Secret Paws!

We got our Secret Paws!!! (Actually we got them like a week ago but Mom was really slow postin' our pickshures). Merlin's came from Kali, and Dobby's came from Derby!

Merlin opened his first...

He really liked this mouse.

Mom didn't even have time to take it out of its packaging!
Also note that box of Turtles. I dunno what that is, but Mom was happy about it.

Then we opened Dobby's. It had a byoo-ti-ful mug in it, for our Mom.

Dobby sniffed the gift bag, just wondering what was inside.

Fun mousies, and Temptations, and a stocking...

And.. and.... NIP RAVIOLI!!!!

Dobby and Merlin both played with the Ravioli... and then streaked around the house, and finally crashed for a catnap.

Thank you very much, Kali and Derby!!! And Happy Secret Paws to everyone!!!

Merry Christmas!

Sorry we are late. We have been furry busy with napping and supervising the Christmas tree and other important stuff. We hope everyone had a wonderful Christmas and is enjoying the holiday season!

All I Need to Know

Merlin here.

Look, we all know that cats know everything. And most of us are pretty good at teachin' our beans what they need to know. This one ladybean had a cat named Binky, and she learned a whole lot from Binky. So the ladybean wrote a book about how much she's learned from Binky, even though Binky has gone to the Rainbow Bridge, the ladybean still remembered all the important lessons that she learned from Binky over the whole 18 1/2 years of Binky's life! Isn't that a very neat thing, and very nice of the ladybean to do.

I wonder why Mom hasn't written a book about all she's learned from me. Anyway.

So the ladybean wrote the book, and so many beans and kitties liked it, that they re-issued it with new stuff! The nice people at the publisher sent me a copy of it, because they wanted to get a kitty's opinion. But they didn't pay me or anything. Maybe I should look into that.

So the book has LOTS of important rules that all cats know, and that beans should learn. One of my favorites is "Be Hard to Leave." Look, nobody's better than cats (except maybe bean blurpy things) at making sure to be hard to leave. I know I am VERY good at it. See, here's the picture from the book.
See that? Okay, now for an example of how skilled I am at this particular characteristic, I present the following picture. Just so you know, this isn't staged for this particular post, this picture was first posted exactly one year ago today.


See? I am very good at this stuff. Even though I already know everything, readin' the book was good for me, cause it reminded me of all the things that are important to remember, and things that I have to be sure to remind my Mom and Dad about a lot.

The book also has a quiz in it, so beans can find out if they are "cat people." Whatever that means, who doesn't like cats? But Mom says that the quiz was really funny, and that especially all our cat blogosphere friends would particularly appreciate it.

Mom read the book, too. She laughed and laughed, and she said "awwww" a couple times, too. And it made her want to hug me and kiss me and pet me, so I liked that. She liked the book a lot, and said she was going to give it to some people for Chrissymouse. If you're one of those people, I hope I didn't just spoil the surprise. Mom says the book isn't very spensive and would prolly make a good stockin' stuffer.

Here's where you can go read about the book or the ladybean.
Here's where you can pick a place to buy the book.

Hiya

I know, we are not good bloggers. We keep takin' long vacayshuns from the bloggin'. But we do read all our friends' blogs, even if we don't leave comments. And we get the cat blogosphere noos everyday, so we know what's happenin'.

But here we are, bein' all snuggly with each other.

Also, if you or your beans need to go shoppin, check out Not the Mama's store, The Wren's Nest-- you can clicky on the thingy in our sidebar. There's lots of good stuff.

Dona Nobis Pacem

Duuuuuuude.

Yo, Dudes. It's me, Merlin. I'm totally, like... Dude. I love the nip ravioli. They're, like, totally awesome. I can't even tell you, I'm sooooo nipped out right now. I was, you know, jumping and crrrrraaaazzzzy and rabbit kicking and chasing and attacking a little while ago. But now, all is chill. And the nip? It is good.

Fall is coming!

Hi! It's me, Dobby!

It is already chilly at our house, especially at night. The windows are still open, though, during the day so Merlin can talk to the birdies. I think the birdies would be lonesome if Merlin didn't talk to them every day. I like to sit in the window, too, but I don't talk. I just smell the smells and feel the breeze and look at the birdies.

It's so chilly that at night, when I get up on Mom and Dad's bed to cuddle and sleep? MERLIN IS ALREADY THERE. He NEVER used to be on the bed. But now he gets up there and snuggles up and gets some of my cuddle time. But I guess that's okay, because then I can cuddle with him, too, sometimes. And then I can chew on his whiskers. Hee! I love to do that.

