Cold Saturday

It's 19F out (-7C). You can see how the rhododendron leaves curl up when it is cold. About two weeks ago they were covered in ice, as you can see here, but the leaves were still flat. Yesterday, when it was 1F (-17C) they were curled up a lot tighter, but Mom didn't get a picture.

So I am playing where it is cozy and warm. Here I am on the Lady's nice chair (which she covers up so we won't scratch) with my favorite mousie.

This is a new toy her Allergic Sister gave me. It is PINK (giggle) and it just sits quietly until something touches it. Then its green eyes start flashing and it moves around. It talks, too! It says "Oh oh! Nanny nanny noo noo! Oh oh! Nanny nanny noo noo!" Then it stops and waits to be touched again. It's kinda silly. It's also kinda stupid, because it doesn't work very well on the carpet.

Mom's tired, and trying to clean up around here. She brought a big load of laundry downstairs to the washing monsters and that means there's gonna be some nice warm places to nap later! Tomorrow she says she's gonna go see the Queen. Yeah, right.

Formerly Feral Friendly Family Friday

She's Home! She's Home! She's Home! She's Home! She's Home! She's Home!

I'm glad she's home. She brought me a bed. Lookit! Isn't it silly? It's kinda like a mouse. She got it at IKEA when she was in Texcats. She wanted to buy me one of these, like Dragonheart has, but she said it wouldn't fit in her suitcase. It was bad enough that she really had to squash everything to get this silly mouse bed in the suitcase.

Mom Lady's Mom thinks Gizzy is deaf. She said she would come in to feed us, and Gizzy wouldn't greet her at the door. (I did.) MLM said she would go find Gizzy, and call to him, but he wouldn't move. Then we she touched him, he jerked awake. Mom Lady says when she calls Gizzy he turns toward her, so she doesn't think Gizzy is deaf. But he could be hard of hearing.

Oh, about PINK and Mom: She has dark hair and more of a dark or olive complexion. She looks best in RED, but very good in PINK. You'll never see her wearing BROWN.

And Mom Lady caught Jasmine marking! She's got some anti-stinky stuff, but she's gonna hafta get more.

I'm glad Mom Lady's home, because now I can have more time to post on all the blogs. Now I can catch up. Tomorrow I will tell you about another present she got me!

Thursday Thirteen

Lady Mom is on her way home from Texas today, so I can have a little fun. Ha ha ha! This blog is about HER!

Lady Mom says that RED is her favorite color. But she has lotsa PINK stuff. What do you think? Let's see how many PINK things she has...

1. She has this PINK pillow on her bed.
2. She keeps things in this PINK basket on top of the cold box. (Oh, look there's a picture of Mr Karate holding Gizzy...)
3. She wears these PINK gloves when she makes bubbles in the sink.
4. She painted this little cabinet PINK and red and purple and black.
5. She just got this PINK vest that keeps her nice and warm.
6. She made this PINK chessboard for herself.
7. LOOK! Even her brush and comb are PINK.
8. She likes this PINK shirt.
9. She painted this PINK desk in her sleeping room.
10. Lookit the PINK jackets she has!
11. She wears this PINK hat when she goes out walking in the summer.
12. This is her very warm puffy PINK coat she wears when it is really cold outside
13. She has this PINK scarf and PINK hat to wear with the puffy PINK coat. She has matching PINK gloves.

Gizzy says she has PINK unmentionables, (but I'm not supposed to say anything about those) and she has a PINK toothbrush, and lotsa PINK pillows in the picture box room and big painting of a PINK flower, a nice warm fuzzy PINK sweater and a PINK purse... but that's more than 13 and Gizzy says I gotta stop.

Not Quite Wordless Wednesday

I am continuing to investigate new places and things. I wonder if I can fit in here.... well, I know I can't fit right now, but maybe if I move some of this stuff around...

Toesies Tuesday

Here are my cute little toesies.

