Meezer Monday

We were asleep on Mom's bed until the stupid flashy box came out. That flashy light is sure annoying.

Mom's Day so Far

Hi,
Mom deserted us today again. Mom belongs to a walking club, and she walked 10K yesterday, and then today, she worked at the table - signing the walkers in and stamping their books. After that, she was going to go work on one of the Rose Parade Floats - she has done this before, and it is a lot of fun, but she was really tired after having to get up 2 days in a row, so she just took some pictures of the float.

This is the artist's rendering of the Sierra Madre float. Sierra Madre is one of the towns around Pasadena. Sierra Madre's float is only one of 6 that are not made by professional float builders. The float is entirely made and paid for by volunteers.

This is as you first go into the float "barn." The theme of this year's Rose Parade is Celebrations Around the World. Sierra Madre chose to Celebrate Valentine's Day because of its close association with roses and flowers.

Here are some of the volunteers putting some of the finishing touches on the float. It is amazing how much they got done in just one day. The volunteers work 24 hours a day from December 26th to the 31st. Some of the non-perishable items (such as seeds, beans, bark, etc.) can be prepared before the big work week, but all of the flowers need to be put on the float within one -two days before the parade, so they won't wilt.

When Mom first saw the float yesterday, none of the hearts filled with flowers had been put on the float, and the swans wings had not been finished. It looked like they were covering the swans with potato flakes. Everything on the float must be organic in nature. Years ago, Mom worked on a float for GM that was a giant race car, and because part of the wheels touched the ground, they had to get special permission from the Rose Parade Committee to not cover that part of the float so they would have traction, but everything else, including the rest of the wheels had to be covered (they used seaweed sheets to cover the wheels).

The floats are judged at least twice during the week proceeding the parade. During the first judging, the float must be about 70% completed, and everyone has to leave the building. During the second judging which should take place tomorrow, the float must be almost finished and anyone riding on the float must be in their places in costume. When it is taken over to the staging area before the parade, the final judging takes place with any animation that occurs.

Most of the floats are completed in a series of "barns" in Pasadena. People can take tours to watch the floats being built, and there are usually between 5 - 10 floats being worked on in each building. Because the Sierra Madre float is being built by volunteers, and it is being built in Sierra Madre, it is the only one in this "barn."

Mom has only seen the parade once in person, when her niece was marching in the USC Band a couple of years ago. She said it was nice to see in person, but it is much warmer in bed with something warm to drink, and the nice TV coverage that allows for a lot more detail.

She wants to go back to working on the floats because it is so much fun (and messy) but we don't want her to, because that means she will be gone from us. Maybe next year.

Our First Meme

We got tagged by Chance Bond to do our first Meme.

Here are the meme rules:

* link to the cat who tagged you and post the rules on your blog

* share 7 random and/or weird facts about yourself

* tag 7 random cats at the end of your post & include links to their blogs

* let them know they’ve been tagged by leaving a comment on their blog

1. We have mentioned this before, but we can open a closed door. If we had someone come over to work on the house, Mom would put us in her room so we couldn't get outside. She would come home to find us out of her room. She finally put us in the room with her and the door shut and watched as we opened the door. Tavi turns the knob and Tiki pulls the bottom of the door open. She finally had to put a barrel lock on the outside of the door to keep us in.


2. We really love the PTU (as long as we aren't going for a ride). Mom first got one after a trip and after bringing us home, she put it away in the closet. We pestered her so much and kept banging on the door, she finally opened it up and we went in. We cry if we don't have our PTU open for us to go in. Tavi likes it so much, that he will jump up into it if Mom tries to move it.


3. We don't really like fish stinky goodness all that much. We will eat it, but we really prefer not to eat it.


4. It took Mom a couple of weeks to find out our names. We were called Jake and Josh at first. But we knew those weren't our real names - they needed to be more exotic sounding because we are exotic cats. Our grammy finally asked one of her friends and he came up with Tavi's name -and Grammy realized that mine had to be Tiki.


5. We rarely allow Mom to use the human litter box by herself. We always have to go in and stare at her until she picks us up, or we have to play in her pants.


6. We (so far) get along with any cat that comes into the house. We didn't hiss at Cody when he came to live with us, and when our Grammy's other cat was here, we didn't growl or hiss at her either. Tiki only hissed at the interloper when he had enough of her growling and batting at him, and it was only to tell her to knock it off.


7. We love our Camie (and our doggies that came before). We give her baths on her head, and she gives us ones on our ears. She lets us sit on her face and she just moves her head when she can't breathe anymore. She is a great doggie sister and never, ever gets mad at us or tries to play with us too rough.

