wouldn't that be something!

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

30 January 2017 - For those who have already read "hot tamales?" and are wondering:  "Is Calvin sitting on his meal plate?," the answer is "no".  I am aware that incubating a piece of china doesn't magically produce another saucer of kibble... if only!  Rather I am waiting for said, and if it appears that I am doing so patiently, then I am a very good actor.  One could grow gray in the muzzle waiting on peeps.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

We all want to be

exceptions to the rule.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrternatural, using throaty vibes to coax the universe into the desired state

hot tamales?

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

29 January 2017 - Well, what do I do when Mother Nature throws me cold and raw?  I eat.  After all, keeping up my body temperature (which will be a challenge today) requires the burning of calories... so I am stoking the furnace.  And anyone who thinks aloud "pot-bellied stove" is no longer my friend.  The other no-brainer, after filling my stomach, is to then not waste those calories through unnecessary exertion... i.e., lie down and conserve energy.  You are welcome for this free advice, and now I must trundle off to bed.  Hopefully the shorter peep has heated my towel.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Try to maintain a warm heart.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purracticed, experienced (after a few lives you've seen it all)

I'll have the usual

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

26 January 2017 - I am fairly indifferent to plants.  Occasionally I have nibbled a blade of grass, sniffed a flower, but otherwise we ignore one another.  Should one day they all disappear from the porch and yard, I would realize how much better the space was with their presence.  So typical:  the loss of something being necessary to underscore its value... But I pride myself in being apart from the herd.  If hindsight isn't good enough, if mooing isn't the point at all, then I need to be better engaged with my surroundings.  Being comfortable with my surroundings... I'm already there.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Give some thought to tomorrow.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - cattrition, a very rare, and temporary, feline state involving regret

om-er's manual

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 January 2017 - Is there a peep who hasn't heard of yoga?  Many will know the names of a few poses, others will be regular practitioners.  All of this knowledge is good.  But I would like to add a footnote to the health-and-well-being information:  learn to curl up.  It is related to the child asana, in that it is a restful pose, but totally wasted on youth.  No, curling up is for those who have been sorely tested by life, those who are bone-weary, perhaps even despairing.   Circle your body, put some breathing space between the vertebrae, and do nothing but occupy your skin.  It is harder than you think.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Don't shortchange yourself.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purractitioner, a cat that savors food and savors sleep, i.e., one fully engaged in life

good-cheer leader

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 January 2017 - My species' preference for elevation is the fodder for jokes.  That's ok... peeps need all the levity they can find.  I suspect that our fondness for height is hard-wired.  It is an instinct that benefits both sides of our nature:  a predator's vantage point, a prey's safe space.  You must admit that the view is grand from up here.  Facing east, I start my morning beseeching Bastet for lots of sunshine... and most days my wish is granted.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

It never hurts to ask.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - suppurrter, a champion of peeps (since they know how to open a can)

we never were in Kansas

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 January 2017 - I am not intimidated by violent weather (doorbells are another matter), so last night's blow did not send me scurrying under the bed.  Obviously I didn't stand outside with my head tilted to the sky... I am not vying for the Darwin award... but surrounded by solid walls and a protective roof I managed to snooze through our tornado warning (and a house full of noisy peeps).  A survey this morning of our yard supports my perhaps cavalier attitude:  everything seems to have survived the night, with perhaps some rearranging.  However I am unhappy with the wintery trend in temperatures:  Come on, sunshine!  Don't let me down.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Has sensible gone out of style?

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - pragcatic, purractical, down-to-earth (very reasonable when tornadoes are about)

buttered boast

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 January 2017 - I really don't think that I have a "better" side.  Profile or full-face, I don't have a preference.  It is hard to be objective, I realize, when critiquing one's own appearance.  Actually it is simply hard to see one's appearance.  Were it not for shiny surfaces and photographs, how would we form an opinion?  How would we know if our eyes are crossed, nose crooked, hair cow-licked?  But there are numerous snapshots of me, none taken by myself obviously, and I must conclude that I am one handsome specimen.  Genetics and good grooming are to be credited, although It definitely helps that my markings are so distinguished.  "Why, even a thug looks nice in a tuxedo," you snidely comment.  True, unkind but true.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

