No Problem

 

Rusty:  Hey, come closer so I can tell you a story without Jan eavesdropping.  Yep, I'm going to tattle on her.

Merci:  Can I help?  I love to tell stories too.

Rusty:  Do you remember the post we did the other day on Winton causing Jan so many problems downloading and IDing her photos?  (Winton in the Doghouse)

Merci:  Winton?  Oh, you mean Win 10, Microsoft's lunatic operating system.  Yes, I remember.

Rusty:  Jan is a bit stubborn and she really fought to download her way - to Picasa on the computer - except Winton absolutely refuses to recognize the computer card reader.  And she found a workaround to ID the photos her way.

Merci:  It's been a bit tense around here since Winton arrived, so we're all relieved.

Rusty:  Monday night she finished the latest batch of photos so we could do a review today.  She was so proud of herself.  And then -

Merci:  And then Jan, who could manage to shoot herself in the foot if she had a gun, discovered some of the photos for the review needed to be re-shot.  No problem.

Rusty:  She moved some things around to make room in the bedroom, grabbed her little camera and ... well, it would look a lot better if she was level with the object.  She doesn't bend well any more, so when she tried to sit on the floor, she fell.

Merci:  No problem.  Now she was at the right level.  She picked up the camera, turned it on and before she could aim, it went dark.  Great.  She crawled across the floor to pull herself up on the bed, found the battery cable and plugged it in to charge the battery.

Rusty.  No problem.  She'd just use the big camera.  But first she had to scoop the litter pan since it would be in the picture and Micah had decided to christen it.  No, she didn't want to try sitting on the floor again.  She pulled over Buddy's 2-step stool and sat down, picked up the big camera, turned it on and -

Merci:  A banner popped up saying "Battery depleted" and it, too, went dark.

Rusty: No problem.  This camera has a spare battery.  She changed the battery, took the photos, downloaded them to the computer, ID'd them, cropped and slapped our name on them, resized them, uploaded them to Picasa online-

Merci:  Where we wrote most of our review post, until Jan suddenly yelled," Stop, we forgot something!"

Rusty:  It's now after 11 PM and we have to wait on something for the review, so we have no post for tomorrow (then) /today (now).  What do we do?

Merci:  No problem. We write about Jan since this is all her fault.

Keep the Change

CYNDI:  Something has to be done about Jan's memory.  It's like Swiss cheese.

MERCI:  I know.  Did you hear about that conversation she had the other day with Mr. Doug?

CYNDI:  No.  What happened?

MERCI:  Well, Jan asked Mr. Doug if he would stop at Home Depot and pick her up another mat if they were still on sale.

CYNDI:  You must mean the new mat to collect mud on the inside porch.

MERCI:  Yes.  When Mr. Doug delivered it, she climbed into his van to go to Walmart and asked how much she owed him, and they had this conversation --

Mr. Doug:  You owe me half of $12.58. 

Jan:  *eyes wide, voice rising*  How much!  They doubled in price?

Mr. Doug:  I said you owe me half of $12.58.  See, here's the receipt.  I bought another one for myself.

Jan:  *looks at receipt.*  Mat is $5.88. Here's $6.

Mr. Doug:  Is this it?

Jan::  Don't worry, you can keep the change. 

Mr. Doug:  Keep the change?  You don't get it, do you?

Jan:  Get what?  You picked it up for me and it isn't that much over.

Mr. Doug:  I said you owe me half of $12.58.  I believe that would be $6.29.  You gave me $6.

Jan:  *light bulb goes on*  Oh, right, I just looked at the price of the mat and forgot about the tax.  Here's 30 cents.

Mr. Doug:  *tries to push it away*  No, it's not about the money.  I just wanted you to know what was happening.

Jan:  I'm sorry.  Here, take it.  And keep the change.

CYNDI:  You're pulling my paw, aren't you!  She really tipped Mr. Doug a penny?

MERCI:  I got it right from the penny-pincher's mouth.  Jan came home a bit confused and talking to herself about it.

CYNDI:  I hope you haven't told anyone.  We need to keep this story to ourselves.

MERCI:  Don't worry.  I haven't told another living furry or human.  It will be our secret, just between the two of us. 

CYNDI:  I'm glad you didn't tell the guys.  They would have laughed and blogged about it.

Trip Fly Crash

MICAH:  Here, we'll show my handsome face before we scare you.  This is our public service warning to slow down and not try to do something God didn't create you to do.

MARCUS:  And this wasn't my fault either!

