Micah Heats His Villa

 Micah:  I don't know why Percy was apartment hunting for so long this summer.  It's very easy. I just picked a spot and the apartment came to me.  I spent the summer in the kitchen with Cyndi.  Then I moved into the living room onto the medium bookcase.  I moved everything on it to the floor but it still didn't suit me, so I moved over here onto the tall bookcase.

Micah:  I wasn't here long before Jan gave me an apartment.  Rent free.  Those cardboard scratchers make great apartments.  As soon as Jan added it, I felt right at home.  I can wake from a nap, sharpen my claws, and go back to sleep without stepping out of my apartment.

And now that the weather has cooled, Jan added a private villa.  See me basking in what should be the sun (it's a rainy day) in front of the window?  My homes are so close together, I don't even need to call a cab to change residences.

Hey, who's snorting?

Percy:  That would be me.  I had to listen once I heard my name.  Your story is funny so I couldn't help but snort.  As the weather gets cooler tonight, enjoy your private villa, and think of me.  I'll be The Lump in the Middle.  Of the big bed.  Under the covers.  Where it's warm.

Micah:  Of course you will.  You're an old guy.  I'm middle-aged.  See how small my villa is?  It's one of  Angel Merci's beds. I can produce my own heat to stay warm. 

Percy:  You'd better store some in plastic bags because it is going back down to 41 degrees tomorrow night.

Micah:  Uh-oh.  If it gets too cold out here, I might have to become a second lump in the bed.

Percy:  Jan won't be happy about that.

Micah:  Why?

Percy:  If I have the middle and Marcus has one side while you have the other, where is Jan going to sleep?

Micah:  I know!  She can sleep in my villa. 

We are participating in Happy Tuesday blog hop. Stop by Comedy Plus to see other posts or to join the fun.

We are joining Flashback Friday.  (They don't usually post till later in the day.)  To see other blog entries and/or to enter your own blog, visit the Five Sibes. 

The Screwball Marcus

Percy:  Remember when Jan stopped to meet someone who used to work at Martha Mill?  While they talked, Marcus stripped down to his collar with one leash attached.  To this day he swears the devil made him do it.

Buddy:  He was so proud of himself for getting out of his harness and one of two leashes.  He used to be such an escape artist until Jan started clipping his harness to his collar.

Percy:  It's been so hot and humid lately Marcus hasn't been getting into much mischief.  I kind of miss that.

Buddy:  You miss what?

Percy:  Oh, you're right.  What was I thinking?  It's so peaceful here when Marcus is passed out with the rest of us.

Buddy:  On the other paw, it has been kind of boring around here lately.  Except for those moments when Marcus races around screeching at everyone because he thinks he's going for a walk.

Percy:  Or Jan is taking out the trash.  Or cleaning the litter pans. I don't know where he got the idea he's the official trash escort.  It's not like Jan can't find her own way outside to the trash can.

Buddy:  Well, she does tend to get lost between the living room and kitchen a lot.

Percy:  Then I guess Marcus does have a purpose here.  We old furries can sleep while he snoopervises Jan.

Buddy:  So this week we are thankful for the screwball Marcus?

Percy:  I'm afraid so.


Note:  Sorry we have been missing for a while.  We will probably be around sporadically until we all feel better.


 We're joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at Brian's Home.

Speed Dial

Rusty:  Hey, Jan, the dogs have been doing all the posting lately.  Do you think I could have another turn?

Jan:  It's really not up to me.  You'll have to ask your siblings if it's okay.  The blog belongs to all of you furries.

Rusty:  In that case, I might as well go ahead and ask you if you could find shoes any pinker?

Jan:  You know they were a gift and I kind of like the color.  It's feminine.

Rusty:  Why don't you buy an orange pair and we could be twins?  I'd be the handsome one and you'd be the furless one.

Jan:  Why don't you go write a post or something before you end up in the doghouse?  Oh, never mind.  I forgot the doghouse is your castle.

Micah:  Since no one else is here at the computer desk to write a post, I can write about Thankful Thursday thankfulness.

