One Word Wednesday

WARM!

Memorial Monday

The purpose of today's holiday in the US is to remember the men and women who have given their lives for our freedom. Especially at this time, we wish to honor the estimated 5,885 who have died in Iraq and Afghanistan during the past 10 years and also the many who have been injured. As Spitty's Mom points out indirectly by his comment, it is a good time to honor all who serve or have served, whether they were killed or injured, or fortunately not.

This picture is from last year with my American Flag and catnip, because this year's nip plant is still small.

Sunday Sniffing

Here is my pressie from my humans to make up to me for going away. It didn't come in the suitcase, but it came from the garden center yesterday. I hope you all approve. I plan to spend as much time as I can on the deck today along with my new catnip plant.

PhotoHunt - Looking Down

In other matters, yes my humans are home. Many of my friends thought I should punish them for going away, or that they should bring me presents, or SOMETHING. But they came without gifts because the Delta Airlines didn't get their suitcase onto the plane, and I was SO HAPPY to see them that I just purred and snuggled and fawned all over them - I just couldn't hold out. I am fine, I had plenty of window ledge time, no hairball accidents or other mishaps. I am sure I will keep Mommy awake at night purring and purring for several days till I finally become accustomed to their return.

Happy weekend, all. I hope to be better at commenting on your blogs now that I have secretarial help again.

Floofy Friday

I am pretty much napped out. They should be home today, then things will get more interesting.

Thursday's Gardening Post

::3 Paw Taps::

Mom doesn't have any new good outside pictures of me in the garden, but I wanted to show you my Dad's orchid plant. He is especially pleased with the number of flowers on the plant, because orchids are not all that easy to grow, even the "easiest" kind like this one called a Phaelanopsis.
It usually stays in the "kitty free zone" of the living room bay window, but I am actually pretty good and don't try to eat it.

Would you believe that they were willing to leave me home just in the care of a pet sitter, but Dad didn't trust the pet sitter to care correctly for the orchid, so he took it to a friend's house?

Anyhow, they are going to be home very very soon. Next week I hope to post real outside pictures! And better than this one:

Wordless Wednesday

Tabby Tuesday

Mom usually thinks of tabbies as grey or brown cats with black or darker brown stripes orsplotches. However I am an orange tabby. Mom wasn't sure that I really qualified as "tabby", rather thinking of me as a striped "ginger cat". Out of curiosity, Mom looked up "Tabby Cat" on Wikipedia and learned this interesting fact about tabbies, orange tabbies and why you can never get a solid orange cat:

The tabby patterns are due to 3 distinct gene loci and one modifier:

The agouti gene, A/a,^[7] controls whether or not the tabby pattern is expressed. The dominant A reveals the underlying tabby pattern, while the recessive non-agouti or "hypermelanistic" allele, a, prevents it. Solid-color (black or blue) cats have the aa combination, hiding the tabby pattern, although sometimes a suggestion of the underlying pattern can be seen (called "ghost striping"). However, the O gene for orange color suppresses the aa genotype, so there is no such thing as a solid orange cat.

This is from:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tabby_cat

There is more there if you are interested in Tabby Genetics!

Sailing Sunday

Come, kitties, let's get Admiral Hestorb to lead us on a sailing adventure today! See, I have lots of yachts for us to use and the weather is perfect!

Mom and Dad got to see these sailboats gathering and starting in the Leukemia Cup Regatta yesterday. It was quite exciting to watch. They don't know who the winners were: prizes go to the fastest sailboats, but the grand winner is the team raising the most money, which goes to the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society. Isn't that a great idea?

So now let's borrow those boats and sail away, mateys!

PhotoHunt - Cluttered

When Mom saw the PhotoHunt theme for today she said "Perfect - I have a great picture of Simba sitting on the dining room table all cluttered with mail and papers" (our dining room table is ALWAYS like that!). But the picture is nowhere on her laptop. So instead I am posting two pictures from our deck towards the end of last summer, when Dad was getting organized to stain it. All the plants and furniture got pushed together in one part of the deck and it sure looked very cluttered.

Do you see the caterpillar box on the table? And me in the background?

I had to squeeze myself through the spaces between the big tomato pots.

Friggin Floating Away Friday

Mom talked to our neighbor and she told her it had been raining ever since they left. *I* could have told her THAT! Thank goodness this rain doesn't flow into the Mississippi, but it sure is adding to the flooding woes for some people nearby. Luckily our house is on a hill, because I bet the lower part of the back yard is a lake by now.

I think it is about time my humans got home. Srsly.

Canvas Print

Back in mid April, I ended up being the winner in a contest on Caren and Cody's blog for a free canvas print to be made by Easy Canvas Prints. Though I would have loved to have had one made of my beauteous self, I decided to be generous and have the print made of my human sister and her fiance, because they had just had engagement pictures done. Well, it took them a little while to choose WHICH picture to have printed, but finally it has all been done and delivered and we wanted to say that it is very very nice. The size was 8 x 10, and my sister says she thinks she would have preferred to get one in a larger size, due to the canvas texture.

I don't have a "picture of the picture" to show you yet, but I will fill one in if my sis will send it to me.

