Merry Christmas!!!

HAHA - look how tiny I am in this picture.

Some of us may have snow, some not; others may dream the rain and mud is snow.  We will all have a great day! This year I am five but this is my sixth Christmas!  While I have learned to write I do not understand math and did not want to bother my Mom. I am excited because the other Christmases have been a lot of fun! The first Christmas we had Mom's Dad at the house with us. That was my favorite Christmas - I was a kitten and  used to lay in bed with him; we would play and he would sneak me food that I was not supposed to have.   My Mom has explained to me that stars are really spots in Heaven where all of those who have gone before us can look down and watch us.  Tonite at church she will remember all of those loved ones watching over us, and laughing at my antics.

Tomorrow my Mom is cooking again - that's pretty amazing!  Yesterday, we finished decorating the tree and my Mom made more bows for packages. They looked really pretty and like they would taste good. I swear sometimes my Mom can read my mind - she mumbled something about "Gabby chewing on wire" and the packages disappeared into a closet!  And excuse the pun, but my Mom went and bought some picked-over picks at Michael's and put those in the tree...oh, they look like fun. Some are these swiggly things but somehow they all ended up on the parts of the tree I cannot reach!

We wish each of you a happy Christmas Eve and Merry Christmas!

I Have a New Cousin ^..^

Last nite my Mom told me I have a new cousin - his name is Dr. Jekyll! I gave it a lot of thought today and realized that a Duchess (my name from the shelter) is still a step above a doctor so having another cousin is okay with me - I am royalty and the others are not!!! Dr. Jekyll lives with my Aunts and other feline cousin, Harriet Houdini. I saw a picture last nite and they are very happy and cute ^..^

This week we have enjoyed our first flurries at our new home and finished Christmas shopping and wrapping presents. Today, my Mom took presents and mailed them to California with happy Christmas greetings to the Gillespie/Miller and Laude families.  There were the most glorious ribbons I wanted to nibble on but my Mom hid the packages from me.  We have a new tree this year; I do not think it taste as good as the one from last year. It also has colored lights - I really like them!

This week there is a community party and my Mom is hoping to burn some cookies to take.  In preparation she has even bought new cookie sheets...poor thing she tries so hard! I am thankful that my food comes from a can or a bag and my Mom does not cook for me.

How Can You Not Love This Face?

This is me when I was a kitten - I am very very cute if I must say so myself!! Everyone seems to like me.  I run to the door and greet everyone. People say I have quite the personality. Sometimes I have a temper and my tiny pink nostrils flare but all-in-all I think I am a good cat.  I may be a bit demanding (this morning believe it or not my Mom ignored me when I wanted to play at 5am. I hope she does not make a habit of that!), but overall I am well-behaved, lots of fun and much much smarter than any dog!!!!

My Mom told me today that I was adopted. I did not know this and it was a big surprise. I thought there was a resemblance.  The leaves are falling from the trees so we can almost see the shelter. My Mom explained that is where she adopted me and that sadly there were lots of kittens to choose from. I won't tell her this, but I picked my Mom when she came in; she really had no choice once I got her attention. I mean really - look at my darling little face - how can anyone not fall in love with me? Or with any cat? My Mom said today that there are people that don't like cats. I think those are the people that don't know what it is like to have a cat...not only am I smarter than dogs but I can do something a dog can never do - I can purr. Nothing like the sound of a content happy cat. She explained that some of those people also play golf - really, doesn't that tell you something anyhow?

And I am a happy cat because I was able to post today. My Mom has been using the computer and I was glad to have time to write this note and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving!!!

During my time off I learned to draw!!

Those who follow this blog know that I know how to write, and that I can add and subtract very well.  I do not understand division and don't know what this "accounting" stuff is my Mom does sometimes but I think I am pretty smart considering my Mom won't allow me to go to school.  This summer I decided to learn how to draw. Today I completed a self-portrait looking out the window at the birds. I think I did a really good job for a first effort!  It is in black and white; when I asked my Mom for some water-colors she just laughed. I also wanted them to paint my white hair black for Halloween but I guess not this year! Christmas is coming so maybe I will get some paint then. I do have to start making my wish-list.  Y'all should be doing the same. There are less than 50 days to Christmas. I heard my Mom telling our neighbor the other day that we have a new Christmas tree. I hope this one taste as good as the last one. I love the holidays!

