Pray for rain!!!!

We have our paws folded here in prayer that the rain will continue in Kansas. The race is red flagged and Smoke is in first. If they have to call the race for rain now, Smoke will win. It's the not fun exciting win where Smoke will climb the fence, but in the Chase, we'll take any win we can get, however we can get it! Go Smoke Go. Let it RAIN!

Photo Hunters - Original

This week's theme is original and I immediately knew the perfect thing. Mommy has been working hard to create mini Halloween quilts for the family's kitties. She designed the pattern herself and cut out each of the 1 inch squares (that start as 1 and 1/2 inch squares) that form the pumpkin. Mommy isn't a good seamstress but we don't care that it isn't square and the sewing on her binding isn't perfect but she puts catnip solution on the batting that DaisyMae Maus sent us last Christmas and we love that!

After Mommy finished getting Daddy to hold the quilt for her to take a picture, Daddy wanted to change it so you get to decided which picture you like best. Mommy's choice is above and Daddy's choice with his dirty shoes is below:

Friday's Feast

Appetizer - How are you today?

Zoey: Elated! I hid from Mommy so well that she had to cancel my v-e-t appointment. Now I'll just have to do it again next Friday.

Mommy: Stressed! I had to cancel Zoey's vet appointment because I couldn't find her. I know that she was in the house because I saw her sleeping on the bed. I went to get her ZoomGroom to brush her before we left so she wouldn't shed quite so much. But when I came back she was gone. I checked all her hiding places but I couldn't find her. After a half-an-hour I gave up and called the vet to reschedule. I guess they are used to it and didn't seem upset at the late cancellation, but I felt terrible that I couldn't keep the appointment. Good thing it was just a check-up and I was able to reschedule for next week.

Soup - Name 3 television shows you watch on a regular basis.

Zoey: I do not watch TV. Cha-Ching and Smoke will occasionally watch tv. Cha-Ching seems to partial to the news. Smoke does not have any preferences.

Mommy: I confess I am tv-aholic. It's on almost all the time I am home. Do they have a 12-step for that? Anyhow, my three most favorites would have to be: Survivor, the original CSI and Desperate Housewives. Eureka, Kitchen Nightmares, Top Chef, NCIS, the Unit, Simpsons, Jeopardy, Dr. Phil, CSI: Miami, Law and Order, Heroes and almost anything on HGTV, DIY or the Food Network (in no particular order) are all close in the running.

Salad - What’s the scariest weather situation you’ve experienced?

Zoey: I do not like thunderstorms, any of them. I hide.

Mommy: When I was about 12, the family took a road trip and ended up in some town in Texas. It was the first time I had ever been there. My sister and I were sleeping on the bed in our van and my parents were sleeping in a tent when the worst storm I've ever seen hit. It poured down rain and the lightning seemed like it was on top of us. Mom and Dad ditched the tent and we all hunkered down in the van. I remember being so scared that I wouldn't touch anything metal for fearing of being struck by lighting. We got up the next morning and the locals acted like the storm was nothing special. We left Texas that day and didn't go back! Well, for several years at least.

Main Course - If you could wake up tomorrow morning in another country, where would you want to be?

Zoey: Hmmm.... maybe Germany so I could visit Dragonheart and see his new brother at the cattery.

Mommy: Is this to stay, or just to visit? If it's to stay, I would pick Canada. I already know the language and I love hockey! If it were just a vacation, I would pick Mexico. My parents go to Puerto Vallerta every February and Matt and I went with this year. It's was a lovely trip but I'm always ready to come home when the two weeks are up.

Dessert: What do you usually wear to sleep?

Zoey: Nothing!

Mommy: My glasses. Ha ha! That's because I almost always fall asleep while watching TV.

