My GOTCHA Day!

It's the last day of 2008 ... an' my Gotcha Day.  I'll be sixteen in May '09 (Mom thinks), but we're celebrating today 'cuz it's the anniversary of when Mom took my brother, Huckleberry Finn, an' me in "for keeps" an' we became official members of the Feline Americans.  I'm glad efurryday that Mom kept us ... an' I'm especially glad (an' grateful) to have a furrever home where I'm safe, well-fed, dry, an' loved.

Happy Gotcha Day to ME!  Whoo, hoo!

Glitter Graphics

Be safe an' careful tonight if you're celebrating the end of 2008 ... Don't drink an' drive OR let any of your furriends make foolish choices, please!

DMM

ManCat Monday: Fuzzypants

It's the last ManCat Monday of 2008, so we're showin' you what ManCats do when their Mom's are contemplating taking down the holiday decorations an' packin' them away 'til next year.  A real ManCat will put himself in a comfy "watchin'-the-work" position before takin' a nap.  Sparky Fuzzypants has "assumed the position" atop our Gizzy Quilt.  As soon as boxes get opened, he'll jump down an' inspect the boxes for comfy-ness ... an' then take a nap in one of the boxes.  This is how Mr. Pants helps us to keep the decorations out just a little bit longer ...

BTW:  How 'bout those Chargers, huh?

Icon Baxter Bentley has gone ...

We captured this photo at Kimo an' Sabi's bloggie ...

Icon Baxter Bentley, one of our first internet furriends in the blogosphere, has gone to the Bridge. We're stunned an' saddened for his fambly.

It's Boxing Day!

Happy Boxing Day to all of our furriends "across the pond" an' those expatriots who are livin' here in the States!



Mom only had to take back one item ... a scratched copy of "Wall*E" ... to Target in Clairemont. At 11 AM, the store was mostly empty an' there wasn't a soul in line at customer service. Not bad, huh?



DMM & the Feline Americans

Merry ChristMAUS 2008!

Merry ChristMAUS to all of our wonderful furriends an' devoted readers in the blogosphere. As promised, here are photos from Mom's an' Grandma's "world tour of holiday lights."

The first four photos are of Mom's favorite house. It's about a mile and a third to the west of us on our street. It's owned by a retired couple who really do things up each year. If you compare their decorations from year to year, each time they decorate it's totally different an' new decorations have been added to keep our interest. This year, efurrything was up and lit by Veteran's Day. I wonder how much their electrical bill will be this year?





I mentioned previously the dearth of holiday spirit evident in my little corner of America ... But these folks did a nice job despite it all.

I hear the jinglin' of bells!

Sandy Clawrs CAPTURED!

Charmee found Sandy Clawrs hidin' in Mom's litter box room, so he took the opportunity to sit on Mr. Clawr's lap an' put in a request for efurry cat (an' woofie an' bun an' rat) in the whole blogosphere to get lots of toys an' treats for Christmaus ...

So all of you kitties need to check your stockings for LOTS of nummy Temptations. If you didn't get a whole bunch of 'em, it's not for lack of trying on Charmee's part!  He put in a good word for all of you!

I think I'll hunker down an' sleep so Sandy Clawrs can leave goodies for me (an' the Feline Americans, too) ...

MERRY CHRISTMAUS, EFURRYBODY!

Waitin' for Sandy Clawrs!

Sparky Fuzzypants has been waitin' patiently for Sandy Clawrs since about August ... His patience is wearin' a little thin ... 

F.Y.I.: Christmaus lights are pitiful this year ...

Oh, the weather outside's delightful, but the lights are truly frightful!  So since there's no Christmaus dough, are we better off caked with snow?

Mom an' Grandma went out lookin' at holiday lights this evening 'cuz the rain stopped today an' they could actually leave the car.

 
I'll be postin' the photos from their "world tour 2008" on Christmaus ... mighty slim pickings if they do say so themselves. But as a little teaser, I'm postin' the most southwesterly holiday lights in the continental United States. 

This is taken right near the Tijuana Slough on Seacoast Drive in Imperial Beach, CA ... It's a coupla miles west from us.

