Archive for the 'Cats' Category
Today’s the All-Star game, and even the cats are getting into the spirit.
That’s Miss Timmy, aka Little Timmy Fast Paw, the closer on the baseball team Melissa and I are forming, the Whatif Puddin’s. We’re still short a few players, so we figured we’d give you an update and see if your have any prospects to help round out our roster. To sweeten the deal, we’ll send one of Miss Timmy’s cards to anyone who proposes an addition to our team. Cats only! No dogs, gerbils, ferrets, budgies, or rabbits. (Although Archy says he wouldn’t mind a gerbil or a budgie—wink, wink!)
First off, pitching:
We’re a bit short-handed here. We’ve got Little Timmy Fast Paw, who’ll keep the team ahead in the ninth. Archy “Mad Eye” Katz will lead off our rotation, but after that we’re coming up empty. We could use another four pitchers for our rotation–and a few more good paws for the bullpen.
Catching:
We’re hoping to draft Penny from Seattle for the season. Nothing got by her back when she lived at my house (particularly not other ctas), so we think she’ll do a fine job covering the plate. We need an additional cat (large paws preferred) to act as back-up catcher.
Infield:
Sparky will be playing first. We’re putting Oliver from next door at short—first because she is short, but also because with her crush on Sparky she’ll jump at every chance to “make a play” with him. We’re also sounding out my friend Ellen to see if her cat, Toonces, wants to be our utility infielder. He’s the kind of cat who’s at home all over the place (the entire neighborhood is his fan base), so we think he’ll be able to work comfortably at a variety of positions. That leaves us still looking for second and third base.
Outfield:
Bea “The Black Hole” Schwartz-Noir will be playing right field. That way she can keep an eye on her nemesis Sparky. We expect she’ll suck in balls with the efficiency of a singularity. Damian “Mr. Whippy” will be playing center. (We confess that we told him he’s at center because he’s the center of the game—but it’s really because we think he’ll do the least damage out there.) That leaves us in need of a left fielder and a utility outfielder as well, just in case Damian strains his tail or knocks out one of his teammate’s teeth in a wild gallupmh toward the ball.
Designated Hitter:
Neither Melissa nor I believe in the DH, but it doesn’t hurt to be prepared. We’re thinking the neighborhood scrounge, Mooch, will be just the fellow to “clean up” at the plate.
Staff:
Maggie “Ma” Moo-Woozle will be our equipment manager. She can use her excellent wood-furniture-destroying skills to customize the players’ bats. We’re making Mortimer, who lives in terror of pretty much everything (I thinks he’s afraid of nothing, too, so far as that goes), third-base coach. That way he can focus on just yelling “Run! Run! Run!” Positions still open: coach, first-base coach, pitching coach, and trainer.
So—if you have cats who are ready to play ball, send us their stats. We promise them a full-season contract with a no-trade clause.
P. S. In case you hadn’t guessed, the artwork comes courtesy of Melissa. You can see her art here and read her blog here.
July 14 2009 | Baseball and Cats and Tuesday Mewsday | 4 Comments »
Large, handsome, enthusiastic orange and white cat seeks employment as a computer assistant/muse. Giant paws enable stepping on multiple keys simultaneously, resulting in new and creative keyboard commands. Powerful whippy tail can disconnect working USB cables, resulting in corrupted external hard drives and lost iTunes libraries. Possible employment as a WMD. Bonus: also makes an excellent paperweight. Current human does not appreciate my skill set. Ask for Damian.
April 22 2009 | Damian | 3 Comments »
I have such fun when the pictures for the new season of Drops patterns are posted, though I’m finding a bit less that charms me this time around than I udually do—but that may be due to my cold or to the nature of summer knits. As a result, I don’t have ten favorites this time, but I have picked out six that I’ll be looking for over the next few months.
l-089 (aren’t those Drops pattern names poetical?):
A cute, simple bag that would work well in any of the organic cotton yarns currently on the market.
0-284
Not really summer wear and the mohair might itch, but definitely worth having a go at in Malabrigo when autumn’s a bit closer.
r-540
A graceful lttle piece.
sa-057
This would look terrible on me, but I think it would be great fun to knit.
sa-056
This one I can definitely imagine wearing.
z-416
Ok—this would make many women look like linebackers, but wouldn’t it beit knida cool on the right person?
January 15 2009 | Beatrice and Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
I’m having one of those fortuitous moments when the right yarn and the right pattern join together to create knitting that’s pure pleasure.
The Pattern is Iris from Sunflower Designs. (Below is a picture of the designer’s original piece, not my version—I can’t take any credit at all, except for having the good sense to find this stole irresistable.)
