Sunday, March 29, 2009

Chain reaction

I hope this doesn't lose anything in the telling because it was really funny. Not to Mommy, as you will see, but to us cats who knew exactly what was going on while Mommy Bonnie sat in her rocker, surfing the net, oblivious to what was happening to Mommy.

Earlier today Mommy was painting at the cottage. Because there is no water yet to the sinks, Mommy had to bring her little rollers home to wash them. There were two of them and they both were in these little, tiny plastic trays you could use to hold your paint.

On the way home Mommy Bonnie was talking about concrete paint and mentioned that there was still some left over from four years ago when she and Mommy painted the room that the dogs and Gennie are in. Mommy didn't know that and said she wished she had known because she would have used it for touch-up. When they walked through the garage after arriving home, Mommy Bonnie pointed out the red concrete paint to Mommy. Later Mommy went out and picked up the can and sloshed it around to see if it felt like there was any paint in it, and Mommy thought there was some, though she didn't take the lid off to check for certain. She figured she would check it out on a day off and touch up the floor if the paint was still good.

Mommy got busy feeding all seven of us pets and checking on the dinner in the crockpot. She put water in the two plastic paint trays to soak the little rollers and set them on the stainless steel table Mommies use for winemaking. She gave only a brief thought to hoping neither of them leaked, dismissing the thought because they had been used for paint.

Mommy wanted nothing more than to sit down with a glass of Shiraz and rest after dinner because she was still a little tired from working outside at The Farm all day yesterday. But she had to clean up after dinner, and because it was Sunday, she had to get the trash set out for our early Monday morning pickup.

Mommy started collecting the trash and went into the garage where she keeps a couple of garbage cans for things like dirty cat litter and pet food cans...things that would cause an odor if put in a trash can inside the villa.

As she walked into the garage she saw a river of pinkish liquid leading from the stainless steel table toward the garage door. Dang! One of the plastic trays had a leak. Mommy carried some trash to the garbage can and then hurried back to clean up the mess caused by the leaking tray. On her way back she saw what looked like blood on the garage floor near where the red cement paint was. Somehow, some way, that danged can had sprung a leak and there was red paint on the shelf it was on and on the garage floor.

Into the house went Mommy where she grabbed a roll of paper towels and some warm soapy water. First she cleaned up the red paint on the shelf and cement floor. Then she moved to the pink river and began cleaning up that mess. While she was cleaning it up she knocked over a sack of empty wine bottles and - wouldn't you know it? - one of them broke!

Mommy cleaned up the pink paint, the broken glass, and washed the rollers and the paint tray that didn't leak. When she was all done, Mommy noticed red paint on the kitchen floor and on her jeans. She must have stepped in the red paint and didn't know it. So she cleaned the floor and left the jeans alone! Then she sat down with her glass of Shiraz and told me to write this down. She is going to bed soon to read. I wonder what kind of mess she can make in bed?

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~


Saturday, March 28, 2009

1-2-3 eggs for Gennie!

3 eggs!

Egg-laying Indian Ringneck Parakeet.

Gennie and her eggs.

Surprise, surprise! Gennie laid a third egg overnight! Now Mommy is wondering when she will stop laying eggs! Mommy Bonnie has told Mommy not to praise Gennie when she lays an egg. She says that only encourages her to lay more to please Mommy. Isn't that silly?

Mommy is going to the farm today to burn brush, trying to beat the afternoon rain. KJ was there yesterday and cut down quite a bit and thinks he can finish up in one more trip.

Later

Mommies are back from the farm. Mommy Bonnie worked in the basement in the utility room and Mommy says it is looking very nice.

Mommy worked outside for hours. KJ had cut a lot of trees and today he cut more. Allison, Mommy's granddaughter, came with KJ and she helped pick up some of the limbs and take them to the burn pile. Here is something you don't know about Mommy. Not only can't she wash windows, she is also the world's worse fire starter. She didn't get much burned because she is so bad with fire. Then the wind picked up and she gave up. She piled firewood that KJ had cut and also took lots of limbs and branches to the burn pile and pulled others in from the road on to the property where they could more easily be moved to the burn pile. She is tired. Still much to do along the road. Mommy will post photos on the farm blog.

