Grace sez...

I had to endure 8 days without my bean. =( Audace and Ruse slept a lot, as did I, but they also got a great kick out of chasing me ... and I hate that. I screamed a lot to let them know I don't like that game.

The grandbeans came over several times, thank heaven. Austen fed us and took care of our other daily needs; Parker and Kira came to share their lunches and to play. We liked that!

Our bean was visiting somewhere way up north where the weather must have really been cold and wet. When she returned, she had some very unusual smells on her and those big black rolling things she brought back into the house. Our noses were working overtime, trying to figure it all out. Here are photos of two critters whom she visited:

Charlotte

Ollie

Now we're gearing up to tolerate all the fireworks that will be shot off by neighbors up and down the street and in the houses behind us. It'll be noisy, but we'll all huddle up with our bean, and eventually, all will be fine again. Also, our bean promises new photos and videos soon. I'll believe that when I see them!!

Precious little snow for us!! Sniff, sniff!

Snow was predicted for the whole area around Houston, and we were all excited. But, as it turned out, we got little flurries once in a while and NOTHING stuck to the ground! Nothing!! Our bean's blog (<~~click here) has a couple of photos and videos -- and you can see the almost nothingness of snow in this area! We, however, stayed toasty warm -- and never really noticed!

This morning, though, EVERYTHING outside is covered with white stuff! Our bean says it's frost (24 degrees right now), not snow, but we think it's pretty anyway!

UPDATE: Photos of frost!! ~~> click here

Hugging?

These two are something else! Most of the time, they are in their separate corners or chasing their mom or snoozing on my bed. Here, however, they look as if they're hugging! Well, they must be. Pals for life, right?

Recent "portraits"!!

I took these with my phone's camera the other evening. I decided I need recent photos of my darlin's that can always be with me. These turned out cute!

Ruse is practicing being cute and adorable!


Audace is sitting up very straight!


Grace seems to be winking at me, funny girl!

Congratulations to Little Bitsy! Cutest Dog!!

Little Bitsy won the cutest dog competition in Week 12 of this competition! Congratulations, Little Bitsy!! We love you! ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

Cooler weather

The a/c has been off for a while now, and no need for the furnace yet. I guess Grace is OK with snuggling up to her pillow ...


... but Audace and Ruse are moving toward their wintertime mode of snoozing -- with, on, and smack up next to each other!

Princess's Special Day!

I've posted before about this little one -- Princess Meow Meow! Such a little beauty! Anyway, today is her lady-garden-ectomy -- actually it's over, and we'll be going to pick her up after 4 pm this afternoon. She will then spend the next week or so in grandbean Austen's room. Now we'll find out if she can be an indoor kitty, an indoor/outdoor kitty, or solely an outdoor kitty. It'll be her call. She's had complete freedom up to now, and I'll bet she won't give that up. We'll see.

Anyway, isn't she pretty? And lots of fun ... and very vocal!

She likes to claim the car in the garage as her own territory!

And she likes to explore everything else that's in the garage, too, including whatever's up in the rafters!

Grace - on a cleaning binge!

Ruse's fur looked pretty funny the other day after he and Grace had been snoozing together. Apparently, Grace decided to give about a 1" x 4" patch of Ruse's fur a thorough cleaning. It's quite obvious when you see that little patch of fur standing straight up, while the rest of his fur is smooth in the normal direction!

See the little patch of fur standing straight up!

Then Grace came back and decided to work on him in other spots. Her head was moving so fast as she cleaned his neck, the camera lens couldn't keep up! She's just a blur!!

Ruse doesn't seem to mind, though! Just lets his mommy clean him whenever and wherever she pleases!

Cousins!!

I've posted about Grigio before (fka Garage Kitty). He's in the first three photos below, showing off the fact that he's an inside kitty now, and he doesn't have to associate with anyone outside anymore!! My grandbeans call him the guardian of the shoe pile!




Now a new kitty has adopted my grandbeans' back yard. They have been calling her Princess Meow Meow! She's about 1½ years old, according to the v-e-t, and she's very zippy and playful. It's hard to get photos of her because she's always on the move. These aren't very good photos, but they'll do for now. She is very tiny (under 9#), and with her unusually floofy tail for a shorthaired cat, she reminds us of a squirrel sometimes!

Overdue!

I know, I know! I need to get some new pix posted here!

Today, Austen and I took Audace and Ruse to the v-e-t (Grace went in June) for their vaccinations. Since they're indoors all the time, I don't worry if a year (or even a year and a half) slips by between trips for shots! This morning, though, we also took along the little guest who has adopted Austen's back yard! I need to get some photos of her, too. They are calling her Princess Meow Meow, but I'm sure that'll get shortened at some point.

