Wednesday, December 24, 2014

Dear Santa Paws,

Humiliation!
All I want fur KissMess is mai FURS BACK!!! 


Thursday, December 18, 2014

17th GOTCHA ANNIFURSARY!

Me and mai pal Gumby up on the fridge, circa 1999!
It was 17 years ago that Patty and Sabryin came to get me at the Furry Felines Cattery.  I didn't want to go.  I ran everywhere, hiding under chairs and couches and whatever I could find and wherever I could fit.  I ran and ran and ran, but they got me anyway.  The first night they were very good at playing chase me; not so much anymore, 'cause they are getting old.  Ahem.

Speaking of old, this is a very old photo of me and mai pal Gumby.  We had what mai mom calls a "fatal attraction."  The first time I met Gumby, he was so spindly I just wanted to gnaw his little arms off!  It's the feline in me -- those uncontrollable urges.  Mai mom kept trying to put Gumby in places she thought I couldn't go . . . like the top of the fridge.  Guess what?  I got there!  You can see how happy Gumby is to see me. 

PATTY:  What you can't see are the deep fang marks on Gumby's poor little arms.  I had to save him, I had to.  He is now inhabiting a very special spot on the top shelf of the wall to ceiling bookcase, but don't tell Bhu.

Anyway, Happy Gotcha Day Bhu!!  We absolutely love you!  xoxo

Sunday, November 16, 2014

Snow Cold!

This is the place to be on a cold, snowy day!

You know what would make it even better?

Pets from Poppy! 
PATTY:  Can you believe snow already?  I'm just not prepared for this!
BHU:  Whatchu complainin' about allatime?  It's not so bad!
PATTY:  Easy for you to say, with all that FUR! 
BHU:  Your misfortune having been born a furless one. 
PATTY:  Yeah, only in the winter, mister. 

Hope you are all in a warm spot today, just like Bhu.  Hope you get some pets, too!  xoxo

Sunday, October 26, 2014

Feels like Summer; looks like Fall!

Look what I can see from mai fort window:
These leaves were all on the tree yesterday! 


Mai mom's dumb feet in her dumb purple shoes.  No doubt she's gonna drag some of those leaves into the house.

What can I say?  These particular leaves know their place.
 PATTY:  Well, Bhu, you have a very colorful yard these days, no doubt about it!  Guess I'm gonna hafta rake soon.  Today it is warm and lovely, but I know that winter is lurking somewhere north of here!   As for me, I quilted the Key West quilt today and I will talk more about that on "Sew Sew Patty."  Hope effuryone is having a wonderful Sunday!  

xoxo


Friday, October 17, 2014

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BHU!

Then, a sweet little kitteh in December 1997.


Now,  a handsome feline version of George Clooney. (Zoolatry graphic)
BHU:  Today I am SEVENTEEN!  By the time I hit the internetz, I was already an adult kitteh and it was so much fun meeting all mai new furrends and visiting their blogs.  I even got to co-star in a soap opurra ("As the Paw Turns") with Sweet Praline, Ginger Jasper, Goma, Maggy & Zoey and who was that other little rascal?  Anyhoo, it's been an excellent time so far (except for some not-so-fun visits to the VET) and the noms just keep getting better and better!  Love mai mom and poppy, miss Sweet P and GJ, still have a heart pitter-patter everytime I see Maggy . . . and I'm planning to hog those sunpuddles for a very long time to come!

PATTY:  Hear, hear!  Happy Birthay, my sweet.  xoxo

Saturday, October 11, 2014

Football Saturday


What's that?
It's moving!  It's on top of my paw! 

Little sweater for a baby!
PATTY:  Pity us because we live close to a university football stadium -- a mile away, which apparently is too close.  Since 7 am we have been "treated" to a preview of the Georgia marching band rehearsing for an 11 am game.  "Check, check, check" on the too-loud sound system.  Lovely.  It's Saturday!!  SATURDAY!  So now you know it:  I hate football! 

BHU:  I think you're making more noise than the band at this point.

PATTY:  Thanks for the snark, Bhu.  Anyhoo, here's a little photo sequence of Bhu's big yarn adventure the other night.  This is a little sweater I decided to make for a PhD student who is newly pregnant.  She's hoping for a girl, but I keep seeing "boy" when I work on this, so . . .  I'm going to bind the neck and sleeve edges with blue, I think.  I was watching the Create channel one day and they were having a Crochet & Knitting programs marathon and I saw them making this stitch that really appealed to me:  cast on 30, single crochet then double crochet and repeat.  I like the texture.

