly-day cards. Momma tapes them up in the kitchen so we all can enjoy them!

Apologies, buddies

2008-12-09T10:57:00.003-05:00

Hi buddies--

Sorry I've been gone for the past couple of weeks. Momma is hogging the computer, and when she's not on the computer, she's stressing out and won't help me blog.

I will be back before Christmas, buddies, I promise. But I gotta keep things together here--Coco and I have our work cut out for us!

I'll catch up with you soon, buddies!

Your buddy, Jimmy Joe

Tuesday Tattle

2008-11-25T09:36:00.005-05:00

Oh boy, buddies, do I have a grate tattle today!

See, one of Coco's bad habits* is shredding tissues and napkins. Last week, look what Momma found when she got home:

She had put a whole new packet of tissues in her backpack, and the whole thing had been pulled out and shredded, plastic and all!

Coco, of course, denies everything. She says there is an evil Wiener-Demon who comes out of a closet and shreds the napkins on the coffee table and the tissues from the purses when Momma is not around. Momma doesn't believe this, though, because she's also found shredded napkins and tissues in her car when Coco has gone for a ride. And she doesn't know how the Wiener-Demon would get into the car. So we're pretty sure all of the evidence points to Coco.

*Coco adamantly claims that she has no bad habits.

Caturday: Weekend Update

2008-11-22T10:30:00.005-05:00

So here's how our week has been, buddies:

Every day the snow starts to go away, and then every night we get more snow. It was snowing this morning, too. Momma put out food for the birdies, which they like.

So the other morning, when Coco went outside for her morning pee, and Momma went to get the paper, I figured: "Well, if we're gonna keep having snow, maybe I should just deal with it."

So I started to check it out, careful not to get my toes too cold.

Maybe I can still find some grass under the snow? Or some leaves to play with?

Ehhhh, it's not really worth it. I think I'll stick to my inside-mousies and inside-tree.

So that was my week.

The end, as JH would say.

Tuesday: worried about my toes

2008-11-18T09:36:00.006-05:00

Oh, maaaaan...
Look at my snowy yard!!!

I think fall is really over, Jack'o'lantern.

Coco doesn't mind. She just wears a sweater.

See, the problem with snow is:

It makes your toes cold.

So I think I'm just gonna watch.

And we are sending all of our purrs and furs to brave little Moki, too. Hang in there, buddy!

Saturday is Caturday

2008-11-15T11:02:00.003-05:00

Momma is so worried about getting everything done, and she said that she crosses something off of her "to-do" list and then has to add two more things.

I am completely sympathetic because it seems like my to-do list is never-ending, too. There is always:

--napping

--investigating the grounds

--eating some crunchies to keep my energy up

--finding sunshine

--napping

--keeping an eye on the birdies and squirrels outside

--napping

--keeping Momma's feets warm and helping her get her reading done

--giving myself a good bath

--napping

I cross something off the "to-do" list and then I have to jump right into something else. But it is important to share and enjoy the quiet moments together. It is rainy today, but we had nice warm sunshine earlier this week, and Coco and I showed Momma how to make the most of a nice sunny day.

I told Momma she needs to plan a break tonight so we can catch up with all of your blogs, buddies.

Honoring all of our veterans

2008-11-11T10:34:00.003-05:00

Momma suggested that I tell every-buddy about the United States War Dog Association today, since doggies, horses, and many other animals have also nobly served our country. Here is an excerpt from an article by a man named Steve Dale, which was in our USA Weekend section a couple of months ago:

"Once while U.S. Marine Ron Aiello was serving in Vietnam, he was alerted by his partner to stop and heel--immediately! Aiello heeded the warning. Moments later, a sniper opened fire, just missing Aiello.

His partner, who clearly saved Aiello's life, was a German shepherd named Stormy. In the time they were together, Aiello says, Stormy saved his life 'a few times.' Today, Aiello is president of the non-profit United States War Dogs Association.

Aiello estimates that military dogs saved about 10,000 lives in Vietnam. 'They have already saved thousands in Iraq and Afghanistan,' he adds. Dogs on duty help detect land mines and explosives, conduct search and rescue operations, and serve as guard dogs."

Not only doggies, but also many horses, dolphins, and even birds have helped our soldiers through the years. So we should celebrate them as veterans as well today.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-11-05T09:13:00.003-05:00

Mancat Monday: Update

2008-11-03T08:49:00.009-05:00

Well, buddies, as you know, my momma is super busy and stressed out this fall. So I've been working overtime, too, keeping her feets warm and making sure she gets her daily allowance of cuteness. I brought her a mouse to play with a few weeks ago, too, since she was staying home on Saturday night and I felt sorry for her. I didn't even complain when she abandoned me last weekend to go to the Big City. So I've been pretty busy with all of my mancat duties.

Here is the update of what's been going on over the Halloween weekend:
Last week, Diamond Emerald-Eyes made a fantastic costume for me for her Masquerade Ball! Check it out!

Then the day after Halloween, Momma and Miss Megan went to the Howl-o-ween Parade at the Dog Park to see the doggies' costumes. This dog was a clown.

This doggie was a bumble-bee. I kinda think she should have been a bat instead, though.

And this was our favorite, of course! A Wiener-Skunk!

We had our Jack-o-lantern outside, all lit up and ready to give people a good Halloween scare.

Some of our neighbors had good Jack-o-lanterns, too! The 'partment building looked pretty good on Halloween.

Wordy Wednesday

2008-10-29T10:09:00.005-04:00

What the???

There's snow on my leaves!

Not cool. Momma has a bad-word to describe snow in October.

I'm gonna go back inside and work on the gravy. It's gonna be a long winter.

Sorry I've been gone the past two weeks buddies. Momma has been extra busy and she won't give me enough time on the computer to post and visit all of you. I'm gonna try to catch up in the next few days!

Thursday Thirteen

2008-10-16T09:58:00.016-04:00

Oh boy, everybuddy, my grate buddies Tiki and Tavi and Cody and Miss Jade and Camie over at Camie's Kitties gave me a beautiful award!
Thanks, buddies! Here are the award instructions:
~ Put the logo on your blog.
~ Add a link to the person who awarded you.
~ Nominate 10 other blogs.
~ Add links to those blogs on yours.
~ Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.
Here are my award nominees:
1) Ana la Gattorista!
2) All of my buddies over at Cats ~ Goats ~ Quotes
3) Dragonheart and Merlin
4) Eric and Flynn, whose Beans have not come back yet from abandoning them
5) Fin
6) Jasper, Huggy Bear, Josie, and Maggie McKitten-Cat
7) Sunny, Olive Oyl, and Rascal
8) MoMo
9) the St. Louis Meezers
10) the Furry Kids, Tazo, EG and Titus!

Oh boy, what a pretty award. OK, so now for the Thursday Thirteen part:
Here are more pictures that our grate friend Miss Megan took.
The theme of this T13 is: All About Our Fall.

Momma starts cooking lots of yummy warm meals inside as it gets cooler. Last weekend she made Shepherd's Pie. It smelled deee-lishus. But do you think I got any?
This is me staring at the Shepherd's Pie.

All of the crazy squirrels running around in the fall drive Coco crazy. She just sits and sits and sits at the bottom of the tree, waiting for one to fall out.

Here is an example of a cheeky red squirrel. He just sat there in the tree, screeching really obnoxious things at Coco. Even Momma said she hoped he fell out of the tree 'cause it would teach him a lesson about being rude.

One of the things I really like about fall is all of the leaves falling down. They are fun to run through and chase!

Coco likes taking fall drives.

Coco likes to go for drives to smell the fall air. Momma and Miss Megan took a drive on Sunday to see the pretty fall colors. This is what they saw.

I get sick in the car, so I stayed home and held down the fort.

They all went to a State Park. This is what it look like when they climbed up the hill to the top of the gorge.

This is Coco on the wall overlooking the gorge!!! My sister is a Dare-Devil.

This is what it looked like above the gorge. It is a glen.

On the way home, they stopped to get pumpkins!

Here are our family pumpkins.

When they got home, I heard all about the drive and their grate adventure in the park.

Tummy and Toes

2008-10-14T09:42:00.007-04:00

Our grate friend Miss Megan came over on Sunday and she took super grate pictures of me. I think she should be a professional kitty-and-doggie photographer!

Here are some grate tummy and toes shots for Tuesday!

Here's Momma giving me a good armpit massage and scrunching my tummy.

Check out my awesome left hook!

I like having visitors.

Saturday is Caturday

2008-10-11T09:24:00.001-04:00

It is a crisp, bright, colorful fall morning.

I'm ready to start the day!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-10-08T09:26:00.000-04:00

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2008-10-05T16:43:00.001-04:00

Taking it Easy Like Sunday Morning means doing what you feel like.

I felt like coming in early for my breakfast and a good armpit massage.

Coco felt like staying out on her lead, soaking up the fall sunshine and crisp air.

Momma felt like not helping me blog until this afternoon. Sheesh. Now that's just laziness.

Wordy Wednesday

2008-10-01T09:47:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, buddies, I got an awesome new award from my grate buddy Tybalt!

Here are the award stipulations:

1) Put the logo on your blog.

