Halloween Duo

More than any other night of the year, Halloween is a night that black cats (and mostly black cats) have to stick together even if one of the two may disagree.

Portrait of Diego-san

This is my all time favorite picture of Diego-san. It was taken by my friend A- back in 2005 when I asked her to take some photos of the boyz (just Thompson and Diego-san lived here back then) for our 2005 Christmas card. This picture captures Diego's personality pretty pretty well.

What's for Lunch?

Not that I want to waste the boyz space with my own follies but last night I stopped at the grocery store on my way home from work. My refrigerator is pretty bare these days but among the essentials I was out of were bread and butter. So I bought a loaf and a tub.

As I do every morning I prepared my lunch and snacks for the day- a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a tofu burger, an apple, and yogurt. When I got to work I went to put my food away and noticed I grabbed the wrong bag from my home refrigerator. I had grabbed the bag with the tub of butter in it (I had removed the bread already). So I had a tub of butter for lunch.

Not really. I ended up going to a nearby Chinese restaurant. When I got home I told the story to Thompson who always seems eager to hear all about my day. Oh the laughs we had (at least one of us).

Sleep Deprived

I've been working a lot of hours the past month or so. Sleep has sorta become a luxury- especially with one boy who decides he wants to play fetch at three in the morning so he goes tearing around and mewing to have a ball thrown his way, and another boy who just has to get underneath the covers with me at various times during the night so he paws at my face until I lift the covers up.

I'll be the first to admit I've been a bit of a zombie (appropriate given the time of year) the past few days. Today I found myself a bit edgy when I walked around corners afraid of bumping into people. Now I know how Theo feels- his normal state of being is in a word, 'jumpy.' He seldom seems relaxed and always seems worried about what lurks around the corner...

Adjusting Part Two

The regular Sunday routine has been for me to watch sports on my living room couch (well watch is a loose term since I almost always fall asleep). Thompson and/or Theo usually join me by taking a nap while lying on my chest. Diego usually is off somewhere else taking a solo nap.

Yesterday I went downstairs and was a little disappointed Thompson and Theo didn't come down to join me. Instead Diego took his nap by my side. It was nice spending alone time with Diego, which is somewhat rare. But I do hope the other boyz get over their uncertainty about the new lower wing of the house...

Adjusting

The boyz still don't seem to know what to make of the new downstairs. I haven't been home much myself to enjoy it. The boyz join me when I'm down there but Theo and Diego can't seem to ever sit still and Thompson is on his high alert mode... ready to spring upstairs at the hint of anything startling happening...

Theo Sez

"Thompson, seriously... I heard something down there..."

The Boyz (and certainly not me) Are the Coolest

Our fellow Buffy the Vampire Slayer fan Gizmo bestowed on us the following award:


We are supposed to pass this on to ten other blogs. The boyz however have told me there are way too many we should bestow the award to and we wouldn't want to miss anyone so we bestow them on everybody out there....

Thanks Gizmo.

Hey Little Rock Star

I went to hear Lucinda Williams at First Ave. She played in sequence all the songs from her new CD, "Little Honey." For the second straight concert I got there early enough to stand right up next to the stage. This time I was slightly off to Lucinda's left about four feet away. She uses a music stand that has a book of all the lyrics and this was also to her left so she kept having to look down my way.

She screwed up the duet on the new song "Jailhouse Tears." On the CD the male part is sung (with great gusto) by Elvis Costello. In concert her lead guitarist Doug Pettibone took the part. When they got to his first verse Lucinda sang it and then quickly realized her mistake. She stopped the band and was visibly upset because the concert was also being webstreamed. They tried it three or four more times and she kept screwing it up and you could see her mood deteriorating. They finally got it right and it took her a few more songs to warm up to the audience again.

Her second set featured two songs from each of her other albums. All in all a very fine concert by one of our best singer/songwriters.

Pumped Up

I've been working late almost every evening this week. Diego-san apparently decided to save up all his energy for tonight. As soon as I got home he raced upstairs. When we were done with dinner he zoomed downstairs and sprinted through the tunnel that leads to the litter boxes. At first I thought the normal thing was happening and Theo was chasing him but I saw Theo in the kitchen still finishing up his meal. When Diego decides he is going to expend his energy running around he is like a flash - a black blur.

Batty

With all the house rearranging I've been doing recently I have to admit I find it highly amusing that every time I move a piece of furniture I end up finding about a dozen of the crinkly balls that Theo loves. He loves to play fetch and every time he hears me pick up one of the crinkly balls he comes running into the room full of expectation that we are about to play fetch. I've put all the crinkly balls I have found in the boyz's toy box and nearly all of them are gone again. When I'm not around he'll play a solo game of fetch batting the ball as far as he can and chasing after it. Theo just can't leave them alone...

TVLand Revisited

A couple days ago I showed you a picture of Diego-san playing a lonesome game of Hollywood Squares. Today Theo and Diego are showing you their imitation of the Brady Bunch theme.

