Adventures with peacock feathers (thanks Aunt Lizzie!)

(and for my next trick...)

The tree is. STILL. standing!!

Oh yes, folks, after two days of sniffing and slobbering and staring and (very slightly) swatting my brand new baby xmas tree, the thing is still upright and whole.

I think tonight I might even try to place a few ornaments.

Up high.

eyeballs still intact, thank you very much

around 7 a.m. this morning, Wicket's soft nose made contact with mine. i opened my eyes to find his big beautiful face staring right back.

i smiled at him sleepily, and drank him in--the plushy fur around his neck, the intricate black patterns along his cheek, the complex gold of his eyes...

then a month-old memory sidled into my brain. 'remember the vicious slice this beast gave your eyelid?' it whispered cruelly. 'he came within a millimeter of your retina. he almost made you a greebo.'

my smile froze...

...and i swung into survival mode without moving a muscle.

crooned, "hey there little wickers, who's such a gooood boy, whatalittlecyootie he is. yes he is. bye bye bloody thoughts. bye bye."

he cocked his head, listened intently. touched noses again, snuffled along my hairline, and trotted off. compliments accepted. disaster averted.

Podkai

Wickers, nee Wicket, restin'

Tomorrow I shall wash dishes and fear not

Looks too cute for words, doesn't he?

Well this morning he took a chunk out of my thigh. He goes crazy at the sound of running water, so each time I turn the kitchen faucet on to wash dishes, Wickers comes trotting in from wherever, and stands by my feet, mewing piteously.

Sometimes, out of desperation, I refill his recently-filled water bowl, and this satisfies him...for about five minutes, or until the next time I run the faucet, and then he's back at my feet again, crying.

This morning crying just wasn't enough. He lifted his front paws in the air, and streeeeetched way up high til his front claws had embedded themselves in the back of my thighs. It was my turn to cry, but I didn't really cry. I groaned something unprintable, and strongly encouraged him to remove his paws.

Him being my wobbly cat, that is to say, my falls-when-I-nudge-him-with-my-foot cat, he got one paw undone but couldn't get the other, and in his attempt he fell sideways, still tangled in my pajamas. I tried to help him by crouching on the floor. I didn't want his poor little arm getting pulled out of its socket. It took us another two minutes of uncoordinated maneuvering before he was free.

Disgusted, I rinsed my soapy hands and went to find a huge towel and the claw-clippers. I took complete advantage of his disability to wrap him up, pin him down and trim his nails. I feel no shame.

M'bella, As seen from above

What a little cuddlebug

Long suffering or just too damn lazy?

Wicket crouches with a wiggle, aims, then launches himself off the back of the couch. He lands heavily and unsteadily on the cushions, inches from Bella's sleeping face. He pauses a moment to regain his balance, then walks away onto the coffee table. She had been sleeping peacefully in the shape of a yin or maybe the yang, but lifts her head as Wicket lands. He almost crushed the tip of her paw. As he walks away, her wide eyes take on an unfocused, distant look as she takes personal inventory and decides whether this is a matter she needs to pursue. Luckily, he keeps moving, so once his dense, sack-of-potatoes body has moved out of sight, she sighs and puts her head back down.

blinds askew

trace the path of his eye glitter

wickers!

Bella for Prez!

(thanks, Auntie Jen!)

First is normal-size, second is normal-size...

...third is BEAST.

Playing keep-away at the dinner table

Her version of 'two-fistin' it

No yogas unless...

...we can has cheezburger

Bella and the Gourds

Coming soon to a city near you

I iz not cat. I iz quiet fuzzy blue lump.

You IZ cat !! and you iz tasty

"Do what you will," he sez. "I'm not moving."

Such a good mouser is Kai!

I can't stand the cuteness!

I lay curled on my side in the darkness last night, drifting off to sleep. Then I heard the four-part thump-thump of Wicket landing on the bed. A moment later I felt his soft breath on my cheek, so I reached a hand out of my nest of blankets, and scratched his head. Then he made a circuit around my entire body, leaning heavily against me the whole way, as close to a full-body hug as a cat can get, I guess. He rounded my feet and came back towards my head. I waited, waited, knowing what was to come. Sure enough, I felt his breath again on the back of my neck, I don't call him Snuffler for nothing, and then--there it was--the munch-munch of him noshing on my hair. I had to laugh out loud.

All three

Mz. Jen and Wicket, tea-time

Ugliest yet (sorry Wicket, had to do it)

Gorgeous girl

Bella's lip has been lookin' funny lately.

It's her bottom lip. Just in front it's swollen a little, giving her a sultry, full-lipped look (this picture was pre-swell). It doesn't keep her from drinking or eating or rubbing her face along every available surface as I scratch her back, though.

I'll keep an eye on it...

Wicket in the window

All of WIcket plus Kai's nose

Up close and personal

Pop! goes the Wicket....

Wicket stalks Girl-Under-the-Bed

Ways to recognize my cats in the dark...

In the night, before I sleep...

Wicket stumbles as he lands. It's a thump-sound of at least three parts, then a pause for recovery. He's got a sweaty little boy smell (in a good way), and the skin around his neck bunches as he walks.

I know Kai by the thick, soft plush of his coat, and the way he lifts his head to meet my hand, and the way that he always nibbles my fingers if I offer them in just the right way. I can feel his backbone bones.

I know Meera by the lack of backbone bones. She's generously proportioned, and she's least likely to come near my face. She sits still as I rub my thumb across her nose and eyes and forehead, and purrs, purrs, purrs.

Pretty Girl 1

Pretty girl 2

Meera crawls INTO the blue chair

Wicket gives it a try

Pensive

Kai hangs over...

...the edge of his favorite piece of furniture: the teacart.

Sympathy blogging...

...for my friend Lizzie, who's feeling pretty bad right now.

The other day I went out to eat at the Olive Garden, and brought home a giant bag of leftovers. A giant, paper bag with handles. A giant, paper bag with handles that Kai found irresistable.

I left it on the kitchen floor, and only realized my mistake when I heard the bag being dragged at horrendous speed from one room to the other. By the time I got to Kai, he'd disentangled himself, but he wouldn't let me near him for hours. He stayed under the bed and just looked so scared still. It broke my heart.

The next day he was back to his usual self, but oh the guilt! The guilt!

Is Wicket prettier here?!

Or here?!

Mock catfight: Wicket vs. Kai

Post-mock catfight

More Kai, black and white

Kai sleeping in black and white

Soooo reflective of their personalities...

After being gone for days, and wondering what kind of welcome I'd receive, I unlocked my apartment door, and called for the kitties.

Wicket sat in his usual spot, about two feet inside the front door (Jen, he can back up when he wants too!), mewing his little head off. Very vocal, that one. Then he ignored me for the rest of the night, sniffing corners and staring out the window until 2 a.m. rolled around, when he curled around my sleeping head and started purring.

Kai came trotting from the bedroom, and was all cuddles and leg rubs all evening.

Meera stayed under the bed during the somewhat chaotic process of unpacking, except for the two times that she darted out, made a beeline to me for some headscratch, and ran back to her hidey-hole.

Typical! (I love typical)

Wicket and the turtle

So on the last day of my incredible vacation this past weekend, I picked up this turtle magnet from the Museum of Natural History on Cape Cod. Immediately I thought of my bebbies, and sure enough, here's Wicket making friends... (Its legs are on springs!!)

Back on Wednesday!

This lil photographer will be incommunicado until Wednesday... So here are a few more pics of wobbly Wicket to tide us all over:

Back to back

Airborne!

(Kai, Wicket, Kai)