We got Mom to order us some of those Nip Raviolis because Merlin's girlfriend Daphne and her family really really liked them. They sound really GREAT and Mom said that we could have them because they don't have bells or jingles (right?) or feathers for us to rip off and leave all over the place. We are furry excited and can't wait for them to get here!!!

I am ONE!

Hi! It's me, Dobby! Guess what? Can you guess? It's my birthday!

I AM ONE.

I have been enjoying my birthday by chasing Merlin around and chewing some more on his whiskers. Now I am settling down for my nap on Mom & Dad's bed. There are some things that Mom has hidden away that I think are for me, but I haven't gotten them yet. When I do I will update and let you know what I get!!!!

As you could probably figure out, it is also my sister Madness' birthday. It seems like such a long time since she and I lived in that field before my First Mom rescued me. We are very lucky kitties.

We Remember

They say memories are golden
well maybe that is true.
I never wanted memories,
I only wanted you.

A million times I needed you,
a million times I cried.
If love alone could have saved you
you never would have died.

In life I loved you dearly,
In death I love you still.
In my heart you hold a place
no one could ever fill.

If tears could build a stairway
and heartache make a lane,
I’d walk the path to heaven
and bring you back again.

Our family chain is broken,
and nothing seems the same.
But as God calls us one by one,
the chain will link again.

Author unknown

Sadness

Merlin here.

We haven't been good about blogging, or commenting. But we have been reading efurrybody's blogs.

And we're just so sad.

Mommy's eyes keep leaking every day it seems like, with so much sad news lately.

We want to send purrs and love and headbutts to all our friends in the cat blogosphere. Especially the families of those we have lost this week.

Ubee, sweet and small, my Not-the-Mama-in-law cared for. Not the Mama made Ubee's last days warm, safe, and full of love.

Oscar a very handsome Man Cat, unexpectedly went to the Bridge. You can read about him at Emma's blog.

Anastasia is ruling the roost at the Rainbow Bridge now, and is free from worries.

Scattergories meme

Jazper tagged me! I get to do a meme!

RULES: Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the following...they have to be real places, names, things...nothing madeup! Try to use different answers if the person in front of you had the same 1st initial. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.


What is your name? Merlin

4 letter word: Mess

Vehicle: Mercedes

TV Show: Monday Night Football

City: MEMPHIS!

Boy Name: Mark

Girl Name: Millicent

Alcoholic Drink: Miller Lite (does that count?)

Occupation: Monkey tamer

Something you wear: Mittens

Celebrity: Michael Jackson

Food: Mashed potatoes

Something found in a bathroom: Mildew

Reason for being late: Migraine

Cartoon Character: Medusa (from the Rescuers)

Something You Shout: More!

Cat O the Day!

Dobby here.

I'm Cat of the Day! Can you BELIEVE IT?

You can read all about it on Kat's Cat of the Day!

And I know we haven't blogged lately, so I thought I'd post about our new place and answer some of your questions.

We moved so far away from Tennessee, it took us three days to get here!!! We live in Col-oh-rah-do now. It's nice and cool here, and there's lots of different kinds of birdies. And our windows are open EVERY DAY. We like that a lot. We still have the same furniture, though. But now we have carpet, and that's a new adventure. We like to dig our claws into it. Mom says she's ordered some Softpaws for us, though, so we have to enjoy that while it lasts. At the top of the steps, there's a little spot where we can look through the railing and see downstairs. We like to lie there and keep an eye on Max and Mommy and Daddy. We like to hide under the bed, and have naps there too. But, since the window's open, we can lie on the bed and have the outside wind come in on us and that's most wonderful for napping.

We like it a lot here.

Why We Haven't Blogged Lately

Hi! It's me, Dobby!

Guess what?

It's a long story.

So. One day, Mom locked me and Merlin up in a room in our house and made us stay in there all day. We don't like that. It was noisy, too, but we didn't know what was going on. THEN Mom came back and put us in a carrier which you KNOW we don't like cause that means VET. Then she put us in the car. But we didn't go to the VET. We kept going and going and going. We slept a lot. She was going to let us ride separately, but we liked it better when we were in the same carrier, so we could bathe each other and stuff. Then we got somewhere, and Mom took us inside a room where we slept-- Mom was there, and Daddy and Max too. That room just had a bed in it. It wasn't very excitin'.

The next day? More riding. And riding and riding and riding and riding. We rode for a really really long time. Then there was ANOTHER boring room to sleep in. Then? You won't believe it. MORE RIDING.