The boyz had to explore the new/old bookcase I moved from my dad's house to mine over the weekend. It's the bookcase I had growing up, and now with my own house remodel and the move of a couch from the living room to the lower wing, there was a huge open space in the living room. Of course I'm not so much into book learnin these days so the bookshelf is going to hold some DVDs and CDs for now (that is when it isn't full of kitties).

Back to Back

Sometimes you don't actually need to see your best buddy. It's enough just to know he's got your back.

The Amazing Circus Kitty

I was enjoying my new TV in my newly finished basement when I heard a noise in the other room so I got up to investigate.

In that room there's a window about 10 feet off the ground. There in the window sill sat a calm looking Diego-san. I'm not sure how he got up there. There was nothing for him to climb up on the jump up on to the sill. My guess is that he used the mattress sitting a few feet away to trampoline himself up into the window. Needless to say, I was quite impressed (and happy he didn't crash through the window itself).

Of course his favorite spot to sit in the new wing of the house is inside the new shelves. That jump is a little easier as he hops on to the cabinet below and climbs on up. Here is a picture of him playing a lonesome game of Hollywood Squares.

All the world is Diego-san's playground.

I'll Follow the Sun

The days are getting noticeably shorter so a boy's gotta get as much sun as a boy can get.

Twins

I collect bobbleheads. A couple of years ago my sister gave me this feline bobblehead to add to my collection. I brought this bobblehead to work because the look on its face so reminds me of the blank stare I often get from Theo.

Whenever I have a tough day at work I look at the bobblehead and I think about my little guy Theo and I just can't wait to be home again with my littlest buddy...

Little Honey

One of my top three favorite singer/songwriters released a new CD Tuesday. The boyz and I are listening to Lucinda Williams' "Little Honey" right now. I'm quite enjoying it- it's very unusual to hear Lucinda sing some happy songs.

I bought the CD through Amazon. One of the big disadvantages of buying new music from Amazon is that they don't ship the CD until the day before or on the day it is officially released- meaning you don't receive it until days after you could have gotten it if you hadn't been lazy and had gotten your tushie off the sofa and scampered on down to your favorite neighborhood CD store.

When I saw the Amazon box sitting inside my doorway I knew immediately what it was and was quite excited to hear new Lucinda Williams' songs. I opened the door and right on cue Theo greeted me as I said, "Hey buddy, my lil honey, we got 'Little Honey!'"

Oh the laughs we have.

I can't wait to see Lucinda when she plays here next week...

Unusual Day

Over the weekend my friend M- gave me her old oven/stove which happened to be about 30 years newer than the one I've had since I moved into my house.

Today I arranged for a junk company to come and haul away the old stove. So I took off a little early from work and when I got home my dad was over with the furnace guy to give my furnace a tune up. None of the boyz was in sight so I did a search and found Thompson underneath my futon frame. I couldn't find either Theo or Diego but 15 minutes after the furnace guy left they both came sauntering upstairs. Apparently Diego had to supervise the work and Theo tagged along.

The boyz thought all was normal then the junk company guys arrived and hauled away the oven/stove. All three boyz went back in hiding. At night I went and got a new TV for the newly remodeled basement and they got to hear some cursing as I had some trouble setting it up.

All and all a very exciting day.

Mr. Silk

Diego-san has the softest fur I've ever felt on an animal. His fur is like silk. One visitor once actually asked me if I put something on him to make him so soft. Nope. That's the way god made him and having the pride the size of a lion, Diego would settle for nothing less.

Thompson Sez

"He can be a little bit pesky at times but he does make a good pillow."

Cool

Chica and Pumuckl, our favorite two cats in Germany, were nice enough to give us this banner/award. The rules are to nominate 10 other blogs. We're gonna be a little loose with the rules and pass it on to anyone who hasn't been nominated yet. All the readers of the boyz's blog certainly deserve the award...

Star Tribune 10/10

By PAUL WALSH, Star Tribune

The Animal Humane Society in the Twin Cities is overrun with cats and says that if many of them are not adopted soon "the hard decision" about putting them down will have to be made.

"In September alone, we averaged 76 a day coming into our shelters," said Deb Balzer, spokeswoman for the society, which has locations in Golden Valley, St. Paul, Woodbury, Buffalo and Coon Rapids.

"We're about a 1,000 more this year" than at this time last year, Balzer said this morning, adding that the society is more than 6 percent ahead of its 2007 pace for taking in cats.

"If we don't get the help we need, we will be forced to make the hard decision," she said. "We don't want to put down these cats because of space.

"If you ever thought about getting a cat, we need help. We're not talking about next month. It breaks our heart."

Prospective adoptive families should expect to pay about $80 for a cat. That includes either spay or neutering, vaccinations and a microchip ID tag. The cost for a more desirable breed could run up to $150, Balzer said.

