i am well, the bebbies are well. thx polcat! i seem to have (temporarily?) lost my bloggishness. but here's a pic of the three: meera, kai, and wicket, may they be worth 1000 posts.
Friday, October 10, 2008
worth a thousand posts?
i am well, the bebbies are well. thx polcat! i seem to have (temporarily?) lost my bloggishness. but here's a pic of the three: meera, kai, and wicket, may they be worth 1000 posts.
Friday, August 22, 2008
my best sleep-buddy
i lay on the verge of sleep, thinking of something wildly out of the ordinary. just letting my mind wander and take its senseless turnings before sleep.
kai was the only one of the three in my room; he curled into the space where my lap might be, if i were not horizontal and on my side. purring and purring and putting his lips to my hand every now and then for that satisfying rub.
suddenly he stopped purring and in the dark i felt more than saw his tiny head dart from side to side. it scared the bejeezus out of me. what was it? how big was it?! and then i heard it: the horrible spine-shrinking whine of a mosquito
i held myself back from jumping up and turning the light on. i'd probably never find it. how hard it was to accept her bite! it's only today- three days later- that i began to itch. four red raised welts have appeared all up and down my left arm. ick. but if i'd jumped up, my little purrball would have leapt up too, and he's my best sleep-buddy.
kai was the only one of the three in my room; he curled into the space where my lap might be, if i were not horizontal and on my side. purring and purring and putting his lips to my hand every now and then for that satisfying rub.
suddenly he stopped purring and in the dark i felt more than saw his tiny head dart from side to side. it scared the bejeezus out of me. what was it? how big was it?! and then i heard it: the horrible spine-shrinking whine of a mosquito
i held myself back from jumping up and turning the light on. i'd probably never find it. how hard it was to accept her bite! it's only today- three days later- that i began to itch. four red raised welts have appeared all up and down my left arm. ick. but if i'd jumped up, my little purrball would have leapt up too, and he's my best sleep-buddy.
Wednesday, August 13, 2008
Tuesday, August 05, 2008
superbella, as seen from below
as seen from above, with arms outstretched, she looks like she's off to save a kitty in distress.
no lead-footed romps
despite the sticky heat last night I slept very well. kitties know why: kitties were shut out of the bedroom. there were no lead-footed romps across my sleeping body, no elbow nips from you-kn0w-who, no muscular rips into my fraying carpet. just- quiet. peace and quiet.
i opened the door this morning feeling rested and ready for my day. all three were sprawled just outside the door. "good morning bebbies!" i crooned, and they seemed no worse for the separation. we traveled in a pack to the kitchen for breakfast.
i opened the door this morning feeling rested and ready for my day. all three were sprawled just outside the door. "good morning bebbies!" i crooned, and they seemed no worse for the separation. we traveled in a pack to the kitchen for breakfast.
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
for being so purty
picture perfect moment last night but i was trapped beneath the picture perfect kitty. wicket perched on my knees as i sat near the window in the blue chair. his profile was perfect and stare-worthy, such long forehead whiskers, such beautiful clear amber eyes. i took a mental picture and gave him extra scritches for being so purty.
Monday, July 28, 2008
waaaaait a minute....
new litter? humph. the jury is still out. i'll keep you updated, but according to the bag, it's the world's best.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
not cheating
the trip to sedona was unforgettable, as was my first (and maybe last (and long overdue)) camp experience. but by the end of these two weeks i was sooooo ready to be home again with the babes.
we had a joyful reunion, they've been filled to the gills with treats and scritches, and now it's my turn to take care of cats whose mother is out of town. i'll see bastien, katie and dunc tonight- not cheating, my lovely own, if they're related to you!
we had a joyful reunion, they've been filled to the gills with treats and scritches, and now it's my turn to take care of cats whose mother is out of town. i'll see bastien, katie and dunc tonight- not cheating, my lovely own, if they're related to you!
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
outshout it
much vacuuming today in preparation for visiting arizona for a few days. i like a clean apartment when i come back from a trip. tho when mama's away who knows what meerakai and wicket will do to the place.
enter vacuum, exit meera and kai. wicket just sat there in the middle of the floor and tried to outshout it. my sweetie.
enter vacuum, exit meera and kai. wicket just sat there in the middle of the floor and tried to outshout it. my sweetie.
please wait
it's thundering ferociously out there. i'm at work thinking, 'shoot- i left the window just above the litter boxes open AGAIN.'
maybe they'll somehow know that they should wait to go until i get home and shut the window and dry the floor. ??
maybe they'll somehow know that they should wait to go until i get home and shut the window and dry the floor. ??
