I mentioned before that Puck loves getting on top of the china cabinet and lying inside a basket that is up there (see here). Chris sometimes gets up there when he sees Puck in the basket and tries to take over. Puck never gives in until the other day. I wonder what changed?
It’s my turn and if you refuse I will tell Mom and Dad who knocked over the Christmas tree.
I want to start by wishing everyone a happy and prosperous new year. I hope you all have a great 2014.
About five years ago Rose and I were at a benefit for a local shelter called The Suncoast Animal League (Where I later volunteered briefly). They had cat beds for sale and since it was for a good cause we bought one that looked a little like Abbey. She took to it right away and it became her bed, even though other cats would sometimes lie in it.
Abbey and Tigger in Abbey’s cat bed.
Abbey’s bed could sometimes get over crowed.
Tigger had his own bed too but he was not as attached to it as Abbey was.
After we lost Abbey, her bed remained behind.
Today we put away all our Christmas decorations. I don’t know how but it seemed like we had less room than we did when I took the decorations out so I needed to make room. That is when I noticed Abbey and Tigger’s beds on the shelf. Since we moved, Chris and Puck don’t use them anymore so they ended up in the closet. Rose said I should throw them out, so I put them in a garbage bag and, as I closed the bag, the little cat face seemed to look back at me. I felt bad putting it in the trash, but I knew there was no room to store it for sentimental reasons.
“They say you die twice, one time when you stop breathing and a second time, a bit later on, when somebody says your name for the last time.” This quote is attributed to Bransky and It makes me feel like my memory of Abbey and Tigger keeps them alive and nothing else is needed.
We were awaken at 4:20 this morning by a loud noise in the living room. It wasn’t the kind of noise that wakes you up and you lie there and think, “Hmm, I wonder what that was.” This was a sit straight up in bed and yell, “Holy S%#!, What the H*#! was that?!” kind of noise.
Rose thought Puck jumped up on the china cabinet and knocked her porcelain stocking holder down… again. Unfortunately, that was not what happened. We got up to discover our Christmas tree lying on its side and Chris and Puck standing next to it like they were as surprised as we were. I don’t know who was responsible but those two tend to get frisky during the night and take turns chasing each other around the house. I’m sure one chased the other into the tree.
This was not how we wanted to take down the tree. We planned on getting a plastic box or bag designed for Christmas trees since I threw away the box it came in (the glue attracts cockroaches), but yesterday was Rose’s birthday and she didn’t feel like dealing with Wal-Mart, the only store near us that would carry such an item. I didn’t blame her, Wal-Mart is always a huge hassle.
The first thing we had to do was get as much broken glass up as we could before someone cut their foot. I missed a piece that Chris found and picked it up and started chewing on it. I tried to get him to drop it but he wouldn’t so I had to pick him up and shake him until he let go. Later, when we picked up all the candy canes, we discovered many had been chewed on. I think Chris was chewing on candy canes while we were putting ornaments away. Perhaps he thought the broken glass was part of a candy cane.
If there are any readers out there that have never had children and are considering it, I would suggest you get a couple of cats first for practice.
We had a great Christmas. We spent it at home with family and friends. Rose’s son, Nick, was here from Massachusetts and my son, Chris, was also here. He lives nearby but because of conflicting work schedules we don’t see each other very often. Chris, as some of you know, was not named after my son but came to us with the name.
Unfortunately Puck, who is not a fan of strangers, spent the day under the bed. Chris celebrated the holiday by greeting everyone who came into the house and by enjoying some outside time.
It started just like our last party with Chris on top of the table we set up for refreshments.
When people started to arrive I decided to let Chris outside while I watched him from the patio.
I left the door open so he could come back inside. I really didn’t expect him to do that but after a while of watching him I got distracted and forgot he was outside. When I remembered I started outside to look for him when I saw him lying inside the patio (sorry, no picture of that).
After he went out the first time and after the customary grass-eating ritual, Chris went looking for trouble.
Chris has become less of an adventurer and tends to stay closer to the house now. That is a good thing but I still have to watch him because he will sometimes wander to the side of the property and crawl under the fence if I don’t stop him. This day he was happy to lie just outside the patio and roll around.
After he was tired of playing outside he came in and went from lap to lap, making sure nobody was left out. Here he is with my son.
Chris and Chris
I hope you all enjoyed your Christmas as much as Chris and I enjoyed ours.
Chris, Puck, Rose and I want to wish you and your family (furry or not) a very Merry Christmas. Hope you get everything you wanted this year.
Rose’s son flew in yesterday from up north. He is at that carefree age when loud and obnoxious is the norm. On the way home from the airport we picked up one of his friends and had two carefree young men in our house. As every parent knows, when you put two kids together the loudness does not double , it rises exponentially.
Chris was perfectly fine with it. If he was human, he would be leading the group. Actually, if Chris was human, he would have taken them on a pub crawl or something and our house would have been quiet.
Puck is very different from Chris. He does not see change as a new adventure like Chris does. Puck has a special hiding place under our bed just for that occasion when someone new comes into the house. He has managed to pull down the underside of our box spring and climb up inside of it. That is what he did when we came home with the boys.
That evening the two of them borrowed our truck and left for a few hours. That gave Puck a respite and he was able to come out of his hiding place. We then went to bed and closed the cats out of our bedroom.
When the boys came home Puck was trapped in the spare bedroom and freaked out when they came in the room. We heard a loud noise and found out the next morning it was Puck knocking things over as he made his escape. I don’t know where he went to but after we got up this morning I did a thorough search of our house and eventually found Puck under our bed. I don’t know how he got there without us seeing him but he didn’t come back out until the coast was clear.
This is why I have to do a cat count before starting the washer or dryer.
When one has cats there are certain sacrifices that must be made. For example, we have a nice coffee table that doubles as a display case but we have to keep it covered or this happens:
As I write this it occurs to me that I took this photo during the summer, which is our rainy season here in Florida. The cats would go out on our screened patio, get their feet wet and then come inside and climb over our furniture. Perhaps I will take the cover off and see what happens.
Update: I took the cover off and now have paw prints everywhere. It appears I was wrong. Imagine that.
No time to write this morning so I thought I’d post a photo of our cat Puck being nosey.
Oh boy! It smells like chicken.
In my last post, I included a number of photos of our cats, Chris and Puck, playing while Rose and I were wrapping Christmas presents. Somehow I managed to miss one of the pictures so I want to include it here.
Next time I will try to pay more attention.