But we finally got to this place where we were going. Mom said we're going to live here now. It's different, but we've decided we like it. The windows are all open, which Merlin says wouldn't happen at our old house. We still live with Mom and Dad and Max. And I still sleep on the bed with Mom and Dad at night. And Merlin and I like to sleep under their bed during the day. There's lots of different birdies, too.

We've been sooo busy gettin' used to our new place that we haven't had much time to blog. And Mommy has a new job she'll be starting, so she might be too busy to help us, but we will still be around!!!

Here we are, sleepin' during the world's longest ride.

Bookends

Secret Paw-palooza

Thank you very much Kimiko and Pumpkin!
We had soooooo much fun with our new prizes!

Note from Mom

Many thanks to all of you for your kind thoughts, prayers, headbutts and purrs for the loss of our dear Coco. We are very grateful for the cat blogosphere community.

I also wanted to say that (shhh don't tell) both Merlin & Dobby have received their Secret Paw packages. They have NOT opened them yet. They will do that this weekend. Now that Merlin has made it 9 whole days without inappropriate pooping. :)

Also, they have just today sent out their Secret Paws. I am very sorry we are late. If you haven't received your Secret Paws, it's probably my fault.

Rest, Sweet Coco

This is our woofie, Coco. She crossed the Rainbow Bridge today.
She was an excellent woofie, always sweet and loving and never tried to scare us. She always took good care of our Daddy and Mommy too. She had been with our Daddy for a furry long time. We are furry sad.

We're here!

Merlin:

Hi Innernets! Don't worry about us, we're still around. There's a lot of stuff goin' on at our house and Mom's been real busy and she hasn't let us use the computer.

BUT.

There are TWO boxes in the kitchen that I'm pretty sure are for US so hopefully we'll get to open them soon. Mom says that since I pooped in the wrong place for three straight days we have to wait to get what's in the packages. So I'm on day number two of NOT pooping in the wrong place. Hopefully we'll have stuff to tell about very soon!

Sun nap

Since everybody really liked the picture of me sleepin' in the sun (middle pic in previous post) here's some more. Mommy was playin' with her camera's buttons and tryin' to take pictures from different spots. Click to biggify, if you wanna.

Finally.

Hi! It's me, Dobby. Well the guests did finally leave. Mommy tried to tell me that the people visiting us DO like kitties, but I didn't want to find out. So after the guests went to bed I would come out and snuggle with Mommy and Daddy and get as much attention as I could, then I would hide again the mornings. But after they left, we enjoyed our Sunday afternoon and got some good sleep, knowing all was right with the world.

GUESTS!

Dobby:

So Mommy said we were having "guests." I don't know what that means, but it sounded fine. What I found out is, GUESTS ARE STRANGERS that come to your house AND DON'T GO AWAY! They were here at dinner last night, which I didn't like, but figured it'd be okay, cause there are lots of times strangers here at dinner time, but they leave. Last night I slept on Mommy and Daddy's bed with them just like normal, and everything was fine, but then I woke up this morning and realized THESE STRANGERS ARE STILL HERE. I don't like it. NOT AT ALL.

Dona Nobis Pacem

FREE ARTSY CATSY!

The Artsy-Catsy Blog (NOT SPAM)
Rocky's Underground Super-Secret Blog from Prison

We borrowed this stuff from Missy & KC.
You can do it too! And also, email blogger in protest.

True Confessions

We were both tagged by Ariel and Mr. Hendrix to tell our True Confessions...


Merlin:
1. I don't really know what to confess because I never do anything wrong.
2. Or at least if I do, nobody knows about it, so there's no way I'm confessing it now.
3. I will say that despite my manliness, I do get startled sometimes and have to run and hide under the couch.
4. Also, I am really glad that my whiskers are growing back, even though I pretend it's no big deal.
5. I really like Dobby, even though I sometimes pretend he's a pest.


Dobby:
1. I like to chew whiskers. :)
2. I really like it when Mommy kisses the white spot on my belly, even though I pretend to hate it.
3. I can sneak up and sleep on the bed with Mommy and Daddy and Daddy doesn't even notice.
4. Sometimes I get on the kitchen counter, just to see what's up there.
5. When Merlin hides under the couch, sometimes I hide too, even if I'm not really scared.

By request, I tag Meankitty for this one.

Here we are!

Don't worry about us, we're fine. Mom and Dad went on baycayshun and took the computer, which... RUDE! Anyway, here we are hangin' out at home. I know we have some memes to catch up on, we'll get busy soon!

We're it!

We's been tagged! Mungo & Teazer tagged us to tell about our favorite things.

Time of Day: We like it in the evenin' time when the beans are home from work and there's cuddling. But we also like durin' the day, when we get lots of naps.

