Mom Met Rosie and Cheeto in Chicago

Hi Everyone -

Sorry I rarely blog or visit any more. Things are going well with Mom and me. Mom recently went to a conference in Chicago and visited my first blogging friends, Rosie and Cheeto. I was disappointed not to get to visit them myself, but I'm not too keen on the idea of an airplane ride, and Kathy the catsitter took good care of my needs while Mom was away.

Here is Mom giving a good scritchin' to Cheeto as he lies in the sunshine.
Rosie gave Mom a nose kiss!

Here is Mom with Rosie and Cheeto's lady just minutes after they met. Jake and I had been friends with R&C since August of 2006. R&C's Lady is the first blogging cats' person that she has ever met. Too bad Mom isn't in Chicago now; a group of cat bloggers are getting together there to meet for the first time.

Mom and I send our condolences to Chey and family upon the recent loss of dear Georgia.

~Bathsheba

Mancat Monday and an Award

The things a Mancat must endure:

Here I was enjoying the view out of the computer/catroom window, when Mom had to document my every move with the camera.

She wanted me to look directly at the camera, but I showed her who was boss. Besides, she had that awful camera flash and my eyes would have looked like headlights had I cooperated.

Next she caught me sleeping on the living room sofa. Can't a mancat get any rest around here?

I'll show her!

~Jake

Way too long ago, our friend Karl of the Cat Realm presented us with the Premio Dardos Award! "With the Premium Dardos, recognize the values that each blogger shows each day in commitment to transmit cultural values, ethical, literary, personal etc. that, in short, demonstrate their creativity by alive thinking that remains intact from their letters and words."

We are very much honored that he bestowed this award on us. We think that it was our environmental post that made him think of us. Thank you, Karl!

In the spirit of the award, we must pass it along to five other deserving bloggers. Because we don't blog as regularly now, we don't have a good sense of those who already received this. Excuse us if some are multiple awardees. We choose these wonderful blogs:

Skeezix the Cat (He probably received this five times over, but we think he is just great!)

Rosie and Cheeto (Unfortunately, they don't blog very often any more either.)

The Cats P (What a gorgeous family!)

DaisyMae Maus and the Feline Americans (Jake's girlfriend and her four brothers)

The Ginger Darlings (Breathtaking photos with a home setting of the coast of Wales coupled with delightfully descriptive passages)

~J&B

Second Blogoversary on Mancat Monday

It's our second blogoversary! We started blogging back in 2006 after being inspired by our friends Kismet and Skeezix. Our first post was rather lame, but our secretary was thrilled just to be able to upload photos. Our dear friends Rosie and Cheeto were our first visitors. We have made the most wonderful friends across the US and around the world. This is such a great supportive community. I have a beautiful girlfriend cat DaisyMae Maus in San Diego and Bathsheba even found a nice mancat Bubbles to like and admire her. (Why, I'll never understand.)



As most of our friends know, I like to hang out on the deck. Here I am with a pot of cardinal flowers (Lobelia cardinalis), and I am just waiting for a tasty ruby-throated hummingbird to alight.

Why don't they ever seem to visit when I'm standing here? Mom recently heard some cool hummingbird facts from a dear friend that she wanted to relate, but I told her no because this is MY blog and is supposed to be all about ME.









Well, if no birdies are going to come by when I am out in the open, I must go undercover and await them. You may think that I'm asleep, but this mancat is always on alert.






P.S. From Bathsheba: Jake, this is a joint blog, and it's NOT all about you. I want to let all our dear friends know that I really appreciated all the birthday wishes and hope to visit all of your blogs soon to thank you personally. I was overwhelmed by your sentiments.






P.P.S. We accepted Karl's challenge in memory of Anastasia and we encourage you to do the same.

Jake's Mancat Monday

Hello, everyone! Thanks for stopping by! It's been ages since I last posted. Blame it on my worthless secretary. It's unfortunate that I'm so dependent upon her. She said that she's trying to have a "social life." I might just have to fire her and hire a new secretary--if only I could find one.

I'm dedicating this post to my girlfriend cat DaisyMae Maus who still likes me despite the paucity of my visits and posts. She's very understanding of my clerical predicament. It was a great weekend, and I spent a lot of time patrolling my deck.

Here I am checking out the bird feeders.

And here I am below the feeders seeing if I can catch any slow moving birdies. No such luck this time!

And for Mancat Monday, I show you my outdoor scratching post. I've torn it to shreds. My grandpa made it years ago (for another kitty), and it is very sturdy unlike many of the ones you can buy in the stores. I just wish that Mom would recover it for me because it's not very satisfying to scratch on the bare metal post.

Our dear friends Rosie and Cheeto tagged us for the Seven Weird Things meme. We'll try to complete that this week.

~Jake

Mancat Monday - Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, Everyone! And Happy Gotcha Day Anniversary to my lovely girlfriend cat DaisyMae Maus!

Big man cats start the new year with an excellent credit rating. Mine is so good that I am receiving credit card offers in the mail!
Look! Zero percent APR!

