An easy way to spend an evening

Several years ago I received a dollar store laser pointer as Christmas or Easter stocking-stuffer type gift.  Since receiving this item I haven't had a reason to use it so I have kept it in its original packing and moved it from residence to residence waiting for a justification to open it.

For some reason, though I've long known that laser pointers are the toy equivalent of catnip for cats, I didn't ever think to open it and use it with our cats.

Finally, last night I opened it up and immediately was able to confirm that our cats, like so many other cats, love following the little red dot around the floor and walls.  They go crazy for it.

Of course, I was mindful enough to snag a few hot vids of the action.



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After a break so that the exhausted kitties could rest, they were happy to be back for more.

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And more.

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And even more (unfilmed) this morning.

Cameron - 7
Neil - 0

A Few Quick Notes 614

-Though thunder showers were originally in today's forecast, it turned out to be an almost perfect day.  It's been sunny, still, and about 22 for quite a while.

-Much to my chagrin, thanks to coaxing from Jeannette I ended up watching today's 'Labour Day Classic' between the Roughriders and the Blue Bombers.  After the lead changing hands a few times in the 4th quarter the Riders managed to pull out a last minute victory.  Despite the lead changes, it didn't seem to be a particularly exciting or well-played game (not that I'm in a position to be much of a judge of these things).

The best part of the game was from about the 1st quarter on when Pierre decided to take a nap on my lap.  He more or less stayed in place for the rest of the game (even after I repositioned him).

-Sooner rather than later Jeannette and I need to arrange for a new garage door.  We did some preliminary investigating a few weeks ago and a little more today.  Hopefully we'll have something fingered out in the next few days.  The upside may be that the new door should be much better than our old door, even before it was broken.

-Our garden harvests have been quite plentiful this year.  Today I was able to make some cabbage soup with carrots, green beans, and potatoes from our garden.  Maybe today or tomorrow I'll have to head out and snag a big harvest of spinach and kale and also a squash or two.

The new soil and raised beds we added to our set-up really seem to have helped.  If we're able to add two more next year, as we're planning, we should really be in position to have a substantial harvest.

-Maybe I'll manage to get Jeannette to go for a walk this evening.  It really is a perfect night for a walk.

Hard cuddles

Apparently just being near me on their window perch wasn't enough, they both wanted to be in my lap while I blogged about them.

Unfortunately, just moments ago noises occurring elsewhere in the house drew them away from me.  Bummer.

Oh, I take that back - Pierre's just come back and is getting his full cuddle on.

Cameron - 19
Neil - 0

The other perch

As I was preparing the last post Pierre came into the room and hopped up on the window sill, reminding me that they both also like to sit there and watch the street.

Just to help me prove the point that both cats like this perch, as I was preparing this post Marie hoped up for a few moments.

Unfortunately, because there are a few plants nearby that neither of the cats are content to leave alone they aren't frequently allowed to take advantage of this perch.

Just moments after this photo was taken Pierre tried to climb into the ficus pot.

Cameron - 18

Neil - 0

Pierre's perch

When not sitting in the middle of the kitchen floor, one of Pierre's favourite places to sit is atop the garbage can.

I presume that the advantage of this location is that allows him to see a little more of the action while we're engaged in food prep.  What I don't understand is why he ever opts to sit on the floor where he can't see all that much and is likely to be stepped on.

Cameron - 17

Neil - 0

Apparently I'm the only one here who doesn't like figure skating

Just like yesterday, Jeannette has been watching the Sochi Olympics today.  And just like yesterday the cats have been spending more time watching with her than I have.  Apparently, they're much more willing to sit through ice dancing than I am (especially in circumstances when gold and silver have already been determined and we're just waiting for the three worst teams to determine whose going to get bronze).

Cameron - 10
Neil - 0

Cats are definitely weird

Somehow Marie managed to make her way to the top of our bedroom door.  At first she seemed a little unsteady, but after a few moments she gained her footing and didn't appear the least bit upset.  Jeannette, on the other hand, was definitely not pleased to have Marie on top of the door.