I Could Not Find the Power Button

My Mom bought a new computer about a month ago - it is an "all-in-one." I don't know what that means but when I jump on the desk I can no longer step all over a bunch of keys until I find the power button. So for the past month I have not been able to write because I could not find the power button. I cannot find that little cup holder I like to spin around and play with either, which is really disappointing!

Tonite my Mom turned the computer on for me so I am just writing a quick note to say "hi!" She also showed me where the power button is on the monitor so I can start writing again. I have missed everyone - I send belated happy birthday wishes to Kelly, Megan, Kathy, my Aunt Mary, and my Mom's good friend, Jan, who has been battling cancer for the past two years. My Mom said sometimes it is good to grow old(er).

Last week I went to the veterinarian. My liver values are normal again which my Mom was very excited about ^..^ I have gained weight. I did lay on my back with my paws in the air next to the Pilates machine last week so I am hoping that counts as exercise!

How Much is that Bug in the Window??

My Mom said I could write this myself only if I remind everyone that September is National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month. We just heard Kelly is coming home today from her chemo and my Mom did another happy dance though she was sorry that Kelly stayed longer than expected - My Mom says Kelly is very special and sometimes she thinks the hospital just likes having her around as much as we do and they won't let her out. Love you Kelly!

We continue to raise money for CHOC by donating a portion of proceeds from the non-toxic skincare my Mom is selling.

The other day my Mom was working and I was "resting" when I saw something in the window. It was some funny-looking bug; my Mom said it was a baby praying mantis. I don't know how old my Mom is but she says when she was growing up praying mantis were extinct and you were not allowed to kill them. I think that was around the time dinosaurs were extinct so she must be really old!!! I thought it was kind of ugly and had heard they change colors and can sort of look like a stick but this one was very tiny.  I watched the bug and the bug watched me. Eventually that made me very tired so I took a nap!

Yesterday, my Mom opened the windows. I learned what rustling leaves sound like - it scared me at first. I had never heard such a lot of noise and it seemed to be coming from nowhere. My Mom said it was nice to have the windows open. I heard some birds!

Five Years and Counting ^..^

On the 29th of August we celebrated my five year anniversary since my Mom brought me home. I remember that day like it was yesterday. They shoved me into some red carrier that I did not like at all so I started screaming and meowing and crying; at that point my Mom named me "Gabby" because I was not quiet the entire way home. I actually managed to pretty much destroy the very pretty carrier my Mom bought special for me.  And you can see below that I accomplished this in a drugged state. I had surgery at the shelter the day I came home and still managed to make my wishes known, bleary eyes and all! And look, even then I just loved to eat!!!

My Mom had a "safe room" prepared for me but I did not like that either. I discovered a bed in another room right after we got home and I wanted to stay in there...that was the start of me running the house. My Mom let me sleep in her bed and stay in her room when she was not home and I was very very happy!  I have heard that the first nite I was there I scared my Mom - she woke up and thought something was wrong - it was my pink nose!!!! Chessie had a black nose. Five years later I think I have my Mom pretty well trained if I must say so myself!

Kelly Gets A New Port

Several weeks ago my Mom told me that Kelly's port did not work and she may have to have it replaced. We prayed that it would fix itself but that was not to be.  Tomorrow, Kelly will have her port replaced. It is an out-patient procedure but Kelly will be very sore following surgery. We are sending good wishes and prayers to Kelly and hope you will too. My Mom explained to me that the port keeps the doctors and nurses from poking and prodding Kelly when she has bloodwork and chemo. Since I only have one good vein and the vet techs do that to me I know how much that hurts too so the port is a good thing to have.  I heard from my Mom that Kelly will be at home in bed - I hope Sadie and Murphy are able to cuddle with her and make her feel better! We send you much love, meows and hugs Kelly! I will curl up in bed and await good news that Kelly is feeling better...

Oh Deer x Four!