CYNDI:  No, it wasn't really your fault, but all of you male dogs were blocking Jan's walking space.

MERCI:  I was sleeping when the crime went down.

CAMERON:  Crime?  There was a crime?  Did anyone dial 9-1-1?

SAM:  There was no crime but this is what Jan's face looked like about half an hour after the failed flight attempt yesterday.

PERCY:  Yep, Jan doesn't usually have that big bump on her forehead.  We have told her and told her she can't fly without wings, but does she listen?  No!

BUDDY:  She was cleaning the bathroom when the phone rang and she dashed into the living room for the computer to turn down the Bill Gaither Homecoming music she likes to listen to when she cleans the house.  She says it lifts her spirits and energizes her. It took her to new heights - and a crash landing - yesterday.

RUSTY:  Have we mentioned before Jan is a klutz?  She tripped over one of our beds and flew across the room, landing on her knees and sliding across the floor taking the TV stand on wheels with her.  The stand stopped rolling when her eye and nose connected with the corner and her head knocked the big TV off the stand. 

PERCY:  And Jan complains we knock things over!

BUDDY:  This is Jan's face this morning. The other injuries are not quite as colorful yet.  I don't think we're going to be around too much for a few days.  She needs supervision and round the clock nursing. 

MARCUS:   Excuse me, but has anyone called Bill Gaither and let him know he caused a oneperson - TV pileup yesterday?  I've heard gospel music has soul but who knew it could be so dangerous?

Headless Chicken Day

UPDATE:  We apologize to our brother Percy for forgetting today is his 10th birthday. We are so sorry Jan has a short memory and can't read a calendar to get a graphic made in time.  We need a new graphics assistant. 

A very happy birthday, brother Percy.  We are so glad you are a part of our family.

How sweet.  Percy received a card from our pals at Love is being owned by a husky.  Thank you, Mika, Lexus and Koda.


Cyndi:  Marcus, why are you dancing from one foot to the other?  You got ants in your .... um, you aren't wearing any pants.  Why are you dancing?

Marcus;  "Cause I have to pee. I really have to pee.

Micah:  So wake up Jan and ask her to let you outside.

Sam:  No, we can't do that.  Not after yesterday.

Cameron:  I must have missed something.  What happened yesterday? 

4" chunk of garden hose cut /missing.

Percy:  How could you forget yesterday?  Jan was running from one thing to anoher like a chicken with no head trying to get things done.

Rusty:  How would you know anything about a chicken with no head.  Have you ever actually seen a headless chicken?

Percy:  Well, no, but that's the expression and Jan sure acted like she'd forgotten to put on her head yesterday.

Merci:  She went outside to rinse out some vacuum parts and wanted to use the hose.  Someone disconnected and wadded it up it a few weeks ago and she hadn't had the time to take care of it..  She wanted to give all the dogs a bath today before she took a shower.  But now she can't.

Sam:  Oh, what a relief!  I don't need a bath.  I'm with Marcus.  I look good in dirt too.  But ... wait, why can't she give us a bath today?

Buddy:  Because someone helping Jan ran over the hose with a lawn mower, cut out a 4" chunk of hose, and then hid it by knotting the hose together.  Jan was upset because there's no way he didn't know this happened but he never mentioned it.

Rusty:  But what does that have to do with Marcus not wanting to wake Jan so he can go outside to pee?  Marcus didn't cut the hose.

Cyndi:  But that wasn't the only thing that happened.  Jan has fixed the leg on the kitchen table a number of times.  When she wanted to put new legs on it several months ago, Mr. Doug said, no, need, we'll just rig this and it will hold.

Micah:  Yesterday Jan bumped the table and the table did the hula so heartily it scared her.  That is one HEAVY sucker!  She didn't want to deal with it again, but she had no choice. It was a danger to all of us.

Merci:  So she removed the middle leaf and struggled to turn it on it's side. The leg popped right off, the screw and "fix" Mr. Doug had used were gone, and the brace was bent.  

Marcus: There was virtually no way to walk around the kitchen, the table things were piled on the washer where Jan fixes our meals and there was nowhere else to set our bowls down.  That was totally unacceptable!  We have to eat.

Kitchen table leg propped on stool and books, glued and duct taped on - temporarily.

Cameron:  Oh, so that's why the kitchen was such a mess when I got up from my nap.  I assumed she was bored and needed something to do.

Buddy:  No,  bored is not a word I would use for yesterday.  She didn't know what else to do so she used some liquid nail and some duct tape, propped the sagging leg on a stool and some books for a few hours, and hoped for the best. 