Next week -- the 17th to be exact -- is Bhu's 17th birthday.  Stop by and say hello!  xoxo

Saturday, September 20, 2014

Oh, the horror!

Top:  Me and the 4-armed monster! Left:  Holding my own while being held.  Middle:  The outcome.  Right:  Well-deserved nap time!
BHU:  So, remember last summer when I went to the V-E-T and she said, "You don't have to come back EVER!"  Yeah, well, Poppy found a vet who makes house calls!!  This is fair warning to all you kittehs out there!  You are NEVER SAFE!

PATTY:  You are SUCH a drama diva!  As usual, you complain about the good things we do for you.  As a "mature" kitteh, you have trouble retracting your claws and you keep getting caught in the carpeting.  I told Poppy that I was finding your claws all over the place and I was concerned that they were pulling out and it was hurting you.  We were so lucky to find Right At Home Vet Care and I think it was a relatively painless process for you!

BHU:  Okay, it was.  And, you are right:  I'm not getting caught in the carpeting anymore.  AND she was nice AND she showed you pictures of her kittehs (Walter and Dexter).

PATTY:  And her beautiful woofies, too.  So now, mister, you have to remember to stay well and don't get into trouble because the Vet makes housecalls now!

xoxo


Monday, September 1, 2014

Kitty Labors Effury Day!

Superhero Kitteh Cinnamon
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COLUMBIA, Mo 8/30/14 (Beat Byte) -- A Columbia kitty has made medical history. 

With genetic material from Cinnamon, a female Abyssinian cat who lives and works at Mizzou's College of Veterinary Medicine, 26 genetics researchers from the U.S., Russia, Turkey, Portugal, and Spain this month announced they have finally sequenced the entire cat genome, coiled strands of DNA and RNA that determine the characteristics of life. 
In the works for nearly a decade, the Feline Genome Project promises help with human diseases including AIDS, leukemia, muscular dystrophy, polycystic kidney disease, and some forms of blindness.   Cinnamon was specifically bred to develop retinitis pigmentosa, a degenerative eye disease that famously afflicts Las Vegas casino mogul Steve Wynn.  

Domestic cats share "nearly 250 genetic diseases analogous to human disorders," the cat genome team -- which includes Mizzou veterinary ophthalmology professor Kristina Narfstrom, DVM, PhD -- explains in their August paper for the journal Gigascience.  "Feline infectious agents offer powerful natural models of deadly human diseases, which include feline immunodeficiency virus, feline sarcoma virus and feline leukemia virus." 

An oft-repeated analogy likens the genome to a book.  Chromosomes are chapters; genes are words; DNA and RNA are individual letters.   Sequencing the genome is analogous to finding the type and location of every letter in the book.  Since each cell in the body contains at least one copy of the book -- the genome -- knowing how many times the letter "A" recurs, and where, is powerful information.  

Understanding the cat genome will better help geneticists correlate DNA damage to disease.  A deletion of DNA at one point in the genome might cause blindness, for instance, just like deleting the letter A from every word in a book would create gibberish.   Adding or substituting DNA anywhere along the genome can have similar harmful effects, the same way adding or changing letters in a book could destroy its meaning and contents.    

First reported in 2007 when it was partially sequenced, Cinnamon's genome includes 21,865 genes that code for proteins that determine everything from hair color to personality.   Though she has been in the spotlight since that first report, Cinnamon has two lower-profile male partners -- Boris, from St. Petersburg, Russia; and Silvester, a European wildcat whose DNA the scientists compared to the two domestic cats. 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Buh-Bai August!

I think I slept through August! 
PATTY:  Can you believe it is the last day of August?? Holy cow, where did the time go?  And I have very little to show for it!  You, mister, have even less.

BHU:  No worries.  It's all in my job description:  sleep, snooze, hork up, wander perimeter searching for bugs and deporting them or ingesting them, depending on variety. 

PATTY:  Speaking of bugs, blister beetles ate my tomatoes and something is eating my morning glories! 

Notice the pattern of destruction in that lower right leaf!  Grrrrrrrr!
BHU:  Andy Warhol loved morning glories.  You look like him.  Except yer hairz is longer and your glasses are diffurrent.  And you have boobs.  Otherwise, you could be twins.

PATTY:  Alrighty then.  Hmmmmm.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

GNAT: don't do me like that!