Today we saw the deer twice.  My Mom says that the two we saw this afternoon are getting antlers. I don't know what that means but I know I do not have any antlers!  Tonite there were four deer out back!  We took some pictures so everyone could see them...not much else is going on in my life. My Mom talked to the deer and they twitched their ears at her and stood there. She threw them an apple to eat. If I am awake tonite I will keep my eye on it .Today I napped, then ate, napped and ate some more. My Mom tried to get me to play before she left for work but I was a tad tired and wanted to go back to bed. This afternoon I felt a nap would be a good thing - it was cloudy! Tomorrow I think I may have to sleep in because it is supposed to be a rainy day!

My Mom got a new printer to use for work to print color copies since the Ava Anderson brochures are so brightly colored. I guess I do not need to tell you the first thing we printed as a test page was a picture of me - I looked really cute with my peacock feather and big eyes!  Here are the deer, and yes, you can see their antlers ^..^

"It's Complicated"

Last nite I asked my Mom if we could email my boyfriend, Victor, who is in the Navy stationed in Japan. While you have seen I can use the computer those tiny little keys on the Blackberry are troublesome for me because of my claws! So we emailed and almost right away we heard back!!!! I was so very excited because I have been very scared since we moved that Victor will not be able to find me. I was also worried that he would be despondent and very upset when he came home and I was not sitting at the front door of the house waiting for him and staring longingly at his Jetta.  My Mom read me the email and we were both very happy to learn that Victor may be home within two months and then in Florida for a year training to be a Navy search and rescue swimmer. I so hope that works out because maybe we will get to see him more....maybe. Victor does not know I know it but he has a girlfriend.  She's a human and very very pretty. Last nite I had nice dreams of seeing Victor again soon!

I Won the Battle and the War!!

This is my table. At the house it used to sit by the front window and I could watch Esther Bunny, the squirrels and the birds from either the bottom shelf or the top shelf. The reason I love my Aunt Mary so much is that I have the table because of her!!! My Mom moved it into the living room temporarily and then my Aunt Mary did not need the table so it became mine. My Mom said she did not want it in the living room but I loved having it there.

When we moved I did not know where the table went. I thought I saw it in the laundry room with wire baskets of laundry and cleaning supplies but believed I must be mistaken - it was, after all, my table and why wouldn't it be in the living room again? I used to wonder about that a lot and though I have these really great windowsills here and my Mom put another table in front of the door so I was high enough to see out, I missed my table. I have been sort of mopey since we moved and today my Mom went in the laundry room and brought out my table. I was very excited and got right up on top of it. It is very dreary and rainy here today so there was not much to see. My Mom says she does not want the table in the living room here either so I had better sit on it or she will take it away again. I don't believe her or she would have never have gotten it out. But when I was sitting on it I made sure to dig my claws in so that if Mom tried to move it I would have to go in the laundry room too! That would be pretty neat actually because I don't know what is in there because I am not "allowed."  I have snuck in a few times but my Mom throws me back out so I really want to know what is in there that's so interesting. I will make that my next goal to conquer ^..^

A Tisket A Tasket

I sit in a yellow basket!!! I just love baskets - usually the smaller the better, which means I do not fit in them very well.  This one has a handle. I was hopeful that my Mom would carry me around in it because I am lazy but instead that awful bright light flashed in front of my face! I hate that.

When my Mom came home today she told me about her friend Missy who has four cats - Oliver, Theodore, Platinum and Simba.  On Saturday, Theodore will be 19 years young ^..^  Many wishes for a happy birthday Theodore! My Mom needs to use the computer but I wanted to send birthday purrs and meows!

And as one final thought does anyone know what a tisket or a tasket are?

My Mom Has A Fun New Opportunity!

Everyone knows my Mom says I need to get a job. I have no intention of working and believe that is illegal - after all I am only five years old! And I need a lot of rest - hours of rest a day! So my Mom took advantage of an opportunity to be a represtentative for Ava Anderson NonToxic. She is really excited - and yes, there was dancing!  My Mom so believes in non-toxic products and says she is green. She does not look green to me but maybe I do not know my colors as well as I write.  I know I am alive only because she feels so strongly that nothing should harm us. I was very lucky to have chosen my Mom because I live in a house with no chemicals. I am happy now we can everything organic and non-toxic!

Please check out my Mom's website and get in touch with her if you have any questions:

www.avaandersonnontoxic.com/patlehr

My Mom will have samples of products and though I hate to even say it, if you come visit us maybe she will feed you - just don't let her actually COOK anything for you! She has a horrid habit of burning everything.

