Friday, December 31, 2010

Goodbye 2010

The last post of the year belongs to Diego-san. He thinks that is only appropriate.

Thursday, December 30, 2010

Holiday Haiku

Cold grey winter day
our house is much much too cold
warmth of a brother

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Not So Much Grit

Watched the original version of True Grit with Theo. He liked all the different noises the horses were making in the movie. I liked John Wayne's performance. I'm not sure the word 'grit' would appear on anyone's list of describing all the things Theo is...

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Vacation Week

Thompson approves of my plan to take this entire week off. He was extra cuddly today...

Monday, December 27, 2010

The Great Northwest



Flew out to Seattle on Christmas Eve, and then took the Amtrak back to Minnesota across the Great Northwest. It was a very picturesque Christmas trip...

Sunday, December 26, 2010

Darn Suitcase

The boyz got to spend the last two days by themselves. Diego-san has determined that darn suitcase might just be his archenemy.

Saturday, December 25, 2010

Happy Holidays


I’m sure similar to most of you, we found 2010 to be a very busy year. But no matter the activity, the accomplishment, the ups or the downs, 2010 will always be remembered by us as the “Year of the Great Anal Gland Incident.” (Yes, with his lion sized pride, Diego-san is horrified that I would even mention the incident in our annual holiday letter and suspects I only do so because it’s not often that you can include the word “anal” in a holiday letter.) Suffice it to say, it was touch and go there for a while, and our after midnight visit to the U of M’s veterinary clinic was followed by a week of nursing him back to health in an isolated room of the house where he had the indignity of wearing one of those plastic cones around his neck so he couldn’t lick his butt. The whole alone time period gave us a lot of time to bond and he’s been extra cuddly ever since.

Of course Theo spent the entire week outside the closed door crying that he couldn’t get into the room. He sure does like to be a part of everything, and usually is. One of my favorite moments of the day continues to be when I get home, and Theo gets all excited (probably because he knows his next meal is just around the corner). He hops up on the kitchen table while I sort the day’s mail and he licks my arms and hands. He then follows me up the stairs where I hug and praise him if he’s done his one job for the day: ensuring that the towels in the bathroom are still hanging on the rack (tee hee we also used the word “rack” in our holiday letter…) and not lying on the floor.

I was surprised that Thompson didn’t seem too alarmed by the “Great Anal Gland Incident.” He’s usually a stickler for routine, and he also usually is quite fond of Diego-san. He seemed fine with all the alone time, ate his meals like usual, and didn’t seem at all curious about what was going on behind closed doors. My favorite times with Thompson remain those where we take a nap together. He’s the greatest napper I’ve ever met. He likes to lie on the side of his missing leg, so he can get his chest and face as close to mine as possible without the obstruction of a limb. I know he’s really into his nap when his deep purr turns into a snore.

The bulk of my year was spent colored by the ever increasing sound of the ringing in my left ear. When I visited a doctor to try to address the ringing, the first thing the doctor told me was, “There are support groups for this type of thing” meaning a cure was probably not in the cards. The ringing only bothers me when I’m trying to listen to something or when I think, so some would say those incidences rarely occur. The one relief I have found is I can’t hear the ringing if I’m singing at the top of my lungs. My officemates (or the boyz for that matter) don’t always appreciate this. I also had surgery to remove a lump on my tongue. During the recovery time, I learned that the tongue is one of the quickest healing organs, and also one of the moistest. It wasn’t like I needed to taste food or anything…

But enough about our aches and pains. I was very happy to put nearly 4,000 miles on my scooter this year. I think I would have been happier if I actually put those miles on in a straight line rather than going around in circles and getting nowhere. When I wasn’t scooting, curling, playing softball, or enjoying a quiet moment with the boyz, I was busy working on my next novel tentatively called, “I See Ballots in My Sleep.” It’s a story about a young boy and his love of counting things.

We all hope you have a great holiday season and enjoy 2011 to the max. We’re crossing our fingers and hoping we’ll get lucky and be able to name 2011 after a private body part as well.

Friday, December 24, 2010

Worth a Shot

Theo thought if he went to bed a little early, Santa might arrive even sooner than scheduled.

Thursday, December 23, 2010

Wednesday, December 22, 2010

Life is Rough

There isn't always someone around to give you a belly rub....





Tuesday, December 21, 2010

Bound and Determined

Theo loves to play fetch. His brothers don't like it so much when Theo and I are playing fetch since he'll run through a brother or two in pursuit of his ball...


Monday, December 20, 2010

Back Boy

Thompson is a very good brother. He's always got his brother's back.





Sunday, December 19, 2010

Big Dreamer

Shhhhhh. Kitty busy dreaming some big dreams...

Saturday, December 18, 2010

Cat Ears

Diego-san likes to sit on top of my TV. I don't mind... I get better reception that way...

Friday, December 17, 2010

Stop and Smell the Roses

I hope this wasn't what Theo was strategizing the other day...

By the looks of things, Thompson must've passed the smell test.

Thursday, December 16, 2010

Check

Scratch finding a splotch of sun to lie in from the list of things to get done before Christmas...