We are not going to tag anyone because we think everyone has been tagged already. Thank you Chance for tagging us. It was fun.

Camie's Secret Paws

It is my turn for Secret Paws. I got my package Wednesday, but this is the first chance I got to post.











My gift is from Adelle and Kasey. I can't wait to see what's inside.

Look at all of these treat - I got 3 kinds of treats, 2 balls and a bag of rawhide chips. I love to chew on rawhide. And the treats are great!

Mom let me help myself to a couple of the treats.

Thank you again, Adelle and Kasey.

I love everything.

Camie

Thursday Thirteen - The Tonkinese

Here are some facts about the Tonkinese Breed.

1. We were originally bred as a cross between the Siamese and the Burmese.


2. We have been described as part puppy because we will come when called and love to follow our people around the house.


3. We are highly intelligent and have long memories - between the two of us, we can open a closed door by one of us working the doorknob and the other at the bottom pulling it open.


4. Because we are so friendly, we are the welcoming committee whenever anyone comes over - for both the 2-legged varieties and 4.


5. We should be indoor only cats, and our house must be cat-proofed much as one would do for a toddler. We can get into anything. Mom had to put baby locks on all of our cupboard doors because we can open them all. We used to open the food cabinet and knock the dog's food onto the floor so the container would open (it was tupperware) and have a feast.


6. We have a variety of the Siamese looking colors that are described as a mink pattern, pointed or solid. I, Tavi, am a Platinum Mink -Body: pale, silvery gray with warm overtones. Not white or cream. Points: frosty gray. Nose leather: lavender-pink to lavender-gray. Paw pads: lavender-pink. I, Tiki, am a Champagne Mink - Body: buff-cream to beige. Reddish highlights acceptable. Points: medium brown. Nose leather: cinnamon-brown. Paw pads: cinnamon-pink to cinnamon-brown. As with all pointed cats, our color darkens with age - Mom will look for pictures of us when we were kittens to show you the difference.


7. Our eye color is either the true blue of a Siamese, green or yellow green, or aqua. The eye color does not determine the coat pattern, although certain colors are associated with the different coat patterns. Tavi has the aqua eyes of the mink pattern, but Tiki does not, even though they are both Minks. Aqua eye color is most easily influenced by differences in environment.


8. Our body, while described as medium, is surprisingly dense and muscular. We should not have short cobby, compact bodies, nor should we have long, lithe, svelte bodies.


9. Our coats are medium short in length, close-lying, fine, soft and silky, with a lustrous sheen. Tavi, in particular has a very dense, extremely soft coat, while Tiki's is shinier.


10. Because we are so very social, and mischievous, working parents should get 2 Tonks to keep each other company (of course 2 can get into 4 times the amount of mischief).


11. All Tonkinese and Burmese can trace our lineage back to one cat - Wong Mau, a small walnut colored cat imported to California by Dr. Joseph Thompson in 1930.


12. Our head should have slight stop at eye level with a gentle rise from the tip of the nose to the stop. Basically this means we have a bump on our nose. (Mom will try to get a close up of Tavi - his is better)


13. Coloration in all pointed cats is determined by heat - they warmest parts of the body have the lightest colors. Because the nose, ears, tail and feet get colder, they are darker.

Meezer Rule Wednesday - Interlopers

When you have an interloper in your spare room, treat them nicely until you have had enough of their attitude and then hiss and growl at them, but never take a swipe because then you get kicked out of the interloper's cool tower.

Merry Christmas

Hi Everyone,

Merry Christmas. Mom got this in her e-mail this week and loved it. We hope you enjoy it too.

We hope everyone has a very happy Christmas, and that everyone, if they are traveling, are safe.

Meezer Monday - Sitting in the interloper's tower

Mom has been letting us visit as long as we are nice. I have to say that I did actually hiss and growl at Belle today, but only after she took a swipe at me. I was just letting her know I'd had enough of her attitude. Afterall, she is a visitor in our house and she has been rather rude to us. Growling and hissing. Thank goodness she goes home tomorrow. Merry Christmas everyone.

Easy Like Sunday Morning - Doing the Q

Camie decided to fully relax at a friend's house. This is her favorite sleeping position.

The Interloper

Here is a picture of the interloper. Her name is Belle. Mom says she is very nice, but when Mom brought her in last night, we went up to her to say "Hi," and she hissed at us. We didn't do anything! We were just sniffing her to see what she smelled like, and she kept hissing at us. Mom put us out of the room and let her out to explore. Mom also fixed her a bed in the closet under the clothes so she could hide.

