A Rough Life

Quiet Sunday with the boyz. The most entertaining thing was watching Thompson follow the sun around the house.

Defrosted

The refrigerator I used to have came with the house when I bought it. Given its bulk and style I wouldn't be surprised if it was the only refrigerator the house had ever seen. My house was built in 1951.

I moved into my house in 1996. Since that time I never once defrosted the freezer. I always figured it would be a messy chore to let all the ice melt. I also didn't want to tempt my roommate at the time, Mr. Max, with a flood of water to romp in. The freezer was so frosted there was about five inches of room to put anything.

So one of the things I am thoroughly enjoying about Diego's and my "new" refrigerator is that I now have room for an ice cube tray. I have been quite refreshed with having beverages with ice cubes. What a treat!

Get Fuzzy

Attention, Please

The boyz have been craving attention recently. That probably relates to my schedule causing me to be away from home a lot and the only appearance I make is when I plop myself into bed at night.

Theo wants to play. Diego wants to be combed. Thompson wants a face rub. I've given up some sleep to be able to meet these needs.

Good Try

Theo doesn't like it when he doesn't have access to me. In other words if I close a door behind me he sits outside the door mewing away.

The only door I always keep closed in my house is my office door- that's where I keep the stuff I don't want the boyz getting at- stuff they can break or stuff that is too valuable to tempt them with.

On the other side of the hallway from the office is a bathroom. Yesterday I was in the bathroom and I closed the door behind me. I could hear Theo in the hallway meowing away. When I finally opened the door I saw him sitting at the wrong door- the office door- apparently thinking I was in there.

He's the sweetest cat in the world but sometimes I'm not sure he came equipped with all the famous cat instincts.

Hot Enuf For Ya?

It got up close to 90 degrees the past few days so the boyz have been lying around with their best "would u stop being so cheap and turn on the blippin air conditioner already" looks on their faces.

Of course it isn't just a financial decision for me. Turning on the air means closing the windows and then I'd have to deal with the "why won't you let us get fresh air once in awhile" looks.

A fellow just can't win. Fortunately it is much cooler today. Feels like May.

High IQ

Diego-san continues to impress me as the smartest cat I've ever known. He seems keenly aware of everything going on around him and his curiosity is almost always satisfied by the knowledge he gains.

I swear he even understands every word I mutter, even when I'm yammering away about nothing in particular. The latest example? The morning race I conduct with the boyz where they are to wait for me at the top of the stairs as I'm getting ready in the morning. As soon as I start to head downstairs they too can head downstairs to be fed their breakfast. First one down gets lavish praise as the winner. If they leave before I start to head downstairs they are automatically disqualified.

I made these rules up along the way. Thompson always waits for me so in a way the game was tailored to honor his patience with me. Diego used to almost always wait for me too but there was a period he took off downstairs long before I was ready. So one morning I explained what he was doing wrong to be disqualified and almost every morning since he has played by the rules.

Happy Mothers Day

I rode my scooter over to the cemetary in the morning to visit my Mom. I can't believe it's been nearly eight years... No doubt Mom would have loved the boyz (and they her) and she'd probably have a soft spot in her heart (as I must admit I do) for Thompson in particular.

I read once that cats see the person who feeds them as their mother since providing food is one of the major duties of a mother cat. I think Theo picked up on this as he was extra special to me today. He took a nap with me and after he was given his dinner he hopped up on my lap and gave me extra attention. What a sweet lil fella.

Patience

A few years back when it still was just a two cat house, I saw an ad in a catalog for a cat bunk bed. I thought it would be perfect for Thompson and Diego-san so I ordered it.

When it arrived it was much smaller then I thought it would be. The boyz didn't seem too impressed and it has pretty much been unused as intended (it's underneath a window so the boyz use it to sit on while looking out the window). Today I went upstairs and saw Thompson using the bed as a bed. It's taken a few years but maybe I'll still get my money's worth...

