Merci Was Sleeping

Marcus:  HEY, GUYS, GUESS WHAT!

Percy: Shhhhh!  Merci is sleeping.  You'll wake her up.

Marcus:  She should get up and come outside to play a rousing game of fetch with me. 

Percy:  She's old.  She needs her rest, not a rousing game of fetch.  One day you'll be old and want to sleep all the time too.

Marcus:  No, I'm never going to get old and sleepy.  If I do, who will keep Jan awake when she starts nodding off at 1 a.m.?

Percy:  I think the question would be more like, when you are old, who will awaken you at 1 a.m. so you can annoy the daylights out of Jan?

Marcus:  Don't worry.  I'll read the directions to learn how to reset Jan's alarm clock.

Percy:  And I suppose you'll borrow her glasses to read them?

Marcus:  But I have perfect vision.  Oh ... you mean when I supposedly get older.

Percy:  Yes, when you grow old, you will have to borrow Jan's reading glasses to see the dial and wear a hearing aid to hear the alarm.

Marcus:  Then I definitely don't want to grow old.

Percy:  You don't have a choice.  If you live long enough,  you will grow old.  By then you won't mind.  You'll have accepted it.   Merci did.  Where are you going?

Marcus:  To apologize to Merci for yelling when I entered the room.

Percy: But she's sleeping.  You'll wake her up!

Cyndi:  Spyder and Gracie are our interview subjects this week.  They don't have a blog yet but plan to.  You can read Presenting Spider and Gracie at Mousebreath.


We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco and co-hosted by Bionic Basil and Barking from the Bayou.

A Tipsy Wheelbarrow

Merci:  I had my first good walk in three years yesterday.

Buddy:  What are you talking about?  We all walk Jan just about every day.

Merci:  Yes, but you-know-who goes with us.

Buddy:  Marcus?

Merci:  Yes.  He leaps at my face and screeches in my ears.  I can barely see any more and it's terrifying when he does that.

Buddy:  You and I had a good walk yesterday with Jan.

Merci:  Jan didn't want you to go.  She wanted you to walk with Marcus since the two of you can walk faster and further than I can now.  She put Marcus in his crate and you kept pushing your way out the door demanding we not leave without you!

Buddy:  I think we did pretty good together.

Merci:  Yes, but you didn't want to go home.  And then you had to rest a while before you and Jan walked with Marcus.

Buddy:  Oh, that's why we guys walked first yesterday and then she went walking with you.

Merci:  Yes, it was so nice.  Just the two of us, like the old days before you and Sam and Marcus came along.  It was so peaceful.  I didn't have to struggle to keep up or walk twice as far twice as fast because my legs are so short.

Buddy:  It's hard to believe we've grown old.  I guess it won't be much longer before I'll have to walk with you because I won't be able to keep up with Marcus.

Merci:  And then we'll have to get a wheelbarrow for Jan because she's too decrepit to keep up with Marcus.

Buddy:  I hope you mean a wagon.  I can't imagine Jan riding in a tipsy wheelbarrow pulled by Marcus.

Merci:  The way Marcus dashes about, anything pulled by him would be tipsy. 

Buddy:  I know!  Do you think we could borrow the Budweiser Clydesdale wagon?

Taylor:  Excuse me, Buddy and Merci, but this is Friday and we Funny Farmer Felines are on the schedule.

Rusty:  We interview the kitties from the Four-Legged Furballs blog.

Micah:  We love getting to meet new friends.

Cyndi:  They have quite an interesting story, especially the handsome Evan.

Percy:  You can Meet the Four-Legged Furballs  - Evan, Thimble and Eddy - at Mousebreath.com.


We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat, Barking from the Bayou and Owned by a husky.  
 

The Standoff

Micah:  You're on my desk!

Percy:  You mean you're on my desk!

Micah:  You need to leave. 

Percy:  No, you need to leave.

Micah:  But I was here first.

Percy:  If you were here first, why am I lying down?

Micah:  You're older and you collapse faster.

Percy:  I'm not old!

Micah:  You're going to be 13 in two weeks.  That's old!

Percy:  13 is not old.  Ask Jan.  She's turning 314 today!

Micah:  314?  Perhaps we both should move in case she collapses over the desk.

Percy:  Okay.  You move first.

Micah:  No, you move first.

Percy:  I'm not moving until you do.

Micah:  I'm not moving until you do.

Percy:  I guess we'd both better hope Jan doesn't collapse on the desk.  There isn't enough room.

Micah:  There will be when you move.

More Sense Versus More Heat

Micah:  Dogs are weird.

Buddy:  Hey, who are you calling weird?

Micah:  You and Marcus. 

Buddy:  You'd better have a good reason for that!

Micah:  I do.  Merci is old and when animals get old, their bladder sometimes goes wonky. 

Buddy:  My bladder is fine.  Usually.

Micah:  But yesterday morning while you slept under your quilt on the big bed, Jan yelled for Merci to get up and go outside with Marcus.  Merci did.  However, as Jan soon discovered, Jan evidently startled her awake and Merci had an accident in her bed.

Buddy:  That's Jan's fault for yelling at her.

