choose optimism

This morning was a funny one.

The kittens wake us up at an unmentionable hour - to eat, to play, to be acknowledged. 

All of the above. 

Sometimes I'm a glutton and choose to check the time.

Just to see.

Just to know. 

3:49

a.m.

Normally on Wednesdays I get up at 5:30 to go to the gym. 

But even the night before, when I was packing my bag, I think I knew in my gut that it wasn't going to happen.

My gym attendance has been hit or miss at best for the past few months

I'm trying

but I'm not turning into an athlete anytime soon.

Anyway - 3:49.

Fella is a doll.

He's a terrible sleeper and usually gets up to feed them and lock them out of the bedroom 

so I can get a couple more hours before morning actually arrives.

He gets less sleep than I am but he still does this.

I love him so.

I went back to sleep, he had to work early and at some point the kittens wanted back in

(they will not be ignored. They cry and scratch at the door relentlessly. 

Who can resist them anyway?

No one.

No one can.

I do have a point. 

And that point is that I didn't want to go to the gym even before I went to bed the previous night. 

The perk of this is that I had time to take my time in the morning. 

I got up early and was ready in no time. 

I went in to work early

(because, work, right now, feels like a heavy yoke on my shoulders and my days are long.)

Yesterday was not a good day - I was grumpy and negative and grumpy. 

(two grumpy-s in one sentence means really grumpy.)

So I set out early. 

And it was beautiful

(see photo above.)

It was quiet and the sky was orange.

We have had such a wonderful fall - warm, not too much rain, beautiful colours. 

For November, it hasn't felt much like November at all.

And that's ok. 

My gym skipping set a good tone for my day. 

I was productive and the foul mood was not to be found.

I enjoyed my day, and I don't remember the last time I said that. 

But I did. 

A week or so ago I was walking home from the grocery store 

and I had just finished grumbling under my breath

(about something that now I can't even remember which makes you realize 

it wasn't worth grumping over in the first place)

and I thought -

What is wrong with me?

Why am I so angry?

Stop.

And then I thought of something that I would normally scoff at - 

choose optimism. 

It's Pollyanna, yes, but so much less exhausting than hating on everything 

that rubs you the wrong way. 

This new motto hasn't since always been foremost in my mind,

but it makes me smile when I do remember it

if for no reason other than it sounds

completely

silly.

It takes you out of the moment.

It wakes you up.

It makes you smile.

And that is an improvement.

The cat loves a basket

hurr durr

Never 

gets 

old.

source

Where the Boys Were

Since they are an important part of my life,

I thought I should include some of the antics of Chester and Fergus in 2013.

As you will see, it mostly involved sleeping and sitting in boxes

but they are cats and that's what they do.

At least they were cute while at it.

Chester in repose.

I don't actually set a place for Fergus at the table but he's hopeful that I will start.

Once in awhile they sleep together

This reminds me of that Bangles song from the 80's - Walk Like An Egyptian

Remember?

Fergus in foliage.

Any box is better than no box.

box war blur

So there you have it.

A small sampling of the day to day antics of Chester and Fergus - 

the loves of our life.

up and at 'em

There's something here for both cat and dog lovers.

One of my favorite things is just how hard it is to get the cats to move and by how unperturbed they are by the dog's distress and antics.

Even if the bed is being dragged...oh well, you'll see.

one more time

I'm pretty sure I've posted this before

but I think it's worth revisiting.

Fact:

I watch this video when I'm feeling low.

Instant uplift.

Try it.

6 reasons you should consider being a cat

Keep up with Pusheen's antics here.

best...paws...ever!

I mean, really.

How cute is he?

(I love my new camera!)

can anyone tell me why my cat looks like he got stuck

at an Ash Wednesday service?

This is what I saw when I got home from work today.

It's really hard to take him seriously when he looks like this.

Apparently most of his face was black when he came in from his outdoor adventure.

He likes to get up close and personal with the underside of cars.

It's an interest I could live without.

Herding Cats

An Engineer's Guide to Cats

Have you seen this video?

It's an oldie but a goodie.

great escape(s)

Chester  busted out twice this past weekend.
On Saturday we came home from running errands and my fella was in the garage when fuzzer came round the bend.
Upon further inspection, we found this:

yes, he busted through the screen. 

Little bugger.

Then yesterday, I was carrying a laundry basket downstairs and could hear cats fighting.

It suddenly registered that I hadn't seen Chester since I woke up.

I dropped the basket and booked it outside.

To find this:

Did he take a run at it?

That's a big hole!

I was frantic.

I ran around the neighbourhood and asked everyone I saw if they'd seen him.

Big white cat with brown spots. 

One neighbour said that he hadn't seen him today but earlier in the weekend.

He was fighting with another cat next to the fence!

My Chester is a scrapper!

I wanted to know - did he pick the fight or was it self defense?

I got the cat treats.

I left the garage door open since he had found it on Saturday.

I waited for my fella to get home.

I kept running out to the street for fear of finding him lying in a gutter 

(busy road. people exceed the speed limit all the time. I've had two cats get hit by cars. I was panicking big time.)

I walked down the driveway and turned to find him cowering under a chair on the front step.

I ran over and scooped him up and took him in the house where I proceeded to check him over while crying with relief.

We've lived apartments since we've had our cats so this has never been a concern but now - clearly it's a problem.

He came back with a few war wounds:

see the mark on his nose?

it's new.

there's also a scratch across his nose that isn't usually there.

but clearly he's ok.

I was more traumatized than him.

He still wants to go out!

I closed all of the windows before leaving for work this morning so I'll go home to a stuffy house.

But hopefully one with two cats!

Funny Face

Chester is a dreamer.

He loves to sit in the windows and watch the world go by.

But sometimes, looking just isn't enough.

He wants to engage the outside.

Which ultimately leads to this:

it's kind of hard to see in the photo but his white face does not usually have a dark tinge to it.

he rubs his face against the screen  and gets his face all dirty.

Poor dirty face Chester.

Also see side bar photo for a clean comparison...

cat house

the cats have been pretty good since we've been getting settled into the new abode

but there were some rough spots when we first moved in

such as:

safety behind large furniture

battles for the upper hand (yes, it's a really ugly fireplace)

conquering the air conditioner in the hallway that's from 1989.

I'm going to stop now because I sound/appear to be a crazy cat lady.

chester chewer

I don't think I've ever seen a cat that chews on stuff the way Chester does.

(He looks so peaceful and normal in this photo, doesn't he?)

His chewing knows no boundaries.

Some examples of his chewing frenzies include:

~ phone cord

~ electrical cords

~ plastic bags (that's more of a licking attack than a chewing one)

~ fella's new bamboo knitting needles

(they were handmade in PEI. Now one of them is snapped in two.)

~ the metal stick on our floor lamps that you use to adjust the lamp height

~ the towel bar in the bathroom

~ the metal latches on our living room windows

I could go on but you may be getting a sense of the weirdness.

I know a lot of cats chew on plastic - but metal?

Honestly, it sounds like he's going to break his teeth when he gets in the zone.

I won't even talk about his shoe fetish.

But I will try to capture it on video so you can see it for yourself. It is truly something to behold.

(I thought it was time for a non-house post even though there is very little else I think about.Posts will be spotty at best next week because we will be moving!)

Cat Snores

Fergus snores.

And it is, without doubt, one of the cutest things ever.

Maybe it's more of a wheeze than a snore.

But one thing I know is, 

i love it.

Hunter Cat

Proof.

My cat is a hunter.