Happy G&S Halloween

As promised, here is my Halloween bear. I rarely do anything personal on this blog, but I thought I would make an exception tonight. Some other cat bloggers have made posts about spooky movies that they enjoy, and I thought I would do the same. I love spooky movies and I also love Gilbert and Sullivan. There is a Gilbert and Sullivan operetta that is perfect for Halloween -- Ruddigore. It has everything you could want in a Halloween melodrama. There is a stalwart, but shy young lover with a mysterious past who is in love with a lovely, but very particular, young lady. Also vying for her hand is a bold young sailor. And, of course, there is a wicked baronet, who also has designs on the young lady. Said wicked baronet is admirably played by Vincent Price. I bet you didn't know he could sing. There is also a family curse and many ghosts, including the wicked baronet's uncle, who is in love with the young lady's guardian. Then there is the wicked baronet's girlfriend who has gone mad because the baronet is very wicked indeed and he practically dumped her at the altar. Being written by William S. Gilbert, there is a wonderful twist at the end, allowing for the happy ending. All in all, this is delightful Halloween entertainment and I highly recommend it. I don't know if you could rent it anywhere, but you might be able to borrow it from a library. It is great family entertainment and, though originally written for adults, it is suitable for all the but the youngest of children.

Happy Halloween

I was going to post a picture of my Halloween bear, but all my batteries, even the ones in the recharger, are flat. I have some recharging now and hopefully I will be able to get the picture up before Halloween is over. I hope all of you have a great Halloween, even if some of you spend it under the bed hiding from the Little Sticky People.

                                     To all my friends, Happy Halloween!
                                     It's the time when ghoulies and ghosts are seen.
                                            I hope you get treats
                                            And lots of good eats.
                                     To all and sundry, Happy Halloween!

Xena Velvet Ears

I got this picture of Xena from the memorial post when she went to the Rainbow Bridge last April. I think it's a lovely picture of her and it shows her sweet personality. I believe that Xena was born in her forever home, to her dad Thor and her mom Sweet Britches. By the time the Meowers from Missouri started blogging, she as already an old dog and spent most of her time sleeping, so she doesn't appear on the blog much. She loved napping in sun spots and I get the impression that seeing a nap pile in a sunspot with Xena in the middle was quite common. Xena loved the kitties and they all loved her. They would sleek up against her and she would give them little licks. She never chased them or barked at them at all. She would chew up any cat toy that she found, but that's just part of being a Labrador. Both of her ears were very soft and velvety, but I went for one ear in the limerick for the rhyme.

                                   Xena had a velvety soft ear.
                                   Just to stroke it gave her folks cheer.
                                            She loved all the cats
                                            And they would say, "That's
                                   Our beloved Xena.  Let's purr in her ear."

Nelson John LaPurr

This is Nelson enjoying his very favorite catnip. This little bag is his and nokitty else's.

Nitro and Edmund sometimes get ideas about "sharing" Nelson's catnip. Just after this picture was taken, Nelson whapped the living daylights out of Nitro. He might have been the geezer kitty, but he still had a lot of spunk in him. A long, long time ago, Nelson and his sibling used to hunt mice in the warehouse of the plumbing outlet where the Dad worked. One day Nelson showed up alone and was lured into a big cage. Then he became the office cat. The Dad named him Nelson after the warehouse, which was called WinnNelson. The Dad figured that the sibling must have been Winn. The sibling was never seen again and we can only hope that something good happened to him/her, like getting caught by someone who took him/her home with them. The John LaPurr part came from the Dad's boss' name, which was John LaPour. Nelson would spend his days in his Dad's office and the nights chasing mice in the warehouse. Every weekend, the Dad would take him home, then back to the office. One Friday night, when the cold weather was setting in, Nelson didn't come when he was called. The Dad figured Nelson was in the warehouse and went home without him, figuring that Nelson could live on mice for a couple of days. The Mom was very upset by this and the two of them drove back to the warehouse. Nelson came immediately the Dad opened the big warehouse door. Nelson went home with them and stayed there for the rest of his life, which was a long and happy one. By the time the Meowers from Missouri started blogging, Nelson was pretty old and spent most of his time eating, sleeping and watching the birds out the window. He did have two favorite things that he would really guard from the other cats and dogs in the house, though. He claimed one of the two cat cubes as his own and nobody better disturb him when he was in it. Even Xena, the elderly white Labrador, of whom Nelson was very fond, got a noseful of claws once when she stuck her head in. His other favorite item was his little bag of nip. He wasn't so particular about his food and Nitro and Edmund would sometimes try to steal his dinner. The Mom was very strict about this, though, and the two culprits would get spritzed with water and herded away from Nelson's food until he was finished and the Mom could put any leftovers away. Besides making sure that Nelson got enough to eat, she was keeping the other cats away from Nelson's food because he was on a special diet and his food wouldn't be good for the healthy cats. When the Meowers from Missouri decided to start Meow like a Pirate Day, Nelson became Captain Nels the Cranky, captain of the Cat o' Nine Tails, and loads of fun were had by all. Nelson went to the Rainbow Bridge just after this year's Meow like a Pirate Day. He was much loved and is much missed.