Percy:  The scream you heard was her trying to lift that table back on its feet.  Even without the middle leaf, it was too heavy and she hurt her back.

Cameron:  Okay, I get it now.  We don't want to disturb Jan if we value our lives today.

Buddy:  Correct. Tiptoe, lap water quietly - no slurping, cross your legs if you have to go and -

Marcus:  I'm sorry, guys, you better hide.  I can't hold it any longer.  JAAAAAAAAN, HURRRRRRRY, I GOTTTTA GOOOOOOO!!!!!

A Formal Barbecue

Merci: Although we always have much to be thankful for, we sometimes have trouble coming up with a picture to go with something specific. 

Buddy:  We were looking through some old blog photos and came across this one of Merci and Sam all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Sam:  We remember posing for this picture.  Merci in her bib -

Cyndi:  It's a kerchief, not a bib.

Sam:  Okay, Merci in her kerchief bib.  I mean, in her kerchief.  And I in my tie.

Marcus:  It's a bit small, isn't it, Sam?

Percy:  The tie is not too small.  Sam's chest is too big. 

Micah:  Sam's wouldn't look too big for his tie if Merci wasn't so tiny her kerchief covers her chest.. Sam looks naked in comparison.

Cameron:  I think the word is "petite," Micah.  Sam is extra large and Merci is petite

Marcus:  Micah, are we allowed to use the work "naked" in public?

Rusty:  Yes, we can use the word.  We just can't dress naked.  I mean, we can't undress.  Forget it.  Let's just say Merci is dressed for a barbecue and Sam is dressed for a formal. 

Marcus:  I hope no one ever invites me to a formal barbecue.  They don't look like they had a good time.

Merci:  We didn't actually go anywhere, Marcus.  We were modeling the kerchief and tie for Jan.

Marcus:  Oh, okay.  Then the next time anyone has a formal barbecue, I hope I get invited.  But  I don't want to dress up, if that's okay.

Buddy:  Today, Jan is officially six hundred elebenty years old.  She will be having lunch with a couple of friends.  We don't know what her friends will be eating, but Jan is planning to stuff herself with all she can eat pizza. 

Percy: I guess if we have to choose something to be thankful for this week, we are thankful we are still together.  Today, we won't think about when the time comes for Marcus to leave.  Today, we're family.

UPDATE: We wrote this last night and set it to auto post early this morning.  We came online to find a number of comments, a few emails  a mention in a post by Khyra, and this graphic posted on the Cat Blogosphere. We know this is the handiwork of Miss Ann from Zoolatry. Thank you, Miss Ann, and all of our blogging friends.

We are joining Pepi Smart Dog's Thankful Thursday blog hop.  And the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop, co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Love is being owned by a husky.

Thoughtless Thief

Buddy:  Thoughtless Thursday is supposed to be for those blog posts you started and didn't finish and today we're going to actually do one of that type.

Cyndi:  A while back Jan made some notes about some pictures she took and today we're going to publish them.

Cameron:  Yep, she's going to be so proud of us for sharing her thoughts.

Rusty:  Actually, I think she's more likely to disinherit us after this.

Merci:  Have faith.

Rusty:  Okay, I'm positive she's going to disinherit us after this.

Sam:  Would that be such a bad thing?  She doesn't actually have anything for us to inherit, does she?

Micah:  You're right.  Here, I'll paste her notes into the post.

(Jan's notes): Marcus is in the doghouse!  He leaped onto my lap and helped himself to my breakfast eggs. He then had the audacity to go after the cats' food - multiple times!

He leaped onto the stool, climbed onto the dryer (Micah's breakfast spot), and then stretched across to the washing machine where the cat bowls are kept.  That stool is there so the dogs can't reach them!

Percy wasn't happy about it, but that didn't stop the little thief!  I feed him.  He eats like a horse.  But he steals everyone's food.

I lifted him down, scolded him and put a couple of large items on the stool.  A little later I heard a fuss and found the cats sitting beside an empty food bowl.  I filled it.  A few minutes later I heard the sound of food being scarfed down.  Cats don't scarf their food.  Marcus had knocked off the items on the stool, leaped onto the stool, was standing with his back feet on stool, front feet on cabinet and was trying to vacuum in all the cat food.  Had to pile more things on seat of stool to keep Marcus off.

