Pupcicle

We have a new roommate this weekend. We're sitting Fernando's friends' dog--a big lab-Saint-Bernard mix.

DAY 1
Minion's finally met her match. Even though she's generally a bold cat, she's not used to strange visitors, including furry ones. When Shooter first arrived she came out... her tail PUFFED... and then she arched her back! Just like those Halloween pictures of cats! It was very cute, wish I'd had my phone-cam. Now she's just hiding in a closet in my room. There were dogs where she lived as a baby, but it's over a year ago.

Haley's being the brave one. When Fernando took the dog on an apartment stroll, Haley just gave him a look that said: "This is not the cat you're looking for." Then she hid under the bed for awhile, but I sweet talked her, and she's come out twice to explore.

When Haley was at my mom's there were several little dogs. She'd wait til they were all asleep and then c-r-e-e-p across the floor between them all. She gets outshone by Minion's crazy antics, but when the rubber hits the road, she's got grit.

DAY 2
The kittehs were still total scaredy-cats Sat morning. But we brought them, one at a time, to the Kitteh Tower so they could see the dog. They didn't stay, but it seemed to help. When I took out some treats, Minion was so excited she deigned to eat them two feet from the Monster (who was sharing in the cat munchies) whereas last night she wouldn't even come down the hall for the same food.

It wasn't long after that, sitting again in the livingroom with Shooter, I saw this:

And then this, from the other side of the livingroom... (You can get to the livingroom from the hallway, or the kitchen.)

And once she saw he wasn't going to attack she got bolder...

The rest of the evening passed without much fuss. Minion relaxed and started to frolick and play again, and catch up on all the mischief and finger she missed while cowering in a closet.

Haley still kept her distance, but came as far as the sideboard in the entrance between the living room and kitchen.

DAY 3
The cats acted a bit skittish again this morning, I don't know why. But I made Haley eat her breakfast on the sideboard, and Minion's been acting normal.

I don't know what the turning point was for Minion. Maybe it was after she and Shooter ate cat niblets together, and she recognized a fellow kindred pig-out spirit.

Above is Shooter enjoying the Bullwinkle (bull penis) that Fernando bought him. Minion has her own small Bullwinkles.

...Though Minion likes her kong better--she's finally using the tougher red one I got her. Last night she was kicking it around the apartment like a misshapen soccer ball.

And that's it for the weekend animal drama. Shooter is an exceedingly polite dog, because he's a retired "Mira dog." Mira is the seeing-eye-dog charity in Montreal. So Shooter doesn't chew ANYthing, rarely barks, is very calm and obedient, and doesn't react to the cat he lives with. (Or to Minion taking swipes at his ear.)

IN OTHER NEWS:

Here's the beautiful quilted purse I bought from Urthalun-Betty (she's off on the other side of the continent, in Oregan.) Isn't it fabulous? It's really well made, and perfectly fits my purse organizer. It will be the perfect accompaniment to blue jeans.

And finally, some random Minion cuteness. Her specialty (after torturing fellow companion animals.)

(As I posted those photos, Minion started attacking Shooter's ear again. He LOOKed at her. She backed off. ...Now she's going for it again.

Have a nice week. Peace out.

Swiss cat sitting

So the last couple weeks I was chez Swiss Girl. Every year I cat sit for her for a week or two and it's always nice to see my neice-ee and nephew. (Do you even miss other people's cats and dogs and birds when you leave them after a stay? I do.)

Swiss Girl and I met in grade 7 and we've been friends ever since--26 years. She's a very easy-going person, so we find it relaxing to be friends with each other. We can be honest, we can cancel plans just because we're feeling lazy or it's too rainy outside--it's all very low on the Drama Meter.

I was looking at some of her old photos while I was there and photographed these two. Swiss Girl grew up in Canada, but both her parents are Swiss and as you can see she's very proud of her heritage.

 

  This photo was taken on one of her Switzerland trips (around 18 years old here). I didn't find any iconic mountain photos, mostly pics of her with relatives.



She and her hubby take lots of little trips (no they're no wealthy, it's all budget budget budget) and this time they went to Switzerland again. So here you go--Swiss Girl with Swiss mountains.


An elderly woman once told me she tried to keep at least one friend from each phase of her life, which is an idea I love. It is nice to have a friend who knew you when you were 12. Looking through the old high school photos was hi-lar-ious. And weird, like remembering the high school boyfriend who cheated on her--guys start young with this BS don't they? And then the photos of her college-age headbanger boyfriend. They had the greatest apartment, because on the walls were her cross-stitch projects, and his dark paintings. Man they were an odd couple.

Come to think of it, last time I ran into both of those guys, they had become fathers. High School Guy was about to have a child (but had ducked out to see The Phantom Menace premiere), and the other was with his little girl and looked awkward as hell to be talking to me. I don't know if that's because he never really liked me, or just because their relationship ended badly. (Did he cheat too? I don't remember. There was a lot of drama.)

Back to my kitty-niece-nephew. I bring them toys and treats, so now when I arrive I get a very warm greeting. Even from Sue Ellen, who clearly wasn't handled by people as a kitten cause she acts like a feral cat. I can't pick her up, but every year she gets closer to me, and more affectionate. (She's a very food motivated cat.) In this pic to the left, you see how every time I pet her she's half enjoying, half wary looking. Ready to escape my evilness at any moment.