For more information, visit the society's website at www.animalhumanesociety.org or call 763-522-4325.

Remembering Days Past

Sometimes I think Thompson gets nostalgic about his early days in the wild when the world was a much bigger place.

Who's a Better Napper

I was sorry I couldn't join the boyz in their impromptu 'who's the best napper in house' contest.

No Vampires Allowed

I made a stir fry last night featuring potatoes, zucchini, and lots of garlic. When I got home from work the house still smelled extra garlickee enough so to ward away any vampires that might want to visit the boyz and me.

Ineffective Housekeeping

"Pssst... that loud sucky thing and you missed some cat fur."

Hurdles

Thompson came upstairs last night as I was preparing to go to bed. He plopped himself down in the middle of the hallway. Theo then came upstairs extra wound up. He raced up and down the hallway. As he neared Thompson, Theo decided not to run around his housemate but instead use him as a hurdle. This went on three or four times- Thompson just sat there as Theo whizzed over him. Finally Thompson had enough and the sat up and snarled. This of course led to another wrestling match that ended the way many of their wresting matches end- with Thompson hissing at Theo.

Dizzy Miss Lizzy

Went to the second cool concert of the week: Liz Phair who played at First Ave. Liz played her entire superlative 1993 CD, Exile in Guyville, song for song. I stood right up next to the stage with the bass player about three feet in front of me and Liz about ten feet to my left. It is always a tad weird standing so close to the performers that they can look you in the eyes and I was sort of glad I never did once make eye contact with Liz. I think I would have blushed.

It was a bit odd being at a concert knowing exactly which song was coming next. But Guyville remains one of my five favorite CDs of all time and it is one work that actually made me think when it was released I understood women just a little bit. I was probably fooling myself though. In truth, I understand women about as well as I understand kitties.

The highlight of the show came during the encore when Liz played a song from her new CD that is supposed to be released sometime this fall. It was a bluesy song with a refrain about ding dong the witch is dead and rock and roll survives. I quite liked it and it made me excited to hear all her new songs.

Made You Look

Um, Theo... I don't think there's anything new up there.

Check it out

The boyz got an early look at our now almost completed, finished basement. Essentially I now have a family room and an extra bedroom sized room. It looks spiffy. As if I needed a reminder as to why I love the boyz so much:

Diego-san ran down the stairs and checked out every square inch of the work. He didn't miss a spot, and occasionally he would squeal as if he either approved of the work or saw something he didn't like. And of course he ended up on top of the shelving unit that was added. It's the highest new place he could jump to where Theo and Thompson can't reach him...

Part of the basement where the washer and dryer are located, and where the litter boxes are usually located remains unfinished. There now is a door between the finished and unfinished portions of the lower wing. Because I want to keep this door closed, I had my contractor build a little tunnel that runs underneath the stairs and allows the boyz access to both parts of the basement. I've been a bit worried that Theo won't figure out this route and thus will not find where the litter boxes are. I don't know why I keep underestimating him. As soon as he ran downstairs the first thing he did was run back and forth through the tunnel...

Thompson was the least interested of the three in checking out the new space. He was reluctant to go downstairs and crept slowly down the stairs looking back at me for encouragement that it was OK to go downstairs again. He came back up and saw a moth flying around the living room. He stalked the intruder as best he could, struggling to follow the flutter with his own awkward hop. But he didn't give up and eventually cornered the moth where I could get at it and get it out of the house. Watching his determination was, as always, very inspiring.

Fun Fact

From my Get Fuzzy daily calendar: "The Egyptian word for 'cat' is 'mau,' which means 'seer.' Ancient Egyptians believed cats possessed mystical power and revered them. When a cat died, its human family would shave their eyebrows in a sign of mourning. Today we know that cats are just stuck-up freeloaders."

Modern Guilt

Went and saw one of my favorite artists, Beck, play. It was a great show that included a killer version of last spring's best single "Timebomb," a cover of Dylan's "Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat," and my favorite Beck song, "Lost Cause."

"Lost Cause" is a great breakup song, one of the saddest I've ever heard. It brings tears to my eyes every time I hear it. Beck did an abbreviated acoustic version singing at the upper end of his vocal range. Quite moving...

At the end of the performance I got a text message from J, the girl I just said goodbye to. She asked if I was at the concert. I was surprised she made it- she said she wasn't going even though Beck is her favorite artist. I was so glad that she changed her mind and came to the show although texting during the concert made me feel like an aging hipster doofus.

Setlist
Loser / Nausea / Girl / Timebomb / Minus / Soul of a Man / Chemtrails / Mixed Bizness / Nicotine & Gravy / Que Onda Guero / Hell Yes / Clap Hands / Black Tambourine / Devils Haircut / Orphans / Think I’m in Love / Walls / Missing / The Golden Age / Lost Cause / Where It’s At / ??

ENCORE: Gamma Ray / Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat (Dylan) / Profanity Prayers / E Pro