Category: Cat

General Updates

Watching, walking, reading, writing, cats…that’s my world. Oh, and the wife. And eating and sleeping. And games. Cleaning house. Shopping. Can’t forget Wordle, Spelling Bee, and Sudoku. And two DIY projects. And keeping up with the news.

All family except my wife are several thousands of miles away. Literally on the other U.S. coast. We’re on the west and they’re on the east. Visiting under COVID conditions is problematic. The best way would be to drive across the country. I supposed we can pile the cats into the car and do that. I don’t think it would be a pleasant trip for cats or humans.

  1. We’re watching The Expanse. When Amazon began airing the final season, my wife proposed that we watch the series from the start and then indulge in the final season. It’s worked well. We find ourselves speaking in Belter slang after watching an episode. We limit ourselves to one per night.
  2. Also on the watch list is Anxious People, Cowboy Bebop, Bordertown, and Undercover on Netflix, Myth Quest on Apple +, and Third Watch and The Rook on The Roku Channel. Vera and Would I Lie to You are back in play on Britbox, and PBS offers us Around the World in Eighty Days (a rebooted series with David Tennant) and the new season of the rebooted All Things Great & Small on PBS.
  3. We just finished Upright, an Aussie series about a man with issues taking an upright piano to Perth, and Firebite, another Aussie original, with an interesting twist on vampires. These came to us via AMC+, along with Ragdoll, Kin, and Stella Blomkvist. I usually keep three to four channels on subscription per month. I rotate the subscriptions. I figure, why not? A monthly subscription usually costs between one and two coffee drinks or beers. Not bad, to me. Funny, but the most expensive subscriptions are from Showtime and HBO Max, and they usually have the least enticing fare. I watch for them on special. Amazon and Roku both chase new subscribers with deals. My AMC+ subscription this month and my Showtime subscription last month were both just $.99 for the month. Very good deal.
  4. Reading is a constant. I’m now reading Binti by Okarafor and Bewilderment by Powers. Both are beautifully written. Just finished were Harlem Shuffle, When We Cease to Understand the World, Fortune Favors the Dead, Find You First, When We Were Orphans, Hell of a Book, and Telephone. Ondeck is an old Jack Vance novel bought at the library for $1, Louise Penney, Caleb Carr, Amor Towles, and others.
  5. My average walking distance per day remains 11.2 miles. I range from 75 to 80 miles a week. This warm weather, my improved ability to walk and run in-place while reading or watching television, and the longer periods of daylight, all contribute to the sustained average. Also, there’s nowhere else to go with COVID still playing hot and fast.
  6. Despite all my walking, I have gained weight. Twelve pounds. Gads. The discovery shocked me. Beginning to work on the plan to whittle that off. Just don’t like carrying it.
  7. I did put together one jigsaw puzzle this year. I did start it last year, though. I enjoy them, but they absorb me and steal focus. So, no. I reluctantly set them aside.
  8. My poor fur friend, Boo, continues to cope with his cancer. He’s a mess. A mass on his jaw keeps him from eating properly. It’s a challenge for him and me. I’m his primary caregiver. He often drools after eating and can only eat small portions at a time. But he’s still trying, so my wife and I will keep trying. I crunch his grain-free kibble and make it into a sort of chunky soup as his favorite. His drooling means that we chase after him with tissues to catch the drool. It’s hit and miss, as we’re not up twenty-four hours a day. The hardwood floors take hits and require mopping a few times a day. I put several towels down for him to sleep and eat upon. Those are changed each day. We wash several loads of Boo material each week. We wonder, how long can he go on like this?
  9. The other two cats are doing well. They give Boo space, which he and I appreciate. Tucker and Papi are endearing characters.
  10. Still editing The Constant, my novel in progress. Halfway through the process. I’ve begun the next novel in that series. Working title is Fiveland. Couldn’t help myself. Was reading Bewilderment when the next novel’s plot and opening both slammed into me. Trotted on in and wrote the first chapter and began sketching the plot and story in my mind.

That’s all my happenings. Hope you’re all staying busy and healthy out there. Drop me a line. Let me know. Time to return to writing and editing like crazy, then go for a walk. Cheers

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Flooflord

Flooflord (floofinition) – 1. A person with a lot of animals.

In use: “With five cats, three birds, two lizards, and four dogs, many of her neighbors considered Libby to be a flooflord.”

2. Animal who rules other animals and humans.

In use: “Despite a household with three large dogs and two mature cats (and four children and two adults), the new kitten was the flooflord without a week, manipulating others with cuteness, sweetness, and cussedness.”

3. (slang) Person who constantly posts or comments about animals on the net.

In use: “Bryan couldn’t help himself from being a flooflord because his two cats and one dog were just so dang cute and smart, he was constantly sharing pet stories and photos on the net.”

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Sunday’s Theme Music

We have sunshine, getjer sunshine here.

