Oops.

Forgot the action shot that follows this one:

in the previous post.  Clearly, relaxation is contagious:

Mmmmm…ketchup

Oh wait.  Not that kind.  I mean “catch up.”  We have a new furry family member that joined our family this Christmas.  May I present “Snowflake”:

We went to KittyDaddy’s mom’s house on Christmas Day and returned to Wisconsin with this little guy.  Three of the five kittens in the litter had already been selected by cousins, but Miss Bean got to pick him out and name him.  He is appropriately playful and silly:

Surprisingly patient with all three kids:

Even though wee Beeber has been known to carry him around the house just like Charlie Brown’s neighbor did with her boneless cat.  No pictures of that, but take my word, it’s stinkin’ cute.  I just don’t want to send mixed messages:  Don’t do that to the kitty, but wait a second while I take a picture.

Friend Molly Bees came by for a bit of knitting and, instead, deboned the cat.  She says she put all the bones back, but he’s been a little slinky every since, so I’m not sure everything got put back in the right places.

But at least Beeb has had the chance to study sunbeam basking with a master:

Kitty Chai has been doing her best to resist his charms, but she is putting up with a nap buddy begrudgingly.  She has been reminding him regularly that pouncing on the diva is ill-advised, but he seems to be a slow study.

My only complaint is that the vet has been pestering us for a <ahem> sample to analyze.  With two cats sharing a litter box, there is no way to get his sample without witnessing him in the act.  So last night we finally got lucky and he was taking care of business when KittyDaddy went to clean the box.  I ran and got a baggie and retrieved the treasure.  Since it was a bit, shall we say, fragrant, I set it out in the garage.  Then first thing this morning, I wrangled all three kids into clothes, grabbed my purse and the baggy, hied everyone out into the 2°F weather*, and trucked over to the vet’s office.

I went in to make the delivery, fairly pleased with myself that it had only taken a month and a half.  I proceeded to get LECTURED about how it had to be less than 8 hours old and that it couldn’t be frozen.  (Might have been nice to know that before).  The general tone of the lecture was that I clearly don’t have my priorities straight.  I should have brought it in within a couple of days of being asked.  I should have know that it needed to be delivered still steaming.  I am clearly a bad pet owner for, well, you know, living life, dealing with my children and the household, etc. instead of following the kitten around with a plastic bag.  If I were just a wee bit pissier, I would come back to the vet with the cat and a plastic bag and told them to call me when they have what they need.  Pardon me, if you need me I’ll be over here, rolling my eyes.

* Okay, perhaps I exaggerate.  I may have been as high as, say, 5°F.

OMG!

Well, I know I'm a crazy cat lady with a weird sense of humor and too much yarn and I have strong suspicions I'm not the only one, so I had to share this! The recipe is here. Uh, yeah, that's right "recipe." It's not really a litter box. It's a cake. There is chocolate involved. I'm trying to decide if Kitty Daddy is twisted enough to receive one of these as a birthday cake next March.

Ugh.

Yeah, I'm still here, but I have been nurturing my inner hermit. We have had a rough couple of weeks. The weather has been pretty typical August yuck...hot and unbearably humid, which is my least favorite weather. Add waddling, uncomfortable, and toes in my ribs and we are all working on a bit of cabin fever because I just can't bear to leave the house. We do manage to go swimming when we can, but the yucky weather has also been unsettled and stormy, so we have to skip the pool on those days.

In addition, we had to say goodbye to our little, orange Kitty Man last Friday. He hasn't been eating well since we got back from vacation in early June, which we attributed to the stress of us being gone and the hot weather, but he just kept losing weight. By the time we got him in to see the vet, his liver was in bad shape and he went downhill quickly. He was a sweet, affectionate (in a pathological, can't-take-no-for-an-answer kind of way) boy and will be missed. It's amazing that someone so little and orange can leave such a big hole.

