Treasure

Of all the things I treasure, I treasure my family the most. That definition extends to the many cats who’ve inhabited the grounds outside our humble house over the past couple of years, as well as all the cats I’ve left behind (lookin’ at you, Baldy and Biggest and Fluffmaster Flex; rest in peace, Tubby Moo-Cow).

Mr. Oscar is one such cat. We found a new home for him a couple of summers ago, and he died the very next day. Poor little guy was full of worms, unbeknownst to us at the time. But what strikes me about this image is that he has a very particular treasure: a mouse. And what’s more, it’s the mouse that got away:

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Literally – he thought he’d killed it, so he let it go. After playing dead for a moment, the mouse sprang up and made a mad dash into the grass, never to be seen or heard from again (at least, not by me).

The memory of the mouse that got away and the cat who tried to eat him are things I’ll treasure for a very long time indeed. What about you – what do you treasure?

(c) 2016. All rights reserved.

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How’s it going?

Dear blog,

Please to enjoy this cute kitten. :)

Please to enjoy this cute kitten. 🙂

Hi!  How are you?  Lonely?  I’m sorry.  It’s been a long time since I’ve visited, hasn’t it?  I hope that, despite my long absence, you’ve still been having fun and doing all the things.  I didn’t mean to be gone so long – really.  But life happened?  And I’m still trying to get a handle on it all.

It’s been an eventful month.  That’s both good and not-so-good.

Also?  I’ll be back with more stuff real soon.  In the meantime, happy Hump Day!  (Thank God it’s almost over.)

Love,

Moi

How did September treat you?  Are you looking forward to October?  Let’s catch up in the comments!

(c) 2015.  All rights reserved.

Photo 365 #82

The photo ops on Saturday lasted into the evening with a beautiful sunset (for a pretty morning shot, check out my Instagram feed).  I was getting supper ready when I noticed that the trees on the western edge of our yard looked almost like they were on fire, so I headed out with my trusty phone camera and snapped some pictures.

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Surprisingly, the boys behaved while I was outside capturing the sunset.  As a matter of fact, the only bad thing that happened was that I ended up with some puncture marks on my tummy, thanks to Miss Opal.  Apparently, she thought I was the perfect cat tree because she climbed me more than once and my thin T-shirt was no match for her tiny kitty claws.

Oh, well – she’s too cute to stay mad at for long. 🙂

(c) 2014.  All rights reserved.

Photo 365 #19

It’s been a long day, thanks to another stupid headache and two grumpy boys, so I present you with a picture of Shadow, because everyone knows that looking at cat pictures makes you feel happy.

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Shadow is a very silly, upside-down sort of kitty.  He’s also very soft and would make an excellent lap cat, if only Seymour weren’t so allergic.  Oh, well – at least now we can have cats, as opposed to before when we lived in town.

(c) 2014.  All rights reserved.

Photo 365 #11

I woke up to the devastating news that we’ve lost yet another cat.

Calico

This time it wasn’t one of the kittens, but Mrs. Calico herself.  A great mama and a fantastic mouser, Calico was one of the sweetest kitties I’ve ever had the pleasure of knowing.  She was apparently out hunting last night or early this morning when someone ran over her near our driveway.

I didn’t say anything to the kids this morning, but they’re going to be terribly upset tonight when they find out.  This makes six cats we’ve lost since May (unnamed kitten, Oscar, Freckles, Minnie, Katniss, and Calico all died; it’s seven if you count Patches, who went to a new home), and I don’t think I can take any more of this.

I really hope the boys didn’t let Shadow out this morning, because I’m afraid we might not see him again if they did.  He’s very shy and likes to hide – last time we let him out, he ended up stuck in the garage overnight because we couldn’t find him.

Rest in peace, Mrs. Calico, and take care of your babies in heaven.

(c) 2014.  All rights reserved.

And now…

Full sprawl. How feline. :)

Full sprawl. How feline. 🙂

…further proof that my son is a bipedal cat:

This morning I was awakened by the sound of Thumper taking down the baby gate from his bedroom doorway.  (I really don’t know why I bother putting it up anymore since he knows how to take it down, but I do.  Maybe it’s for those extra few seconds I gain in which to prepare myself for battle with a two-year-old.)  He tiptoed through the hall, barged into our room, and climbed into bed next to me, where he sat on all fours and stared at me, grinning from ear to ear, his nose about an inch from mine.

When I finally opened my eyes to acknowledge his presence, he whispered, “Time to get up!”

If cats could talk, surely they’d say something similar.  And this, my friends, is why I am on my second 2L bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper.  The first one was gone by noon.

If you’ve got a cute kid story, share it below!  I could use a little cuteness on this dreary Friday afternoon.

(c) 2014.  All rights reserved.

 

Toddlers are like cats

And now, a change of pace.  I spent my weekend taking care of two sick guys, and Monday night was little different.  But Monday night was when we discovered that sick toddlers are a lot like cats, and if you read on, you’ll find out why.

Cricket came home from daycare Friday night feeling pretty rough.  Thirty-six hours of feverish cuddles had him on the mend, but by Saturday night, he’d managed to share the mystery fever with Thumper.

Time and Tylenol seemed to do the trick, but by the time Monday night rolled around…