psst

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

30 June 2015 - The silent treatment tends to mean a palpable sullenness in response to some perceived wrong.  That's not my version of this affectation, nonetheless mine is quite effective.  I discovered that, in general, peeps become uncomfortable if they are stared at for very long...perhaps it is due to a perpetually guilty conscience?  Whatever the cause, if I need to get their attention, to provoke their acting upon a need, I put myself within their peripheral vision, sit quietly, and stare.  "I don't want to interrupt what you are doing...I am sure that it is important, but..."  Of course there is always a "but", and eventually they are prodded into rising from their seat and complying with my wishes.  Try it sometime.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

One can speak volumes with silence.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - uncommewnicative, saying little but then not having to...it's all in the Cheshire grin

in recognition of

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

29 June 2015 - This particular June in Nova Scotia has made it much more obvious that one only has the now.  This Hallmark statement translates for me into "enjoy the sunshine, because who can say when you will see it again."  There are those who would wax even more philosophically, and acknowledge these cloudy, blustery, chilly days as excellent foils for the gorgeous moments (note:  I am not that enlightened).  We have had both, and one can easily forget the latter by focusing on the former.  That is the great thing about the picture to the right:  I have a visual reminder that on a particular day I was warm and carefree.  So I'll attempt to keep the grousing to a minimum.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Don't be one of those who has it

pretty good...and doesn't know it.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - appurreciative, grateful, indebted, thankful...an alien concept to felines

a captive audience

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

28 June 2015 - I am certain that I would not do well incarcerated.  Some of my comrades have spent weeks, even years, behind bars, waiting for someone to spring them.  I thankfully did not have that "experience".  The only time I am inside a cage is when we are traveling...and those times are never my idea.  Seeing the world through a metal grid diminishes the horizon and shrivels the soul.  How long could one cling to life when life is so restricted and punitive?  My peeps know that I must have my freedom to come and go.  Although the distance is never far, it is knowing that I could that is important.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Freedom is undervalued by the free.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrivilege, the right to self-determination, independence, being of a cat's mind

a little lower and to the right

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 June 2015 - Today is dedicated to the taller peep.  He doesn't often appear in my entries, but he is always behind the scenes.  When the shorter peep has wandered off, lost for days at the time, we two are left to worry about her and to bolster one another's flagging spirits.  I could cough up a hair ball when I hear familial terms used to describe a cat and peep's relationship:  he is certainly not my father, and I am not his child.  I really don't see why either of us should pretend otherwise... we aren't even the same species, for Bastet's sake.  I think that we both can agree that what we have is a mutually beneficial friendship.  Such a description puts us on a par, which is how it should be.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

A couple of true friends is all one needs.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purromance, a congenial relationship between a cat and his taller peep

"and all the boards did shrink"

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 June 2015 - The two bottom treads are obviously not as weathered as the others pictured:  that is because they were literally weathered...ripped from the stringers by the spring's ice break-up.  A third tread was also loosened by Nature's force, but at least it wasn't carried away.  I have never experienced masses of frozen water, so I can only appreciate its potential destructiveness in the abstract.  This part of the world owes its deep harbors and rocky soil to the slow grind of glaciers millennia ago.  H2O in its liquid state seems far more benign, but besides thirst what do I know?  

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

File away that a gallon of water

weighs eight+ pounds.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purressure, influence, impact, one's heft (no wise cracks) on the world

mirror, mirror on the wall

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 June 2015 - I promise not to shake this dead meep anymore, but I did want you to witness the indignity of it all (for the back story, see 22 June 2015).  Nothing more need be said, but from this rear angle I am led to comment on peeps' anxiety with physical appearance.  You will never hear of a cat having a "bad hair" day or asking "does this make my butt look big?"  We don't obsessively weigh ourselves or count carbs or wear a device that tracks our incidental exercise amount.  In fact, when concentrated in a half-inch of text, the fixations of peeps seem quite comical...of course, not to them.  In sharp contrast we felines can only be faulted for time spent grooming, and I suspect that we come in second-place to the hours so spent in a week by peeps.  Once our cow-lick is put in place, we cats are perfect.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Thin-skinned folks should

work on inner beauty.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - glamor puss, a feline knockout, a charming manx