Cause and effect:  trap beside lure!  bwahahaha!
PATTY:  If you have tomatoes, you have gnats.  I save seeds because I am (a) smart and (b) cheap . . . and also because I don't want to eat GMO foods.  Ya never know.  The three little tubs of tomato seeds in the process of being saved have attracted their share of gnattery, as have the two baskets of ripening tomatoes not far to the left of this little scene.  I love 'maters and so do gnats.  Now the little peskers are not harmful, but they are annoying.  Although harmful to the gnats, here is one trap that  is harmless to pets and people (and really, really cheap to set up).  This carries the Bhu Seal of Approval.

APPLE CIDER VINEGAR TRAP: 
Pour apple cider vinegar into a jar.  Use a piece of wax paper, saran wrap, or even newspaper (any kind of paper, really) and affix it to the top of the jar to seal it -- use a rubber band if you don't have a canning jar like I used.  Punch holes in it -- toothpick size holes are too small, but shish-ka-bob stick holes are totally gnat-sized!  Wait and watch.  Soon your jar will look like mine:  a little gnat floating right in the center.  YAY!  [sorry about that!]

The following trap is very effective, but not pet or people friendly.   I've never had a problem with Bhu wanting to drink alcohol, but he is a very intelligent kitteh.

RED WINE TRAP:
Based on personal observation, gnats LOVE red wine -- especially cabernet sauvignon!  This is the simplest trap of all.  Just put some red wine in a shot glass or small jar, add a drop of dish soap and leave it anywhere.  To be honest, you don't even need the soap.  They will drown but they will be so, so happy on the way to gnat heaven!

Zzzzzz.  Purraying for the little gnats who lose their lives due to gluttony.
BHU:  zzzzzzzzzzzzz.

PATTY:  Bhu is having cabin fever today.  It's hot, hot, hot and way humid so we are hanging out inside this afternoon, hoping to stay cool.   xoxo

Sunday, August 3, 2014

Checking In!

BHU:  Hai, it's me again!  Didja miss me?  Purrobly not, right?  Well, anyhoo, nothing much has been going on around here.  It's been quiet, but the weather has been "wonderful" [quoting mai mom] so the 'rents have been spending lots of time outsides!  I keep asking what is the condition of my catnip plant, but I get no answers. 

PATTY:  Well, we didn't want to disappoint you, but the fact of the matter is that every kitty in the 'hood has been butting head into the 'nip and it is beaten down and lookin' sad!  Sorry dude!  Other than that, the garden is doing good thanks to the fabulous compost I make!  And I have been busy saving seeds, too . . . chard, snow peas, mustard and tomatoes, so far.  Beans are growing, turnips need to be dug up, potatoes are almost ready and I still haven't figured out what to do with the Lemon Grass, but HEY, it's lookin' good!

Top:  Glorious sunflowers and the Mimosa in the background.  Bottom:  Madonna Lilies, Genovese basil and the mystery vine that grows in the compost bin every year.  I think it's some kind of squash.  The flowers are pretty.
Hope your summer is going well!  We are only two weeks away from the start of school here, bringing 30,000 more teen pods to the area.  Anybody else live in a university town?  If so, you know our pain. 

xoxo

Tuesday, June 3, 2014

I've been waiting for this!

Thanks too Ann of Zoolatry for this graphic!



BHU:  For me, this is every day and I hope it is for you too!  xoxo

Wednesday, May 14, 2014

May (we have spring back, pleez)!

BHU:  I am tired of the cold.  There were a few days there when I thought it was over; that spring was here.  Okay, akshully there were a couple of days when I thought I slept through spring and it was already summer, but that's kinda the way it is here.  And then there was the BIG STORM!  Okay, the hail was BIG, I tell ya!  BIG!  and LOUD!  Ten minutes of what sounded like aliens pelting our house with rocks or baseballs.  I wasn't skeered. 

PATTY:  Now THAT just isn't true, Mister.  We were all scared.  You can see the damage it did to the garden.  A new kinda camo for the car, a completely shredded hosta and a decapitated tomato.  But what's that thing in the top left of the collage?  A pizza, of course.  Just showin' off. 

xoxo

Thursday, May 8, 2014

Yellow Jacket Trap Lure

BHU:  Well, mai mom wants to post a recipe for yellow jacket trap lure and she's too lazy to take a new piksher of me, so she just closed her eyes and aimed the mouse at a long list of files that started with the word "bhu".  This is the one where the mouse landed.  Like it?  I think it shows off my versa-tilt-ity.  I asked her why she wants to post this recipe here on mai blog because, after all, it has nutthin to do with me or mai furrends.  She sez, "I want to be able to find it.  I will lose the piece of paper on which I wrote it, but it will always be here fureffur and effur."  Her alternative smartness is sometimes inspiring (but most of the time it's alarming).  Anyway, here's the recipe.  If I was a yellow jacket, I'd be skeeeeered!

