The Bone Thief

Kitties!

All was not wine and roses toys and beddies in the parcel from Finland.

There was this horribly nefarious item as well--a Kitchen Towel.

As you can see, our nekkid pal Seppo put up a valiant battle to prevent it from being sent across the ocean to PURRsecute us!

Mommy thought the best way to show off the instrument of torture would be to drape it on us like a little saddle.

You can imagine *just* how well this hair-brained idea worked out:

Rupert lost his head...

May Ling Lost her bones...

and poor John almost lost the will to live.

At least MOMMY had fun.

pöh.

Happy Thursday!

XX  Rupert, May Ling, and Johnny  XX

Three's a Crowd

Kitties!

Scouty here.

One of Daddy's friends gave him us this Terrifically Awesome recliner.  This thing does it all--it massages and heats up and pummels the peeps into a dribbling pile of boneless goo.  But the best part is that it's made out of leather...soft, snuggly, stinky steer hide.  I love it!

So the other evening I was enjoying the New and Most Wondrous chair...

...and not all by myself, as you can see.

Me and my BFF John were all hootchie-scootchie'd together, along with my seasonal pal:

My Catlick!

See it?  It's behind Johnny's head.  This year I had three catlicks on my spine--two fell off (and Daddy found one, more on that later) so I have one stubborn catlick left, clinging on by a few furs.  It just kills Mommy that she can't Touch me (or even get near enough to think about Touching--ed.) to pluck it off.

Rumor has it that if I ever have to go to the vet she's gonna go all Big Game Hunter on my hide and nail me with a tranquilizer dart!*

Like that's ever gonna happen. 

In the meanwhile, I'm having fun driving her even further 'round the bend...and teasing her with my bushy tail, which she also would dearly like to feel. 

 *heh heh*

In your dreams, Mommy.  In your dreams.

Happy Tuesday!

XX  Scouty and John  XX

*and pet and smooch on him while he's out!

Tortie in Lurve

Kitties!

May Ling here, amidst the Catmas largesse sent to me...

(actually all of the Kats, and the peeps--ed)

from our wonderful Finnish pals at Pikku Punapippuri!

Sir PP thinks the blog is all about him, being the King of Finland (North), and all that, but really (for me) the blog is all about my boyfriend, the Mighty Mountain of ManCat, Mirsku!

So I'm pretending that his paws purrsonally picked out and wrapped all this stuff, all by himself.

mmmmmm, Rainbow Wire Tie Spider...I can taste Mirsku's cat spit on your delectably chewy tips!

Ambrosia.

And Patriotic Packing Tape Toy (in Finnish colors)--I can see a toof mark (or six or elebenty) left by my ManCats's meaty maw.

Sir PP, you are an Incorrigible Rascal!

But this bit is the BEST pressie of all...

Fur!

And not just any fur, but UNDERFUR!!!

Direct from the vast expanse of my stupendously massive swain's thunder thighs.

*swoon*

Mommy put Mirsku's Special Gift on his page of the calendar so I could go for the Full Effect.

::SMOOCH::

Mister November, I Love You!

Thank You so much for the wonderful gifts!  

Mirsku, Sir PP, the Gang, and of course Äiti--you guys are the best.

Happy Tuesday!

XX  May Ling  XX

Blingified Sheeb

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here, plain and stubby.

That sounds sorta awful, doesn't it?  But it's perfectly OK with me.  I am happy with not being a frilly glamorous sort of girl, in fact, I find that gewgaws and furbelows itch.  I like stuff that's functional--which does not mean I don't enjoy wearing beautiful things, I do.  So when Scott asked me what I wanted for our 20th wedding anniversary (October 2nd) I had an answer ready: a new wedding band.  I quit wearing my original wedding set about a year ago because the diamond needs to be reset (for the third time) and although I deliberately picked out a small stone--over Scott's objections, what is up men's obsession with size--I've whacked it and caught it on just about everything over the past nineteen years.  

It was time to go Utilitarian.

But not Ugly.

So I went looking on line with my mental list (as opposed to my mental list) of requirements:

Original.  I wanted a one of a kind piece.

Functional.  No pointy bits, nothing sticking up or snaggy.

Quirky.  I love things that are different.

Gorgeous.  'Nuff said.

