Roll Into Space

Merci:  Hey, Rusty, what happened?  You're bald.

Rusty:  No, I'm not bald.  Just half naked.

Merci:  Oh, I remember this.  It was taken - can it really be ten years ago? 

Rusty: Yes, I was living with Miss Mother (I'm a good Southern cat) then.  I fell off the refrigerator and Jan thought it was because my fur was matted, so she took me to the groomer for a shave and Miss Mother cried because she feared Jan wouldn't take me back home.

Merci: But you fall off everything - the bookcase, the printer, the air conditioner ...

Rusty:  I do now, but I didn't back then.  Miss Mother wasn't doing well and she had a hard time grooming me.  Now I'm old and a bit forgetful and sometimes I just roll into space and crash.

Merci:  I hope crashing isn't contagious.  Jan likes to fly into space and crash.

Rusty:  I wouldn't worry about it.  You're very sure-pawed on solid ground and you don't ever climb.

Merci:  I sound very boring.

Rusty:  No, not boring.  Safe and sound.  To stay that way, avoid Marcus, keep your distance from Jan and don't nap near where I'm sleeping.

Merci:  I think I'll go spend the day in the closet.

Funny Farmer Funmobile

Hi, Merci here, with today's Thankful Thursday post. You kitties might think this a bit strange but me, Buddy and Sam are thankful for our Funny Farmer Funmobile, even if Jan forgets to take us with her any more.  Other dogs will understand how much we love it.

This photo was taken before Sam came to live with us, the day Buddy tried to practice for his driving test so he could get a license.  I'm the little redhead.  Do I look nervous?  Well, I was!  You can tell how excited Buddy was by the look in his eyes?


This is what our Funny Farmer Funmobile looked like nine years ago. It's nowhere near that good-looking now since it's a 1987 model. Guess in car age, it might be older than Jan. (She's elebenty-hundred-six and creaky.) Well, it used to be when Miss Mother was alive and we dogs used to ride in style every day to visit her.  Sometimes a kitty would get to visit too.  We usually only get to go to the vet in it now, but Buddy, Sam and I have been trying to convince Jan she needs to start taking us out again on occasion so we can have some fun.

But when Jan started the engine yesterday, smoke poured out the exhaust.. The consensus of opinion is it blew a head gasket, which would cost hundreds of dollars more to fix than Jan has.  She says the entire car probably isn't worth that much.  A mechanic said he will come out next week to see if the problem really is a head gasket or something less expensive to fix.  All of us are hoping for the something less expensive. Much less expensive, please!  :)

 

So what is there to be thankful for after Jan tried to blow up our Funmobile?  Well, first of all that she didn't actually succeed.  :)  But mainly that if this had to happen, it happened in our front yard where Jan didn't have to have the car towed (yet), and she didn't have to hike home, with or without the groceries she was supposed to pick up for us.. 

Yeah, guess there's a silver lining even in an unexpected white cloud.  Just like there was one the day Buddy practiced driving without moving the car.  If he'd had the car key, he would have practiced for real.  And, you might not know this, but that dog is DANGEROUS!  Don't believe me?  Read The Driving Lesson for yourself.

Roses for Micah

Hey, Micah here.  Sorry we missed a couple of Thankful Thursday posts.  Last week I wanted to post about what I was thankful for but Miss Computer Hog ... well, hogged the computer.

On Mother's Day Jan came home from church with two long stemmed red roses.  They were given to everyone there for their mother or in her memory, if she had passed away.  I never met Jan's Ms Mother (Jan says we have to be good Southern cats and call our elders Ms or Mr) but all the other Funny Farmers knew her.

Jan put them in a vase of water on the kitchen table.  If you remember, I've been living in the kitchen for a few months now (by choice; it's near food and water and my warm bed) so I just knew she'd put them there for me to play with.  So I did.  At night I'd take them out of the vase and we'd play games.

Their leaves kinda fell off and they started looking a bit punk.So I took them out of the water more often but nothing helped.  I even tried to resuscitate them. Then they shriveled up and after one big sigh of good-bye, they both died.

I miss my friends and wish they could have hung around longer, but I'm very thankful they were here long enough to become my friends. They were fun to play with.  And they smelled good too.  Not like tuna, but with a flowery kind of scent.

This post was prepared before the F5 tornado ripped through Oklahoma the other day. We joined the BlogPaws Disaster Response Network when it was set up.  We received some information from them yesterday and posted it on Facebook but forgot to add it here.

The largest need at the moment is cash. BlogPaws is reaching out to the BDRN and all the sponsors of the 2013 conference to pledge a commitment for Oklahoma. This collective donation will go to the World Vets who are assessing the needs on site to make the best decision on where the money will go – based on their work in past disasters.

Donations will be collected by World Vets through 11:59 PM Tuesday, May 28^th. The collective donation will be announced when the money is ready for delivery. A badge with a direct donate link is at the top of our right sidebar.

http://blogp.ws/16O9ofk. Here you can find hings from who needs what to donations to where to look for lost and found pets. 

