Rain, Rain, Go Away

That's it! I can't take any more of this weather. I don't care if I'm an inside kitty or not, there's only so many days a week I want to stare out at rain. Pouring rain.

Whatever happened to spring and walking outside on a leash with my Craig? Nope, no way. If you think that the two of us are going to stand outside in the cold, windy, pouring rain so I can sniff the tree frogs, you are mistaken. I don't like to get wet. I'm a cat, not a dog.

So, here I am waiting for a vacation. Let's go somewhere sunny, ok? Somewhere with lots of birds to look at and maybe some tree frogs to sniff. I'm packed and ready to go!

The overwhelming "to-do" list

Phew, this Friday's been rough on me and it's not even noon. First, I had to take a well-deserved after-breakfast nap, but Heather and Craig just wouldn't let me sleep. They kept coming over and rubbing my belly and then finally Heather started photographing me, so I knew I had to get up.

I sent Scruffy over to do the laundry while I helped put up Craig's newest Hike of the Week up on his site. So much work for a little kitty! After Scruffy was done warming up the laundry (napping across a pile of Craig's clean shirts), he and I had a long philosophical debate on the nature of stairs. We discussed metaphors and the meaning of life and whether Craig and Heather would bug us less if we napped downstairs on our couches or if we stayed in our snuggle beds.

Hopefully this afternoon will be less taxing, I can't imagine being this busy all day.

Renaming the kitties

Heather swears that if she knew Scruffy well before she and Craig named him she would have called him Bilbo for the old Hobbit. I think that's because she struggled for months to get through the Lord of the Rings and she would enetertain herself by playing with Scruffs in between attempting to finish another page. She says Scruffy Gray looks exactly like she would picture a hobbit creature. Especially when he's on his back playing with his stick (he ate the attached feathers the first day so now it's just a stick).

So I asked her, what would you have called me? I don't think I can tell you Heather's answer. Sigh, OK: Dingleberries. Completely unfair! It's not my fault I'm a long haired kitty! See what I call you when you're not around, lady!

Worn out

I don't know how Heather and Craig do it. With the improved weather they've been on the go constantly and it's all I can do to keep up. Just hearing about their adventures makes me exhausted.

Craig's hiking tons of miles every day trying to finish the research for his upcoming Day Hiking Columbia Gorge book. Every time he calls to report his daily hike, he sounds beat. He even hung up on Heather mid-sentence one night because his mind was toast.

And Heather has a big event coming up - a half ironman - so she's been constantly out running, or swimming at the lake or going for long bike rides. She comes home looking so tired that Scruffy and I have to keep an eye on her to make sure she remembers to feed us before she passes out.

It's enough to make me want to curl up in my snuggle bed and take a long nap. Hmm, that sounds like a great idea! I think I might do that - if Heather's snoring doesn't keep me awake.

My new camera!

I couldn't believe my good fortune today - Heather came home with a new digital camera! I liked the old one, it took decent shots. Though it was hard to operate since I have no thumbs. But the camera was never the same after it rolled off the side of a mountain last fall. (Oops!) I had been trying to convince Heather to buy a new one but she wanted to wait until the old one died. Well, RIP old camera.

It finally passed away last week. Heather was taking photos and the viewfinder showed a grid on the screen and then turned itself off for good. But now we have a new camera (still not easy to operate without thumbs!) and I've been learning all the settings. Here's Scruffy Gray posing for his first portrait on this camera! Ooh, we're going to have a blast with this baby!!!

Meet Scruffy, the Tweaker

I'm not sure who came home with Heather yesterday, but it wasn't the Scruffy Gray I know. That Scruffy Gray likes to sleep all day and lie across Heather and Craig's laps as much as possible.

So who's this guy? Scruffy came back from the vet (after getting a tooth surgically extracted) and was a completely different kitty. According to the post-op info sheet, he was supposed to want to stay in his kennel for a few hours and sleep off the morphine. Uh, no. That's not what happened.

Scruffy was thrilled to escape from his kitty carrier, even though he could barely stand. He was swerving around like a drunk trying to walk from room to room. He fell partially into the litter box and then couldn't figure out how to get out. I watched him trip over his own feet and fall over trying to squat down in front of his food bowl. And his pupils were HUGE. Scruffs finally had to resort to lying on his side to give himself his post-dinner bath because he realized he couldn't have three legs on the ground and stay upright to lick the fourth.

