in contrast

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

31 Mar 2025 - You might think you've seen this picture before, but there are telling differences.  The big distinctions are that 1) I'm curled clockwise, and 2) I'm facing the room's portals  As I recall, the exact opposite was the case when the shorter peep intruded with her black cube.  You might not be wowed with the dissimilarities, but you're not the interloper group that I'm trying to keep off-balance.  The strategy of one on patrol is to be unpredictable:  not knowing where they'll find me or what I'll do next has been very successful in scattering the ne'er-do-wells  (so I will keep doing it).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Try something else.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - dipurrse, showing a great deal of feline variety

a little to the right

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

30 Mar 2025 - No, I'm not trying to gnaw off my foot... just an itch that needs my attention... and very shortly I was back on the job, managing the shorter peep's activities.  There are places on my body that can't be reached (between my shoulder blades, for example), so I do appreciate when my back is stroked and my chin is chucked... because there is nothing more mind-distracting than an irritation that can't be addressed.  Even with an elbow pointing to the heavens and the hand dangling behind the back, my peeps still occasionally request assistance (I supervise).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

I help out, you help out:  it is

a civilized contract.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - recipurrocity, the process of exchanging things for mutual benefit (it works for me)

rumination

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

29 Mar 2025 - There can be a meeting of one (it certainly is more productive), and post-breakfast I like to gather my thoughts for the day ahead, to devise my attack strategy.  Besides one should allow some time for digestion before any strenuous activity.  Hence my pensive pause.  And, once the shorter peep makes her way to the office, I will adjourn and join her at work... give the office a top-of-the-morning interloper sweep.  And then I'll take my patrol elsewhere.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

A gentle push will get

the day started.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - inpurrspective, a cat's bit of inward-thinking 

how clever

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

28 Mar 2025 - I get much satisfaction from my job, and one of the perks is all the comforting views from the many portal ledges.  Even if I never spotted another interloper (and that's not going to happen), I would spend time gazing out upon the greenness that surrounds our domicile.  Sometimes I daydream that I'm out there, tiptoeing through our jungle.  For a very brief while (after my personal screened porch was destroyed) I was actually out there, paws upon the ground... and it was big and scary... better to just pretend.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

The safest sort of adventure

is imagined.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrnache, self-assurance (I could use some more)

up and down

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

28 Mar 2025 - Don't I look comfortable (and color-coordinated)?  As past photographs have documented, I don't always select the "designated" towel as my nap spot... but sometimes I do, just to affirm with the shorter peep that I do "occasionally" agree with her location choice.  Again it is a matter of predictability:  I don't want the interlopers to notice a pattern and then take advantage of a written-in-stone schedule.  So at any time of the day or night, only I know where to find me (unless a meal is being served).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Variety makes life interesting.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purriable, not having a fixed pattern (meowx it up!)

off the wall

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

26 Mar 2025 - I don't fully understand why the shorter peep takes pleasure in pointing her little black cube in my direction.  Initially I was fearful of physical repercussions, like a zap to the forehead or a pull of my fur.  But I honestly haven't felt a thing, and after countless of these episodes I just grin and bear the attention.  Sometimes there are even enjoyable consequences, like a head pat or back stroke.  If I were listing odd peep behavior, this action would be included... among numerous others.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

We all have our quirky behavior.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purreign, strange and unfamiliar (unless you live with peeps)

pussyfoot

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 Mar 2025 - My favorite time of day is when Mr. Sol is at his full-bore height, illuminating everything from above.  But I'll admit that the beginning and end of his sky trek are quite special.  The mingling of light and dark, the softness of shadows are all discerned and appreciated by a cat's keen vision.  And without a spotlight, I can quietly slip along the room's perimeter, barely stirring the senses, unnoticed... which is very advantageous when one is hunting interlopers.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

To catch the show,

go on tiptoe.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrtive, attempting to avoid detection (it isn't that hard)

safeguard

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 Mar 2025 - If I don't look poised, I certainly look posed.  But then lap time with the shorter peep usually puts me in a very relaxed frame of mind (and body).  It was far from a managerial meeting, just a friendly pop-in, a pleasant diversion from my interloper patrol.  As you might recall, I often hear scritching in this general area, so these office environs warrant continued surveillance... meanwhile I can keep a watchful eye on my two peeps.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Friends look after friends.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrtification, a feline bulwark against attack

focus

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 Mar 2025 - A bored cat is a cat about to get into trouble... so I try to stay busy.  Even when forced to wait on a peep (a common grouse), I occupy myself:  there is always the need for more grooming or interloper investigation.  The latter has many variations in a domicile with many nooks and portals, so I never get bored with my job, but admittedly the former is more enjoyable.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

There is always room

for self-improvement.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - me-ow time, doing what a cat wants to do

understudy

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 Mar 2025 - Occasionally (often is not necessary) a manager should don the role of an employee, to remind himself of what the other's work life is like.  It is only an approximation, as there is no hovering presence of a superior, but it does allow me to gauge the weight of expectations, the stress of deadlines.  As you can see, I found the job not demanding at all (and the chair quite comfortable).  If our office had a water cooler, I'm sure that I would spend lots of hang time there with the guys.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Don't assume that you know.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - pinch-kitter, a cat filling in for his peep

tearaway

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

21 Mar 2025 - Sitting this close to the portal to my personal (formerly) screened porch, I can feel the pressure of the buffeting winds.  The splashes of color beyond the porch are bobbing and weaving... but holding firm.  Despite the turbulent air, the beeps are successfully traversing the space between tree and bush and tree.  Being cautious, if I were one of their kind, I wouldn't be testing my aerial skills.  My daredevil teenage years are behind me (and even then I wasn't an adventurer).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Regardless of the promised allotment,

be careful with your present life.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - swashbuckpurr, a cat that engages in daring escapades

bored of directors

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 Mar 2025 - I suppose one could say I'm working undercover... when really I just wanted a comfy spot from which to conduct business.  Mid-morning our office is busy (relatively speaking) with activity, the one time of day I'm almost assured of finding both of my peeps at their stations.  During this window I make a point of directing my patrol through the space, to assess interloper activity and employee productivity (thus making good use of my scarce time).  An additional incentive is that I'll find a ready-made lap (as office manager I have, not surprisingly, nixed stand-up desks).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

There are numerous purrks

in working together.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrprietor, the feline keeper of a business

groundwork

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

19 Mar 2025 - The interloper world, at least in my neighborhood, is seemingly energized by all this sunshine.  I am kept busy on my patrol, scampering from one portal to the next, watching their activity and drawing a line across which they travel at their own risk.  My glare is getting a workout, and my naps are earned (and needed).  So far I haven't had to confront anything of size (at least now that the meep has been evicted), but it would be foolish to think "they" aren't out there.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

It shouldn't just be

the boy scout's motto.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrduction, a cat's management of an event