Photo Friday: Some toys are just classics

I heard a familiar noise from the library this morning. When I went to check, I found Whitey happily attacking his old friend, the turboball. 

The Quiet Hunter attacks

A few minutes after this picture was taken, Whitey was quietly sitting to the left of the turbo ring. Oscar came up along the right side and gave the ball a tentative poke. It started to roll, but Whitey stopped it and glared at Oscar. "My ball! You can't have it!"

Billy loves... garlic?

You wouldn't think so, but I was sautéeing garlic and onions the other night, and there he was, pacing around my feet and making happy Billy noises.

It took me a while, but I finally figured it out.

I make a fair number of dishes where cream is added to finish a preparation of sautéed vegetables. And when I cook with cream, I often give Billy the few drops left in the measuring cup. These dishes usually start with, you guessed it, garlic and onions.

Intelligent cat that he is, he has apparently decided that garlic and onions are a sign that cream (CREAM!!) must be coming soon.

Unfortunately for him, this particular dish went in a different direction, with raisins and pineapple and other good things (for humans), but no cream. I had to let him sniff my hands to convince him not to be such a pest.

Photo Weekend Extra: A Ninja in His Natural Hobbitat

Taken one handed with a camera phone.

Penwiper on A Favorite Downstairs Cat Cushion -- me

Behold the ferocious watch kitty

Penwiper is very ferocious. If he hears a strange noise outside, he'll run to the top of the stairs, growling menacingly.

If someone actually rings the doorbell, though, well...

Penwiper Hiding Under Futon in Back Office

Happy Birthday!

Just a short note ...

It was on this day in 2004 that our senior feline overlords, Whitey and Billy were born.  Happy birthday to our Catzilla Brothers!

Random note ... I just noticed that as of this writing, each Catzilla brother has exactly the same number of posts (156).   What a team.

Photo Weekend Extra: The Longest Cat

Yesterday Billy joined me for watching the The Longest Day, the 1962 movie about D-Day. Here he is lying on my leg:

Billy using the Hobbit as a self-heating Cat Cushion

And then when I got up, he did what he always does -- claim the warm spot for himself:

"You were sitting here, but it's mine now."

Fortunately, he's not big enough to commandeer the entire couch.

Photo Weekend: Penwiper's Nose Redux

In a shocking turn of events, Penwiper got his nose scratched.   Again.   Here it is after it has healed a couple of days.

Penwiper and his scratched nose

Penwiper arrived on my desk just as I captioned the photo.  As I put him in the tower behind my desk (the same one as pictured), I also felt a small scab on the tip of his left ear.    I really wish he didn't annoy his armed housemates so.