Saturday, May 31, 2008

Jump and Shout

After a week of story telling, we have a little business to catch up on -- specifically Kimo and Sabi's Jump and Shout Contest! Since we had to narrow it down to two pictures, we decided to go with an old classic Maggie jump from back in our apartment days.

Jump and Shout
Maggie is a great jumper, and she even shows some spotted tummy here. (Please ignore the clutter ... I think it was laundry day.)

Say ahhh
And for the shout picture, we really like this recent Josie shot. Figured we'd give the girls the spotlight for this one!

Friday, May 30, 2008

Maggie and the Meezer Trinity, Chapters Five and Six

We were really excited about the story and bugged Dad to go ahead and do the final two chapters in one post. That way we don't have to wait, and it concludes on Friday instead of Saturday when our Moms and Dads are off doing other things and not letting us on the computers. I hope everyone enjoys the big conclusion. Snuggle in, it's getting good!

Chapter five in which Josie assists in her own rescue

That afternoon, Maggie explained to the boys what she had experienced in the cave, meeting the ghosts of old cats, her reunion with old friends, and learning of the prophesy. They found a series of stones to cross the creek, and marched another day to the Meezers’ camp.

The Meezers were very untrusting, having orchestrated their own coup years ago. They ruled from the palace, but had built a secret encampment protected by a series of bramble mazes that even the wiliest of rabbits would get lost in. But with one touch from Fluffy, Maggie had been shown the way. She guided Jasper and Bear through a series of crouches and leaps and crawls, easier for her than for the larger boys. She had to restrain herself from getting too far ahead. Finally, they emerged with just a few lost patches of fur, and slinked around in the shadows to a rear entrance of the fort.

Bear took the lead, Jasper the rear, as they entered the door into a rear access hallway. They managed to travel one corridor from where Maggie was told they would find Josie when a laugh broke the silence.

“Jasper No-claws. I didn’t think you’d have the nerve to even show your hide again.” Jasper knew the voice immediately, his old rival from the guard.

“I’ve got this,” Jasper said, turning to face the scruffy tomcat emerging from the shadows. Bear and Maggie moved toward the door, entering to see Josie across the room bound up and gagged, and the Meezer Trinity gloating.

The largest of the Trinity stood near Josie, and belted out, “We expected some rescue attempt, but is this it?”

Then he spun, surprised to hear Josie’s voice. “This is just what I’ve been waiting for.” Josie had freed herself from her bonds, but was just waiting for the right moment. She launched herself, claws out, and with a mid-air blood-curdling hiss, indicated, “it’s on!”

At that same time, Jasper moved toward the tomcat. The tomcat chuckled, “Whatcha gonna do?” But his laugh turned to a dull oomph as Jasper brought both paws across his jaw, then wrapped his arms around his neck, spun onto his back, and, using his back paws, launched the tomcat four feet into the air and against the wall, unconscious, all before the tomcat even knew what hit him.

Maggie darted toward the smaller of the Meezers as he started to circle on her. She pounced, dodging a swipe. Then, in a blur of gray and brown, bit his flank, swiped at his legs, danced on his head, and finally gave a rabbit kick under the jaw until the Meezer could take no more and curled in submission in the corner.

Meanwhile Bear was approaching the third Meezer, who saw Bear’s massive bulk,and turned and ran. But Bear surprised him, as he surprised many who assumed he was slow, and was soon upon him. The Meezer turned his head when he felt Bear’s presence at the tip of his tail, and miscalculated his location, missing a quick turn and knocking himself silly against the wall.

All this took place as Josie was descending on the largest Meezer, the leader of the Trinity. He was stunned by her sudden assault, tumbled backward, and lost his breath as Josie landed squarely on his chest. Josie extended one claw under his chin. “We need to talk.”

Chapter six in which balance is restored

It was apparent to the Meezer Trinity that individually they might be able to beat Josie, Bear, Maggie and Jasper, but that they were no match them when they combined their strengths. The Trinity were exiled, the true Meezer judges were returned to make the rules again, and peaceful, fair rule was returned to the lands.

Josie’s followers were ready when she took the throne as the new queen, and took command of security, ensuring no other uprisings or coups would occur. The cats across the lands celebrated Queen Josie, Prince Bear, Princess Maggie, and their wise advisor, Jasper, and tales were told of how a little cat with one eye helped restore peace to a land in turmoil.

Jasper became Head of Security, and taught the guards that it takes more than sharp claws to win in battle. “You must use your wits. That is our gift as cats,” he lectured to his troops. “And the occasional back paws to the chest helps, too,” he added with a wink.