Opening Day

We won our first softball game of the season and I had a decent game. I actually hit a home run which was probably my first in three or four years. I had some trouble in the field butchering two ground balls but I made all the other plays and we won (something like 13 to 2- I stopped keeping track). My biggest worry- pulling a leg muscle- didn't happen although my legs felt pretty tight all game. I still quite enjoy playing softball and when I'm out in the field I still feel like the kid who used to spend every day all summer long playing whiffle ball with my brother in our backyard. Those were my Theo-like days and they seem a long long time ago.

Clean Up Time

Finally had time to do a little yard cleanup last night. I cleaned up the flower garden upfront, cutting the dead portions of my annuals off and adding some mulch.

The boyz of course were quite attentive, watching each and every move I made. I even heard Diego's high pitch squeal letting me know he wanted to come out and help.

Twins Win

I went to the Twins game last night. It was a very good game- they scored three runs in the eighth inning to tie the game and then got a three run home run from Justin Morneau in the 10th inning to win.

I scooted to the game and it turned out not to be the brightest decision I've ever made. Everybody was standing out in the mezzanine at the dome upon the game's completion. I looked out and it was pouring- rain coming down in sheets with frequent lightning and thunder.

Like most of the people there I waited until it sort of let up and then made a mad dash to my scooter which was parked about a mile away. I was pretty soaked when I got to my scooter and then the rain started coming down hard again so I waited underneath a building until it let up again. I realized scooting home in the rain and dark wasn't the safest thing to do. It doesn't help that I wear glasses and thus it was darn near impossible to see. But I didn't have much of a choice not knowing when the storm would eventually pass. I made it home safely. Thompson greeted me at the door with a look of concern and I swear, a look of disdain- as if he was telling me I really shouldn't be out there in weather like that.

24 Hour Party Pooper

Had a late late meeting last night. I didn't get to bed until after midnight. Of course that was when the boyz were just getting started (having probably spent the entire day sleeping). Still I was so tired I fell right asleep despite all the commotion around me.

It Isn't Just Me

This isn't exactly an original observation but there are some mornings (Mondays in particular) where it is hard to get up and go to work especially when one of the boyz looks at me like- you're not really leaving are you?

This morning it was Theo who was playing the guilt maker by following me around as I got ready for work, rubbing up against me and purring and then looking at me with those big round eyes of his. Add to this the fact that it was grey and drizzling outside and I have a meeting this evening and I must admit I really wanted to go back to bed and spend the day with the boyz.

The Boss Needs Attention

Diego-san was extra peppy and needy this morning and I'm not sure why.

Early in the morning he hopped up on the bed and tried to crawl underneath the covers with me. Sunday mornings are the only time the boyz get a regular snack aside from their normal food. I give them some Greenies which they seem to enjoy. I give them their treat after I'm finished getting my own- a latte from the coffee shop across the street from my house. This particular morning Diego couldn't wait and he was howling from the minute I got back with my latte.

Then he decided to wrestle Theo and that led to a high speed chase. I went upstairs and got on my computer and Diego immediately came up and got in his "I want to be combed" position- belly up. When I ignored him he began howling away until I finally relented.

Next I decided to vacuum the carpet upstairs and Diego, never one to show fear, was right there supervising the job.

A Hop Forward

My nephew Jonathan was over yesterday to mow my lawn. Jonno is trying to earn some spending money and I don't mind helping out (and getting out of lawn mowing duties altogether).

Jonno got a ride over from his brother Eben, and so he came into my house after he finished mowing, to wait for Eben to return. All three boyz greeted him. I was surprised that Thompson was so friendly- he went over to get petted and he didn't run upstairs at any point. He did spend most of the time underneath the coffee table but this was much more social behavior than usual. He especially doesn't often come out when male visitors are over and particularly younger male visitors. I was glad to see him opening up just a little bit more.

Curling's Over, It's Softball Time

We had our first softball practice of the season. Our first game is next week.