Taylor:  What are we thankful for this week?

Micah:   For starters, we're thankful our heat was turned on Tuesday.  It was a warm day for it but the cold is coming so we need to be prepared.

Taylor:  Jan was so happy to have the landlord's nephew and another guy show up with a compressor on their truck, and the heaters were on in no time.  That long hose made an awful lot of noise, though, and I was terrified.

Micah:  That was air under pressure.  Jan used to use a vacuum cleaner to clean out dust and try to turn the heaters on herself, but since she fell and injured her hand about three winters ago, she can't hold that knob down long enough to light the pilot.

Taylor:  The pilot?  You mean those heaters can fly?

Micah:  You had better hope not!  If they do, it means one of them blew up and we could all be moving without the help of a moving truck.

Taylor:   I don't want to move.  I like living here. 

Micah:   I was referring to flying through the air.  I've heard stories of Jan trying to light the pilots or trying to re-light one after it had gone out.  Even if it was cold enough to be snowing, or a cold wind was blowing, Jan would open the front and back doors.  Buddy said the house would be freezing, but Jan wanted to be sure there was enough oxygen in the house when she messed with the gas.

Taylor:  It must have worked.  The house is still standing.

Micah:  We keep the landlord's number of speed dial now.


We are joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at Brian's Home. 

Hanging Curtains Upside Down

RUSTY:  Jan has made little progress on winterizing the house.  Every year she tries and never gets to finish.

MERCI:  All the climbing and stretching is too much for her.  Old bones and accessories, you know.

CYNDI:  This year she is trying to replace the 18-year old drapes with new ones.  They're el cheapos from walmart, but shorter and hopefully easier to deal with.

SAM:  She has a thing about sunlight and says it should shine in the house too, so she has rebelled and is busy hanging "welcome" signs so we can have some again.

MICAH:  The funny thing is every time she manages to hitch a ride to walmart to exchange the wrong size or material for another, she has to move the ones she already hung from here to there.

PERCY:  The funniest moment was when she realized she had hung all the curtains upside down and had to rehang them - again.  She's getting faster at take down and redo.

MARCUS:  Of course I was the most helpful.  I followed her everywhere to make sure she didn't fall off the stool.  I think it was very rude of her to accuse me of being underfoot every time she tried to step off of it!

BUDDY:  But you were!  And you sure whined when she stepped on your nose while coming down the ladder after changing a light bulb.  How was she supposed to know you were underfoot? Literally underfoot.

CYNDI:  This window was a shock.  When she removed the drapes, she found one of the heavy, old windows had dropped open.

RUSTY:  It took a lot of newspapers to stuff the big hole at the top and the one in the middle between the top and bottom.

SAM:  Last weekend we froze.  Jan tried but couldn't turn on the heat.

MARCUS:  It was a  l-o-n-g cold weekend!  Monday was beautiful, though. 

MERCI:  While switching drapes in the kitchen yesterday, she found two other windows listing to the left more than usual.

BUDDY:  But help arrived at dinner time.  All three windows are now anchored.  And the two gas heaters are now on.  They were blown out with a big compressor. (Jan can only vacuum them.)

PERCY:   Wednesday the rains will come and the temperature will drop again.  We won't be cozy, not in this ancient house, but we are grateful to have a roof over our heads and a place to call home.

MICAH:  We've had a few ask how Taylor is doing.  She was coming out from under the bed more often and then Jan changed the drapes.  Taylor went into deep cover when the sunlight streamed in and only comes out after sundown now.  But don't worry.  I've been keeping her company by sleeping on the bed, eating her food, drinking her water and using her scratching post.   

Who Eats Weeds?

CYNDI:  Hey, remember me?  I'm the pretty kitty.  Well, the only female feline here.  We have all been watching Jan spending the day sweating. *covers nose with one paw* I believe she needs a shower.

MICAH:  She's sweating because she has been vacuuming and mopping floors today and it's H-O-T inside and out.

SAM:  She was trying to cut the grass again with a swing blade but spindly dandelions are about the only greens it chops off.