He somehow got the hang of walking up and down the stairs (sideways!) and began doing laps around the house, like he was coming down off of a drug high. That started around 5 last night and here it is 8 a.m. and he's still doing laps.

Scruff's attention span isn't so good, either. Just like a tweaker. "What was I doing? Oh yeah, I was hungry, I'd better beg for some food. Oh, the food bowl is full and right in front of me? OK, I'll eat. Wait, what was I doing? I'm hungry, I'd better ask for some food." Last night Heather sat in front of his dinner bowl and tapped it every time Scruffs forgot what he was doing so he could eat his meal.

Me? Yeah, OK, I admit it, I was glad to see him come home. I was pretty worried about Scruffs. He is my brother, you know. Now, it's time for my post-breakfast nap. Watching Scruffy do all these laps around the house is tiring me out.

Positive thoughts for Scruffy Gray

Thank you for all of your positive thoughts and encouragement. Yes, you know who you are. You people on facebook who told my human that after their kitties had teeth pulled the kitties then hated them. And so now Craig is super freaked out that Scruffy Gray will hate him after tomorrow's procedure.

That's right. Tomorrow Scruffy Gray officially goes under anaesthesia to have two broken teeth removed. Sounds like fun, eh?

Scruffy Gray, I'll be thinking of you. As I'm eating breakfast and taking my nap in my soft snuggle bed. Good luck, ol' boy! I'd have your share of breakfast too, but I'm too busy snubbing my own meals.

The Furless Leader

Oh, really? It's FEARless leader, you say? Well, not in this house!

I know, I should bad for Scruffers. It's not his fault that his arthritis is so bad that he's unable to clean his back. Heather brushes it a lot, but she hasn't wanted to get in too deep because she's not sure how much pain he's in. And finally Scruffers had to go to the vet yesterday and the people told her his matting was too close to the skin to try and clean it up. He was forced to endure multiple shots, a blood draw, an ear cleaning and a partial body shave. Better you than me, old boy!

So, for all of you to see: Scruffy's new 'do!

What part of "I hate everything new" don't you get?

So here I am living the life of a happy indoor kitty, putting up with my cranky brother Scruffers. Life seemed good. Simple, routine, and perfect. What kitty doesn't appreciate a simple routine?

I get up, meow at everyone else to get up, I get fed, I take a bath, run around, take a nap, repeat. What part of this perfect routine says "please change"? NONE of it!

I woke up this morning and Heather attempted to feed me a meal I had never tried before. Where does that fit into my routine? No where. Duh. I ate a little and let her know how angry I was. But Heather must be really dense because she fed me the same stupid thing for dinner.

You realize I don't like change, right? So why are you trying to change my meals? Humans can have all the variety in the world. I'm a kitty. I don't need variety. (Hmm, by that logic, maybe Heather's dad is a kitty too...)

I didn't give in for dinner. I ran away. I ran around in circles and meowed at Heather till I lost my breath. Then I tried to bury my dinner. Finally - two hours later!!! - Heather gave in. She went into the garage and pulled out some of the wet food I like and poured it over the top of my rejected dinner.

OK, I admit it, I compromised and I ate it. I was hungry by then, you know. But I'm still not letting Heather anywhere near me. I sat with my back turned to her at the dining room table so she'd see how angry I was. Am.

I need to learn how to use a can opener.

The hiatus is over!

Phew! That's all I can say for the last month. February was crazy and March was even crazier. I wanted to write and let you all know I am doing OK, but everyone was so busy I had to help out more at home.

Craig has been on the road a lot. It turns out that researching and writing two books at the same time along with frequent book talks around the state and other freelance projects is a lot of work.

And Heather, yeah, same deal. No, she's not researching two books. No, her job has increased in responsibility and time, which she swears is positive. She and Craig keep mentioning that in this economy you're either working like a dog or not working at all. I guess since I'm not a dog that leaves me as "not working."

So my job is to help out when I can. I help inspect the packing and unpacking process for Craig. I help Heather with computer work (she calls it "distracting") and I keep them both on track by making sure they get up bright and early every day. The early bird gets the worm!

As a side note - happy one year anniversary to Scruffy Gray! He came to our home officially last Good Friday. I love you, bro!