2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.

3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.

4) Add links to those blogs on yours.

5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I would like to pass this award on to my buddies:

Rocky and Mr. Milky and the whole staff at Artsy Catsy

Camie, Tiki, Tavi, Cody, and Jade

China Cat

Willow

Victor the Vampire Kitty

Victor Tabbycat and Nina the Torbie

Snow, Leo and Fairy

OK, next up:

I was going to post this yesterday for Tabby Tuesday, but Momma had four big deadlines and said she couldn't help me blog until this morning. My new tabby buddy Nigel stopped by again yesterday afternoon, so I thought I could still post this as news.

This is my buddy Nigel:

He lives down the street from us. Coco had met him before when she was out taking a walk, and then last week I happened to be outside when Nigel stopped by!

Nigel has two doggies of his own and he likes to take them for walks around the block, so he stops by to say hi sometimes. I'm not supposed to leave our yard, but I do enjoy a visitor every now and then. Here I am showing him my back yard:

Coco likes Nigel, too. Here they are checking out what's under the pine tree.

It's good to have friendly neighbors!

Fall is Coming

2008-09-27T10:36:00.000-04:00

It is a cool, gray, rainy day here in Ithaca, and we've noticed some changes around here:

Some of the trees are turning red.

Some of them are turning orange.

And some of them are turning yellow and brown.

I think fall is coming. Should I go outside and check it out?

Uhh, naw, I think I'll stay here on the Boppy pillow until it stops raining.

Tattle Tuesday

2008-09-23T09:29:00.000-04:00

Hey buddies--I have a really good tattle today.

Have you ever seen such a messy bed?

I bet you're thinking, "wow, JJ's momma is a real slob to leave the bed like that."

But surprise! It's Coco's fault!!!

Coco likes to toss all of the pillows and Sock Monkey and the covers out of the way so she can burrow. It's always a true sign of fall when Coco starts burrowing again.

Drink up, Me Hearties!

2008-09-19T09:47:00.001-04:00

Ahoy, me hearties! It be Grog-master Jim here, ready to sail the seas aboard the Black Furball for Talk Like a Pirate Day!

T'will be a mighty ruckus, so drink up your grog, mateys...Double rations all around!

May yer day be full of plunder and booty, and yer sails full of wind, HARRR!

Arr, avast and away!

Wordy Wednesday

2008-09-17T09:47:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, buddies!

Super big thanks to my grate buddies Moe & Mindy of Team Tabby for granting me these two grate awards!

I would like to pass these on to Napoleon, Bandit, Sara, Miss Emily, Maggie Mae, Noah, Gracie, Timothy, Anna Sue, Kitty Boy, Bob and Patrick over at Cats~Goats~Quotes, for always having fun photos and quotes to share with us! We love all of the different personalities in your grate family.

Other business:

My grate buddy Yoggie tagged me for the Fridge Meme two weeks ago, and I finally got Momma to take some pictures so I can do it! This is the meme:

1) Take pictures of the items which your humans has put on the fridge.

2)Tell us the story behind these items.If there should be no items on your fridge, just take pictures of the items in the fridge and explain who eats them and why.

3) Then pass on the meme to as many furry friends as you have items photographed.

Well, I don't know that I'm going to be able to do #3. See why:

Momma covers the whole fridge with magnets and comics and postcards and coupons. Sometimes she puts weird stuff up, too, like this message she got from a fortune cookie:

She especially likes comic strips. This is her favorite one ever. It is a Get Fuzzy comic. She couldn't make the camera take a picture of it without being blurry, so she said she will scan it at her office and maybe post it for me later.

This is a comic for Coco. The wiener dog says, "Whoa. Maybe I'll just pass on my usual barking frenzy."

I think maybe Coco would still bark even if a scary alien came in the window, though, hahahahaha!

But as you saw, buddies, there are so many items on our fridge that we have to tag the whole Cat Blogosphere for this meme! Go ahead if you haven't done it already!

Monday Memoriam

2008-09-15T10:05:00.001-04:00

Goodbye, wonderful Pixie. We will miss you terribly now that you are at the Bridge.

We made bananer muffins last night in your honor.

Saturday is Caturday

2008-09-13T11:55:00.000-04:00

I have to make some apologies, buddies.

You may have noticed that I am not putting up posties so regularly these days.

Well, Momma says that she is extra busy this semester with lots of projects and she has to get her diss-er-ta-shun revised, so that she can only help me put up my posties a couple of times a week. I'm gonna do my best to stay up-to-date with all of your newsies, though, buddies!

I've been thinkin' about what I can do to help out around the place, since Momma is so busy and stressed. (This is me thinkin'.)

It seems that I do very important work by curling up and looking sweet. This is me in the "huggy chair." We call it that because my grate friend Daisy the Curly Cat observed that it looks like the chair is giving me a nice big hug! I think maybe my grate buddy Huggy Bear should have a Huggy Chair.

Warning: there are some professional hazards to my job. Momma keeps interrupting my naps and squeezing me and saying "You are just so freakin' cute!!!" If you get interrupted in the middle of a bath or a nap, be sure to stay focused and complete your task after the interruption is over.

Tuesday Toes

2008-09-09T10:35:00.001-04:00

Hey buddies--first, I should answer a couple of questions from last Thursday's postie:
1) Sweet Praline: Momma did not take a picture of the snake because snakes make her shriek and she didn't want to have to get close to it. Even after it was deaded. That's why she had to ask Mr. Vincent our neighbor to take the deaded snake away. She was very embarrassed.
2) Camie, Tiki, Tavi, Cody, and Miss Jade: Momma wasn't scairt that the snake would hurt Coco because it was just a small garter snake, about a foot long, which is the only kind of snake we have around here. But they still make her feel gross.
(psst...I gotta confess something to you, buddies...I didn't really want to get near the snake, either. Kind a creepy, in my opinion.)

Well, Momma has been very stressed out over her projects, and she delivered a big lecture yesterday, and this morning she celebrated my admiring my big handsome feets.

This one here shows my feets resting firmly on the ground.

In this picture here you can see my big country feets all stretched out. I call this my "Here's lookin' at you" expression.

This is a nice overhead shot so you can see how big my nice white toes are. You can also see what a robust and healthy country mancat I am.

Finally I got tired of posing and the feets had to take a rest. I look kinda startled in this picture 'cause a dog was barking outside.

Thankful Thursday

2008-09-04T09:37:00.001-04:00

Oh boy, buddies, we have lots to be thankful about today.

I am super thankful for getting two! awesome awards.

My great friend Mickey gave me the BFF Goldcard Award:

I would like to pass this on to Gandalf and Grayson and Sweet Praline.

And my great buddies Napoleon, Sara, Bandit, Miss Emily, Maggie Mae, Noah, Gracie, Timothy, Anna Sue, Kitty Boy, Bob and Patrick over at Cat~Goats~Quotes gave me this wonderful award!

I would like to pass this on to the St. Louis Meezers, Sam, Simon and Sabrina; and The Furry Kids, Tazo, EG and Titus.

Secondly, Coco is thankful that a snake came into our 'partment this morning so she had a fun morning game to play, Kill The Snake.

And Momma is thankful that Coco killed the snake and even more thankful to the nice neighbor Man-Bean in the 'partment above who took it outside in the dust pan, because looking at it made her want to throw up.

And finally, we are all thankful that it is a warm, sunny week here in Ithaca. Here's a tip for you, buddies:

Take care of your wet bath...

And then follow it up with a sun bath!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2008-08-31T09:14:00.001-04:00

Momma is super-stressed out over half a dozen projects and deadlines.

My job is to remind her how to take it Easy Like Sunday Morning.

The hardest part about being a stress-management therapist is not to get stressed out over it. Make sure to get lots of scritches to relax.

(Almost) Wordness Wednesday

2008-08-27T11:05:00.000-04:00

It's still August.

Not much goin' on.

Saturday Meme: Quirks

2008-08-23T11:23:00.001-04:00

My grate friends Kimo & Sabi tagged me for the "Quirks" meme!

Rules:
- Link back to the person who tagged you
- Mention the rules on your blog
- Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours
- Tag more bloggers and link to them

Oh geez, I don't think of myself as a particularly quirky guy, but let's see...
1) I only run up trees when somebody is watching me. I figure, why waste the energy without an audience.
2) I like to stare at Bean food for a while before I eat it. Sometimes I stare at it, and then I lick it a little, and then I stare at it a little while longer. Then I eat it. This causes problems when Coco is around.
3) I think I've said it before, but it bears repeating: DON'T TOUCH THE BACK FEETS!
4) I get the super-crazies before I poo.
5) Our 'partment is half-underground, so the windows are right at ground-level, and I like to stare in the windows when I go outside. Usually I stare at Momma in my 'partment, but sometimes I go around the back and stare at other people. It is good to be a friendly neighbor.
6) I get treats as well whenever Coco comes in from being a Good Girl and going potty outside. Sometimes Beans ask,
"Why does he get a treat when he didn't do anything?"
Answer:
That's a stupid question.

I tag my grate buddies:
Gandalf
Grayson
Castle

I hope you have a grate weekend, buddies, with nothin' to do but chillaxin'!