Huggy Bear still preferred to be called just Bear, and was regarded as one of the most fearsome warriors around. But, while he was a strong knight, that reputation was spread mostly by those who did not know him. Those who knew Bear knew that he was more Huggy than Bear.

Although Maggie was now a princess she still enjoyed the rough and tumble play of her childhood. On warm, sunny afternoons, after napping in the sun along the creek near the palace, she would challenge Huggy Bear to wrestling matches and chases through the fields and woods. Onlookers would watch, amazed, as this tiny princess would go nose to nose with the legendary dark knight. They would playfully nip, and tussle and chase until dusk began to settle on the afternoon. Then, tired and hungry, they would return to the palace to dine with Josie and Jasper.

Over dinner one evening, Jasper looked around at the other three as they shared a meal. “It’s nice to be back together again,” he remarked.

“It’s good to be home,” Maggie replied as Huggy Bear and Josie purred in agreement.

Maggie lifted her head from the blanket, looked around, and realized that she was sleeping at the foot of Mom and Dad’s bed. Huggy Bear had joined her in bed, sleeping against Dad’s pillow at the head of the bed. Josie’s foot stuck out from under the covers on Mom’s side. She could hear Jasper’s snores from under the bedside table. She raised up, walked over and curled up beside Huggy Bear. Then she stretched out one paw and rested it on Josie’s exposed paw, making sure she didn’t go anywhere, happy to truly be all together.

The End

Thursday, May 29, 2008

Maggie and the Meezer Trinity, Chapter Four

This was one of Dad's favorite chapters to write. We've had a lot of visitors for the story, so Mom brought in some extra blankets for everyone to snuggle in to for the last few chapters...

Chapter four in which a prophesy is revealed

Jasper, Bear and Maggie marched for three days and nights with very few breaks. This amount of walking without long breaks or naps was more than Maggie was used to, so when they stopped alongside a creek she was relieved. Jasper appeared to be slowing a little, too. Bear had a glisten of perspiration on his fur, but adrenaline and purpose were driving him on.

"We'll stop here for the night," Jasper said. "You'll need your strength tomorrow, Maggie."

They found a large, spacious bush to sleep under. Maggie curled against her brother, resting her head against the fur of his chest. Jasper stretched out closer to the front of the bush. He puffed his fur a little as if to send the message to anyone who stumbled upon them that they don't want any of this fight.

The next morning the three began their hike again, following the creek upstream. Maggie enjoyed watching the dragonflies dance along the reeds growing on the banks of the creek, the frogs swimming in the current, and the schools of tiny fish. These were all calming distractions from Jasper’s words last night: You’ll need your strength tomorrow.

They walked for about an hour before both Huggy Bear and Jasper suddenly stopped. Bear let out a low growl toward the ground and stepped back a few paces. Jasper puffed his fur and turned sideways, making himself appear large and imposing.

“What is it?” Maggie asked, looking around confused.

“The grass is flicking at my feet like flames,” Bear said, his words rolling out in a growl.

“There are figures in the air, appearing, disappearing, quickly,” Jasper said, turning his body to check his blind spot. He sidled back toward Bear. “This is where we stop, and you continue on,” Jasper said to Maggie. “Hear the rush of water? Go toward the waterfall.”

“But I don’t understand,” Maggie said.

“This land is protected,” Jasper explained, still looking around cautiously. “There are visual tricks to confuse us, to keep uninvited guests out. But you can pass. You have just one eye and are able to see through the tricks. The elders knew this, and expected this, which is why they sent you to us.”

Maggie nodded, now understanding a little more. “So this is my mission?”

“Part of it,” Jasper confirmed. “Follow this path, under the waterfall.” He indicated a spot on the map. Then Maggie turned and headed off, alone, nervous, looking for the flaming grass and figures floating in the air that she could not see, that really weren’t there, but she felt should be there now. She walked a short while longer, waiting for some surprise that never came, and followed the creek as it widened and bent until she came to a moderate waterfall, about 20 feet high.

The mist of the waterfall beaded up on her short hairs and rolled off. “Water,” she said in disgust. Then she saw a small path, barely wide enough for her small frame, and slick from moisture and moss. She extended her claws, raised her tail for balance, and carefully followed the ledge that lead under the waterfall. About halfway under the water she saw a small opening, squeezed through, and entered into a cave lighted by a blue glow, seemingly coming from nowhere.

She looked around, this time seeing figures in the corners, in the air, appearing and disappearing. A trick, the thought, but then she recognized faces from her past, old neighbors and villagers that had crossed the Bridge when she was younger. Familiar faces, as real as they were intangible, welcomed her deeper into the cave. Then one cat came forward, one Maggie had never seen, never known, a gray and white cat, with long fur.

