Tag Archives: Cats

Happy Friday 5 – Celebrate like nobody’s calling the cops.

Posted on by August 27, 2016

[Note: On or about Fridays, I’m posting five things that I’m enjoying, that inspire me, or that make me happy. I’m totally ripping off this concept from Tim Ferriss’ 5-Bullet Friday. (It is highly likely I am not as organized as Tim and may not post exactly on Friday. You can wait until Friday to read them if it makes you feel better.) Tim’s five bullet points are typically highly useful mini life hacks and recommendations. Mine will be some semi-useful life hacks, with more fluff (which means a cute puppy or kitty picture here and there). These posts, intended to brighten your day, will be fairly short and something for you to do if work is slow. Or if you’re avoiding doing something, like I am.]

Celebrate like nobody’s calling the cops.

This was on my office mate's desk today. I laughed out loud.

This was on my office mate’s desk today. I laughed out loud.

Here’s this week’s Happy Friday 5:

What I’m watching: “Kitty Love Song” by the cute engineers who brought us “An Engineer’s Guide to Cat Yodeling” and many others that will have you laughing out loud.

Quote I’m pondering:

“Can you imagine feeling at home in the world no matter where you are? If you eventually master this art, outer circumstances won’t distort your relationship with yourself. No matter how crazy or chaotic the people around you might be, you will remain rooted in your unshakable sense of purpose; you will respond to any given situation in ways that make you both calm and alert, amused and curious, compassionate for the suffering of others and determined to do what’s best for you. If you think these are goals worth seeking, you can make dramatic progress toward them in the coming weeks.”

But, wait! There’s more…

Picking fly turds out of pepper.

Posted on by March 25, 2016

This post is a selection of random photos from around Texas. Some I’ve had for a long time, but there hardly seemed enough story about any one of them to form a whole post by themselves. Then I had the brilliant idea to lump all the mini posts into one…

Hence, the title: Picking fly turds out of pepper.

Not that these are turds, per se, they’re merely lacking in back story. Although, some of these were taken before my photo skills improved, so they are turds in that respect.

Canyon Lake in Canyon Lake. This was taken three years ago. If you decide to visit, do not wear a sundress. Why? Because it’s windy on top of the dam. The wind will catch your skirt, flip it up, and show your rear end to everyone behind you, also walking along the dam. And then you will have to walk along the rest of the dam and back holding your skirt down with both hands. You will look silly holding your skirt down. Probably. It’s just a guess.

Canyon Lake

The dam at Canyon Lake. A nice place for a walk, but not in a dress.

100_2169 But wait, there’s more… But, wait! There’s more…

Got toe crack? Also known as toe cleavage.

Posted on by April 4, 2015

You all know how I endeavor to educate you in some small way, to provide you with some tidbit of useless useful information that you might share while idly standing at the office water cooler. While this one isn’t as interesting as say, the time we all learned about Spider Prostitution, it is worthy of sharing with you, and perhaps with your friends and coworkers. However, it does relate in a small way to office attire. Just wait, you’ll see. And you may never be the same. (I haven’t been, but then again this has been “a thing” for many years and, much like spider prostitution, I only learned about it much later in life. It’s likely you are more in touch with the world and already know about this.)

The day I learned about Toe Crack, also known as Toe Cleavage.

While standing around with a group of friends and acquaintances, I notice the acquaintance in front of me is staring at me feet. He’s staring hard.

To give you a little background, this is a “business casual/dressy” environment and I’m wearing an unremarkable outfit, common office attire. And a pair of blue suede, closed-toe pumps.

Pye and my blue suede shoes, with toe cleavage.

Pye and my blue suede shoes, with toe cleavage. Pye has a shoe fetish.

The guy briefly looks up to my face and promptly declares he loves how my feet look in the shoes.

This was more than your usual, “I like your (shoes/hair/eyes)” comment. He was practically salivating, much like someone who’s just seen an ice cream cone for the first time after months of sweltering hot summer. But, wait! There’s more…

The Life of Pye: And that’s why we can’t have nice things

Posted on by March 8, 2015

Pye.

Pye, Pye, Pye. *shaking my head*

Is it Karma that sent me a Devil Cat? Is there no way to appease the Gods?