Wordy Wednesday

2008-08-20T10:33:00.000-04:00

We had a very exciting event this past weekend: a visit from the momma, grandma and grandpa of my grate friend Tiger Lily (and her siblings Jemima, Ruckus, Zeke and Sushi)! Tiger Lily's momma is very nice, but I have to confess: my momma scolded me for not being more friendly. I think I did the best I could, though, under the circumstances.

See, they brought a WOLF* along with them!!! Here I was, all ready to meet our guests, and when I walked out the building front door, here was this WOLF bounding around in my yard!!!

*Momma keeps telling me that Tippy was not a wolf, that he was a very nice German Shepherd, but obviously she is lying, because we all know that German shepherds look like this:

Now, you know I don't have anything against doggies in general--in fact, I live with one. Sometimes I even greet the doggies who walk down the street in front of our building. But even the most open-minded of kitties would be put-out to find a WOLF in his front yard!!!

**whatever, I refuse to believe this was anything but a WOLF.

But I did let Momma and Tiger Lily's momma get a photo-op with me. Tiger Lily, I can report that your momma was very nice and appreciated my grate white tummy and my light green eyes.

Thanks for visiting!

Recycling: Midnight & Mancat Monday

2008-08-18T09:38:00.000-04:00

Hi Everybuddy--

This was my postie last Monday, but last week we were concentrating on the tragic loss of baby Violette, so I thought that I would run this again.

Momma left me at Granny and Poppa's for three days and then came back, but then she promptly turned around and left again, this time with Granny and Poppa and Auntie Jane and all of her family! They were gone for three days, too. Luckily then I had four good days of playing at Granny & Poppa's with everyone home before the terrible ordeal of driving back to Ithaca.

My cousin Sophie and I get along together pretty well, once she gets over sulking and hiding under the bed for the first two days. This is my cousin Sophie on her favorite hang-out spot, her red condo:

Here is a nice headshot of Sophie. She has rockin' Golden Panther eyes.

Now, Sophie, see, is a lot more fun than her little sister Sassy. Sassy has major "tabbi-tude," Granny calls it. She keeps following me around the house, saying things like "YOU SUCK!" and "GO HOME, FATTY!" and "THIS IS NOT YOUR HOUSE!" in her squeaky little voice. I told her once, "ya know, pip-squeek, if you gotta problem with me, just go somewhere else." But she prefers following me everywhere, telling me that she doesn't like me. It gets very tiresome.

But Sophie is fun to play with. She can Coco play chase, and she and I play wrestle around the cat-ring after Granny gives us some good 'nip.

Here we are on the ring:

This is my favorite: we call it "Stand-off" !!! Momma makes a whistle sound, "ooo-ee-ooo-ee-ooooo." I think we should have a tumble-weed going by, too, but Momma draws the line at tumble weeds in the house. Bummer.

Today We Remember Violette

2008-08-16T10:52:00.001-04:00

Finally Friday

2008-08-15T09:05:00.000-04:00

We all left Granny and Poppa's in Michigan and came back to Ithaca on Wednesday, which meant another pill + PTU experience. I might not have mentioned this before, but this also involves Guantanamo Bay-worthy punishment: almost 24 hours without access to a bowl of crunchies!!!

So Wednesday night and yesterday I practiced the following strategies:

Demanding double rations at the bowl--think of all of the gravy I've lost over the past 24 hours!!!

Killing rugs. Who knows what sort of evil rug-takeover they have been plotting in our absence.

Wait until Momma gets settled on the couch with the laptop and then lay a nice, stinky bomb in the pan. That is always really funny.

We have been really sorrowful all week over the tragic loss of baby Violette, Monty Q's Sprout. We wear violet tomorrow in her honor.

Heartbroken Farewell to an Angel

2008-08-11T11:22:00.000-04:00

Almost Wordless Wednesday

2008-07-30T10:22:00.001-04:00

A very bad day for a kitty.

We did the long, 12-hour drive to Granny and Poppa's yesterday. Not my idear of an adventure. I think Momma has a sick sense of humor.

And then she just told me that she is leaving tomorrow to go to Denver for a "conference" and then Illinois for a family thingie, so she's gonna leave me here with my scaredy, hissy cousins Sassy and Sophie for a whole week!!!

Oh man...

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2008-07-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

Man, buddies, all of this entertaining is wearing me out.

Not only did Miss Megan visit 10 days ago, and then Auntie Jane and the mini-Beans came last weekend, after they left on Wednesday Auntie Julie came to visit!*

Auntie Julie is here and Coco and I were excited to see her, even though she's also a "No"-Lady like Momma. But she knows how to give really good kitty-massages and she knows where the treats are. So we are having a good time visiting.

Momma says we're in for another big adventure this week, and then laughs...I don't like the sound of that...

*Auntie Julie isn't really an auntie; we just call her that because she took care of us a lot before she moved to Cali-fornia.

Ginger Wed.: My news

2008-07-23T11:38:00.000-04:00

Whew, buddies! Am I exhausted.

Auntie Jane and her two mini-Beans came here on Saturday, and Momma and Coco and I were really busy keeping them entertained and comfortable.

As you know, we live in a pretty small 'partment, so this is what we did: the mini-Beans went to sleep on Momma's bed at night, and Momma and Auntie Jane slept on the bed that comes out of the sofa. And then at night, Momma cooked food outside on the grill. But they were gone during the day seeing things like this:

and swimming at places like this:

Coco and I are exhausted from entertaining the mini-Beans, too. As you know, I am a great host-cat, and I let the mini-Beans scrunch me and run up to me from across the yard, because it keeps them happy. This is us hangin' out on Momma's bed:

So that's why I haven't been visiting you all for the past few days, buddies. As you can see, I've been really busy.

Finally, I'd like to thank my great buddies, Sabrina, Sam and Simon the St. Louis Meezers for this wonderful award! You are great buddies--thanks!

"The 'Arte y Pico' award was created and to be given to bloggers who inspire others with their creative energy and their talents, whether it be writing, artwork in all media's. When you receive this award it is considered a 'special honor'. Once you have received this award, you are to pass it on to at least 5 others."

Ginger Tips on Wed.

2008-07-16T10:41:00.000-04:00

On a warm, sunny, summer day, it is great to get out in the sunshine and eat some green grass!

But when it starts to get too hot, be sure to find a nice shady spot. Under a bush is always good.

When it's hot in the shade, better come inside and feel the sunshine with a fan blowing on you!

Saturday: Farewell, Friend, and a Meme

2008-07-12T11:26:00.000-04:00

First of all, I would like to say a heartfelt and very sad farewell to my beautiful buddy Forest, who died in a terrible accident. With both Forest and MuShue the Hero going to the Bridge, we have had a sad week.But that means that we need some cheering up, too, so I am finally getting around to doing the Quirk Meme that my buddies the Meowers from Missouri tagged me for 3 week ago!!! (see how behind I have gotten with all of this broken-computer-silliness?) Okay, here is the meme:

1. Link to the one who tagged you.
2. List the rules on your blog.
3. Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
4. Tag some blogger friends with links.
5. Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.

6. What's a quirk?

My Quirks:

1) I get car-sick. (Momma said this isn't a quirk, it's just disgusting, but I think that it is a charming quirk.)

2) I like doggies. I know, I know, a lot of you are saying: "ARE YOU CRAZY??? Doggies are JUST WRONG!" But I think it's important to give everybuddy at least the chance to be a buddy, and anyways--a lot of the time you can scare a doggie just by walking up to it. And scaring doggies is HILARIOUS!!!

3) I don't like getting up in the morning. Bed is comfy. Momma should sleep in late every day and then spend an hour giving me a massage.

4) I like to climb trees to show off. But I don't bother climbing trees if no one's watching. What's the point?

5) I won't let Momma handle my back feets at all. I let her give me a peddy-cure on my front paws, and teeths-brushing is okay. She can pick me up and carry me back inside, or pull me out from under the bed--that's okay. Anything but the back feets.

6) I like visiting other people's homes and apartments. It's especially fun walking into neighbors' apartments. I like to see how they decorate and what sort of a view they have from their window. And if they have anything yummy hanging around.

Has any-buddy not done this meme yet? If not, try it out! As Momma says, "Boyfriend-quirks can be annoying. But kitty-quirks are always charming."

Tuxie Tuesday on Wednesday

2008-07-09T11:25:00.000-04:00

Hi Every-buddy:

Well, our original problem (an unstable network connection) is still not solved after a new system board, a new harddrive, and a new Operating system and drivers, but I am going to start posting again anyways, because I am tired of Momma's complaining.

And we have lots of important news, like today's Tuxie Memoriam.

Last week, Granny and Poppa had to say goodbye to my cousin Oreo, and they helped her on her way to the Bridge. I introduced you all to Oreo last summer. My momma picked out Oreo at the shelter when Momma was a Girl-Bean, and Oreo was only 8 weeks old. She reached her long kitten arms out of her shelter cage and told my momma,

"Pick ME!!!"

so Momma did. Oreo was a very smart and determined kitty, and she lived a long, full life. This June she celebrated her 20th birthday. Momma says that is, like, a squillion people years. So even though we are all sad that it was time for Oreo to go to the Bridge, we are very proud and impressed with her for being such a Tough Cookie for 20 years.