“Maggie,” he said in a strong, knowing voice. “It is good to see you. I am Fluffy. I advised your parents long ago. And I alone was entrusted with the prophesy.”

“Prophesy?” Maggie asked, confused.

“A long time ago, a prophesy foresaw the Meezer Trinity’s coup,” Fluffy explained, “but we still failed to stop them. But there was a second part to the prophesy, that the four would reunite, and return order to our lands. There is much for you to understand.” And then the figure of Fluffy placed a paw on Maggie’s forehead. Despite appearing as little more than air, the paw felt solid too. Maggie shivered, then her eye twinkled as the plan was shared in an instant.

Thirty minutes later she was following the creek back, nearing where she left Bear and Jasper. The boys raised up, excited to see her again. Maggie flicked the remaining water from her fur, then said, “I know what we need to do.”

---

A little about this chapter... Dad said he could have easily doubled this chapter. He liked the idea of a place where Maggie could go to interact with the cats who came before, like Mom's Fluffy. He had to reign himself in to keep the chapter from getting too long, though.

Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Maggie and the Meezer Trinity, Chapter Three

We're so glad you are enjoying Dad's story. Mom's got some Temptations and Whisker Lickins. Circle around, it's getting good...

Chapter three in which a great warrior joins the quest

“I take it you recognize Bear,” Jasper stated the obvious.

Maggie pounced atop the black knight, playfully, lovingly wrapping her paws around his head and giving him a big wet lick across his head, quickly followed by a kick to the chin and a laugh. “Bear? Huggy Bear is more like it,” she said, a flood of memories coming back.

“No one calls me Huggy Bear anymore,” Bear growled, but couldn’t help smile with the reunion of his sister. “I have a reputation to uphold, you know.” This time, his voice sounded a little softer, kinder, more playful, a tone Jasper had not heard since Bear had joined him at the cottage shortly after his family had been sent away.

Huggy Bear used his imposing size and strength to build a reputation as a great warrior and dropped the “Huggy” to empower that reputation. But deep inside, Huggy Bear remained, the playful big brother of Maggie, who used to watch out for his little sister, and take her on tomboy adventures.

“Maggie, it’s good to see you,” Bear said, “but your timing couldn’t be worse. I’m preparing to leave to rescue Josie.”

“We were just waiting for you,” Maggie exclaimed.

“We?” Bear asked, glancing at Jasper. “A retired warrior-turned-scholar and my one-eyed little sister? No offense, but for your safety you should stay here.”

“I can hold my own,” Maggie argued. “I have for most of my life.”

“With neighbor cats protecting you all the time, without your knowledge,” Bear said. “You’re my sister, and I can’t bring you along. This isn’t just for fun this time,” Bear stated, remembering the games they would play in the old woods and along the babbling stream, and the trouble they would get in when they returned wet, or muddy, or covered in brambles.

“I would agree with you,” Jasper spoke up, “if it weren’t for this.” And he revealed the map that Maggie had followed to the cottage. The cottage was just one stop along the map, a midpoint on the way to what appeared to be a waterfall and a cave.

“Bear, you know this place, as do I, and you know she has to come along.”

Bear shook his head, resigned to the fact, but not happy about it. “Maggie, you can come, if you must,” he said, “but you do as we say. Deal?”

“Deal,” Maggie said, hardly able to hold in the joy trying to explode from her chest.

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

Maggie and the Meezer Trinity, Chapter Two

The treats are fresh and the cat milk is warmed just right, so curl up and enjoy chapter two. I think this will explain a lot...

Chapter two in which Maggie reunites with Jasper
and much history is revealed

Maggie walked all morning and afternoon, keeping beneath the shrubs and off the road. At one point, a Trinity soldier patrol came by and Maggie huddled quietly in the shadows, her brown and gray tabby coloring blending in well. Although she didn't know why, she had a hunch she didn't want to be seen.

As the afternoon neared dusk, Maggie came to the glade on her map, and saw the cottage tucked near the woods. There was dim light coming from the windows. Maggie slowly approached the cottage, staying low to the ground, keeping to the shadows when possible. Once she was at the cottage, she peeked into the window and saw a large orange cat, regal and strong. He stretched like a lion, and his shadow arched and covered the opposite wall. Then, slowly, he turned his head to the window and said, in a deep voice, but not quite a growl, “Little Maggie, I’ve been expecting you.”

The inside of the cottage was modest. Mostly there were books and tuffets and blankets for resting and relaxing and reading. “I am Jasper,” the large orange cat explained to Maggie as she found a spot to sit. “I knew your family, and spent a lot of time with you as a kitten, although you probably don’t recall me.”