                                     Nelson zealously guarded his nip.
                                     Oh, woe to the kitties who thought to slip
                                             It from under his nose.
                                             He dealt with those
                                      With a mighty paw and claws ready to rip.

Cocoa

Here is Cocoa doing the Monty Q. She is an 80 pound Chocolate Labrador and she is full of energy. She likes all the kitties, especially Nitro and Xing Lu. The morning routine at the Meowers from Missouri goes like this. The Dad gets up at 0 dark-thirty, because he leaves the house at 6:00 am. First he lets Cocoa out to do her business, then feeds the cats. He picks up any cat food leftovers, then lets Cocoa in to eat. When she is finished, he puts her back outside, because she is very rambunctious. When the Mom gets up at 6:45, she may let Cocoa in for a while, then puts her back outside when she goes to work. Well, one morning it was hammering down rain and the Dad felt sorry for Cocoa, even though she has a very nice dog house, and left her inside. Cocoa had a blast inside. She chewed up everything she could get her mouth on, including a soda can and the water spritzer. Nitro was very pleased about that. The Mom was not pleased at all. Cocoa will chew and sometimes eat all kinds of things. She got hold of some modelling clay once and ate it. Then she had technicolor poop. Cocoa will sometimes protect Xing Lu from the other cats when they are chasing her and she is yelling. Cocoa just loves to play with Nitro. Nitro will get up on the recliner foot and bat at Cocoa. Cocoa will poke Nitro in the side with her nose. This goes on until Nitro decides that Cocoa is poking him too hard and leaves. Cocoa will chase Nitro around and try to corner him. When she catches him, she gives him a thorough and very wet bath. Nitro puts up with this, though he often doesn't look to happy about it. When Cocoa is in the house, all the cat food and toys must be put away. Cocoa will eat the former and chew up the latter.

                                     Cocoa bathes Nitro with a tongue like a wet mop.
                                      Nitro accepts it, though he wishes it would stop.
                                                On and on it goes
                                                 From his head to his toes
                                      'Til Nitro is soaked and wet as a mop.

Nitro S Pierce

Here is Nitro waiting for his chance to sip some of Mom's coffee. She puts cream in it and he can't resist. In fact, Nitro likes just about any kind of human food. He has been spritzed with a water sprayer, knocked on the head with knuckles, been rapped on the noggin with a spoon and he still goes for the food whenever he thinks he has the slightest chance of grabbing some. This is one of the reasons that his Mom insists that the S stands for Stubborn. One very wet and rainy day, a friend of the girlbean found Nitro in a dumpster and took him home to be friends with her woofie. That didn't work out at all well, as it was loathing at first sight for both of them. Then the girlbean took him to live with her and the boybean and their two kitties. That didn't work out, either, as Nitro kept beating up the other two kitties, so he came to live with Mom and Dad. There was a bit of a ruckus at first, but now things are pretty calm among the kitties and woofie. Nitro likes to wrestle Edmund, but Edmund soon tires of the game and finishes the match by sitting on Nitro. Nitro also likes to chase Xing Lu around, but the Mom usually comes and intervenes when Xing starts really yelling. Cocoa the dog really likes Nitro and often gives him a bath. Nitro likes to tease Cocoa by sitting on the foot of the recliner and swatting at her when she goes by. Nitro's favorite toys are catnip mice and feather toys. He once caught a real mouse in the kitchen. He ate everything but the tail, which he presented to Mom while she was still in bed.

                                    Nitro stalks the human food.
                                    He hopes his folks don't see him intrude.
                                                     When ravioli is near,
                                                     He sings loud and clear.
                                     Nitro really loves the human food.

