Envious Cats

This has been a very lucky day for Them, and a regular day for Kasey and me. To begin with, He went to his doc to see how he is. The report was good, and He is doing OK with his sugar stuff. Then a phone call came from Rocky'sBoy. Rocky'sMom is home from her visit far away, and has brought Him and Her some of those wonderful vegetables that grow where she went. You can't believe how much He loves those vegetables They taste better than the stuff at the store. Just after lunch, a truck brought two big packages of stuff She had ordered. Perfect timing, because on box was Her very favorite cookies. The other box was the last of Her Christmas presents. She is right chuffed that there is something for all Her beloveds in Her closet. These nice things made it a definitely better day than the last couple of days. Now all we have to do is decide what to cook for our dinner, and get ready to watch some nice TV shows. You know that means snuggles for me, and maybe even Kasey will come and get cozy on His lap. I think I will enjoy this busy week. I hope you do, too. Chow.

Used To Cats

One thing that happens when you live with very old people, like Him and Her, you hear a lot about what they used to do. He used to go and play bridge, which is a card game. He does a lot of the things He used to do. He does more than She does. To be fair, She is older than He is, so maybe that is part of it. To me, it is not about what She does and doesn't do, because some of it is about how hard it is for Her to move around, or because She doesn't have so much money. What She talks about is what She used to like to do and now She doesn't like it anymore. The first thing is cooking. She used to be a very good cook, because She learned cooking from Her Grandma. It is kind of not fair that now She is a Grandma, and She doesn't teach anyone how to cook. She used to cook with Mazie, but Mazie liked fish sticks and french fries. Not much cooking there. One thing She used to like was planning meals. She doesn't like that so much anymore. Sometimes it gets to be kind of tiresome but She feels it is part of Her role around here, since She is weak and slow, and He does so many things for Her. She gets things for the freezer and every day She goes and gets something out and fixes it. It is a rare day when She cooks a recipe. When She does, She often asks Him to cut things up. Today She made a recipe out of the food She got from Rocky'sMom, but He had to cut everything up. The nice thing is, He likes to do that. The good thing about what He and She used to do is that they watch old movies and TV shows. Some come in the mail every week. I love what She fixes, so I will stay here and get old with Him and Her, and someday I will say - I used to eat pink fish with Him and Her. And I still do. Stay tuned.

Upset Cats

You can generally tell what it is going to be like on a particular day if the first thing you hear from him is naughty words. This is how today started, and Kasey and I hope things get better for TV time tonight. It started with something wrong with His computer. He called the fixing guy, but had to leave a message. He had to use Her computer and swore at it a lot, while She and I hoped he wasn't breaking it. He finally got done with what He was writing and went to eat His lunch. She and I could hear him getting mad at the TV, and He had to call the TV company. It turned out that the old TV player was broken, and He had to go get a new one. It had to be hooked up and He had a bunch of trouble with that, because that's the kind of day it is. Everything He touches goes wrong. We are sort of staying out of the way while He yells at the TV guy. She says what He needs is a nice hug and a cup of coffee, but She is going to wait until He is done with the TV fixing before She and Kasey and I go and hug him. We are going to plan something nice for tomorrow, so He will wake up feeling a lot better. I am not sure He notices how upset I am, because Kasey doesn't get as upset. The only thing that bothers Kasey is if He or She is slow giving out treats. I get very quiet and go and hide. The next best thing is to snuggle on Her. The nicest thing is that sooner or later, everything gets nice and calm and stuff stops going wrong. Let's all have a good night.