I love my furry monster-child, but Pye needs a hobby. She’s bored, perhaps more so because I’ve been home and she is now awake more than usual. Normally, when I’m gone during the day, she sleeps. When I’m gone for a night or two, she goes on an eating strike and hides when her friendly, animal-loving sitter comes over. And she messes up stuff around the RV. (Or pees on my bed three times after I come back from a trip, like she did when I went to Oklahoma for Christmas.)

But when I’m home, like I have been since my surgery, she is awake and demands constant entertainment and attention. Or she’ll start wrecking stuff.

Pye debating whether to play with the keyboard - again, or push the books off the table - again.

Pye debating whether to play with the keyboard – again, or push the books off the table – again.

I can’t sit at my computer table without her trying to “assist” by pushing my papers off the table, or stepping on the keyboard. She relocates all pens to goodness knows where. And if neither of those two things produce the desired response from me? She starts in on the curtains and blinds.

She is not much of a lap cat. It would be great if she could sit with me while I’m on the computer. But no.

She has only recently, But, wait! There’s more…

Why We Have Pets

Posted on by March 8, 2015

Why do we have pets?

This even looks like Pye. A friend sent it. It's from http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/lolcats .

This even looks like Pye. (From http://icanhas.cheezburger.com/lolcats)

Not that I don’t sometimes wonder why I have Pye as a pet, but my question is why do we have pets in general?

We feed, shelter, groom and care for these foreign-looking beings. They’re covered in fur, walk on four paws, and may make a lot of noise. They scratch or dirty the furniture, and often make messes in inappropriate places. (Like when Pye peed on my bed because I was losing my shirt at WinStar without her.) They may even bite or scratch.

Yet, we pet owners tolerate it all. The question is, Why?

My mom recently recounted a story about her cat Zaki barfing on the bed after a traumatic experience at the groomer’s. Ah, the joys of kitty ownership! Hairballs But, wait! There’s more…

Tales From The Life of Pye, The New Office, and The RV Park

Posted on by September 7, 2014

As the title indicates, there are things going on on several fronts… some of which include a delayed display of common sense.

It's a shame you can't buy common sense like you can buy deodorant.

It’s a shame you can’t buy common sense like you can buy deodorant.

This is another episode of Tales From the RV Park, stories from the RV parks where I’ve camped. Disclaimer: These stories are fictitious, happened in nightmares, are hearsay, and/or are what others recounted to me. I am part Irish, so there is likely a good deal of exaggeration. The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. There is no relation to persons living, dead, or in jail, even if you think so. In other words, don’t bother trying to sue me.

Raccoon Freedom

Much to my delight – and I’m sure his – Roscoe the Raccoon was released in to the wild a couple days ago.

He was miserable, cowering in the corner of the cage, or alternately trying to escape and pushing his cage around the room. It broke my heart to see him so unhappy. He was sweet, and didn’t bite unless you tried to pick him up or if he got scared. But he never bonded with us and it looked like he never would.

I really wanted to release him at the location where his brothers and sisters were released. The guys decided not to wait and instead released him about a mile or so away from the office in a rural area near a creek.

Tales From The RV Park

Holy Heavy Drinkers, Batman! But, wait! There’s more…

Tales From the RV Park and Pye Needs A Pill

Posted on by August 21, 2014

This is another episode of Tales From the RV Park, stories from the RV parks where I’ve camped. Disclaimer: These stories are fictitious, happened in nightmares, are hearsay, and/or are what others recounted to me. I am part Irish, so there is likely a good deal of exaggeration. The names have been changed to protect the not-so-innocent. There is no relation to persons living, dead, or in jail, even if you think so. In other words, don’t bother trying to sue me.

It's a shame you can't buy common sense like you can buy deodorant.

It’s a shame you can’t buy common sense like you can buy deodorant.

Yes, folks it’s true, I have left Cow-Chicken-Oil Town and am now at a new one. Still in Texas, this town has oil, but no cows or chickens! The new RV park is larger, has a pool, a rec room, and more people! This means new fodder for Tales.

It will take some time to find out what goes on behind the scenes here, but stay tuned. Meanwhile, I will share a brief, somewhat uninteresting, final story from the old park, and then tell you about Pye’s ride over here to the new park. But, wait! There’s more…

The day Pye stowed away in the RV chassis for 150 miles.