I was Sick and all I got was a Peacock Feather!

This past week I was sick. My Mom ran all around to Annapolis, Glen Burnie, Gambrills, Severna Park and Crofton buying venison food. I did not want those foods - I wanted my own food. Now I am eating something else that I like so Friday I did not have to go get my ultrasound. That is good because I did not want my tummy shaved; my hair just grew back! This food is not my favorite and my Mom is not happy because it is not hypo-allergenic but now that I have seen those deer in the back of our condo I don't care to eat venison anymore!  My Mom says I have never seen a buffalo and if we do see one in the backyard we have more serious issues than my food so maybe we will try that next :)

Anyhow, last Sunday my Mom went to Annapolis to this really neat pet store. (Later I overheard her telling everyone is she had a lot of money she would open a similar store in the building right in front of where we live).  If you have known me for awhile you know I make it a rule never to play. My idea of playing is to watch my Mom throw balls, pieces of paper and fake mice around the room while I sit and watch! But Mom brought this peacock feather home and it was fun...for about ten minutes and then I had broken it into two pieces. Monday nite I played with one of those pieces throwing it up in the air, rolling around on the floor with it and having a good time. But I realized later that was not a good thing because I do not want to ruin my reputation as a sloth. Really I have no clue what a sloth is;  it does not sound very nice but that is who I am and I do not want humans to think I will demean myself and play with them. And look what happens when I play - my eyes look like they are going to pop out of my head...not an attractive look at all for me.

My Mom says I must thank my Aunts - Mary, Whitney, Donna, Joy (who even went to the pet food store in Oregon!) and Marilyn for sending good thoughts my way this week - thank you so much!

This Picture is Embarassing!

This afternoon I am not feeling well - Friday nite I loved my new food and now I don't like the food at all (actually it is foods because my Mom keeps coming home with new versions of venison!) and so am not eating. I overheard my Mom saying the veterinarian was coming this afternoon so I decided to hide and take a nap.  My Mom found me and took my picture. I was in the middle of yawning and do believe I am entitled to some privacy. I believe it will be even worse when they arrive because they are going to weigh me. I do not know any female who likes to be weighed!!

I know my Mom is upset that I am not eating but I am really ticked. This morning about 12:30 I sat on her head and wondered what her nose would taste like because I am really really hungry.  At 3:27 AM we were up again but no good food came my way. For about an half-hour after that I sat on my pillow and flicked my lethal weapon around hitting my Mom in the face so she would know I am displeased. Today my Mom went and bought some other food that was recommended. It was weird and looked like a dog's jerky treat. I would not eat that at all.  I did bat it around the floor for a few minutes. I just don't think I want to eat venison anymore.  I would like something different.  My Mom had a pretzel this afternoon; I thought it smelled really good but as usual, no people food at all!

Sometimes I Really Impress Myself ^..^

So, my plan was to wake my Mom at 4AM to see if she would play again this morning. About 4AM on the dot I start screaming.  We did not play but my Mom did get up to give me food! I had spent part of the nite picking the new food out of the bowl and eating it, leaving the old food.  Mom seemed pretty amazed (and a tad dismayed) by this!  I sat and stared at the bowl with my lethal weapon flipping back and forth, while I cried loudly, until I got more new food mixed in...then I picked that out and ate some more :) At 6AM we were both still awake and my Mom kept poking me - She said if she could not sleep I was not going to sleep either.  Right now I am getting ready to hide under a chair because when I tried to sleep before my Mom took my picture. I do not mind getting my picture taken but I do not like the flash. Here I am about 7AM this morning "not sleeping:"

Tell me after reading all of these posts, who do you think runs things in our condo?  I am pretty sure it is me.  I have really trained my Mom well. I am also learning how to tell time even without making a clock out of a paper plate and construction paper hands! Perhaps the digital clock makes it easier.  I think being a well-rounded cat who can write, tell time and be conversant is very important. Have a nice Saturday! 

My Food Keeps Changing!!!!

