on the front burner

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

28 April 2014 - Florida has yet to deliver temperatures that are too hot for my tastes.  I have traded in my heavier winter coat, it is true, but I still love the heat.  To stretch out at porch edge, feel the breeze, listen to beep calls, is my idea of heaven.  I suspect my peeps are not as welcoming of summer, as I have overheard human grumbles and A/C rumbles...which is another reason why I am out here in unconditioned air.  Let the tree pollen fall on my head, and the humidity condense on my brow:  I won't complain as long as there is ample sunshine to soften my bones.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

To make a memorable

impression, exude warmth.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

 Catty Corner

film of the day - Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, a sizzling 1959 performance nominated for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Director

aged in oak

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

27 April 2014 - I have gathered that one of my predecessors had to be rescued, not once but twice, from a tree.  He sat up in its branches for three days before his meows were finally pinpointed.  Then, I am told, the tallest ladder and ropes and a duffle bag were needed to bring him back to earth.  Some of you might think that eventually he would have gotten himself out of that difficulty, but my peeps were unwilling to wait until he weakened from hunger and fell the forty feet.  Despite his questionable judgment, he lived into his twenties, a feat that I hope to duplicate.  My life definitely won't be shortened by a mad-hare climb into the clouds.  I have my self-imposed limits.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Aim high but keep your

feet on the ground.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrdicament, dilemma, an unpleasant situation that can shave a life off your years

heavy wears the crown

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

26 April 2014 - It is good to be king.  Compromise, done long enough and often enough, wears down the spirit and fosters resentment.  Benign dictatorship is often the form of government wished for, possibly because its rarity means that the concept hasn't been adequately, and widely, tested.  But here in our domicile I reign, with the well-being of my peeps foremost in my thoughts and actions.  And although my subjects tower above me, they bend low to give comfort.  Hey, it works for me...I mean us.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

 Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Keep your head above the rabble.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - grimalkin, an ill-tempered old female cat (and antonym for Calvin)

watering hole

Me-ow-my-oh!

 

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 April 2014 - A few days ago I was rambling about a cat's need to lap liquids, but don't you wish that you could do the same?  It is so pleasurable to stick one's head under a faucet and take in cool water.  Peeps have the choice of either slurping it from the sidelines or positioning the mouth so that the water pours into it (and hopefully not the nostrils).  Don't try that latter technique at an open fire hydrant or you'll drown!  You won't hear us making any guzzling noises to quench our thirst...so decorous we felines are.  I'm asking Santa for a motion-sensor faucet, because relying on peeps is not a working strategy.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Polluting our water sources

is so short-sighted.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

book of the day - The Devil in the Grove, by Gilbert King, all the more sobering because the events occurred in the adjacent county

la dolce vita

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 April 2014 - It isn't an exaggeration to say that I live a top-shelf life.  Things didn't start out so great:  I was a tiny stray kit whose existence depended upon bugs and anoles.  Those days are thankfully in the past as I probably would not have made it to my tenth birthday in the wild.  We may be chastised for our predation, but we certainly are not at the top of the food chain.  Now the hardest that I have to work is jumping onto the dryer for my kibbles...although that is, come to think of it, rather perverse of my peeps.







 

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

First-class or cattle car: 

is that really a choice?

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - supurrior, of an elite quality, such as the aura of a feline

your eyes are getting sleepy

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 April 2014 - Am I getting through?  ESP, that which is beyond our known senses, includes both telepathy and clairvoyance.  I am definitely not interesting in receiving peeps' brain waves (talk about static), but being able to implant a top-priority thought (i.e., an order) into their noggins would be very useful.  How many times have they sauntered past, seemingly on autopilot, totally unaware that I need something?  It does little good for me to hone my skill set when the receiver is dead.  Perhaps the transmission is being blocked by all that bone?

