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."