he thinks he's people

A car just drove by and made a loud weird bang as it passed. Gavin, near the window, hopped up to have a look. He turned and looked at me inquisitively and went "mrrrrpprprp??". I replied "dunno little buddy. What do you think it is?"
I swear he shrugged his shoulders before looking out again and settling down in a sunbeam.

I love that our animals trust and communicate with us - they really cohabitate and share our home.

The chickadees are back in the front hedge. It's a sunny 12 degree spring day and I'm preparing for a day of odd little chirpy noises from both the birds and the cats as I (yet again) work on my thesis in the sunshine in the living room. I have a whole section of thesis to gut and rework and prep for my supervisor to read by monday. Gotta go.
Later taters...

Furry friends

Poor Gavin has a cold. I worry a bit, as he's pretty old. He seems to still have lots of energy...he just sounds snuffly when he purrs and is sneezing. With any luck he won't pass it to the Geek, but we'll keep an eye on them. Both of them have panic attacks for cars and vets, so I won't put them through that unless they need some extra help. They are 15 so they don't bounce back like they used to, so we're keeping an eye on them...it's hard not to worry. We love them...things like this remind us that they are only with us for a while...a very fuzzy purry while. I left J curled up with 2 cats this morning when I left for the gym...I'm sure he would have been purring with them if possible. It was very cute to see all my guys curled up together asleep.

Friends of ours just lost their furfriend. I am sad with them -she was a sweet one. Some people have "pets". For me, and others like them their pets are family. It makes me want to go home and give the cats some sort of eternal youth elixir...I know I've had Geek about longer than I have had J about. And I'm so grateful for all that time...

That's a lot of head butts and skritches. :)

Howls of love

My Geek has steadily been losing his hearing over the past 6 months. At first we thought he'd suddenly decided at the ripe old age of 15 to take up opera. Now that he seems quite thoroughly deaf the howling has let off a lot. Which is good because he really needs to keep his jedi day job...he's not a great singer :) Nothing is wrong with him that can be seen...he just seems to be getting old.
It has made having him about a bit more interesting -it is hard to call or admonish a deaf cat. Often "the voice" was all it took for him to know he was behaving badly. I am finding I accidentally startle him a bit more than I'd like to, and am trying to remember to tap on the floor before I just walk up and pet him from behind. Other than his desire to destroy the back of the downstairs couch I really have nothing to complain about to him. All in all he is a wonderful old man. Geek is a people cat, liking to watch what we do, and still plays like a monkey. He has become something of a snugglecat as he got older and I am home less often, which I love.
He is currently a big purring blob on my lap, keeping me company after a long day in the lab and a few hours out in the yard raking leaves. After a nice hot shower and a crisp gala apple I do believe the Geek and I are going to read a book for a while.
For fun.
One with nothing to do about labwork.

Squeee....

Happiness is a warm Geek

Since my knee has been healing from it's random damages and I'm not yet able to do morning workouts (just worked up to biking to work so far) I've taken to lazily eating a bowl of cereal sprawled on the living room floor up on my elbows while reading the news on my lappy before heading out in the mornings. Geek hovers, as he knows he can lick the cereal bowl when I'm done.

This morning as I typed, the Geek walked in front of my face between me and the keyboard (very common) but instead of doing the "hey hey ignore that-look at me!" thing he began to purr very loudly and turned about in a circle to snuggle in a big furry ball, resting his chin on my arm in the little cavity between me and the floor. I stopped surfing and hugged him and had a nice 10 minute purry cat snuggle fest (Geek pillow!), while Gavin snuck in and licked the cereal bowl. Geek didn't even move to defend his precious milk bowl - he just stayed with me, all squinty and purry. I stayed until I realised I had to leave or I'd be late for work.

It was a very nice way to start my day...all warm and fuzzy :)

My cat is jealous

I'm sitting in bed in my PJs checking the interweb...killing time. Occupying my brain.
It is rather all kinds of posh to be able to do this, but I don't want to make a habit of it...it's like eating chips in bed. You don't want to do it too often. It is crumb free tho.
My purring cat simply does not get it.
He cannot fiigure out why my hands are all over this metal scentless thing and not petting him - oh the outrage!
I must go love my cat...and find something to do on sunny sunday.

No plans make for a crazy mind at the moment...wish I didn't have to think about things.
Think I'll go hug the cat for a while and try and figure out what to do...

Meme cat - Geek's turn to waste your precious time

Diddums gave out a general meme tag from her cat Samson. Geek, (AKA Zeke/Ezekiel/furbag) my Maine Coone, is taking up the challenge, seeing as his life is far more interesting than mine at the moment. Mine consists of hacking, napping, medications and copious amounts of tea...his seems much more relaxing...