She is doing okay in there - Mom goes in every once in a while and spends time with her. She will be here until Christmas day. Her Mom went on a trip and gets home on Tuesday.

Mom did say we were very good when we were introduced because we didn't hiss or growl at her even though she did that to us.

Have a great Saturday.

My turn for Secret Paws

My turn for Secret Paws. It came Wednesday night.

Its from Spirit and Ezra. - I can't wait to see what I got.

Look at all the stuff I got. I got 4 cans of food, 2 different kinds of treats a feather boa wand and a whole package of mice and balls with another feather wand and a catnip candy cane. All in my favorite color green. Of course, Mom opened the treats right away.

Feather wands are such fun to play with.

Mom put all of my toys into my tent - they are really fun to get out and scatter again.

Thank you so much Spirit and Ezra. I love everything. I have been playing more in the last couple days than I have the past 12 months.

In other news, Mom just told us that she is going to be bringing an interloper home with her tonight. She said she is only staying until Christmas day or the day after. She is going to be staying in the spare room. I really hope Mom is joking about this.

Thursday Thirteen - Tiki's Secret Pal

Woo Hoo - Secret Paws for Tiki

What is in here?

Let me see too!

Its from the Furry Kids - Earl Grey, Tazo and Titus. Thanks guys - I love it!!!

Tavi says, "Oh, this looks cool. I'm going to play with it!"

This is great - it has my name on it. That must mean its for me.

These are soooooo much fun. Really powerful nip is the best.

I pose so well!

Even Cody came in to see what the fuss was about. He came really close to Mom - within arms length.

Here is Cody playing with the nip Snake. I think he thought it was a real one. He kept batting at it like he thought it would move.

These Temptations taste yummy! Don't worry Furry Kids, I can still eat Temptations. Mom didn't get a picture of me because she wanted to show that Cody comes close for the "good stuff."

Tavi and Cody relaxing after all the fun.

Camie looking in on all the fuss. She is sleeping half on and half off of her bed.

Thank you once again Earl Grey, Tazo and Titus. I love everything!

Meezer Rule Wednesday

When your Mom is crocheting, make sure you get in her way and make sure you leave lots of your furs on the project so she has to pick of the hairs one by one.

Click to biggify. (My hair is in the middle)

Tabby Tuesday

Our First Meezer Monday

Welcome to our first Meezer Monday. Because of Tiki's diabetes, we now get fed 3 times a day. We always get stinky goodness because we tend to eat the dry stuff too fast and then chuck it up. We get a big can split between the 3 of us cats for breakfast and dinner, and a smaller can for lunch. Anyway, because Tiki isn't too steady on his feet, we are now being served our meals in bed. This is a picture of us waiting to be fed. Mom has to watch out because Camie likes to eat our food too. She will usually finish what we don't.

Here we are eating. Nom, Nom, Nom. We used to be fed on top of our cat stand, but it is currently too high for Tiki to jump on, and he really likes to sleep in Mom's bed. So, for his sake, we are fed in a more convenient location.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Camie's Favorite Sleeping Position

Neglected on Saturdays

Hi All,

We have been abandoned all day. Mom usually leaves us alone on Saturday to go visit a friend and watch something called Star Trek with her. Mom said they are going to watch every episode of every show. Normally, she abandons us for just the late afternoon and evening, but today, she left really early, and came home for just a few minutes to feed me lunch. Fortunately, she just got back which is about 2 hours earlier than she normally does. She said she is going to go to bed early due to lack of sleep last night.

Usually on Saturdays, we all sleep in together, but today, she made the noisy box go off at the same time as during the week. I was very upset to have to be woken so early. Doesn't she know that I need my beauty sleep. Have a good rest of the weekend.

Why we love our Camie

I have a confession to make - when we got our first greyhound, Hunter, I didn't like him very much. He was this big, long legged thing, and I really didn't want another dog around. We already had one and really, what was the point of another. So in order to get him to move out, if I saw him in a room as I was walking by, I would go into the room, walk up to him, and smack him in the face. I would then turn around and walk out of the room. He never got mad at me, or tried to hurt me in any way - in fact, he would hide his head after I smacked him. After a week of smacking him to get him to move out, I gave up and soon realized what a great big-little brother he was. He loved to play and would make Mom and Grammy laugh with his silly antics, He also loved to give us baths and get our furs all slobbery, but we didn't mind (too much).