I'm just wonderin' if the lack of holiday lights has spread to your hometown, too ... I mean, WHAT'S THE DEAL?  Last year's lights were phenomenal compared to the dearth of joyful decorating exhibited this year.

Mom says that lots of folks are out-of-work an' that the economy is particularly bad this year ... that explains why some folks didn't decorate ...

But MOM didn't do much this year either an' she has a job with a decent amount of green papers comin' in each month!!!  What's the deal?  Where's the love, Mom?

(Mom:  In my defense, blogosphere, I have been as busy as the next working stiff this season and to be honest, I'm just not feelin' it this year.  Perhaps I'll feel more inclined to joyously decorate after Obama's been in office for ten months or so ... okay?  Can I have a pass this year?  Pretty please?)

"We Wish You A Merry Christmaus"

Three more reasons to live in southwestern California

This first photo was just emailed to Mom by her cousin, Sharon, who lives in western Washington.  It's been snowin' all week an' it doesn't look like it'll be slowin' up anytime soon ... Brrrr!

This is the patio set at our cousins, Gus an' Perla's, house in Oregon.  When WE have patio time, we never have snow ... Any white stuff on OUR patio set is from birdies ...

An' this is the photo of Gus an' Perla's mommy's blue masheen.  

Mom's black masheen is at the "shop" 'cuz it sprung a leak in the roof hinges due to all of our rain.  Our "snow" is liquid ...

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #94: WIDE

Today's Photo Hunter's theme is WIDE!

Mom says that all of our bodies are WIDE 'cuz she feeds us good food like Eukanuba kibbles an' Fancy Feast Elegant Medleys Chicken with Egg Soufflé efurry day ... an' that we don't hafta do physically taxing jobs like pullin' sleds or stackin' boxes or bringin' in the groceries. She says that's how we got to be such "WIDE loads" of cat (all 'cept ME 'cuz I'm petite an' super-sexy).

Anyway, yesterday Mom bought a new blotter (desk calendar) for school. An' Charmee ... bein' Charmee ... had to test the calendar out for "comfy-ness" by layin' on it. The calendar is extra WIDE ... an' so is Charmee.

It's okay with me that Charmee is WIDE, 'cuz I look slim an' trim standin' near him!  Hee, hee ...

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #93: FAVORITE

Today's Photo Hunter's theme is FAVORITE!

"Favorite Things" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's "The Sound of Music":

Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens

Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

Brown paper packages tied up with strings

These are a few of my favorite things ...

This photo was taken in September of 2007 after we received our Holiday Gizzy from Darling Millie.  

The model is ... of course ... Lucky Charmz. 

He is showin' some of our FAVORITE things:  Layin' on the kitchen table.  Takin' a nap.  Gizzy quilts.  An' Christmas.

Rest in Peace, Skeeter

One of our oldest and dearest furriends in the blogosphere, Skeeter,was helped to the Bridge today ... 

We're furry sad for his famby:  L.C., Ayla, and The Big Thing.  

If you haven't already done so, please stop by and express your condolences.  Skeeter lived with L.C. an' The Big Thing for most of his sixteen years.  

His presence will be missed tremendously.  Even the mousies and voles are saddened by his passing.

Rest in peace, sweet Skeeter ... We'll see you at the Bridge someday.

Fondly,

DaisyMae Maus and the Feline Americans

Beefcake Jake ... meeooww!

Check him out, ladies!

It's my furry handsome tom-friend Jake keepin' a blanky nice an' warm for some soon-to-be-winter cuddles ... with ME!  

Aren't I the luckiest to have such a dashing ManCat as Jake?!?  

You bet!

I'm teleportin' over right ... NOW!

Smooches!

DMM

Mom ... Is ... NOT ... Happy!

Mom came home exhausted an' angry this evening.  

She was ticked that her Reading classes got cancelled an' her students (the ones she likes) got absorbed into other electives.  She was peeved that the assistant principal who is in charge of her department couldn't communicate her way out of a wet paper bag ... an' wasn't gonna let Mom know what was going on until next semester.