Maggie shook her head, acknowledging that she doesn’t remember this big orange cat, and felt that she surely would. Jasper dropped some dried salmon for Maggie to snack on then said, “There’s a lot you need to know.

“You’ve grown up in that small village, probably feeling mostly along, but that was for your protection. You see, you come from royal bloodlines, but your family was overthrown years ago.”

“Royalty? Me?” Maggie asked, amazed. “You mean my family was overthrown by the evil Meezer Trinity?”

Jasper nodded. “But don’t judge all Meezers by the action of those three. You see, when your family was in charge the Meezers were the lawmakers, justly applying rules throughout the land. But then three of these judges got power hungry and plotted to overthrow your family.

“At this time, I was a junior member of your family’s court, not much older than you are now. We got wind of the coup just before it happened, and managed to get you in hiding where you would be safe. We tried to resist the coup, but failed and you parents were forced from these lands.”

Jasper looked and saw Maggie wipe a paw slowly across her left eye, sweeping a tear away. “I never knew,” Maggie cried. But it wasn’t a sad cry. It was a strong, determined cry. “Then Princess Josie?”

“Your older sister,” Jasper nodded. “She refused to hide. Braver than I am, I would say. While I retreated to this old cottage for a safe life of study Josie has been out there gathering supporters to return the family to their rightful thrones.

“But yesterday a mole revealed where Josie was, and, instead of letting her supporters fight a futile fight, she surrendered.”

“That’s awful,” Maggie said. There was a twinge of pride in her voice, though, for her sister’s valor. “We have to free her.”

Jasper lit another lamp to ward off the oncoming night. “Of course,” Jasper agreed, “But after the uprising I was very distraught, and removed my claws when I decided to give up the fight and turn to a life of philosophy. But there is another who I know will join us.”

At that very moment, a shadow darker than the night emerged from the darkness. A warrior cat, large, full-chested and powerful emerged from the night. This dark knight’s demeanor commanded respect, an air that dared any other to challenge him in combat, and few did. Most trembled in his presence. But not Maggie. Instead, a joyful laugh erupted from the tiny cat, because, while she didn’t recognize Jasper, there was no denying the eyes of this black cat. “Brother!”

Monday, May 26, 2008

Maggie and the Meezer Trinity, Chapter One

A few weeks ago Mom had a great idea for a story for Dad to write about Maggie called "Maggie, and the Cats of the Round Table." This idea stuck in Dad's head, but when he sat down to write it, a different story came out. The Round Table hopefully will be written later.

We have always enjoyed how Four Furry Cats' Dad tells his stories from Dolce's Story Chair, so we've been growing some cat grass and warmed some cat milk. We even prepared some homemade cat treats from the cat treat cookbook Mom got for Christmas (don't blame me if they're not Whisker Lickins, it was Josie's idea). So please, everyone, curl up over the next six days and enjoy "Maggie and the Meezer Trinity."

Chapter one in which Maggie's adventure begins

It was an unseasonably cool night for Columbia in mid-spring. Maggie scampered up the stairs to the master bed, leapt up and curled in a warm nest of blanket and comforter. Her lone left eye blinked slowly, lingering closed a little before reopening, then slowly blinking again until finally her eye closed and she drifted to sleep.

A loud clamor in the street brought Maggie out of her slumber. She licked her paw then wiped it across her left eye to rub the sleep out. With a stretch, she rose from a straw mattress in a small, dimly lit cottage. Outside she could hear the cries of the village cats, outrage and concern that Princess Josie had been captured by the soldiers of the Meezer Trinity.

Maggie quickly rose and glanced out the window and down the street. Distraught cats filled the lane, consoling each other. Maggie started to exit into that street when her neighbor burst in the back door.

"Maggie, the soldiers are flooding the village. You need to go right away," he said is an urgent growl.

"Go?" Maggie asked, confused why the soldiers of the Trinity would be interested in her.

"There's no time to explain. Just follow this map," he said, slipping a scroll into her bag. "Now go, and stay in the brush."

Maggie nodded, trusting but confused, then grabbed her bag in her mouth and darted out the back. The loud thuds of the soldier cats knocking door to door faded as Maggie disappeared into the woods, vanishing into the dusk.

As the night turned to dawn, Maggie found herself farther away from her village than she could ever recall. Her entire life had been spent in her small village. Maggie was independent, living by herself, but under the watchful eyes of her neighbors.

She found a bush with an airy hollow beneath, removed her map and studied her route. She was approaching a range of foothills, and her path led her to a glade not far from her village. After a brief snack she took a quick glance at the map, "Just an afternoon away," she thought to herself, "then answers."