Schwag

Lady Mom has some presents for me. She says these are called "Schwag." I dunno what that means, but I hope they are stuffed with 'nip.

When Mom Lady is away...

Mom Lady is away, and I am investigating. This little thing slides in and out, and I want to know why. It does it all on its own. I don't understand how, but I am sure I could find out if I could fit on that little sliding thing and get inside.

You can click the picture to biggify.

Sunday without Lady Mom

Here's what Lady Mom's supposed to be hearing about today, in Texas at GWAVACon:
1. Running GroupWise in a Heterogeneous Environment
2. Defense against Microsoft
3. Exporting and Archiving a GroupWise mailbox
4. Consolidating GroupWise Post Offices and Domains

(Of course, the airline hasn't coughed up her luggage yet, so there's no telling what she'll do. The hotel gave her shampoo, toothbrush and toothpaste, deoderant, mouthwash, and a comb. We cats don't need any of that junk. She really wants clean unmentionables and clean socks. She says thank goodness for permanent press.)

After that there's gonna be a tailgating party and they will all watch the football games to see who is gonna play in the Super Bowl. Now, I don't know about you, but a tailgating party? Not on MY tail, that's for sure!

So what will I be doing today? Eating, napping, playing, pestering Gizzy, chasing Jasmine... you know, normal stuff.

And rooting for the guys named Pat.


*****UPDATE***** 2:36 PM TT (Texas time)
The airline coughed up Mom Lady's luggage, so now she is really happy. The little dog Missy came by again today and though I let Lady Mom's Mom pet me, I wasn't ready to make friends with the woofie.

From Texas

Lady Mom is in Texas, and isn't happy. They canceled her flight from Filly to Dallas, then put her on another one, but when she got to Dallas her luggage wasn't on the plane. She is hoping they get it to her tonight.

Otherwise she is very hungry and tired. She's going to get something to eat, then go to bed. She says there are two beds. What does she need two for?

Her Mom came over today to use the moving sidewalk and brought the little dog, Missy. I let Missy know she wasn't going to push me around. Lady Mom's Mom said Missy likes cats. I don't believe it.

Peculiar Aristocratic Titles

OK, this has been going around, and since Lady Mom is traveling, it seems appropriate:

My Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Exalted Highness Duchess Millie the Convincing of Cheddar Cheese Winsor & Newton Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

and of course, I had to get one for my bestest pal, Gizzy:

His Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: His Eminence the Very Lord Gizzy the Ebullient of Upper Yockenthwaite-on-Hampshire Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

and I had to get one for Jasmine, so she wouldn't feel left out:

Her Peculiar Aristocratic Title is: Her Most Noble Lady Jasmine the Waspish of Barton in the Beans Get your Peculiar Aristocratic Title

Okay, so I altered mine and Gizzy's a little. Jasmine's is perfect all on its own.

I'm pretty sure we're gonna miss Mom Lady. She said Mr Karate will be here later this afternoon to feed us and stuff and then he's gonna go to Beantown to visit La Girlfriend. Mom Lady's daddy will come by on Sunday morning to feed us and then Mr Karate will be here Sunday night.

Hey, guess where I slept last night? Next to Gizzy. Guess where he was sleeping? On the bed next to Mom Lady.

Formerly Feral Friday

She's very busy. (She's leaving on a jet plane tomorrow.) She's making lists. What goes in the suitcase? What goes in the laptop bag? What goes in the carry-on bag? What should she wear on the plane? (Something warmish 'cause she's always cold) Don't forget the cell phone charger, or the power cord for the laptop. Or her black shoes. What should she have for breakfast before she leaves? (Something quick) Has she got the boarding pass (for the third time)? (Yes) Should she bring an umbrella? (Yes) Should she bring her bathing suit? (No) How's she gonna tell Mr Karate where her car is parked? (Short term parking out front) Is there enough food for Mr Karate while he is here? (plenty) Will he find the list of how to take care of us cats, and how much food to feed us?(yes, it's taped to the coldbox) Who's gonna pick her up when she gets back? (the allergic-to-cats sister) Has she got enough money? (Yes) Did she clean out her purse? (four days ago) Did she set her alarm early enough? (4 AM is plenty early even for me) What will the weather be like? (Cold, rainy)

Feral, Formerly Feral, Domesticated... What-ever. I am -so- glad I'm a cat.

