Ribbon Toy

Cha Cha's second favorite toy is this 3' piece of purple ribbon.

Sibling Rivalry: The Slap Game

waiting

waiting

Attack!

Nothing like a little slapping match.

Through the Years with the Kitties

We've had so many adventures together that it's hard to believe I spent the first 23 years of my life without some cats running around. Here are some photo memories from the past couple of years that I'd like to share.

Mao Mao sunbathes next to a much younger and healthier jade tree. Cha Cha spent so much time climbing the poor plant as a kitten that it never quite recovered. If you ask Mao Mao, I think she'd tell you that Cha Cha changed quite a few things in our household.

Mao Mao stretches out on the old futon cover. Her spotty eye is almost completely brown today and I think she's a couple pounds more lovable.

One of Cha Cha's first weekends with Sharon was filled with excitement. At one point Sharon walked out of our bedroom with a very happy Cha Cha in her arms.

Cha Cha shows us how comfortable a Kim Lounger can be for an afternoon nap.

In Other News:

It snowed 2 inches yesterday morning and then it was all gone by noon.

Alien Cat Arrived in Orange Box

Mao Mao didn't seem to care.

Downey Woodpeckers in my Backyard

Last fall I noticed a couple of very small, black and white, tree-clinging birds on the sad looking trees behind my apartment. After several failed attempts to identify them on What Bird I gave up and forgot about them. Yesterday morning I saw another tree clinging bird out back with some red on the back of its head. This prompted me to search again to identify what I thought was probably a woodpecker of some sort. The website All About Birds was very helpful in confirming my suspicions. Jersey City has a population of Downey Woodpeckers. The small black and white birds I spotted months ago were females and therefore not easily identifiable to the novice birder as a woodpecker. After spotting a male on the tree closest to my bedroom window, I also caught sight of another in a neighboring tree. Two males and at least two females feed in my backyard.

It's always exciting to see wildlife around here that isn't a stray cat, pigeon, or opossum.

Belated Christmas Cat Photos

The Big December Snow that dumped 8" of the fluffy stuff on us came right before Christmas and sent shoppers into a panic. Cha Cha seemed unaffected.

Mao Mao has a new favorite spot in the living room: a pillow expertly positioned on the couch arm to prevent Christmas tree attacks. Although the tree is long gone, we can't remove the pillow. Mao Mao would be devastated.

The car looked pretty funny after the storm. Luckily the plow plowed all the snow on the other side of the street and we were able to get our bad-ass ride out Monday morning.

Cha Cha's favorite Christmas memory? Ribbon. Everywhere.

Christmas day we all got together for a family photo. I'm not sure where Mao Mao is.

Time to Pack Away the Decorations

Storage Recommendation

Oh Tannenbaum!

We picked up a little "Charlie Brown" tree at the local florist last week. Our most cat-friendly ornaments and our cowboy themed light string (see the boot, front and center) brought it to life for the big tree lighting ceremony. I made the star. Not my best work. I promise.

A Day at the Beach

Here are some pictures from our day at Sandy Hook on the Jersey Shore. We had chowder and fried fish sandwiches on the mainland and then drove out on the peninsula in the afternoon. After climbing the oldest lighthouse in the US, we walked the beach and gathered shells. Sunset rewarded us with some beautiful colors.

Cat Action

A quiet afternoon on the couch

Cha Cha discovers the great outdoors

Mao Mao inspects one last pumpkin

Some of the Mao Mao Kitty followers ask me how the cats are doing when they don't see them here for a while. Everyone is doing well, looking forward to Christmas in the country, and enjoying the warmth of built-in fur coats. Lucky kitties.