Sunday, May 25, 2008

Easy Like Sunday Morning?

This is not so easy like Sunday morning.

Ah, now that's more like it.

Saturday, May 24, 2008

PhotoHunt: Shoes

Shoes ... what a perfect PhotoHunters theme! We love shoes (but not shoos, like when Dad shoos us away from clawing at the steps). We like to use shoes as pillows, and as wrestling dummies to practice on.

Shoe pillow
Here's Huggy Bear sleeping on Mom's friend Kelli's shoes back when he was a little kitten. At first glance, you might not think that shoes are great pillows, but they have a nice wedge shape to support our cat heads, and they collapse under the weight of our heads to make a perfect fit. If you don't sleep on shoes, I highly recommend you give it a try.

Kitten Josie eating Mom's "bad kitty" slipper
Shoes are also fun to wrestle with, especially if Mom's foot is in it. Josie liked to do this a lot when she was a tiny kitten. These were Mom's "Bad Kitty" slippers, and were great to attack.

Since Mom and Dad were out of town last week we didn't get a chance to post our pictures from last week's hunt, but I wanted to show some candy pictures. We don't eat real candy but we love our nip candy canes we got for Christmas. We like them so much that we still have them scattered around the kitchen. We'll drool on them until they are so bad that they have to be thrown out.

HB and Maggie get their nip candy canes
This is Huggy Bear and Maggie performing their synchronized nip cane rolling. Maggie loves to rub them against her face.

Jasper's nip candy cane
I believe in careful nip cane investigation before rolling around on it.

Josie with a nip candy cane
Josie prefers to lick the nip canes.

If you or your folks are traveling this Memorial Day weekend please be safe on the roads. If your people are grilling out, make sure they fix you a bite too.

Friday, May 23, 2008

HUGS

We are still just so stunned by Bonnie's sudden passing. We were going to take a moment of silence today, but I like Sammy and Miles' (and Billy, too) suggestion to share hugs today. Mom and Dad were talking yesterday about how close the Cat Blogosphere is, and what a great community we lucked in to. It's hard to express how much we appreciate what each and every one of you bring to our lives,and I think that's why it hurts so much when we lose an old friend. We always enjoyed Bonnie's posts, and her pictures on Flickr. We will miss her so much.

(((HUGS))) to everyone today and (((extra hugs))) to Victor, mom and dad bean, and boy bean.

Thursday, May 22, 2008

Goodbye good friend

We lost a good friend today, and we are so sad. Poor sweet Bonnie Underfoot, gone so quickly. We are stunned and saddened for you and your family and little Victor Tabbycat.

Thursday Thirteen #26: 13 Messages

Mom and Dad were out of town last weekend going to a few high school graduations. Since they were away, they called to check on us. Usually, we don't answer the phone, but we will listen to the messages. Here are the 13 messages they could have (or should have) left for us.

1. "...did you hear the beep? I think that was the beep. Oh, it's recording ... Hi Jasper, Josie, Maggie and Huggy Bear. We miss you very much. We're bad, bad, bad parents for leaving you for five days but will give you lots of treats when we get back."
2. "Just driving down the road. We saw someone walking their dog at a rest stop and though about which of you would have been patient enough to make this long trip. Only Maggie, I think, so you're all probably better off at home." (Likely story. Make it look like they did us a favor.)
3. "Got to Knoxville. Uncle Doug has two big dogs that would have chased you. Be glad you are home."

Gray
4. "Gray, your cousin cat, posed for a picture, but I think it was just because he was hungry." (Not nice to talk about feeding other cats, but fortunately Aunt Tish came by and gave us love and treats.)

Tommy's present
5. "Tommy has a pet snake!" (OK, we investigated a snake in the garage once, and it was interesting enough, but I don't know if we need to see another one.)
6. "We met Chris' dog Fenway and she's very sweet and cute." (What's with all the dogs?!?)
7. "Heading to Mississippi. This drive is long and boring. Be glad you're napping in bed. We miss you." (See how they'd throw in the "we miss you" but instead of driving home they drive further away instead?)

Is Red graduating too?
8. "Red Dog wore the mortar board from the graduation cake. I think she plans on graduating too." (OK, more dog talk ... at least Red Dog is cute.)

Prissy
9. "Prissy is small than HB and Jasper!" (Silly little dog, really.)
10. "It's been too long ... we don't sleep as well without you!"
11. "We're packing the car and coming home." (This should have been message #2.)

Veteran biker
12. "We just passed about 1000 military veterans on motorcycles on their way to Washington, DC. Very cool, but loud. Be glad you're napping in a cool house right now."
13. "We're turning onto our street. See you in a minute."