Mommy treated everyone to Elmo's pizza in Roanoke. She had garlic chicken and said it was divine.

BTW, Mommy will soon be reviewing The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society and she says it is shaping up to be one of the very best books she has ever read in her entire life...and Mommy has lived a very long time!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Wednesday, March 25, 2009

We have second EGG!

Two eggs this year!

Mommy checked on Gennie this morning and guess what? There was a second egg that wasn't there last night! Way to go Gennie!

It is a yucky day today. It is rainy and windy with no sun in sight. I have no idea if Mommies have plans for today. They can't work outside at The Farm and I don't know if there is much to do inside the cottage. Maybe it will just be a lazy day where nothing gets done. We have days like that around here. Mommy thinks it would be great to watch a movie and read. She had also planned on taking her wine class today or tomorrow, forgetting that Mommy Bonnie had the week off and would probably have other plans for her. Next week is sleepover week, so it may be a couple of weeks before Mommy gets to take her class.

Mommy is trying to come up with a nice meal and a movie for sleepover night. She and Grandma decided to skip scallops for a month and Mommy is thinking of prime rib, salmon, or her special pasta dish. Grandma is in NY this week visiting Aunt Jane (her sister) and she won't be home until the day before sleepover day, so Mommy said she would assume responsibility for the entire meal in April. Mommy would like to go to Sam's Club for some ideas but if Mommy Bonnie goes too, they will spend way too much money.

No other news. Our BIG news is the second egg!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~


Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Water torture!

Me, my brother and Tacumwah!

Today's video is called Water Torture because that is what the dripping faucet is to me! I play in the sink every morning trying to catch the water drops. Mommy sets the faucet to drip in such a way that it makes lots of noise as you will hear.

Gennie hasn't laid another egg. Maybe she is only good for one per year.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Monday, March 23, 2009

Breaking news! We have an EGG!

Gennie on her egg!

The egg!

Yes, it is true! Gennie laid her egg last night sometime between dinner and 9 p.m. (like last year). And, just like last year, she laid it on a Sunday. And on our birthday too! Just the one egg. Mommy says birds lay eggs on different days and sometimes days apart, so we will see if she lays another egg this year. Last year she laid only one. So Mommy had given up on Gennie laying an egg this year, and there it was when she checked on Gennie last night! And not a squawk out of her! Mommy says it is a good thing the egg isn't fertile because Gennie doesn't sit on her eggs much and they would most likely die of neglect!

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~



Sunday, March 22, 2009

It's our birthday!

Six-year-old Bengal.

1-year-old gray tiger.

1-year-old brown tiger.

Today we are celebrating birthdays! Tacumwah is 6 today, and since Mommy isn't certain when my brother and I were born except that it was mid to late March, we twins are celebrating our birthdays too, and we are 1! I wonder if we will get anything special to eat today? There was something said about some shaved ham.

Mommy has two movies to review today and both are about dogs. Let's start with the easy one first...Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Now Mommies watched this movie last night when they got home from The Farm and were delightfully entertained. It was just a cute movie with lovable characters. Little Bear, our Chihuahua, now has a crush on Chloe.

The other movie was Wendy and Lucy. Hmmm, Mommy says. This movie is about a young woman named Wendy who is traveling with her dog, Lucy, to Alaska for a summer job. She is really strapped for money. (She has about $200 with her.) Her car breaks down. She can't afford to have the car fixed (2 grand), and gets caught shoplifting, among other items, some food for Lucy, and is taken to the jail. While she is being processed, Lucy, who was tied outside the store, disappears. After she pays her fine ($50), Wendy spends the rest of the movie trying to recover Lucy. Without giving too much away, Wendy eventually finds Lucy and, as is the case in real life, has a decision to make. After the movie is over and the decision has been made, viewers can debate whether Wendy made the correct decision. Mommy's first reaction was that Wendy had made the wrong decision. Then she realized that she had made the correct decision. Watch the movie and enter the debate. This was an indie flick that Mommy places in the genre of art flick and she gives it 3 stars.*

Gennie still hasn't laid her egg and Mommy says she is now doubting it is going to happen. She is still nesting and Mommy will be glad when she is done because she is making a terrible mess, throwing her food and bedding everywhere!