Of course with every passing year I'm wondering how much longer I'll be an effective softball player. Essentially my game is dependent on my legs- I'm still faster than many of the players. My hand/eye coordination is good, but it's my ability to run that is the strength of my game.

Since my most strenuous wintertime activity is curling (which quite frankly isn't that much of a cardiovascular workout) more and more I feel like I'm not quite in shape when softball season arrives.

Theo did his part in helping me out last night. I was scrambling looking for all my softball equipment and I opened a drawer that had a big crinkly cat toy ball inside. I moved it and Theo appeared in about two seconds ready to go. We played fetch for awhile which allowed me to stretch out my arm a bit.

My New Buddy

I bought a new scooter last night. My old one had a bad piston and since I was thinking about upgrading before it POOFED out last week, I decided now was the time.

I got a Buddy 125 which is a tad more powerful so it qualifies as a motorcycle. This required me to go take the written motorcycle test yesterday. I passed and a few hours later I was a-scooting on home.

I like my new Buddy.

Where Are the Boyz?

I was getting ready to go to work this morning and the only one around was Theo who kept rubbing up against me.

That Thompson and Diego were nowhere to be seen was a bit unusual. Usually Diego is right there watching my every move and many mornings Thompson makes it a trio of boyz either urging me to blow off work and stay home, or encouraging me to get out of the house ASAP so they can get on with their morning- it's hard to tell which.

I kinda did a search for the other two boyz and found them contently sleeping together in a cat tree underneath an open window. They didn't bat an eye as I said goodbye to them.

Vanity and Feels Good

I bought Diego-san a new comb. The one we were using was losing its bristles every time I combed him.

The new one has longer bristles that are less dense. I'm not sure it's getting as much fur but Diego seems to love its feel. Indeed last night after we were done with the grooming session he lay on the floor hugging the comb.

A Breath of Fresh Air

For the first time all year, I left the windows open all night. Thus I didn't see Thompson all night long. I'm sure he was downstairs sleeping on the cat tree that sits by his favorite window overlooking the backyard.

Takes One to Know One

Theo is about the most trusting soul in the world. He loves to wander thoughtlessly between legs and rub up against complete strangers. He's the first to greet visitors at the door. He purrs at the drop of the hat.

But at the same time, he's got a paranoid streak to him that makes him jumpier than a kindergarten class on a trampoline. There are times he'll be peacefully sitting on my chest when a noise will so startle him that he'll dash off madly to somewhere else. He often sits looking alert as if something is about to jump out at him from around the corner. This is ironic since he often sits near a corner and when Thompson or Diego appear he'll be the one to jump out at them. It's seldom goes the other way.

I attribute a lot of this to the accident he had as a kitten when apparently a child sat on him and damaged his back legs. My guess is he was totally being his sweet trusting self when the accident occurred and thus sometimes now thinks something unexpected is just about to happen at any moment.

The Odd Couple

I was awoken this morning by the sound of two cats chasing each other up and down stairs from one end of the house to the other.

I didn't even have to open my eyes to know it was Theo chasing Diego-san. The chase ended like most of their chases end- with Diego hopping up on the piano via the keyboard (playing an improvised tune in the process) up where Theo couldn't reach him. This was all fine and good except it was 6:15 on a Saturday morning.

Later on in the morning I went into the kitchen and saw Theo sitting on the kitchen table staring up at the ceiling. I looked up to see what had gotten his attention but didn't see anything other than some paint peeling. I walked a little further and saw Diego sitting on the stove also staring at the ceiling only in the direct opposite direction of where Theo was looking. I looked up at where Diego was looking and saw a spider. My guess is Theo who is doing his best to learn from Diego-san, saw him looking up and decided he too should look up. The only problem was he wasn't looking up at the same area to where the spider was and thus missed the whole point of what Diego was doing.

Poof

I was riding my scooter home last night from work, zooming along when I heard a "POOF!!!" and my scooter died. I couldn't get it restarted.

I was miles from my house so I called a towing company. They towed my scooter to the repair place where I had my dad pick me up to drive me home.

