Henry's New Chair

Henry seems to approve of my new living room furniture...

 

...he has taken over the chair and made it into his throne/napping/grooming space.

Proof of Henry Doodlebug's Awesome Yellow Cat-ness

 I submit the following photographs as evidence of Henry's perpetual awesomeness:

Henry Doodlebug, playing it cool.

Henry Doodlebug, showing his lighter side.

Seriously, my cat should be a cat model or something.  He is such a badass.

Holy Mother of Pearl, it is HOT!!

I would complain that it is unseasonably warm, but if 103 degrees is unseasonable for July, I really don't know where it belongs. Poor Henry isn't taking it well:


I would have yelled at him for being inappropriate, but he just looked so uncomfortable that I left him alone.

Well, I didn't leave him alone immediately...I had to snap just one more shot. Isn't he handsome, even when he is incapacitated by the heat? I love my yellow boy!

Settling In

Most of our little Seward Ave family has made the move to the new house on Rocky Road. Only Izzy and Casey have yet to come for good...they are spending some quality time with the Grandmother, who lives right down the road. Henry, Ruthie, and Emma seem to have made themselves right at home:


So I guess now I have to start calling it my little Rocky Road family!

Silly Kitties

My cats are very hard to photograph, since they usually come out as an unusable blurry image. But I think when I actually get a shot, they are pretty cute!

Henry, watching me on the computer.

Ruthie, trying to see out the front door. Originally Henry was hanging there too, but I couldn't get my camera fast enough!

Henry, playing with the camera cord. He is just so handsome!

Old Baby Pictures

I really, really miss my babies! And I couldn't even find a picture of my poor little Ruthie, but here are some of Henry, Emma, and Izzy that I just took a few weeks ago:

His Lordship of Seward Ave, Sir Heinrich

My un-photogenic little brown dog, Emma.

Izzy-dawg, who looks sad in this picture despite being the canine form of Prozac in real-life!

Extra Baby Pictures!

I just thought I'd share a few more pictures that I found on my camera today!

Ruthie, with an angry-looking Henry.

Very serious Izzy...kind of unusual, since she's generally the clown of the family!

Henry, making it known that he is NOT in the mood for a belly rub.

My little brown dog Emma, smiling because she probably just snuck upstairs for a cat food snack!

Henry's Girlfriend

A few months ago, I noticed that Henry had made friends with a cat that lives across the street...and they visit with each other every day through the window. That's right, Henry has a girlfriend! The Mothership was able to catch them during one of their visits:

Henry's girlfriend, who I think looks like a "Mona"

Mona is really quite cute...they make an adorable couple :)

Henry, getting a little annoyed that his date has been interrupted for a photo session!

Did you miss us?

So it's been kind of a long time since I last blogged. Almost two months. 53 days, according to TimeandDate.com. Or 4,579,200 seconds. In other words, I totally suck! But on the bright side, really not much has happened here since November. But to catch you up, here goes:

In early November, not one, but BOTH of my computers crashed. Now, my desktop is over 3 years old, so I wasn't too upset about that, besides being highly annoyed that someone smart enough to create a virus that could ruin my computer was actually wasting their time creating a virus instead of doing something productive like finding a cure for cancer. But whatever. People are time wasters (I'll admit to it!) and I wanted a new desktop anyway.

It was the strange downfall of my six-month-old Dell laptop that was mildly confusing. You see, I was merely watching The Hills Aftershow online because my DVR for some reason didn't record, and right as I was about to hear what Heidi's sister really thought of Heidi and Spencer's faux elopement in Mexico, my computer just died. I almost cried. I also almost threw the computer against the wall. I mean, Heidi and Spencer had ELOPED and my computer couldn't even wait until the end of the show to crash? WTF?

But I persevered, and fixed my laptop and found an awesome new desktop! Yay!!!

It's just so beautiful...*tear*...

My other notable November event was hosting Thanksgiving at my house. By hosting I mean that my mother came and cleaned my house the week before, and then she and my grandmother came down the night before, cooked everything, and then I set the table. It was exhausting.