This is Oreo playing as a young kitty, and Oreo last year at 19.

I'm Still Here, Buddies

2008-07-05T12:21:00.000-04:00

Hi Every-buddy--

Just wanted to let you all know that we are all fine here, but our computer has now been completely un-usable for over a week now. Momma told the technical men on the phone three weeks ago that she had two hardware problems, and she spent 10 days wrestling with them until they agreed that there was one hardware problem, and then when she tried to re-install the computer's operating system, she couldn't, because the other hardware problem is that the D-drive is not working correctly. When she pointed out that she had told them that the D-drive was the other hardware problem Two Weeks Ago, the technical men said,

"oh, I guess so."

Momma has been saying a lot more bad words about technical men who don't listen to women and about crappy computers and about other stuff. She has been good about using me as a model, though. I tell her:

1) nap

2) eat some kibbles: you'll feel better (although she has been substituting M&M's and Girl Scout cookies for kibbles)

3) take another nap

4) look out the window for a while

5) eat a few more kibbles

Sometimes, things are just hard. And you have to find ways to get through it. Right?

So I asked her to please put this update up when she goes to the office to use the computer to work on her dissertation, because my buddies have been worried about me. She is very stressed out about getting her own work done, but she agreed to do this for me. Just letting you know that we are okay, and I look forward to catching up with all of you this coming week when we have a computer again!

Friday Round-up

2008-06-20T15:57:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, buddies, I love summer!

And it's a good thing that Coco and I are in good moods, because Momma has been saying a lot of bad words this week. Our computer's network connection is still faulty, even after Momma bought a new network cable and checked out the modem, so she thinks it's a hardware problem. The computer men on the telly-phone think it's a software problem. So she has spent hours on the phone trying to solve it, and now is waiting for CD's and memory cards. (did you know that you can get memory on a card? I think Momma should get an extra one for herself, because she's always forgetting to give me treats).

So we have a hard time staying connected to the Inter-nets, and it is hard for me to leave comments. But I am visiting you as best as I can, buddies!

This is my Friday report: My New Latrine.

A nice lady named Miss Christina offered me a new latrine to try out, called a "Breeze." Momma put it together for me two weeks ago, and I can now report to you that I have gotten used to my new latrine, even though it has funny pellet-type things in it instead of nice litters that go flying all over. This is what it looks like:

See, it fits very nicely under the sink. Here are the pro's for my new latrine:
1) it is a nice green color
2) it doesn't get dirty, because all of the pees drain out
3) Momma can flush the poo's down the Bean-latrine
4) that means that Momma doesn't have to put a plastic bag full of dirty litter in the dumpster every day
5) there are no more litters and dusts all over the kitchen floor

Here are the con's for my new latrine:
1) there aren't a lot of pellet-litters, so I can't dig to China, which I like to do
2) that means that I don't have nice litters to walk over on the floor anymore
3) Momma says the monthly cost for the pellets and the pee pads is a little more than for my clumpy litters, but she says it's nice not to have to lug 38-pound tubs around anymore, so I guess that's a con and a pro

Since the pro's outweigh the con's, we have decided to keep the new Breeze latrine. I hope this helps you all, buddies!

Meezer Monday Tribute

2008-06-16T09:46:00.000-04:00

In honor of Storm, I thought that today I would share some more stories about Momma's Meezer Who Came Before, Lola. I told you buddies about Lola and her ninja noises in an older postie, but there are lots more Lola Meezer stories to share. She was a kitty with a big purrsonality.

Momma and Granny and Auntie Jane picked out Lola at the shelter in 1988. They got my cousin Oreo at the same time. Lola was about two years old and her Beans had left her at the shelter because they had "not enough time." I don't know what on earth Beans could be doing that is more important than taking care of Lola Meezer, but it's a good thing they took her there, because our family loves meezers and took Lola right home.

Lola's name at the shelter was Princess, but our family is not very royal (Momma said there's a fancy word that describes our family: "plebian") so they thought she should have another, regular name. Granny came up with Lola, because she walked like a woman and talked like a man. Actually, though, Lola sounded more like a goat. Instead of saying "meow," it came out more like "Maaahhhhhh!" This scared me at first, but you got used to it after a while. The ninja noises, I gotta say, you never really get used to.

Lola didn't cover her business after she used the latrine. Once I got not quite so scared of her, I asked her about it once, and she just sniffed at me and said, "I have people for that."

Lola liked to get scritches at the base of her tail, but when she did, she would stick her tongue in and out like she was licking a lollipop.

Lola got all sweaty when she got some 'nip.

Lola lived to be 17 years old before she had to go to the Bridge because her kidneys were giving out. The Beans still talk about Lola a lot because she was such a great Meezer and they loved her a lot. I hope you liked these Lola Meezer stories! Here is a picture of Lola.

For Storm

2008-06-13T09:31:00.001-04:00

Farewell, my beautiful buddy Storm. You are a true kitty hero, and we will miss you terribly. Our tears are making the rainbow to take you to the Bridge.

Beautiful graphic by Miss Ann of zoolatry.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-06-11T08:15:00.000-04:00

Tattle Tuesday: Summer Flowers

2008-06-10T10:49:00.000-04:00

Sorry I haven't been visiting too much over the weekend, buddies. I was taking care of Momma, as you know, and then our Internet kept going away. Yesterday Momma said some bad words and went and bought a new network cable. I don't know whether it was the bad words or the network cable, but we think that that did the trick. Momma's gonna keep an eye on our modem, though.

Well, since Momma had such a bad week last week, I thought I would do a positive Tattle on Tuesday for her. See...my momma has learned how to be a good gardener over the past few years! She works at home most of the summer, reading and writing her dissertation and articles, and so she likes to have it pretty outside, and Coco and I like to walk around the flowers, too. Here are Momma's plants this summer:

She keeps petunias outside the building door and in a box outside our kitchen window.

There are pinks and marigolds outside our bedroom window, and there are seeds that are growing now!

Momma dug up this flower bed (did you know that flowers stay in beds all day?) and put some iris from Granny's house in there. Granny put some marigolds in here, too, when she and Poppa visited two weeks ago. The red flower is a poppy. Momma said it "volunteered," which I think was very nice of it. Volunteering is a good thing to do.

This is the bed outside our living room. This plant is called a "Coral bouquet heuchera." It was there when we moved here, but Momma takes good care of it so it blooms for a long time. And Mr. Hummingbird loves it, so we get visited by him every day! The plant next to it is a peony, which was here when we moved in, too. It is tired in its bed and is almost done with its flowers.

This year Momma decided to try having some tomater plants, because she loves tomaters. She told me and Coco that we will have to help her keep the rabbits from eating her tomaters.

And this is the best plant of all: Momma took my catnip plant out of its little pot in our 'partment and put it in a bigger pot outside so it can get big this summer!!! I am so excited.

I hope you all are having a nice summer so far, buddies. Granny and Poppa and Auntie Jane in Michigan have lots of water around their houses, and Auntie Jane has water standing in her basement, which sounds very gross to me. I hope none of you have water inside your homes!

Finally Friday

2008-06-06T09:26:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, buddies, I have a confession to make: I did not do a very good job at taking care of my momma after her surgery. But, in my defense, it is summer now, and of course we all want to go outside and play and hunt, right?

In the middle of the night two nights ago Momma got up and she was leaking her bloods and then a bunch of people came and took her away. She came back later that morning but she was very pale--not as white as my whites, of course, because she's a pinkish sort of Bean, but she was whiter than she usually is, and she said that she doesn't look nearly as nice when she is all white as I do--and she said that she had to take it easy for the next few days.

Well, Coco and I felt pretty bad because we had been running around the yard and hunting and playing this week, and we think that maybe we encouraged Momma to do too much. So now it is Finally Friday and I have to show Momma what to do all weekend. I hope she follows my instructions:

Toes on Tuesday: a hunter's tale

2008-06-03T10:43:00.001-04:00

[Hi buddies: Momma said I had to put a warning notice at the beginning of this postie, because some of you have bun friends, and this story does not have a happy ending for rabbits. But there were no pet buns involved.]

Well, my good buddy Missy Blue Eyes asked Coco about her job as a mole-digger-upper, and some of you might have noticed that one of my jobs is "mouse-finder" and one of Coco's jobs is "mouse-killer." See, I like to find mousies and voles and small rabbits in the yard, and they are really fun to play with, but then they tend to run away after a while. Coco, on the other hand, likes to make things go dead. She is very, very efficient. She especially likes to dig up moles out of the ground and shake them until they go dead. But sometimes we go hunting together, and I will find a mousie or a vole, and then Coco runs after it and shakes it until it goes dead. We call this "teamwork."

Now, Momma laughed and said that doggies are supposed to flush out prey for hunters and kitties are supposed to be Mighty Killers, and that we have it backwards. But then I pointed out that she is always reading things about how Gender Roles and Sexualities are socially constructed (that means that Beans make up the rules themselves), and so doesn't she think that maybe Traditional Animal Roles are the same?

