Merry Bright Art

 Today I'm launching a separate blog "Merry Bright Art,"

so I can keep my focus here on Tanji, Uschi, and Vladi.

Of course there will be plenty of cat art over at the new blog,
come visit us there too!

Time to Bike

Uschi is letting me know the bike is entirely too dusty,

so its time to clean it off and get spinning again.

 U is cheering me along, that makes pushing the pedals easier.
(Why do cats HAVE to rub their chins on extension cords?
Drives me crazy, maybe its to get attention.)

 I never thought Uschi would like being my biking companion,
but I'll take it!

My Posse

Well everyone was right about all the support I'd have

from my three little sweeties...

When I get home, there is a pile of cats waiting to greet me.
All three are still sleepy, blinky and yawning.

If its almost dinner time, Vladi gets a good licking,

his brothers know that makes me very generous with the nibblies.

Tanji is giving Uschi extra mushing.

O.K., all of this togetherness is just getting silly,

let's crack open a can of something!
(Of course we all have a group hug first)

Flying Away Home

When I came home yesterday, a flock of Dusky Canada geese flew over my driveway.  Last spring, at the worst of times for me, the duskies left for their Alaskan home, and somehow I knew when they left again, my heart would leave with them.  And there they were, circling overhead, and I remembered this poem, shared by dear Kristi with me:

wild geese

you do not have to be good.

you do not have to walk on your knees

for a hundred miles through the desert, repenting.

you only have to let the soft animal of your body

love what it loves.

tell me about despair, yours, and i will tell you mine.

meanwhile the world goes on.

meanwhile the sun and the clear pebbles of the rain

are moving across the landscapes,

over the prairies and the deep trees,

the mountains and the rivers.

meanwhile the wild geese, high in the clean blue air,

are heading home again.

whoever you are, no matter how lonely,

the world offers itself to your imagination,

calls to you like the wild geese, harsh and exciting --

over and over announcing your place

in the family of things.

~ mary oliver ~

Thank-you for all of the kind thoughts and love.
The advice is perfect timing, I don't think it
would have made sense to me months ago.
You guys are awesome!  Les

Really Rough Day

Well, some days are just rough, pure and simple.  Last March I made an unhappy discovery, and after eight months, Mark and I have been unable to recover our relationship.  Today culminated in yet another disclosure, and I finally have to move on with my own recovery from depression to a happier life without this continued drama.  So now its just the four of us: me, Tanji, Uschi, and Vladi.  I really wish Mark luck with his family.  I guess I should have been ready for this day, but it is scary and so, so, sad.  Please send some happy thoughts our way, its been a really rough day.

Up a Tree

 Uschi is feeling kind of spunky.

I think this tree needs an Usching.

 Uschi is a solid cat, it takes some real catpower

to haul up a tree.

 U is just gorgeous, stripes shining in the sun...

 All of his wheel time has built beautiful muscles.

 Time for the dismount, eyes glance down...

 ...all four feet follow.

 That was fun!

Did that tree over there just look at me funny?

Wet Walk

Even though it was lightly raining all day, the boys had been cooped

up for days and needed to stretch their legs and blow off steam.

 Tanji walks me around for a while.

 Vladi keeps running up to us, all excited and playful.

 At first, Tanji growls and hisses at his little pesty brother.

But after about fifteen minutes, the two are sniffing

everything together, and eventually chase each other home.

Meanwhile Uschi is sitting watching the small birds at the pond.

I leave him there, but run back when I see

a great blue heron take off nearby.

 Uschi saw it too, and is shaking with excitement.

 The rain is coming down harder, and U is totally soaked.

With a meow and a tail swish, Usch heads for home.

Oops, instead of heading inside, U has sprinted out to the shed,

and I have to chase after him and carry the wet weight home.

Inside I'm getting a lot of mushy stares from the boys,

they really enjoyed their wet walk (and so did I!).

Vegas Trip

We took a trip to Vegas for Thanksgiving.

Even if the boys have lots of goodies while we're gone for a few days,

they still miss us and need extra reassurance.  Now that we're back...

Tanji is keeping a very close eye on me.

 Vladi seems a bit annoyed, but he's close by too.

Even Uschi is within arm's reach.  He looks like a sad kitten,

and is going to need extra mushing, fancy feast, and a trip outside.

Thanksgiving Treats

 For this Thanksgiving we have a whole lot of kitty junk food.

The boys are pretty excited.

Let's get some of this open!

Even the wrappers smell good.

 The frosted lemon cookies may be intended for the "grown-ups"...

...but we always end up sharing.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Red Velvet Cake

What's better than a piece of cake with a jigsaw puzzle?

There's just enough cake and icing to tempt someone to lick the plate.

Wonder who it will be?

Whoa, didn't expect it to be Tanji!

 

 Apparently Vladi is waiting for a bigger dollop of icing.

Puzzle Time

Mark got us a holiday puzzle to relax with and enjoy.

 "Us" includes Vladi, who is eager to "help."

Those paws are carefully dismantling the edge pieces.

Vladi is actually standing right on the piece Mark is trying to move.

Apparently this puzzle is taking too much of our attention.

But Vladi is stubborn, he sticks with us from start...

...to finish a few days later.

Gerbie Update

A year ago we adopted Gerbie the Gerbil.  Since she lives at school,

a safe distance from the boys, Gerbie doesn't get a lot of blog time.

But since we are at work pretty much every day,

Gerbie is used to a lot of attention and goodies.

Today its a piece of buttered toast left over after lunch at Sheri's.

Rather than carry this downstairs, Gerbie seems to have fallen asleep

cuddling her new treat.  She is adorable (reminds me a bit of Vladi).