1/2 cup sugar
1 cup apple cider vinegar
1 banana peel
4 cups water

xxoo

Sunday, April 20, 2014

Now it's spring!

PATTY:  Now it's spring!  Bhu seemed so sad the other day when it was cold and rainy.  The two of us have arthritis and so I know when he is hurting.  Now the warm weather is back and there are still some rainy days, but it's not so bad because the cold is gone.  And, as you can see, a walk around the yard provides color and cheer! 

BHU:  Happy Easter, furrends!  xxoo

Thursday, April 3, 2014

Holy Hail!


BHU:  Hey, mom, you put these quilt blocks on the floor and I thought they needed to be re-arranged a little bit.  Do you like the new arrangement?

PATTY:  Uh, NO; but I guess it doesn't matter what I like, right?  Speaking of things I don't like, what is the purpose of hail anyway?  Oh, I know:  to smash down all the beautiful daffodils and narcissus that JUST bloomed! 

BHU:  Must be.  Hope it's over for a while, though.  Hope all mai furrends and their families are safe and dry tonight!

PATTY:  Me, too.  xxoo

Saturday, March 22, 2014

Re-Lent-Less


BHU:  Hai, effuryone!  I reminded mai mom that it has been over two weeks since she let me visit you and she says it's because of Lent.  She says she has given up Responsibility and Obligation for Lent.    I'm tellin' ya, I don't understand this human habit of creating trouble and stuff before the holiday.  How can it be a holiday if nobody is havin' fun? 

PATTY:  Somehow, in a weird way, I think you actually understand my sacrifice.  

xxoo

Sunday, March 9, 2014

Up, Down, All Around


PATTY:  I can't figure this one out.  Where's the top, or the bottom?  Anyway, it feels like spring today and everytime the weather gets like this I think:  Snow Peas!  I should be planting snow peas! Instead, what I am doing is washing all the quilts and linens from the big bed because Bhu had a hork-fest yesterday -- not just once, but twice.

BHU:  Ahem, it was a Hork Marathon.  And could you please keep it down because, as you might know, I lost an hour of sleepy time this morning.  It's not fair, but I'm gonna make up for it.

PATTY:  Effurrybody please keep fingers crossed for Spring Time!  xxoo

Note the impressive collection of dust on the 'tocks. 

Monday, February 24, 2014

No Kill Quilt

PATTY:  I finished it, despite major injury to my poor broken fingers, but it is too late for the auction, which is tomorrow.  The gold kitty is in honor of Ginger Jasper and the brown and caramel one is in honor of Sweet Praline.  I took a photo of the back of the quilt which was hanging in front of a window and the backlighting gives it an eerie illusion of kitty ghosts.  How much would you bid on this quilt?

BHU:  Where's the block in honor of me?

PATTY:  Oops!  xxoo

Tuesday, February 18, 2014

Bhu's Blues

BHU:  So if for any reason you are feelin' sorry for yerself today . . . whatever it might be -- not enough 'nip, toys you don't like anymore, menu that's gettin' a little boring -- WHATEVER it is, it can't beat what happened to me on Valentine's Day.  See, I'm havin' a great snooze on the big bed and suddenly mai poppy scoops me up and shoves me in the crate and the next thing I know somebody's shovin' needles in me and I start feelin' a little woozy.  And then what happened I can't tell you because you will just be too horrified! 

PATTY:  I don't think it was all that bad, geez!  Bhu is fine.  He just had to get shots and in his inimitable way he created such DRAMA that they had to sedate him just to give him shots!  But his little hissy fits worked because they told us that he needn't come back for shots again probably ever. 

BHU:  I coulda told you that!  Ish, they never listen.

xxoo

Wednesday, February 5, 2014

Sno Hero

I can see mai poppy from the window!  That shovel is movin' fast!

At least we get some sun today!  Yay!
PATTY:  Lotsa snow.  Not sure how much!  Two snow days in a row!  Stay warm and safe!  xxoo

Sunday, February 2, 2014

Ground Hog Souper Bole Day!