That was bad enough to get her actin' peckish.  But today, she found out that she has to move all of her stuff from the classroom she's had for fifteen years to move to another classroom halfway across the campus.  Oh, and she has until December 12th to get everything packed so that the custodians can move things in the evening ... an'  the man who is in the room right now won't let Mom send any of her stuff over, so it's in boxes (she got some packed today after school).   An' the quarter is over in ten days.  An' she's got to proctor an' grade finals plus tabulate final grades for her students.   An' the two hundred wreaths an' centerpieces that her club students sold arrived today boxed in twenty big, big, big boxes ... an' the barrels for the San Diego Food Bank's food drive arrived today, too.  An' there are still coupons books left that students need to pick up.

Mom's goin' to bed ... I'm gonna join her an' give her some snuggles.

DMM

More Happy Birthdays ...

Today is our Uncle James' 38th birthday ... an' it's also the birthday of our cousins' (Zoey an' the Furballs') momma. We wanna wish them "HAPPY BIRTHDAY" an' the happiest, healthiest, most successful year yet!

Saturday Photo Scavenger Hunt #92: METAL

Today's Photo Hunter's theme is METAL! There are a bunch of metal things in this photo. There's a Thanksgiving turkey. There's Mom's weapon of choice: A METAL mini bat for bonking intruders on the melon! There's a METAL basket that holds the logs for my fireplace. An' then there's Lightning Rod. He's the METAL cat who chillaxes on the hearth when I'm not warmin' my bunnies there.



An' while we're on the subject of stuff in the living room, a bunch of folks wanted to see the new floors that we got a couple of weeks ago ...

The house is about 1300 square feet in total and the only rooms that didn't get new flooring were the master bathroom (which will be getting new sinks and storage first) and the mudroom ('cuz the washer/drier and the industrial freezer are better on the existing tile).

All of the work took two days with a crew of two Russian guys who work for Empire Flooring (you know the number: 1-800-588-2300) an' cost a little over $12,000.00 with coupons and discounts.







Additionally, Mom got some Sky Panels (Art Ceiling of Oregon) to fill the otherwise boring light fixtures that we have in the kitchen an' living room. She got the idea sitting in the exam chair at the dentist 'cuz he had them up an' they looked so cool. The living room ones didn't photograph well 'cuz the lights were on, but the kitchen ones are sure pretty in this photo.



I'm not gonna show the photos of the tons of boxes an' oodles of junk that got moved around inside the house while stuff was bein' changed 'cuz Mom would wring my neck (it was pretty horrible) ... But I will post photos of the house when it's all decorated for Sandy Clawrs! Keep watchin'!

We have THREE Winners!

Mom went through all thirty-nine comments an' Grandma selected the three winners in our "Super-secret Thanksgiving Commentathon Contest" ... Did you win?!?  I dunno ... Hee, hee.

Here are the three prize winners who'll be getting boxes from their men-in-the-bloo-shorts as soon as they email  me with their snail mail addresses:

1.  Sniffie an' the Florida Furkids

2.  Dr. Tweety of da Fab Five

3.  Catzee

Please email me at daisymaemausATcoxDOTnet with your snail mail address an' your fabulous prize will go zippin' off to you.  Please put "Thanksgiving prize" in the subject heading of your email so that Mom won't accidentally delete your message.  Hurry!

UPDATE:  I have heard from Dr. Tweety an' Little Cat Zee already ... but the Furkids haven't contacted me yet.  All of the packages are ready to go out in Saturday's post!

EVEN MORE UPDATES:  The Squillions won by Samoa an' Percy are finally finished (Could Mom possibly paint any more slowly?!?) ... an' are ready to be packed up for shipping out to Samoa's an' Percy's famblys on Saturday, too!  Mom put a shiny coat of gloss on them an' is waiting for them to have a hard finish before she wraps them in their bubbles an' sends them on their way.

Thanks for bein' so patient with Mom's schedule, Samoa an' Percy.  She says that she thinks that she captured your essence even if your Squillions aren't doppelgangers ...