Monday, June 30, 2008
Wednesday, June 25, 2008
Monday, June 23, 2008
scaling new heights
kai, my climber, my scaler of bedroom dressers and kitchen counters, contemplates a new move:
...and takes the plunge! here he is...atop my cd collection. my music is housed in a totally unreliable piece of crap furniture, but he manages perfectly, without once making it wobble.
within seconds he's comfy. (it's an art, he'll tell you.) bella's content to stay in the window. she'll let kai tell her all about the new perspective later.
and wicket- without any food in sight as motivation- stays on the floor.
"wuzzhee up to?"
...and takes the plunge! here he is...atop my cd collection. my music is housed in a totally unreliable piece of crap furniture, but he manages perfectly, without once making it wobble.
within seconds he's comfy. (it's an art, he'll tell you.) bella's content to stay in the window. she'll let kai tell her all about the new perspective later.
and wicket- without any food in sight as motivation- stays on the floor.
"wuzzhee up to?"
Tuesday, June 17, 2008
belly of bella
check out those spots!! bella, believe it or not, has come to love the belly rub. it used to be that if i barely touched one of her belly hairs, she'd grip my arm in all four claws and snap at me with her teeth. but now she rolls over as soon as i walk in the door, and presents the spots. i think she's seen how blissed out her brother kai gets and sez, hmmm, i want some of that...
paper-weighted
the bebs were so happy to see me when i came home sunday night, and i was so happy to see them. i spent a stressful weekend in holland helping my mom kid-sit the brown-haired niece and nephew. blond-haired nephew came with and helped matters not at all.
after the chaos and noise and verrrry little sleep of the weekend, my apartment became even more of a dim blue sanctuary than it usually is. i love having my own place. it never gets old. i love drifting off to sleep, blinking sleepily at the rest of the apartment through the bedroom door and thinking- all that space is mine. it fits me perfectly.
thank god, thanks gods, thank goddesses for the blessing of my own space. shout-out to virginia.
older sis and man-friend took care of bebs while i was away. lauri left me a note, as is tradition, on the back of my note of instructions, complete with illustrations of how much she loathes litter boxes and the smell of cat food. i have promised, among other things, a lifetime supply of Good & Plenty as thanks.
as soon as i walked in sunday night, i dropped my bags. first things first, right? snuggled meera, kai and wicket like there was no tomorrow. they wanted to be put down- prefer to be loved while on the floor. so we snuggled on the floor. cleaned the water and food bowls, cleaned the litter box, vacuumed the kitchen... threw open all my windows, renested.
gazed fondly toward my own bed, my own pillow. nothing like three nights in someone else's house to make you appreciate your own mattress. kai did his silent mew thing and i almost died. gave him an extra ten minutes of belly rub. that boy's got me wrapped around his pinky claw, he does.
much later, in the middle of the night, i woke up and felt myself paper-weighted by my three. meera in the northwest corner by my toes, wicket three inches from my face, and kai tucked behind my knees. home!
after the chaos and noise and verrrry little sleep of the weekend, my apartment became even more of a dim blue sanctuary than it usually is. i love having my own place. it never gets old. i love drifting off to sleep, blinking sleepily at the rest of the apartment through the bedroom door and thinking- all that space is mine. it fits me perfectly.
thank god, thanks gods, thank goddesses for the blessing of my own space. shout-out to virginia.
older sis and man-friend took care of bebs while i was away. lauri left me a note, as is tradition, on the back of my note of instructions, complete with illustrations of how much she loathes litter boxes and the smell of cat food. i have promised, among other things, a lifetime supply of Good & Plenty as thanks.
as soon as i walked in sunday night, i dropped my bags. first things first, right? snuggled meera, kai and wicket like there was no tomorrow. they wanted to be put down- prefer to be loved while on the floor. so we snuggled on the floor. cleaned the water and food bowls, cleaned the litter box, vacuumed the kitchen... threw open all my windows, renested.
gazed fondly toward my own bed, my own pillow. nothing like three nights in someone else's house to make you appreciate your own mattress. kai did his silent mew thing and i almost died. gave him an extra ten minutes of belly rub. that boy's got me wrapped around his pinky claw, he does.
much later, in the middle of the night, i woke up and felt myself paper-weighted by my three. meera in the northwest corner by my toes, wicket three inches from my face, and kai tucked behind my knees. home!