Thursday Thirteen

Thirteen things we cats do to annoy Lady Mom.

1. Gizzy doesn't cover up his stuff in the litter box.
2. I take food out of my food bowl and scatter it about before I eat it.
3. Gizzy likes to drink out of the bathroom faucet (tap) so he wants it running all the time.
4. Jasmine licks and chews plastic bags of all types at all hours of the day and night.
5. Gizzy likes to get under the blankets on Lady Mom's bed to nap during the day. So the bed looks lumpy and unmade.
6. Since I don't let Lady Mom trim my claws, they get caught on everything. The rug, the furniture, her clothes...
7. Gizzy expects to have breakfast promptly at 6 AM when Lady Mom is supposed to get up. He doesn't care what time she went to bed the night before. He headbutts her, or taps her on the nose to wake her up.
8. Jasmine gets up on the desk when Lady Mom reads the cat blogs every day. She lies up against Lady Mom and rests her head on Lady Mom's hand. Makes it hard for Lady Mom to use the computer mouse.
9. Gizzy licks scotch tape, so Lady Mom has to keep it hidden when wrapping presents.
10. I chase Gizzy around at night, and this means I run all over Lady Mom's bed. When Lady Mom is in it. I have been known to run over her head.
11. When Lady Mom eats breakfast, she works on one of those sudokucat puzzles. Or tries to. Jasmine sits on it.
12. If Gizzy doesn't feel Lady Mom is giving him enough attention while she is working on her silver lapbox, he just walks across the keyboard, or just sits on it.
13. When Lady Mom tries to take my picture with the digital camera, I wait till the red light flashes, then I jump away.

A Story from Lady Mom

Tonight I got home from work and was greeted at the door by Gizzy and Millie, as usual. Gizzy chirps and tries to herd me to the kitchen to get his food. Millie dances around. I take off my hat, gloves, coat and boots. Both cats follow me as I go from room to room, closing the blinds and turning on various lights. I open the door to the hallway, go down to collect the mail, come back into the apartment and lock the door behind me. I continue through the apartment, closing all the blinds and turning on lights. I turn on the computer, and raise the temperature on the thermostat as I go. Jasmine comes out of the bedroom, where she has been sleeping on my bed, and waits on the dining room table. Then I feed the cats, hang up my coat and sit down to read the blogs. Jasmine comes to the desk and lies down near me to be petted. Millie usually stays away.

Tonight Millie jumped on the desk, but didn't get any closer. She jumped down, and after a bit I heard her meowing loudly in the other room.

Millie doesn't meow.

I got up and went into the other room to see what all the fuss was about. Millie was standing in front of the hallway door, alternately approaching it, scratching it and backing away, looking at me and meowing. I started to ask why, but decided to open the door. Gizzy came into the room at his usual leisurely pace.

He had followed me into the hallway and got locked in. He was never in any danger, the door is locked at both ends, and it's my private hallway. Moreover, he had never made a sound. It was Millie who knew he was in there, and was bothered enough about it to let me know.

I thought it was so charming.

Gettin' ready to go to Texas

On Saturday morning, my Lady Mom will be leaving for a conference near Dallas Texas. It's some kind of Geek conference called GWAVACon. She will be staying at this hotel. Mr Karate will be staying with us. (I understand Missy, KC & Bear and Gatsbi of Forty Paws live in Dallas!)

I'm helping her get ready.

P.S. ~ I let Mom get a quick look at my tummy & stitches this morning, and she says my belly is nice and pink and my stitches look nice and healthy.

