Wednesday, December 31, 2014

Our Hope for 2015


We would like to thank you for your friendship through 2014. We know it has been a hard year for many who have lost a job, had financial hardships, serious health or vision problems, or lost a loved one or a furry.  Every year there are so many trials and tears shared among the bloggers and so many helping hands extended.  There is also a lot of shared laughter, as some of you have quite a sense of humor.  We hope we have made you smile on occasion, too.

Our hope for 2015 is that it will be a very blessed and prosperous year for each of you!  Happy New Year to all.

Tuesday, December 30, 2014

Who Are The We?

PERCY:  Hey, what's this strange looking tree doing in my home?  I didn't give permission for it to move in.


RUSTY:  It's not a tree, Percy, and it didn't d need your permission.  Jan brought it in and you know how she thinks she owns this place!

MERCI:  Jan said it's a new scratching post.  It's supposed to replace two similar ones you cats destroyed a few months ago.

MARCUS:  I'm relived Jan specified you cats.  I would hate to take the blame for destroying something I never even touched, except by accident.


BUDDY::  A very kind blogger gifted us with some money in Jan's Paypal account and Jan said this is what we need, so this is what we will get. Canines don't use a scratching post, so who are the "we" who need it?




CYNDI:  Next Percy checked out the sweat jacket hanging on the doorknob.  Jan spends months dressing in layers - even in the house - because she is always cold, so we won a good sweatshirt for her in Savannah's Fix Our Ferals Sweatshirt Giveaway.  That should help keep her warm.

MICAH:  We hope Savannah's mom has been waited on hand and paw as she recuperates from a total knee replacement earlier this month.  It must have been tough for her to have patience during the holiday season when humans want to run from store to store to spend money on gifts.  Unless she was a cyber shopper.


SAM:  We're a bit late in posting on this too, but in October we won a Whiskerslist desk calendar for Jan.  With Jan's history, we have little  -- okay, no faith that Jan will remember to read important dates on any calendar, not even this one.

CAMERON:  But we will sure enjoy reading the daily kitty classifieds on it.  We won the calendar from Summer at Sparkle's blog. 

BUDDY:  Hey, it just occurred to me we've been gypped!  The cats received a big box of goodies.  They have a new scratching post. What did we dogs get for Christmas?

PERCY: Uh .... oh, you all had a Christmas present.  Back in October, Jan bought you each a new bed.  It was already too cold to save them for presents, so you had Christmas early.

SAM:  I don't remember Jan saying anything about them being Christmas presents, just that we had better take good care of them.  We're going to have to have a talk with Jan. 

Monday, December 29, 2014

Late Morning Brunch



Marcus:  Here we are gathered round for a late morning brunch in the living room.  We only get to eat there for special occasions. 

Merci:  If you're wondering why there are four bowls and only three dogs, that's because I'm behind Sam.  I always stay back when the guys are around.  I'm kind of small and they're kind of pushy.


Buddy:  This is what we were having for breakfast with our kibble.  Blue Diamond Sunday Chicken Dinner.  Mmmm, did it smell good. 

Sam:  And it tasted even better.  We would have more photos but an emergency arose and Jan forgot all about us and our taste testing project.  So we chowed down without  pictures. 

The Blue Diamond Sunday Chicken Dinner has no corn, soy or wheat or artificial preservatives, colors or flavors.  It does have chicken, chicken broth, egg, vegetables and potatoes.  We give it four paws up.

The cans of Blue Diamond were provided by Chewy.com but we were not paid for this review. 

Sunday, December 28, 2014

Outa Here

CYNDI:  We're just going to do a quick Sunday Smile post for you today.  But first, we have another regular feature

MERCI:  We always do weekend art, so we can't forget our black and white version of this week's art.  It's a shot from Christmas Lane.


BUDDY:  If you missed the original and our inverted snow scene copy, visit yesterdays Christmas Lane post.

CAMERON:  This is a video of confused cats.  They seem to be afraid of everyday items such as a printer or a washing machine.

RUSTY:  Do you know what is missing from this video?

SAM:  No, what?

MICAH:  A vacuum cleaner!

PERCY:  Oh, yeah, one of those suckers can clear the room in no time!

MARCUS:  Speak for yourself, Percy!  I'm ...

PERCY:  Here comes Jan with the upright.

MARCUS:  ... outa here! 



If the video doesn't play, click here.