And she said that I am very, very smart.

So yesterday I was playing jungle kitty in the tall grass in the backyard, and I found a small rabbit to chase, and I chased it into the backyard, and then Coco joined in and got it and made it go dead, and Momma was very proud of us. We are a Top Team.

Now, as you might expect, hunting is a very dirty job, so you have to be ready to get your feets extra muddy. Momma said hunters should clean up before they come back inside, so I sat under the hydrangea bush and cleaned up my muddy paws, and then we came inside and got Temptations! So here are Hunter's Toes on Tuesday:

Sunday Meme: Coco's turn

2008-06-01T11:50:00.000-04:00

Hi, Kittiiiieeeees!!!!!

I am so excited that JJ's friend Sunny tagged me, too, for the ABOUT ME MEME!!! OKAY!:

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?
Well, I have been beautifying the world for 9 years now, so I guess ten years ago I was a gleam in some beautiful Wiener Dog couple's eyes.

2. What are the 5 things on my to do list for today:

Well, I already went outside and investigated all of the trees; morning nap; barking; afternoon walk; evening nap

3. Snacks I enjoy:
peanut butter and turkey are the best.foods.ever.; but I also love chicken, and steak, and sausages, and bread, and pancakes, and potatoes; and pasta, and grass sometimes, too, because it's good to eat veggies, too.

But all I get to eat is my special Iams Low-Residue food, because I have a sensitive tummy. Mommie says that I eat much more expensive food than she does, but I think she's lying just to make me feel better. Sigh.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:

I like Jimmy Joe's idear: I would buy a big house that gets all of its energy from the sun and the wind, and all lots of kitties and doggies could live there with enough personal space, and there would be a big yard for us to play outside with no streets around. And I would get rotisserie chickens delivered every day.

5. Three of my bad habits:

Well, Mommie says barking is a bad habit, but I have such a beautiful bark, I have no idear why she would say that. Sometimes I growl at Jimmy Joe when Beans are eating yummy foods, because I want to make sure that he doesn't get any when I don't, but that's not really a bad habit; that's just watching my back. And I scream if Mommie tries to cut my toenails, but that is not a bad habit, that is just Common Sense! So I guess I don't have any bad habits. Hurray!!!

6. Five places I have lived:
A scary shelter somewhere in Chicago; some strange family's house in Chicago, but I don't remember that very well; the house in Chicago where Mommie lived when she found me; Granny and Poppa's old house in Virginia; Granny and Poppa's new house in Michigan; in our 'partment here in Ithaca.

7. Five jobs I have had:

mouse-killer; mole-digger-upper; squirrel chaser; Chair of the Welcoming Committee; Well-Being Supervisor
Now that it's in writing, I am even more pleased with myself!!! What an accomplished Wiener Dog I am!!! Thanks for reading about me!!!

Bye, Kittiiieeees!!!!

A Meme for Saturday

2008-05-31T10:55:00.000-04:00

First, off, congrat's to Karl and Ruis on their big day yesterday! What a good-lookin' couple, and boy do they know how to throw an intergalactic bash. I'm gonna pig out on those intergalactic shrimp, mmm mmm mmm!

Well, Momma is working now, so I told her, if you are working, then you can help me catch up with my bloggie, and she said that's fair enough. My grate buddy Sunny tagged me and early last week for the About Me meme, so here it is!

ABOUT ME MEME: The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers the questions about themselves. At the end of the post, the player than tags 4 or 5 people and post their names, then goes to their blogs and leaves a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog. Let the person who tagged you know when you have posted your answer.

1. What was I doing 10 years ago?

The kitty-fairy hadn't dropped me off yet, so I guess I was a little twinkling kitten star.

2. What are the 5 things on my to do list for today:
Eat crunchies; munch some grass; take a morning nap; meditate; play with my mousies; help Momma with her studying

3. Snacks I enjoy:

fish; chicken; turkey; grass; flowers; corn-bread; crackers; butter; cream; Wheaties (did you know that it's the breakfast of champions?)

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire:
I would buy a big house that gets all of its energy from the sun and the wind, and all lots of kitties and doggies could live there with enough personal space, and there would be a big yard for us to play outside with no streets around. And I would get rotisserie chickens delivered every day.

5. Three of my bad habits:
Ummm, I guess knocking the key rack off of the wall is a bad habit (but it's really fun). Whapping Momma's pens and pencils off of tables and under the furniture (but she always has more, so I don't see what the big deal is). Oh, and she says that I am the worst shedder she's ever met, but I don't see why that is a bad habit: cat furs, as we know, make everything lovelier.

6. Five places I have lived:

Outside Auntie Jane's house in Michigan; inside Auntie Jane's house after Granny brought me inside; in Granny and Poppa's old house in Virginia; in Granny and Poppa's new house in Michigan; in our 'partment here in Ithaca.

7. Five jobs I have had:
Mouse-finder; therapist; study-buddy; yoga-buddy; foot-warmer.

I think that's a pretty good C.V., don't you? I'm going to meditate for a while now, and digest those intergalactic shrimp. I told Coco she could do the meme tomorrow--just warnin' ya, buddies.

Wordy Wednesday

2008-05-28T11:55:00.001-04:00

Oh boy, so much stuff going on in the Cat Blogosphere this past week! I've been reading some of your blogs, buddies, but I haven't had much time to comment because I've been taking care of Momma, who is taking something called "codeine" that makes her nap like a normal cat, and entertaining Granny and Poppa, who were here to help Momma. They need lots of entertaining, and as you can imagine, it is hard for one cat to give enough snuggles to three Beans. Momma says thank you to all of my kitty buddies for sending her so many get-well wishes. She is feeling okay by today, but she can only eat soft Bean foods like oatmeal and applesauce and mashed potatoes. I said I could help her finish the mashed potatoes if she can't eat them all up, because I'm good at helping out.

We are still missing Bonnie, and now I'm sending lots of purrs and furs to pretty Gree so that her nerves feel better soon. I sure do hope all she needs is a sticky of the cortisone so she doesn't have to go to the v-e-t anymore. And then Tiger Lily's momma broke her foot! Oh no! So I'm sending her lots of purrs and furs to get her foot better soon.

In happy news, though, Mr. Tigger and all of the super-cool Mancats featured me on Mancat Monday! What a great surprise!

I'll be back with some new pictures and a meme soon, buddies.

Hugs Today

2008-05-23T10:29:00.000-04:00

Well, my good buddy Sunny tagged me and Coco for a meme last week, but we are so sad about Bonnie leaving us that we are going to wait until next week to think about that.

Sammy and Miles Meezer started a Hug-a-Thon in honor of Bonnie and the wonderful energy she brought to the Cat Blogosphere, which I think is a great tribute. Momma says it is ironic and that Bonnie is probably laughing at the Bridge, happy that we aren't all pulling her into the group hug.

Here's a hug for Bonnie, and for Miss ML, who is having a birthday today, and for my momma, who is going to have a surgery today for something called "tonsils." I probably won't be posting or visiting so much over the next few days, because she said she's going to have to stay in bed a lot, so I'll be taking care of her.

In Memoriam: to a Master Attack Tabby

2008-05-22T16:36:00.000-04:00

Bonnie, I am so very, very sad that you had to go the Bridge. I will miss you very much. You were an inspiration to us all.

Attack Tabbies: a tribute

2008-05-20T10:44:00.000-04:00

I was playing jungle kitty in the tall grass yesterday, when I met a new face in the neighborhood: a very elegant medium-furred brown tabby with a long nose and very nice green eyes. She was hangin' out under a honeysuckle, and I thought I'd go up to say "hi!", but I think maybe I bushed out my tail too much, and she said,

"OK, buster, that's close enough,"

when I was about three feet away. She was polite enough about it, I guess. Then Momma came over and told me that it looks like Tabby didn't want to share the honeysuckle, so we went back inside. Momma went back outside to ask Tabby if she needed anything, and she was very friendly and said,

"Just some face scritches, please!"

She had a hurty on her right hip, but Momma said it looked treated and her furs were shaved off around it, so she has someone taking care of her. So she must be someone's tough Attack Tabby.

So in honor of my new outdoor buddy Tabby, I thought I'd share a picture of one of the Ones Who Came Before, Scrappy the Cat.

This is Momma a squillion years ago

(fourteen, JJ)

when she was in college and found Scrappy roaming the streets of south-central L.A. He was one of the toughest dudes I've ever met, the kind that the lady-Beans like, even though he's difficult: good-lookin', smart, and really moody. He (and the other One Who Came Before, Scooter, who had a seizure and went to the Bridge a few months before I found Momma) lived with my Momma for seven years, through college and her stupid jobbity-jobs afterwards, until she got Coco in Chicago. Scrappy decided he didn't want to live with a dog, so he started peeing inside, which Momma said was Not Cool. So Scrappy lived with Granny and Poppa then for the next 6 years, and Granny spoiled him rotten. Seriously, it was disgusting, buddies. For some reason, Momma and Granny let Scraps get away with all sorts of stuff, which neither me nor Poppa nor Auntie Jane really understood. Quite frankly, buddies, we all thought he was kind of a jerk.