Tuxie Tuesday

There's nothing like a warm batch of laundry right out of the dryer.

Got Ice?

Yes!

We got ice. Just like everybody else, we got that ice storm. This is the little rhododendron bush out front, all iced over. Lady Mom says you can tell it's not REALLY cold because the leaves are mostly flat. When the weather gets REALLY cold, the leaves curl up tight like pencils.

Still, it is slippery out. Cars are encased in ice, the driveway is sheer ice, and lots of houses in New Hampster don't have any electricity because wires and tree branches covered with ice fell down.

Tummy Update

My tummy is fine. My stitches look good. Mom Lady has been trying all day to get a good look and a good picture of it to show you. Except I haven't let her. Heh. So you have to take Lady Mom's word for it, my stitches are fine.

I'm jumping anywhere I want, and running wherever I want, even though I'm not running really really FAST, I feel good. Lady Mom is watching me all the time; she thinks that if my tummy or my stitches were bothering me I'd be picking at them, and I am not.

And I am really proud of my pals, the guys named Pat.

Spotty Sunday

I really don't think of myself, Gizzy and Jasmine as spotty. But Mu Shue Pooh King Cat said I did look a bit spotty and should post pictures of us for Spotty Sunday. So here's a picture of Gizzy and me.

Look! I have spotty legs!

Feeling Better!

Good morning! I'm feeling better! Almost normal. I've been jumping on everything, including the kitchen counter, and the kitchen windowsill. My tummy feels fine, and still looks nice. I haven't been running -quite- at top speed just yet, but I am not worried.

Lady Mom has finished her red silk brocade jacket. She is getting rhinestone buttons for it, and when those come in she will make handmade buttonholes for them. This isn't a very good picture because the silk is so shiny, but the jacket is really nice. It is a "jeans-style" jacket. She thinks it will be a nice jacket for parties and for going out, because she is always cold. She thinks it will look nice with a little black dress. I've never seen her in a little black dress, so I don't know about that.

She's been working hard day hunting lately so the place has gotten kinda messy. She says she's gonna have to drag out the rug-sucking monster. Oh well.

Formerly Feral Friday

I have decided I am not feral anymore. Going to the v-e-t has made me realize that I am very special. Not that the v-e-t was a bad place. It was a good place, full of people who really care about animals. But it was coming HOME, to find the Lady had made a special place for me that made me realize how lucky I am. She had made a nice place for me to rest. She had made sure I had several nice warm, soft places to nap. I had fresh beef stinky goodness, nice fresh water, a litter box to myself and the nice warm cat hammock. And she made sure nocat would bother me while I rested and got better.

The Lady isn't just a lady. She was like a mom. I have a Mom! I have a Lady Mom! If you're feral, you don't have a Lady Mom.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

SO! You wanna see my tummy? You know you do!
Lady Mom is laughing because I hardly -ever- show my tummy long enough for her to take a picture of it. But here it is, my famous tummy, shaved, with stitches showing!


And here's a close-up! You can click to biggify!

Feeling a lot spunkier!

Hello everybody!

Thank you so much for all your get well wishes and thoughts. After the Lady left me in my own room this morning, I gobbled up all the wonderful beef stinky goodness she had left for me. The folks at the v-e-t had told her to only give me "a little," so she did, and by the time she came home after day hunting, I was HUNGRY! I could hear her getting the big cats' food ready, so I let out a big Meow and she came right over and let me out. She gave me my crunchies, but didn't put them on the counter. I'm not so sure I feel like jumping that high anyway.

Gizzy hissed at me. He thinks I smell funny. I am sure I do, but I know that will go away. I have special stitches that will dissolve on their own, so I don't have to go back to the v-e-t until next summer, almost at my one year gotcha-versary.

I think Jasmine was a little disappointed that I came back. I am sure she would have been very happy never to see me again. Oh well.

I am -so- happy to be home.