Monday, June 16, 2008
it's not Caturday but...
...here is a guest star anyway: kathy's Trouble! (brother to Wicket, Duncan, Angel, AreToo, and Mini)
read about him in lizzie's archive of may 2006: http://922cats.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html
and my origin stories post: http://meerakai.blogspot.com/2008/05/origin-stories.html.
read about him in lizzie's archive of may 2006: http://922cats.blogspot.com/2006_05_01_archive.html
and my origin stories post: http://meerakai.blogspot.com/2008/05/origin-stories.html.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Monday, June 09, 2008
scandal!
why?! why is wicket still a hefty 16.6 even after the free feeder was taken away and i parceled out his food in incrementally smaller portions? why?!?
because he CAN jump to the high shelves where i put meera and kai's food, THAT'S why, my friends!!
oh, the rogue! I turned the corner into the pantry this weekend, and caught the "physically challenged" wickers munching serenely on food that was not his!!
he looked at me with those big golden eyes of his, continued to chew (like a cow), and seemed to ask, "why is the human gasping for breath like that?"
and all this time i've been worried that he's constantly hungry! each time he romped across my bed at three in the morning, or woke me up by lightly raking his claws along my arm, i've forgiven him. he's just ready for his next skimpy meal, i said. it's been hours since he ate, i said.
i'll post pictures tomorrow. i'm still in shock. i thought my plans were so crafty and clever. i've been out-clevered by a cat. i've been challenged to find a craftier cleverer solution.
because he CAN jump to the high shelves where i put meera and kai's food, THAT'S why, my friends!!
oh, the rogue! I turned the corner into the pantry this weekend, and caught the "physically challenged" wickers munching serenely on food that was not his!!
he looked at me with those big golden eyes of his, continued to chew (like a cow), and seemed to ask, "why is the human gasping for breath like that?"
and all this time i've been worried that he's constantly hungry! each time he romped across my bed at three in the morning, or woke me up by lightly raking his claws along my arm, i've forgiven him. he's just ready for his next skimpy meal, i said. it's been hours since he ate, i said.
i'll post pictures tomorrow. i'm still in shock. i thought my plans were so crafty and clever. i've been out-clevered by a cat. i've been challenged to find a craftier cleverer solution.
Tuesday, June 03, 2008
who's that knockin at my door?
sharp-eyed Bella takes a peek at the outside world.
note the characteristic half-crouch, the fully engaged ears, and the tiny reflection of wickers in those beautiful owl eyes.
in a moment she'll either make a mad dash for the water bowl or turn tail and burrow further into Land-Under-The-Bed.
Monday, June 02, 2008
xtra! xtra!
all weekend it's indifferent shoulders, distracted blank stares, and the you've-got-30-seconds-and-then-i'm-gone chin scritches.
late for work this morning, it's come-hither eyes, mini trotting shadows, affectionate leg rubs,
and silent mews.
needless to say, i was xtra xtra late.
late for work this morning, it's come-hither eyes, mini trotting shadows, affectionate leg rubs,
and silent mews.
needless to say, i was xtra xtra late.
Thursday, May 29, 2008
we had joy...
...we had fun, we had seasons in the sun
(wicket sez: spring sunshine and feathers and sis/bro locked up in separate room are niiiiiiice)
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
synesthesia
each time i visit lizzie's 922cats, it feels like walking into a clean, white room. there's a window open somewhere and minimal furniture- lots of space to walk freely, swinging your arms.
she's using a beautiful, simple template with so much restful white space that text and pics just pop. as i'm mentally swinging my arms, feeling the breeze through the imaginary open window, and poring over pics of ppeettunniiaa, i remember a story i just read in my new cookbook.
the story is about a man who experiences combinations of sensations. it's called synesthesia. so while eating chocolate mousse, for example, he feels the smooth contours of tall cool marble pillars. after serving a friend the fried chicken he had just baked, he tasted a bite and said, 'it's not pointed enough!'
nabokov was a famous synesthete. letters of the alphabet, when he imagined them, were each tinged with a different color. duke ellington saw timbre in color.
kind of related to this is the bouba/kiki effect. take a look at the two images here. assign one image the word "bouba" (regardless of this word's meaning (it has none)), and assign the other image the word "kiki."
