so THAT'S what it looks like . . .

wordless widebody wednesday!

HAPPY HALLOWEEN, Y'ALL!

(and don't neglect Part Deux of the Prize Package Opening, below!)

Prize Box Video - Part Deux

we wants to point out that nels is not really a meany-cat. it's just that he so seldom does anything but eat, sleep, and potty that when he showed up for the opening, we couldn't resist "embroidering" a little . . .

Prize Box Video - Part I

ok, here's the first part of the fun!!

leaf stew!!

 this is cocoa's water dish outdoors--it was clean, new water this morning! the day turned grey, cloudy, & cool, and the wind blew and blew!! not all our pretty trees are pretty anymore. *sigh* 

nope; not yet

no video yet, that is. in the mean time, here's a picture of a sleep shirt that mom's bean sisfur sent her. we think it ROCKS, 'cause we all cuddle and watch the bean tv program with mom & dad. we wishes there was one for us, starring THESE babes!! way to go, aunty marilyn!!

colors

mom's workin' on the prize package video, so in the meantime we're gonna show how pretty it is here--even this late in the year--now that the dadgum rain has stopped.

here's leafs in our oak













an' here's our oak tree up at the top












an' this is our oak (right) an' maple (center) tree tops (an' some other skanky bush on the left side of the street that mom couldn't get rid of)






an' here's the new maple mom & dad bought at a nursery today (an' no, that's not dad, that's the tree nurse).

wound up like an 8-day clock . . .

nitro sez:

my prize package from skeezy's contest came today an' mom let me open it an' effurything inside smelled like primo nip so all the ofur cats came running to see what smelled so good and so mom put me inna bean litterbox room wif her so she could take mooveys of me while i opened it all an' i did an' she did an' it all smelled so good i rolled in efurrything an' rassled the nip-bag around a lot an' then discovered there was fev-ver butt mousies an' i losted all interest in efurrything else (but i still kept lookin' at the pink fev-ver boa an' tryin' to decide whether or not to go back to it) and tost 'em an' bunny-kicked 'em an' hockeyed 'em all around the little room until her camera filled up so she went an' downloaded an' came back an' put some more of the stuff out for the ofur kitties an' took some more mooveys (which she won't have ready to put on our site until prolly monday) while we rolled an' hissed an' kicked the toys an' then we got mad when she put the nip out of reach for a while 'cause we was gettin' sillier an' sillier so we hadda just play wif the toys an' then dad came home an' played wif us anna toys an' made mom promise that we could go to "Nipstock" later tonight an' even though we don't know what nipstock is, we can do it--i'm just sure of it--if it involves even a little bit of nip!!!!

i'm gonna take a nap n . . . .

nitro's costume secrets revealed!

mom sez:

taking the picture of nitro in his halloween costume wasn't all beer & skittles. the shirt is a size 3mo-6mo from the thrift shop, and i sewed the bling around the neck from my jewelry parts stash. getting him into it was like dressing a recalcitrant baby, but i was encouraged that he didn't freak out during a coupla shirt-wearing dry runs.

however, came the photo shoot, getting that HAT to stay on was a whole nuther story. first i stuffed it with tissue paper, and the crackling of it was so alluring to him that he kept trying to see up into the hat. then i tried stuffing it with bubble wrap, but that was heavier than the tissues, and he didn't like it. i knew i shoulda stuck with the tissue, but we shot with the bubbles. if only i had been smart enough to stiffen the crown with white glue (which is how he got those perky ears) and then glued it to his head!

and here's the story of the "proud meezer posture" several kitties commented on: when we got him all dressed, he suddenly developed an advanced case of jello-bones--would NOT stand or even sit on dad's lap, just collapsed into a puddle of nitrobutter. so we ended up setting him on the kitchen table with dad behind him. dad started out by holding him up by the collar. that pulled the bling into his fur and outta sight, so i told him to grab him by the scruff. he did, and that worked best, but the poor kitty looks like he's had two too many face-lifts.

after the costume came off, he did come seek me out, so he didn't hold a grudge. what a Good Kitty! i wonder how he'll like playing Santy Claws . . .

we highly recommend . . .

today's "Two Lumps" cartoon. if you're not already a fan, you could start now!

(not quite) wordless wednesday

ok, it's a woofie, not a kitty, but mom asked if she could pick the picture, and we let her. she's been thinkin' a lot about him lately: this is thor, The-Dog-That-Was, and the most good-natured woofie that ever was, too. xing doesn't 'member him, but the rest of us do, and he was a Good Dog.

ok, it's not wordless, either, but we figgered we'd better 'splain so nokitty thought one of us had turned coat, or been eaten!

an' this wasn't halloween, either. the Boy just felt like doing it, and thor was happy to go along with him. like we said, a Good Dog.

tummy tuesday - edmund

here, in all his fluffitude, is the one, the only,
Sir Edmund Percival Hillary, Earl of Pierce:

hell is at 35 degrees and holding:

here are nitro, edmund, AND xing lu, all on mom/mom's chair AT THE SAME TIME! granted, even though the boys are playing by the kitty-courtesy rules and ignoring her like mad, xing's still muttering and swearing at them. if mom weren't there, xing woulda been gone in an ill-tempered, growling flash. and possibly a puff of sulphur vapor.

ripped from the arms of morpheus . . .

and tossed ignominiously into a Prisoner Transport Unit! that's how my day began.

i was snoozin' peacefully in my chair across from the toasty-warm wood stove, nestled in my cozy new micro-fill mini-comforter. mom got two them of yesterday, so we now has one each (except for xing, who doesn't sleep in the living room anyway). *zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz*

