by Gentle Mousie, mini-investigator and chilly kitten looking for warmth
Hello, dear friends. Here we are just barely one week into September and it is a gazillion degrees below zero....Brrrrr! We don't have heat yet at the condo. They won't switch us over from air conditioning until later in the month.
Last year at this time it was still toasty and delightful and we were grateful that the heat wasn't turned on. Not so, this year.
Tonight Grammy despite warm blankets is shaking the whole condo with her shivering and I'm huddled under a blanket, mittens on my kittenpaws, a toque on my head, a warming disc under my tummy and a heater trying to warm my butt. Still I'm cold. BRRRRRR.
I, Gentle Mousie, the furry popsicle despite all the additions to my wardrobe and furnishings am braving the cold to find out what happened. I have a few theories. Let's look at them.
That nasty hurricane that hit the east coast of North America this past weekend sucked all our heat into it's vortex leaving hardworking kittizens cold. Is this possible? It seems logical when we hear the weather reports. Maybe that is what happened. OR....
Grammy forgot to pay the heating bill. Could be, but not likely. She assures me it's paid. OR more likely....
Those overheated cowkitty blubber brothers of mine blocked out the sun. It was cloudy and overcast all day yesterday and worse today ... a pretty good indicator that this is a viable possibility. Or maybe those big duffers are soaking up all the heat from the sun as it penetrates the atmosphere. Think maybe we should blame them, don't you?
Well, I'm too cold to think up anymore theories tonight. Think I'll hunker down with Grammy under the duvet until morning and return to the blog then.
So this morning isn't much better but at least we all had a toasty night curled up together under the duvet or snuggling with our friends on sofa, chairs, cat beds, on pillows and wherever else we could find warmth. Everyone was huddled and snuggled in tight. Not sure Grammy got much sleep with all our giggling, though at one point we did hear her purring.
Now to tell you about our afternoon yesterday before it got so cold. We had visits from lots of friends while Grammy was out. Darcy and Aunties Phyllis, Diane and Debbie, the Hartwig mischiefs, the Muddy Waters crew, Virgin Island girls and Frodo, RAINA, of course and many others.
RAINA and I had such fun scaring Etude. There he was standing on the balcony watching for the arrival of his sweet 'Songbird'... oblivious to what was going on behind him. I, Mousie, went across the hall to the neighbour and got permission for RAINA to land on their balcony ... then we crept across the hall, over to the balcony door and behind Etude. A sudden 'BOO!' and the poor fellow just about went over the balcony. Luckily he has substantial love handles which we grabbed on time. *giggles* It was the greatest fun. We had hoped to scare a few pounds off him but, no! Whiskers wasn't amused and gave us both a time out... but that's okay. We giggled and planned more mischief while in our penalty box.
Darcy and the Hartwig mischiefs each brought their favourite games with them. We played Twister and then a rousing game of Trivial Purrsuit - Feline Edition. Wow! Should have seen Darcy.... she won at Twister... a veritable extendible, bendible girl. No wonder it's her favourite game. Of course, Rondo was knocked off the 'board' in the first round but then, maybe that was the plan. Rosamund and Grizabella had just arrived and he is smitten with the two beauties. As he left the floor we heard the girls sighing as he started reciting his poetry. *giggles*
Wow, those Hartwig mischiefs are truly smart little kitties. They started off the game of Trivial Purrsuit but let us all play and only threw out hints for us. Such sportscatship. The three aunties were pretty amazing at the game too. My oh my, the things we learned about Felis Felidae. Won't go into it at the moment, but we are an interesting species.
Well, we sure worked up an appetite with all the gaming and joke telling and teasing. Luckily Grammy had filled the fridge with delicious treats. Of course, she thought that was for the next couple of weeks but hey! No lock on the fridge door suggests the contents are free to all. Turkey slices, chicken nuggets, mackerel, salmon and tuna, platters of seafood, and piles of tater salad and the amazing southern comfort baskets brought by RAINA. To top it all off there was an wondrous array of sweets baked by our Muddy Waters crew under the watchful eye of my sweet Cheffy.