Thursday Thirteen

This week we present you with the thirteen reasons why Mommy and Daddy knew we had a party today while they were at work:

1. The garbage can was knocked over and their was garbage clear into the dining room.

2. The video camera was on the floor (we hid the video).

3. The bag with the feather boa materials that auntie Kim left for us was not in the closet anymore.

4. There was an empty Greenies bag with kitty teeth marks in it in the living room.

5. The food dish was almost empty.

6. The litter box was really full.

7. There was a sock left in the kitchen.

8. No one was waiting at the kitty door when Mommy got home.

9. The rug in the foyer was all cattywampuss from kitty races.

10. There were feather boa feathers strewn around the dining room.

11. The dining room table cloth was almost pulled off.

12. There was a long pink furry boa on the kitchen floor.

and 13. We were too tired to go outside to play tonight.

Wordless Wednesday - Why Mommy's Catnip Plant Isn't Doing So Well

A big day for birthdays!

It's Zoey's 14th birthday and today Pixie is 12! Stop by to wish Pixie a wonderful birthday.

Also Mommy's cousin Teresa's birthday is today too. It's a great day for a birthday.

Happy Birthday Zoey (and Meezer Rule Monday)

Cha-Ching: So it's the second meezer rule Monday and Mommy didn't get any good pictures of me this week. What is the matter with her? Doesn't she understand that I am her top priority?!? But at least she had already taken this one that illustrates my point precisely: When you gotta take a nap, make sure you're in a good position to keep anycat from sneaking up on you. Also it is my privilege to announce that Zoey is going to be 14 on Tuesday! Doesn't she look happy in that hat????

Friday quickie

Mommy says it's a really busy day today so I'm not going to have time to blog unless I do a quick one now. She has a sentencing to go to this morning and then they are coming to install a new dishwasher (Mommy's ecstatic about that) and then Daddy is taking her out to a movie (a real date!). So anyhow just a couple of quick things. Yesterday we had a visitor all day. Actually we had a party while Mommy and Daddy were at work. This black and white spotted cat (Daddy said it looked like a cow and he should know because he used to work at a Dairy in the stone ages) slipped into the garage while Daddy was leaving for work and then used the kitty door to get into the house. When Mommy got home from work, he came down to visit her. She petted him and then put him back outside. We think he may be the new neighbor's cat, but we aren't sure. We do know he's real friendly. Mommy will try to get a picture to share. We think his name is Moooo or at least it should be.

Also we wanted to share this cute video that Trudylee sent Mommy, but Mommy couldn't get it to upload. She hasn't figured the video requirements yet. I posted about Trudylee's kitties yesterday so be sure to check out yesterday's post if you didn't get to see it. Mommy says the video shows that we can be friends with all kinds of animals, although I'm not to sure about Daisy's alligators. We don't think they want to be friends.

Introducing Meisha and Rosie

Mommy works with a very nice lady name Trudylee who loves cats too. Trudylee has cute pictures of them in her office. They obviously love one another and Trudylee too. She sent Mommy a very cute picture of them. So Mommy played with Photoshop tonight to create this:

Trudylee says that they like to play in the middle of the night. They sound like my kind of kitties!

New Toy Tuesday

Yesterday our Mommy and DaisyMae Maus' Mommy went shopping (with the rest of the family). We lucked out big time because we got spoiled with new toys! DMM's Mommy brought us this new blue tent (that Smoke is laying in) all the way from San Diego! It's a good thing because our red tent is looking really sad. Apparently they are not meant to hold up fat little furballs.

Mommy: Zoey! The furballs are not fat. Okay, Smoke may have a little tummy on him, but they're not fat!

Fine, so the tent was not meant to hold up furballs who scarf down their food. But also we got a new big tent from Mommy. It's to replace the kitty condo that she stole from us.

Mommy: Yeah, I really stole it. It's still in the room; I just added onto it so it would go from floor to ceiling so you would have better viewing for the fish tank. But, yep, that was evil.

Fine, so she converted it such that I can't lay on the top any more.

Mommy: You never did anyway!