He's partly out of the doghouse now. Thursday morning an ambulance sped by and it got the expected response from a sleepy Buddy.  He howled.  And from beside him on the bed came a small high-pitched howl - Marcus' first.  It was so cute and funny I almost forgave him.

Marcus:  Hey, in my defense, I was a lot younger then.  I'm only four months old now and that was a few weeks ago.  And I did thank you cats for sharing your food.

Rusty:  Yes, but Jan still has a pile of stuff on the stool to keep you from eating our food again. I'd sure like to have our stool back to make it easier for me to reach our noms.   It was so convenient until you came along.

Cyndi:  And I don't think "sharing" is the correct word.  Stealing would be a more appropriate definition.

Seeing as how Marcus has so much to be thankful for in this post, he will be joining Thankful Thursday at PepiSmartDog's  http://pepismartdog.com/ We all have things to be thankful for, but we cats are not thankful for him eating our food and we dogs are not thankful he got in several extra meals in one day.  He didn't even offer to share. 

We will all be joining Ruckus the Eskie  and Love is being owned by a Husky for Thoughtless Thursday.  You know, come to think of it, thoughtless pretty much describes what Marcus did.


Marcus: Aw, guys, I'm sorry. I promise not to do it again. At least not until Jan moves all that junk off the stool.

Kjelle, Leigh and Ms Klutz

Percy:  We know Jan would rather we not tell this story, but it's too good to keep to ourselves.  We've told you a number of times how klutzy Jan is.  She just keeps getting better and better at it.

Cyndi:  We have all been playing musical beds quite a bit since it got cold and Jan was taking pictures of us yet again when ....

Rusty:  ... she tripped over a surge protector strip and ...

Micah:  ... you don't want to know.

Cameron:  What do you mean they don't want to know?  Of course they do!

Buddy:  If they don't, we'll tell them anyway.  Jan tripped ...

Merci:  ... and her arm flew out and the camera flew across the room and ...

Sam:  ... it hit the wood over the fireplace and fell onto the concrete with a ...

*C-R-A-S-H!*

Cameron: What was that?  I nearly jumped out of my fur.

Rusty:  Oh, that was just Sam's tail knocking the decorative tin off the table again.

Percy:  But that's what happened.  The camera crashed to the floor and ...

Cyndi: ... scared the crap out of us, is what it did!

Micah:  Jan just stood there staring at the fireplace, then walked over and picked up the camera ...

Merci: ... aimed it at Buddy, stared at the strange colors floating around the viewfinder, and clicked the shutter.

Buddy:  Surprisingly it still takes pictures, sort of.  Not bad for a camera that flew 4 feet across the room and crashed 3 1/2 feet to the hard floor.

Sam:  Yes, Jan measured the distances.  She still can't believe the camera is even in one piece, let alone trying to continue on nonchalantly..

Percy:  Jan says she hopes it will take half-decent photos until we figure out how to steal ... um, I mean get a new camera. 

Micah:  We wish we could share a picture of Jan's face when she realized what had happened, but you'll have to use your imagination.  Or you could try tripping your human while she's carrying a cup of hot coffee.

Our friend Kjelle Bus A.K.A. Charlie Rascals is entered in a photo contest and can use your help.  There's no need to sign up, give your email or name, or do anything except to go to this link -
 http://royalcanin.se/kattensdag/fototavling/?orderby=votes

Look for this photo of the handsome Kjelle.  All you have to do is to click on ROSTA.  That's it.  You've voted.  Wasn't that easy!

It will seem like nothing happened but the number on the bottom left will have changed and if you click twice, it will tell you you've already voted.  Of course, you won't know what it's telling you unless you speak Swedish, but the first time we thought it  didn't work and we clicked twice, then ran the popup text through Google Translate.  It said we'd already voted.  Oh, well good thing we don't speak the language or that would have been embarrassing.  :)

We hope you will save the link and vote daily.  The contest ends December 31st.  We vote daily. 

And we got some exciting news from an ex-cat blogger.  Many of you will remember the blogs Rascal and Little Cat Zee.  Leigh has been blogging for quite a while on 5 Acres & A Dream.  She has just published her first book, titled 5 Acres & A Dream The Book: The Challenges of Establishing A Self-Sufficient Homestead.

You can read more about the book on the blog  5 Acres & A Dream.  Leigh is giving away a copy of her book and it's easy to enter.  The link to entry information is in her post.  Good luck on winning.

We are joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop hosted by Pepi Smart Dog.

Also This 'N That Thursday hosted by 2 Brown Dawgs.