It has been a very very strange week. My Mom went to the veterinarian's office to pick up my food but when she brought it home it was not the same. It is "new and improved." It looks like tiny pieces of butterscotch, which really did not appeal to me. I must admit after all these years of the same hypo-allergenic food I was excited at first but the food did not look or taste good. I started just spitting it out and I have been HUNGRY. This morning at 4AM I started that screaming I do and that was fun because we were able to play at about 4:30AM. I may try that again tomorrow morning too!  My Mom called Hill's about the change this AM and they told her to put oregano on top of my food - YUCK! My Mom has jokingly been saying something about brownies and a pot that everyone finds funny, but I don't understand the joke. Honestly, sometimes people think they are funny and they really are not. Cats are much funnier and so are dogs.

Today, my Mom put the food back in the bag and returned it. She came home with another bag of food - the veterinarian and her tech, Robin (I love both of them if they don't act like vampires when they visit!) went to a store in Annapolis and brought a bag of food back up to the office for my Mom to pick up. That was just the nicest thing for them to do. It is venison but I hear that if I can eat this it will be better than the Hill's hypo-allergenic food because it won't make me fat - the way I understand that, I can just eat more, correct?  My Mom opened the bag but she counted out only a few little pieces and then sealed it up and put it away.  I ate those little pieces and liked the food. Out came a little bowl of my old food. Well, I don't really want that; I have decided that I want the new food but Mom won't let me have anymore...are you all impressed that I know how to properly insert a semi-colon??? Not every cat knows that! Below is a picture of me during grammar and English class. I am very atttentive as you can see. I believe this was the lesson on capitalization and quite frankly I was a bit bored :)

Happy Weekend to all!  We are going to finish painting the bedroom we hope this weekend. My Mom was sliding the bed around  before so I helped by jumping on top and taking a spin around the room.

Christmas in July!

We had a very nice weekend pretending it was not 110 degrees in the shade.  My Mom wished I would stop shedding but at least she has finally learned not to comb me with the ceiling fan whirling around!  Friday nite my Mom came home with the same color hair she had when she left. I am not sure what happened there but I still see gray ^..^

Saturday, we did not do anything during the day but watch Christmas shows and listen to Christmas music. It sure did not feel like Christmas - it was very HOT!  Saturday nite my Mom rushed around and out the door she went to a quarter auction. She came home (very broke!) with Christmas goodies she had won and took my picture.  I thought she was gone just a tad too long so if you look closely you will see that while I am excited about the Christmas prizes my nostrils are flaring! I was just a bit perturbed, particularly as I won't get any of the ice cream from the gift card...

My Mom says the best part was for sure not dinner. Her nachos had bacon in them but she had the best dinner of all - everyone else had even worse food. Next time they will eat at the church. The best part was my Mom's best friend and husband met them for dinner and then all four sweated it out in the church hall! I have forgiven my Mom for coming home late because I very much love my Aunt Marilyn and I would stay out late with her also!!!

See my nostrils flaring - I am impressed because really I have never seen this before. I look both mean and cute!

Chessie Did a Great Job Training my Mom to be my Mom!

In 1988 when my Mom was two she travelled to Richmond to see Robert Goulet in "South Pacific."  My Mom says it was brutally cold for the fall and her friend Jeannie's daughter brought home a kitten that nite who was so tiny she fit in my Mom's hand.  She had the tiniest blue eyes and a Nike swish under her eye. My Mom did not want another cat but Jeannie said if she did not bring the kitten home then the kitten had to go back out into the cold parking lot where the mother-cat and human-family had abandoned the kittens. My Mom brought Chesterfield home in the car with her at the end of the weekend. Mom called her that because she was found in Chesterfield County, Virginia. It was much simpler to call her "Chessie," and so my Mom did until five years ago today when she was very ill and had to be put to sleep. Like me, Chessie had a lot of health problems from the time she came home until she died. She was not socialized like me and did not like anyone but my Mom - she would hiss at everyone else and hide inside the sofa bed my Mom moved three times so Chessie would have it. But Mom says Chessie was always very happy and content and loved her life. She taught my Mom to be happy, find time to play, and ultimately, how to die with dignity. It was a hard lesson in 2005 but one that would be a blessing and a huge help because 2005 was not a good year for anyone in our family.