And no annual fee! Just think of all the great gifts I could order on the Internet for my beautiful DaisyMae! Now I just need that secretary of mine to verify my income and I'll be all set.

My friends Rosie and Cheeto made some word puzzles of some of our cat friends' names including my grumpy sister Bathsheba. See if you can guess this one:

plus

Again, HAPPY NEW YEAR!

~Jake

I'm not grumpy, and I wish everyone a Happy New Year, too!

~Bathsheba

Foliage Friday

Following a record-setting drought, it has been a rainy week since Mom's return. I've been hanging out in the house a lot. When I'm not cuddling with Mom, I like to look out of one of the big windows to watch cat TV. I can see some of the yellow foliage on our hickory tree out front.

Here is a view of that tree from the street. This year isn't too good for colorful leaves. Many leaves whithered and dropped prematurely. The glorious red maples down the street colored and dropped their leaves within a couple of days. ~Jake
I've mostly been napping with Mom. The gloomy weather doesn't help the mood in this house despite the fact that as a gardener, Mom should rejoice in this rain.

~Bathsheba

We have been overwhelmed with the wonderfully kind and supportive words of our faithful friends in the cat blogosphere. Our dear friends Rosie and Cheeto featured us on their blog, and cheerful Daisy sent out a mission to the lovely Pink Ladies. Thank you all. Mom and Dad had a 13-year relationship, nearly all of Jake's life, so it will take time to sort this out.

Last, but not least, one of our favorite fellow geezers, Rocky the (former) Gutter Cat, bestowed an award on us. It made Mom smile. Thank you, Rocky!

We know that a lot of kitties have already received this award (some multiple times). If you're reading this and have not yet been an official recipient, consider yourself awarded by us. (And we mean it!) We love ALL of the cat blogs. Unfortunately, there isn't enough time in the day for us to visit them all.

~J&B

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

One Year Blogoversary and Pawsitive Thoughts for Our Friend Anastasia

Wow! We've started blogging one year ago today! We're up to post 232 so we average about one post every day and half--not too bad considering our secretary always claims to be too busy to let us blog as much as we would like. Our first post was not particularly exciting, but our friends Rosie and Cheeto discovered us right away so that's why they'll always be special to us and appear at the top of our links list. Skeezix also gave us publicity so we'll always be grateful to him.
Mom has been a little worried about me lately because she thinks that I have been grooming myself incessantly.

I think that it's important to be well-groomed.

I like to look good for the ladies - especially my beautiful DaisyMae.

~Jake

Jake, as usual, you are so full of yourself. We need to thank all the wonderful cats who have visited us over this past year. We're very grateful for all the warm friendships we have made. We only wish we had more time to visit everyone and that we had the ability to leave witty comments! Daisy is our idol in the visiting department. The cat blogosphere is a welcoming and nurturing place.

Speaking of the friends we have made, we join our fellow cats in the blogosphere and pledge to send all our positive energy over to the desert southwest at 3 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time for the safe return of our friend Anastasia. She has been missing for several days now and Karl, the maid, and the butler are frantic with worry. Now I know that I worried my mom very much when I ran away from home about ten years ago for two weeks at a time. Let's all hope that Anastasia is just asserting some independence and that she will return on her own unscathed. (Credit to Skeezix for the creation of this great graphic.)

~Bathsheba

Five Things Meme

Last week we were tagged by friends DaisyMae Maus, Tara, and Rosie and Cheeto for the Five Things Meme. Here goes:

What were you doing 10 years ago?
J&B: We were mourning the loss of our 19 year old big sister Precious and our grandpa. He used to take care of us when Mom went on vacations.
B: Actually, exactly 10 years ago, I ran away for the first time. I was gone from July 11-23. Mom worried excessively, posted signs, called the shelters, and searched and searched. I never told her where I went. I simply emerged from the woods that Wednesday evening by announcing myself with my little voice.

What were you doing 1 year ago?
J&B: Last year we were just discovering cat blogging. We started reading Kismet and Skeezix and some other kitties. We started our own blog by the end of August.
J: One year ago this month I had to start taking pills with all my meals because I was diagnosed with hyperthyroidism.

Five snacks we enjoy:
J: Chicken, salmon, cheese, Bathsheba's food, Temptations and all treats. Am I limited to ONLY FIVE because I could go on and on here.
B: Milk (just a little taste is all Mom gives me), Butter (or margarine), cheddar cheese, Temptations and treats that Mom feeds by hand

Five songs to which you know all the lyrics:
J&B: The only song for which we know all the lyrics is the "Cat Anthem." That's what our grandma calls our purring. We leave the regular singing to Dad.

Five things you would do if you were a millionaire:
J&B: Being a millionaire is not what it used to be many years ago. We have simple tastes (just keep the food coming!) and a comfortable home with an awesome jungle garden so we are satisfied. We could have Mom home more if she did not have to go to "work." We read that some of the other blogging cats would invest in the Temptations company. We think investing would be a good idea. We could then split the income between Mom (so she didn't have to work) and donations to animal charities for years to come.