Photos will be up soon ... I promise!!

=)

Wordless Wednesday

Tummy Tuesday

Audace, Ruse, and Grace are very happy that I'm back home after 8 days away. They were all very brave and guarded our house perfectly!

Audace is so comfy, knowing that they did their jobs well while I was gone.


Ruse is just happy to have someone nearby to make him feel safe!

Sad time

Grace, Audace, and Ruse are guarding our house in TX while I'm in CA. My dad passed away last Thursday afternoon, and his memorial service will be held this Thursday at the National Cemetery near Riverside. Photos and a few memories are posted on my Facebook page and on~~> Writeacher's blog.

Next week, we should all be back to normal ... whatever that is!

Like babies!

These guys are just like babies in some ways. Here's Ruse - he seems to be either completely conked out with his face upside down ...


... or concentrating on something out the window! Funny boy!!


And Audace is showing off his tummy, letting us know how safe and secure he feels in this house!

More summer laziness!

Here's a normal gathering in the evenings. Grace is usually zonked out, though, not glaring at Ruse! Who knows what she's thinking?! I sure don't!


And here's Audace's latest snoozing spot. Does he think he's invisible?? =)

Audace, the inspector =)

Audace and Ruse love boxes, and Audace seems to especially love this one that hasn't been unpacked yet! Funny boy!!

The plastic packing straps are great fun, too. Terrific for chasing and biting!

And I love THIS WEBPAGE in the Catster website. It lets me know that I must be doing all the right things for my little jewels!

Ahhhhh, the Cat Days of Summer!

Such a nice lazy time of year ... except for cats, who are lazy all year long, it seems!!

Audace, practicing his lion look ...


Ruse, so relaxed he even allows his tummy to show and be tickled!

Still the mommy!

Every so often (at least once a week!), Grace asserts her mommy-status. Here she is giving Ruse's head a bath!


And here she is holding him down so she can finish her job!! What a good mommy-cat!


I took these photos with my cell phone's camera - lower resolution than my Olympus has, but catching these two "in the moment" was important!!

Wordless Wednesday

Formerly called "Garage Kitty"

We don't call him "Garage Kitty" anymore! Just "Kitty" gets his attention, but his real new name is Grigio -- you know, like the wine!! (First post about this little guy is here.)

He stays mostly inside at Anne's house now, especially in this hot weather, and he and Cabbie get along surprisingly well. We're amazed daily!

Snackie time!!

Here's a little video of noisy Audace as he does his song and dance to remind me that it's snackie time!



And here are some photos that show how successful - and happy! - all three are once they've been given their snackies for the evening!

Testing!!

Well, I haven't been able to get into Internet Explorer (IE7) since late Monday morning, and I uninstalled Firefox long ago because it was either really slow or was crashing all the time. Now, on my daughter's suggestion, I'm trying Google Chrome, and so far, so good. Their bookmark system is cumbersome, but I guess I can get used to it eventually. My main thought right now is to discover if I can upload photos and post to my blogs from Chrome without their looking really funny! So here's my experiment of the day! In the following photo -- if it posts correctly -- Audace performs his nightly ritual of telling me it's snackie time, which is supposed to be 8 pm, but he starts in about 7:15 each evening!

Easy on Sunday morning!

Paying the bills!

Here's Ruse ... being very UNhelpful when I need to pay some bills!

Funny little guy!

Grace's two other babies!

Remember, Gracie had four babies! She and two of them (Audace and Ruse) live here with me (or do I live with them?), and two others (Brutus and Marigold) live in New Jersey with Rose and Emily. They are all so beautiful.

Be sure to visit http://roseandtheroyals.blogspot.com to read the latest about Gracie's babies. Brutus needs all our purrs and prayers, and Marigold (aka Princess Emo!) needs her big bro to smell normal again! =)

Grace, the escape artist!

After having many cats over the years who were allowed indoor/outdoor privileges, and having dealt with all the v-e-t trips and bills because of fights, abscesses, illnesses, etc., I believe that having indoor-only kittehs keeps them healthier.

Well, Gracie doesn't want to cooperate. My beautiful little (very round!) girl likes to escape the house during the fleeting time the garage door is up while I'm backing out the car. So I've changed my routine (closing the door to the laundry room and the garage and then backing the car out), but she still manages to slip out at times. She's very sneaky! (We should have named HER "Ruse"!!)





So ... off to the v-e-t we go this morning. She needs all her shots updated.

For some reason, Audace and Ruse have never attempted to go outdoors. That's probably because they don't remember their first four days of life before Auntie Deb and Mommy ML rescued them all from the evil Houston pound!! Grace remembers, though, so it's a battle of wills between us!

I will win!! ♥