Many of you have lived through a tornado, but we never have, so we can not truly imagine the shock and devastation of such a powerful storm.  We pray for all those affected, especially for those who lost a loved one.

Rusty on Miss Mother

Hey, Rusty here with a short post for today.

A form of respect in the South is to call an elder Miss or Mr. (insert first name here). So we always refer to Jan's mother as "Miss Mother." The last time we did this some thought we were saying we miss her. Yes, we do, but it's not a case of poor punctuation. To us she will always be Miss Mother.

We all met her at one time or another. Before Jan had the car, she took Crystal and Cotton (a year apart) down in a PTU inside a personal size shopping cart. As they came along, Cyndi, Percy and Cameron rode in a PTU in the car. The dogs got to visit frequently.

And, of course, I lived with Miss Mother for a time. I was her last Thanksgiving dinner. Not the main course. I was a present from Jan instead of a big Thanksgiving meal, and much more appreciated at the time. I was Miss Mother's companion for less than a year but the last words she spoke to Jan were, "Take care of Rusty!" Jan brought me home to become an official Funny Farmer.

We can not believe today is the 5th anniversary of her passing.  Jan has been busy lately (mainly stealing our computer time) and the date just kind of hit her this morning.  So we're going to take the day to remember the nice lady who encouraged and made it possible for Jan to give us all a home.  Miss Mother loved animals and taught her children to love and respect us too.

Thank you, Miss Mother.  Without your assistance, Jan wouldn't have been able to help us and we really prefer living here to the other option - dying at the shelter.

Miss Mother

Merci stops beside the typing chair where Buddy is sitting motionless, staring at the computer monitor. “Buddy, what are you staring at so intently?”

Deep in his own thoughts, Buddy is startled. “Huh? Oh, I was just reading some of our old journal entries. I sure have changed since I wrote my first column in 2005, haven’t I?” 

Buddy is much taller than when he sat on the same chair to type his first journal entry and now when he sits on the chair he towers over Merci. She scrapes a footstool across the wood floor and then climbs onto it to better view the screen. It also makes her feel less like a little ant sitting next to a large grasshopper.

“Yes, you sure have changed in some ways, but not in others. You were so messy but you sure were cute.”

“Messy? I was never messy. Didn’t I win the Scruffy Award for the bedmaking contest?”

“Yes, you did win. Did you ever find out who else was in the competition?”

“No, Jan never did give me the list of the other contestants, although I made several requests for it. I must have had some tough competition since she didn’t want me to know who lost. She said she didn’t want me to get a swelled head.”

Merci lowers her head to hide a slight smile. Buddy has grown up but he has retained much of his innocence.

“We sure had some good times, didn’t we?” Buddy asks wistfully. “I wish things could have stayed the same. I don’t like the changes.”

“You grew up, Rusty and Samaritan came to live with us. What would you like to change back to the way it was?”

“I’m glad Rusty and Samaritan moved in with us. I like having them here. But we lost Jenny and Miss Mother’s dogs Shorty and Benji, and then we lost Miss Mother. I miss all of them, especially Miss Mother. Jan used to take us down to visit every couple of days and we ran free in her fenced yard. It was nice. Now we don’t have anyone except Jan to love us and we don’t have anyone to go visit or a yard where we can run.” A solitary tear drips down Buddy’s face and falls onto the keyboard. He sighs deeply, climbs off the typing chair and, head low, walks slowly out of the room.

“I know what you mean, Buddy,” Merci says softly to his retreating back. “Jan misses them all too. Some changes are positive and some changes bring tears.”

“Wait!” Buddy hollers from the bedroom. He trots back into the living room, tears forgotten and a wide smile on his face. “I know how to cheer up Jan. We can hold a Miss Mother contest and find her a new Miss Mother.”

“Buddy, first of all, I never have understood why you call Jan’s mother Miss Mother”

Indignantly, Buddy shoots back, “What would you have me call her, Mr. Mother?”

“Oh, in that case, Miss Mother is fine. But holding a contest to find a new one is far out, even for you. You can’t replace Jan’s mother.”

“Oh. Well, it would be nice to have another Miss Mother to visit and make a fuss over us. Are you sure we can’t hold a contest and surprise Jan with a new Miss Mother?”

“I’m sure, Buddy. It’s a nice thought, though. You’ve always had a soft heart.”

Buddy sighs. “Then I guess I’ll just have to go take a nap. Maybe I can use my soft heart for a pillow.” He disappears into the bedroom.

Then his head reappears briefly in the doorway. “Oh, by the way, Merci, in case I forgot to tell you before this, I forgive you for making fun of me when I won the Scruffy Award Contest. I still make the neatest bed in town!”

Merci smiles broadly, knowing full well that he might be all grown up but Buddy still makes the messiest bed in town!

Posted by Merci