We did get lots of love when they got home, and lots of treats too. (And fortunately no t-shirt that says, "My parents drove all the way across the Southeast and all I got was this t-shirt.")

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

We're Back

Ah ... Mom and Dad finally got home last night, but between the lightning storm, realizing that the DVR flaked and lost all their season finales from Sunday and Monday, and having to run to the store before the really good coupon expired last night (like Cinderella at midnight), I didn't get to make a post. But they're back, which means the computer's back on and I'm back, too.

A quick update ... Mom and Dad drove 1400 miles between traveling to Tennessee and Mississippi for two graduations last weekend. That's South Carolina, North Carolina, Georgia, Alabama and Mississippi that they had to drive through. But all that driving didn't keep them from giving us all kinds of love last night, and extra treats too!

Mom and Dad visited with our cousin cats and dogs, too, but those pictures are still on the camera. I promise more of an update soon, as well as an exciting project Dad's been working on for my blog that will hopefully be done for next week!

Also, someone at Dad's work forwarded him this article about a personality test for your cat when adopting a cat, but don't they know that we pick them, not the other way around?

Monday, May 19, 2008

Missing Mom and Dad on this Mancat Monday

Mom and Dad had to hit the road on a grand tour of the southeast for two nephews' high school graduations. Mom and Dad are very proud of Tommy and Aaron for graduating high school and moving on to college. We are being understanding kittens with Mom and Dad gone and Aunt Tish is checking in on us and giving us treats and attention.

Jasper hits the books
Since Mom is gone, I'm taking this opportunity to hit the books. I'm just sitting on this book right now. Maybe I'll take a nap first, then do some reading. Or maybe just nap.

Friday, May 16, 2008

Freakin' out Friday

Mom's got too much to do, and not enough time to do it all, so here's a quick post before she needs my help. This is Maggie in one of Mom's favorite poses.

Haunches
Mom likes her "haunches" in this picture.

Maggie in the window
Maggie was sitting in the window, relaxing, enjoying the nice spring weather. I know Mom's wishing she could slow down and spend some time in the window this morning.

Thursday, May 15, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #25: Random Thoughts

I was feeling both random and thoughtful and, as a result, you get thirteen random thoughts today!

1. The rechargeable batteries on the camera are losing their rechargieness, and this makes it tough on Mom and Dad to constantly document our lives.
2. Mom and Dad, buy new rechargeable batteries.
3. I know I shouldn't take it personally when Dad is checking something on the computer real quick and I hop up on the desk about the same time he's getting up to walk away, but I wish he'd take five minutes to pet me.
4. The magnolia tree is starting to bloom, and that makes Mom very happy.
5. We had some crazy wind the other night. It make it sound like someone was trying to come through the walls.
6. Fortunately, no one was coming through the walls, but someone did have to come and fix some of the siding. Bummer.
7. Mom's making brownies right now. I wish I could eat chocolate.
8. Speaking of Mom cooking, she's been so busy in the yard she's not had a chance to update her kitchen blog. I should remind her, because I know she took some food pictures when she could have been taking pictures of me.
9. Mom needs to pick some of that fresh catnip growing out back and give it to us.
10. If there was an extra hour in each day, would I do something productive with it, or just get one more hour of napping? (The good money is on one more hour of napping...)
11. Mom has a carnivorous plant. Now, I like to chew on a plant as much as anyone else, but if it's going to chew back I think it should just stay outside and dine on bugs.
12. Dad has a troll doll (because I think troll dolls protect computers) but it's up high where we can't hunt it. We used to hunt it when there was no "up high" for it to go, so it ended up guarding the pantry instead of the computer.
13. Is it just me, or do you also like to stare at random spots where nothing is and see if Mom and Dad investigate?

Next week's T13 will be more insightful, I promise.

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Target Tuxie Tuesday

Josie is showing off mom's new fabric Target shopping. Mom and Dad have made the switch to fabric shopping bags in an effort to be a little more eco-friendly.

We really liked sitting in the old brown paper bags, and even licking the plastic bags. But these red Target bags are even better because after we put out stink on them, we get to keep them around.

This bag even has little black birdies on it and a tree made out of Target targets. I hope Mom and Dad leave a few of these bags around for us to play in some more ... maybe bags filled with treats!

Monday, May 12, 2008

Doodle Day

We did a couple of doodles for Not the Mama's doodle fun fund raiser that he is doing along with Manic Monday. They are a couple of pencil sketches that Dad did of Maggie and me napping Sunday morning.