Cameron - 9
Neil - 0

A Few Quick Notes 608

-Apparently it's -29 with the wind chill at the moment.  Because I haven't been outside (except when I reached out to grab the paper this morning) I'll have to take Environment Canada's word for it.  Of course, as we're in Regina it's quite sunny.

-Though the Olympics aren't my thing (actually, I quite dislike them), we've been a pretty Olympics oriented house since Jeannette returned home from work yesterday evening.

Because of the time difference I'm not sure if anything but tape-delayed replays will be available this evening.  If so, maybe that will be a good thing as most of the available content has already been viewed by the Olympics-watchers of this household.

-While Jeannette's been watching the coverage of the Olympics the cats have been hanging out on the foot of the bed.

Sometimes they were more clearly cuddling.

Has the more or less devolved into an excuse to post cat pics?  And, if so, is that a problem?

Cameron - 8
Neil - 0

Kitty pics or my feeble attempt at link bait

Because of the popularity of yesterday's cat-based post (the tweet highlighting the post was favourited twice) I've decided that I should share a few of the  hot kitty pics I snagged today.

While maxing and relaxing after lunch and before tackling today's projects I suddenly found myself with a kitty on my lap.  It wasn't long before the kitty was taking a quick nap.

At time he was more closer to wakefulness, but still just as disinterested in moving.

He also took advantage of today's bright sun.

Actually, they both did.

For old times sakes, I also feel like including two pics from their first days together.  If I recall correctly, these were both taken relatively soon after they were comfortable enough with each other that they could be around each other unsupervised.

While they still aren't constant cuddle companions, they are pretty good at getting along.

And, not surprisingly, as I wrote this post he spent some time hanging out on my lap.

Cameron - 7

Neil - 0

Cats are weird

For better or worse Marie has started hanging out on this shelf in the morning.  For some reason she only seems to be there in the morning and she only climbs up there when we're not in the room.  I guess at least she's out of the way?

Pierre, on the other hand, likes to sit on the kitchen floor while we're working in the kitchen.  Maybe his goal is to be stepped on 20 times a day?  If so, he's really great at accomplishing the goals he sets for himself. If, on the other hand, he doesn't like being stepped on he's really bad at learning how not to be stepped on.

Cameron - 5

Neil - 0

Play time

Jeannette thought I wash't spending enough time playing with the cats.  I thought I wasn't spending enough time playing with YouTube.  Turns out after a quick vid sesh we're both happy.



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Forget toys, cats love boxes

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These guys probably love boxes more than life itself.

A Christmas Miracle for Jeannette

Not surprisingly, Marie wasn't particularly pleased with Pierre's arrival.  For the next few days every time Marie saw Pierre she hissed in his direction or at anyone she associated with Pierre.

Fortunately, with more exposure to Pierre the frequency and intensity of the hissing diminished.  Sadly, at first it didn't seem that the absence of hissing necessarily implied a fondness for Pierre on Marie's part.

Then, after a little coaxing on my part, I managed to get both Pierre and Marie on my lap yesterday afternoon.  After a little aloofness from Marie she started grooming Pierre, eventually rather furiously.



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Since this display of affection things have definitely been better between the two cats.  Though I haven't much outright inter-cat cuddling, I'm confident that it will be a common occurrence before long.

Being relentless finally paid off

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For months, maybe even just days after we picked Marie up, Jeannette's been insistent that we need another kitty.

Despite my best efforts to drown her requests out, yesterday morning I finally relented and agreed to the acquisition of a second cat.  Of course, having a second cat (or even a single cat) goes against almost every grain in my soul - fortunately this time I made sure to obtain a promise that no matter what two cats is the maximum number of cats that we will ever have (and I have a previous promise that agreeing to a particular cat is not a perpetual agreement to have a cat).

Ugh, at least they're cute(ish).

P.S. This guy has the unfortunate name Tiberius.

A Few Quick Notes 601

-After a few days of regular thundershowers and downpours we've had a few rain free days.  While the days haven't been quite as sunny or warm as I expected, they've nonetheless been a welcome change of pace.  Actually, aside from the fact that they're not quite as sunny as I'd like they've been almost perfect (not to windy or hot or humid).