This pattern calls for 5,000+ seed beads, which I admit I am not using: they would no doubt look lovely, but would seriously reduce the likelihood of my every finishing this piece.
The yarn is Blue Heron Egyptian Mercerized Cotton in Old Gold. (That’s it there on the right.) Note that clicking on the Blue Heron link may induce drooling, lust, and uncontrollable yarn acquisition. I will not be held responsible for the consequences.
Melissa’s misplaced her camera at the moment, so I can’t show you pictures of the delightful union of these two, but I’ll try to correct that situation soon.
Now, if my work would only do itself, so I could stick to knitting.
January 12 2009 | Damian and Uncategorized | 4 Comments »
Melissa found this beauty at Dover Cards.
Damian would love to have one of his own, but I’m afraid he’d be a bit overeager about using the horn.
January 06 2009 | Beatrice and Curious Creek Fibers and FOs and Spartacus and Uncategorized and WIPs and Yarn Reviews | 1 Comment »
You may have noticed that this is a busy time of year for Sarah-Hope and Melissa, between teaching and art shows and whatnot. As a result, the cats have taken to entertaining themselves, and have subscribed to Netflix. Their favorite movie so far is “Sunset Boulevard,” and they’ve been practicing their Gloria Swanson/Norma Desmond “ready for my closeup” attitudes.
Here’s Archy:
Maggie:
Damian:
And of course, the Original:
Who do you think does the best impersonation?
November 18 2008 | Cats and Tuesday Mewsday | 3 Comments »
My friend Ellen (actually I have three friends Ellen; this is my virologist, bird-watching, opera-loving friend Ellen), sent me a wonderful pair of photos taken by her trip leader on a recent birding jaunt to Brazil. This is no zoo animal. It’s an honest-to-gosh jaguar in his (her?) natural habitat, stretched out along a tree branch for simultaneous relaxation and prey-spotting.
Look at the size of his nose and ears and paws, so clearly the tools of an alpha predator. Not to mention the enormous muzzle—the better to bite you with!
Ellen’s email to me noted that “[The photographer] took them standing at the back of an open boat about 18 feet long. I was sitting on a bench seat near the front of the same boat. I don’t know how big a telephoto lens he was using, but these are stills from his videocam.”
Addendum by Melissa:
Damian is not impressed by the jaguar.
He says anyone can see that the jaguar is so much smaller than he is. He has NO idea.
August 05 2008 | Damian and Uncategorized | 3 Comments »
We’ve often written about how helpful our cats are. They take their household duties seriously, and none more so than Damian. Living in an artist’s live/work loft has given him many opportunities to offer his input and assistance.
When he was a wee lad, his main duty was to do a close-up inspection of paintings in progress. He did this by running full speed across the floor, leaping onto the easel, and scaling the painting until he ended up perched on top of the canvas. He was always quick to point out the newly-formed scratches and claw-holes that he found. Now that he has grown into his full 20-pound glory I try to discourage this type of inspection, but with his rigorous work ethic he is not easily dissuaded.
Enter the new scratching post! I found this pristine deluxe perch at a yard sale –a steal at $5!– and happened to put it near my painting area. Damian loves it, and it lets him examine my canvases at close range, and, best yet, even while lying down.
He still gets excited about his work:
And often offers unique perspectives in his critiques:
Maggie helps too. Her forte is wood-carving. She’s working on reshaping this stepstool:
Wildfires in Santa Cruz
On a more serious note, you may have heard of the wildfires in the hills above Santa Cruz. Town Cats, a no-kill shelter, is taking donations to help the Taj Meow Animal Sanctuary, which was completely destroyed in the blaze. Please click here if you can help.
[Another guest post by Melissa]
May 27 2008 | Cats and Damian and Maggie and Tuesday Mewsday | 3 Comments »
I adopted Sparky as part of a pair—two brothers I named Spartacus and Woodrow. Without meaning to slight Woody, I have to admit that early on Sparky was by far the more handsome of the two (though Woody did begin to blossom into a fine specimen of Tom-dom as the months passed). To balance things out, I decided I’d better give Sparky a “homely” middle name, and I chose Eugene (pronounced in the Russian way, you-GAIN-ee).
Now that Sparky’s older and broader in the beam and Woody has left us for fields of celestial catnip, a “homely” name doesn’t seem necessary—or even appropriate. My first thought was Gaylord, which was almost right. Almost, but not quite. Then it dawned on me: Gladstone.
Behold: Spartacus Gladstone Keeper. It suits him don’t you think?
May 20 2008 | Cats and Spartacus and Tuesday Mewsday | 1 Comment »
… touch your nose with your tongue? Penny can!
May 13 2008 | Cats and Penny and Tuesday Mewsday | 3 Comments »
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