1. What I was doing 10 years ago.
I was trying to escape out of the 2nd story building of Geo's apartment by waiting for unsuspecting passers-by. Their heads were a perfect halfway hopping down point to freedom...No screens on the windows helped me hone my ninja skills of escape and concealment. I also helped Geo study for her analytical chemistry exams by keeping all her notes and books warm while she tried to read through me...what? I was helping!

2. 5 things on my to-do list for today.
Mightily hunt for the demon socks lurking in the bedroom, singing about my victory over the dreaded sock, hovering about in the kitchen for falling scraps while Geo cooks supper, napping in the sunbeams on the bed and annoying Gavin by going wherever he goes and nudging him out of his cozy spots once he's settled in. It's hard to find good help these days.

3. Snacks I enjoy.
Oh...pretty much anything. I'm rather fond of raw mushrooms and scones, but I'll take anything...even an entire muffin, and run away with it.

4. Things I would do if I were a billionaire.
Renovate the home to have water fountains in every room and skylights above all my comfiest nap places. Oh, AND there will be treats in all rooms...but not for you.

5. Three of my bad habits.
I desperately need to help Geo stretch out after a run...I think she appreciates the ankle biting and nuzzling her - the extra weight on her back during pushups will help her build muscles faster right? I also like to scratch the couch...I do it at night when noone can see or catch me...I just know there's something cool in there. I also tend to knock things off of shelves and ledges if they're in my way...hey, I'm walking here!

6. Five places I’ve lived.
I was at the SPCA shelter for a little while until Geo and her roomate took me home. Then we lived in 3 apartments while Geo was in university...then I was forced to endure the indignity of J's cat Gavin when they got married...but J is a cool guy, so I put up with his mumbly cat. I liked their apartment but the best place is the house we live in now...so I can be outside all day on the deck in the summer...nice.

7. Five jobs I’ve had.
Ninja, jedi, moth exterminator, lap warmer, nose licker

I tag your pet. *poof* A big grey silver Maine Coone cat appears and nibbles your ankles so you know you're next...

Note to self...your cat is a ninja

Well, my parents are on their way home...it was good to see them for a bit. My Mum is getting tinier, but they are doing well. Mum didn't try and declutter as they were only there 1 night and she's a bit weaker from her newer heart medication, so we just relaxed, drank some tea and putted around a bit. It was nice to catch up on stuff and just hang out with them...I don't get to see them enough. And they even got up and had breakfast with me and dropped me off at work this morning on their way home...very nice.

Last night Zeke had an adventure. Zeke can and will get into anything at a moments notice and is (I'm sure of it) part monkey. We were showing my dad a place in one of the bedrooms where the heat duct had come unhooked and was loose in the floor, and asked him if he could help us fix it next time they were through. He agreed and we went off to have tea...and later that evening, in bed, we heard a yowling Geek howl from the bathroom, and I thought "oh Mum shut him in the bathroom cabinet, I'll go let him out". But no...he was actually in the floor below the bathroom. Poor guy...he went on a spelunking expedition through the open floor duct hole and couldn't find his way back out. We'd for gotten to put the cover back on the open floor hole. So we shone a light down and called him and bribed him back out with some treats. It took about 10 minutes and my Geek was quite warm by the time he popped his head out for some food, but he was OK. And now we know...his ninja skills include stalking us from behind the walls and below our feet.
Tricky little guy...:)

I had a bit of an adventure in incompetence land yesterday getting J's watch repaired, but in the end, I went to an actual watchmaker, and they fixed things. The person J took it to is apparently the worst guy downtown for watch repair, and I had a lady in a jewelers look at it...she was afraid that he'd actually broken off some of the switches, but recommended a watchmaker or sending it away to Casio for repair, as only a watchmaker can crack the thing open to check it out/fix it. That would take weeks if it was sent away, so I went back to the original screwer upper guy and demanded that they tell me the name of the best local watchmaker (crossing my fingers that there was one) and that they pay for any and all repairs to J's watch. They mumbled and cowered and sent me to a watchmaker nearby. Luckily I had a lot of time and headed out on my watch adventure.
It was worth all the hassle just to go there...it was a little watchmakers shop on the second floor of an old 1910 building, filled with old wall clocks, cuckoo clocks, an old tall grand chiming clock..and there were work tables strewn with little tiny gears and little tools and magnifiers all over them. The people who helped me were wonderful. They were actual certified watchmakers who took the whole watch apart and spent the good part of a n hour fiddling and tweaking to find that this particular watch (besides needing a good cleaning) has an internal reset for the buttons when both batteries are removed at the same time (apparently anyone good knows not to do this, as they can't reset it on their own), so they reset it and put it all back together and viola! Good as new. Whew...
Such a relief...it was a lot of stress, but in the end I'm glad I got to go up there and see that shop...I've never been to an actual watchmaker before. It was really cool.

Now I want a cuckoo clock...