Sleeping soundly.....

Awakened when the flash went off!

This couch has seen its fair share of occupants these past few months.  The usual suspects are myself, working late into the night, one dog and one cat.  In fact, that is the corner of my sweatshirt in the top photo. Girly, the sable Sheltie, is usually the only dog on the couch and we have the knitted blanket on so that she doesn't scratch up the leather underneath. Angel, the elder, is the other regular occupant..but only when the couch is dog free.  Surprisingly, the other day Spike climbed up on the back of couch, fully aware that there was a dog below, and curled up to snooze comfortably.  I suppose I shouldn't be surprised because our fluff usually sleeps exactly where he wants, regardless of where it is. Yesterday, at feeding time, I had to drag him out of an empty box lid. Today, when I walked into the family room, I found him stuffed into the shelf of the open bookcase, just an arms length from hubby working on the computer.

Bella stops by the blog for a visit

My friend's cat, Bella, loves the camera.  Fortunately for Bella, her owner is a Visual Presentation Manager who has a good eye for composition and who loves taking photos! 

In the first shot, Bella has found an empty lunchbox :-( but then realized that the lid would make a comfortable resting spot :-)

In the second shot, she has a prime observation perch, curiously looking down to see what her 

owner is doing,

Spike and the new box

The other week a large box containing hubby's mail order hard drive showed up and he put it on the dining room table for just a few minutes before heading back to open it. He came in to find Spike comfortably sitting on the top of the box, surveying his territory from a higher vantage point.

Once Spike moved off the box, hubby quickly opened his new toy (ummm...I mean...new piece of valuable computer equipment) and left the empty box and wrappings right where they lay as he headed off to his office.  After hearing some rustling in the background, I came in from the living room to see what was going on and found him curled up in the box, getting ready to settle in for a snooze.

The last shot is the somewhat annoyed look when all that is left on the table is the packaging (box on floor behind him).

Two deaf kitties warming up the coffee table

Yes..it has been many weeks since the last post.  January and February are usually quite busy for me but this year has been a "perfect storm" of cascading deadlines in various areas, an additional workload in the day job that was not expected and a severe lack of sleep trying to fit everything in. At this time of year I work within a small margin of error of time which means there really isn't much flexibility if something unexpected happens. But...it is back to the normal workload..and enough about me..since I know those who come to visit the blog are more interested in the kitties that have the starring roles!

The two photos above are taken two months apart - the first was just a week ago and the second was back in January.  I was so surprised to see Spike and Sadie sitting side by side in relative peace on the coffee table so I yelled to hubby to take a photo.  Usually when these two are side by side either Spike is tapping Sadie on her backside with his front paw or Sadie is turning around with a loud hiss when she feels Spike's hot breath behind her.  

Two months pass...and the scene is repeated. Spike still holds the position at the north end of the table and Sadie is within breathing distance....but nary a hiss or any sign of discontent. I realize that in many other cat households it isn't unusual to actually see cats curled up in close proximity..but here it is a rare event so we have to make sure we get a photo!

One day...many years ago

When I was much younger, my family went to Africa (Tanganyika) to live for 2 years. It didn't matter where I was...I would find a cat somewhere to pick up and cuddle.  This was the neighbour's black cat and as you can see I wanted his beautiful face turned towards the camera.  Since we were only living in the country for a short time, my mum didn't want to get a pet for such a short time.  This was back in the days when people travelled by ship when they moved from country to country so she didn't think it would be good for a cat to be locked up for several weeks when we made our next move to England.  Fortunately, there were many cats in the small village where we lived so I was always able to find one who didn't mind a scratch behind an ear or a pat on the head by a little girl walking by.

One day I thought my parents had relented when I came home from school and found two goats tethered in the yard.  Having spent time on my grandpa's farm in Australia in my very early years, I firmly believed anything furry/hairy/fuzzy and four legged could be a pet.  I quickly named them Jimmy and Monty although they really didn't seem to appreciate any attempts to befriend them.  A few weeks later, I found out their real purpose in our yard. One goat (Jimmy) was stolen not long after but the other goat wound up on our dinner table. And I'll have to say, I have never eaten goat curry since.

Winston is ready to go shopping

Winston belongs to one of my friends (he has visited the blog before) and he is in fine form here.  Th e shopping bag was accidentally left unattended on the floor ..and in a flash there was a matching black tail hanging out of the bag. A quick turn around - and a handsome face popped out. Winston is lucky to have an owner who loves to play with him..and as soon as she took a few photos to capture the moment she was down on the floor helping Winston enjoy his new (but temporary) toy.

Spike says no...

to another woofie in the house. Hubby had the Sheltie book out to do some reading (not to look for a new woofie!) and Spike quickly sat right on the page hubby was trying to read.  No camera handy..so hubby had to use the nearby cell phone. And just in case you are wondering what the source of Spike's antipathy is..the three canine residents are shown below, enjoying their time in a cat free park.