Mommies treated their neighbors, Barbara and Denny, to Biaggi's yesterday and had a wonderful time. Then they went to The Farm and KJ was there sawing up some limbs and cutting down some trees. There will be a HUGE bonfire one day! Mommy worked with KJ and now she expects to get poison ivy.

*Mommy said there was a really touching scene where Wendy grabs a sack of dogfood from the trunk of her car to feed Lucy and only about a dozen kibbles fall into the dog dish. Lucy, who isn't a small dog, gobbles them up right away and is, of course, still hungry. You will know the scene when you get to it.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Tuesday, March 17, 2009

KJ is in town!

Blogger hiding from vacuum last Saturday.

Mommy's son, KJ, is in town. He came over for omelets yesterday and Marquette and I headed for the hills. We were being fed when KJ arrived and my food was in the master bedroom so I was just fine. Marquette, however, was in the foyer with his bowl and he raced for the loft and hid under Mommy Bonnie's futon. Mommy took his food up to him, but he refused to eat.

So Mommy, KJ, and eventually, Mommy Bonnie, ate and chatted until Dancing With the Stars came on. Then KJ left for his motel. Marquette ate a very late dinner and then had his ice cream. I didn't eat any ice cream. In fact, I have stuck my nose up at it for several days now.

Today Mommy and KJ drove to the cottage after work and had a sandwich at Lassus in Roanoke. Mommy Bonnie arrived at the cottage later to do some work in the utility room.

Mommy has the day off tomorrow and doesn't know what to do. Maybe watch a movie. She has so many she hasn't seen! For sure she will read a book and do some laundry. Maybe she will take Gizmo for a walk. So many possibilities! KJ will be by for dinner - baked marinated chicken with roasted red peppers and Fontinella cheese. I am sure I will be under the bed again while he is here.

Mommy finally has the last wine for her wine class. She emailed the school for suggestions for an unoaked Pinot Noir and they sent some. After many days, Mommy mentioned to Mommy Bonnie what the suggestions were and, guess what? Mommy Bonnie had a bottle of one of them in the wine cooler. So maybe Mommy will take her wine class tomorrow.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Sunday, March 15, 2009

Quit moving my cheese!

Tacumwah on the table today.

Resting after all the turmoil.

Another day of confusing events. The old, comfortable bedspread was removed from the bed in the master bedroom and was replaced by a new quilt, pillow shams and decorator pillows. The comforter on Mommy's bed was replaced with her favorite older quilt. I was so confused. Then the chair in the living room that we have worked so hard to tear up was covered with an older quilt too.

All sorts of things happened. First thing this morning my brother and I were shut in the master bedroom (at 6 a.m.) so I wouldn't be traumatized by the vacuum while Mommy vacuumed some of the other rooms.

Floors were mopped, tables that hadn't been dusted for as long as I can remember got dusted. Mommy Bonnie climbed inside the shower stall and cleaned it. Mommy tried to clean some windows. She is the world's worse window and mirror washer. She thought she did a good job, and then when the sun hit the windows and mirrors later in the day, they were all streaked. She washed them again and again, even with no-streak cleaners, but the streaks were still there. She could never make a living washing windows!

So Mommy left the house and the doorbell rang and Marquette shouted, "Run!" We ran as fast as we could and slipped under the bed in the master bedroom. There were voices, and we could see feet. And then we heard, "What kind of a cat is that? It is so beautiful." And Mommy Bonnie's voice answered, "It's a Bengal." And we knew Tacumwah was sucking up to whoever was here. Tacumwah, unlike us boys, isn't afraid of anyone.

Long after the people left, I still wouldn't come out from under the bed. Mommy Bonnie told Mommy that she had to quit moving my cheese. Boy does change ever make me nervous.

Mommy's son, KJ, is in The Fort for a few weeks going to school to get his CDL. Mommy hopes to see him often and make him some meals. I expect to spend even more time under the bed.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~

Saturday, March 14, 2009

Traumatized!

Traumatized blogger!

Tacumwah in the dryer!