--the Lady here,

The folks at the vet said Millie was not a problem at all. They said "we could tell she is accustomed to being handled, not like a true feral." Which surprised me a lot. "She didn't like it, but she put up with it," the attendant continued. They trimmed her claws, but didn't weigh her. They think she weighs about 7 pounds, and that she's "a good size," which I take to mean neither too heavy nor too thin. The attendant also said that Millie's dislike of anyone touching her belly or feet is quite common in cats, even domesticated ones, and not any kind of "feral" indicator.

At any rate, she's just finished her entire bowl of crunchies and I am sure she will be trolling for more food later. Her activity seems quite normal, not lethargic at all. I, too, am very glad she's home.

Home!

I'm home. It was a hell of a day.

It started yesterday when I was eating some really good beef stinky goodness with gravy. It was in a little bowl in the funny box. Something bumped me on my back leg, and to get away, I climbed into the box. Suddenly the room got dark, and when I turned around I couldn't get out. I tried to find a way out, but nothing worked. I cried a little whimper. Nothing. I couldn't see. After a while the box got covered with my favorite pink blankie. Then the box moved, and when it was put down, it was in a funny, noisy, rumbly place. After a few minutes the box was moving again.

Wherever I was, I could smell lots of other cats and woofies. I'm kinda fuzzy about what happened next, but I finally figured out I was at a V-e-t-s.

I dunno how I fell asleep, 'cause I was kinda upset that I was at a Vet's, but I musta fallen asleep, 'cause I don't remember a lot of what happened and when I woke up I felt really funny. I had sticky stuff on my belly, and I had a shaved spot, and I had stitches in me! I've been through this before, and it wasn't any fun this time either.

I dunno how long I was there, but I spent a lot of the time napping. I wasn't much interested in what was going on, I just didn't seem to care. When I woke up one time, a nice lady (but not MY Lady) was rubbing my head. I took another nap.

I am home, and I am in the sewing room. I have food, water, a litter box, a nice soft blankie, and the door is shut, so no big cat with bother me. Yay.

I'm gonna take another nap now. More later. Much later.

Millie update

-- the Lady again,

It's about 4:00 PM here in New Hampshire. Millie has had her surgery, and is waking up from anesthesia nicely. She let the attendant rub her head! I can pick her up after 9 AM tomorrow.

Thanks for all the kind comments, thoughts and prayers.

Millie is in the Cat Carrier!

the Lady here...

It took some stinky goodness to do it, and a gentle push, but Millie is in the cat carrier!

I feel like such a heel. Now she is at the vet's and she may stay overnight since she needs an empty stomach for surgery. But they know all about her and will take good care of her.

A New Game!

I think the Lady is trying to play a new game with me. She usually puts my food dish on the kitchen counter, but she has started putting it in this funny box. I can get my food if I stick my head in the box. I can even get in the box and turn around. I did that yesterday so I could make sure Jasmine wouldn't sneak up behind me and bite me. She likes to eat my food, and I don't want her to get any.

I know I'm getting bigger. She says that soon I'll be full grown and I'll have to eat the same food as Gizzy and Jasmine, so my food dish will be on the floor, and I have to get used to it.

I'm not sure about this.

Psst... a secret...

the Lady here...

Yes, it's time for Millie to get her ladygardenectomy. Which means I have to get her to the Vet. Which means I have to get her into the cat carrier...

For those of you following along, you know that I can pet Millie, but only with one hand at a time, that I can't touch her feet, or her belly, and I certainly can't pick her up. And even if I -could- pick her up, I think my chances of getting her into the car carrier are nonexistent. You should also know that though she comes when I call her, she won't sit on or near me, and won't lean into me. She always makes sure she has an escape route. And she's so fast. And so smart.

Remember back in September when I asked the vet about how to get her there:

...As for getting Millie to the vet, he has the simplest and most interesting solution of all. "Start putting her food in a box, and gradually push it towards the back. One day when she's inside eating, close it, and bring her in. Any day but Saturday. We'll work it out; we'll give her an exam and spay her at the same time. This way she won't associate being handled with you." ...