Well, dear friends. that's it for this week. I need a nap while this full belly digests its contents.
Comments welcomed. Especially if they are fun and/or silly.
By Gentle Mouse, Reteller of Tales of Woe and Wonder
Hello friends, I thought since the others don't have much to say this week I would take a turn. As you know I'm not too keen on visitors and when they come over I hide. Sometimes Grammy cannot find me, other times she's pretty quick but I have to tell you about a recent visit from Aunty Melody... you know, Sugar's and Gordito's mom.
Well, it was pretty dramatic when she walked through the door. Now, you must know I didn't witness this. No way! As soon as the buzzer went and Grammy let someone 'in' I scrambled off my aerie and into the closet. This isn't an easy task since there are latches on the doors that I have to overpower, but desperate enough, I do it! But I got the scoop from Rondo who moments later followed me into the closet wide-eyed and told me what transpired. The poor boy was so traumatized he stayed with me for the duration.
Aunty M (yes, another Aunty M - we have many!) staggered through the door, discombobulated and kind of bloody. She had tripped over something coming out of the subway onto the sidewalk and took a header - kind of like Grammy does. Not pretty, but eventful!
Now when Grammy does it we run for the hills and stay out of reach until she uprights herself... but Whiskers, Sweetie and Etude were right there with Grammy all of a dither but ready to commiserate with Aunty M.
So, back to Aunty M and her header... She hit her front teeth and upper lip and was pretty shook up. Some nice folks helped her up, offered to walk her here, but once she got her wind back Aunty M walked the rest of the way holding her parcels and her upper lip. It wasn't until she entered the elevator that the mirror revealed the damage: swollen lip and oozing that red stuff. Fortunately it will heal.
Grammy, helped her into the condo then, always prepared, grabbed a Ziplocked frozen facecloth from the freezer to help reduce the swelling, Whiskers climbed up to kiss it better while Etude and Sweetie kept pacing and saying, 'Oh dear, oh dear, what can we do to help? What to do! What to do!" That's really useful, don't you think? Grammy sent them off to make the coffee. Quick thinking, Grammy!
Well, cup of coffee in hand and painful lip easing, Aunty M and Grammy started talking that boring stuff - you know - Knitting? Yes, Purl, Knit, Slip Stitch, the projects they were working on currently AND the big bag of baby yarns that Aunty M brought for Grammy to make into items for the babies in the hospital Woohoo! Maybe when they are distracted we can get into it and 'help'! We are experts at unravelling and chewing yarn, dragging projects into our lairs. We often get wrapped up in our 'work'. Literally!
Meantime, on with the story. After knitting chatter died down and the lip swelling too, and before Aunty M would head out for home she decided to take some photos of us... and they are doozies. Posting a few in here.
Aunty M wrote Grammy to show how a little concealer covered the damage and she was off to start a new work chapter.... Hope you love your new job, Aunty M.
Oh, and in case you haven't already heard … Sugar has a book out called Paws for Thought My Furry Tail. It's a page turner. We read it in one go... couldn't put it down... and then Grammy read it again, leant it to Paige who loved it and plans to read it to us again. And we hear that Gordito has a book planned too... but we'll have to wait until Aunty M has time to take dictation and publish it. Her new job takes precedence for some reason. Don't understand that but then, we think Kitties should have first place in EVERYTHING.
Comments are welcomed.... very much welcomed.
by Gentle Mouse, aka Mousie
Good afternoon, Friends.
I'm a little late writing today's blog but then I had no topic until now... and actually I still don't. Not really! I mean, what does one write about when there's nothing going on and I've done very little for days? Nothing, I guess. So, here goes...
Today we had some activity. The cleaning lady (Aunty E) arrived to do her monthly clean... though it has been a couple of months. Life can be challenging when one has elderly parents and they live outside of the country. BUT, she's home again and back at it.
Well, as I said Aunty E arrived and immediately came looking for us. The best part is that despite being busy she takes time for pets and photo shoots too. I didn't cooperate but she got some really nice photos of Etude, Rondo, Whiskers and Sweetie. She said she was taking them home to show to her daughter who is another cat lover.