when many, many people are asked this question, 90-something percent answer the same way. how do you answer?
she's using a beautiful, simple template with so much restful white space that text and pics just pop. as i'm mentally swinging my arms, feeling the breeze through the imaginary open window, and poring over pics of ppeettunniiaa, i remember a story i just read in my new cookbook.
the story is about a man who experiences combinations of sensations. it's called synesthesia. so while eating chocolate mousse, for example, he feels the smooth contours of tall cool marble pillars. after serving a friend the fried chicken he had just baked, he tasted a bite and said, 'it's not pointed enough!'
nabokov was a famous synesthete. letters of the alphabet, when he imagined them, were each tinged with a different color. duke ellington saw timbre in color.
kind of related to this is the bouba/kiki effect. take a look at the two images here. assign one image the word "bouba" (regardless of this word's meaning (it has none)), and assign the other image the word "kiki."when many, many people are asked this question, 90-something percent answer the same way. how do you answer?
Tuesday, May 27, 2008
go back to bed!
I was woken up at 3 a.m. this morning. For one horrible moment I believed I'd aged ten years, birthed three half-grown kids, and that somehow Christmas had been moved to late May. It was horrible! I was groggy! Had trouble getting to sleep in the first place!
All three fuzzers rampaged from room to room, yowling and crying piteously and running into walls, crashing over furniture. Then one of them discovered me on the bed, snuffled my hairline, rrroowled, and before I knew it, all three were on the bed. Nudging my elbows, patting my toes, biting my toes, walking across my belly.
For crying out loud, kids, go back to bed! No one's opening any presents until 6!
Maybe Wicket was hungry and extra-ornery? He's the only one with enough bulk to knock a giant bean bag from teh couch onto the floor. sheesh
All three fuzzers rampaged from room to room, yowling and crying piteously and running into walls, crashing over furniture. Then one of them discovered me on the bed, snuffled my hairline, rrroowled, and before I knew it, all three were on the bed. Nudging my elbows, patting my toes, biting my toes, walking across my belly.
For crying out loud, kids, go back to bed! No one's opening any presents until 6!
Maybe Wicket was hungry and extra-ornery? He's the only one with enough bulk to knock a giant bean bag from teh couch onto the floor. sheesh
reclamation
All my mental associations of the word 'gimp' are derived from the movie Pulp Fiction. And they're not good. So I set about reclaiming the word for my own peace of mind, and found these alternate meanings:
"...a special type of black lace used to trim certain gowns at Oxford University."
"...ornamental braid used to cover tack heads that hold fabric's edge against exposed wood."
"...a small punk band that originated from East Brunswick, New Jersey...fronted by Tomas Kalnoky who later went on to write, sing and play guitar for famed third-wave ska bands Catch-22 and Streetlight Manifesto."
So there, QTarantino.
But my real reason for this post is to celebrate my recent discovery of a fantabulous free open-source image editor. It's called GNU Image Manipulation Program (or, surprise surprise, GIMP), and so far I love it.
So do the guys and gals at CNET, who made it their featured download earlier this month: "Extremely powerful and easy to work with, GIMP is ideal for both amateur and pro photographers, Web designers, or anyone who wants to create and edit professional-quality digital images on a budget."
On their FAQ page, the people at GIMP respond to the comment that GIMP is a stupid name: "GIMP is comfortable with its name and thinks that you should apologise for your rudeness."
"...a special type of black lace used to trim certain gowns at Oxford University."
"...ornamental braid used to cover tack heads that hold fabric's edge against exposed wood."
"...a small punk band that originated from East Brunswick, New Jersey...fronted by Tomas Kalnoky who later went on to write, sing and play guitar for famed third-wave ska bands Catch-22 and Streetlight Manifesto."
So there, QTarantino.
But my real reason for this post is to celebrate my recent discovery of a fantabulous free open-source image editor. It's called GNU Image Manipulation Program (or, surprise surprise, GIMP), and so far I love it.
So do the guys and gals at CNET, who made it their featured download earlier this month: "Extremely powerful and easy to work with, GIMP is ideal for both amateur and pro photographers, Web designers, or anyone who wants to create and edit professional-quality digital images on a budget."
On their FAQ page, the people at GIMP respond to the comment that GIMP is a stupid name: "GIMP is comfortable with its name and thinks that you should apologise for your rudeness."
Thursday, May 22, 2008
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