Science fiction, fantasy, mystery and what-not
First there were the edges.
Mistakes were made.
Then the buildings came, and the front stuff, like Annabelle’s Flowers. Eventually only green and white pieces remained.
Mistakes were made.
Finally, only green pieces were left. Oh, the green. How the green tried our souls. We could but try space to space, piece by piece by bloody damn pieces.
Fifteen hundred pieces and one week later, it’s done, baby, puzzle number for 2020.
We couldn’t have done it without our puzzle panther, Boo.
“The Ink Floofs” (floofinition) – Popular floof vocal group of the mid-twentieth century whose stylings presaged the rhythm and floof (R&F) movement.
In use: “A sentimental favorite by The Ink Floofs, “We Three” tells of the relationship between a pet, their person, and their food. Shared from the pet’s point of view, it describes how lonely they’d be without their human and their food, giving equal love to the person and food.”
Imflooftative (floofinition) – Copying or following a model or example set by an animal.
In use: “Many floofs, aware that humans are often easily manipulated, like to induce people to pursue imflooftative behavior, such as barking, meowing, and purring. Animals often regard these antics and post them on Floofbook for others to experience.”
An old, sweet callie, she seems in pain, and tired. Our neighbor for fourteen years, sShe’s a frequent visitor, singing at doors until we let her in, letting herself in if the pet door is open, and then launching an opera about getting fed until she’s paid for her efforts.
This morning, I’d let her in, fed her, and returned to bed. After a bit, I felt a cat get on the bed, an effort noted for the sounds of climbing up the duvet. I thought it was her because of the lightness of being that tread across my legs and confirmed it with a glance. This was a first for her; she’d never visited us in bed before.
She began a purring lullaby as she came up the bed. Stopping by my face, she greeted my nose with a soft tongue touch and amped her purring to eleven. Going on, she visited my wife’s face for a few minutes. Then she went onto my wife’s pillow and sat down by her head, purring all the will as she gazed out into the room.
She didn’t stay long, perhaps ten minutes, always purring, and was waiting for me with a chirping request for a second breakfast when I climbed out of bed. Her request was fulfilled.
Tom Floof and the Heartbreakers (floofinition) – American floof-rock music group that was very popular on FM (floof modulated) radio during the 1980s and 1990s.
In use: “Whenever the family left the house, the cat and dog put on “Running Down A Hall” by Tom Floof and the Heartbreakers, and had a howlingly good time. Of course, when the family returned, it appeared as though the cat and dog hadn’t stirred during the entire time that they were gone.”
Floofticate (floofinition) – Chew, as done by an animal, on objects such as slippers, wood, pillows, etc.
In use: “Whenever she left the house, she first checked the collie’s mood, for if the dog was anxious, she would floofticate anything that she found, and Marie had already gone through too many shoes this year. It’d been that way since her husband had died.”
She thought, by the way he was behaving, that the tabby wanted to go out via the pet door. The hard plastic cover was off, but he had issues with it. The youngest (and newest) member of their floofdom, he’d not been socialized well. He distrusted people and other animals, and stayed wary. That seemed like learned behavior, as he was otherwise so sweet, and smart.
He always had trouble with the pet door, though. Her working theory was that the other cats (old and tough rescues from the street who still argued about who ruled the house) often ambushed the tabby when he used the pet door, so he was leery of it. It fit, as theories go.
“You want to go out?” she asked him, heading for the pet door. Sitting four feet from it, he lifted his pretty green eyes from the pet door to regard her but immediately put attention back on the door. His look said, there’s someone out there. If you want to know, you look.
She scoffed. “There’s no one out there. I’ll prove it.”
Looking out, she did see another. Not recognizing them in the dim light (was it the fluffy cat from next door?) she got down on her hands and knees. Pushing the door flap up, she called to the other animal, “Here, kitty, kitty.” As it ambled toward her, she realized, skunk.
Post haste, she dropped the flap and put the hard plastic door on. Standing, hands on hips, she gazed down at her tabby. “You knew, didn’t you?” she accused him.
Yawning, he stood and stretched. Entertainment over, he turned, put his tail up, and dashed down the hall.
Comfloofmacious (floofinition) – An animal who is stubbornly disobedient.
In use: “Ordering the comfloofmacious ginger feline to get off the kitchen counter earned her an amused emerald gaze from the cat.”
Transflooftion (floofinition) – An exchange between animals, or between an animal and a human.
In use: “Pets always found a comfortable position on the sofa beside him. Certain locations and positions were favored among the floofizens. All knew one moving would initiate a transflooftion to reach the best place, which was, of course, right up against the warmth of the man’s abdomen.”
“Floof Shack” (floofinition) – Popular song by the American floof-rock group, the Floof-52s.
In use: “As “Floof Shack” played on the floofbox, the animals danced and sang, all joining in on the iconic lines, ‘Food bowl…empty.'”
Michael Seidel, writer 