And co-hosted by Ruckus the Eskie.

Lots to be Thankful For Thursday

Merci, Sam & Buddy

Merci:  We missed Thankful Thursday last week, but we have a story for you this week..

Sam:  A couple of nights ago it was cold and windy, so when we walked Jan, she was rushing to get home and she got in too big a hurry and lost Buddy.

Merci:  We tried to stop to eat some - Jan calls them berries, a neighbor calls them seeds.  Whatever they are, they drop off a tree and they're tasty, so we try to stop to eat some but Jan usually keeps us moving.  That night, it was already dark and Jan said we had to keep moving so we didn't freeze.

Sam:  So we did.  We tried to tell her something was wrong but she just kept walking faster.  For some reason when we reached the corner a block from home, Jan suddenly decided she wanted to do another short lap and did a rapid about face.

Merci:  And got a good scare because there was a loose dog just a block away following us. She tightened her grip on our leashes and realized one of them was missing.

Sam:  It was too dark for her to see what the dog looked like but she took off as fast as her old legs could carry her, yelling, "Buddy ... Buddy ... Buddy!"   We covered half the distance before Buddy raised his head, looked around and asked, "How did you guys get lost?  It's a good thing I found you."

Merci:  And he came trotting toward us, bawling Jan out for wandering off while he was eating.  And Sam kept repeating, "I tried to tell her.  She wouldn't listen."

Buddy:  I don't know what Jan's problem is but she gets in more trouble when I'm not around.  I thought we'd all stopped to eat.  Next thing I knew, Jan had wandered off with Sam and Merci and gotten lost.  But I saved her.  Sam and Merci too.

Sam:  Oh, pish tosh, we didn't need saving.  Well, Jan always needs saving.  She's a human.  But Merci and I were fine.

Buddy:  You tell the story your way, I'll tell it mine.  In the end, we're all thankful Jan is okay.  What would she do without us?

Rusty:  Okay, so you dogs are thankful Jan was lost and found again, but we're ALL thankful Jan didn't blow up the house last night when she turned the gas space heaters on by herself.  She needs help to light the pilots at the beginning of the season, but with the temperature expected to go down into the twenties again tonight, she got brave.  We're not sure who was shaking more, us or her.  But we have heat.  And we all survived.

Cyndi:  You might remember a couple of months ago Lou from HH & the Boys (Bugsy & Knuckles) painted a portrait of each Funny Farmer Feline.  There is more to the story now, but we'll let her tell it. 

Percy:   We were so happy we were teary when we learned what happened with the portraits.  Lou is a talented painter.  Take a moment to stop by and read about her surprise.

 Cameron: We're the feline part of a family, so we're glad we're all staying together and our handsome faces are making someone happy.

Micah: Stop by HH & the Boys to read Funny Farmer Felines are a Big Hit in New Hampshire.  (Aw, gee, we always hoped we'd be a big hit somewhere.)

We're joining the Thankful Thursday blog hop at PepiSmartDog.  And while you're there, check out the new look of his blog.  It's looking good.

And the This 'N That Thursday blog hop at2 Brown Dawgs Blog.

Not My Fault

It was not my fault!  Honest.  I'm Sam, the Silly but I would never deliberately publish a blank post.

It was Jan who published the blank post in our name today.  (This doesn't really look like Jan cause there are no wrinkles and the hair isn't gray, but she's delusional and so this is her avatar.) 

See, I had a bad case of writer's block when I sat down to write a post for today.  So I thought, I know, I'll go get a drink of water and check the kitchen floor for crumbs.  That should jump start my brain. 

Well, it worked.  But just as I was headed back to the computer to write my post, Jan sat down in my chair and clicked "publish."  Publish?  The page was blank.  Not even a title!

She says it was an accident; she actually intended to hit "Save," and hit the wrong button.  Honestly, why would she think I'd believe that?  Who saves a blank page?  I say she should never have messed with my post! 

After that heart-stopping scare, the idea for my post just flew out the window.  So I apologize for not having a post today.  I hope you won't hold it against me. 

I am beyond embarrassed that some of you have seen a naked post from us in your Reader or in your email subscription.  If you have any ideas of a proper penitence for Jan, let me know. 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm exhausted and need some zzzzs.  I'll try to recover from this in time for Thankful Thursday cause I have a thankful to report.  Let's just hope Jan isn't home when I write it.

Thankful for Jan Day

Merci

Cyndi

Cyndi: Today is Thankful Thursday. I think maybe we should be thankful for Jan.

