Laundry Day

Diego-san and I had quite the chuckle. He was watching me fold some laundry that was fresh out of the dryer.

I was shaking the bed sheets out and noticed a lump caught in their elasticized corner. Upon closer inspection I saw the lump was comprised of several pair of boxer shorts. "I got my undies in a bunch," I sez to Diego-san. Oh the laugh we had...

Sunny Saturday

Three kitties... a three day weekend. What could be more perfect?

Ebony and Ivory

"Ebony and Ivory live together in perfect harmony, side by side on Theo's face oh lord why don't we?"

Foot in the Mouth

Do you ever say something to someone who happens to be the exact inappropriate audience for your particular observance/remark?

Last night I came home from a disappointing softball loss. We were up 14-8 going into the final at bat and the other team essentially stopped swinging the bat and walked their way to a win. I'm not quite sure why some teams are so willing to take borderline pitches for walks in a co-ed slow pitch softball league. Swing the blippin bat.

Anyway... my legs have been bothering me more and more during the games. There are times they tingle like they are falling asleep but the biggest ache is in the back of my knees. I'm thinking if my legs continue to bother me after softball is over I may go to the doctor and have them looked at. So I'm moaning to the boyz about how much my legs are hurting and I look down to see the one paying the most attention to my rant is Thompson.

Ever since I adopted him, Thompson has been an inspiration to me. The loss of a leg hasn't slowed him down all that much and most of the time it doesn't occur to me that his disability does make him different from Theo and Diego. But while Diego's walk/run is a swagger and Theo's is a saunter, Thompson has to get around with a clunky clop. It's normal for a cat to have smooth, fluid, graceful movement. That isn't possible for Thompson any more. And as much as he tries to keep up with the other two, he really can't. Yet if Thompson really wants to do something, really wants to get somewhere, he will. And he, more than the other boyz, makes sure he lets me know how much he appreciates having a safe home to live in. He doesn't like visitors or the unexpected. The day to day routine, my showing up every evening (he's always the one waiting for me in a window) to provide food and face rubs, all that is his life now, Thompson lets me know matters.

So really Thompson didn't need to hear me whining about a few aches in my legs.

Perplexing Question

Where's that magic water come from and where does it go?

One Step Ahead

Diego-san's burn is mostly a memory. The fur around the wound is starting to cover it up. So my curiosity getting the better of me (a trait I picked up from the boyz) I just had to see how Diego figured out how to remove the collar he was supposed to wear. Hoping not to traumatize him too severely I sweet talked him into sitting with me and gently placed the collar back around his neck. He was having none of this and immediately began to squirm. I tied the collar and watched as he first tried to grab the collar with his front paws. This didn't give him much leverage so he lie down and began using his back claws. In a matter of seconds he was able to grab the collar and force it over his head. It was all so quick I could barely get any photos of his great Houdini act.

He's a determined and smart boy.

Whole Lotta Kitties

It was a seven cat day for me today. In addition to spending time with the boyz, I also was responsible for feeding my friend A-'s three cats. Then I had dinner at my dad's house and he was babysitting my sister's cat, Sylvia.

Sylvia isn't too fond of me as she spends all the time hidden underneath the sofa every time I go over to my dad's. I guess I can't blame her though, she probably could smell a half dozen other cats in my clothes.

City Pages 8/20

Minnesota's largest shelter killed more than 14,000 animals last year. How many were unnecessary?

Soothing Saturday

It's been hot and humid around these parts the past few days. Thankfully it is supposed to be quite pleasant this weekend. The dog days of summer? Nope. It's the open window daze for kitties.

Matter of Degree

I think the boyz are glad that the weekend is almost here and they can get some serious napping in. During the week they can only get some semi-serious napping in.

Speech... Speech

I trained a group of around 75 people yesterday for my job. Afterward a couple of people who have heard me give public speeches came up and said how good I am at it. It always stuns me when someone says that because like most people, public speaking is about the last thing I would voluntarily do. Of course before I have to speak to a group I always rehearse my schtick in front of the boyz. Thompson is the only one who doesn't run from the room screaming which is kinda the same ratio I get when I actually have to do the public speaking.

Diego-san Sez

"If I stay in here no lunkhead will spill any scalding hot liquids on me."

