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.

Not Quite So Sad

 Poor little Emma got shortchanged once again.  November 19th was her Bridge Day.  I was going to make a post just for her on the day, but I started crying again and I couldn't see to post.  It's been a year now since she left.  Somehow it seems an eternity and just a little while ago at the same time.  I chose a picture of her at play because that's the way I want to remember her.  She so loved to play, both with toys by herself and especially with Da Bird.  Every night after I got home from work and fed her and Herman, I took a little time to get in my PJs and rest a little, then I would go into the living room and get out Da Bird for a session with Emma.  We had such fun together.

 Spyro:  We have been having sunny, but cold weather.  I know it's been cold because I have been escaping and find that I don't like it much.  Mom doesn't even have to come get me. After only a few minutes I go back to the door and demand to be let back in.  I love catching the rays in my ham-mick.  Mom has been tossing me out of her bedroom and closing the door.  I don't like it.

Karen Jo:  I have only done it twice.  Once a few days ago when you began attacking my pajama legs and your claws were going through the material and hurting me.  You just wouldn't stop it, despite my pushing you off my legs and petting you and trying to get you interested in something else.    After five minutes, Oja started crying at the door and I opened it again and got up for the day.  The second time was today when you were helping me make the bed.  I don't mind it when you attack the sheets and blankets and let yourself get covered up.  However, this morning you attacked the blanket where I was holding it and made such a deep hole in my finger that I had to get a bandage to stop the bleeding.  I let you back in as soon as I finished.

Spyro:  I still don't like it.  The traffic at the bird feeders has been very interesting.  We had some little animals as well as birds.  I lashed and lashed my tail.

Karen Jo:  Some chipmunks have discovered the bird seed that the birds knock to the ground.  I was very glad to see them.  I haven't seen any since the fire two years ago.

Spyro:  What were you doing in the back yard for so long?  You said I could stay out with you if I behaved, but it was too cold for me to stay out long.

Karen Jo:  Herman's grave marker arrived and I was putting it up along with the solar powered colored lights  I got for Herman and Emma.  Herman got a star and Emma got a dragonfly.  I really like them and they make useful markers for the sides of the graves.  I also fed and watered the birds.

Oja:  Hmmph!  Going outside in the cold seems stupid to me, especially when there are such nice sun puddles inside.  This is the same chair where Herman and I used to nap together.  I have been really good about keeping Mom company at bedtime.  I curl up right next to her face and purr softly.  I let her pet me a little, but I don't want to be petted as much as Herman did.  I want to take my nightly bath, then curl up and sleep.

Karen Jo:  Oja does sleep with me on most nights.  Some nights she and Spyro prefer to sleep elsewhere, but one or both of them is always there in the morning, making sure I am getting up for breakfast.  I am feeling a bit better.  I went to Thanksgiving dinner with my brother and nephews to one of my nephew's girlfriend's house.  There was a whole crowd of us and it was delightful.  When my brother brought me home, we had time to go to the bank and get the last of the papers connected with my Mother's death signed and notarized.  I went and filed the last of the papers with the county today and got the utilities put in my name and changed the insurance to my name, too.  It's finally almost all done.  Once I am sure that the last shares of stock have been transferred, I can close her checking account and everything will at last be all taken care of.  That took a great weight off my shoulders and made me feel happy.  I still miss Herman lots.  It's hard to get used to being greeted at the door by only Spyro, but it will come.  I also feel better that his grave has a marker and a light. I should be blogging fairly steadily from now on.

Mancat Monday

Mom hasn't been taking pictures of me lately, so here's an older one that she hasn't used yet.  Mom also apologizes for not knowing what day it was yesterday.

Karen Jo:  I think I was probably just trying to skip Sunday.  I wish I had.  It was a hard day at work.  Well it's over now and I'm home, giving you treats.  You finished off another bag of nip treats tonight.

I just like them a whole lot.  You can get another bag tomorrow, can't you?

Karen Jo:  Yes I can.  You are getting too good at spitting out your nasty pill.  I had to try five times this morning to get it down you.

I hate those pills.  They are the nastiest things I have ever had in my mouth. I am very glad that I only have to take them one week per month.

Karen Jo:  So am I.  I keep seeing the claws coming out when I give them to you.  You almost got me yesterday.  You were silly with the hot dogs at lunch.  You kept asking me for a bite, but when I offered you one, you turned your head away.

I guess they smell better when they are cooking than when they are done.  When are you going to cook something good again?

Karen Jo:  Tuesday, I hope.  Pot roast is on sale, but I'm tired of pot roast.  I'll look for something good tomorrow.

At least we have been getting sunshine.  It's still very cold, but not quite as cold tonight.  It's  7 degrees instead of being below zero.  I still don't feel like playing with Mom, but I was really glad she went to bed an hour early last night.  She was in a mood to pet me and I got petted until I got tired of it and moved away a little bit. We keep each other warm at night.

Cold Mancat Monday

Here's another picture of the big snow that fell Wednesday and Thursday.  Since then we have had sun, but it has been very cold, like below zero at night and only up to about 20 during the day.

Karen Jo:  That's right.  It got so cold Thursday night that the ice cracked the bottom of the bird bath, so it won't hold water any more.  I am going to try to duct tape it, but I will have to get a new one.  I don't know when I will be able to do that.  Normally the stores only have bird baths for sale during warm weather.  I got sad tonight while I was walking home.  A couple of big dogs started barking at me.  I don't know if they were just out for a five-minute potty break or if their people had left them out there, but it was 5 degrees below zero and I felt very sorry for them.

The food around here has been very good, but I haven't been getting much of it.

Karen Jo:  It's your own fault.  I offered you salmon, but you weren't interested.

I had just eaten my cat food.  You gave me new food just before you ate.

Karen Jo:  You told me that you wanted new food, so I gave it to you.

I didn't get any steak at all.

Karen Jo:  Who begged and begged for lots of treats while the steak was cooking?

I did.  The smell was making me very hungry.

Karen Jo:  You have only yourself to blame if you didn't leave room for steak.  You did take a lick of sour cream.

I finally got some cheeseburger, too.  Mom made herself a cheeseburger for lunch today and I wanted some, so she gave me tiny bites.  It was good.

I still haven't been playing with Mom.  I just want to curl up someplace warm and stay there.  The sun was so nice on my ham-mick today that I didn't even get up to ask for treats when Mom was leaving for work.  She told me goodbye and I just looked at her and yawned, then curled back up to continue my nap in the sun.

Karen Jo:  You have been playing some while I have been gone, though.  I found one of your balls in the little PTU where I give you your treats after you take your medicine.

I surprised Mom yesterday and today.  She got me one of those flat cardboard scratchers when I first came to live here and I have only used it for a catnip tray.  Yesterday, Mom heard a strange noise and came to investigate.  I was on my cardboard scratcher giving it a real workout.  I did it again this morning.  I got treats for doing it, too.

Karen Jo:  I was amazed.  You have ignored that scratcher for over a year and now you like scratching on it.  Maybe it finally got enough catnip on it and in it to interest you.  As you said, it has been your catnip tray all this time.

I usually meet Mom at the back door when she gets home and try to get a sniff of fresh air.  Now the fresh air is so cold that I dash back into the living room when she opens the door.  I love to get fresh water out of the kitchen faucet, but now the water is so cold that I only take a couple of laps.  I want warmer weather and I want it now.