Micah:  But if she doesn't yell, Merci doesn't hear her.  Jan understood Merci didn't do it deliberately so she quietly took the bed outside to wash the urine out of it.  It was so cold, she brought the bed back inside to dry and put it in front of the heater.  It wasn't long before she turned around to see this.

Buddy:  Yes, Marcus assumed the bed was in front of the heater so he could stay warm.

Micah:  But the bed was still damp.

Buddy:  So?  

Micah:  So you got jealous and went to sit beside Jan and stare at her so she would think you needed to go out.  Then when she opened the back door and Marcus ran outside, she turned around and there you were in the bed Marcus had been sleeping in.

Buddy:  Yes, I'm crafty that way. 

Micah:  But the bed was damp!  A cat would never curl up in a damp bed.

Buddy:  Not even in front of the heat?

Micah:  No, we have more sense.

Buddy:  You were huddled near a pilot light on the stove.  I lay warm and toasty in front of the heater.  I might not have more sense but I sure had more heat!

Perfectly Oiled Machine

Buddy:  Getting older has its advantages.  When it's cold I sometimes get special privileges.  I love a soft bed with my own quilt. 

I also have my own walking coat.  Yep, I'm one lucky canine.

Rusty:  But you stayed home today when Merci and Marcus took Jan walking?  You said you didn't feel up to it.  I assumed your arthritis was acting up  What's lucky about that?

Buddy:  I stayed home.  Marcus left the house and went walking.  You figure it out.

Rusty:  Oh, right.  Marcus is away.  The house is peaceful and quiet.  Except, that is, for your snoring.

Buddy:  I don't snore!

Rusty:  You snore like a broken buzz saw.

Buddy:  If I snored - and I don't! - I would sound like a perfectly oiled machine.

Rusty:  Okay, so the next time I hear you not snoring, don't blame me if I oil your machine.

SeeThe Past

Buddy:  What are you staring at, Merci?

Merci:  The past.

Buddy:  I've heard of seeing the future, but you can see the past?

Merci:  Yes, it's called memory.  I am remembering when I was young and beautiful.

Buddy:  It's okay to be old - I'm old and white haired - but you'll always be beautiful. 

Merci:  What are you doing, Buddy?

Buddy:  I think I'll just sit here and see the past with you.

Hitch in My Glitch

Cyndi:  You look sad, Buddy.  What's wrong?

Buddy:  I don't know.  I guess I'm feeling a bit nostalgic.

Cyndi:  For anything in particular?

Buddy:  Yes, for the days when I was young and handsome, Miss Mother and Mr. Harwood were still with us, I was the star of this blog, and Jan took us dogs in the car because I was an excellent back seat driver.  Now I'm old and ugly, white-furred and boring.

Cyndi:  You aren't ugly and boring, Buddy.  I remember you in your prime.  Handsome, energetic, nose to the ground dragging Jan down the street.

Buddy:  Now I get a crick in my neck if I try to follow a trail and a glitch in my hitch when I try to keep the pace.

Cyndi:  Oh, I think I know the problem.  You're feeling left out and overlooked because of Marcus.  

Buddy:  Yes, he pushes his way into everything.  He's always getting his picture taken and finagling his way into the center of posts.  He shoves everyone out of his way to be first through the door, shrieks at the top of his lungs to let the entire neighborhood know he's going on a walk.  He ... he's obnoxious!

Cyndi: You're jealous, but you shouldn't be.  You were the king of obnoxious.  You moved in here, took over Merci's toys, ate her food, stepped on her to be first out the door, bayed at the top of your lungs to tell the world you were on your way -   I could go on, but you get the idea.  You're the original. Marcus is a copy.

Buddy:  Thanks for the pep talk, Merci.  I feel much better.

Cyndi:  Where are you going?

Buddy:  To get Marcus's attention, even if I have to sit on him, so I can teach him everything I can remember about obnoxious. 

Cyndi:  Sit on him?  Must be a new teaching method.


We are joining the Pet Parade blog hop with hosts Rascal and Rocco,  Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky.

Snow on the Nose

Buddy:  Jan took this photo of me earlier this summer.  We went for a walk, just the two of us.  She sat on that concrete slab for a long time and talked to me.  It was the best day I've had in ages.  Well, except the time ... no, I don't think I should tell that story today.

Cyndi:  What story?  Did I miss something?

Rusty::  No, you didn't miss anything.  Buddy just doesn't want to tell the truth.

Micah:  What truth is that?

Marcus:  That he forgot what he was going to say.

Merci:  That's not possible.  Jan is the one with the bad memory.

Percy:  Yes, but we're all getting older and we sometimes have the same problem now. 

Sam:  Look at that snow on Buddy's roof.  No, that's not right.  Look at the snow on his nose. 

Cameron:  Buddy has more white on his face than Merci does. Your were born with a white face, Sam. .I wonder how you'll show your age in a year or two? 

Marcus:  I'm glad Buddy is still around. There's a lot he can teach me.  I already know not to steal his food!

Pepi Smart Dog hosts the Thankful Thursday blog hop.

Ruckus the Eskie and Love is being owned by a huskie co-host the Thoughtless Thursday blog hop.