Positive Cats

I have to admit, when I first heard Her talking about being positive, I thought She meant sure. Like in I'm positive it is Thursday. But that isn't it at all. You see, Her motto is to be positive and co-operative, and that's the way She expects us to act. I admit, I am still working on that, because it is very common for me to be scared, but Kasey is very positive. Kasey just simply expects things will go her way. It is a way to make life easier if you are a schoolteacher, or a cat or a regular person. It is a habit to be positive. When you think of something, you need to be conscious of saying it in the positive way. An example is that you could say stop that noise right now, or you could say it would be much better if you would play more quietly. She makes a little game out of turning words around to sound like yes instead of no. Other teachers used to be amazed at how She could do that. If someone is whining about something, it is helpful for them to be reminded to count their blessings. If you are upset because you didn't get something you wanted, you can count your blessings and remember that you already have some nice stuff. Sometimes, people and cats don't want to hear that, so She says don't make me say it. Sometimes people get irritated when She says it could be worse, and even She admits that sometimes it couldn't be worse, but She doesn't let that ruin everything. Sometimes you have to just keep going until it is OK again. There is a lady that could not see or hear, and you would think that lady would just sit there, but she didn't. She accomplished lots of good things with the help of a teacher, and She thinks that is Her favorite person in history. It could be worse, She would say. At least you can see and hear. It is not always easy to be positive, but I work on it every day. I'm counting my blessings that the fleas are gone. Bye, now.

Quiet Cats

There isn't going to be much of a story today. Kasey and I slept all day, so I am not sure what She was up to. When I came into Her office, I saw that She had found some of the presents that She forgot She had. Didn't I tell you that would happen if we didn't help Her? Luckily, She is not mad at us. She is kind of glad that the fleas have left us alone. The news was bad today, too. Some boys were hurt in a fight at some high school, and it bummed Her out. She didn't want us to watch it. There will be fish for dinner tonight, and a good mystery to watch, so all will be well. More news tomorrow. PipPip.

Buckle Down Cats

Even though it is still hot summer here, the kids have gone back to school and the neighborhood is settling down. That means She wants to get busy and make Her office nice again. She has begun to work on Her gift closet, and Her desk top, sorting and filing and throwing things away. That means Kasey and I must be ready at a moment's notice to help Her. Kasey is good at sorting things on the high shelves, while I check the floor and the lower levels. She examines the things that we knock down, and either puts them into a black bag for the charity people, back on a shelf, or in a sorting bag or box. She has learned that it is necessary to keep track of things or she will forget to give them to the right people. She found something just the other day that should have been part of a birthday gift. It will have to wait until Christmas, now.She knows of one thing more She needs to get when Christmas is closer, but we have our work cut out for us. She says that we will love the way Her office looks when it is all cleaned up. If we were the kind of cats who would laugh at Her, we would be betting it will be a shambles about one day after we get it all clean and neat. She has been working on something else, too. We can't help Her with her computer orders, but She was busy ordering things to eat and things to use from the companies that have bargains. She found a jacket that would be so nice for Him, but it is brown. She knows very well that if it isn't blue, He won't wear it. She feels more sad about not getting the terrific bargain than She does about not spending the money. I don't even try to figure that out. I have to go get a nap now. I'm worn out. Cheers.

Laboring Cats

Actually, Kasey and I don't have to do any work today. No one at our house needs to labor today, because it is one of those human special days. This one is named Labor Day, which is the wrong name, because they aren't supposed to work today. They named it in honor of a kind of groups called unions. They were thought up when people decided That bosses could not make them do stuff if they joined together and agreed not to work at all unless the bosses treated then fairly. She says that there is a lot of power when people or cats decide to work together for better treatment. By being in unions, workers could get better conditions to work in, and better times to work. The bosses couldn't make them work every day without a break, and the unions got better insurance and pay. If one guy would go and ask for that, well, he or she could get fired and not have a job. If every worker would ask for better things, and they all agreed that no one would go to work unless they got fair treatment, the boss wouldn't have anything to sell or work on until he or she listened to the workers. There is a lot you could learn from that, if you are a fair person. When She was a teacher, She belonged to a union, and because of that, teachers got lunch breaks and better pay and not so many extra duties. She was proud of that union, and was the one that went to union meetings and stood up for Her schools and teachers. She is very particular that we should not work today. She is fixing a picnic for our dinner, because She shouldn't have to work fixing a fancy dinner on a day that is celebrating no work. I hope you feel that workers should have good working times and places. Union!