BHU:  According to the humans, if you see your shadow on Ground Hog day then you will have to have six more weeks of winter.  I can't see mai shadow, can you?

PATTY:  It's behind you, Bhu.  Furthermore, that's not exactly what the humans say, but whatever.  At least you're happy in the sunpudddle.

BHU:  And what about the souper bowl?  Is there no soup either? 

PATTY:  No soup for you, Bhu.  I've been busy making blocks for a quilt to be auctioned off at the Spay-ghetti dinner  later this month.   They didn't have many cat-centric items for the auction, so I volunteered to make a lap quilt.  Do you like it so far?


BHU:  Very purrity!  Are you sure there's no soup?

PATTY:  Uh huh.  Hope effurryone has a warm, safe, happy Sunday (even Punxatawny Phil)!  xxoo

Monday, January 27, 2014

The Genius of Meatballs



BHU:  Mai mom sez she is the Genius of Meatballs.  Poppy thinks she is, too; but she practices in secret, serving her meatballs only to him.  They were ooohing and aahhhing the other day so loud I had to go and check on them.  This is what they were eating:  Mexican Meatball Soup.  Too hot for me! 

PATTY:  I love meatballs -- all kindsa meatballs.  Serve it to me with meatballs and I will eat it!  Just looking at this photo makes me feel warm all over.  Right now, WARM is what I wanna be!   Last night the wind was so upsetting . . . egads, all I could do to keep from worrying was to quilt.  So I finished this.  Bhu slept nicely next to the spool of thread, watching it closely whenever I had to replenish the needle.  He is a purrfect quilter's companion! 


BHU:  Effurybody, stay warm and dry!  xxoo

Sunday, January 19, 2014

MY HUSBAND IS A LOAFER!


PATTY:  Much fun at the Skypants household yesterday when friend Ricky came to show Sabryin how to make bread.  We were gifted a used breadmaker some years ago and never had the courage to use it.  Ricky, an inveterate loaf-maker himself, offered to coach. 

BHU;  Mai mom freaked out because, you know:  MEN IN THE KITCHEN!

PATTY:  Yes, indeedy.  Anyhoo, after Sab got the pot loaded with bread stuff they set it in the bread maker and it worked great for a few minutes and then horrible noises began to issue forth -- that nightmarish metal-on-metal sound that translates to "I'm broken; you're screwed."  So, I packed it up and hauled it out to the curb.  Meanwhile, Sab and Ricky extricated the dough from the pot and started the old-fashioned muscle-on-muscle process of kneading. 

BHU:  Long story, glorious ending.  Butter me!

Happy Sunday, all!  xxoo

Wednesday, January 1, 2014

Noo Yeerz Noos!

BHU:  Oh, hai!  Mai mom sez it's "yet another year" and all she is thinkin' about is starting over with "the deductibles."  Is that some kinda super-hero?  Anyhoo, as you can see I am reading a very interesting book about Keef Richards ("Life") who is a famous cat rescuer in Parrot Cay.

PATTY:  Actually, he is a guitarist in a band and he also rescued a woofie from Moscow, but that's another story.

BHU:  Do you have something you want to say, or can I go back to reading?


PATTY:  Well, I think we should say that we hope efurrybody's wishes come true in this new year and that efurrybody is safe, happy and healthy!  Some of the bloggers I follow are taking a look back at 2013, reviewing what they accomplished, but I'd rather dream about all the cool things I can do with 2014!  I'm keeping my fingers crossed.  Also, I want to thank Katie Isabella's mom for giving me a Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award!    She is so nice!  I'm supposed to share some info with you in return for this award, so here goes.

Favorite Flower:  I love all flowers!  Every one that is alive and blooming is my favorite.  In NYC, I always bought bunches of violets and poppies from the flower carts.  Woodland flowers are very precious to me, as well.   I never pick them . . . just stand there and stare at them.

Favorite Animal:  Duh!

Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink:  Green tea.

Facebook or Twitter:  Neither.

Favorite Pattern:   I never met a paisley I didn't like.

Getting or Giving:   I like to balance these so I don't feel like a brat or a martyr.

Day of the Week:  I think I actually feel happiest on Sunday, but I don't know why.

Passion:  Fiberarts and plate tectonics.

I am to pass along this award to two other bloggers but I haven't decided who yet.  So you will have to come back to find out later.

xxoo