Happy Thanksgiving (an' BIRTHDAY to Mom)

We wanna wish efurryone in the blogosphere (an' their famblies) a HAPPY TURKEY DAY, but first we wanna wish Mom a happy forty-first birthday.  

She's been sick since Sunday when she got food poisoning drinking a two-ounce sample of Trader Joe's apple cider.  She even stayed home from school (after driving down there to write lesson plans).  

Then she pulled a muscle in her back (the right side) an' paralyzed herself while "prayin' to the porcelain god".  She had to have Grandma drive her to work 'cuz she couldn't do any fine motor things with her right hand.

Now she's better ... or so she claims.  She's promised lots of turkey for us 'cuz she doesn't have much of an appetite.  She hasn't been eatin' much, so she wasn't too thrilled when her students wanted to hug her for her birthday an' they squeezed too hard (she says).

Be thankful for your health this holiday ... an' be sure to share some of those good eats wit' your kitties an' woofies (an' give some green leafy veggies to your buns an' rats)!

Chow down, doods (an' doodettes)!

DMM and the Feline ('urp!  'scuse me!) Americans

Stupidity on Sunday ...

One of Mom's teacher-friends sent this group of newspaper headlines to Mom 'cuz its further proof that 'beans don't necessarily understand the language that they SUPPOSEDLY speak/read/write fluently.  Do you agree??

Proof Readers a Dying Breed

This should really say:  Proof-readers a Dying Breed (Jessica)

Man Kills Self Before Shooting Wife and Daughter
This one I caught in the SGV Tribune the other day and called the Editorial Room and asked who wrote this.  It took two or three readings before the editor realized that what he was reading was impossible!!!  They put in a correction the next day.  

Something Went Wrong in Jet Crash, Expert Says

 No, really? Ya think?

Police Begin Campaign to Run Down Jaywalkers 
 Now that's taking things a bit far!

Panda Mating Fails; Veterinarian Takes Over 
What a guy!  

Miners Refuse to Work after Death
 Good-for-nothing' lazy so-and-so's!

 
Juvenile Court to Try Shooting Defendant 
See if that works any better than a fair trial!

War Dims Hope for Peace 
 I can see where it might have that effect!

 If Strike Isn't Settled Quickly, It May Last Awhile
Ya think?!

Cold Wave Linked to Temperatures 
Who would have thought!?!

Enfield (  London  ) Couple Slain; Police Suspect Homicide  
They may be on to something!

Red Tape Holds Up New Bridges 
You mean there's something stronger than duct tape? Oklahoma's new construction program!?!

Man Struck By Lightning: Faces Battery Charge 
He probably IS the battery charge!

New Study of Obesity Looks for Larger Test Group 
Weren't they fat enough?!

Astronaut Takes Blame for Gas in Spacecraft 
That's what he gets for eating those beans!

Kids Make Nutritious Snacks 
Do they taste like chicken?

 Local  High School Dropouts Cut in Half 
Chainsaw Massacre all over again!

Hospitals are Sued by 7 Foot Doctors (This one IS correct, but "podiatrists" would have been better!)
Boy, are they tall!

And the winner is.... 

Typhoon Rips Through Cemetery; Hundreds Dead 
 Did I read that right?
 
 

Want holiday greetings from DaisyMae an' the FAs?

Hey, efurryone ... I've been doin' my holiday cards an' I realized that I don't have all of your snail mail addresses to send you greetings! If you'd like a greeting from the Feline Americans an' me, please email me at daisymaemausATcoxDOTnet with the address to your house an' I'll send you our 2008 Feline Americans photo card.

If you got greetings from me LAST year an' you haven't moved to a new house between then an' now, you're already on a card ready to be popped into the mail ... If you can't remember (too much 'nip???) or you moved or you didn't get a card, please email me! We're helpin' the economy by ordering cards from Shutterfly an' buyin' lots of little stickers from the man in the bloo shorts.

Email me, okay?
DMM

Holiday Cards for Heroes is ON!

A big thank you to Maggie an' Zoey of Zoolatry for finding the updated address for this year's holiday card campaign for our military personnel!