I looked off and on for weeks, and I eventually found exactly what I wanted on Etsy, crafted by the imaginative and talented artisan/jeweler Karen Haney.

I showed it to Scott , told him the price, (very reasonable) and placed my custom order...and last week it arrived.

Friends, it is PERFECT.

It is precisely what I wanted.

It is me!

It's a palladium/sterling alloy which is whiter and stronger than sterling, and has a beautiful mirror finish.  The design goes all around the band, so I can play with it and spin it around.  Plus it feels nice and sturdy on my finger and I don't have to worry about losing a stone.  I couldn't be happier--I feel married again!  heh.

Thank you Karen, for helping make our 20th so memorable.  I love my ring.

Happy Sunday!

XX  Sheebie  XX

Gratitude

 Friends and Kitties!

What do you do when you receive the Most Spectacular Gift, ever?

Blog about it, of course!

The wild and crazy quilt that Grayce is gracing was made for my by none other than the Mad Fiber Artist  Stacy Hurt!

Now, I'd like to apologize for some of these photos, I had the camera settings wrong and of course by the time I previewed them it was too late...

Way back before I knew that Stacy was a fabulously talented artist (I met her through her cat blog On a more personal note...From Ms. Stella O'Houligan) I naively asked her if she would mind sewing a quilt for me--I had bits and pieces of cat-themed fabric collected over the years that I could never seem to get around to crafting with.  (Before we moved, I was an avid, albeit amateur, quilter.)  She agreed, and I was happy to clear out my stash when she visited me last year.

Now, I knew that Stacy did commission work and had other things going on--like life--so I wasn't worried about how long it would take to complete.  I had, therefore, a few months to discover through her quilting blog that I'd done the equivalent of asking Mozart to compose a quick ditty!  Because this woman is a genius with fiber. 

I was a wee tad embarrassed.

I felt like I had taken advantage of a friend.

I had to do something.  I mean, just look at the label, for pete's sake!  This quilt is an heirloom.

Even the back is special, there are THIRTEEN kitties stitched onto it.

And the beautiful free-hand quilting!  All done on a regular machine--not a long arm!  That takes some doing.

I can't decide whether to use my quilt or hang it up as a piece of Art.  It's totally machine wash and dryable--so while I decide it's been on my bed and I can report that it's nice and warm without adding a lot of weight.

(again, sorry about the blurriness) 

Stacy said some photos of my crew on the quilt would be payment enough for her time and talent...

...so I cracked open the treat jar (the Great Equalizer), larded the bed, belted out the Snack Whistle, and got outta the way!

*nom nom nom* 

Of course, I wanted to do something more for Stacy...so here's my two cents:

This woman does cool stuff!  Besides stunning piecework she also makes award-winning fiber art quilts.  She sews hallucinogenic (for felines) catnip quilts.  She makes beautiful prayer flags, stuffed animals, table runners, you name it...and she is a calligrapher, too!  If you need something truly original made, from a card to quilt (big or small) she is The One.

Stacy, from the bottom of my heart, I thank you.

You ROCK.

Happy Sunday, and Sweet Dreams all Week!

XX  Sheebie  XX

(Boy)Friend Friday!

Kitties!

Sweet Pea here.

As you can see by the angle of my ears, I'm a little ticked off--at Mommy!

But what else is new?

My handsome Ginger-n-White boyfriend Flynn (from Eric and Flynn) sent me a lovely parcel and Mommy forgot to post about it!  She is a Negligent Human; but I repeat myself.  Flynn is an English Cat, I think his "meows" have such a charming accent.

*sigh*

Flynn sent me a purrsonal love letter message!

I read it in such a way that none of the other Kats could read it over my shoulder.

There was a calendar along with the love letter purrsonal message--kitties, I wish it could be April all year long.  Flynn is soooooooo gorgeous!

I decided to give him a wee kiss...

...A French kiss, at that!

::bashfully blushing::

The boys also sent a nice big refrigerator magnet with a nice photo of both of them on it.

Mommy uses it to hold her grocery list--and stinky goodness better be the first item on it every week--you hear that Mommy?

Thank you, Flynn--Eric too--your gift made me, and Mommy, and the rest of us Kats very happy!

::big smiles::

Happy Friday!