I know, I know! It has been too long since my last confession! Mommy has been very busy so we haven't had much time to blog.

I am currently hiding under one of the dining room chairs - between it and the matching buffet. A lady is coming to look at our villa tomorrow and Mommy has been busy cleaning. She cleaned all day Wednesday and Thursday on her days off and most of today. She still has more to do tomorrow morning. Now I really don't mind if she cleans, but she ran the vacuum twice today. The first time I ran and hid under the bed in the master bedroom. (I am partial to that room and nap there often when I want some solitude.) The second time she ran the vacuum I was eating my ice cream. It scared me so much I ran and hid (top photo) and didn't even get to finish my ice cream. Mommy immediately stopped when she saw how scared I was and brought me my ice cream, but I was too scared to eat it. She promised that when she ran the vacuum tomorrow she would shut me in the master bedroom which she has already cleaned.

So we are hoping the lady will want to buy the villa so Mommies can concentrate on the cottage and not have two mortgages. We cats were told that we are moving in May regardless. Tacumwah, who has already moved once, is looking forward to the move. Marquette, who isn't afraid of vacuums, said he thought he would be okay too. But I am petrified of even the thought of moving. And, of course, I will be hiding under the bed when the lady comes tomorrow to look at our villa.

Roger sold our camper, so we are out from under it. Denny and Barbara finished taking the things off the lot and over to the farm this past week. (Mommy emailed them to see if they wanted to go to Biaggi's next weekend as a thank-you for all of their help.) It is kind of sad to see the end of the camper era. After all, it was because of the camper that I met Mommies and was reunited with my brother.

Mommies took some things to the cottage today. It was all Mommy Bonnie's wine making things except for the new microwave. Mommy carried everything and it was very heavy. She likes to show off how strong she is. She is very strong for her age. Should I mention she took some Tylenol a little while ago just in case she gets sore in the night?

Mommy treated Mommy Bonnie to Olive Garden today. Their favorite server, Tiffany, was there, but there was no free table where Tiffany was serving. They got to talk to Tiffany though and they exchanged email addresses. Tiffany makes cakes now and would like to work in a bakery. She went to the same school Mommy went to, only Tiffany took baking and Mommy took the cooking side. So Mommies had a really good server named Joe, and he brought Mommies a sample of a nice Riesling and another white wine Mommies liked that Mommy will have the next time she is there instead of her Super Tuscan. (She says it is hard to beat her Villa Antinori!) Mommy had Tuscan Garlic Chicken. It had HUGE whole cloves of roasted garlic and Mommy ate them all! No kisses for her tonight! Mommy Bonnie had 5-cheese Ziti al Forno and Clos du Bois Merlot. For desert they shared a slice of Lemon Cream Cake. Mommies both liked their meals and said they would have them again. (MandraRossa Fiano was the name of the white wine Mommy sampled and liked. And it is not an expensive wine.)

No movie review this week because Mommy was too busy cleaning the villa. She did take the time to read a short book called The Shack. This is a very popular book and Mommy got on the list for it. The author is a former seminarian and minister and is the son of missionaries who ministered to a very remote tribe of cannibals in New Guinea. This book was not well-received by evangelicals. Mommy gives this book a thumbs up and recommends it to anyone who is old enough to make some sense out of it. She, like the main character, was lost during much of the dialog with Papa (God). The parts she did understand she agreed with. She approached the book as a novel and not with the idea that she would be enlightened by it. The book did, however, make her examine her own relationship with God and her thoughts concerning organized religion. This book, in addition to not being well-received by evangelicals, will also not be appreciated by fundamentalist religions and, possibly, Catholics. The book was written by the author, William P. Young, for his six children as a tool to explain the reasons why he came to believe the way he does. And, unlike The Last Lecture, which was also written by its author for his children, Mommy says this book was meant to be shared.

Note: Mommy has been at this blog for quite a while and I am just now thinking about coming out of my hiding place.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten.~

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Sleepovers and reviews

Lucy on Grandma's bed

Lucy in the bathroom sink

Gennie at egg-laying time

So Mommy was gone last night for her third sleepover with Grandma. My brother and I ignored Mommy Bonnie and let Tacumwah and Little Bear sleep with her. We did NOT get our ice cream last night! We couldn't believe Mommy Bonnie forgot! And Marquette hasn't had milk for two mornings now! I think that was because Mommy ran out. Tonight I expect we will get our ice cream.