His Security Pants

Well at least one cat thinks I'm a decent smelling human. Theo decided to take a nap snuggling with my pants. I'm not even sure I'd want to do that.

Tic Tac Toe

I went upstairs to see the boyz either playing a 3-D version of tic tac toe, or they were playing a peaceful game of monkey in the middle...

Visined

At the beginning of the week Diego's burn was very red and I was worried that it was starting to blister. Today I looked and almost all of the red was gone. Now I hope the shaved off fur grows back quickly....

Clean Up Time

Saturday is laundry day. It's also time for Thompson to make sure the other two boyz are clean.

Sleep on This

I think Theo has decided the best way to keep me home is to keep me in bed. His bedtime routine has started earlier and earlier this week. Last night he was doing his best to coax me into getting ready for bed at 6:30 p.m.

Theo's routine consists of jumping up on my chest or lap and kneading me. He hops down, meows and heads off to the kitchen. This repeats itself every fifteen minutes or so. He knows if I put out the last meal of the day, I'll then go upstairs and get ready for bed. Fortunately for him, I've been pretty tired this week and haven't stayed up past 9:00.

More Talk

Thompson is our talker. He usually announces when he is leaving a room and when he's arriving in another. When I'm preparing meals he lets me know that he knows I'm preparing meals. He hops with a grunt and greets with a mrrrw.

Since my return Thompson has been extra talkative. I think he's letting me know how difficult the change in schedules, the uncertainty over when the next meal would be put out, and the lack of someone to rub his face, really was.

Whose Gift Is It?

Diego-san didn't get to play much with his birthday toy, a tube shaped rolling scratching post. Theo took an immediate liking to it and kinda claimed it as his own.

HB DS

It's Diego-san's sixth birthday. Other than his involuntary imitation as a birthday cake candle, I think he would say he's had a pretty pretty good year.

Health update: I brought him to the vet last Thursday before I left on my trip west. She said his burn hadn't gotten any worse but hadn't gotten any better either. The scab was starting to peel off so she told me to keep an eye on it and look at the burn once the scab fell off. When I got home last night the scab was still on his back and I touched it and Diego didn't seem to care for that much. This morning the scab was no longer there but the skin underneath didn't look too bad other than it being much redder than normal. Hopefully the healing will accelerate and we can put the entire incident behind us...

Diego and I Watching a Movie

Parker posted this Simon Tofield cat cartoon on her website this morning. It's a blow by blow account of Diego-san and I watching a movie together.

Wedding Day

Just got back from Los Angeles where I attended my sister's wedding. She and her husband got married in a nice park in L.A. and it was a small but very nice ceremony.

My house is still standing but the boyz seemed a bit perplexed at my appearance at 12:20 in the A.M. after a three day absence...

Someone's Missing in These Parts

It's Quiet in These Parts

Another Trip

The food guy packed his bags quickly this morning and told us he is off to someplace called El Ay. He said, "Look for me on TV boyz."

Dork.

My Turn

After seeing Diego-san placed in the carrier last week and taken away, Theo has apparently decided it is now his turn. He's been hanging out the past couple of days inside the carrier.

That Wascal Wabbit

For the past few years I have had a family of rabbits living in my yard. I don't know if they are the same rabbits, the kids of the parents of the rabbits, or completely different rabbits altogether but often when I come home and walk through my backyard to my house a few rabbits will watch me and if I get too close hop away.

My sister is allergic to cats so she has a couple of bunnies for pets. My dad and my friend M- both have told me that rabbits continue to eat their hostas but I haven't had that same problem. Thus I have learned to come to enjoy the rabbits in my yard. The only nuisance is that one of them likes to sit underneath the window that Thompson likes to look out of. To me it's almost a taunt- the rabbit surely knows Thompson is there and unable to jump through the screen to catch him.

Well the welcome might be over. The tomatoes in my garden have just started getting ripe and I have been paying particular attention to three that were nice sized and slowly turning red. I thought about picking one of the three as I went by my garden on my way to work but decided to leave it be and pick it when I got home. One of my summer loves is that I love fresh tomatoes out of the garden. While all the other plants in my yard have suffered from the lack of moisture in these parts, I have diligently kept my tomato plants watered.