JR, on the other hand, is a regular ole sweetie, cuddle-puss. Also as active and nutty as Minion, though less trouble-making because his mother says he hasn't quite got Da Brainz.

This pic is him saying hello when I arrived. (Oh yes, now that I have a cell phone and ipad, the photos--they multiply fast!)

I don't know what this look means. Check out the devil ears!

Warily sitting far off...

 

Proof that sometimes she came near. 

JR has a little fortress in the corner of the sofa, it's so funny.

And this is what I saw from Suzy, every time I passed through the kitchen.

If I was late in feeding them their treats I'd hear her from up in the kitchen.

"Menows? Hallos? Auntie!!"

Whereas JR was usually just being sociable.

He's a little shadow.

 

Here it was close to feeding time, so JR started breaking house rules to get my attention. Sitting on the table, and then scratching the upstairs couch.  I had to chase hm off the table about 7 times. I told you he's a lot like Minion.

"When will you feed me next? Can't you see I'm dying?"

I didn't bring toys from home, so I had to pick some up at Loblaw's. They mostly had Hartz, which I don't even like. This fish on a pole looked to be the most promising, but I forgot to put it away one day and Suzy--I'm convinced--at the string. Have you ever been faced with killing your best friend's cat? OMG. One of the most stressful nights I had all year. Thank-you to Ms Brownlow for taking all my panicked emails.

Neither of the cats ever showed signs of being sick, so my vet said to just watch them. Ms Brownlow's convinced Suzy hid it somewhere. I'm convinced she's got a bouncy string sitting in her stomach. Or that she chewed it up into tiny pieces and pooped it past me.

Looking soulfully out the blinds--which her peoples thoughtfully leave open.

JR's scratch pad was worn out, so I turned it over to the fresh side. He then spent most of the time sitting on it.

I noticed Suzy liked sitting on blankets, and often sleeps in the living room. So I left my jogging pants and sweater out for her the rest of the time.

I came home on Tuesday to feed my kitties so Fernando could go out after work. The first time I went on vacation Haley sulked me for two months--wouldn't come sit on me for cuddles. The next time it was a month. But this time she didn't sulk at all, came right over for a long cuddle. And this weekend too. So she now understands that when I disappear for a couple weeks, she shouldn't worry.

"La Mahmmy can't live without moi."

 

But it was my and Minion's first parting, and since she follows me around I didn't know how she'd take it. She did bond with Fernando, finally (that's what happened with Haley too the first time.)

Minion was sitting up on the shelf by the door when I walked in, and I held out my arms to her and she leapt in. "Mahmmy! You've returned!" And this weekend she's been on me constantly--has worn out three sucky-fingers.

 

My first night back, I was watching TV and she was napping. She woke up and I guess she went "Oh my days, I forgot--Mahmmy is here!" Because she came trotting over to me making her little meowee-affection noises -- "Mmmeoow meow meow Mahmmy!!" -- and flung herself at me.

Tsk tsk... who says dogs are more affectionate?

Haley likes to stick her face in my mouth and sniff.

Or maybe it's her lion-tamer act.

 "So you came back eh?"

"We expect compensatory treats for our emotional distress."

 Alright, that's it for the kitty pics.


     

It's a Saturday, yo

Heard this as I flipped past Jimmy Fallon. By the way, if you want to buy this song it's called "Lippy Kids" not "Build a Rocket Boys" or even "Build a Rocking Horse." Just a little tip for ya.


I got an ipad. I don't normally buy new toys before everyone else--I just got my first cell phone too, if that tells you anything. The excuse was that it's to help for work. An actual excuse, cause I wasn't planning the ipad plunge for years. But I'll take it off my budget for a new computer. ANYway here's the #1 thing you need to know about ipads:

Cats can barely keep off them!!

This is my friend's little guy, JR. He's flopped over the back of the sofa, staring at the ipad. Usually he's trying to walk on it--he loves the reflections he sees.

Minion was also inexorably drawn to it when I got it out of the box. Not watching reflections, but just determined to walk on it no matter where I put it.

 "Oh this is teh new toy, eh? (yawn)"

"But what's that?"

"Ho now Mahmmy that's a toy."

Happened to catch the American Prime Suspect premiere. I like a lot of the male actors, the show was pretty good, but I found Maria Bello bland. Tough, but not at all gritty. She's not a mess. She's got this beautiful apartment and hot boyfriend and wears her cute little hat... Jane Tennyson as a Barbie.

Caught the last 10 minutes of The Sweetest Thing. It's not *a good movie* but I remember enjoying it because it's a movie with funny women, like Bridesmaids. Not Sex&theCity type, not run of the mill rom com humor, but funny like Stupid Boy Movies. Willing to embarrass themselves, act like idiots.

I also rewatched Return to Me, which I remembered liking. I'd forgotten how funny the side characters are, all of them. Both the scenes with Bonnie Hunt and Jim Belushi, and the ones with the oldies acting like matchmakers. Really, really funny.

I tuned out the Oprah channel for awhile cause there was only one show I loved and I'd seen most of the episodes--the one where they profiled successful people. The Jay-Z, Maya Angelou and Oprah ones were excellent. But this year they've got two new shows that interest me. One is Visionaries, that follows around famous creative people (Tom Ford, will.i.am); and another where Oprah talks about lessons learned on her old show, using clips etc.

It'll be like the Best Parts version of her old show.