Well, Gran and Momma had to help Scrappy go to the Bridge this past January. He was fifteen, and he had had the diabetes for a long time, and all of his insides finally stopped working. Momma and Gran were really, really sad, and Gran still sees his ghost sometimes, around the corner.

So here's a Tuesday salute to all you Attack Tabbies out there: hurray for stripes!

TGIF

2008-05-16T09:53:00.000-04:00

Well, I am very glad that it is Friday and that the week is coming to an end. Momma was back this week but she was doing all sorts of disruptive stuff, like cleaning, which I hate.

It has been cool and rainy, so the grass outside is super delicious. This is me on the doorstep, considering whether I should come inside for my breakfast or eat a few more grasses.

Momma says it's rude to linger in the doorway, but I say it's not nearly as rude as pulling out the evil carpet-eating machine when a kitty is trying to take a nap.

And look at what Maggy and Zoey and Miss Ann over at Zoolatry sent me! A fancy portrait!

Thanks, buddies!

Tuesday Meme Day

2008-05-13T12:47:00.000-04:00

Hi Every-buddy!

Well, Momma came back Sunday night, and then she wondered where I was because I had teleported over to Miles Meezer's for his party and didn't want to come back! She said she missed me a whole bunch, because she'd only seen me about four times in the past 10 days, and she really needed lots of furs on her clothes to feel at home again, so I finally forgave her for leaving and made her black capri pants nice and fuzzy.

The lovely Maggy over at Zoolatry tagged me for the name meme, so here goes!
Lots of kitties wanted to know what Tara's three names were after her Mom went to see "CATS". It got Tara & Kavan to thinking of a fun meme. If you aren't familiar with "The Naming of Cats," from Old Possum's Book of Practical Cats, by T.S.Eliot, we all have three names! So... in this meme, you must link to the originator (Tara), list the rules, and give your "three names":

(1) The name that you use daily (Peter, Tara, Parker, Maggy).

(2) A name that is particular --a name that is peculiar -- and a most dignified name (like Munkustrap, Quaxo or Coricopat).

(3) And tell us what you were doing when thinking of your names, names only you will know, and never confess (when engaged in rapt contemplation), that deep and inscrutable singular name. Then tag three other kitties (and be sure to let them know they've been tagged).

1) Jimmy Joe
2) J. Hardy McFurhauer
3) Sometimes I hunker down on the lawn, munch on some grass and count the ants, and I think of my secret name.

I'm not sure who has done this name meme yet, so if you haven't, consider yourself tagged!

This Saturday Sucks

2008-05-10T11:10:00.000-04:00

Hey buddies--
So, Momma and Coco came over to Miss Diana's yesterday, and put me in the prison box and took me back home, and then...

LEFT AGAIN!

This has got to be the worst week ever. Luckily Momma has very nice friends, like our neighbors Miss Linzee and Miss Anne who make sure I get my crunchies, and Miss Diana and Mr. Andrei, who let me stay with them and decorate their 'partment with my nice furs this week, and Miss Megan who took those awesome pictures of me on last week's Wednesday's Wordless post.

But Momma is getting no special treatment tomorrow. No way.

I'm teleporting over to spend the day at Miles Meezer's surprise birthday party...and maybe I just won't come back!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-05-07T10:10:00.000-04:00

Disgruntlement

2008-05-06T09:52:00.000-04:00

Hi every-buddy--

Well, this is what happened to me since my last posting:

Momma abandoned me!

She left Saturday morning, came back briefly on Sunday, and then came yesterday morning, packed up all of my stuff, shoved me in the prison box and hauled me off to Miss Diana and Mr. Andrei's house!

Luckily our nice neighbor Miss Linzee came over to give me my crunchies over the weekend, so I didn't starve, and I like Miss Diana and Mr. Andrei all right. But I can't believe that Momma has just left me. And she took Coco. She said yesterday that she is house-sitting for a professor for the week so she can earn some extra green papers to pay bills this summer, and that I get to go on holiday at Miss Diana's house. I gotta tell ya, though, buddies, I am not very happy about the situation. I have the sneaking suspicion that this is certifiable cat neglect. I will try to sneak back onto Miss Diana's computer later this week to give you an update.

Fun Friday

2008-05-02T11:53:00.001-04:00

Yup, buddies, that's me. None other than Mr. Ocean himself, George Clooney. According to the Celebrity Quiz, at least.
Coco is Gwen Stefani. Suits her, actually.

I asked Momma if she wanted to take the quiz, and she laughed and said she'd probably be Renee Zellweger.

As Bridget Jones.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-04-30T09:31:00.001-04:00

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2008-04-27T11:21:00.000-04:00

Okay, every-buddy, here's what I've been up to over the past few days:

1) I met my neighbor Cashew. He lives with Miss Anne, who takes care of me sometimes when Momma goes away. Cashew seemed cool at first, but then he was kind of a jerk when I wanted to check out his bedroom. So I went back to my own 'partment. Maybe I was a little too nosy? Sorry, Cashew.

2) Momma broke my handsome teal-colored collar! She'd better buy me a new one soon. I've been goin' Commando for the past few days.

3) Momma finally said it's safe for me to go out and eat the grass! But then it rained yesterday. But today:

My special window is open so I can hang out and smell the outdoors! I see birdies and smell adventure...

Sometimes I hang out on the cinder-blocks outside the window for a while, trying to decide what to do...

Umm, got the feets kinda muddy.

Better clean 'em up! Hmm, I got some dirt on my nose, too. Heh.

Wordy Wednesday

2008-04-23T10:20:00.000-04:00

My great friend Chairman Mao tagged me for the six-word memoir meme! Here are the rules:

1) Write your own six word memoir.

2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.

3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.

4) Tag at least five more blogs with links.

5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

6) Have fun!!

OK, here's my six-word memoir:

Make friends and get belly rubs!

I'm going to tag Yao-Lin and Baby Mao, and Sammy and Miles Meezer and Bill.

OK, then, the Meezers tagged the Whole Cat Blogosphere to do the Five Sensations Meme! So I'm gonna do that now.

With my beautiful eyes, I can see: beautiful, luscious grass that I can't eat (see last Thursday's post.) See:

With my soft nose I can smell: my sister Coco the Wiener Dog. She needs a bath.

With my velvet paws I can touch: litters that I scattered over the floor, heh heh.

With my sharp ears I can hear: birdies outside singing, "we are so yuummm-mmy!!!"

With my sandpaper tongue I can taste: rotisserie chicken...Momma gave us some scraps last night...mmmm....

Sunday News: Coco Reads!

2008-04-20T14:02:00.000-04:00

Hi every-buddy! First off, I want to share with you a very important new website called "Partners in Animal Health." The super-smart Beans who work at Cornell (that's where my momma is getting her Ph.D) at the College of Veterinary Medicine made this web-site with lots of important information about us kitties (and doggies and other animals), including videos for our Beans. There are special video features on things like toof-brushing, caring for those of us with diabetes, and important information about when kitties (and doggies) get cancer. Tell your Bean to put a bookmark on this page. It is very useful.

OK, now, I can't put it off any longer. Tiger Lily tagged Coco for the Book Meme, and she's (Coco, not Tiger Lily) been bugging me all week. So I told her she could do that today.

Hi, Kittieeeeeees!!!!! Coco here!!!!

I am so excited to share a book with you! Momma has three books on the coffee table next to the laptop computer, so I'm going to pick a book called The Empty Space because I like empty space, especially lots of empty space on the bed so I can pile up all of the pillows in the middle and bunch up the quilt and curl up in the middle!!!!

OK, here's the meme rule:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123.
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.

Here are the three sentences from The Empty Space:
"Yet in Madame Butterfly these words are sung and indirectly Puccini's one phrase has brought the whole form of opera into ridicule. 'Dinner, ho!' in Lear's scene with his knights is similar to 'Have a whisky.' Lears often declaim this phrase, brining the play into artificialities, yet when Lear says the words, he is not acting in a poetic tragedy, he is simply a man calling for his dinner."

[pause]

That was a very stupid three sentences! There's nothing about empty spaces on the bed or on the couch or in the yard in this book!!! Hang on--this is one of Mommie's stupid theatre theory books!!! Oh, man, I thought it was going to be a book about home decorating for wiener dogs.

OK, Jimmy Joe says I have to get off of his blog now. Bye, kittieeeeees!!!!!!!

Friday Request

2008-04-18T09:59:00.000-04:00

Oh man, every-buddy.

So it's finally a byoo-tiful spring here in Ithaca. Momma's airing out the cushion for the swing bench in the back-yard:

And the little yellow flowers have popped up in front of our neighbor's window:

It is sunny and warm. And I should be sitting in the sun, munching on nice green grass, right?

WRONG!

Because the stupid landlord sent men yesterday to put chemicals on the yard. Now Momma won't let me outside for a week, because she says if I eat the grass I might get sick. This is incredibly frustrating. I sit in the yard, and the grasses gently blow in the breeze, and the sun is shining, and I can smell adventure.

So I have a favor to ask of you (especially you stinky guys, little Billy and Baby Mao, aka BM):

Please send poots to my landlord. "I poot in your general direction!"