Merci: Why, did she buy us a present?

Cyndi: No, but she's been working so hard at spring cleaning, I figure we should do something nice for her.

Merci: You mean before she makes us help?

Cyndi:  No. A lot of the stuff she's moving around belongs to us and we are responsible for some of the mess she's cleaning.

Merci:  Hmmmm. You're right. We do tend to make a mess.  Fur everywhere.  Barf anywhere. Beds dragged into the walking area.  Large bags of food and litter to store in a small house.  Toys, brushes ... Yeah, guess we are a little work for her.

Cyndi:  It's a lot harder since she hasn't been able to do it for several years.  At least three.

Merci:  Let's see, in 2010, Jan had the injured toe that got infected and she could barely walk for several months.  In 2011, she again tried  to fly while you, Buddy & Sam were walking her, and she crash landed on the sidewalk.  It's taken two years for her to get back to "normal."  In part, because last March she fell while trimming along the front walk.  I can't remember what happened prior to 2010, but I know she was laid up with something.

Cyndi:  Do you notice a pattern?

Merci:  Yes, Jan's a klutz.  We've mentioned that before. Nothing has changed.  She's just a cleaning klutz now, trying to finish before sauna weather arrives. 

Cyndi:  So today will be Thankful for Jan Day.  Do we have to buy her a present?

Merci:  I don't think so.  I think we just have to make her a plaque to hang on her wall.  Or do something nice for her.

Cyndi:  How about if we do a post for her from all of us Funny Farmers and our present will be that we won't post her picture?  And we won't mention she's a klutz.  Or that she hasn't done any spring cleaning in years.  We'll just say we're glad she's still on her feet this year.

Merci:  Yes, that will work.  Let's go tell the others.

Cyndi:  And when they stop laughing, we'll write Jan a nice post.

PS - The other day our Google Reader went POOF!  Every trace of it disappeared, so we have no idea what is going on around the blogs right now.  It's strange because Google said it wouldn't close until July 1. .

We need to find a new reader and set it up as soon as we can fit it into our schedule.  Not sure where to go to find one that will be as convenient.  Anyone know a good easy to set up reader?

We are joining Pepi Smart Dog's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Kid Daphne

Well, now we all know what Jan was doing Sunday afternoon.  Yep, hanging around with goats.  That's 2-day old Daphne being cuddled by Jan's friend Cynthia.  And behind her, pretending to look the other way but actually keeping an eye on her baby, is mom Cherry. 

No, we weren't invited.  And actually neither was Jan.  She invited herself so she could meet the little kid and take her picture. 

Jan wanted to hold Daphne and get her picture taken with her too, but ... well, we all know how quickly Jan forgets what she's doing ... or where she's going ..... or what she was talking about.  But if Buddy should happen to swipe her morning toast with butter and jelly (2 pieces) 2 mornings in a row, that she remembers.

We were going to post this yesterday but we lost internet for a short time in the morning and then it went dead in the afternoon.  When Jan tried to report it, she found we had no dial tone.  She went to a neighbor's house to use their phone and  they were getting their service switched from the local phone company to Charter and they had no phone service.  But they did have a cell phone.

And as we said, Jan forgets.  Don't believe us?  When the auto message told her to give the phone number with the problem, she started tapping in her brother's phone number.  Why?  Well, I never dial my own number. 

When the Charter guy came inside, they asked him if he'd done anything to kill our phone and he said no, he'd just disconnected something or other for their phone.  But when Jan came home after a while, our phone and DSL were working again.  

Coincidence?  Jan is now thinking about checking into changing our phone and DSL to Charter.  Do any of you have Charter phone and internet service?  Is it reliable?  

Sunday Smile

Oh, yes, have we found the perfect song for Jan.  It's for aging, ancient, decrepit humans.We're sharing it because some of you readers might know someone else it will fit.  And even if you don't, at least you will get to know Jan better. 

The song is called Green Side of the Grass by Libby Allen.  And the next time Jan spends half the night yelling, "Shut up!" at Sam because he's standing at the bedroom door crying in the rain .... um, no, we mean crying inside while it rains outside cause he's terrified of thunderstorms .... we'll just remind the old, gray, cranky lady that, okay, you didn't get much sleep last night, but you woke up on the right side of the grass this morning.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Cat Out Of Bag At Circus

We don't have any paper bags so we don't have any paper bag shots, especially not of Jan in a bag. Thus we had to borrow a public domain cat in the bag pic.