When I got home from work and went to enjoy my first tomato of the season, I noticed it was half eaten. I figured I hadn't noticed some insects had been eating my tomatoes. I picked the next ripest tomato and brought it into the house figuring I could let it finish ripening inside. When I looked closer at this tomato I noticed some bite marks. This suggested some animal had decided to sample my summer's worth of hard work. Suspect number one, two, three, and four? Mr. Bunny and his family.

I wouldn't think of doing violence to an animal but the thought did occur to me that maybe I should loosen the screen from Thompson's window and let nature take its course. I might be being a bit unfair since I'm not even sure it was the rabbits that ate some of my tomato. Is there such a thing as a tomato eatin rabbit?

One Time One Night

I saw Los Lobos and Los Lonely Boys' show at the Minnesota Zoo last night. I've seen Los Lobos several times and the Zoo is a nice place to see a concert. It has an outdoor amphitheater and the music doesn't seem to disturb the animals much. Los Lobos opened their set appropriately with "How Will the Wolf Survive?"

I've never seen Los Lonely Boys before. They rocked the place.

The biggest faux pas both bands committed was that Cesar Rosas from Los Lobos and Henry and Jojo Garza from Los Lonely Boys committed the cardinal sin by continually thanking "Minneapolis." Technically the Zoo is in the suburb of Apple Valley and at the very least the guys could have thanked Minneapolis and St. Paul since we are the Twin Cities after all. Someone must have gotten to Cesar because halfway through Los Lobos' set he corrected himself and started thanking "Minneapolis AND St. Paul..."

Morpheus

I almost had to close my office door at work yesterday. Renee- one of the vendors I deal with and have traded cat stories with- told me she lost her cat Morpheus. She had brought Morpheus to the vet because he was constipated and they discovered cancer that had spread throughout his body.

I felt so bad for Renee and even though I never met him, I'll miss Morpheus.

Movie Critics

I don't think the boyz and I share the same taste in movies. I watched German director Tom Tykwer's latest film, "Perfume: the Story of a Murderer." This was Thompson's and Diego-san's reaction. Could they look any more bored?

I've enjoyed Tykwer's other films especially "Run Lola Run" and "The Princess and the Warrior." His movies are always interesting visually and storywise. He does have the tendency to be a bit bizarre and "Perfume" may be his weirdest film yet. It essentially asks the cinematic question, if you don't smell are you really alive? I had never thought to ask that question before but the movie does a good job capturing the sense of smell even though it's pretty hard to smell a movie.

Maybe because the boyz have a much keener smelling ability than mine they just thought the story was silly.

Milestone

I reached 5,000 miles on my scooter. I've had this particular scooter for about a year. I think 5,000 miles is pretty impressive since in Minnesota the scooter riding season is basically from May to October. I'm getting close to 100 miles per gallon so riding my scooter so often is saving me money. I actually pulled over to the side of the road to snap this picture.

Loyalty... To an Extent

One of the things that surprised me the other day when I brought Diego-san into the vet was Thompson's reaction to the whole event. He watched as I gathered Diego up and tried to calmly put him in his carrier. I thought Thompson might get a little agitated either figuring he was next since the two usually go to the vet together, or worried that I was doing something mean to his best buddy. Instead Thompson calmly watched with a look of "glad it's him and not me" in his eyes.

No Soup for You

Let me begin this post with a disclaimer: I feel horrible about burning Diego-san. All week long, first with the incident itself and then with the remedies, I feel like I let him down in my biggest responsibility- providing a safe and happy home for the three boyz. That said, my sense of humor often gets me in some trouble...

Today was the first day that I've had soup since the INCIDENT. You might well ask why I am eating so much hot soup during the hot days of summer. Good question. I've been enjoying Japanese noodles (udon) for dinner several times a week for the past month or so. I boil the noodles and add the broth and then pour the soup over vegetables. It's easy to make, cheap, healthy and I haven't tired of it. So today as I was boiling my water I looked at Diego-san and asked, "Care for some soup?" He didn't look too amused.

When it was done cooking I carefully carried the bowl to the living room. Diego eyed me but did not run up. He also showed no signs of fear. I doubt he's forgotten the incident but at the same time unlike some of us, he's seems willing to not let the outside scar become an inside scar as well.