An occasional brag will be excused.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - egotisticat, swaggering, big-headed (blame it on Bastet)

N V

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

21 January 2017 - Little peeps are scary creatures.  They are loud and unpredictable, and run around in the false aura that everyone and everything loves them.  I without hesitation go on record as not loving them, whether as a group or a cute, smily individual.  Contrast a young version of myself with the most precocious little peep:  is he able to find his way in the world just months after birth??  True, we age at different rates, but there are numerous examples of little peeps who remain dependent after three decades of parental care… prompting us cats to rigorously scratch our heads.  Really?  And what attention-hogs these little peeps are!  "Oh, he spit up!  Such a sweet boy!"  That is not the reaction I get to my carpet spatters.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Holding a grudge is hard work.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - katvetch, to complain to one's peeps about unfair treatment... not that they listen

warp speed

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 February 2017 - If I had a stronger desire to please, I could have been an acrobat in the circus.  There are few peeps who can rest their chests upon the floor and straighten their legs... but the position is just another stretch for us cats (and then "they" have the audacity to name the pose after those dim deeps).  My taller peep is praising my flexibility, and wishing that he was so gifted.  What might I do for my next trick if I aspired to be a crowd-pleaser?

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

One can't walk erect if one is spineless.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

place of the day - the Sphinx, the huge enigmatic statue near the Pyramids at Giza (imagine it with its back legs straightened)

that smarts

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

18 January 2017 - My two are slow out of the blocks.  I could (and often do) run rings around them in the morning... I call it "herding peeps".  To help the shorter one maneuver through the just-out-of-bed fog, I offer visual, and obvious, cues.  In this picture, positioned next to her chair in the dining room, I am reminding her that breakfast is the next thing to consider.  I try to conceal my annoyance:  no one has to prod me to a meal.  But keeping her healthy is a high priority for me:  she can't take care of me properly if she is under the weather.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Some bulbs are just brighter.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrainy, clever, resourceful, quick-witted, especially when compared to peeps

prey tell

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

17 January 2016 - My worldly observations differ markedly from my peeps, and not just because my view is five feet lower than theirs.  Since they have never experienced anything but a well-fed predator mindset, they wander through their space, largely unaware of what is crouched behind them, what is soaring overhead.  What would dare challenge them, what could possibly pose a threat?  I on the other hand must be constantly attuned to my surroundings... even when napping my ears are listening.  While they and I concede the presence of danger, their knowledge is much more abstract.  I don't have that luxury.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Curiosity actually saved the cat.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purriscope, the framework of cat senses that keeps it safe

not gonna do it

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

16 January 2016 - There is a stranger in the next room, assaulting our house.  I am defending the bedroom, protecting an area in which my peeps spend a third of their lives.  So far he appears to be acting alone, as I have not spotted additional intruders approaching from the south.  His boldness however is troubling:  normally an attacker would be stealthy, wishing to slip in and out undetected.  That he rang the doorbell and is noisily ransacking the pantry makes me conclude that he is either overconfident, perhaps justifiably, or has taken leave of his senses.  If the latter, he can't be reasoned with; if the former, a show of claws would be rebuffed.  Rather I have drawn a line on the carpet (don't worry, it will come out with soap and water)... he just better not try to cross it.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

Remember that superheroes

live in comic books.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrdent, acting sensibly, giving thought to the future and the continued flow of kibble

seize who?

Me-ow-my-oh!

Me-usings and Me-emories

15 January 2017 - Unless you are the sort to veg out in front of the television, watching whatever sport is in season, Sunday afternoons offer the chance to play and pretend.  Just present an empty box to a cat (or a little peep), and we will entertain ourselves.  Throw in something that rolls or jiggles or squeaks, and we transform into our wild versions, stalking and pouncing and channeling all our big-bad-predator instincts.  Not much of this activity is required to wear me out, and I am ready for a cool-down purr and nap.  The difference is that I earned mine.

methodology of the meow-stro

 

 

 

Today's Catechism 

(for the self-taught)

There will be plenty of time

to rest later.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - spurr-ring, a sudden forward movement, just to make things interesting