A whirlwind of energy she does a lot of work in 4 hours. By the time Aunty E left she had scrubbed the kitchen and bathroom until they gleamed including cupboard doors, countertops, small appliances, fridge and stove AND tub, sink and human litterbox. Then she dusted shelves, books, shelf stuff, vacuumed, cleaned hardwood floors moving everything except book cases, wall units and dressers... and I mean EVERYTHING. She even vacuumed our beds and cat tree/condo. This lady is methodical, thorough and fast. AND she found some of our toys. Woohoo! That's the best part.
The house is defurred, de-dandered and delittered. Grammy makes sure she doesn't have to clean up the things she can do herself ... like litter boxes, laundry, her papers, knitting bits and bobs, kitty dishes and water fountains … so Aunty E can concentrate on the important stuff that are challenging for Grammy.
While she worked in one room Grammy worked in another and got our fountains, dishes and other kitty stuff dismantled and into the dishwasher for a thorough clean and sterilization... Then she went out to smell the flowers or something leaving Aunty E to do her thing. Grammy is weird.
Now we have clean beds, clean dishes, clean fountains and water bowls and a clean cat tree/condo... *giggles* of course we have those every week but when they coincide with the clean human condo we feel extra-specially clean.
Well, that's all I have for this week dear friends. Hope you have a great week and we'll see you next Monday... hopefully with a more interesting and funny?? topic.
Bye for now, Gentle Mousie, the sweet little mischief.
Comments are welcomed... always.
by Rondo, Poet and Chatty Charlie
Good morning, Friends.
Grammy has been up to her eyes in 'stuff'. Between having an 18 year old university student camping out in the livingroom in a one bedroom condo, dealing with an infected eye and her own stupidity she's just a little stretched. Yes, you heard me... HER OWN STUPIDITY!!!!!
With a food allergy you would think she'd be more wary about what she buys. It used to take Grammy at least an hour to do a small grocery shopping. Every label read, every minute detail noted on each and every product every time she shops. Shopping becomes a time consuming task.
Let us tell you, that ingredients are often changed on products and more often than not there is no flashing notice on the packaging to advise this. Firstly, her allergy is to SOY in all its forms and it doesn't matter which of the 50 different names for soy are used to confuse the customer it is still SOY! AND it still affects Grammy the same way. We won't go into details... just that it is nasty!
Lately she's gotten lazy or has been in a rush and hasn't bothered to read ingredients and … well, it caught up with her.. A wee treat that she's loved and eaten for years is now made with soy flour and soy oil. She had a feast on this supposedly safe treat and now.... well, we all dove under or behind sofas, chairs, anything to avoid the old girl until she felt better. Thankfully, she's feeling more normal this morning.
THAT'LL TEACH THE OLD DEAR to cut corners.
Well, now, on to our blog.... Our friend, Suzanne, had a wonderful experience this summer. Monarch butterflies graced her gardens which include milkweed and hyssop and she was able to watch caterpillars and bees feasting and the transformation of many a caterpillar to butterfly. We are going to show you a few of her personal photos of these and I think I should also reprint the appropriate poem.
So here goes....
Butterfly - Creatures Divine
Of birds and bees have I much written
And more there is to say
But other creatures delight me too
‘Tis time they had their day.
There is a creature I do adore
It grows in stages; There are four.
Egg to larva that crawls and eats
At pace no other creature beats
Leaves and such to gain its strength
For stage three – when at length
Its skin reforms and dormant seems.
But ‘cased inside are magic dreams
That to outsiders make no sense
For shell they see, ‘tis plain and dense.
Yet within a subtle change is made
As soup reforms the old will fade
‘Til nestled safe within the shell
That soon will ope’, will soon dispel
A delicate beauty.
As it uncurls
It’s newborn self, it will unfurl
As heart its veins infuse
Gossamer wings of many hues.
And when the wings are held up high
We’ll see a wondrous butterfly.
© Whiskers, Mouse, Sweetie, Etude & Rondo - Mischief and Mayhem Central
Dear friends, we welcome comments. Especially the light, humorous ones.
By Whiskers, Chief Groomer and reporter of all things related to Cleanliness and Grooming.
