
Today you get a picture of Thor the gray tabby, because he is very photogenic.

Today you get a picture of Thor the gray tabby, because he is very photogenic.

Izzy has been subtly trying to claim Grandma’s blanket as a bed for some time. I pick it up to knit and she comes over for lap time. Usually I am able to move it off to one side so she can’t take up residence, but I failed this time. She was pleased. Until I needed to turn the work. Silly cat.
I hope it is a happy new year. I think the phrase “cautiously optimistic” is probably getting run into the ground at this point, but I remain with reserved hope that this year will be better than the last. To start off the year on a good note, here is one of my favorite cat pictures. I was working on the sink in 2003 and my cat Shadows peeked in to see what I was doing. Her careful observation mirrors my current attitude well.

Here is to this year being filled with the making of things!
Poor kitty cat, finding a scorpion in your water dish was probably unpleasant. I certainly found it unpleasant. But there is the matter of how it got in there, so perhaps you already knew?

Or perhaps it is because the suckers can climb on walls. I’m not sure how well I will sleep to night with this new information.


I took our dog for a walk and heard a terrible ruckus: cats yelling at the top of a tree. Not my tree, not my cats, but the Big Orange Tom is known to us. He is the king of the neighborhood and father to probably half the local cat population. We don’t know if anyone has given him a name other than Big Orange Tom, or if he has people he cuddles (he won’t let us near him). There is plenty of food to be had all along the street, so it is hard to tell if he has a permanent home.
He cornered a neighbor tortie and she was letting him know that she was not interested. He sauntered halfway down the tree and laid on a branch in a total jerk move of cat chess. We checked on them again on the return leg of the walk and they had both scampered, so no rescues needed.