The Black and White Sunday blog hop is co-hosted by Sugar the Golden Retriever and Dachshund Nola.

Saturday, December 27, 2014

Christmas Lane

MERCI:  Last week Jan and her friend Johnnie walked Christmas Lane to take pictures.

CAMERON:  What?  You didn't know Christmas Lane is located in rural Georgia?  We have maps if you have any trouble locating it using your GPS.  They're only five cans of cat food and four cans of dog food each.

RUSTY:  We thought we would use one of those photographs for our weekend art.

MARCUS:  It didn't snow here but that's no problem.  Jan just inverted the colors and ... presto!  Snow. 


BUDDY:  With a little magic from Picasa we have our Caturday Art ready.  This is our Christmas snow scene with Santa sitting in front of the fire with his friends.

CYNDI:  Brrrr, it's cold tonight and that picture makes me feel even colder.  We should be sitting in front of a fire to stay warm.  Hey, Jan, turn that gas heat up!

     The Caturday Art blog hop is hosted by Athena.


PERCY:  And this is our sepia picture.  Marcus, of course, approves because it looks like his favorite color - dirt.

     The Sepia Saturday blog hop is co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Earl & Ethel.


SAM:  This is the original color shot.  We have never had a tree here.  Knowing Jan like we do, we can't help but wonder if it's because Jan is afraid she would fall off the stool while decorating it. 


MICAH:  Here is a preview of tomorrow's black and white version for comparison.  It looks a bit like a Halloween background to us.  Wonder if Santa is aware he's sitting in the wrong neighborhood seasonal setting?



Friday, December 26, 2014

Reindeer Run

Percy:  We hope everyone who celebrates Christmas had a wonderful day yesterday.  We had a quiet one.

Merci:  Yes, except for Jan using words on the no-say list when she discovered facebook had added a public by default "life event" in September she wasn't aware of.  She wasted two hours of her life going in circles to make that disappear.

Rusty:  We have some fun photos for you today.  Jan took them at a Reindeer Run event last Saturday.



Micah:  We, of course, were not invited, but Jan did describe what occurred.  These two young ladies were part of the team that won the best costume award.  They all wore those cute little skirts.


Marcus:  And I've been told no Christmas event is worth attending if Santa isn't there.  He was.



Cameron:  A Reindeer Run would be incomplete without an actual run.  This was the starting line.  The man in yellow pushing the stroller came in second.  He must have practiced a lot.


Buddy:  An ambulance is always on the scene for a public event.  Jan has known Joey for years and years and ....



Cyndi:  You'd better stop counting years, Buddy, or Jan is going to be very upset with you.



Sam:  You know when the furries appear, Jan has to take a picture. 


Merci:  Doesn't the little one look cute with his face painted? 


Micah:  An after race rest.


Buddy:  Yes, another dog, another photo.


Percy:  And where there is a dog, the children gather.


Sam:  Another happy face-painted subject resting after the big race.


Cameron:  One of our local police officers.  Jan said she danced with him.

Cyndi:  She didn't exactly say she danced with him, Cameron.  She said they were weaving back and forth.  He was trying not to photobomb the picture, but he was actually the intended victim ... I mean, subject. 


Rusty:  I think there were a lot of children who slept well Saturday night.

Marcus:  And a number of adults who moaned and groaned all night after too much exercise. Wimps!

Buddy:  You'd better not let Jan see that comment, Marcus.  She was one of them.



The Pet Parade is hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).

Who is this week's Featured Favorite?  Check it out at Rascal & Rocco's. 

There are two parts to the blog hop - your blog url and social media.








Thursday, December 25, 2014

Merry Christmas 2014

 SAM:  Merry Christmas from all of us here on the Funny Farm. We hope your day will be special.


MERCI:  We signed up for the card exchange and expected mostly ecards since that is all we could send, but we were amazed at the generous response.

CYNDI:  We received 53 snail mail cards from cat and dog bloggers.

MICAH:  They wouldn't all fit on the kitchen table at once, so Jan had to take two shots.


PERCY:  Look at those creative cards. So much talent among the bloggers.

BUDDY:  Jan is a bit jealous.  She only received 13 cards.  Do you think we should share with her?

SAM:  And we had so many homemade ecards, as well as lots of ecards from online card sites.  We thank you for each and every one of them.  Jan usually gets down before holidays but the outpouring of cards shared among the bloggers helped keep her spirits bright.