By the time I got home I was hungry, tired, and dirty. I think the boyz could tell I was a bit riled up because they were pretty mellow throughout the evening.

Life Lesson

Life is about being popular. Being popular means getting compared against others. I wouldn't dare rate which one of my boyz is cutest but here is a site whose premise is exactly that:

www.kittenwar.com

Way Up High

I didn't realize when I got my "new" refrigerator a few weeks ago, that Diego-san would claim it as his own.

Diego has taken to the top of the refrigerator as his new favorite spot in the house. I think in general he likes to be up high- but specificially he likes the location because there is no way Theo can get at him. Of course he's also always curious whenever I open the refrigerator door to all the food inside.

These Are the Days

I know that years from now and I look back on this period of my life I will no doubt smile remembering evenings just like tonight. Nothing out of the ordinary just the fury and expectation from the boyz happy to see me come home; happy to be fed; and a quiet time lying around watching me watch TV.

Awwwww

One of my new favorite things to do with Theo happens when I'm brushing my teeth getting ready for bed. He'll hop up onto the sink because he knows when I'm done I'll feed him his last meal of the day. He'll look up at me with those big eyes and I'll put my face right next to his and he'll let out the tiniest little squeaky mew. It doesn't matter how many times I move my face away and back up close- he always lets out a squeaky little plea. It's terribly cute.

Resting Up

There's lots of springtime yard work to do but the boyz and I have spent all weekend just lounging around.

My Critter Sighter

The past couple of nights Thompson has been seen occupied in my upstairs bathroom.

Both nights he was busy keeping on eye on a tiny little bug crawling around the floor. The bug, no more than a centimeter long, is a tiny worm like creature that I'm assuming got in the house through the vent that leads out to the roof.

Thompson swats at it with his lone front paw, leans down as if to try and eat it and then just watches the thing squirm and wiggle. I ruined his fun by flushing the bugs down the toilet but I've been plentiful and effusive in my praise. "Good job Thompson! Great spot!"

It's amazing how talented the boyz are in spotting bugs. I haven't seen too many in my house but there will be times when we're all just lounging around and suddenly I'll see Diego move to a spot in the room. After awhile I'll see what is it that's caught his attention and only then notice a spider is up on the ceiling. They see any tiny movement.

I would have never noticed the little tiny worms had it not been for Thompson.

Such Suppertime Enthusiasm

One of Diego-san's routines is one that he took up not too long after I adopted him. I empty the boyz' three litter boxes (one upstairs, two downstairs) right before I feed them dinner. As I'm cleaning out the upstairs litter box, Diego will go tearing down the stairs. He then rolls around the cement floor near the other two litter boxes. I go down the stairs, rub his belly, clean out the boxes while he takes his position at the bottom of the stairs. Right as I'm about to start climbing the stairs he'll go tearing upstairs towards his dinner dish. This is one activity Thompson has not taken up. Theo is curious why Diego does this and occasionally will run downstairs and run right back up, but usually just waits upstairs by his dinner dish.

He Does Slow Down

Theo must have had a busy day yesterday. Unlike normally, he was the first to join me in bed and he pretty much rested the entire night. I guess he was tired because he was back to his normal peppy self first thing in the morning.

Sunny Sunny Sunny

The sun's been shining the past three days. So much so that for the first time, I drove my scooter to work.

It's about an hour scoot from my house to my new job location but it felt good to be outside.

The boyz are enjoying chasing the sun around the house as well.

My First Bonspiel

We had our end of the season all weekend curling tournament (bonspiel). We lost our first game Friday night, and our second game Saturday afternoon. We won our Sunday morning match and then lost our Sunday afternoon match. We then had to play our final regular season game and we won that so our record over the weekend was 2-3.

That was a lot of curling. My knees and shoulders are sore.

