Easy like Sunday

 Spyro:  I am wearing my new harness.  Isn't it jazzy?  I can hardly wait for spring so I can try it out outside.  The photo is blurry because I started to jump down just as Mom took the picture and I think she tried to follow my movement with the camera, because even the doorknob is blurry.

Karen Jo:  I like the design of it because it wraps around his body.  The D-ring is at the very back and I hope the stitching holds when Spyro pulls on it because he is very strong.  I got it from Nip and Bones.

 Oja: All of us are just lazing around today, trying to keep warm.  The sun is out, but the wind is howling.  I am in my warm hidey-hole, lying partly on the heat vent.  Rocio was lying on the floor under the blue blankie that you can see in his picture when I started to head over here.  I walked very slowly and cautiously because Rocio was so close to where I wanted to go.  I stopped on the way and approached Rocio close enough to take a sniff, then made myself very comfy back here.

Karen Jo:  I was watching in case any ruckus started.  Horus was up on the sewing machine cabinet, very alert, watching Rocio for any sign of aggression against Oja.  Rocio just lay still and I am glad that Oja took a sniff of him.  That is her first step in making friends, sniffing without hissing afterward.

 Rocio:  I am glad that Oja didn't start anything with me.  Horus would have blamed me for it.  I moved up here after Oja got settled in, so I would be more out of her way.  It's also more comfy up here on the soft knit stuff.

 Bambino:  Mom has this collection of fleece throws that she keeps on the couch in the living room.  I just love napping on them.  They are soft and warm.

Horus:  I know that the best way to keep warm is to find a sun puddle and I found a great one.  I love to nap up here on this big pillow.  If any of Mom's papers get in my way, I just shove them off on the floor.  I was really watching Rocio when Oja was close to him.  Any move from him and I would have pounced him good.  Oja is my friend and I won't tolerate any cat messing with her.

Karen Jo:  Thank you for all the kind words about missing me and the cats and about depression.  It did sneak up on my because I never felt really bad.  I just felt as if my emotions were stuck in neutral and I would snap out of it in time.  When I got really sick of it, I asked my doctor about it and I'm glad that I did.  I am not exactly walking around full of the joy of living, but it is much easier to make myself get my work done and things like blogging seem interesting again.

Back Again

Karen Jo:  We are still here, though we haven't blogged in months.  It turns out that the funk I talked about earlier was really full blown depression, though it was just apathy rather than feeling down and bad.  I was still getting up in the morning and going through my days, but nothing seemed worth doing any more.  I told my doctor about it and now I am on medication for it and feel much better.  It's a cold and frosty day today.  If you look closely, you can see the hoar frost coating every tiny twig of the Virginia creeper.  It's three o'clock in the afternoon and the temperature is up to 23 degrees F.  It seemed like a good day to just sit and blog for a while.

Spyro:  It's about time you helped us blog again.  I got my new harness in late October.  I let Mom put in on me and I wore it for a little while, but it was too cold for me to go out in it.  Maybe tomorrow I can show you the picture Mom took of me wearing it, though it's pretty blurry.  I decided to jump down just as Mom snapped the photo.  If you are wondering what's so interesting in the carpet, Mom gave me some treats in her hand and I'm scouting around for crumbs.

 Oja:  You can hardly see me, but I'm being a good girl and lying down on the computer desk, so Mom can see the monitor.  I have been a really good girl lately.  I have begun tolerating Rocio more and I actually made friends with Bambino.  I actually let him touch me and I even played with him for a few seconds.

Karen Jo:  I found that amazing.  You came to love Herman, but you wouldn't play with him.  Spyro is the only cat you would play with at all until lately.

Oja:  Herman was too big to play rasslin' with and chase isn't exactly my favorite game.  Bambino is just a tiny bit taller and longer than I am, so we are a good match for rasslin'.

 Rocio:  It's nice and toasty warm under here.  There's a heat vent just behind me and the jackets hanging down help trap the heat.  I'm the only cat who isn't friends with every other cat.  Oja tricked me.  I would tag her for chase and she wouldn't hiss at me, but she wouldn't chase me, either.  I thought things were fine between us, so I pounced her.  She screamed like a banshee and brought all the other cats running to see what was the matter.  Honest, I just wanted to play.  Now she's back to hissing at me.  Horus is being mean to me, too, but when I yell, the other kitties run away.  It's not fair.

Horus:  Here I am begging to be let outside.  I don't care how cold it is; I want out!   When I hear Oja yell, I think Rocio is being mean to her.  I feel very protective of Oja.  Once I could see Rocio getting ready to pounce Oja, who had her back to him.  Rocio couldn't see me watching.  When I saw the wiggle butt, I pounced him, hard.  He squealed and ran away.  Serves him right.  He hisses at me every time he sees me up higher than he is.  He's afraid of me and that's as it should be.

Bambino:  I love it in the playpen.  When I was a tiny kitten, my foster Mom kept me in one to keep me away from the other cats in the house, because of my FeLV.  Now I can jump in and out when I like.  I just wish all the kitties could be friends.  I am friends with all the other kitties now.  I give Oja gentle head butts and rub up against her and she purrs.  I can even pounce her and she actually played with me for a few seconds.  I don't get why Oja and Horus don't like Rocio.  I get along with him just fine.  We have become nap buddies and we play together all the time.