Wednesday, December 15, 2010

Strategic Timeout

Sometimes it's important to stop chasing your brother all around the house to figure out what your next best move might be...

Tuesday, December 14, 2010

Water Expert

There's no drinking water out a dish for this water connoisseur.

Monday, December 13, 2010

Winter Wonderland

Yesterday was a great day to find a warm brother to snuggle with...

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Dumped On

As forecasted we got a ton of snow, nearly 17 inches. I went out three separate times to try to dig out the waist high drifts. Theo kept looking out the window at me wondering what idiot would go out in such conditions...

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Enough Already

It's snowing outside and by the time this storm is over they are saying we might have up to two feet of snow, with drifts up to five feet. That's enough to make one want to crawl into the bathtub and hide...

Friday, December 10, 2010

Thursday, December 09, 2010

Just Guessin'

Not quite sure Diego-san appreciates Thompson's foot in his face.



Wednesday, December 08, 2010

Now You Tell Me

I told Theo he has less than 17 days to convince Santa he's been good enough this year to get some toys. He seemed alarmed by the announcement...

Tuesday, December 07, 2010

Bongo Ball Anyone?

One of the boyz' toys is called 'bongo ball.' It's just a fuzzy ball attached to the top of a spring. It's good for batting back and forth, up and down. Of course if you want to play some bongo ball, you might have to get through Diego-san first...

Monday, December 06, 2010

Dynamic Duo

Sometimes it's best to face Monday with the help of another.

Sunday, December 05, 2010

Box Top Boy

Theo decided today was a good day to kick his feet up and relax on top of a box.

Saturday, December 04, 2010

Blizzardo

We had a bad winter storm go through the city yesterday. It took me over an hour to drive six blocks in downtown Minneapolis trying to get home. Needless to say when I finally arrived, it was nice to be greeted by some expectant faces...

Friday, December 03, 2010

L. L.

Diego-san takes leisurely lounging to a whole other level...

Thursday, December 02, 2010

Our Little Secret

Just between you and me... Theo is quite the adorable little fella...

Wednesday, December 01, 2010

November/December

November, out like a lion. December in like a penguin. In other words it was snowy and windy yesterday and supposed to be quite frigid today...

Tuesday, November 30, 2010

Different Creeds for Different Cats

Diego-san's creed is that a cat should always act cool at all times. I think that is why he doesn't understand Theo at all, particularly when Theo is running around the house like a chicken with its head cut off...

Monday, November 29, 2010

Shout Out

Theo is shouting out his support for more four day weekends with the food provider.

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Saturday, November 27, 2010

The Old Jokes Work the Best

Is that a banana by your side or are you just glad to see me?

Friday, November 26, 2010

Black Friday

Diego-san is just thrilled by all the great shopping deals that are being advertised.

Thursday, November 25, 2010

Thanksgiving 2010

Among the many things I'm thankful for, is another great (and mostly healthy) year with the boyz. They are the greatest...


Wednesday, November 24, 2010

Game Time

Thompson wants you to guess if this picture was pre-tryptophan or post-tryptophan.

Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Monday, November 22, 2010

A Tip from Theo

It's fascinating how interesting your older brother smells.

Sunday, November 21, 2010

Suddenly Sunday

The weekends just seem to roll on by...

Saturday, November 20, 2010

Total Diego Eclipse

Unlike a solar eclipse, it's OK to look directly at a Diego-san eclipse.

Friday, November 19, 2010

Mystery Friday

By the looks of things, Theo doesn't seem to believe whatever he hears or sees going on downstairs...

Thursday, November 18, 2010

Holiday Model

I told the boyz it was time to get our Christmas card made. Thompson, ever the well behaved boy, immediately struck a stately pose.


Wednesday, November 17, 2010

A Job Well Done

I didn't have the heart to tell Theo that he didn't have to hold the wall up because he was doing such a good job at it.

Tuesday, November 16, 2010

I Wanna Be Like You

As I mentioned a while back, Theo really does look up to Diego-san and all the heights his older brother is able to scale...

Monday, November 15, 2010

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Inside Out

Outside, we were getting six inches of snow. Inside, Theo was as snug as a bug in a cat tree.

Saturday, November 13, 2010

Back Home

Got back from Charlottesville, Virginia where I saw my 39th Bob Dylan concert. It was a good show, and I enjoyed visiting a beautiful city. The boyz were pretty glad to see me come back home. When I went to bed, Thompson and Diego-san wedged themselves on either side of me so I was unable to move.

Friday, November 12, 2010

Checker

Thompson often checks in on Diego-san and myself just in case he's missing something he should be a part of...

Thursday, November 11, 2010

Sitter

I asked Diego-san's favorite person in the whole world to stop by to feed the boyz while I'm gone. He could barely hide his excitement.

Wednesday, November 10, 2010

A Face to Come Home To

Taking a short little trip... It's often hard to leave the house watching Theo's little face watch me walk all the way out to the car...

Tuesday, November 09, 2010

The Many Looks of Thompson

This is Thompson's content look. It's also his bored look. It might also be his contemplative look as well.