Soon, Grammy wanted to get him another greyhound - because greyhounds recognize other greys and can miss having a grey companion (it is because they only see other greys and people growing up). So, we found Camie (we will tell her tell you her gotcha day story later). Soon after we got Camie, Hunter and our miniature schnauzer, Noelle, went to the Rainbow Bridge 3 days apart, and we were all very sad because it was so unexpected. Camie even went thru a period of separation anxiety and took the door and frame out of the wall and made a huge hole in the carpet. She had been left alone, and didn't even have us kitties to sleep with. So, Mom made sure that she was never alone again, and let us kitties have free access to her. That is when she became our dog. We had to take care of her so she wasn't lonely.

As you can see, I love to curl up with Camie. She is the best big-little sister. She lets us walk all over her and my brother, Tavi, loves to sit on her face. When she can't breathe anymore, or doesn't want him to sit there anymore, she just moves her head. She never gets mad at us. She will even give our ears a bath when she feels like it. She doesn't always eat all of her food (usually because she is trying to get to ours) so we get to go and eat her tasty food. Mom doesn't mind too much, as long as it is only a snack and not a meal - something about we need more vitamins and minerals than dogs, and so we really need to eat our kitty food.

She really is a good big-little sis, and even tho she is a girl, she is pretty good about not minding all of our man cat ways.

Tiki

P.S. Mom says sorry for the unmade bed, but she stopped trying to make it long ago, because when she did, she would come home to find it looking like this anyway - Camie likes to dig herself a nest.

Secret Paws

Thank you all so much for your very warm welcome. We have seen how great the cat blogosphere is over the past year while we were reading everyone's blog, and you have all confirmed it once again. Thank you to those cats (and dogs) who have come to visit us already. We have been reading most of your blogs already, and for those of you that we don't know, we are looking forward to reading about you and learning more. Mom is going to help us read more blogs over her break. When we find a new blog, we like to go all the way back to the very beginning and read everything about you. Mom has added about 2/3 of the blogs we read to our link list so far, and hopes to have the rest up by the end of the weekend.

Now on to the good stuff -

This is a season of firsts. Mom signed us up for Secret Paws, and I, Cody, got my gift yesterday. Daisy Mae Maus had my name. Boy did I get a lot of stuff. There were 2 bags of Temptations, in 2 flavors I have never tried before. Mom gave me some of the Dentabites kind and of course, they were delicious. I have never met a Temptation I didn't like.

Unfortunately, I wasn't there when the gift was open. I was just too scared to get close to Mom, but my brothers were in the middle of the action. I peeked around the corner and watched until I felt a little more comfortable.

Here are Tiki and Tavi checking out the box before it was unpacked. (with Camie hanging out in the background)

Here I am peeking around the corner, watching everything. I am about 7 feet away from everyone and won't get much closer until Mom breaks out the treats.

Here is Tavi playing and rolling around in the packing material. He loved it. I think it must have had nip sprinkled throughout it because he certainly was acting like it was a giant variety of nip.

Here are all of the gifts - isn't that ceramic cat just the neatest thing you have seen - it looks almost like me, and the best thing is that it is a vase. Mom said she was taking that for herself - isn't she selfish. Tiki is checking out the loot I got.

Tavi can't even wait for the nip to be opened. He took the package and tried to bite it open himself.

Here I am finally coming closer to check my presents out. As you can see, Mom had to tempt me closer with Temptations (maybe that is how they got their name). I really wanted to play with the toys, but it is soooooo hard to stop being afraid. As you can see, Tavi won't leave and is playing in the packing paper again. He still thinks the toys are his. Mom tried to play with me today, and he kept getting in my way and when Mom tried to move him so I could play, I got scared and ran to the doorway.

Mom got me to look up at her just before I ran away. As you can see, most of the Temptations have been consumed. I could eat a lot of them if Mom would let me. That is the only thing that will get me close to her.

Here is a close up of Tavi playing in the packing material with one of my toys. Mom was trying to tempt me to play, and he just pushed his way in. As Stephanie Tanner from the TV show Full House would say - How rude!

And finally here is one last picture of me. I was kind of batting at the feathers, but something made a noise, and I had to make sure someone wasn't coming to get me. I have to run when someone comes too close - you can never be too careful.

Thank you again DaisyMae Maus. I do love everything. I can't wait to try the Fancy Feast - we now get 2 big meals a day and a small one at lunch because of Tiki's diabetes. So Mom said we could try that this weekend while she is home to make sure no one is a piggy (Camie).

Camie also really loved one of my wand toys. Mom found it by Camie's bed last night with just the string and bell still attached and the other part of it was just a chewed up piece of plastic. So thank you for everything. We all loved everything!