My hu-mom has Gone To Work on Saturdays since I came to live here, but yesterday, she didn't. She stayed home all day. We did not have a good day. First, my hu-mom SLEPT IN ...
...until AFTER 6:00 am! I tried and tried to tell her The Dark was over and it was time for her to get up and get my breakfast, but she put the pillow over her head and IGNORED ME! The nerve! When she finally did get moving and I had finished my usual breakfast, she put some yummy BACON on to cook ... 
... and WOULDN'T SHARE IT WITH ME! I could really have gone for a few morsels of bacon for "afters"! She even had the nerve to give me a bowl of dried kibble instead ...
... when I pointed out how the unfairness (it is rather good kibble -- chicken, turkey, and duck flavoured -- but that's not the point!) . I should have known my day was only going to go downhill after that! I left her in the dining room enjoying her bacon and retired to the bedroom for my usual after breakfast nap under her quilt. I had just nicely fallen asleep when my hu-mom ripped the quilt and blanket and sheets off the bed. That's right ... she stripped the bed right down to the mattress! I thought to myself "oh dear, now where will I nap?" Fortunately, I found the pile of sheets and blankets in the rocking chair out in the living room, I thought she was just doing me a favour -- a change of scenery so to speak -- so I climbed into that lovely cozy nest for my morning nap. I guess I should have known better ...
... she shooed me out of there and took the sheets and blankets down the hall to the Washing Machine! Well! I totally gave up on my nap and went into the litter box room to play in the tub. My hu-mom has little bottles of Smelly Bubbles on the edge of the tub and they roll really well when I swat them. It's quite entertaining, really. But wouldn't you know it, I just got started with that game, and my hu-mom shooed me out of the litter box room ...
... and wiped everything in sight down with icky smelly BLEACH! Honestly! I had to let the room air out for HOURS before I could use my own litter box again! My hu-mom seemed determined to keep my up from my nap and make my life miserable after that. She got out The Noisy Machine ...
... and ran it back and forth over all the floors. I truly don't understand the point of that annoying exercise! I hid under the dining room table, and almost fell asleep there. Yes, you guessed correctly ... 
... my hu-mom shooed me out of my hiding place and used The Noisy Machine on all four of the dining room chair pads. She even said a nasty word when she used The Noisy Machine on my favourite chair pad! She was SERIOUSLY getting on my nerves, but I'm basically your fun-loving helpful kitty, so I decided to put the sofa cushions down on the floor so my hu-mom could use The Noisy Machine on them. I guess she didn't want my help ...
... because she said another bad word and then gave me heck! I suppose I'm a little bit too forgiving in the hu-mom department because then I tried to help her by chewing off those pesky dangling straps on her Gone To Work shoes ...
... and she gave me heck again! Before my hu-mom put The Noisy Machine away, she decided to brush me. By that time, I. WAS. NOT. IN. THE. MOOD. I warned her! I warned her that it was way past my nap time, and that this pretty kitty needs her beauty rest, and without adequate beauty rest this pretty kitty can be ever so slightly irritable, but she insisted on brushing me anyhow. She brushed out a lot of hot itchy fur, 
and it felt really good -- but that's not the point! My hu-mom is SUPPOSED TO brush me when I DEMAND brushing, not when she feels like it ... especially after she's been such a miserable hu-mom all morning! So I bit the brush to point out who is The Queen around here and who schedules my brushings and who determines when enough brushing is enough. I might have bit my hu-mom a little bit too. 
BUT IT WAS ACCIDENTAL! HONEST! I don't think she believed me when I told her it was an accident and that really hurt my feelings ...
... so I sat under the rocking chair and glared at her for a long time. I wanted to make it VERY CLEAR that I was finally PUSSED! RIGHT! OFF! She put The Noisy Machine away and made herself one of those nasty Boiling Hot Beverages and sat down to do some stitching.
I was so Pussed Off that I didn't even offer to help! It didn't take very long before my hu-mom made a big old knot in her thread and had to put it aside. Serves her right! I thought she might apologize to me then. Instead, she put on a movie ...
... with a NOISY DAWG in it! You would think she'd choose a movie we could both enjoy! I told the Noisy Dawg on the screen that it wasn't welcome in our apartment, and my hu-mom TOLD ME TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY! But I can't help myself, I'm basically your fun-loving helpful kitty, and I was willing to let bygones be bygones and to help my hu-mom ... 
...with the new pair of socks she started knitting. Oh, I just don't know why I bother to be helpful, really I don't! She complained because the wool got tangled and ACCIDENTALLY BROKE while I was helping!
Let me tell you, it's darned tough to be a cat on Saturdays when one's hu-mom stays at home!
No hu-moms or dawgs were injured in the making of this post.
