I know I'm not a cat..but aren't I cute, too?

Every once in awhile I feel a little guilty that the woofie is left out of the regular postings. Yes, she shows up occasionally - but as a supporting player rather than one of the stars of the blog. Papabear has a knack for taking good photos (mine will never show up on the blog since I really have no sense of composition, artistic style or even the ability to take photos that don't chop off something/someone that should have been in the frame). So I thought it was a good time to let the woofie have her own post - even if she isn't quite as cuddly as our soft, furry boys.

The introduction of the woofie has meant daily walks for Papabear and regular outings for me (after work and on weekends) so this means regular visits to the park down the street and the city parks which dot our city. We have been fortunate to have many days of sunny weather this summer - although the 30+ C weather these past few days has been a bit hotter than we like when we are on a 20 minute walk. I can almost hear the cats sniggering at the front window as they sit comfortably in the air conditioned house, watching us come in from the latest walk!

Spike's version of a cat condo

Just a few minutes before this photo, Spike was stretched out, fast asleep. He is on the top of a very high bookcase. one of his favorite spots in the family room. In a typical day pose his paws will do the "double dangle" on one edge and the fluff tail will beat a steady rhythym when someone walks by. At night he will tuck his nose into his paws and we will hear the occasional snore. He has a prime view of Papabear on the computer so I reckon this is one of the reasons I find him here regularly. Every once in a while. late at night, I forget the fluff cat is up here. I turn on the light when I go in and then I hear a little grunt as he wakes up.
PS A sharp eye will see the boomerang on the wall at the left. Not a functioning one...but beautifully illustrated with aboriginal art.

Friends "not of a feather"

Usually our Lord and Master of the Fluff is sitting up where he can look down on the denizens of the house - so this was a real surprise when Papabear walked back into the living room after getting himself a cup of coffee. Out with the pocket camera..and up with the photo! ("Up"loaded, that is.) We have been very pleased with the integration of the woofie into the household. Often she is sitting just a foot or two away from Angel and he just casually looks over at her, then buries his head in his blanket. If you look up and left, that is Angel's favorite chair. Spike will walk by, swishing his tail and ignoring dog and humans. It is very common, though, when I am in the kitchen late at night, to turn around and find Spike stretched out on one part of the kitchen floor and the woofie stretched out on another, both equally comfortable in the company of the other. Sebastian is the one hold out ...but there seems be some thawing so we hope they come to a truce in the near future. The woofie's fur is fast turning grey so we don't know how much time we will have with her. We just have a best estimate from the vet as to her age and our reading shows that the typical life expectancy for her breed is 12 - 13 years. But, as with the cats, this is her "forever" home and we'll love her through whatever time she has.

The dangling paw

Angel has been observing Ben's dangling paw http://catscats-catrina.blogspot.com/2010/08/tuxedo-tuesday.html and decided to show off his own paw dangling ability. The first shot catches Angel on the living room coffee table - about 10 minutes after Spike has hopped off. The next is one of Angel's favorite poses...anytime I lie down on the couch it is just a matter of time before Angel susses it out and slinks over to stretch out. Who needs a hot water blanket when Angel is around!

"The one that got away": Angel was sitting on a large box the other day, with paw draped over the edge, when the woofie walked by. Angel started batting at the woofie's tail as she walked by but by the time we grabbed a camera, the action was over and the paw tucked away.

7 facts about me

An invitation from Cat at Cat’s Cats is behind the badge you see above…and the objective is for me to let you (the readers) know seven things about myself.

Well…..how could I resist an opportunity to respond to this? This will be an interesting challenge for me since I initially started the blog for friends and family who wanted to know what the cats were doing rather than me!

1. The old saying “If you love what you do, you’ll never work another day in your life” is so true…but my husband regularly phones me to remind me I do have to come home from work at some time. I work in Finance, in the retail fashion world. Whenever I feel I’ve had enough numbers for awhile, I pop down to the concept rooms where the fashion samples are arranged on the wall,,,or the next season product is laid out in modules. I do spend more on clothes than I should….but I tell my husband it is “research”!

2. In summer I relax, watch HGTV shows, Coronation Street and Dog Town (why don’t they have a Cat Town or a Cat Whisperer?) and spend time in the garden, walking the dog, out shopping and just driving around checking out the local shops and malls. I slow down in summer and find I am recharged and ready to go again in September. By then I am eager to get started for my upcoming evening lecture sessions (accounting and finance….what else!) I love to teach and I enjoy writing my own cases for one of the classes….this is the creative side of me coming out.

3. I love to read …hard copy or electronic…either media suits me fine. I enjoy science fiction, with Isaac Asimov top on my list. I do have several books scattered around the living room (you see some of them underneath Spike) and more upstairs…I have a bad habit of starting a book and then grabbing another that catches my interest or happens to be handy at the time I taking a break.

4. We have 4 kids (the baby bears as we call them...although the 6’6’ son and 6’5” son really don’t appreciate that description). The youngest son is our Cat Whisperer in the family and he willingly shares his bed, desk and cupboard with our scaredy cat, Sebastian.

5. I knew my husband was going to the right fellow for me back in the early days when he showed up at my door one winter day with a beautiful silver grey long haired cat tucked away under his coat, with just its penetrating green eyes peeking out. (He still loves long haired cats, hence the many photos of Spike that are peppered throughout the blog.)

6. I have been drawn to animals from an early age and have had pets most of my life. At the top of the post I have included a photo of a much younger me at my grandpa’s farm in Australia…..surrounded by my favourite four legged furry friends (one cat and one puppy) and a “chook” (as my grandma would say). On a related note, I was born in Australia, lived in Africa, England and Scotland….and then moved to Canada when I was still quite young. Here to stay now!

7. My favourite time of the day – usually happens late evening when hubby and I are sitting in the living room. Angel will be draped on my legs, the woofie is curled at our feet and we hear soft snoring coming from Spike who is tucked away behind us on the blanket by the couch.

I want an iPhone

Spike's deafness precludes us from reading to him at bedtime.....so Papabear took the next best step and found a magazine with all sorts of interesting pictures ..and what did his eyes stop on? The new iPhone! Hmmm.....I wonder if Papabear is helping direct his interest here.

Angel checks out the pears from his comfortable new box

We found a great plastic pet storage box at Home Sense this weekend - designed for cat brushes, toys, leashes, etc - made by a company called Curver. The storage box was well designed so I quickly looked up Curver - apparently it is a European company without locations here so I guess we won't have any luck looking for a matching storage box for dogs. There was only one box on the shelf at Home Sense so we can't even buy another one, cross out the cat pictures and magic marker in the dog name!

We had some of the extra cat brushes in a photo box so emptied out the box this morning. Less than an hour later, Angel found it and crammed his little furry body into the box. Feigning innocence, he pretends he is checking out the decorative pears!