It has been a while since you, our readers have heard from me. Of course, with all the shenanigans with the boys, their mischief and Mousie’s clever ruse I have been steering clear. Yes, I have been hiding out in my favourite tent with occasional forays for food and cuddles from Grammy. But, finally I must come out of hiding to relay this latest hoopla from Grammy.
What Grammy? No, I have not come out for frequent forays for food. Goodness me! Who’s writing this anyway? Grammy, this is our blog. So shush!
As I was saying before being so rudely interrupted, ...latest hoopla from Grammy.
Yes, our Grammy has been on a cleaning and grooming binge. Normally it is either Spring or Autumn when normal people do the Spring or Fall cleaning. Not Grammy. At least, not this time.
On a cool day in early summer she went on a cleaning binge preparing for the hot summer when she wouldn’t feel like doing sweat producing cleaning and more importantly, in preparation for the arrival of a friend from Austria.
Now, this friend is not staying with us but she’d be visiting us frequently.... because she absolutely adores me and I think she’s the cat’s pyjamas and so best to get the big cleaning done and then stay on top of it for the duration.
So, that is what happened and the place looked spic ‘n span... Spic ‘n Span just like the cleaning product. NOW That’s Clean! And since then she has kept up with the day to day.... but noticed that she still had to vacuum daily just to manage the drifting waves of fur that we were shedding. Yikes! So that triggered another switch in Grammy’s head and she decided it might be necessary to ‘clean’ us too.
Oh, that is normally my job. I’m chief groomer but in shedding season there’s absolutely no way for one kitty to stay on top of defurring self and four others. No way! At least, no way without major hairball issues and I don’t need those. Oh, and Grammy doesn't like the cleanup if I chuck one at her.
Look out guys. Run. Grammy’s coming. Taking cover.
Mrs M, our Austrian visitor has been to visit once and the boys and I had a wonderful time getting pets and cuddles but this was before the masses of fur started drifting from here to there and all around the condo. Blame a sudden hot spell for that.
Out came Grammy with the Furminator.
Rondo LOVES the Furminator so he did not run. Well, he did run, but not away, he ran straight to Grammy, serenading her while dancing on the spot as Grammy worked from his neck to his tail in short controlled movements.... removing an abundance of undercoat as she went.
By the time she finished Rondo looked slimmer, sleeker and he was one happy dude. Now normally, he would demand more attention but he was satisfied he’d been groomed to the max and settled down for a rest in his well aired and thinned out suit. In no time at all he was napping contentedly.
I decided if he felt that good then maybe this was ideal for me too so I pushed past Etude and took second place. Well, you know, the Matriarch of Mischief has to exercise her authority and show who’s in charge.
Oh Grammy! Hush! I am so in charge of M&M Central... I’m the eldest... so naturally that position falls to me.
Just ignore Grammy and let’s carry on.
My coat is more like thick, rich velvet with an undercoat of more velvet. It takes a lot of work to penetrate the outer layer to get down to the undercoat so Grammy worked on me for more than an hour...
Neck to tail along the spine, neck to tail along left hip, neck to tail along right hip, repeat numerous times, pantaloons, then butt to tip of tail. AND do you believe it... I was still full of undercoat! ... so off she went again... neck to tail... and on and on... until I was completely defurred – almost to the point of baldness. It felt wonderful. I could even feel a breeze on my skin.... ahhhhh! It was delightful! We must do this more often.
Etude and Sweetie followed with the same routine with minor variances until they too were groomed to the skin and when Grammy got done she had four piles of fur... which when set down on the table looked like three kitties and actually weighed almost a half ounce. Now that’s a lot of fur!
And where was Mousie during all this? Observing. She never needs a Grammy groom. The little darling does her own superbly, though I do check behind and between the ears.
Grammy was feeling pretty good having gotten through this with nary a scratch so she decided she must be charmed. Why not clip claws while she’s at it.
Charmed.... NOT! Delusional more like... but at least this time she listened to me and agreed to have a friend help.
Enter Jewel. And Jewel is exactly that.... a real gem and a dear neighbour.