This was Jan on Saturday.  Lazing in a paper bag.  (Metaphorically speaking, of course.  Jan wouldn't fit in a paper bag.)  Then strange things began to happen.  By Monday boxes she hadn't ordered started arriving.  Jan might be a bit dense at times but even she figured out something was up,. And now the cat is out of the bag, although she's been told she doesn't know everything yet.  (We've been telling her she doesn't know everything for years, but she doesn't pay any attention when we say it.)

If you have no idea what we're referring to, that's okay.  We're accustomed to that.  We live with Jan. 

But if you were aware of the secret, hush-hush, don't tell Jan plot, we can only say THANK YOU!  Thank you, Laure, for initiating it.  Ann, for helping her with a mailing,  And those of you who have participated in any way.  We are fortunate to know such a warm community of bloggers.

We won't embarrass anyone by specifics.  We've emailed our thanks to everyone we're aware of, except where there was no name in the box.  We've been told that's because you want to be Anonymous. 

We never heard of Zymox topical cream before but Jan liked what she read on the box about enzymes so she is trying it on Buddy's skin.   She ordered something natural to give, which has been recommended by another blogger.  So we hope Buddy will finally be on the road to nirvana.  (Any place of complete bliss and delight and peace.).

On another note, the circus is coming to Blogville. It's a fundraiser to help 3 other bloggers Turien's heartworm treatment, .Sallie's medical bills and Marg's Animals.  You can find details on Frankie Furter's blog.  Be sure to tell all your friends.  It should be a lot of fun.

Fish and Gifts

 You know those little edibles with fins that swim around in tanks all day to tease us?  When one became disabled and couldn't remain buoyant, the owner fashioned a little fishie harness for it.  What a caring heart this person has!


If the video doesn't play, click here.

We're way behind on posting, so we'll share a couple of things with you today.

An anonymous (not to us) human sent us a Pawalla box 

We kitties have been enjoying this and the treats can even be shared wit the dogs.

Here is Percy checking out the bag we won in a drawing at Brian's Home.

And we got a similar one from Mousebreath.

The back is the same on both of them.  (Sorry it's a bit wrinkled.  Jan hid them until she could take the photos but we found them and took turns napping on them. 

Things have been a bit hectic and we haven't been able to post very often, but we're still here.  Timid Micah is slowing blending into the family since his illness. He moved himself from his perch in the living room to the kitchen once he was up and around, but Jan still closes him in the bedroom at night to be sure he gets enough to eat and has a chance to play. 

Buddy's skin was healing nicely until last week when Jan discovered the plastic cone (ecollar) had torn up the underside of his neck again so he's chewed himself bloody since the cone came off.  The company that made the collar was supposed to send an inflatable collar since their "padding" is inadequate for a big dog running into things, but it has not arrived.  So things are not great with Buddy but Jan is working on him.  Thanks for the suggestions and help some of you have given. 

We think Jan's leg is healing but since she's not screaming when anything touches her, we're wondering if she's still alive.

Enough news.  Have a good day.

A Panther & 2 Tigers

This week we Funny Farmer Felines interviewed the happy trio of Abby Normal, Stygian Panther & Styx. A good-looking family with mischief behind those innocent faces.  You can read their story, including why Stygia's name is actually Worm, in 2 Tigers & A Panther on Mousebreath.

As to yesterday's post Casa de Buddy Has No Reverse, we'd like to thank you for your prayers.  Micah is doing well.  He went exploring again last night and climbed to some new spots.  Jan's thought this was wonderful.   He always just stayed wherever he was placed in the living room unless Percy chased him off and has only started scoping out the rest of the house since Monday.. Guess almost dying gives a fraidy cat courage.

Buddy is ... well, Buddy.  Still attacking everything with his ecollar.

Jan's leg started to drain last night and she finally got a little rest.  However, it's 12 noon and she's late with our breakfast again.  We're going to have to go see what her excuse is this time.  Have a good weekend.

Casa de Buddy Has No Reverse

This is a challenging time at Casa de Buddy-Has-No-Reverse.  We've been busy.  Well, Jan has been busy and Buddy has been busy beating her up.  But we've just been trying to keep out of Jan and Buddy's way.

Last week we almost lost Micah.  He'd only been here 4 months and suddenly he had a horrible respiratory infection.  It came to where Jan was trying to figure out how she was going to dig a grave in the cold, hard ground because he wasn't responding.  Last Friday night he started to rally.  Just a little and he picked up over the weekend.  Jan kept feeding him a little at a time and he ate every bite and lapped up the water with it. 