CYNDI:  Not that we could have used her spirits for a night light or anything, but you know what we mean.


RUSTY:  Angel Ginger Jasper's mom Carol sent us the Cat Blogosphere 2015 CB Calendar that was put together by Sweet Purrfections' Mom Paula.  We're very thankful to have a copy.  We felines are pictured in October.




CAMERON:  And we are also grateful for the box of cat goodies sent to us by Manx Mnews' Mom Debra.  A little of this, that and something else.

PERCY:  If you notice, Marcus is photobombing on the right while checking the floor in case any crumbs escaped their packaging. 

MARCUS: This video is actually an ad but we thought we would show you how we wish it would be around here today. Look at all that food.  Doesn't that look like such fun!



If the video doesn't play, click here.

BUDDY:  Can you believe Jan isn't cooking for us today?  Isn't there a law that all humans have to cook for their furries on a holiday?  No?  Well, there should be!


Pepi Smart Dog hosts the Thankful Thursday blog hop.

Ruckus the Eskie, Love is being owned by a husky and Barking From the Bayou co-host the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop. 

Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Not Worth Stealing

MARCUS:  This is my first Christmas and I'm very confused.

CYNDI:  Why?

MARCUS:  Because I thought it is supposed to be a time of giving.

CYNDI:  It is.

MARCUS:  Then why is Jan being selfish?

CYNDI:  How can you say she is being selfish?  She's still providing meals and a roof over our heads.  She plays with you and when the weather is decent, she goes for walks with you.

MARCUS:  Yes, but there is something missing.

CYNDI:  What's that?

MARCUS:  Treats.  We have treats but Jan isn't giving them out.

CYNDI:  I've seen her giving you treats. What kind of treats do you want?

MARCUS:  Some of those chocolate covered pretzels she brought home the other night.  Or one of those ham and Swiss cheese sammiches on rolls she brought from the church get together Sunday.  She's got lots of treats stashed around the house but she's not sharing them.

CYNDI:  Well, I can understand about the chocolate covered pretzels since chocolate isn't good for us, but if Jan has a stash, it should be ham and cheese sammiches all around. 

SAM:  Ham and cheese sammiches?  Where did you get them?

MARCUS:  We don't have any.  Jan does and she's not sharing.

SAM:  So that's what I smell.  She's taking some out of the microwave now.  I'll start barking.  Jan will come to see if someone is at the door.  Marcus, you grab the sammiches off the plate.  Cyndi and I will meet you in the bedroom to divvy them up.

MARCUS:  Good idea.

CYNDI:  *eyes Marcus' empty paws when they enter the bedroom*  Hey, where is our share?

MARCUS:  There were only 3 sammiches.  They were so small they weren't *BURP* worth stealing.

SAM:  I think you mean they weren't worth sharing.

MARCUS:  Yes, that's it.   I knew you'd understand.  

PERCY:  Today is Christmas Eve and we hoped to have some photos downloaded from the camera, but Jan hasn't even taken them yet.  At this rate, we should be ready for our Christmas posts by Easter. 

Tuesday, December 23, 2014

The Screwdriver

SAM:  Hey, Rusty, you look deep in thought.  

RUSTY:  I'm just thinking about how fortunate we are that Jan is forgetful but at least she hasn't lost all her marbles. 

SAM:  I'm not sure what you mean.

RUSTY: Well, Jan forgets to read the calendar and she sometimes forgets to feed us on time, but she's not a stupid criminal.

SAM:  Are you suggesting she's an intelligent criminal?

RUSTY:  No, I'm not suggesting she's any kind of a criminal.  I'm just saying I'm glad she has some common sense even if she can't remember where she left it.

SAM:  I don't think I'm following this.  What do you mean?

RUSTY:  I was just reading about the guy who handed a note demanding money to a bank teller.

SAM:  Let me guess.  The teller couldn't read?

RUSTY:  No, the teller could read.  It's just the guy wrote the note on the back of a deposit slip from his wife's bank account.

SAM:  And you think Jan might write a robbery note on the back of her own deposit slip?

RUSTY:  Don't be silly.  Jan would make a lousy criminal.  She can't run and she doesn't have a getaway car.

SAM:  Whatever you do, don't mention that to Buddy.  He'd want to be the getaway driver and we all know what a menace he is behind the wheel.

BUDDY:  Did I hear you guys say you need a getaway driver? What's the caper? I have a driver's license, you know.