Five bad habits:
J: 1. Peeing on things in the house. (Very bad). 2. Digging my claws into Mom's arm to make biscuits when she's holding me. 3. Pushing Bathsheba out of the way and taking her food. 4. Scratching on the screen. 5. Peeing on things. (Do you get the idea that that's BAD?)
B: 1. Sometimes giving Mom the bitey when she touches me. (I then later apologize.) 2. Hissing at Mom sometimes. 3. Scratching and making my fur fly (This affects Dad's allergies.) 4. Making a mess of my meals by dropping my food all around the floor. 5. Waking Mom up on weekends. (I don't think this is bad, but she does.)

Five things you like doing:
J: Hanging out on the deck with Dad, chasing bugs, going in the woods, playing fishing pole-type games with my dad, EATING
B: Sleeping on my kitchen chair, sleeping on the bed with Mom (near her, but not generally touching her), playing with the dangling strings that hang from my kitchen chair cushion, getting drinks of water from the bathroom sink faucet, getting treats from Mom.

Five things you would never wear again:
J&B: That awful pink wig!
J: That French artist Halloween costume, the birthday party hat
B: That embarrassing hula girl Halloween costume, the birthday party hat.
We don't like to wear anything but our furs!

Five favorite toys:
Our answers vary depending on the time of the year.
J: 1. Bugs, 2. dangly things that Dad animates for me, 3. catnip toys especially when they're new
B: 4. Chair cushion strings, 5. hockey pucks/aka bottle caps

Since we're late in responding to this meme, most cats have been tagged by now. If you haven't been tagged yet officially, consider yourself tagged by us.

Balance

My lovely girlfriendcat DaisyMae tagged me for a meme about balance in our lives. She said that she was tagging both Bathsheba and me, but we all know she really meant just me.

Here’s what I’m supposed to do:
To participate, write a post about balance in life and link back to this post. Answer any or all of the following questions or simply share your thoughts about life balance.

How do you achieve balance in your life? I could say that I’m very graceful and automatically balanced because I can walk along the deck rail or garden timbers without falling off, but I don’t guess that’s what the question is asking. I try to balance my life between eating, sleeping, loving, and adventuring. I’m coddled by my mother, but I like to balance that mushy stuff with hanging out with Dad and going on my adventures in the great outdoors—in my own backyard or the little woods beyond.

What is your biggest challenge in balancing your life? I think the biggest challenge is getting people to do what I want and attend to my needs. Sometimes it’s just a matter of communication and knowing the power of a cute face and expressive eyes.

What are your priorities? Number one is EATING, of course. Sleeping is very important too. And it’s very important to me to have my freedom in the yard. That might not work for all cats, but I would go stir crazy if I had to stay cooped up in my house with my sister.

How have your priorities changed over time and why? When I was much younger, I think that playing was more of a priority, but today sleeping is much more important. Now don’t get the idea that I’m dull or something, because I’m not, but a man’s gotta take some important naps between prowling and patrolling.

What advice can you share to help all of us balance our own lives? Don’t get stressed out about stupid people things like going to a JOB and making money. People make life too complicated. Just relax, look cute, and allow people to cuddle you. Everything will work out in your favor. People will beg to wait on you.

Now it’s my turn to tag five others. so I’m tagging: Rosie and Cheeto (together or singularly), Bubbles, Eclair (when her lady recovers from her surgery - Best Wishes!), and Chase.

~Jake

Thursday 13 - Places Depicted on My Magnets

Updated 3/31/07 with photos.

When Mom travels, she often buys souvenir magnets for all the people back at her office. When she has extras, she gives them to me for my magnet collection. It's on the side of the tall file cabinet at the foot of my bed next to my throne.

13 Places Depicted on My Magnet Collection:

1. San Francisco, home of my good friends Rosie and Cheeto. I have two of the Golden Gate Bridge and one of a Victorian house. The Bay area is also home to a number of our blogging friends including Skeezix and his family and Kimo and Sabi.




2. New York, home of Jeter, Kismet, Ariel, and Sammy and Miles (if it's the whole state, not just the big city).




3. Maine, three magnets showing wild blueberries and a loon.




4. Butchart Gardens, Victoria, British Columbia




5. New Hampshire, one with enormous vishus deer called moose.




6. Colorado, two with Rocky Mountains and wildflowers.




7. Minnesota, one with a 3-D loon.




8. Olympic National Park in Washington State.




9. Zion National Park in Utah.




10. Bryce National Park in Utah.




11. Stowe, Vermont.




12. Alaska, two of Denali National Park/Mt. McKinley and one of a wolf.




13. Yosemite National Park in California, with Yosemite Falls. Unfortunately for Mom and Dad, the falls were dry when they visited in October of 2002.

Mom has camped in or near all of those places except for San Francisco, Butchart Gardens, and Minnesota. She wishes she had a Banff magnet; that's the most beautiful place she ever visited. She needs a Wyoming magnet; that's where she and Dad met.

I prefer to just get the magnets. I'd rather stay home. I now have a new Skeezix "biker dude" magnet. Isn't it great?

Blogger won't let me post photos tonight, and Mom and I have wasted a lot of time trying. Bummer! (Update, 3/31: now I have photos.)

~Jake