A Changing of the Guard

When Grimm first came to us, all he wanted was to make friends with our cats. Mandu was the oldest of our cats and the only one who would give him the time of day....so to speak. Now it appears Mandu may be spending her final days with us and like a true friend, Grimm is right there by her side keeping a watchful eye on his old friend.  One friend commented to me this morning that it seemed like, especially these days, that animals act more human than many humans do.  Thinking on that statement, I'd have to say she's right. So tonight we'll circle the wagons, show Mandu the love and affection she's shown us for the last 17 years and say goodbye.

..........In her earlier years.

 

Goodbye Mandu. We love you ol girl! 

..........Til Next Time

She Almost Seems Human, July 02, 2006

FOR THOSE OF YOU WHO HAVE BEEN WITH ME FROM THE BEGINNING, You may remember me writing about our two cats a couple of times.

"Sable" and "Mandu", without a doubt, have got to be two of the most bizzare felines I have ever encountered. Don't get me wrong though.....If anything ever happened to either one of them, it would be heartbreaking for all involved. But sometimes I wonder................

In particular, I wonder about Sable and her sometimes human like habits. Solid black with a small white patch on her silky soft chest, she sometimes takes on personality traits and eating habits of a wide eyed, always curious child.

On some mornings, she will stand by the front door as we walk outside and then head for the window and watch us leave. When we come home, she'll come running looking for attention and not give up until she gets it........just like a child.

And when it comes to food, well lets just say that she sometimes gobbles up stuff that most cats won't touch. She loves McDonalds Happy Meal Cheeseburgers. She has, on a couple of occasions, even eaten part of the bun. She will also eat french fries, potato chips, pickles, small chunks of cheddar cheese, ice cream, and the strangest of all.........celery. That's right, celery! A couple of nights ago, while having a salad for dinner, I dropped a celery stick on the floor. She grabbed it up and ran off to the other side of the room. After finding a comfortable place to curl up with her latest bounty, we watched as she ate half of it. I was totally blown away. I've never seen a cat eat celery before.

Some of her other habits include staring contests. You remember those games where whoever blinks first loses? Yep, that's the one. It's only happened a couple of times, but when it does it sure is freaky. She's also been known to curl up beside one of us one the couch and stare at the tv until she is distracted from her trance like state by something else.

Now I know she's only a cat. But sometimes, it's just plain freaky when she starts in with the human like behaviors. It's so strange at times. It almost looks like she is human, or least trying really hard to act like one of us. Either way, she's a part of the family I couldn't imagine living without......especially on those days when she almost seems human!

Your favorite family pet is a.......(closed poll)

Cat 6

Dog 7

Horse 0

Bird 0

Other 2

(originally posted 7-2-06 on Yahoo 360)

Update on Previous Posts, February 17, 2006

HAPPY PRESIDENTS DAY WEEKEND!!!!

We'll start off tonight by wishing everyone a happy Presidents Day Weekend. For some of us that also translates into a three day weekend. So Enjoy!!!!

I have had a few questions about some of the things I've mentioned in previous posts, so I thought I'd answer a few of those questions tonight.

UPDATE #1: A couple of folks asked about our cats that I wrote about in the entry titled "Broken Glass=My Superiority." The short answer is no, they haven't broken anymore glass. However, I am looking at a new computer monitor tonight as a result of the escapades of one of our two "furry ones." Our previous monitor was the 15" HP monitor that came with the system when we bought it. It was big and bulky in typical HP style. As a result, it put out a fair amount of residual heat. Every winter our oldest cat, "Mandu", is always looking for a nice warm place to curl up. Despite our best efforts, it is next to impossible to keep her off the top of the monitor. We resigned ourselves to cleaning the monitor more often rather than constantly fighting her. Well, that all ended on Wednesday when she decided to barf on the back of the monitor. I'll spare you all the details, but suffice to say, tonight we have a brand new 17 inch digital flatscreen. No more cat on the monitor and a much better picture. Two hundred+ dollars later we can finally laugh about it. I'm just trying to figure out what smelled worse....the fried electronics or the warm cat barf.

UPDATE #2: Some of you having been asking about the email I sent to San Francisco City Supervisor Gerado Sandoval. Well, much as I expected, I never heard a peep! Not even a whimper. Unless confronted directly, people like him usually won't respond. I did a little research on him though and found out that he is a supporter of La Raza. LaRaza is a Latino Civil Rights organization. Among other things, this group supports the return of huge portions of California, Nevada, Arizona, New Mexico, and Texas back to Mexico. Maybe this explains Supervisor Sandoval's stance regarding the military. Makes about as much sense as anything else I've heard this week. Either way, I don't expect to hear from him or his office. If I do, I'll post his reply for you guys to see.

and finally UPDATE #3: Yesterday I wrote about the Navy NASCAR effort. After a little more research, I've discovered that TEAM NAVY will be on the track again this season. After the departure of David Stremme from Fitz-Bradshaw Racing, the Navy signed a deal with JRMOTORSPORTS . Yes that "JR" Motorsports as in Dale Earnhardt "JR." The Navy will be sponsoring the #88 Chevy Monte Carlo (see picture above) driven by Busch Series rookie Mark McFarland. McFarland qualified the Navy ride 25th for tomorrows Hershey's Kissables 300. We'll be watching. It should be some fun!!!

(originally posted 2-17-06 on Yahoo 360)