December involved decorating my house for Christmas and shoveling a lot of snow. Fortunately my mother helped with the decorating. I couldn't find anyone willing to help with the snow. Of course, I didn't offer to pay. That usually brings Ross and Luke to my house in a matter of minutes!

My Christmas Pharmacy Village...I'm such a nerd!

Henry spent a great deal of the month batting at low-hanging Christmas ornaments...

Note the absence of Christmas lights...this photo was taken after Emma ingested a 6 foot extension cord...and yes, it was plugged in at the time...

Sadly, I have no pictures of Ruthie to share. She refused to sit by the Christmas tree, and although caught on more than one occasion sleeping in the Christmas Pharmacy Village Square, I was unable to find my camera to preserve those precious moments. Maybe next year...

Vacation!!

So I've been on vacation for a few days, and it's gotten a little boring. Mainly because we didn't go to Hawaii after all, and my friends are all working. The highlight of my week has been walking over to the middle school to vote. Although the 50% off sale at Coach Outlet might surpass that. I'll update tomorrow if I have any sucess! So I'll leave you with pics of my very photogenic black dog Izzy, and my very surly yellow cat Henry.

I feel no guilt about posting such an uncomplimentary pic of Henry mainly because he tried to bite me today. Biting is VERY inappropriate!

Henry and Ruthie's Scrapbook Page

My desktop got a weird virus, so I had to very quickly save all my photos before the whole system went down. Then I had to go through all my photos, mainly because I love looking at my pictures! And I found one of my favorites of Henry and Ruthie, take just a few months after Ruthie came to live with me:

(I used the "Moody Blues" kit from ShabbyPrincess.com)

I'm such a slacker!

Not too much is happening here on Seward Ave. Izzy and Emma are still going to obedience classes. And Henry, Ruthie, and I all have colds. I'm feeling great, thanks to a combo of Aleve-D, Zyrtec, and Mucinex (gotta love polypharmacy!), but I feel so bad for little Henry and Rue. They're both trotting around with runny noses, and sneezing all the time. I hope they get better soon.

"I'm sick and you're taking pictures of me...what kind of a cat-mother ARE you?"

The girls have been spending lots of time with the Mothership out on the farm, running around the gardens and grape field. I drop them off at 8am every morning and spend the entire day at work being jealous that they're tearing around outside and I'm stuck indoors dealing drugs to people who constantly inform me that I will be voting for Obama. FYI - you make me want to be a conservative, and just for trying to force your political opinions down my throat, I'm going to go get some Sarah Palin bangs. So there!

Today it was so nice out that I let the girls spend most of the day out in the backyard while I did laundry. They're so sweet, everytime I come outside to visit them, they act like it's Christmas or something. They're better than Prozac!

"Ohmigosh...Mom just came outside...woohoo...this is the BEST DAY EVER!!!"

I have to say, having pets really does add some color to your life. For instance, I finally captured on camera (though not very well) what greets me every time I come up the back steps to my house:

Normally, he's not quite so sad looking, but remember, he's sick today, poor boy.

And last but not least, there's my little brown dog, Emma, who is providing us with "Crazy Dog Face of the Day:"

The dorkiest dog I ever met, but I totally love her!

And now I must be off to finish my laundry...I always save the red and khaki for last, even though it's what I need to wear to work tomorrow!

Why I Spend Several Hundred Dollars a Month at PetCo

I like to shop a lot. Lately I've been on a budget, so my only shopping joy comes from frequent visits to PetCo, which some people have deemed unnecessary, but I think are absolutely mandatory. Somehow, I don't think I even need words to explain what some call my "frivolous spending," but for those who do not have pets, I will try to enlighten:

Doesn't a cute cat like this deserve a nifty Igloo litter box?

And why shouldn't my boy have the finest Temptations Dental Treats the world has to offer?

And seriously, could you feed these two anything less than Nutro, which is going to keep their joints healthy for years to come?

My babies are cute and fun and loving and totally worth the expenditures. Even if it means our country estate will take a few more years to get! And I think only my Aunt Paula understands, as she sent me a gift card to PetCo for my birthday. It must take one crazy pet person to know another!