Xing Lu

Xing Lu means "fortunate jade" and Xing Lu is certainly a fortunate cat. Her present Dad was taking some tree branches out to a dump site way out in the country one day. It's an area set aside for disposing of wood and leaves, kind of like a giant compost pile, I guess. Anyway, on the way, he found a new-looking fabric carrier, like the ones for sodas, by the side of the road and stopped to pick it up and put it in the pickup truck. Once they had unloaded all the branches, the Dad decided to open up the carrier to see why it seemed a bit heavy. Up popped Xing Lu's head, soon followed by the rest of her, so he took her home to join the family. Xing Lu's previous life is pretty much of a mystery, though she had been well cared for. She was well groomed and spayed. She is missing her top left fang, but that was well healed up by the time she was found. Whatever kind of life she led, she loves people and dogs, but doesn't care much for other cats. She is getting better about that, though. She never learned how to play. She likes catnip, but just sniffs and licks catnip toys. She doesn't toss them around or bunnykick them. Rolling balls and feathers on strings don't get any reaction from her at all. She did once get interested in a tinsel wand that Nitro was playing with and joined in for a bit, but that's it. Nitro would love to kitty wrestle with her, but she just yells and runs away. Edmund and Nitro find this yelling and running away amusing and will sometimes chase her all over the house. Xing Lu has her own suite of rooms at night. The Boy used to live in them, but he has moved out and now they are hers. This is where she gets her rest time from Edmund and Nitro. She and Edmund used to really hate each other, but lately they have been caught actually sharing the same chair and even both sitting on Mom at the same time without growling at each other. Xing Lu is quite floofy, but doesn't shed much. This means that she doesn't often get hairballs, but once she had a really impressive one. I can't do the story justice by summarizing it, so you should follow this link for the full story behind the limerick.

                                   Xing Lu once really hurled a hairball.
                                   Everyone gasped as it slid down the wall.
                                                     They stared in awe
                                                     At what they saw
                                   And crowned Xing Lu Queen of the Hurled Hairball.

Sir Edmund Percival Hillary

Here is Sir Edmund Percival Hillary in all his magnificent floofy glory doing his full monty for the 2008 contest.

Here he is on top of the computer tower, proving that he still likes to climb things. When I did my farewell post for Captain Nels, I realized that I hadn't yet done the Meowers from Missouri and thought it was high time I rectified that. Ed was born in a friend of his present Mom's house when she let in an obviously pregnant cat, so her kittens could be born in safety. Ed was born on his Mom's birthday and she was very pleased to make him part of the family. He moved in at 8 weeks old and was rather taken aback by the presence of fully grown cats. He decided very young that the best place for him to be was up high. When spooked, he would climb up his Mom and sit on her head. With climbing abilities like these, he just had to be named Edmund Percival Hillary. He got the Sir because he is such a chivalrous cat. Ed weighs in at a hefty 23 pounds and it's a mystery how he got so big and the other kitties didn't, because they all eat the same food. He's not particularly lazy. He loves to run and jump and play. He is quite fond catnip.

                                     Sir Edmund Hillary can climb anything.
                                     As a kitten, to Mom's head he'd cling.
                                              Now he views the fridge
                                              As a mountain ridge.
                                     Go, Sir Edmund, and climb that thing!

Farewell, Tiki

                                   This is one of the last two pictures taken of Tiki.

This is a similar pose before he got so sick. I think you can see that he was ready to go to the Rainbow Bridge. Tiki was 15 years old and had diabetes for some time. Lately his kidneys started to fail very quickly and his liver function went bad, too. There was just nothing more to be done for him but help him to the Bridge. Tiki lived with his Mom (Tara), Tavi (his litter brother), Cody, Miss Jade and Camie the greyhound. Tiki and Tavi were almost inseperable and Tavi will be missing his brother something awful. Please send them all of them some purrs and purrayers.

                                       Our dear, sweet Tiki got so tired
                                       That to go to the Bridge was all he desired.
                                                 His Mom helped him go,
                                                 Though it hurt her so.
                                       Now he's running and playing and nevermore tired.

Award

I am finally getting around to blogging about the very special award that Mr. Hendrix gave me. I feel very proud to get this award from him for my limericks. "With the Premium Dardos, recognize the values that each blogger shows each day in commitment to transmit cultural values, ethical, literary, personal etc. that, in short, demonstrate their creativity by alive thinking that remains intact from their letters and words."

