Gus Chang and an Intruder Cat

There she goes again. Mom continues to read that newspaper.

I told her to stay away from those sad obituaries, but this time she found one on the front page of the Style section of The Washington Post. Gus Chang the cat died. He had patrolled a block in Washington, D.C. Of course, Mom burst into tears when she read about Gus Chang. This Gus was 17 and had cancer, but 16 years ago Mom had a cat named Gus. He had stomach cancer and died at the young age of 6. I was born a week after Gus died and came into Mom's life a couple of months later.

~Bathsheba

On another note, we had an intruder in my yard this evening! Mom had her camera with her, and she had just fed me my dinner on my naked deck.

She walked down into the yard while I ate. Little did I know, but while I was busy eating, there was an evil intruder in my yard! Tiger! Mom didn't inform me while it was happening, but later she showed me the photographic evidence that I have posted here. Tiger was at the bottom of the yard by the brush pile, which is next to my natural outdoor litter box. You can see his vishus laser beam eyes here. Mom thinks that he is handsome with his floofy orange fur, but I can't let this rival steal her heart. Tiger lives next door and sometimes we don't see him for months. He stays inside for long stretches then gets let out and roams the neighborhood for days. One winter, after Mom had cleared all the plant debris out of the front window box, Tiger used to like to nap there in the sun. Mom would see him there at 7:45 a.m. when she would be leaving for work. Sometimes in the summer he would sleep in the vines on top of the lattice over the swing. Regardless, I DO NOT welcome him into MY yard. He is NOT my friend.

~Jake

Wordless Wednesday

Sharing on Saturday-Sunday

When Mom pours her milk to have with dinner (yes, she still likes milk!), I always beg her for some because I love milk, too. Mom says that cow's milk isn't good for cats, but she still gives me a taste. Yesterday, she decided to put two "tastes" on my dish. She thought that Jake and I might drink side by side. Ha!
I'm going to have the milk she put on his side.

~Bathsheba


Hey, I'm supposed to get some too! Mom said so!

~Jake


Okay, you brat! I'll drink some water instead. Sharing is for kindergartners.

~Bathsheba

Laurel Burch

I'm a little worried about Mom. I fear that she may have an obsession with dead people. What with Grandma's death just a little over two weeks ago, I would advise her not to read obituaries for a while. But, no, she reads them anyway. She read one today for Laurel Burch, the designer of the pretty tote bag behind me in this photo.


Mom gave me the newspaper and urged me to read the obituary since the lady really liked to use cats in her designs.

I didn't really want to read it, but I decided to indulge Mom this time. Ms. Burch did have an interesting and successful life for a high school dropout with a debilitating bone condition. Survivors were listed as a human son and daughter, but surely she must have left cats behind too. I hope that someone will take good care of them.

Mom, let's concentrate on the funnies in the newspaper. We don't want to be sad all the time.

~Bathsheba

Mail from Taiwan!

Aarrgg! We missed Meow like a Pirate Day! Mom was just too busy to help us blog. She certainly spends a lot of time talking with Dad on the phone. We think they talk more now than when he lived with us!

We both were very excited to receive mail from our friends Adan and Michico who live far away in Taiwan.

Mom let me look at it first. Adan's picture was even on the mailing label. Cool! ~Jake


I love the photo we chose. Adan's eyes are round and big, and he looks ready to pounce! I wonder if he would like an old girl like me if we met in real life rather than cyberspace. He certainly is handsome. ~Bathsheba

Thank you, Adan and Michico. We are very pleased to be your friends.

~J&B

Happy Birthday, Skeezix!

Sunday, September 16 is the third birthday of everyone's original best friend and blogging inspiration, Skeezix the Cat! Skeezix has been a little down in the dumps lately, but he is usually very optimistic and happy. We love him dearly and wish him the best birthday ever! (And we hope that he doesn't mind that we used his birthday card creation.)

Love,
~J&B

Flower Friday

Here are some of the lovely flower arrangements from Grandma's funeral.

It's been nearly a week since the funeral and I need to inspect how the flowers are holding up.

They're losing some petals, but still look pretty.

But as a Man Cat, I'm more interested in the bug on the mat.

We're sorry we haven't visited and commented much lately. We really do appreciate all the expressions of sympathy everyone sent. Mom has spent a lot of time on the phone this week after work so she hasn't made time to help us blog. We have sneaked a few peeks at friends' blogs, but without the assistance of our secretary, we cannot comment.

We hope that Mom will snap out of her funk so we all can get back to the fun of visiting and blogging.

~Jake

Thanks

Mom is very touched by the outpouring of loving support from all the blogosphere cats and their people. It means a lot to her during this difficult time.