He's lost some weight but he started spending his evenings investigating the house.  He was getting really brave until Percy went after him again last night.  Time will tell whether Micah will go back to hiding or stake a claim in the house.

Buddy chewed and licked himself back into the 2 soft ecollars so his skin can heal.  But they didn't stop him, so he had to go back into the HATED plastic ecollar.  (Hated by Jan and anyone / anything that gets near him.) 

Yep, he's terrorizing the furniture, the house, us furries, and especially Jan again.  He has no reverse.  When he runs into an obstacle, he just keeps banging against it until it moves, the cone bends or he knocks things over.

Jan is so concerned about him beating the light protection off the collar and cutting his neck again that she contacted the manufacturer.  Who said the same thing always said about Buddy - We never heard of such a thing before.  That's cause they haven't met Buddy!

The company has kindly offered to send him an inflatable collar to see if that helps.  We can't wait!

While wearing the cone, Jan notice when she'd remove it so we dogs can take her walking, Buddy would immediately start chewing on a front paw.  It looked fine.  Then she removed the collar and he started chewing and crying.  So Jan took him out on the front porch so he'd be closer to her old eyes, twisted his paw and practically stood on her head, and finally found the problem.

 That was only part of one dew claw.  It had curved back so tightly and grown faster than the other one.  Right into his paw.  And the side of his paw had swelled over it so it couldn't be seen except from an uncomfortable angle for both Jan and Buddy.  The only dog clippers Jan has have to go over the end of the nail in order to cut it.  Fortunately, Jan had an old pair of cat clippers that made the cut without cutting Buddy.  But he screamed to loud someone across the street stopped to see what abuse Buddy was getting. 

You're thinking this is the end of the post now, aren't you?  Well, it's not.  It's Jan's turn. 

A small cut on Jan's leg started getting infected.  She isn't able to go walking with us dogs and screeches like she's being killed if any of us even get within sprinting distance.  But Buddy keeps sneaking up and ramming / scraping the ecollar on the infection site.  (Do any of you have any spare ear plugs?  We could use some.)  If any of your humans would care to pray for her Jan, we're sure she'd appreciate it.  So would we.

Who Set the Dogs Adrift?

Hey, Merci here with a couple of what-in-the-world? stories for you.  The first I just know had to be human error!  No dogs in their right mind would set off downriver in a canoe without a paddle. (Actually, I think they guys heard on the video put the dogs there so the third dog could play the hero.) And the second is a computer with dementia.  Or perhaps it was working on a nest egg for retirement.

We all enjoyed watching this video of one dog rescuing two other dogs stuck in a canoe.  You can see for yourself how intelligent we dogs are  


If the video doesn't play, click here.

UPDATE:  As Suka mentioned, the owner has added a comment on the YouTube video site saying these dogs are trained. 

As to the demented computer -

Jan says we need to watch our pennies, but we've found penny-watching boring. They don't do anything, just lie there. She writes down prices when she shops and has a good idea of what the total will be before taxes are added so she won't have more purchases than money.  However, Friday taxes went w-a-a-a-y over the top.  Now Jan says she'll need to carry a calculator but she can only read a large print / large button one that won't fit in her purse.

She was checking out at a self-service aisle at Wal-mart with a single discounted food purchase.  (Our tax is 7% but 3% on food.)  The $1.73 item rang up correctly, but the total was $2.83.  She pointed to the total and asked the cashier standing nearby, "What's that?"  He glanced at it and said, "That's the tax."  She looked at the total and looked back at him and said with a touch of sarcasm, "I don't think so!" 

$1.10 tax on a less than $2 item? It wouldn't have been as noticeable had she been buying a number of items.  So we wonder how often does this happen and customers pay the excessive tax unawares?

She contacted Walmart through their website and the local assistant manager telephoned Saturday.  The manager was as at sea over the incident as Jan and the cashier had been.   She said she had never seen or heard of that happening before and she would send the issue to field support to see if they can figure it out.

The cashier hadn't mentioned it to anyone or turned in the printout he made when he canceled the transaction.  Jan was so rattled she left without her receipt - or her change - but she could give the approximate time, ID the cashier, and remember what item she bought so they can find the tax error in their records.

We aren't accusing Wal-mart of doing that deliberately.  But if want your human to be able to continue bringing home extra treats for you, remind them to be alert because even though computers are great, strange things can - and do - happen!

Have a good week.