The whole process was very easy, Mom says. If you would be interested in getting one for yourselves, here is a link to the website:

Easy Canvas Print

Disclaimer: We were not required to give a review in exchange for getting the print and this is our true opinion. We were not compensated in any way other than the free 8 x 10 print.

Few Words Wednesday

This is a picture from last year that Mom had in the computer: what do you think I was thinking?

Toesies on Tuesday

I can lie on the dining room table if I want to. Really I can. Nobody is here to stop me.

I have furries between my toes. But I wish I had extra toes like Ernie. Then maybe I could open the door. Or open the food cans.

Easy Sunday

Maybe I can work out how to get the back door open and go and snooze on the deck today. It would be SO nice. Not having opposable thumbs can have its major downside sometimes. I guess I will snooze on the basement window ledge instead. I can see a lot from there of what is going on in the yard, and I can see when my pet sitter is coming to feed me.

Photo Hunt - Missed

You must be saying "Wait a minute. Simba has a picture of himself for the theme "Missed". That must be a mistake. "

But actually it is not. You see Mom and Dad are away for a short trip and Mom is composing my post for me away from home. So she and Dad are missing me a lot. They don't like to go away and leave me, but sometimes they have no choice. Mom left my blanket folded just like that on the couch for me, and she imagines that I am sleeping just like that on it. Waiting for my pet sitter to come and give me my next meal.

Happy Saturday, everybody. And Blogger better BEHAVE so I can go and read all my friends' blogs!

Friday Blogger Freakout

Looks like Blogger is back up but my Thursday post is gone. Hopefully everything will be working now - it seems as if I can comment again.

Blogger, NO MORE!!

Thursday in the Garden with Simba

::3 Paw Taps::

FINALLY we have had some perfect weather, and I got ot go out with Dad. I showed you one picture of me sniffing the azalea yesterday. Our lilacs were also in bloom for Mother's Day (an annual ritual is for Dad to pick some for Mom for the brekkie table on Mother's Day). Here is another picture near two azalea bushes. When my humans moved into this house, these two plants were itty bitty. Look at them now!

As you can see, we need a little better grass growing in this area, and Dad hopes to give some attention to the lawn here later in the spring and summer. The combination of shade and big trees and shallow roots form the shrubs makes grass struggle.

Of course, azaleas and other bushes do need fertilizer to keep them growing, so I obliged behind this other one near the foundation of the house. A little nitrogen is good for everything!

Wordless Wednesday

Tuesday Tummy

Mom got a new tummy shot of me that she likes. Actually it has less to do with the tummy than with the way I was covering my eyes while I napped. She thought it was pretty cute. I think she is overly involved with me and how I nap, but she didn't wake me so its OK.

Happy Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day to all Moms: Moms of human children, Moms of cat children and Cat Moms of cat children. Mom and I were wondering what to post for Mother's Day until Mom opened the card that I gave her, and decided to show it to you as our post.

Hail to thee, all you Royal Momnesses!

Credits to Hallmark.

Photo Hunt - Digital

Last summer when my human brother got married, the "gals" went to have manicures and pedicures the day before the wedding. Here are three of the sets of toes ("foot digits"). Oh and of course, these are "digital" photos.

Feed Me Friday

Mom says she is "busy" so a pic and not too many words. This is my pose if they sit down to eat and I would like something too. I am very patient, but obvious. How can they resist?

Tummy Time Thursday

Eat your hearts out, kitties!

I entered this picture in OKCats Tummy contest:

http://okcats.blogspot.com/2011/04/tummy-contest.html

Join the fun and submit your own tummy shots if you haven't already done so. Then after the 7th will be the voting.

Wordless Wednesday

Remembrance Sunday

Today, along with many others, I am remembering all the kitties who have gone to the Rainbow Bridge, especially those I knew well who went this past year. My cousin Flossie, Yuu-Chan, Molly, Inigo, Annie, Maurice and Sweet Praline. Also those my humans had before me: Smudge, Kimi, Belle and Rusty. Also my auntie M's kitties Kimi-2 and Amy. From Mom's childhood, Davy, China-cat and Preebo.

I will have Mom look later today for other pictures of Smudge and Kimi, but here is a picture of Rusty and Belle getting to know each other. The only one of these kitties I ever knew in the fur was Rusty: he lived here when I came to live here and we were pretty good buddies.

Later: Here is a picture of the Abyssinian Kimi when she was young: my humans got her before they had any children. Then when my human sister was just a baby, Kimi had 3 kittens. Here she is with her newborn kitties. She was over a year old, but she looks like a kitten herself! She lived till she was 15 years old.

And here is one of the kittens with the baby a few weeks later!

And finally, here is a picture of Smudge. he was my humans' first pet together and he lived for 15 years. He lived in the most places with them, 2 apartments and 2 houses, and even had to live with the grandparents for a while (where this picture was taken) when he was "evicted" from their apartment. For most of his time with them, they also had Kimi, but for a couple of years he was their only baby.

I have Angel Squillions in honor of Smudge, Kimi, Belle and Rusty on my right hand side bar, as well as one in honor of my cousin Flossie, so we are always reminded of them.