Day of the week: Either of those two days when Mommy and Daddy stay home.

Season of the year: Anytime the windows are open!

Holiday: Krissymass. Merlin likes to lie under the tree.

Beaches: What's a beach?

Song: Daddy sings us a song that we like! It's about kitties and tails and ears and stripes and paws. It's different every time he sings it, so we don't know the name of it.

Flower: We have tasted roses. They were yummy.

Talk show: We don't watch talk shows, so we dunno.

Movie: We like any movie that has a cat!

Soaps: We like the smell good stuff uses to wash her hands. Oh, that's not what you meant?

Beverage: Milk! We don't get it a lot of times, but when we do it's SOOOOO good.

Fruit: Who would have a favorite fruit? That's gross.

Snack: Pounce. Fish shaped ones.

Food: We eat Iams Weight Control Hairball Control.

Restaurant: We like any restaurant that send Mommy home with something for us to eat. It doesn't happen very much.

We tag: Bubbles, Mrs. B. & Madness, and Daphne & Chloe & Spooker & Jazper.

Merlin's Birthday

Hi! It's me, Dobby! Didya know that yesterday was my big brother's birthday? He's TWO. That's very old. Anyway, he got a brand new pretty purple collar, and he was very happy about it. He was strutting around the house showing it off. Plus he got some extra treats and a new toy, which is nice. Then, out of nowhere? He just started chasin' me! I'm the one that does the chasin' around here! He must've gotten some spunk for his birthday. Hee! Here he is, looking at the birdies on his birthday.

Two.

Merlin:

Today I am two. Wonder what sort of prizes I will get when Mom gets home from work. Wonder if she can buy me some NEW WHISKERS. While I wait, I'm going to take a nap. Or three. And maybe talk to the birdies. And eat some foods. And nap again, maybe.

Shh! I'm hiding!

This shower curtain has stripes. I have stripes. So if I hide here, no one will be able to see me.

Right?

7 Random Things about Us!

We got tagged! We got tagged!

We got tagged by Ariel and by Bubbles, Mrs. B and Madness and by Fat Cat Muffin.

Here are the rules. Each player starts with seven random facts about themselves. Cats who are tagged need to write on their own blog about the seven things and the rules. You need to choose seven cats to tag and list their names. Leave them a comment that they have been tagged and to read your blog.

Seven things about Merlin:

1. I HAVE VERY SHORT WHISKERS CURRENTLY.

2. I don't like any loud noises or sudden movements. I just prefer quiet and calm.

3. I'd rather lie next to a bean than be held by a bean. It's more independent that way, you know?

4. I am very happy lately because the windows in our house are all open. I like to sit in the window and smell the fresh air and talk to birdies.

5. When I hear a loud noise or get startled I run to the couch and make myself as flat as I can and scoot under there. I can stay there all day.

6. I like having my belly rubbed but not my chin.

7. I'm Mommy's favorite.

Seven things about Dobby:

1. I recently learned a new trick. If I lie down on my back, someone will rub my belly! I like that.

2. I can sneak up on Mommy and Daddy's bed when they're sleepin' and they won't even know I'm there.

3. I chewed off Merlin's whiskers. Hee hee hee.

4. I think it is my very important duty to lick the tub when a bean gets out of the shower.

5. Whenever ANYONE is in the bathroom, I absolutely MUST be in there too. That time must be used for pets, tub licking, belly rubbing, and definitely snacking, as that is where my food is.

6. Look. No matter what it is that I'm doing, it has to be done in a hurry. That is why I run everywhere I go. It's none of your business, just understand that it's important.

7. I'm Mommy's favorite.

If you have not participated then consider yourself TAGGED!

Visitors

So, outside our back door is where the woofies get their dinner. Look and see who decided to help them eat it! (Mom says sorry for the horrible camera work)



And so we had to keep an eye on them, you know.



It takes all four of our eyes.

No, really

Merlin here.

I don't think y'all really understand the severity of the whisker problem.

Look at this. Click to biggify if you need to.


My whiskers are little stubs! This is HORRIBLE. The little bugger.

Whiskers

Merlin here.

Dobby may look all sweet and innocent, but let me tell you somethin'. He's a whisker eater! I don't know why, but for some reason the little weirdo likes to chew on my whiskers! When he's cleaning me, which, you know, as a younger brother he is required to do, he CHEWS ON MY WHISKERS, which isn't cool. Now all my whiskers are stubby and short and ridiculous looking. I hope Daphne doesn't mind, because really, I think I look silly and not nearly as handsome as usual.

Look at him, sleeping, all innocent-like. He's tricky, that one.