Awakening on a sunny Sunday morning — which is what this January 23, 2022, is — always triggers happiness in my soul and childhood memories in my mind. Sunday was a day of rest and play. Yes, sorry, we weren’t churchgoers, except for Easter and Christmas. But I still worshipped the spirit of the outdoors and childhood, dressing fast, downing a bowl of cereal — my favorites were Wheaties, Raisin Bran, and Grape Nuts — and then spilling outside. Sometimes you’d wander outside and discover a neighboring friend doing the same. So you’d join up and ask the questions: “What do you want to do?” “I don’t know, what do you want to do?” We’d usually find something by heading down into the woods where the creek flowed, pulling out sports equipment, or jumping on our bikes. If not, I’d retreat to the house to read and draw.

Today’s sun invasion commenced at 0732 Local. The sun will retreat at 1714L. Temperatures stayed balmy yesterday and last night, which pleased the royal clowder. They went outside and the youngest stayed out. This morning’s temp at sunrise was 39 F. It’s since perked up to 53 and we expect to hit 61. Of course, the dry conditions keep us worried: please snow in the mountains, we tell the weather. We need that snowpack increased.

Today’s song is “I Think I Love You Too Much” covered by The Jeff Healey Band (1990). The song hit the morning mental music stream after I’d clicked through movie offerings the night before. I was interested in seeing all the great new movies the streaming service was offering. One of these was Roadhouse from 1989. Wasn’t real fond of Roadhouse but I liked Jeff Healey’s Band and their playing. I’d bought his album, Hell to Pay in 1990, and played it often, enjoying the bluesy rock sound. But this specific song then came after a floofnag kept pestering me for more — more food, more attention, more of everything — last night. My wife said something like, “He just loves you.” Flippant and exasperated, I replied, “I think he might love me too much.” The mental Alexa then announced that she was playing, “I Think I Love You Too Much”. And here we are.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the vaccine and boosters when you can. Here’s the music, there’s my coffee, and here we go. Cheers

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Fingerfloof

Fingerfloof (floofinition) – An animal obsessed with fingers.

In use: “He and the cat had shared a house for five years but it was only since the pandemic enforced staying at home that the cat had become a fingerfloof, seeking them while he slept in bed at night, read a book on a chair, or — the worst because it was the most intrusive — nuzzling his fingers when they rested on the mouse as he worked.”

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Floofnag

Floofnag (floofinition) – An animal who can be annoying or irritating until they’re appeased.

In use: “Bevery tries organizing her day according to her priorities but it’s always subject to the floofnags — Pepper, a little Dachshund and his ally in mischief, a diluted calico named Dust — who demanded treats whenever she starts a Zoom meeting and has a consistent need to be in all rooms with her.”

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Floofclave

Floofclave (floofinition) – A group of animals’ distinct territorial, cultural, or social unit established within another territory.

In use: “The dogs established a floofclave on the back patio while the cats decreed that the sunroom was their space, but Sugar, the new scamperbeast brazenly went wherever she desired, sleeping and playing among dogs and cats, regardless of floofclave.”

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The Distraction

The royal clowder lined up at his feet as the man made his way into his office. “What?” he asked, stopping, looking down at them, a cup of coffee in hand.

The cats began singing.

“We three cats have come to bug you.

“The weather is bad and we’ve nothing to do.

“We’re bored and restless and don’t like our food.

“Come and pet us or we’ll start biting you.”

The man rolled his eyes. “That old chestnut.” Then he threw a ball across the room to distract, darted into his office when they dashed away, closed the door, and put on noise-canceling headphones.

Sometimes, that was the only way he could get something done.

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Warning: this is Tuesday. It is no longer Monday. Nor is it yet Wednesday. It’s certainly not Friday. Also, it’s January. And it’s the year 2023. Oh, wait, it’s 2022. My bad. And it’s the eighteenth. In a way, the date is like sandwich ingredients; you put it all together and see what you have.

Sunrise overtook our valley slot at 7:36 AM and will pass on at 5:08 PM. First light found the temperature to be 31 F. It’s climbed ten degrees since then and expects to climb another twelve before we fall back into shadow.

I heard Lil Nas X and his song “That’s What I Want” from 2021 on the radio the other day and took up singing it to my cats this morning. It’s a good song about desire, hope, and loneliness. I felt it was useful to sing to the cats. They were gathered, waiting for food. I know what they wanted. But I was being perverse.

These days I’m way too lonely
I’m missing out, I know
These days I’m way too alone
And I’m known for giving love away but

I want
Someone to love me
I need
Someone who needs me
‘Cause it don’t feel right when it’s late at night
And it’s just me in my dreams
So I want
Someone to love
That’s what I fucking want

h/t AZLyrics.com

Love the video, don’t you? Football teams in pink and blue uniforms, same sex athletes making out in the locker room.

Stay positive, test negative, wear a mask as needed, and get the jabs as needed. I’m off for coffee. Cheers

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