The sleepover, of course, was a success. The food was, once again, to-die-for. Once again they had scallops. (They have a 5 lb. bag to eat, so they have several more meals of scallops and are talking about having them again next month!) Mommy took a salmon spread made with smoked salmon, cream cheese, dill, lemon juice, green onion and salt and pepper. The salmon was smoked with alder wood. I heard it was very good. (I also heard that Marquette was in the area of the kitchen here on Blossom Ridge when Mommy was making the spread and he got a taste of the salmon!) The French Lick rhubarb wine was a hit, and the oven fries and homemade slaw were the perfect touch!

The movie of the month was Revolutionary Road. Mommy said it was very heavy and gave her a lot to think about. Mostly it was about how people often settle for what is comfortable in the way they live and work because those factor in to how they are preceived by the rest of society, and they don't really follow their hearts/passions because that is too scary and takes more courage than most people have. Mommy and Grandma gave the movie two thumbs up and an R rating. Mature audiences only. This movie made Mommy appreciate that Mommy Bonnie is doing something very scary and brave in building the cottage in this (or any) economic climate in order that she might achieve her dream of living on a lake and being as self-sufficient as she can be.

Mommy also finished two books recently that she will review. The first is The Last Lecture. Mommy was disappointed with this book and kept waiting for the book to change direction, but it never did. Mommy has hesitated to say anything negative about the book because the author, of course, died of cancer last year. But basically the book was bits of wisdom he was passing on, and the lecture was about realizing childhood dreams. It was a recounting of how he had realized most of his childhood dreams in one way or another, and of all that he had accomplished in his life. Mommy was reminded of a very wise woman who, when Mommy once boasted about something she had done that she thought was great, was told that, "That would sound much better coming from someone else." And Mommy has never forgotten that. That is how she feels about this book...that an accounting of all that the author had accomplished would have sounded less egotistical if someone else had written about it. Now, if he was writing all of this down for his three children to read when he was gone, then why publish it? Just write it down for them and make it accessible to them.

The next book Mommy finished this week was Into Thin Air. It took a few starts and stops because other books came in for Mommy that she was not going to be able to renew, but she finally got Into Thin Air finished. It was a book that was interesting all the way through, but really got to be a page-turner about halfway through. Mommy liked Krakauer's Into the Wild probably a tad better than Into Thin Air. This book is a recounting of the 1996 Everest expedition that killed so many people. Krakauer was one of the few survivors of his team. What Mommy appreciated was his frankness and his ability to admit that he made mistakes - even stating that he did not attempt to rescue two people who were left for dead not far from his camp the evening of and morning after the assault on the summit. Now, in his defense, the man really had nothing left to give and might have perished himself had he attempted, in his condition, to rescue these people. One of the people, ultimately, did survive. The family of one of the guides who did not survive has been very critical of Krakauer, and Mommy feels they were much too harsh in their criticism. But then, Mommy didn't lose anyone, so she has no idea how she would feel. Mommy gives this book a thumbs up, thanks her co-worker, Tony, for recommending it, and, in turn, recommends it to anyone who is capable of reading at that level.

Gennie hasn't laid her egg yet. We keep checking. Mommy says it is definitely going to happen but still no sign of an egg.

Mommy met Mommy Bonnie in Roanoke for a latte on her way home from Grandma's this morning, and then they went to the cottage to take some measurements so Mommy Bonnie could put some shelving up in a couple of the closets. Mommy stopped by to see Denny, and he is going to help Mommy Bonnie disassemble the deck at the campground tomorrow and Monday and move the lumber to The Farm. It must all be off the lot by April 1. Denny was going to begin on it this afternoon. Mommy has to work tomorrow, but Mommy Bonnie has 5 days off and doesn't have to be back to work until next Tuesday. There is much to do both at the villa and the cottage.

We want to send best wishes out to Chuckie and Cashmere, both of whom are experiencing some health issues.

~There is no such thing as a FREE kitten!~