Great News on Tuesday!

2008-04-15T10:30:00.000-04:00

We are so happy and amazed that Lilly Lu, Mu Shue, and Iris are all safe after the terrible fire. Purrs can bring miracles.

Karl and co. over at the super cool Cat Realm have created a Valued Friend award, which I am humbled to accept. It is great to have so many kitty friends on the Blogosphere!

And there are so many places to celebrate today: Princess, Dr. Tweety, and the Cat Realm! Oh man, I'm gonna have a headache tomorrow.

Tiger Lily very kindly tagged Coco for the book meme, so I told her that she can write that later this week. Just warning ya, buddies.

Emergency Purrs for Buddies

2008-04-12T15:28:00.000-04:00

We are all purring with all of our might so that Lilly Lu, Mu Shue and Iris will make it through this okay.

Frustrations

2008-04-10T10:14:00.000-04:00

Hi Every-buddy.

Sorry I haven't been around in the past week. Momma has these two ginormous projects, and she hasn't been helping me blog. She is running a performance workshop this week, with rehearsals everyday, and there is a public performance tomorrow. And Monday she was a guest lecturer at another college.

I have no idear why someone would invite Momma to come lecture to them. I usually walk out of the room when she starts to lecture. But Beans is weird, as we all know.

I'll be back this weekend to catch up with everybuddy!

In the meantime, Coco wanted to share her favorite picture, which is a painting by an Italian artist named Giacomo Balla. We had a good laugh, because that's what Momma looks like this week, running around, ha ha ha ha!

Wordy Wednesday: Book Meme

2008-04-02T10:31:00.000-04:00

Both my great buddies Mickey and Yao-Lin tagged me for the book meme, so I'm gonna make this a Wordy Wednesday.

Here are the rules:
1. Pick up the nearest book.
2. Open to page 123
3. Find the fifth sentence.
4. Post the next three sentences.
5. Tag five people and post a comment to Empress once you post it to your blog so she can come see!

This is kinda hard, because Momma always has lots of books lying around everywhere. We live in a small 'partment, and Momma still found some way to fit 10 book shelves in here. She says it's her job. I think she's a little bit crazy, too, though, quite frankly.

So there are three books on the coffee table next to our laptop right now: Hollywood and War: a Reader; The Souls of Black Folk by W.E.B. Dubois; and Anatomy of Criticism by some Bean named Northrop Frye.

Well, I'm going to choose the Hollywood book, because that is the one that sounds like the most fun.

"Many stereotypes have been fostered by the motion picture. The visual immediacy of film has proved ideal for the simplistic depiction of national characteristics. The visual image of the German solider, for example, is common coin today on movie screens and television sets, but it is often forgotten that Americans were first introduced to aspects of this image by the films of World War I."

Well, I guess that wasn't much fun, either. Sorry, buddies.

I'm going to tag Dr. Tweety & co. and the Furry Kids! I think that's more than five, actually, but I'm not too good at math.

Monday Wish

2008-03-31T11:23:00.000-04:00

Moe and Mindy of Team Tabby tagged me for Linda's Make A Wish Meme! This is my wishing picture:

These are the rules:

1. Think about what it is that you want more than anything, what your heart's desire and fondest wish is, and what it is that you would wish for if you were to see the above wishing star flame across the night sky.
2. Right click and SAVE the blank graphic below.
3. Use a graphics program of your choice and place your wish on this picture:
4. Post the Make A Wish Meme and your wishing star on your blog along with these rules.
5. Tag as many people as you like so that there can be wishing stars all across the Blogosphere and ask them to please link back to Linda so that we can see what wishes others have made and share those wishes with others.

Copy this graphic:

I'm going to tag China Cat and Willow to make a wish!

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-26T10:37:00.000-04:00

Tuesday Tattle Tail

2008-03-25T10:24:00.000-04:00

Now, y'all know I love my momma, but I have to share with you a couple of examples of how she's kinda slow about some things.

See all of the toys and papers to shred she puts up on the refrigerator?

Leaping up and whapping the toys off is a super fun game, and then the papers come floating down and you can jump on them. It's really fun. But she gets all upset and keeps telling me to "Stop it, JJ!"

Why on Earth would she put toys up and then not want them to be played with?

For a while I thought, "well, maybe she just wants me to play a game that she can join in on, because she's too overgrown to leap up and whap." So I toss toys under the refrigerator so she can play at getting them back out. But she just says, "oh, for crying out loud," or "honestly, Jimmy Joe" whenever I try to play with her by knocking mousies or nippy toys under the fridge.

So that's my tattle tail for today. Apparently Momma isn't too bright when it comes to games.

Even More Thanks!

2008-03-21T14:48:00.000-04:00

Oh wow! What a great day!

In the mail today I got a special package from Queen Snickers, who gave me a special "Best Ginger" award for my Spring Has Sprung entry! It is a great package: there are super yummy catnip treats, a pretty pin for Momma, and a new toy:

I love it. It's all nippy and yummy and now it's soggy. Mmm, mmm, mmm.

Thanks, Queen Snickers!

TGIF!

2008-03-21T10:44:00.000-04:00

I am very thankful this Friday, because I got a Fortress Protector award from His Royal Highness himself, Yao-Lin!

This award was originally created by Tesla who said "I award this to every cat that defends its fortress and castle against evil!"

Yao-Lin graciously awarded me with this because he said I reside in a fortress with a dog and presumably have to defend my territory against canine visitors! Yes, indeedy, I try to make sure that Coco behaves as cat-like as possible. I have trained her so well that she doesn't even really like other dogs so much, preferring the company of cats. The last step of the indoctrination is to get her to say, "Cats rule! Dogs drool!" I'm not quite there yet--she agrees with me that dogs drool, but she keeps saying "Wiener dogs rule!" Apparently the drooling thing doesn't apply to them.

I would like to pass this award on to my great buddy Adan, who makes sure that Michico practices her beautiful photography skills, and who is keeping an eye on his new little brother Lego, teaching him who's boss. Great work, Adan!

I am also super thankful because Momo gave me some special glass for St. Patrick's Day at the beginning of the week!

The grass outside was all yellow and soggy this week, and this morning it is white with snow all over it again. Boy, am I glad I can put on my special glasses so everything looks green.

Happy Easter, every-buddy! mmm...egg salad...

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-19T10:03:00.000-04:00

In Honor of St. Patrick's Day

2008-03-17T10:30:00.000-04:00

Happy St. Patrick's Day, every-buddy! I asked Momma if I should have a special name for today, and she laughed and said our names are plenty Irish already. But she said that we can call Coco "Coco Colleen" today.

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I shall only play with my green knitty-mouse today.

Coco is wearing a special St. Patrick's Day boa. She is a chic wiener dog.

Saturday Day Off

2008-03-15T12:18:00.000-04:00

Oh boy, we sure looked forward to Saturday! We all slept in really late this morning, and had pancakes and bacon for brunch, and now Coco and I are just gonna hang out and chill today:

Coco's the lump under the blankets up by the pillows. She likes to burrow like a groundhog. It's funny to call her Groundhog! Groundhog! Hahahaha! Then she growls at me, because the Evil Groundhog at the edge of the yard is her archenemy.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-12T10:07:00.001-04:00

pssst: a few words: sorry I haven't been leaving too many comments this week. Momma says she is "losing-her-mind-busy" this week so she's hogging the computer. I've had time to read some of your bloggies, but she doesn't give me enough time to comment. I'll be back this weekend, though!

Cat-on-the-Go

2008-03-08T09:42:00.000-05:00

Thanks for your concern about my toesies in the snow, every-buddy. I have big, tough mancat paws as you know, so I can walk into the snow and be okay. I think about 5 minutes is enough to prove how tough I am.

We got an ice storm this week, too:

This week we had: snow; sleet; freezing rain; rain; warm sun to make everything slushy and muddy. This results in muddy paws. Some of you might remember that sometimes I get muddy paws:

It is hard work to maintain the feets:

But that's what ya gotta do to keep your paddy paws soft and white and pink.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-03-05T10:15:00.001-05:00

Spring Has Sprung Entry

2008-03-02T12:29:00.000-05:00

Hi every-buddy! It is a beautiful sunny day today and we are listening to the "THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!" of icicles falling off of the roof, so I thought I would make an entry for the Spring Has Sprung contest!

The winter was grey and dreary

But I kept our home warm and cheery

Through snow and wind and sleets.

But I think that spring is coming

With blooms blooming and the sun sunning

So Easter Bunny, I'm ready for my treats!

Awards on Friday!

2008-02-29T09:54:00.001-05:00

Thanks, every-buddy, for your compliments on my photo essay. Momma and I worked together on that. I think she captured my big paddy paws very well. Oh, and Kellie the Orange Cat asked a question the other day that some of you might also have been wondering:

Am I bigger than Coco?

The answer: I am taller than Coco, but she weighs more than me, actually. I am around 14 pounds of Tough Mancat, but she is between 16-17 pounds of Bloodthirsty Killer Wiener Dog. She's actually pretty slender for a wiener dog, but man--my sister is solid muscle!