Love,
J&B on behalf of Mom

Farewell, Grandma

Grandma: June 3, 1930 - September 6, 2007

Grandma had been ill for some time and was under hospice care in a nursing home since June. She died in peace.

Mom is going to be busy for the next few days, but she finds our cat blogs a happy diversion. We will try to give her extra snuggles.

Rest in peace, Grandma. We love you.

Love,

J&B

Middle Name Meme for Tortie Tuesday

Since Jake got tagged for the middle name meme, I decided that I would participate for Tortie Tuesday. My middle name is Everdene. I was named for the main character in Thomas Hardy's novel Far from the Madding Crowd, Bathsheba Everdene. As you can see, there are 4 e's in my middle name so that posed a significant challenge for this meme.

Here are the rules: List one fact that is somehow relevant to you and your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had. When you are tagged, you need to write your post using your middle name and facts about it. At the end of your post, choose one cat to tag for each letter of your middle name. Be sure to let each cat know she/he has been tagged. (It's okay if you don't do this... tag who you want to tag.)

Here goes:

E - Enigmatic. I am hard to figure out, and I keep people guessing. Sometimes I can be very nice, but I can also change in a heartbeat and hiss, curse, and scratch or bite.
V - Voluptuous. I've put a pound or two on since I retired, but I think that makes me all that much more attractive as a spicy vixen.
E - Erratic. This is sort of like enigmatic in that my behavior is unpredictable.
R - Revered by Mom. I am a cat, after all.
D - Divine. See R.
E - Exalted. See R and D.
N - Nimble for an old geezer lady cat of 16.
E - Ecstatic. That's how I feel when I am nipped up, but the high only lasts a few brief minutes.

I invite you to participate if you like. Some names are hard.

~Bathsheba

In the News on Man Cat Monday and Middle Name Meme

It's Man Cat Monday and I am in the news. The other day Mom was talking on the phone with Dad and they were discussing the death of some guy named Peet who had a coffee business. Dad had told her about some coffee shop by that name in Santa Cruz. Mom remembered that when she looked at some obituaries in the newspaper. (Don't ask me why Mom reads about dead people; she just does.) Anyway, she spread out the newspaper and set out to fill Dad in on some details of the dead guy's life when I said to myself, "Now who is more newsworthy, me or some dead guy?" I promptly jumped atop that newspaper and made myself comfortable. Mom had no choice but to pet me. She even let Dad hear me purr through the phone. I am NOT going to be upstaged by a dead guy. I mean, hey, I'm Jake, and I am the center of the universe. I AM the news.

And while we're on the subject of ME, as we should be, let me complete the Middle Name Game meme since Rosie tagged me a while back.

Here are the rules:
List one fact that is somehow relevant to you and your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.When you are tagged you need to write your post using your middle name and facts about it.At the end of your post, choose one cat to tag for each letter of your middle name. Be sure to let each cat know she/he has been tagged. (It's okay if you don't do this... tag who you want to tag.)

Well, I have a complex name. I was named for my great-great grandfather in Germany. His name was August Jacob Julius __, but I don't know if that's exactly how it is spelled. Grandpa was supposed to have been named for him, but he was relieved that his parents decided on Karl Heinz instead of that long distinguished name. Mom thought that it was perfect for me and decided that she would use a nickname for my middle name Jacob. That is the name I'll used for this meme.

J for joyful because Mom says that I bring her a lot of joy.

A for alluring because of my pretty eyes, long white whiskers, and silky soft striped fur.

C for very cute and charming (see previous letter).

O for original. There is only one ME.

B for bothersome because Mom says that I bother Bathsheba too much, and I'm also bothersome when I want to go out or want to eat. Hey, I know what I want, and I want it when I want it.

I didn't want to do that last one, but my secretary said that I have to show that I'm not perfect. If Bathsheba and people would do what I wanted, then I wouldn't be bothersome and would be perfect after all. See, it's all Bathsheba's fault.

The meme has been around a while so if anyone would still like to play, join in!

Happy Man Cat Monday!

~Jake

Sunday Solitude and Silence

With Jake in the house, I have the deck all to myself. Sometimes I like to sit and just think about things.

In my 16 years, life's been good to me generally, and I've tried to live it to the fullest. I had my wild times in my youth, and now I like to stay close to home and Mom. Many of my fellow kitties in the world don't have good homes, some have life-threatening illnesses, and some have lives that are cut way too short by accidents.

It's a lot to contemplate. I think that I will retreat beneath this schefflera plant and nap on these thoughts. May this coming week be a good one for everyone.

~Bathsheba

P.S. Yesterday's Washington Post had a nice article about Becky Robinson, the founder of Alley Cat Allies, as well as some photos. It's a good read.

Remembrance