What was a tad discouraging is that we really didn't get better over the course of the season and our losses in the bonspiel were particularly bad. We lost Sunday afternoon 9-1 and we didn't even finish the match. In our lone victory in the bonspiel, we got ahead 7-0 and barely held on to win 8-6.

Overall though I had fun and am glad I took up this somewhat niche sport.

Enough is Enough

I heard Diego-san hiss for the very first time ever. He's usually such a calm cat but last night Theo pestered him past the point of no return and Diego hissed and growled at him.

On the other hand this is somewhat a nightly occurence between Thompson and Theo. Theo will want to play or wrestle and Thompson will be game for a while but Theo's unrelenting nature will eventually push Thompson into a hissing fit.

After Diego hissed Theo away, Thompson came over and lie down next to him as if to say, 'been there.'

My Life with Cats

Theo and I had a nice morning together- taking a couple of naps in the sun.

In the evening I went to visit my nephew Nate and his wife Jennifer. They have two cats- Abby a medium haired black cat that looks like a smaller version of Diego-san; and Arthur a wiry little fellow (just turned one) who has the pep and friendliness of Theo. It was a nice reminder that there are a lot of cats out there but I am blessed with the companionship of three who are as special as can be.

Greetings

My sister is in town from L.A. She stopped over last evening before we went to dinner.

Theo, of course, greeted her at the door. He's very good about greeting everyone who visits and rubbing up against their legs. Diego-san usually also greets people. His is more a curiosity needing to see what has changed in his home. For whatever reason he didn't come out to see my sister- probably because he had just been scolded for trying to steal some of Theo's dinner.

Thompson used to run and hide underneath my bed. He's stopped doing that- probably encouraged that Diego and Theo have identified any dangerous person. He now runs up the stairs and stands at the very top. If I should happen to peer up that way I can usually see him up there and he'll cock his head as if to ask for permission to come on down. If it's someone's voice he recognizes he usually will make his way down to pay the visitor some attention.

Happy Birthday Stephanie Jane

The boyz and Bucky wish our dear lost friend Stephanie Jane a very happy birthday today.

Cartwheels Down a Gravel Road

My friend T and I went to see Lucinda Williams last night. It was a good concert and it was good to catch up with T who I hadn't seen since around Christmas time.

Lucinda is one of my favorite artists. Her new CD "West" came out about a month ago and I was a bit disappointed in it. I've seen her quite a few times the past few years and she had performed several unrecorded songs the past few shows I'd been to. If she had put all those new songs on to the CD it would have been among her best. But only three of the unrecorded songs made it on to "West" and the CD is much more downbeat than I was expecting.

The live version of the songs from "West" were among my favorite performances last night. The title song in particular affected me more than the recorded version.

Of course I forgot to feed the boyz both breakfast and lunch before I left for work in the morning and I went to meet T right after work- so the boyz were plenty hungry by the time I got home and had no qualms about expressing themselves as well as Lucinda does in her songs.

Time to Take Cover

It's snowing outside this morning.

Two weeks ago it was 80 degrees. Go figure. The worst part about living in Minnesota isn't the cold cold winters. It's the late snowstorms in March and April after a warm spell that convinced you spring was actually here. It's much too late for a snowstorm.

Let's Stick Together

Diego-san and Thompson have been spending more time together than usual. Most of the time it's a duo effort in watching Theo go crazy running up and down the hallways.

Determined

One thing that always makes me smile is when Thompson decides he wants/needs to get somewhere RIGHT NOW. He's got a determined hop/skip/run thing that he does that reminds me of a little bunny. So yesterday when he did this I called him my lil Easter Bunnycat. If I were him I would have been offended but he seemed happy as could be when he got to the scratching post that he decided needed attention.

Tuxedo Twins

I got an email late Friday from a salesperson I met with about a month ago. While she was in my office my computer's screen saver kicked in. My screen saver is a slide show of many of the pictures I've taken of the boyz. When she saw a picture of Theo- she perked up (and she was quite perky by nature). "That looks exactly like my cat," she said.