The lovely Tiger Lily, a very classy gal, gave me two great awards this week! She agreed with Sunny that my blog is excellent (thanks, buddies!)

and she also gave me a Toadally Awesome award!

Wow, that is very cool. I would like to pass on the Toadally Awesome Award to my buddies Daisy the Curly Cat, who is a Toadally Awesome Lizard Hunter; the Meezers, who take such good care of their Momma and now are awesome big brothers to li'l Bill; and Eric and Flynn, who are awesome models for a "Work Hard, Nap Hard" philosophy.

Have a great weekend, every-buddy!

Nose & Toes: a photo essay

2008-02-26T11:19:00.000-05:00

My nose is a friendly pink in the sunshine.

My toes are soft with pink paddies, too.

The nose in shadow--waiting for peace and quiet.

The paws lie dormant...but ready to re-awaken at any moment...

The glint in the eye...

Seeking uninterrupted rest.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

2008-02-24T12:13:00.000-05:00

There is a nice, warm sunbeam out today, so Coco and I inspected the grounds this morning, taking care of some long-overdue snoopervising:

Latest report: we are under constant threat from Vishus Deer, and the rabbits are getting out of hand. The recommendation: Stay Vigilant.

After all of this tense work, Coco found a good sunbeam to relax in:

I think I'm gonna have to get some rest on the bed.

Have a great Sunday, every-buddy!

Cool Stuff

2008-02-21T10:52:00.000-05:00

Momma saw this in the paper this morning and showed me:

Wouldn't that be cool??!!! It is from this comic strip: http://www.gocomics.com/lio/

Public Service Announcement: Momma says, "Guns don't kill mousies. Kitties kill mousies."

In other cool news, my buddy Sunny gave me an award for having an Excellent Blog!

Thanks, Sunny! You are an excellent buddy. I haven't really kept track of who all has gotten the Excellent rating, but if they haven't all ready, I'm going to pass this on to Camie's Kitties and Jasper and all of the McKitten-Cats!

Tuesday Tattle Tail

2008-02-19T10:07:00.000-05:00

So after bugging her for days, last night Momma said she would help me catch up with all of my blog buddies after she finished grading papers.

Then she had a glass of wine and fell asleep.

I told her she has to help me today or I will start telling every-buddy that she has a drinking problem.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-13T09:53:00.000-05:00

Victory!

2008-02-12T10:45:00.000-05:00

Sorry for not visiting so much over the past few days, every-buddy. Momma went to The City for the weekend and forgot to leave the computer on for me. Then she was monopolizing the computer when she came back for a "lecture." I don't know why anyone would want to hear Momma lecturing. It always makes me want a nap. But anyways, I have the computer today so I can catch up with you all.

And I have a big Thank You for all of my buddies for your comments last Thursday about my not getting any fried fish! I showed Momma and she felt very guilty about it. Look at how yummy the fried fish looks, all crispy with the corn meal crust:

I reminded Momma that it is cruel not to share fish with kitties, so look!!!

I gots a piece of fried fish.

The Cat Blogosphere is the best lobbying organization ever!

Friday News: A new nap spot

2008-02-08T09:02:00.000-05:00

I forgot to list another exciting part of my week:

Momma got a super comfy round chair for reading and put it up this week. She said she bought it because it folds up, and so she can put it up against the wall and our little living room won't be so crowded. But then she realized that it is very selfish to put away comfy furniture just because a Bean isn't sitting in it.

This is one of my new favorite nap spots. This is great, because now Coco and I have five good options during the day:
the bed
the couch
the Boppy (one at a time, of course)
in a sunbeam on the floor
the black chair!

Of course, I can also jump up and nap in the window, but that options is out for Coco, because she has stumpy wiener dog legs. But she can get in the black chair! Momma bought a nice black towel to put on it, so I think we won.

Thursday 13

2008-02-07T10:18:00.000-05:00

Here are 13 things I've done this week:

1) Walked around the yard in the cold rain, just to prove that I am a Tough Mancat. I think 10 minutes was enough to prove that.

2) Played with the shoestring.

3) Hid my stripey mouse where Momma will never find it.

4) I didn't eat the fried fish right out of the pan, but I almost pawed the last piece off of Momma's plate while she was watching T.V. shows on her computer. Unfortunately, she grabbed it and said, "No! It's mine!" So there was a perfectly yummy fried fish and I didn't get one bite.

5) I visited our new neighbor Miss Linzee's apartment.

6) I had to go to the v-e-t this morning and get poked. I was very brave.

7) I knocked the key rack off the wall.

8) I took lots of naps in the Boppy pillow.

9) I got up on the fridge and stared at Momma.

10) I licked the bread plate. And the bread.

11) I've been gettin' the evening crazies. Big time. Momma says I have something called "cabin fever." I don't feel extra warm, though. It's cold.

12) Momma pulled out my old trackball and I've had some fun with that! I'd forgotten about that old toy. Rediscovering old toys is always fun.

13) Stared out the window at rain and snow.

Wordless Wednesday

2008-02-06T10:28:00.001-05:00

Weekend Activities

2008-02-02T11:48:00.000-05:00

First off, Coco says

"Thank yoooooooouuuuuuuuu, kittieeeeeeees!!!!!!!!!!!"

for leaving her so many comments. It made her very excited.

Next, thanks, Mickey! for giving me this wonderful award:

This award was started by Diamond in Australia. I would like to pass it on to my buddies Tigger the FBI Cat, Monty Q, and Eric & Flynn, because they all take good care of their families and share important information with all of us in the Cat Blogosphere.

Well, it's a grey, yucky Saturday here in Ithaca. What should I do today?

Oh yeah. Gotta clean the feets.

Anything else to do?

Nope.

Wordy Wednesday: Coco's Meme

2008-01-30T10:08:00.000-05:00

Hi Kittieeeees!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Jimmy Joe's sister, Coco the Wiener Dog here. JJ said he's told you all about me before. I am so excited that I get to write on Jimmy Joe's bloggie for all of you because I love kitties! I love kitty crunchies and kitty treats and I sleep curled up like a kitty and Jimmy Joe and I both love to sleep on the Boppy pillow:

I also get bugged all the time with the flashy box when I'm trying to take a nap. Naps are very important for wiener dog beauty sleep. We need lots of peace and quiet and blankets and pillows.

Well, Leah the Mosaic Dawg tagged me for the Three Things meme. This meme was created by the charming cats at http://www.petspics.blogspot.com/:
What three things would you do that you have never done before, if you knew you wouldn't get caught, get in trouble, or suffer any consequences?

1) I would bark all day long!!! Bark bark bark bark bark bark bark bark! Mommie yells at me for barking, and so I only bark when someone who doesn't live in our apartment building comes in. Or when I hear a person or a dog right outside. But I love the sound of my own bark, and I would love to bark bark bark all day! Or at least when I'm awake.

2) I would push all of the pillows into the middle of the bed and scrunch up the blankies and the comforter and curl up in the middle, and Mommie could lie on the side of the bed to snuggle. She insists on having most of the pillows, and pushes me to the side when I try to get on her pillows, and says "this is my side!", and then I only have a small part of the bed and only one pillow, which is not enough for a wiener dog. And then when Jimmy Joe gets up, too, I have even less room! Honestly. It's amazing that I stay as beautiful as I do when it is so hard to get proper beauty sleep around here.

3) I would eat a whole jar of peanut butter!!! Mmmmm.....peanut butter....if only it didn't give me the poops...

I tag Roxy the Devil Dog, because her sister Lucky wrote the meme but I don't think Roxy has yet!

Bye, Kittieeeees!!!

Midnight Monday

2008-01-28T10:47:00.001-05:00

Hi every-buddy! I hope you had a great weekend. We had a visitor this weekend: Momma's Uncle Barry from Colorado, who visits once a year or so. He puts shoes on horses (did you know horses have to wear shoes? And Momma says horses' shoes are way more expensive than the ones she buys at Target. I didn't know horses were such fashion divas). He is an excellent appreciator of cats (and doggies), so he was a good visitor. The only frustrating thing was Saturday night dinner:

Our friends Miss Diana and Mr. Andrei came over to meet Uncle Barry and join us for dinner, and so Momma made roast chicken and baked pork chops and yummy apple-raisin stuffing. A perfect dinner for a kitty, right? Well, I kept tapping Miss Diana and Mr. Andrei, asking for a plate, but they didn't give me one! So then I thought, well maybe you're just supposed to help yourself, so I walked across the couch to get to the platter on the coffee table, and I got a big splash of water in my face!!! I don't think Momma is a very good hostess, to tell you the truth.

In other news, Mosaic Dawg tagged my sister Coco for the "Three Things" meme, and she is quite excited and said that she is going to think up the best Three Things ever. So I told her she can post that tomorrow.

OK, so in honor of Midnight Monday, I thought I would post about my cousin Sophie at Granny and Poppa's house. Sophie is a fun gal and we like to play together. (pppst: she is much nicer than her bratty tabby little sister Sassy.) Sophie likes hanging out on her play-set, chasing mice, and sleeping on Granny's bed. She has super-soft black furs and great yellow eyes.

I bet she misses me!