Kitty Man (1998-2007)

Of Velcro Cats and Squirrelly Children

We survived our two-week vacation and had a lot of fun with Grandma, Grandpa, and Great-Grandma 'Dell. There will be details to come as Grandpa finishes pictures (we let him be the official photographer!) and I start getting back to normal. I popped into email and Bloglines occasionally while we were in Oregon, but didn't have nearly enough time to even pretend to stay caught up so, if you haven't seen or heard from me lately, I'm trying to get caught up!

While we were gone, Miss Mollie Dog stayed at the doggie hotel (boarded at the vet's) and the kittens stayed home with a friend checking in on them daily. Mollie had the entire vet staff wrapped around her little paw by the time we got back, so she didn't suffer a bit. The cats on the other hand have developed some abandonment issues. You know how cat hair sticks all over clothing? It turns out that if the situation is dire enough, Kitty Man hair will stick to my clothing with the cat still attached. Kitty Chai has been sticking pretty close too, but more within the context of a "normal cat" (I term I use very loosely). She has also made a couple of tries to escape out the front door to register her disapproval.

The kids had a fabulous time and did amazingly well in the car for a total of six days (2000 miles each way) and had a blast while we were there. However, we are now being repaid for their good behavior. Both kids have been unusually crazy since we got home. I completely understand that they are decompressing and readjusting to being home after a HUGE (but fun) upheaval, but man, Mama's tired and cranky and had just about had it!

Reunited!

Our sweet kitty Chai is home!!!! She had a nice two week vacation with a wonderful person. Apparently, after slipping out the door, she had been captured in a big net by a neighbor, whose son was hitting Chai with a stick. Our good samaritan (who was visiting another neighbor) intervened on Chai's behalf and took her home. She had reported finding Chai to the animal shelter, but her report and our report were apparently never matched up. This morning, this wonderful lady was back in the area visiting her friend who lives two doors down from us and after seeing signs, they check with us and our princess is home!

I truly hope that there is a special place in heaven reserved for people who are kind to animals. While we expressed our appreciation in words and a small reward, I'm not sure that is possible to adequately convey just how much her kind actions meant to us.

We're back...

Sorry for the long hiatus, but sometimes life happens. Combine that with some unresolved guilt for having old pix that haven't been posted, and well, you know...

I haven't been completely away from the blog, even though I haven't been posting, I am still working on moving the posts from my knitting blog over. I only have a dozen or so left and then I will be unified into a single blog!

This morning we went for a walk and then spent a few minutes at close park. It is a brisk day...36.5°F right now, according to Weather Underground. When we went to the park on Tuesday, the weather was similar and mom ended up carrying all the hats, gloves, and mittens, so we tried just winter coats (Don't look at me like that...they both have hoods and the jackets are on the big side so hands can be turtled up into the sleeves...it's not like I sent 'em out nekkid. Really.), but everyone was pretty chilly by the time we got home. So we all had some hot cocoa and are now piled in the recliner with one big blanket over everyone and nummies for all comers. All in all, not a bad way to be on a cold, cloudy November day! Of course, having two hands to type would make my life easier, but it is pretty cozy, so I'm not complaining!

Still no Kitty Chai, but we are checking weekly at the animal shelter (cats are held for seven days before being adoptable) and aren't giving up hope. Mama misses her princess...

Missing Kitty

Our sweet Kitten Chai has been missing since yesterday. We are hoping that she just slipped out for a short outdoor adventure and will come back soon, but in the meantime, we'd appreciate some "Kitty Chai, go home" thoughts that anyone can spare.

Poor Kitty Man...he's usually pretty affection starved, but he has turned into a little orange cockleburr, clinging to Mama, wondering where his furry sister is.

Why I need to take up spinning, too

Twice a year, when the winter coat is replacing the summer coat and vice versa, I joke that I get enough cat hair to knit a new cat. If I knew how to spin, I could actually do it. The orange stuff on the brush belongs to Kitty Man and the pile on the right was contributed by Kitty Chai. That was just one brushing, I was still getting tons of hair out when the princess decided that she had had enough and left.

Believe it or not, there are resources for non-spinners who want their own cat hair or dog hair yarn...seriously. If you don't believe me, check here.