 

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Be careful what you wish for; someone may be listening.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

quote of the day - "It's a cat's world...you just live in it", and also the title of a book by Justine Lee

the licker is quicker

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 April 2014 - I heard the strangest thing:  supposedly the reason that we felines (and dim deeps as well, although I hate being lumped in the same category with them) lap up liquids is because we can't form a vacuum with our mouths.  Inhaling one's milk seems a sure way to get choked, so I honestly don't see this "lack" as an impediment.  Perhaps if we kept a straw in our pocket protector, we could suck up with the best of them...but then there is that problem of a pocket.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

That there are several ways to do something doesn't mean that one of them is the right way.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - expurressly, quickly, lickety-split, like a cat in high gear

give an egg up

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

21 April 2014 - If you must know, I am looking for undiscovered Easter eggs.  They aren't the sort of thing that have an indefinite shelf life, and I'm just trying to keep the health department from shutting us down.  The custom of decorating eggshells is an old one, with adorned ostrich eggs found in Sumerian and Egyptian graves dating back to five thousand years ago.  One doesn't need an advanced degree to guess the fertility and birth/rebirth symbolism, and hence the natural association with springtime.  However, if you really want to please the taller peep, give him a basket of deviled eggs.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

An edible gift is always appreciated.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

food of the day - eggs meowmosa, hard-boiled eggs filled with a spiced yolk mixture

hitting the nail on the head

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 April 2014 - If one counts the dewclaw, I suppose that is my middle "finger" that is extended.  But I assure you that was not the intention.  Did you know that we felines do not have, unlike dim deeps, dewclaws on our hind legs?  What would be the point, as the most effective placement of this extra hook is in the front, ready to catch and hold.  There is controversy among peeps as to whether this vestigial stub should be surgically removed, but I don't see them volunteering for appendectomies.  We are made in Bastet's image, so don't think that you can improve upon the construction.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Sometimes it is your perception

that needs adjusting.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrimitive, denoting an earlier stage of development, e.g, showing a kitten's playfulness

no see ums

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

19 April 2014 - I am not so much wary of the things that go bump in the dark; rather I have to be careful that I am not the thing being bumped in the dark.  Both peeps wear corrective lenses, but they still can't see worth a damn in dim light.  I discovered this fact at the hard end of a shoe, and now I keep a keen gaze on them when they walk nearby.  Their perception would probably improve if I were a white cat in a dark world, but there is little that I can do about that...and I am certainly not going to don one of those orange reflective vests to enhance my visibility.  It is far less distasteful, and just as effective, if I steer a wide berth when those clumsy ships pass in the night.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Most accidents can be avoided

by hiding under the bed.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrception, awareness of something through the senses, a cat's natural ability

mellow fellow

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

18 April 2014 - Those of you who have trouble relaxing (or have trouble finding time to relax) have my condolences.  I can experience stress (see 4/14/2014 blog) but rid myself of it as quickly as possible.  I am certainly not the first to realize that a) one shouldn't fret over the small stuff, and b) it is all small stuff.  What a liberating philosophy!  So here I am, practicing what I preach.  A roof over my head, a soft place to stretch out, kibbles in my bowl:  it really is a good Friday.

 

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Who is in control when

your push is another's pull?

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

 
Catty Corner

word of the day - purressure, the use of influence or purrsuasion to get someone to do something, that at which cats are expert

winner of discontent

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

17 April 2014 - A cat's curiosity surprises few.  The stated cause of our demise however began as "care" (i.e., worry) in the 16th century, and the idiom was used by Shakespeare in Much Ado About Nothing.  But by the time O. Henry was penning stories, "care" had been replaced by "curiosity".  Other 20th-century writers who were drawn to the catchy metaphor include Eugene O'Neill and Stephen King.  Yes, we cats are an inspiration, a muse that sanctions the pursuit of "why" and "how".  After all ignorance brings its own form of danger.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

The question is as

important as the answer.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

film of the day - Captain America: The Winter Soldier, cataclysmic action that pits freedom against security

salad days

Me-ow-my-oh!

 

Me-usings and Me-emories

15 April 2014 - Seemingly overnight green is everywhere, and I am not referring to that pale yellow-green that indicates that life has just unfurled its leaves.  Today's particular hue speaks of rain and sunshine that isn't so hot that the color looks wearied.  If you have had the misfortune of being in central Florida in late August, you have seen that worn-out, downtrodden green, a green that hopes to signal a white flag of surrender to a summer that has overstayed.  But we are months away from that, so let's enjoy the vernal freshness and vigor.

 

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Savor the moment:  the rest

is wishful thinking.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

vegetable of the day - purslane, also known as pig weed, an annual edible succulent, having a slightly sour and salty taste