*zzzz---SNORK! wha'? wh. . .NYOOOOOOO!!!!!!* i was unceremoniously dumped into the PTU with scarcely any time to express my outrage. off we went in the big red machine to . . . you guessed it--the vet. by now i was mute with wrath, and said not a meow all the way there.

well, my left ear has been itchin' me something awful, and while i let mom & dad knuckle the dickens outta it, i won't let them put a q-tip or the snout of the medicine bottle in it. in fact, teeth and claws figure into the equation when they try, so they don't try furry often any more. last night, i finally scratched the backside of my ear all bloody, and they said "something must be done." they certainly didn't consult with me about what that "something" might be! hence, the trip to the vet.

there are three lady vets in practice together at angel animal hospital, but dr. shelley harders would be my pick if i'da had one. miraculously, that's how it worked out. my wrath cooled at last; i knew she wouldn't hurt me. we knows her of old, since she worked for the first vet, dr. snow, who owned the hospital. when he retired, she and two other ladies took over.

she checked me out in general (i seem to be in good shape for a 16-bean-year-old kitty), and she was furry patient as she q-tipped the gunk out & checked for mites (score: nels 1, mites 0). then she sloshed in some cleaner liquid and soaked and q-tipped it out again. she put medicine in, and gave some more of it to mom to use on me later (much luck to her on that!). dad sez if it works good on me, he's gonna try it--he has perpetually itchy ears, too, and the poor guy just can't get those hind feet up to scratch satisfactorily!

by this time, i was so completely seduced by her charms (and dad's iron grip) that i let her cut my shivs--front AND back!! ahhhhh. what a lady!

then they packed me back in the PTU, and off we went home. dad passed 'round treats with a liberal hand and told me what an excellent kitty-boy i was, and mom promised some mighty good 'nip a little later. it was awful exciting--got my geezer-cat blood racing so that my nose turned fluorescent pink--but now i'm just gonna go back to my cozy spot and nap until i smell that 'nip!

cheers, nels

dirty ol' dread pirate blogger

today we has visited efurry single bloggie that we links to, an' it hasn't let us leave comments on but one or two! we are furry frustrated!! we isn't ignoring you (even though nitro has "the big head" now and barely speaks to us; that snip. he thinks we deserve it, since nokitty else wanted to wear the costume), we is pre-vented. (we allus useta think that meant holes punched in it beforehand, but all's we gots is the ones we was borned with!) anyway, we is hoping that d.p.b. will straighten up and fly right by supper time, so mom can post. for that matter, we hopes he lets us post THIS!

thank you, one and all!

to efurry cat'n'bean'n'woofie'n'bird'n'whoefur voted for me (or even thought about it):

Thank you furry, furry much!

it means lots to me that a jurry of my peers peered at me and said they liked me. usually, i'm the one causing trouble and gettin' squirted. it's a nice change to be causing fun and laughter! i know there was some furry tough competition, and it's an honor to be in such company. when we started bloggin', we were welcomed warmly and have been befriended many times. we has such a nice community--we are proud to say we're cats, and we blog!!

now, mom said from the time i picked little scooter, that even if i din't win, we would sponsor him. so we're gonna add to the prize from skeezy. and we'd like to challenge each of you to do the same--not scooter if ya doesn't wanta, certainly. but maybe the kitty you chose. or another kitty entirely. or maybe one not even at best friends sanctuary. (we donates to a local no-kill shelter here in missouri, too, but best friends is special to us 'cause it's special to skeezy and his fambly.)

but please donate SOMETHING to a shelter SOMEWHERE!! there are so many of us who suffer, who are alone, who need medication, who need lovins, who need a safe, warm place to sleep, & uncontaminated food and water. shelters, especially no-kill sanctuaries like best friends, can give these things only as long as we lucky, blessed kitties and our beans make it possible.

even small amounts are welcome--please read skeezy's message in the very first comment on this post. if you can afford it without discombobulating your budget, please donate. you'll sleep better tonight. thank you. *what the . . . how'd i get up on this flea-soap box? i better get down!*

we loves you all, you know!

purrs & kitty kisses from
nitro

the cat ate my homework - honest!!

a video our bean cousin, pam, sent us:

thanks, cousin!! meows!!! n-e-n-x

beware of flying objects . . .

nels sez:

well, this morning She hadda go change her pants. She peed 'em. before breakfast. and it was all xingxing's fault.

xing likes to sit on the table that the puter face sits on while She types. all of a sudden, xing started that well-known rhythmic urping that signals an imminent hairball (and she, being very fastidious, hurls some whoppers!). She didn't wanna annoy xing just then by moving her, so She just moved papers outta the way and told her to go for it; which she did.

but the hairball didn't come all the way out! xing panicked and did a scrambling, floundering about-face turn to jump up on the puter body where it sits next to the face. while she did this, her head went through the 180-arc with her mouth pointing upward, spraying hurl-juice ceilingward with great success.

then her head followed through with a snap, disengaging a world-class hairwad, which smacked into the wall--four feet away!! it slid slowly down the wall like those icky garden slugs, and plunked onto the carpet. us boys watched in awe. we've projectile-yakked a few times, but NEVER anything like that. xing has a new weapon, and we respect her for that. we're staying outta the way when she hurls.

oh, yeah; it took Her almost three minutes to get Herself together enough to go clean up the mess, wipe Her eyes, and use Her asthma inhaler. and then, of course, to change Her britches.

PLEASE VOTE FOR NITRO . . .

so little scooter gets another sponsor!! Click Here to go directly to my entry!
and Click here to go to the contest page!