much obliged

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

30 Apr 2025 - I am particularly fond of this room, and for now (I don't want to be predictable) this spot on the bed.  Technically it isn't where I'm "supposed" to stretch out (see pinkish color on the picture's right edge), but my choice has been okayed (or at least overlooked).  Besides being a place to nap, this is where I get brushed and massaged (I don't know what else to call it).  And because my peeps often pass through this space, I often am the recipient of head pats and spoken niceties assuring me that I am cat #1.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Don't forget to

show you care.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - thankpurrl, expressing feline gratitude

what goes there?

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

29 Apr 2025 - This time of day is typically busy for interlopers, foraging and making plans for the morning.  Even my peeps have noticed the squeaking noises that can be heard from a corner of the pictured space.  I can't see the varmint, so my glare is ineffective... but the ne'er-do-well is just beyond the domicile's eastern wall.  Should it manage to break through, I am here to repel any further incursion... I really have had enough of its noisy chatter.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Anger fuels the fire.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

feline of the day - Beelzebub, another Mark Twain cat (and a good name for this demonic squeep)

spice of life

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

28 Apr 2025 - Post-meal is something of a letdown, with much time to pass before I'm fed again.  Perhaps I should slow down my intake, allow the tongue to savor the flavors, the nose to identify the aromas... but the thought always occurs to me after my saucer is clean.  And how realistic is it to strategize my next encounter with food when we cats are creatures of the moment?  Is there a part of my brain in which I can tuck such reminders?  At least I have many more lives in which to practice.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Self-improvement should

be more than a thought.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - feel gato about, to be satisfied with something (could be very species-specific)

something else

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

27 Apr 2025 - I have numerous responsibilities, but I'm not trying to keep the world spinning.  My glare has a limited range, and I am just one cat... so I do what I can and take frequent naps.  The shorter peep commented on my odd behavior and suspected there was a reason for my camping out under the globe.  Then she spotted a large, dark leep trying to hide on a furniture leg, and all was understood (and my vigil was done).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Investigate the unusual.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - occatsional, occurring infrequently (but I was there)

friendly terms

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

26 Apr 2025 - A while ago I expressed concern about Mr. Sol's health, his wan light possibly indicative of illness or decline.  If that were the case, he has fully recovered.  Lately the shorter peep has been blocking some of his brightness, leaving a narrow aperture for me to conduct interloper checks.  I'm sure this situation is a compromise between her preferring the cooler shadows and my love of those heated pools.  At least the ambient air is no longer chilly, so I can live without his baking radiance (and revel in it where I can).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

There are many opinions

on how one should proceed.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - meowt halfway, a concession between cat and peep (just don't get out the yardstick)

sublime light

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

25 Apr 2025 - This is a picture of a contented cat.  I have just had my evening meal (plus treats), Mr. Sol is beaming down upon me, and I'm happily engaged in a wash-up.  There isn't an interloper in sight to truncate my me-time... can life get any better?!  Naturally (and expectedly) the respite came to an end:  my two peeps rose from their seats to clear the table.  Not wishing to be underfoot I hopped up and resumed my patrol, and just that quickly we three fell back into our routines.  But for a brief while I enjoyed perfection.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

There are many reasons

to live in the now.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - one in a meowllion, a very rare thing (but not impossible)

composure

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

24 Apr 2025 - Closing one's eyes focuses attention on sensation... which isn't a good thing if it is painful, but quite nice if pleasurable.  So you won't be seeing my pupils when the shorter peep is scratching my head.  Especially around the ears, where precision isn't great when scratching with a hind leg, I almost doze... and if I don't occasionally check my surroundings, I could fall off her lap (I-meant-to-do-that moment).  We meet for these massage sessions at least once a day, twice if I'm lucky... an anticipated and appreciated release from work stress.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Make sure you're not

clenching your muscles.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purressure, a force, physical or mental, exerted on a cat (and hence the need for naps)

comeuppance

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

23 Apr 2025 - Perhaps the most important trait of a sentry is patience, and then a keen eye.  I often take a position on the perimeter, and then turn into a fixture.  Immobile I am soon overlooked by the otherwise occupied interlopers.  But I see them, deduce their next moves, and then plot my retribution.  In order to realize the latter, we cats have to possess fast-twitch muscles, the ability to literally spring into action.  Thank you, Bastet, for providing.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Our days are filled

with waiting.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - meowsure for meowsure, purrportionality in justice

lean back

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

22 Apr 2025 - Unless you catch me in full gallop, all four paws off the floor, I look of medium size, perhaps even squatty if hunched.  But as you can see, I elongate quite nicely (too bad my tail wasn't straightened).  I suspect, and hope, that you've experienced the aahs of a slow, bow-to-stern stretch.  And the subsequent release gives you the idea of total body relaxation, a feeling that is good to recall during moments of high stress.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

It's okay to look silly.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - be purrostrate, to sprawl on the floor (more of an effort for peeps)

concession stand

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

21 Apr 2025 - As you can see, my personal porch remains formerly screened.  I do miss being that much closer to the outdoors, able to literally sniff the wind and determine what manner of interloper is nearby.  A small part of me, perhaps the part trying to improve a disappointing situation, chirps in with a reminder of the extra square footage that would be added to my patrol... which is true, more steps would have to be taken.  But I would gladly take them on.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Compromises are a way forward,

without satisfying anyone.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - steer a meowdle course, a plan that avoids purrlarizing alternatives

exclusive

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

20 Apr 2025 - I highly recommend the occasional personal time.  It keeps frustrations and disappointment in their proper perspective, and is a mini-vacation for that part of you always on alert.  This time I brought along a comforting friend, but solitude is likewise good (especially if the friend is the yakky sort).  I used the break to relax, to do some needed grooming... and then I was ready to reenter the work force, to face down the interlopers,  believing eventually I will prevail.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Sometimes thoughts must be gathered.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - empurrical, based on a cat's observations

what goes up

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

19 Apr 2025 - My circuit around the lowest level completed, I pause to consider my next step... actually a flight of steps.  If one doesn't like stairs, one wouldn't care for our domicile.  But the peeps and I are accustomed to trotting up and down, and don't think of the exertion as exercise (until someone points it out).   After all it isn't surprising that whatever one needs is usually elsewhere and elsewhere involves an elevation change.

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Don't forget how to skip.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

word of the day - purrmotion, a boost from the cat

from experience

Shamus on view

Me-usings and Me-emories

18 Apr 2025 - Nope, I would not want my two peeps walking this ledge.  Not only is it narrow (the width of my body), but it drops precipitously to an ungiving surface.  If I were being pursued, I'd choose to leap (even though my pink buddy on the corner advises against it).  I grant that my decision would be made while gripped by panic, and so probably isn't the smartest move... but I also calmly think that I'd survive without injury.  However I'm not certain the same outcome awaits my peeps, should they jump (or fall).

clipped notes

                             Today's Catechism 

                            (for the autodidcat)

Don't romanticize disaster.

Bring back Bastet

Bastet beckons

Catty Corner

phrase of the day - the meowterial world, the hard reality purrceived by a cat