Well, the time has come to see if that plan is going to work.

Last night, I casually placed her food bowl in the carrier, and she got inside to eat. Of course, she turned right around so she could face the exit (but with her food on the floor she had to make sure neither Gizzy nor Jasmine was around to steal it.)

Stay tuned.

Mischievous Monday

The Lady has been kinda mad at Jasmine and me lately. One of us has been marking territory. Yes, still. The down comforter has been marked several times since the Lady last blogged about it. My blue blankie has been marked. The fleece pillows have been marked. But what really set the Lady off was when she brought a basket of clean laundry up from the basement, nice and warm from the dryer. I thought it was a dreamy place to relax, so she left me alone. Later, when she started folding the stuff, she noticed it smelled... But she didn't know who did it. Another day it happened again. She was kinda noisy that time.

After that, she'd put the clean laundry in her closet and close the door if she couldn't fold it right away. But one day she didn't close the door tightly enough, and it happened again. Of course her closet is Jasmine's favorite place, so she couldn't figure out which one of us was doing "it."

It got so that she'd keep all us cats out of all closets all the time. She'd only open the closet when she was getting dressed, and even then she'd open it only to get the clothes she wanted to wear. So the closet would only be open a very few minutes.

She used to keep her bathrobe on the floor at night (because she doesn't like it lying across her feet at the end of the bed) until that got marked. After that she was really stoked. She hung up everything right away, and even started folding the laundry in her room behind closed doors after making sure all us cats were someplace else.

This has been going on for weeks; the Lady has been calling it a "P Party" and Jasmine and I the "P Girls." It never sounded like a compliment.

Then one day last week the Lady was putting her socks on when I walked into the room, ambled to her closet and climbed into her laundry basket. Well, I wasn't sitting. And I had my tail straight up behind me... She shouted "HEY" but it was too late. I had marked her dirty laundry.

I jumped out of there as fast as I could and ran away. The Lady made a lot of grumbling noises and I think she said some bad words, which I know I can't put in this blog.

Today she did the laundry. She brought up a nice basket of clean warm laundry, and set it down on the coffee table.... C'mon, a nice warm basket of laundry is as comforting to any cat as nip is playful. So I jumped in. And got the urge. I lifted my tail and started to get ready...

HEY, NO! GET OUT OF THERE! OUT! OUT! OUT!

I got out, but that didn't make her much pleased.

Unusual Day

It was REALLY warm outside on Saturday. It was 70 F (21 C). It raining in the morning, then the sun came out. The Lady had lots of windows open for us cats, and we all spent most of the day in front of one or another. This is a particularly unflattering view of me looking out over the parking area behind the house. Below is a picture of Gizzy and Jasmine at the same window later in the day.
She said last year January was so cold that the temperature never got above 0 F (-18 C) for two solid weeks. That's 70 degrees COLDER than it was today. I don't think I want to know what that feels like.

The Lady was working in the sewing room all day today, making another jacket. This one is red silk brocade, and when finished will have rhinestone buttons. Of course, I don't know what any of that means. But she won't even let me get near it. (She says Red is her favorite color, but I dunno, she has a lot of pink stuff.) She must like sewing, because for the last two nights, all us cats went to bed a lot earlier than she did. She's been staying up wicked late.

Whassup?

Whassup? The temperature, that's what. Friday in New Hampster it was 63 degrees F (17 C). The normal high temperature is 31 F (-.5 C). At 11 PM Friday night it was still 54 F (12 C). The Lady had the window open for Gizzy and me.


This is really weird for New Hampster.
The Lady found a Temperature Converter from Fahrenheit to Celsius and the other way round.

5 Month Gotcha-versary

Wow.

I have lived with the Lady and Gizzy and Jasmine here in New Hampster for over half my life. I lived three months on the streets of Connecticat, a month with Malcolm and a week with Dan and Maggie. I am about 9 months old, and the last time the Lady weighed me, I was 6 pounds. She thinks I'm bigger now.