Henry and Ruthie are completely INAPPROPRIATE!

Henry and Ruthie have discovered a new trick. They like to sleep on top of the cupboards in the kitchen. To access their favorite area requires jumping on a stool, leaping to the counter, walking over the stove, through the sink, jumping on the refrigerator, and then one giant leap to napping bliss. At first I thought it was cute, as evidenced by the following:

"I am highly offended that you are disturbing my slumber."

"I'm kind of embarrassed that you had to witness this..."

Then one day while my mother and brother were babysitting, one of my rooster plates smashed to the floor. I have to say, it's not so entertaining now!

The accident doesn't seem to be keeping Henry awake at night...

Henry's Big Adventure

Tonight, I proved what a bad cat- and dog-mother I am. Not only did Izzy and Emma escape, but Henry was apparently outside for about two hours! It seems that after I took the girls out to "go potty", I must have left the door open, because about 15 minutes later I looked outside, and they were both chilling on the deck right outside the (open) screen door. I called them back inside with no incident, and thought all was well. But then at bedtime, I went to take Woody outside, and there was Henry lounging on the deck where the girls had been. He must have escaped when the door was first open, and been outside for hours! I feel so guilty! Of course, he most likely never made it off the deck, being a bit of a loaf, but still. He escaped! And I didn't notice! He could have been catnapped! I'm horrible!

Sarah Has Finally Found A Talent!

After 26.5 years of life and and a multitude of hobbies that I was merely mediocre at, I think I might have found my forte: digital scrapbooking. That's right, after last night's somewhat poor page for Izzy, I decided to download some more freebies and make a page for Henry:

Paper from PeppermintCreative's Wild Weekend kit,
grommets from Scrapgirls Refresh Biggie

As you can see, I've improved much in the course of 24 hours. This one only took me about an hour, and I think it's pretty cute. I know, I seem kind of full of myself, but considering I've never excelled at anything, I'm going to brag all I want...

A Brief History of Ruthie

To celebrate Ruthie Poodaloo's one year anniversary on Seward Ave, I thought it would be fitting to review the past year in terms of Ruthie...

Ruthie arrived at Seward Ave via a pet store, where many customers stood outside to comment and laugh at her extra toes and strange stripes. But her soon-to-be adoptive mother, Sarah, saw that Ruthie's extra toes and asymmetrical stripes were not a handicap, but a gift, making Ruthie one of the more exceptional cats to reside on Seward Ave. So in May of 2007, Sarah took Ruthie home with her in a cardboard box to meet her new older brother Henry, and embark on a new life.

Ruthie quickly made herself at home, staking out the cushion of a loveseat as her new napping place.

Henry showed her the ropes: where to get food, the best napping spots, and how to convince Mom to give them extra kitty treats. He even shared his couch with her.

In turn, Ruthie allowed Henry to share her own small domain of the previously mentioned love seat.

Just two short months later, Ruthie was a true member of the posse on Seward Ave. So naturally, she got to move to the lake with the rest of the family. Vacationing with her family was a very interesting experience:

The Cat Carousel became her new favorite pasttime.

And Grandma Lynn came often to visit and rock Ruthie to sleep.

But all great summers must come to an end, and the little family made of one girl and two kitties returned home to Seward Ave. Fortunately, Ruthie was able to come up with many ways to keep herself busy.

Ruthie found new ways to entertain the family, including her Chalkboard Balancing Act.

She also devised an exhausting Cat Scratch exercise routine to keep herself in shape.

And she was also always very willing to pose for a photo op.

But then, one day, everything changed. Sarah brought home two new babies to join the little family. They were named Izzy and Emma, and took up much of Sarah's time.

Soon, more and more pictures were taken of puppies than of poor Ruthie.

Ruthie couldn't understand all the fuss, and decided to investigate these interlopers and their strange habits.

After taking a tour of Izzy and Emma's sleeping areas, she decided maybe she was better off being a cat.

Shortly thereafter, the puppies were housebroken, and Sarah had more time to spend with her Ruthie. And life on Seward Ave was perfect once more.

Happy One Year Anniversary Ruthie!!!