So on Friday she sent me a picture of her cat Morpheus (I love that name) and indeed he does look like Theo's brother.

Just Another Saturday Night

Finished up the fourth season of "Six Feet Under" while the boyz kept an eye on me. It's funny how sometimes they have to be in the same room as me although they don't want to sit with me.

That's actually quite a rare thing- usually at least one of the boyz wants my direct attention. It did make it easier to pay attention to the storyline while all three boyz rested contently.

Annually

Diego-san and Thompson's trip to the vet this morning went well. I waited until the last possible moment before I pulled out their carriers. Since the carrier I use for Diego is kept in storage, he was curious about it when I pulled it out. So getting him to go inside wasn't that much of a chore.

Thompson on the other hand, hates to be confined. I have a cloth carrier that opens on top so I just have to ease him down and then try and hold him down as I zip it shut. He let it be known from the time his feet were in the carrier to the time we finally got to the vet that he was not a happy camper.

They both checked out fine. Thompson has lost a pound in the past year- which is good because I'm making every effort to see that he doesn't become overweight. I did learn (or re-learn) something about Diego's early days. When he was first brought into the vet from the shelter they thought he was a female and he was named Nicole. When they went to do spay him/her they then discovered that he was a male. I swear he still does have some feminine qualities to him so that may explain things a bit. I had heard that story at one point but had forgotten it.

Theo was glad when we returned. I think he was a bit spooked to see his colleagues leaving without him.

Knock on Wood

At the risk of jinxing them, neither Thompson nor Diego-san have shown any inclination of coming down with whatever was causing Theo to sneeze and sniffle a couple of weeks ago. Hopefully we're in the clear.

Thompson and Diego do have their annual physical tomorrow morning. It's the one time of year that Theo has the house all to himself.

One of Those Nights

After all the nice things I wrote about Diego yesterday...

Diego-san and I have had our moments ever since he moved in. He can just be so gosh darn curious, investigative, defiant, and stubborn. He gets into everything, good and bad and he can be relentless in his need to explore (and often times misbehave). Last night I caught him licking a dirty pan I had left on the stove. If there is one rule of the house it is the boyz aren't allowed on the stove. I don't want them jumping up while I'm cooking or while one of the burners is hot. This rule really only applies to Diego since I don't think either Thompson or Theo could make the leap up.

So I hollered at him pretty good and he ran down to the basement meowing all the time as if to say, "If you don't want me up there, don't leave dirty dishes lying around..." After I did the dishes and did some cleaning in the living room I searched the house to see where Diego was at. I found him sitting looking forlorn on top of my refrigerator. I couldn't yell at him even though I knew to get on top of the refrigerator he had to first hop up on the stove (which sits right next to the refrigerator) again.

Afterwards he went upstairs to my bed and when I went up there to work on the computer and watch some TV- he sat there facing away from me. He didn't ask to be combed like he does most evenings. And when Thompson and Theo chased each other around he didn't lift his head to look at all the commotion as is his nature. So I apologized for hollering and paid him lots of attention until he stopped sulking. He's hard to stay mad at.

Brrrrrrr

Over the weekend I changed my furnace filter. Turns out just in time because it's getting colder out again. Indeed we're supposed to get up to a half a foot of snow this afternoon.

Unfortunately I didn't get the filter in straight. One of the boyz had jumped up on the wash tub where I was keeping the filter and it got bent. So I put it in the furnace as best I could. Well, when I awoke this morning the house was freezing. I looked at my thermometer and it was 52 degrees in the house. Thank goodness that Diego was sleeping on my arm. He was providing about the only warmth I could feel.

I went down to the basement and fiddled with the filter until the furnace fired up.

Rainy Days and Monday

It rained pretty much all weekend. Now that he's gotten a sniff of spring air, Thompson makes it clear that he would like me to open the windows. He does this by hoppin on over to his favorite window sitting spot in the main level bedroom and meowing away. Last night he gave up and joined me upstairs for a face rub- which I guess is the next best thing to an open window.