XX  Sweet Pea  XX

Sheebie's Giftmas

Friends and Kitties!

Sheebie here.

Buying a gift for Scott is nearly an impossible feat.  A) he never knows what he'd like, and B) as soon as he figures it out he buys it himself.  Occasionally I'll get lucky and present him with a tin of kipper snacks or a tube of lip balm the lack of which he was unaware, but for the most part I steer clear of the gifting quagmire.  Myself, on the other hand, am an easy recipient.  I like everything.  There are very few things I've received from Scott in all the years we've been married that I consider to be "dud" gifts.  (And I will never, on pain of death, reveal which ones they are so don't bother asking.)  It sounds sort of one-sided but for us, it works.

I should state that we don't celebrate any traditional holidays at our house.  We did away with Christmas in 1997--long story involving a trip to Mexico--Scott hates birthday fuss, I detest "lovey" days, and our families live conveniently far enough away to prevent easy get-togethers.  Additionally, I work most holidays (at double-time-and-a-half) by choice.  We do take note of my birthday, mainly because I parade around for weeks crowing things like "next week is my birthday", "it's my birthday" and "do you know what today is?  It's the day after the day after my birthday!"  Scott is an intelligent man, and reacts appropriately to maintain marital harmony.

And some of his best gifts cost nothing except his dignity.

Friday I was at work with my swollen up cat-bitten hand and feeling pretty miserable.  I would have taken time off except it's the holidays and I just didn't feel right about sticking my co-workers with an extra shift, so I'm grousing through the day, having a craptacular solo pity party when I get an email from Scott, who had just set up our indoor bike-riding doohickey* and sent me some photos:

I almost wet my pants laughing.

Of course I immediately called him, and he said that besides putting together the riding thingummy he'd also done all  my house chores and he'd make dinner (pizza!) too.  Well.  My day got a lot better despite my lame hand, and I slogged through the remainder of work in a vastly improved frame of mind--and when I got home I saw that Scott had been harvesting the lemon tree and picked a few dozen more for me--he knew I wouldn't be able to snip them off for a few days.  I've been slicing and dehydrating them a dozen at a time for my tea, and he knows that I want to get them done while they're at their peak.  But that wasn't the real gift.

This was: 

How about these melons...er...lemons?

Pin-up cheesecake!

Naughty or Nice?

Scott sometimes drives me crazy, but where else in the world would I find a man who puts lemons in his shirt just to make me laugh?   Furthermore, how do you go about screening a possible mate for that sort of thing? I don't suppose internet dating services ask you about your fruit placement preferences, or maybe they do, depending on the site.  Anyway, that's besides the point.  My point is that all of us, just by our very existence, are a gift, to somebody.  As you are all to me, reading my ramblings--my present to you.  I wish you all a Very Happy Whatever, Whenever.

Happy Sunday, and Have a Laugh This Week!

XX  Sheebie  XX

*This came up on spellcheck!  I only had one "O" in there.  Who knew?

pee ess:  The hand is doing much better!

A Parcel!

Kitties!

May Ling here, and I am super-duper chuffed about what happened last week--we received a parcel from the freezy cold Land of Finland, where Punapippuri and his perheeni* live, one of which is my Handsome Hulk, my Beefy Boyfriend, my Leviathan Lovecat, Mirsku!

Grayce:  This could be fun!  Maybe we got some more toys?

Rupert:  They would have to be some pretty flat toys...maybe it's a thin package of treats?

Step back you two...this package is meant for me!  After all Mirsku is my swain.

*sigh*

They never listen.

Look what we got!  A lovely card and post-it notes (sat upon) featuring Punipippuri, a calendar with a different member of perheeni for each month, a calendar of  their Äiti's** beautiful photos, and a Marley's Cat Tales calendar (which arrived a bit damp but dried out nicely).

Mommy is pressing it under a cat bed, we'll have it flat in no time, heh heh.

Mommy put the perheeni calendar up on the refrigerator...

...but not before I checked out Mister July!

Oh my claws and whiskers...Mirsku is so handsome!

I'm feeling all fainty.

*kiss*

Thank you so much, you guys!  We love our Catmas gifts.

And the wrapping paper...more on that tomorrow...

Happy Monday!

XX  May Ling  XX

*perheeni = family

**Äiti = Mommy