This is me napping in the cat stand.This is Maggie's head from when she was napping in the office. We're much easier to draw when we're sleeping.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

Happy Mother's Day


Happy Mother's Dad, Mom! We love you very much mostly just because you are our Mom, but also because you brush us, and make sure we have treats and toys and lots of love and attention. And Happy Mother's Day to all the other Moms out there, too. Be sure to give you Mom some extra purrs today (maybe you'll get extra treats for it).

Oddly, looking through all my pictures, I realized I have few pictures of us with Mom. This one if of me as a kitten, but it's one of my favorites.

Oh, and read Lio from today. Funny!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

PhotoHunt: Share ANY photo

Today's PhotoHunt theme is to share ANY photo, which is tougher than having a specific theme, if you ask me, because you have to really think about what photo you want to share. There are plenty I could have shown, some good ones of me in the kitchen enjoying the cool floor, or of Huggy Bear in his red cat tent, but I decided those can be posted any day, really, and I wanted to show something else.

A few weeks ago Mom and Dad went back to Mom and Aunt Lisa's home town. Lisa and Brian and Gracie and Clara Ann were all there, and Dad and Brian took the girls to the "duck park" to feed the ducks. When they got there, there were only one or two ducks hanging out on a little island in the middle of the creek. But then, within a minute, a couple more ducks came swooping in. I wish I had been there to try to chase the ducks, because they look like they'd be fun to chase. But then Dad told me that only one actually got out of the water, so I'm glad I wasn't there because I'm not getting wet just to chase a duck.

Duck coming in for a landing

Duck about to land in the creek

Duck flyby

Friday, May 09, 2008

Ferocious Friday

Here are some ferocious pictures of Josie...

Say ahhh
Look at those teeth and that jaw.

Yawn or growl?
I wouldn't want to get on her bad side.

OK, I'm really just kidding. Josie's just yawning! But she does have some big teeth.

Thursday, May 08, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #24: What's out the window

Yesterday's Wordless Wednesday was a picture of Josie and Maggie looking out the window, snoopervising Mom and Dad working out in the front yard. There's all kinds of things to see out the windows, so for today's Thursday Thirteen, I offer you 13 Things Out The Window:
1. Mom and Dad working in the yard, of course. What's better than watching Mom and Dad out in the yard, unless they're in the house?
2. Catnip growing on the back deck.
3. The sprinklers.
4. A new palm tree to replace the smaller palm tree that didn't make it through the winter. (Dad really wanted to plant it in the middle of the night, then pretend that the old one suddenly came back to life and tripled in size.)
5. A bird in the tree by the office window that likes to give Maggie the business.
6. A baby bunny in the back yard that Mom accidentally scared with the hose.
7. Flowers getting ready to bloom.
8. A new flower bed in the side yard where the grass never wanted to grow.
9. Kids playing basketball.
10. Our neighbor's nice-smelling tree that used to be behind his business van, but he got a new job and no longer parks the ugly van on the street (and that makes Mom very happy).
11. New rose bushes replacing the hydrangeas that didn't like where they were. The roses are blooming, too!
12. Still looking for the hummingbird that buzzed around Mom and Dad last summer while they were in the back yard watering plants.
13. A magnolia tree about to explode with blooms. This was Mom's first yard purchase when we moved in, and she's always excited to see it doing well.

Thanks for asking about Mom. Her fever broke and went away, as did her sinuses, but now she has this awful nagging cough that is driving her batty. Thanks for all the well-wishes.

(By the way, have you discovered that Blogger will now let you schedule a post ahead of time, or am I the last one to figure this out? Now I can write these challenging Thursday Thirteens and set it to post on Thursday at 12:01, even if I wrote it on Wednesday at 9:30, like I just did... Nice feature, trying it for the first time.)

Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Tummy Tuesday (and Bengal exercise wheel video)

Just a quick post, then I need to go and check on Mom. Mom's feeling sick, running a fever, all stopped up and sniffly. This is why Mom and Dad should stay inside instead of working in the heat and the sun out in the yard. Mom and Dad put out a bunch of mulch Sunday and they think there was probably some mold in it that got Mom feeling cruddy. I need to be a good Mancat and keep tabs on her, so here's a quick Tummy Tuesday...

Jasper floof
This is my floof poking through the cat stand. Perfect napping spot on a warm afternoon.

Cat stand
It used to be a plant stand, but I claimed it as a kitten and it has been mine ever since. I think the Peace Lily remains more so I won't tip it over than for any other reason.

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Also, I was reading over Dad's shoulder the other day, and he was reading a blog post about someone helping with the Great Lakes Bengal Rescue Association and she mentioned that she bought them a Bengal wheel, and that you really needed to go to YouTube and watch some video of Bengal cats on these exercise wheels. So, being obedient the way we have trained him, Dad went and found some cool video. Unfortunately, now he thinks maybe we need one of these so Huggy Bear and I can exercise and trim up. (Fortunately, he's too scared we'd hurt ourselves, so it's not a real option...)