MARCUS:  So she finally checked the blade and fortunately for her, she couldn't cut herself with it if she tried.  She really needs it sharpened but no one knows where it can be done.

MERCI:  Please don't suggest she do it herself.  She's dangerous!  You would think she could mop floors without incident but when she moved a bureau "just a smidge", the beautiful vase her mother gave her bounced on the floor and shattered. 

BUDDY:  We were very proud of her. Oh, not for breaking it.  She deserves a klutz award for that. But immediately upon the crash, the phone started ringing.  She ignored it!  The shattered glass was more important.  Do you think she learned something from her trip/ fly/crash injuries six months ago?  No, not possible.  Guess she just didn't want us to get cut.

RUSTY:  Well, I had a nice shadebath this afternoon in the dog pen.  Until I was rudely interrupted by some noisy machinery.  The neighbors mowed and weed ate (who eats weed?) in their own yard and then came over and did the same in ours.  It made Jan happy but I was forced to come inside before I lost my hearing.

PERCY:  Micah mentioned mopping floors, something Jan H-A-T-E-S to do since the only mop she can use on our kitchen floor is a string mop and she has to keep wringing it by hand.  But the other day she found an O-Cedar MicroTwist ratcheting action for hands-free wringing mop.

MICAH:  Today was the first time she used it and she loves it.  It made the job sooooo much easier and faster.  And didn't leave behind too-wet floors.  (No, we're not reviewing it, just mentioning Jan liked it in case you have been wringing your mop by hand too.)

SAM:  Guess Jan has run out of steam and our entertainment has ended for the day.  We'll have to go see what mischief we can get into.









O-Cedar Microtwist mop
http://www.ocedar.com/p/microtwist

Hot Computer Break

Merci


We're going to have to take a break from blogging for a while. Our computer can't take the heat, especially since the power supply cooling fan has been going off repeatedly all week -- much more often than "normal" for this machine. It doesn't help the temperature goes up to 94 very humid degrees in the room, even with the ac on and blowing toward the back of the computer.  Adding a fan doesn't help.  Windows is having spells of heat prostration.

So computer time is going to have to be very limited now and only early in the day or perhaps in two short "bursts."This won't allow us time to post or to visit other blogs. As long as the computer will start, we'll be checking our email, so if you know of any news -- in particular, illnesses or losses -- we hope you will email us.

We'll be back as soon as we can. :)

Oh, we almost forgot, Jan wants us to be sure to thank you all for the happy birthday wishes.

Have a purring and tail wagging time until we get back.

Keeping Warm

Well, the weather has changed again and it is C-O-L-D. Now, maybe for some of you, our weather wouldn't phase you. But we're all wimps here when it comes to the cold weather.

Cotton spent the day in bed on top of the fridge. Rusty slept in his extra-large laundry basket bed. The other cats curled up in the other cat beds Jan made them. But this is how we canines spent much of our day. Since Jan added this area rug, we spend more time in the living room with the heater. (We have to. Jan puts a chair on top of the bed when she gets up now.)

Yep, we were fascinated with the gas space heater. There was an electric one running behind us but you can tell which one put out the most heat.

You notice who has front row seats here.

Yes, we shared with Merci. See.... She should have just dragged her pillow over near the fire.

This is in direct opposition to the beautiful weather we had while in Florida for Sassy's pool party. Now that was fun! Warm water, sunshine, food and drink, even a fire hydrant at our pawtips. Good company and friends - animals only. (To make it easy to identify our crew, their names are in red.)
Percy (in the hat) and Cyndi are lounging on the bench to the back. Left to right: Opus, Cotton, Pinot & Momo are on the side of the pool and (l to r) Sassy, Roscoe & Asta are in the water.

l-r: Gemini, Cameron, Buddy, & Cheysuli
l-r: Rusty, Crystal, Merci, & Samaritan
You can read the story and see photos of some of Sassy's other guests here.

We're going to go back and sleep by the heater again. It's just too cold sitting here at the computer. Ah, to be back in Florida again.

Sigh.

(s) Percy, for Jan's Funny Farm