That's beside the point. So anyhow, we got a fun new tent. Mommy and DMM's Mommy put it together. Boy was that a joke. How many professional women does it take to put a tent together? I'll tell you.

Mommy: Okay so we had a few mistakes that we had to fix, but the instructions were really bad. I mean practically non-existent. Apparently they were written for people who wouldn't bother to read them anyway. But nonetheless we got it put together and the furballs were already having tent wars before it was even completely constructed.

Yep, they loved it and I've even sniffed at it a time or two. I thought that maybe Mommy would play tent wars with me today since all the family left this morning but she says she is going to work on her Halloween quilt. Mommy loves Halloween and Christmas. All the decorating is lots of fun but since she has a case going to trial right after Thanksgiving she says she's not decorating for Christmas this year, since she won't be home anyway. So she's going overboard for Halloween! Oh well, I guess I'll get to have a nice nap in the sunny spot on the table in her work room.

Meezer Monday

Cha-Ching is taking over the blog for the first Meezer Monday. I figure I'm old enough to have control of the blog now. We have lots of company right now. I'm not sure about them. Of course, I'm not sure about Mommy and Daddy either. I did allow Auntie Jessica to pet me for a while. That was okay, but mostly I've been hiding. The furballs are lapping up all the attention (and Temptations and Greenies) and Zoey is absolutely revelling in all the petting.

I've posted a picture that Mommy took of me when she caught me eating out of her bowl a while ago. I've learned that Mommy eats better things than she feeds me (like lactose-free ice cream).

Race Day Sunday!

It's the first race of the Chase so normally it would be a day of lounging on the big chairs for some good lap time while Mommy and Daddy watch cars go left all day, but today Mommy says is special. DaisyMae Maus' Mommy and family are coming to visit for a few days. What do I think about this? Hmmmm.... More laps! More loving! Maybe even, no I dare not say it, but more Temptations????? Whooowiiieee! I love it! Plus I'll still get race lap time courtesy of TIVO. It's the best of all worlds. Go Smoke go!

I almost forgot! It's Skeezix's birthday today! Drop by and wish him a great birthday.

Belated Thursday Thirteen

Mommy was too tired last night to blog. Too tired to blog? I told her there was no such thing but she went to bed anyway. So this morning I demanded that she let me on to the blog to add my Thursday Thirteen. Daddy is off hunting vishus deer today but before he left she gave him a long list of rules he had to follow.

1. Come home safe.
2. Don't get sick. (he got really sick after he came home from hunting three years)
3. Don't get lost.
4. Pack a compass and flashlight.
5. Wear warm clothes.
6. Take extra water.
7. Pack food for emergencies.
8. Charge your cell phone and take it with you.
9. Call to check in so we know you are okay.
10. You have to pack your own food unless you give Mommy notice of what you need so she can plan in advance.
11. You have to make the plan for the trip.
12. Mommy is not to see any deer.
and 13. Have fun.

Wordless Wednesday - Bonding

Zoey glass

Today Mommy took the custom piece she did of me into work. I now hang next to the piece she did of my brother McKenzie. Someone at work asked if she's going to do of the furballs and she said "someday."

Saturday update

Things Mommy has gotten done so far:

4. Hacking back the bushy bush out front
6. Figuring out some sort of cat post for the upstairs bedroom
7. Vacuuming
9. Organizing the photos on the computer
10. Installing Photoshop and Microsoft Office (hence the new title graphic)
11. Sleeping in
12. Catching up on all the TV programs she's TIVO'd but hasn't seen yet

Now she's just watching the pre-race and then she'll watch cars go left for a long time. Lap time! Go Smoke (and Zippy) Go!