I would like to pass this award along to:

Princess and Pierro for the pure humanity shown in their blog and their wonderful quotes.
Kimo and Sabi for their inventiveness and humor.
Black Cat for the sheer fun of reading her blog.
Jan's Funny Farm for all the help they give to animals in need.

Interesting Blog

I have had one of those weeks where something bad happened every day at work. I was feeling really rotten and sad when I found an e-mail with a link to a blog of slideshows. I found them really interesting and it helped cheer me up a bit. I tried to imbed my favorite of what I had looked at, but it didn't work. You can find the slideshow blog here. The show I liked most was the one on eyes.

I am still working on choosing blogs to pass on the award Mr. Hendrix gave me a few days ago. I hope to be back to my regular blogging tomorrow or Monday. At least I am going to have a better week starting tomorrow, because I am on vacation. Yay!

Samantha Black

Samantha Black is Tigger's sister and also an inside/outside cat, though she is always supervised outside now. That is because she gave her Mom quite a scare when she got out one night and didn't come back in the morning. After her Mom spent quite a while searching the neighborhood and getting very worried, she came home to find Samantha sitting on the porch, just as if it were perfectly normal for her to disappear like that. Samantha and Mr. Tigger get along quite well, though Mr. Tigger loves to stalk and pounce on Samantha. She holds her own, though, and whaps him back and wrestles with him. Samantha also loves catnip. Both Samantha and Mr. Tigger love playing with the TracBall and will sometimes both play with it at the same time. Another thing they both love is squiggles. Samantha has been in her forever home her whole life. Her very pregnant catmom found the garage open one day and moved in. The Mom let her stay and took care of her when she gave birth two days later. The Mom eventually found homes for the catmom and five of her six kittens, keeping Samantha. Samantha's boyfriend is Tybalt and Mr. Tigger's girlfriend is Trixie. Now that Samantha is staying inside a whole lot more, she loves to look out the window. If the blind is closed, she just crawls behind it.

                                      Samantha likes to play with the blind.
                                      She likes to look out the window behind.
                                             The blind may crinkle,
                                             But it doesn't wrinkle
                                       When Samantha gets up to look behind.

Mr. Tigger

Samantha and Mr. Tigger's Mom asked me to write limericks for them some time ago. Now that I finally have the time to do it, she's on vacation. I hope this will make a nice surprise for her when she gets back. Maybe it will help make up for the thorough house-trashing that's going on now.

Mr. Tigger started off life as a feral kitty. A friend of his present Mom found him in her yard and decided to keep him, but he tried to eat her bird. She decided that he needed a new home and gave him to his present Mom and they have been together ever since. Mr. Tigger is an inside/outside cat, but he stays around his neighborhood and is good about coming inside when he is supposed to. He is a good hunter and presented his Mom with a mouse as a Christmas present last year. He loves catnip mice with tails to play with. He loves catnip in whatever form it comes in. He gets great enjoyment out of stalking Samantha, but she doesn't mind it too much. He is great with the granddaughter. He never puts the bitey on her, even when she pulls his tail. Mr. Tigger's favorite way to get a drink is to get his Mom to turn the faucet on for him.

                                 Mr. Tigger loves to drink from the tap.
                                 He just sticks out his tongue and takes a lap.
                                       He also bites it,
                                       But never fights it.
                                 And that's how Tigger drinks from the tap.

Award

--d Ma and the Boyz have given me this very nice award. Thank you, I really appreciate it. Here are the rules:

1) Put the logo on your blog.
2) Add a link to the person who awarded you.
3) Nominate at least 7 other blogs.
4) Add links to those blogs on yours.
5) Leave a message for your nominees on their blogs.

I would like to pass this award on to:

Ruis and all the other Kattenpraat kitties
Victor and Nina
Samantha and Tigger
Kilroy
Gaston
The Real Cats, Gibbs Creek
Chancy, Jake, Babe and Ernie's Voice

The modem seems to be behaving a bit better. For some reason I need to reboot it a couple of times when I first start trying to connect with the internet, then it works fine.

Award

I am very sorry I haven't been around much lately. My internet connection has been very erratic lately. I think my modem is dying.

D~ Ma and the boyz over at Cat's Eye have been kind enough to give me this lovely award. Thank you very much. The rules for accepting the award are as follows: Give this award to five friends (and only 5) who are dedicated followers of your blog - one has to be a new blogger in a different part of the world. Link back to whoever gave you this award.

I would like to pass this award along to:

Princess and Pierro
Michico, Adan and Lego
All the Ballicus cats
Goldie and Shade
Gaston