My friend obviously had not. The look on his face was priceless! (If YOU didn't watch 
... and was pretty much a silent observer. She has gradually unfolded and revealed her true self ... and that self is a 
... she stalks it and attacks it with 
Boots demonstrated its correct use the instant I brought it into our apartment ...
... although she wasn't too impressed when I put her toys (including her sock) along with some catnip on its top platform in order to lure her up on it.
Miss Boots feels she is beneath The Herb! She stares at catnip suspiciously, and gives me the most incredulous looks ("What the hell are you THINKING, hu-mom?!?!?") but won't touch it. I need not have bothered. As soon as I moved her scratching post over in front of the patio door, she climbed onto the tower to survey her Queendom ...
... and has quickly leaped to that post to keep scurilous outdoor dogs, birds and humans in line ever since! I've also learned that Miss Boots is extremely 
On her part, Boots has learned she does not like Tea, Chai, Wine or black pepper ... which makes her sneeze. Never a dull moment around here!
I'm quite happy to see the snow go ... NO MORE WINTER BOOTS!!! However, all our dirty little winter secrets certainly begin to appear. Do you realize humans are extremely messy critters? We drop garbage ALL OVER THE PLACE! You can't see it when it's covered with snow, but come spring ... yecchhh!
I had a similar experience once in New Westminster, BC. when I spotted something quite unexpected on the sidewalk outside a corner convenience store.
There were no "real" food outlets or homes nearby to explain the presence of a turnip on the sidewalk that day in New Westminster, and ...
... no homes or food outlets nearby to explain the presence of this lone red onion on a city street here!
Once again, the saying "just fell off the turnip truck" crossed my mind! I wonder what makes the occasional lone vegetable run amok in city streets?
Any ideas??? Have a great week, y'all!
... two nights was more than enough and I was longing for my own comfy bed at home! I haven't sat down and calculated exactly how many hours I spent either in an airport waiting for an airplane, or sitting in an airplane, but I'm pretty sure the total is about double the amount of hours actually spent in the conference. I saw a lot of this ...
... and a lot of this ...
On the way to Toronto, the weather was sunny and bright all the way across Canada, so the window view was quite clear and nice. Naturally, my camera was stowed in my bag, so no photos of the good views ... only the cloudy views from the return trip.
This picture was taken on the Vancouver to PG lag of the trip, and we encountered clouds and a snow storm shortly after that, and I arrived home to this ...
From Vancouver blossoms and bare legs to PG snow in the space of an hour. My oh my how aerotechnology can boggle the mind! Thankfully, the snow is gone again. However, I'm still not a firm believer that 
She's a four year old brown tabby with white paws, and a spayed female. Miss Boots came to live with me on Sunday as soon as I got back from my trip across Canada. Her human had a serious stroke a couple of months ago, was hospitalized long-term, and Bootsy was left alone in an empty house with just a brief visit from a neighbour who put out food and water every day. Very difficult for a sociable missy! (And she is a very sociable and vocal missy!)
Subsequently, her human was sent to residential care and Boots was sent to a foster home. Unfortunately, that foster home also housed three rambunctious little boys, another (territorial) cat, and an aggressive little terrier, and Boots spent all her time hiding from her various tormentors. She even refused to eat.
Her appetite is returning now (in fact, all that loose skin on her suggests she is prone to being a bit of a piggy). She's still investigating everything and is quite nervous, especially at strange sounds in the hallway outside our apartment. When I get my keys out, she hides fast. I guess that's her way of saying "nuh uh, you're NOT moving me AGAIN!" She is all over me when I come home from work, and so far it has taken me nearly 45 minutes to pet her and brush her and reassure her when I come in and before I can stand up to do anything else.
She is also starting to play, pouncing on her toys and even pouncing on my toes a time or two! It certainly is nice to have a critter in the place again. I used to have fish (they're at work in our front office now). Fish just aren't as cuddly as furry critters. Now I just have to convince Bootsy that cuddling is not a human requirement at 5:00 am! So I have a good excuse to NOT travel now ... I have to stay home with Miss Boots!
Yup, that's me ... mid-workshop. And having a very bad hair day (different hairdresser + different cut = sticking up "wings" around my face ... I tried desperately to gel it down and secure it in a ponytail, but even that wasn't totally successful.) Here's the "do" without the ponytail ...
There are currently a half dozen similar pilot projects (the analytical tool, not the bad hair!) happening across Canada, and I am flying to Toronto tomorrow for a conference to compare projects. The conference itself should be interesting, but I'm really NOT excited about the flight there and back.
Both of the above pictures were taken at the exact same location. I'm not, however, totally convinced it's 
... but it's blooming enthusiastically! I transplanted it last fall into a slightly bigger pot, so had expected it would pout for a year before it bloomed again. Apparently it approved of the move. You can't see the buds on the other side of it in this picture, but there are a lot more blooms to come shortly.