My Mom honored Chessie's memory by finding another little homeless kitten - me! - and by continuing to serve with two great friends as moderators of a feline chronic renal insufficiency group.  My Mom is blessed to have had great advice from that group and has two great friends - Donna and Joy. I have cousins - Callie, Bat and Emerald. Catalina, my other cousin, lives with Chessie until we see her again...

But here's the thing - I think Chessie was a goody-two-shoes!!! Apparently, she did not flare her nostrils, her tail was not a lethal weapon and she did not have a temper. I have overheard my Mom commiserate about trying to give me pills and remembering that no matter what the pill was if she put it on the counter and asked Chessie would simply eat it for her. I just think that is very odd behavior for a cat, even if it was a Southern cat with nice Southern manners! My Mom says I am her "payback cat," for having such an easy-going cat ^..^ She always laughs when she says it so I know it is okay that we are different and that she loves us both very very much!

Can Someone Help me PLEASE?

Today has not been a good day. I was locked in a room this morning with my Mom. My Mom was working - people kept talking out of the phone and computer but I could not see them. She said they were in a webinar so I think that they may have actually been talking spiders.

Anyhow, I had to stay in the room with her because there were carpenters here and my Mom did not want me to get out. No matter how long I stared at the doorknob it would not turn and no matter how much scratching I did I could not get out. Eventually my Mom let me out and I am now sitting in the master bedroom watching the carpenter. There is a very large nail gun in here with me. My Mom locked it in the closet so I could not step on it. I don't ever know why my Mom tries to lock me in rooms; it never works! I am always able to get out if I cry enough...I am happy to see that skill moved with me to our new home!

My Mom bought paint yesterday for the bedroom under the chairrail - it is called lime granita. It is a very pretty color and will look nice and cheerful!  The curtains arrived for the awful room I was locked in this morning. My Mom said we were hanging those later tonite after she got her hair highlighted to hide the gray...well she did not mention the gray but I am not in a good mood so I will - last laugh and all of that!

Here I am staring with my evil eye and still the door would not open!

Can Someone Tell Me If "Annoying" is a Good Thing?

Today is my Grandmother's Birthday - tomorrow everyone but me gets to go out to dinner and then come back to the condo and have cake and ice cream!  I will jump on the table and otherwise try to disrupt but still I will not get any cake or ice cream. Happy Birthday!!!


This morning about 5AM I started my daily howling. My Mom did not seem to be in the mood to get out of bed or for me to be scratching all of the furniture. She called me "annoying." I do not know what that means but it does not sound like a good thing! But she did get up and tried to get me to play. I have her well-trained - she plays and I sit and watch. My Mom says now that we do not have steps, and since I will not use the Pilates machine, I will either have to exercise or stop eating so much because I was overweight  before we moved and now even more so.  Right now I am curled up in a ball inside the new sheets my Mom just washed getting hair all over them so I am thinking today is not the day I will have to play or exercise.



We did get the new faucets - I love them!  Look how comfortable I look drinking yesterday! My Mom says if I keep getting her up in the middle of the nite she is going to drink more than water...

I feel the Earth move under my paws...

This morning we were wandering around the condo about 5AM and I felt the floor moving underneath me when I walked. My Mom said she thought we were having an earthquake! I think I should just stay in bed all day and sleep so I don't have to feel that again - I did not like it. I was in the sink getting a drink of water but got down really quickly and went back to bed. My Mom says today is a good day for me - we are finally getting the new faucets installed! While she seems concerned about matching metals and hating chrome I will be happy to be able to get a drink more easily...and really, that is why my Mom bought them. So far, I have gotten a lot of new stuff - a water filter because I would not drink out of the sink at all with the smell of chlorine, a ceiling fan because I did not like the fan blowing on me, two new faucets and some other stuff...but still, I miss the front door and I worry my boyfriend in the Navy will come home and not know where I am.

Hugs and Love to Kelly

Last July my Mom was very very excited (more dancing around!) because her friends visited from California - Kevin, Kathy, Megan, Kelly and Shannon (that's Shannon with me!) came to visit. First everyone spent the day in DC and then the following weekend they visited us at the house.  I was super happy too because they are very special and nice people. Kathy is my personal favorite because sometimes she and my Mom IM late at nite here on the East Coast so I get to sprawl all over the entire bed!!!