RUSTY:  A screw driver, Buddy.  We're helping to fix the squeaky wheel in the  ... uh, whatchamacallit. 

SAM:  Yes, catch you later.  Jan needs a screwdriver right away in the ...

RUSTY:  ... kitchen.

SAM:  ...dog pen. 

Monday, December 22, 2014

Cyndi Turns 11

PERCY:  *slaps Cameron in forehead*  Atttttttttgh!  How stupid!

CAMERON:  Hey, what did you do that for?  I'm not stupid.

RUSTY:  Did he really call you stupid, Cameron?

MARCUS: Yes, he did.  I heard him.  And he hit Cameron too.

MERCI:  Yes, you did do those things, Percy.  Why did you hit Cameron in the head?

PERCY:  I suddenly realized we've been so busy we totally forgot about Cyndi's birthday yesterday. 

BUDDY:  But if you suddenly remember something you forgot, Percy, you're supposed to hit yourself in the head, not Cameron.

PERCY:  Why would I want to hit myself in the head?  That would be ... well, stupid.

MICAH:  Never mind that now, guys.  We really did forget all about Cyndi's birthday. 



SAM:  Cyndi, we'd like to apologize for being forgetful.  You are very special to us so we got you something special.

CYNDI:  Aw, thanks guys.  I really ...

BUDDY:  *whispers*  Pssst, Percy, if we forgot her birthday, when did we get her a present?

PERCY:  *whispers*  Uh-oh, we forgot to ...

CYNDI:  ...appreciate this empty box. 

MERCI:  It's not really empty, Cyndi.  It's filled with ... with ....

CYNDI:  Air?

MERCI:  Love, Cyndi.  It's filled with our love.

Sunday, December 21, 2014

Ice Fishing

Cameron:  Jan said we're shutting down in five minutes so we better make a quick post.

Cyndi:  She was gone for hours and now she rushes us?  Pooh!  


Marcus:  This is the black and white picture from this weekend's art.  We just love stately old buildings like this courthouse on the square.

Merci:  If you missed the other versions of this picture, check out yesterday's post, Bridge to Tuesday.

Black and White Sunday blog hop is co-hosted by Golden Sugar and Dachshund Nola.

Buddy:  Our Sunday Smile is a short video of a cat ice fishing on a backyard pond.  Well, it's more like the cat is trying to ice fish.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Saturday, December 20, 2014

Bridge to Tuesday

CAMERON:  It's time for weekend art again.  Two of our favorite days of the week. 

MICAH:  Every day is your favorite day, Cameron.  That's what confuses us about you.  Don't you at least dislike Monday?

CAMERON:  No.  If there were no Monday, how would we cross the bridge to reach Tuesday?

MICAH:  I don't know.  Maybe we could pay a toll?


MERCI:  This is our sepia photo for the week.  It's an old photo of our courthouse at Christmas. 

Ruckus the Eskie and Earl & Ethel co-host the Sepia Saturday blog hop.

CYNDI:  Jan used the drawing feature in Picasa on the photo.  We like this.

PERCY:  Then she tinted it.  This makes us think of an old fashioned post card. 

MARCUS:  We thought we would use the two drawings for our Caturday Art project.

The Caturday Art blog hop is hosted by Athena.


RUSTY:  This, of course, is the original.  Jan remembers the day she took this with a chintzy camera.  A grand old building even Jan couldn't make look bad.


BUDDY:  A sneak preview of tomorrow's black and white version for purposes of comparison.

SAM:  Hey, how come I don't have a photo to describe?

BUDDY:  Because we don't want you barfing on any  When you feel better, you can describe a photo, okay?

SAM:  Okay, but don't forget.  I get dibs on a photo next weekend.




Friday, December 19, 2014

Sam Is Befuddling

Rusty & Buddy
BUDDY:  Okay, so I'm totally confused.  Are we or are we not going to do a post today?

RUSTY:  Yes, I have the same question.  Are we going to do a post today?

MERCI:  Of course we will do a post today.  It's the Mousebreath interview we are postponing.

MARCUS:  Okay, got it.  No mice are being interviewed today because they all have bad breath.

PERCY:  Where did you get that idea, Marcus? You've been here long enough to know Mousebreath is an ezine for cats.

CAMERON:  I think Marcus has been eating too much stuffing from the bed in his crate.  It's affecting his brain.