-Today we went to an open house/jazz concert that was held down the street from where we live.  Not only did the open house allow us to see one of the units in a row-house complex we'd been contemplating when we were in the housing market, we got to hear the jazz band while were outside working in our yard.  The only bummer was that by the time I was finally ready to go the jazz band had finished their show and was packing up.  I guess this will teach me to be a bit prompter next time I was to see a free outside show.

-The regular pea pod stir-frys we've been having with our backyard-grown pea pods have been really wonderful.  I think that next year we'll have to consider doubling the portion of our garden we devote to peas.

-Our very own sweet little Marie has been really misbehaving the past few days.  It's been a real bummer following her around just to clean up her messes.  We're hoping that now that we've switched her back to the kitty litter she'd been using for her first few months with us that she'll calm down (but that may be too hopeful).

-As of this week the our house is now completely repainted.  The body of the house is purple and the trip is a cream colour.  We both are quite please with the outcome.

Perhaps not surprisingly, the colour change seems to be attracting a fair bit of attention.  Most drivers seem unable to drive by without at least slowing, some even come to a complete stop.  Pedestrians, as you might have guessed, are also frequently stopping to look at our newly purple house.  I get the impression that the people of Regina aren't quite used to houses being painted purple.

-I guess it's time for me to get back to dinner.   Hopefully it hasn't burned in my absence.

Box Kitty

It wasn't long after Marie arrived that it became clear that one of her favourite haunts is Jeannette's desk.

The only thing that seems to have made the location even more desirable has been the addition of a shoe box.

Sometimes she'll spend hours sleeping in such a box while Jeannette works.

Of course, she's not particularly loyal to a particular box - basically any shoe box will do.

And if she happens to be in the bedroom rather than the office she's more than happy to trade a shoebox in for a pair of my pants.

And even then she's not particularly picky - pretty much any pants will do.

Life's certainly a little different around here than it used to be in the pre-kitty days.

As penance for the last post

Perhaps not surprisingly, my cute kitty posts seem to be a little more popular than my dead bird posts - so here's a cute kitty post.

After what seems like an eternity I've finally posted another video of 'Sweet' Marie playing.  This time she's checking out the inside of a box.

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I kind of think that she likes it in there.

If you're lucky I may even have a box related 'supercut' for you later today.

It didn't take long

So after complaining about not seeing Marie fall asleep and then even going so far as posting a video with nothing but clips of her falling asleep I didn't have to wait long to see Marie fall asleep.  Basically just after I made the last post she fell asleep behind me.



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I'm starting to get the sense that Marie's inclination is to spend as much of her day as possible sleeping.

Of course, when I arrived home from work today nobody was taking a cat nap.  Instead my arrival was being eagerly awaited.  Jeannette, in particular, was quite keen to show off some of her handiwork.

I'm still not entirely sure what to think of this kind of thing, but as far as I could tell Marie didn't seem to mind the hat.  Jeannette suggests that she didn't mind the hat because it was made to measure.  My thought is that maybe she's just super laid back and not inclined to knit pick.

And as much as I am loathe to say it, I do think she looks kind of cute (but I don't want this to be taken as an suggestion that I think new outfits should be regularly procured/created).

Ok, I get the message...

...you don't want to see pics of dead birds.

What about live birds?

I saw this duck on my way home and I have no idea what kind of duck it is.  Any guesses?

Oh, and I also saw a dead fish on my way to work.

And then this one on the way home.

Do you think that they might actually be the same dead fish just in different locations?

Oh, and because I just uploaded it I might as well post Jeannette's Marie vid from today (and in you've noticed, I'm definitely having issues with the vid I thought I loaded last night).  This video was made because I claimed that I hadn't seen Marie fall asleep, despite that every time Jeannette turns around Marie seems to be asleep.



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One for the road

So after some dishes I threw together a little toy with some string and had some fun watching Marie go in circles.  Maybe with a little more practice she'll know just to chase her own tail if she wants to amuse us humans?

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Hands up if you're tired of these yet?

Some of you are probably so tired of these you want me to bring back the dead bird pics.