Well, claw trimming is an experience, let me tell you.
Grammy prepared the well padded dining table and they went to work! I, Whiskers, ever the seeker of cuddles and such was happy to oblige and purred through the entire ordeal. I was even willing to stay for more pets and cuddles if people so wished.... But alas, no! More to do and duty called. Pooh! Maybe later?
Next up, before he could be spooked was Rondo! Our Rondo howls in pain when his claws are trimmed. It seems that some animals, like some humans have sensitivities that cannot be explained. Rondo is one of these sensitive dudes. So, knowing that Jewel donned Grammy’s spare oven mitts to protect her from teeth and talons, held him gently but firmly over the shoulders and front legs and kept her face turned away.
Why the head turn, you say? Grammy’s scars can attest to his lightning reaction should things go amiss.
So Grammy decided to trim those sensitive beasties before he realized what was happening! Amazingly, he didn't howl like a banshee. Is it possible the anticipation is worse than the actual dirty deed? Those clipped, the other eight were snipped lickety-split and with only two weak howls of protest he was done! No attempt to take Jewel’s face off, nor to slice Grammy’s arm elbow to wrist. Yahoo!
Etude followed with minimal fuss only a bit of wiggling on his portly part to advise he was still boss of his own claws, so there! Well, they still got trimmed, Etude! So there!
Sweetie insisted on a cuddle and kisses before submitting to the indignity and then demanded a second round of kisses before being set back on the floor! Grammy never refuses Sweetie her kisses.
Then it came to Mousie's turn! The little minx, on hearing Jewel's voice when she first arrived had slunk off into the bedroom her antennae on high alert. When Grammy finally entered the room she slithered off the bed and hid under it and refused to budge. So Grammy let her be FOR NOW, and plotted with Jewel for the following morning and Round 2!
The morning was quiet, kitties sleeping around the livingroom, Mousie relaxing on the sofa. The phone call came; Grammy unlocked the door and set it slightly ajar. Jewel entered silently and yet, in a split second Mousie was GONE behind the sofa! No problem... pull out the sofa an inch or so and she’d scoot out the other end. And she did. Right past us and into the bedroom. Once she was there the dance was on!
Now, we must tell you Mousie is not afraid of Grammy! She just doesn't like to be picked up, thus the avoidance game.
From under the head of the bed, which Grammy moved, Mousie scampered to the Kitty condo and into the smallest enclosure. Claws dug in it was impossible to extract her through the condo doorway. Grammy had no choice. She’d have to wait until Mousie came out on her own... but let’s close the bedroom door to keep her contained. Moments later Mousie scrambled down from the condo, slipped behind the outpulled bed and scrunched into her safe spot- the one place she feels safest and which Grammy only enters for reasons of safety or absolute necessity... Behind a blanket on HER very own CHAIR.
Grammy, as I say, only intrudes if Mousie’s safety is at risk or she needs meds... but never willy-nilly nor on a whim. This is Mousie’s equivalency to having a security blanket. Seldom do any of we other cats venture there either. It’s an unwritten law that Mousie owns the chair and we respect that.
Okay, so back to Grammy...
Entering her nest was absolutely necessary. The claws were catching on everything and they were so curled that Grammy feared they might hurt her pads if they grew any longer. So...blocking the exit with one hand, Grammy scooped her up with the other and brought her out of the bedroom to the table. Being a gentle wee miss, once Grammy had her, she resigned herself to whatever would follow and with Jewel holding her gently Grammy trimmed those razor sharp needles without incident. What a relief for everyone.
The bonus? Once the claws were trimmed and Jewel released her Mousie stayed for pets and cuddles! This was the first time Jewel had ever gotten to see the little beauty in all the years she'd been visiting! And Mousie? Well, she looked around calmly and soaked up the attention for 30 seconds before joining me under a chair in my observation post.
House clean, cats groomed, all Grammy’s digits intact, all claws trimmed... 50 of them... and no blood drawn. It was a good day.
Have a great week friends! We love you all to bits.
Friends, we welcome comments. but let's keep it fun.
Five Cats, Five Personalities, One Goal - Mischief & Mayhem.