As many of you know, Kelly has been battling a brain tumor since she was 14 years old. Kelly still goes for chemo every three weeks. This is her chemo week and on those days we send extra-special thoughts and prayers to Kelly so that she is quickly back home with her pets and parents - I am sorry to say more dogs - Murphy and Sadie. My Mom seems to confuse Sadie with Sophie the dancing moose a lot.

I thought I was a cat but now they say I am an ant!

On Saturday my Mom started dancing all around the condo and swinging me around - she was very excited and happy and said I was going to be an ant. I have seen ants - they get in my food and I don't like them. They make the floor look like it is moving and I don't want to be an ant. I was happy being a cat. Ants seem to do a lot of work and I don't really do anything. I have staff here so in order to be an ant I would have to be that queen they always talk about so the other ants would scurry around and eat poison for me.

Anyhow, eventually I learned that I am to be an AUNT - and actually I am now officially Aunt Gabby to a wonderful baby boy named Rylan born on July 10, 2010 to my Mom's best friend's daughter. I am as excited as my Mom and cannot wait to see a picture. Rylan is 21 inches long and weighed 7.6 pounds. We love you Whitney, Gary, Sammy and Rylan!

Oh Deer!

I used to be able to see a lot of things out the front door and now see birds and other animals outside the windows. I like the birds and talk to them. I dislike the squirrels and flare my nostrils at those and my tail, which is registered as a lethal weapon, seems to move on its own!  We used to have a bunny - Esther Bunny - out front. I was never sure about her. She would sit there and no matter how agitated I was all I would see is a nose moving up and down.  I have also seen dogs - you know, those silly animals that are always yipping, yapping or barking?  Last nite I saw something that looked like a big dog but I did not know what it was. I stretched my neck out like a giraffe for a closer look but still did not know. I looked at my Mom and she must have noticed something outside had caught my attention. She looked and said they were deer - two of them frollicking out back. One was very large, the other smaller. They were hopping about and looked happy.  The smaller of the two flew up in the air and back into the woods. We did take a (rather poor quality) picture of the larger deer.

Last week my Mom showed me the two beavers that live out back. I thought they were rather creepy and ugly slinking about. The deer were very cute and my Mom says we may see them at dusk a lot. No clue what dusk is but I will have to find out...rain this AM so I am snuggled in bed!

I used to be royalty

Today I thought I would help my Mom by typing a post...I was born royalty. My name was Dutchess until my Mom brought me home. She said that my name would be "Gabby." I like my name but don't think it has quite the royal ring to it as Dutchess. Though I no longer wear a crown I do expect that people will treat me like I am very special!  I also don't talk to much - she named me Gabby because when I came home to live I screamed and clawed from inside the carrier the entire way home.  I am royalty and did not belong in a carrier.

I came from a shelter. I was in a cage with two other kittens; they looked nothing like me and the shelter worker said they were my brothers. I do not think they were - I had never seen them before and have not seen them since!  One day a woman came and walked around and around and I decided she should be my Mom so I nudged past those two "brothers" and sat right at the front of the cage. My Mom saw me and was so excited and happy. Since then I have learned that she is really not my Mom - I am adopted!  

Gabby and Morris ^..^

Hello!  Since I was a kitten everyone says that my Mom should write a book about my life.  Really she did not pay much attention to that but then saw "Julia and Julie" and thought maybe my life should be memorialized - really I am much cuter than Morris, I too came from a shelter and I am very entertaining during the 1/2 hour each day I am awake!

My life during the past month has been rather awful. For a month or so there were boxes everywhere. Then one day I was locked in a room and brought out and put unceremoniously in my carrier. We moved from a house where I had a front door to look out of to where we live now - in a brand new condo. It has a lot of big windows but not so many birds. My Mom keeps sliding across the hardwood floor in her socks and I know she will fall on me one day and smash me!  So the first days we were here I just decided I would not eat! If you ever saw me you would understand what a sacrifice that was. I love to eat!

We have gotten settled and I learned a new trick. I am, on a daily basis, learning to walk on the window sills and destroy the curtains. Did I mention that I have my claws and like them a lot? The good thing is that my Mom has never yelled at me or hit me. People say I am spoiled :)