This video is good, too...

Monday, May 05, 2008

Midnight Mancat Monday

Sometimes one of the most important parts of being a Mancat is making sure Mom knows you love her. Huggy Bear is very good about that. He will turn his purr on real loud, just up in bed, and press himself against Mom real hard so she has to pet him (like she wouldn't anyway!?!).

HB getting love from Mom
Mom and Dad have spent a lot of busy, away-from-us time these past few weekends, but they promised to make up for it. You can see Mom is doing her part here, making amends with Huggy Bear.

Oh, and Happy Cinco de Mayo to all mis amigos del gato! (And apologies for my Spanglish...)

Sunday, May 04, 2008

Easy Like Sunday

Today is a good day for the sink ... sunny and a little warm, but not hot, and just tired enough to nap the day away. Wait, isn't that every day?

Good place for a nap
Sometime you need to rest you chin on the cool counter...

Jasper in the sink
...and sometimes you need to kick your feet up.

Saturday, May 03, 2008

PhotoHunt: Time

Today's PhotoHunters theme is Time. There were a lot of ways we thought to demonstrate time ... snack time, nip time, wrestle time, nap time ... but instead, Dad pulled out a clock he has. You see, Dad is a recovering geek, and he has a binary clock he got from Think Geek that just hasn't found a place in our new office yet, but was perfect for this photo theme.

Does anybody know what time it is? Well, first of all, it's not the right time, because Dad just turned it on for the picture, but if you asked Maggie, she'd tell you that it is 4:03:17 according to the clock. (I guess Dad was pretty savvy to know if he put the clock in the computer chair that Maggie would come and tell him what time it is...)

Also, I wanted to make sure everyone read tnchick's post about Petfinder vs. PetfinderS and the scam that is out there. We're so glad she found her dog. It worries us so much when someone disappears.

Friday, May 02, 2008

Six Word Memoir meme

Scooby, Shaggy and Scout tagged us with the Six Word Memoir meme last week, and I thought it would be easy and I'd have it done Monday or Tuesday, but it's not as easy as you'd think, summing yourself up in six words. But here goes:

Jasper McKitten-Cat
Jasper: Regal, strong, floofy, full of love

Josie's portrait
Josie: Majestic, cautious, against Mom under covers

Mr. Bear
Huggy Bear: Instant purr, big stretch, tiny voice

Maggie's new portrait
Maggie: Sweet, fast, racing everyone, always playing

I want to share this challenge with William, Ginger, Chase, and Kimo and Sabi.

Thursday, May 01, 2008

Thursday Thirteen #23: 13 Things NOT to be afraid of (plus a knock-knock joke)

I was going to save this one until a Thursday the 13th came around, but I looked and that meant waiting until November, so I'm going to go ahead and do it today. Since 13 is considered unlucky, and people are superstitious about it, I thought I would list 13 things not to be afraid of.

1. Black cats: Black cats are nothing to be afraid of. Huggy Bear is big, and can act ferocious when he wants to, but he's really nice and a big ol' teddy bear.
2. The thing under the bed: Apparently people are afraid of the thing under the bed, but really it's probably one of us, and not a big, scary, slimy monster (that's in the attic).
3. Things that go bump in the night: Obviously it's one of two things -- either Dad got up and tripped over one of us, or we're playing thundering herd of elephants in the middle of the night because you haven't learned to pet us in your sleep.
4. Spiders: Don't you worry about them at all ... we'll hunt them for you.
5. Heights: OK, this makes no sense to me at all.
6. Thunder: Now, I don't like thunder, but as far as I can tell, it's just sound and fury, signifying nothing.
7. Water: Another thing I don't like, and a good deterrent to bad behavior, but I don't think you should be afraid of it.
8. Mice: Unless you're an elephant, don't be afraid of mice. See Spiders, number 4, above.
9. The dark: Uh, we can see in the dark, so why be afraid of it?
10. The monster in the closet: Yeah, that's just me snoring.
11. Birthdays: I guess some people fear getting old, but I look at it as more gifts, and more experiences, and more opportunities to meet cool cats.
12. Running out of love: We keep giving love to Mom and Dad, and there's always more love to give, so I don't think it can run out.
13. The number 13: It happens every Thursday.

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Here's our knock-knock joke for Camie's Kitties:
Maggie: Knock-knock
Huggy Bear: Who's there?
Maggie: The tabby.
Huggy Bear: The tabby who?
Maggie: The tabby who's about to pounce you!

On the attack