Xander

a/k/a "the leaner cat." Well, that's just one of his many nicknames. As this post relates to the last one in the category of Sleeping Places & Poses, that's the applicable nickname.

Xander likes to lean against things (i.e. walls, pieces of furniture) and then gradually slide down..that's how these poses came about.

Spike

I know, Polly (sweet greyhound friend)...you want dogs, not kittehs on the blog. But, seriously...how can I resist sharing this:

 Or this. Which isn't the best shot, but is meant to illustrate a point. Spike doesn't have bones in his spine. It must only be cartilage. In this picture he has his front paws pointing to one side and his back feet pointing straight up. Often, though, he rolls farther over so that the back feet are pointing completely the other way! The cuteness is almost unbearable!

The Unbearable Cuteness of Being...

...well, the cuteness is nearly unbearable.

Spike take-over

Like he's not getting enough time on the blog already! (I do promise to get back to Gwyn and dogs soon! Really!!) This was Willow on my lap and Spike getting ready to go after her tail:

And, like all kittens, he's sleeps well!

And here's sweet Willow:

Back to sleeping (growing) kitten:

Did I share this one before? This one was taken by Spike's "auntie" back when she was taking care of him, having saved him from anti-freeze poisoning. She'd woken up and "lost" him...it's sometimes tough to find him since he falls asleep in small, different places and what with being deaf you can't call him and have him respond. Anyway, this is where she found him:

Sleeping - There's a Fine Art to it

One that kittehs are Zen masters of:

How many kittehs do you see in the picture above? (There's 3...plus one LoML in the background!) The smaller white boy is hard to spot lying in the bright sunlight.

And, boy! Does he ever get into some funny positions! That's the think about 'em when they're little...they're flexible like Gumby dolls. Remember all those funny sleeping pix of Xander I used to post?

Sweet Willow isn't opposed to sleeping on my robe and Spike's "blankie." (Hat tip to his auntie, Spike still loves his pink blankie!)

And nothing draws a cat so much as sunshine. The following illustrates another interesting Spike phenomenon: the curly coat! Seriously. What is that? A bit of Chesapeake Bay Retriever in the ancestry some where?

It seems to be getting curlier.

Not to be outdone, Xander still knows a thing or two about sleeping well.

Here's the "I'm sleeping on the hooman's pillow" pose:

And then there was this. I was afraid they'd move, so I snapped pix as soon as I came in...and cropped...but was able to get closer without disturbing anyone.

What a pose!

But then there was the moment when I came in and found LoML dozing with Spike dozing on his shoulder. The cuteness was unbearable!

*************

So, like I said last night, there's just been all kinds of wackiness around. Nothing particularly new, but it seems there's always so many things competing for my time and energy. (Yeah, I know. Welcome to the 21st century!) Aside from the normal work madness (you know the drill: always too much to do and not enough time to do it in), I decided to come down with a good old-fashioned cold. Nothing exotic. Just the kind that drags you down. Plus, we're remodeling our spare bathroom. (Will share some pix of that soon.) And, I've been trying to update some computer stuff....more on that later too.

One "advantage" to being home sick is that it does give me more time to catch up on my reading. At least during the hours that I'm awake. (I don't know about you, but when I'm sick, I sleep. A lot.) Last week I devoured the latest Stephen King novel, Doctor Sleep. Have I talked about Stephen King here before? I feel sure I have. Okay, understand that I love reading. I don't pretend to be well-read in the sense of scope of reading material. I mostly stick to fiction; mostly mysteries, with a smattering of sci-fi/fantasy and "horror". Except that the "horror" I read...I don't think of as horror. And mainly I'm referring to Stephen King here, although I also read a lot of Dean Koontz and he gets lumped in that category too. But back to King. Sure, I'll give you that King's work contains some pretty graphic and disturbing images...though not all of it. Some more so than others. His newer works tend to be less easily-defined as "horror." But above all, King's works are about character. He is masterful in his ability to bring characters to life; to allow us inside their worlds, and their minds. He reminds us that we're all complex beings made up of seeming contradictions and capable of the most remarkable actions--both good and bad. If you've never read any of his books, you shouldn't knock him. While some of them may be what you expect they are, I'm quite sure that some of them are not. As one of my friends likes to remind me, she's had people argue with her about him being the author of Stand by Me. (Yes. That one. The one that was made popular by Rob Reiner's coming-of-age film in the '80's.)

So. Doctor Sleep. It's incredible. It's a sequel to The Shining. (While the movie was made famous thanks in large part to Jack Nicholson's fabulously mad performance, the book was wonderful and deserves to be savored in its own right.) I heard that King said that someone asked him once what ever became of Danny Torrence, the child protagonist from The Shining, and that King realized he'd been wondering that same thing. So, Constant Reader, we get to find out. And it's King at his finest. He's one of those authors that grabs me, won't let me go, makes me want to not put a book down until its done, and then regret that its done. I loved every second of it.

But I still have issues with clowns and sewer grates....and that's all King's doing!

Ridiculousness

I know. My blog is becoming repetitive. I can't seem to stop myself! Seems the more outside pressures and stresses intrude on my mental well-being, the more I feel compelled to snap and share :D

This chap really has not a care in the world!

By the way, this is *my* chair! Well, it is when His Highness allows me to borrow it:

Seriously?!

How am I expected to leave the house to go to work when it requires leaving this?:

Note the little back feet partially crossed

And note the fang sticking out

More on Sleeping

 There's a lot of art that goes into sleeping around here. There's sleeping with babies, as above. There's nestling in, as below.

 

  There's always cuteness involved!

I have a super-cute video of Xander's faucet-drinking habits...unfortunately, I have spent the past two days trying various browsers to get it to upload to no avail. I've had issues before...occasionally blogger can be snarky about it...but never to this extent! I didn't want you to think I'd totally abandoned you, so figured I'd better throw this post your way. Will eventually prevail!

Oh. My.

There's really nothing else to say here...

Kitteh cubed

I'll say it again...there are very few kitty toys that are worth buying, in my humble opinion, as they find the most delight in other items, i.e. milk jug rings, bows....But every kitten needs one of these cubes! I buy ours at Wal-Mart for around $3 or $4. Every kitten I've known to get one has LOVED them! Xander still plays in his some, but more often than not I find him snoozing in it...at least part of him makes it in there...usually part of him is sticking out!
Happy Friday.

Words Fail

What do you do when you fancy yourself a writer and words fail you? Well, in my defense, this is what caused it:

 I was in the back of the house downloading and editing pix for another post when LoML called me and said "bring the camera!"

 This is what I found.

Is it me, or is Xander almost as big as Gwyn? In case you're wondering, that is Christmas wrapping paper they're lying on. Xander had so much fun playing in it, that he's been allowed to keep a small pile on the floor in the living room :D

 These two are some kind of smitten with each other! Just when you think the cuteness factor can't go any higher.

 Uh-oh. He's rolling over...

 What is he doing???

Mom! He's touching me! (Like she doesn't love it.) Let's take a closer look at those expressions:

 Wait a minute...is he riding me?!

Seriously?! (Incidentally, LoML made a wonderful suggestion for editing this picture that I may have to try...will keep you posted.)

 And then, inevitably...

And, yes, Gwyn's tongue is out! 

LoML came up with a new word for this whole situation...he wasn't flabbergasted, he was "Xandergasted!"