r-e-s-p-e-c-t

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 June 2015 - In order for you to have an informed opinion, I am showing you my office "door" and the poorly conceived manner in which I must access it.  Please note the dimensions of this aperture, and contrast that with my own cross-section.  It is a tight, and undignified, fit.  Furthermore I exit onto a wooden ramp that requires negotiating a sharp right turn while squeezing through.  I think that you can see why I do not traipse halfway around the outer perimeter of the house in order to use it...besides, it has the unpleasant whiff of a servant's entrance.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Even the lowliest should be

accorded dignity.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purroper, worthy of esteem, having a king-of-the-jungle countenance

moving violation

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 June 2015 - We may have traveled fourteen degrees north, but some things haven't changed:  my passage continues to encounter roadblocks.  I will not deny that there exist two means of entering/exiting our lake house that do not require peep intervention.  However neither connects to the front porch...which both peeps know is my favorite outdoor spot.  So if occasionally they are guilted into opening the door for me, they really have only themselves to blame for ill-advised choices of location.  Besides think of all the fitbit mileage they get:  I am definitely good for their health.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

An ambulatory day

keeps the ambulance away.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - spurrightly, energetic, agile, frisky in a Purrina sort of way

shredded evidence

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

19 June 2015 - Before you jump to conclusions, i.e., that I am responsible for those tracks across the bed, admit that you are being led to that notion by circumstances.  True, the "footprints" point to me, but perhaps I am just in the wrong place at the wrong time.  This photograph does not capture the "culprit" in the act so in a court of law it "proves" nothing.  Because I am the only breathing thing in the vicinity of the crime (and mussing a smoothed spread is hardly a felony), I must have done it?  Certainly in the classic murder mystery, the cast of characters must include the "bad guy"...but don't confuse fiction with reality.  I in fact know the full story, but already-made-up minds want confirmation, not the truth, so I will keep my own counsel.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

There is a reason that

leaps of faith need those leaps.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - irrepurroachable, beyond criticism, innocent (just look at that face)

sub-dude

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

18 June 2015 - The shorter peep and I are pals.  But as in any good friendship, we are not joined at the hip...in fact, we have our definite differences and our occasional misunderstandings.  Sometimes she tries too hard:  wearing lots of black will not make her a tuxedo cat, but I appreciate the sentiment.  Likewise I would never be mistaken for anything but what I am...and that is more than OK by me.  I have no self-esteem issues, but you probably knew that already.  Sensitive souls have a rough time in a raucous world, so we introverts have to stick together.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

  

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

"Silence is golden"

has been lost in translation.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - handle with kit-gloves, treat delicately and thoughtfully, in an understated fashion

au contraire

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

17 June 2015 - There exist crisp days back in Florida, a few fondly recalled, when the air is dry and the light is sharp...but then humidity creeps into the forecast and muddies the waters.  Here it is the rule and not the exception that moisture in the atmosphere remains relatively low.  So I am thrilled that my Canada summer offers both warmth and blinding whiteness.  The bold light contrasted with the sharp shadows suggests the world is wearing a tuxedo...which would make me part of the vanguard...recognition at long last.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Formal attire raises the bar on behavior.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - sepurration, a setting apart that suits loner cats just fine

do not disturb

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

16 June 2015 - This is our Canadian command post:  even when out of the country, we continue to work.  Each of our headquarters has its pros and cons, but one definite advantage to our summer office is the presence of a window seat...for me.  It was a thoughtful addition by the shorter peep, and allows me to engage in serious concentration on the edge of the hubbub.  It can be seen just behind the monitor in the picture at the right, and is featured in the catechism picture below.  The window is situated on the south side of the house, so afternoons are my preferred hours to strategize.  I probably am my most creative here.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Deep thoughts require solitude.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrivacy, being alone, preferring one's own company,  a "feline" of unsociability

sunny boy

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

15 June 2015 - We have been enjoying Camelot weather:  "The rain may never fall till after sundown.   By eight, the morning fog must disappear."  I am not too certain about the local winter exiting March 2nd, but neither I nor the peeps are complaining, here in mid-June, about these beautiful days...where officially we have another week until the entrance of summer...and the longest day of the year.  Already the skies are light until ten pm and brightening by five-thirty.  As a creature of the abbreviated night I am having to shoehorn in all my activities.  No rest until siesta time!

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Dress warmly for a life in the shadows.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day -amewcable, good-natured when it suits, mostly easy-going, agreeable until cornered