CYNDI:  We did do a holiday post at Mousebreath today.  It just is not an interview.  We will resume those in 2015.  Right now everyone is running around headless.  

MICAH:  I think you mean everyone is running around like a chicken with its head cut off.

CYNDI:  Why would I ever say that?  It sounds kind of gross.

MICAH:  And running around headless doesn't sound gross?

SAM:  It's Christmas.  Can we be less bloody and more cheerful? 

BUDDY:  Of course we can.  How about if we talk about how fortunate it was we confused our days and finished our Thursday post Tuesday because  we thought it was actually Wednesday?  (If you missed it - Today Is Wednesday.)

CYNDI:  Yes, that was fortunate.  Because on Wednesday the computer went berserk again and ...

SAM:  We have no idea of why but Jan connected the backup drive so she could do a backup.  Sorry, I don't mean we have no idea of why Jan connected the backup drive.  I mean, we have no idea why the computer went berserk.  As she was preparing for it, things got strange.  No, she wasn't preparing for the computer to go berserk.  She was ...

CAMERON:  Never mind, Sam, you're just becoming more befuddling.  Jan thought rebooting the computer might help, but when it started to shut down, Windows got confused and crashed.

RUSTY:  Then nothing worked.  All she got when she tried to start was the message a hard drive failure was imminent, to back up her work and replace the drive.  How does one back up work when Windows won't load?

MERCI:  Jan was just about to panic when she realized the message was not for the new hard drive.  (Our original one failed in October and was replaced. We were offline for a week.)  It was the backup drive with the problem.

MICAH:  It was a scary afternoon, but after she disconnected the backup, she was finally able to get Windows to repair itself and reset itself to an earlier time.

MARCUS:  So we were back up and running but Jan spent the next hours backing up unsaved data on DVDs.  

PERCY:  Yes, we were very happy we had a post already written.  Sometimes getting your days confused works out for the best. At least in this case it did.




The Pet Parade is hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).

Who is this week's Featured Favorite?  Check it out at Rascal & Rocco's. 

There are two parts to the blog hop - your blog url and social media.


Thursday, December 18, 2014

We Are Blown Away

Cameron:  We are absolutely blown away by the sheer number of Christmas cards we have received this year.

Sam:  Speak for yourself.  I'm too big to be blown away.  I think you mean amazed by the sheer number.

Cyndi:  However you put it, we really are.  We signed up for the Cat Blogosphere and Blogville exchange lists.

Rusty:  Since we are only able to send our homemade ecard, we assumed that's what we would receive - email cards.  We send ours from the heart, so receiving in kind was fine with us.

Micah:  We haven't counted them but we can tell you we have a kazillion more cards than Jan has.  And most of them have arrived by snail mail.

Marcus:  There are a number of email and ecards too.  And a nice package of goodies for the cats.  I think it's highly unfair they don't intend to share.

Merci:  Would you share with them if the situation were reversed?

Marcus:  Of, course ... er, maybe.  *hangs head*  Okay, no I wouldn't.  I'm a bottomless pit.


Buddy:  A friend emailed to ask if he could have a copy of our Christmas card with our names on it, so Jan revised our original card.  I figure he's forgetful like Jan is and needs to be reminded who is who around here.  That's okay.  Jan often forgets who is who around here too. 


Sam:  This is our original card.  Jan made me wear the Santa hat this year.  I wanted to wear my chef's hat again.


Percy:  Jan made a different card for her friends.  We don't know why she didn't put her face on it so her friends would recognize who the card is from but Jan is a human and humans are strange.

Merci:  We have been emailing cards till our paws are raw but, friends,  if yours was lost in cyberspace, please accept whichever card you prefer from us - or all three of them, if you'd like.

Buddy:  We were going to tell a story about the snail mail cards today but we got a bit chatty, so we will tell that story another day.

Cyndi: This is Thankful Thursday so we did want to be sure to say thank you to the our old and new blogging friends for taking the time to share with us.

Percy:  We do want to encourage you, bloggers and non-bloggers alike, to Save those stamps for Millie and Walter of Bird Brains and Dog Tales.  Your stamps can help the Retired Greyhound Trust in the UK.  It's easy and it's free.  Details are in their post. 



Thankful Thursday blog hop is hosted by Pepi Smart Dog.

Thoughtless Thursday blog hop is co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie, Love is being owned by a husky and Barking From the Bayou.