Posted on by May 11, 2014

We interrupt our regularly scheduled episode of the Online Dating Chronicles to bring you …this post. I don’t know what to call it. I can’t make this stuff up. Even if I could be that dishonest, I’m neither that creative nor bright.

In the latest episode of OMGOMGOMGOMG crazy shit Pye does The Life of Pye, she stowed away in the chassis/undercarriage of my RV for almost 150 miles and 3.5 hours!

*blond lemming faints*

Friday morning, on my way to meet up with a group of other single RVers, I packed up the RV for the first time in awhile. I was excited to finally be taking the RV on the road after many months. But, like so many things, this packing-up made Bipolar Pye nervous. (Last time, when I moved from one side of the park to the other, she peed on the driver’s seat because she was so freaked out.)

This time, she took to her favorite sleeping and hiding spot behind the couch/hide-a-bed. It’s quite safe and secluded because the only way in is by diving down the small space between the back of the couch and the wall. And the only way I can retrieve her is by partially unfolding the couch/hide-a-bed, then crawling under and pulling her out. Knowing she was fairly well sequestered, I continued packing up the RV.

I didn’t think she would leave the comfort of her hard-to-get-out-of hiding spot, but much like my last choice of dates, I was wrong. After pulling in the RV slides, I went outside and checked everything. When I opened the door to come back in Pye leaped out! But, wait! There’s more…

Holiday Letter From Da Kitteh

Posted on by February 26, 2014

Editor’s Note: Every year my cat writes a Holiday Letter From Da Kitteh. This started several years ago after I received a very proper Holiday Letter from some relatives.

I used to write an English version and an LOL Speak version. I would then place the version I thought most favored by the recipient into their Christmas card, and mail it off. I did get some strange looks from a few friends that first year, but most took it in stride. (Eh, screw ’em if they can’t take a joke. I’m too old secure to care.)

"I'm dreaming of a white Christmaaaaasss."

LOLSpeak, also known as LOLCat when used by cats. The singing is optional.

That first year, I sent the LOL Speak version to my 86-year-old grandmother on a whim. Not owning a computer or being tech savvy, she had never seen LOL Speak.

But that didn’t matter; she LOVED it. My 86-year-old grandmother “got” LOL Speak. She said she laughed so hard tears streamed down her face. She brought it down to dinner at the retirement home and read it to her dinner companions, who also loved it. She loved the letter more than anyone else has ever expressed to me. Nothing makes me happier than to know my writing makes someone laugh, and especially that it did that for my grandmother.

Last year, my grandmother, and Checkers, my co-pilot and the original writer of the Holiday Letter From Da Kitteh, both passed away. I couldn’t bring myself to do a letter.

This year, Pye will write her first Holiday Letter From The Kitteh. I hope you enjoy it as much as my grandmother would have. But, wait! There’s more…

Because my bipolar cat told me to.

Posted on by November 22, 2013

I think my cat is bipolar.

Pye is unpredictable, as you all know: she pees in the box, she pees on the chair; she snuggles, she runs away from home; she licks me, she bites me. I know the peeing is purely behavioral: she gets mad if I start the RV, or leave her locked in when she doesn’t want to be.  But I can’t figure out what triggers the rest of the sudden changes in behavior. At the moment, she’s on a cuddley streak, after being on a 3-day “I’m wild and don’t know you unless I’m hungry” streak.

The latter started shortly after I gave her flea medicine on the back of her neck.

She appears to have an allergic reaction to the flea drops at the treatment site; she scratches at the spot for a day or two. But after this latest application, I’ve began to suspect the allergic reaction goes deeper than just a bit of itching. This was the first time I noticed a change in her mental behavior for several days after the flea medicine was administered.

This sure would explain a lot about her unpredictable behavior. Unfortunately, there doesn’t seem to be much about this kind of side effect on the internet. Have any of you ever experienced a change in behavior with your dog or cat after administering flea drops?

"Meow?" "Yes, Kitty, in a minute."

Pye: “Meow?” Me: “Yes, baby, in a minute.”

I talk to the animals. I know you do, too.

A conversation about talking to your cat started But, wait! There’s more…