I run all over the place, at top speed. I've climbed to the top of everything I can reach, and so far only three six-foot tall bookcases and the top of the coldbox have eluded me. I've investigated all the closets, all the counters. I've been inside the dishwasher, and have been closed in a drawer. (By accident. When the Lady opened the drawer a few minutes later, she was surprised by Millie the Rocket.) I let the Lady pet me every day, and I follow her around. I come when she calls my name. (Go figure) Mr Karate pets me now, and the Lady's mom, too. I don't hide when new people come visit. But I don't stay long either.

The Lady can sometimes pet me with both hands at once, but I will not let her hands get too close to my belly, and I don't let her touch my feet. She can't pick me up, and I won't sit next to her. I still love Gizzy, and fight with Jasmine. That's been getting a bit heated lately. We are having territorial wars.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

This is my 177th post in 153 days. I have posted every day since October 26, 2006 without missing a day. The Lady tested a counter last month and we found an average of 40 visitors a day. 40 x 153 is over 6,000. (We wish we had installed a counter at the very beginning.) We've had visitors from all over the US, Canada, the UK, Australia and New Zealand. We've had visitors from Mexico, Ireland, France, Switzerland, Hungary, Germany, Iceland, Romania, Brazil, South Africa, Korea, India and Oman.

The Lady has discovered she is a closet writer. Your comments tell us you think she's funny. Every day she wonders what we'll write about. Every day, I give her an idea. At first, she had trouble with the Thursday Thirteens. Now she's got ideas for two or three in the works. She's going to be traveling to Texas on business in two weeks, and she's wants to have blogs ready. How will we blog about me in New Hampster while she's in Texcats? Guess you're just gonna have to find out on your own. (Mr Karate will be staying here, taking care of us while she is away.)

It's been fun. For both of us.

Thursday Thirteen #4

As all you cats in the blogosphere know, us cats have our terms for things people use. So the Lady and I decided to put together a list of the terms I use, and the corresponding term People use. Most cats know what we all mean, so some of the terms won't be new, but some might be. The Lady says that clever readers should be able to work them all out without this list.

1. Picture box ~ Television
2. Table room ~ Dining Room
3. Noisemaker ~ Telephone or Cell Phone
4. Hot-as-hell box ~ Oven
5. Coldbox ~ Refrigerator
6. Rain room ~ Shower
7. Rug Sucking Monster ~ Vacuum Cleaner
8. Mouth Hummer ~ Electric Toothbrush
9. Day Hunting ~ where the Lady goes during the day - to work
10. The guys named Pat~ the New England Patriots football team
11. New Hampster ~ New Hampshire, USA
12. Nukker ~ Microwave oven
13. A gizzy ~ Unit of measurement, about 18 inches

And the Lady, bless her, still can't work out what exactly a "poodin" is. She has figured out sorta what it is, but she can't figure out exactly what it is or where that term came from. She needs, as they say, enlightenment, and she doesn't think she's gonna get it in a yellow book. (What's a yellow book?)

Wordless Wednesday

(OK! Almost wordless. I did this. Nobody helped. This is my favorite mousie in my food dish. The straight thing inside the dish is the tail and the yellowish brown thing on the right is one of the ears.)

Nuts!

The Lady likes to eat nuts. The nuts come in bags that crinkle just like Temp-tay-shuns treat bags. Whenever one of these bags crinkles, all us cats come running. You can imagine our disappointment when it isn't because WE are getting treats, but because SHE is getting herself a snack of some nuts. Naturally we then meow and whine and otherwise act all dejected so she gives us all treats because she feels guilty.

As well she should.

Happy New Year 2007!

I just partied hard at Hot(M)BC. It was a terrific party. I met all my friends, ate a lot of caviar and drank (too much) champagne (hic). I had a lot of fun. Now I need a nap.