Thursday Thirteen

Mommy has been very tired the last couple of days and has not let me blog. She is a bad mommy. Mommy says that she's going to be busy this weekend too and probably won't be letting me blog much then either. She said that Daddy is going hunting (armed walking really) and she is going to have three whole days to do all the things that she doesn't do because she would rather spend time with Daddy. So I present to you thirteen things that my Mommy will be doing this weekend instead of letting me blog:

1. Laundry, laundry, laundry

2. Finishing the slip covers for the chairs on the porch

3. Mowing the lawn

4. Hacking back the bushy bush out front

5. Filling the bird feeders

6. Figuring out some sort of cat post for the upstairs bedroom

7. Vacuuming

8. Balancing the checkbook

9. Organizing the photos on the computer

10. Installing Photoshop and Microsoft Office (again - they disappeared when the computer was fixed)

11. Sleeping in (ha!)

12. Catching up on all the TV programs she's TIVO'd but hasn't seen yet, and

13. Working on her stained glass

Personally, I don't think any of these are more important than blogging with my friends.

Lucy-Furr, thanks for coming to visit me. I had a great time watching the fishies and playing herd of elephants. I had a great time. Well, I gotta go, the furballs are playing hide and seek in the box our kitty post came in. Come over an

ytime.

Perla and Gus

Mommy and Daddy went to visit Auntie Michele this weekend (they cleaned her stuff out of their garage and brought back some stuff in return). But the best part of all was that they got to see our sister Perla and her new brother Gus! Perla is about Chewie's size, which means she's smaller than the boys, but boy is she spunky and full of energy!

Then there's the adorable Gus who's a wide-eyed lover boy of a black panther. He had a great time with the catnip toy that Mommy brought him. He bunny-kicked and licked and bunny-kicked it some more. We had a big weekend too! We got a brand new floor to ceiling scratching/climbing post (and we have tall ceilings too!). Plus, Mommy and Daddy bought an early anniversary gift for themselves and us too. It's a 55 gallon fish tank. They've been talking about it for two years and now it's a reality that we call kittytv! Now if they would only put our climbing post next to it.....

Remembering, computer time and other random thoughts

Remembering: It's been such a hard week losing so many good Catblogosphere friends and remembering others who have passed before us. I talked to Mommy about it and she says that it is hard. She still misses McKenzie a lot but she's happy to remember all the good times she had with him and wouldn't give up a moment of those despite the pain of losing him. It's just all part of the circle of life.

This week's theme is dirty and I knew right away the perfect pictures. They're from right after Easter this year. Chewie and Smoke came in from the backyard where they had rolled in the chalk designs Mommy's nieces Hallie and Rayna made.

Mommy thought it was funny but gave them a bath anyway. They didn't think the bath was funny.

Other Stuff: By the way, we didn't get to blog yesterday because Daddy got a new computer game and was hogging the computer. Bad Daddy! But he made it up to us today and got us a new kitty tower for the family room. The furballs and Cha-Ching have been happily climbing it all afternoon. Daddy also got some new fishies for the pond. Chewie is trying to talk him into to putting in the fish tank that he keeps talking about. Apparently she's ready to try her paw at fishing.

Sunday, September 2nd is Luxor's 1st blogoversary. Stop by and congratulate him on this milestone.

Also, we got to try Greenies for the first time yesterday. We read so many kitties that like them that we pestered Mommy to get some. I don't care for them. I like my Beef Temptations (although Mommy bought the beef-flavor Greenies today to see if I'll like those better). The furballs, however, are big Greenies fans now. Cha-Ching still didn't care for them, but he doesn't like Temptations either. I guess there's no accounting for taste in that one.

Speaking of the little meezer, his little crush appears to be turning into a little romance. Apparently our fair Juliet has an eye for him too. I must say that boy works fast, even if he's a little shy and tongue tied.

Finally, Mommy's Mommy and Daddy left today on their cruise and won't be back for a couple weeks. Mommy's a little blue to see them go because that means no Friday-morning trips to the casino to lose her $20 while Daddy's working for at least a few weeks. Maybe with her extra time I can get her to make me new chair covers for the chairs on the front patio. Get to work on it woman!