Fabulously Cute Felines and Other Midwinter Tales

Greetings, patient patrons of this fine establishment! I do hope your winter holidays were fantastic. I return from the cantina’s midwinter break no closer to catching up on email (quite the contrary, alas), but I’ve got some amazingly cute kitties and some updates for ye, at least.

Let us begin with Luna’s first Christmas. It was a glorious day, and we let Luna out into the back yard for an adventure, where she promptly zipped up a tree after squirrels. I’ve not seen many cats so confident in trees as she – she’s practically a squirrel herself, but just can’t quite manage the spectacular leaps they do. Warned by the adorable little bell jingling on her collar, they took off for safer parts, leaving her to linger in the tree looking for other interesting things to do. Staring down at the idiot human photographing her seemed to be a popular choice.

Luna perched in a fork on a mossy branch, avidly watching the goings-on below.
Luna perched in a fork on a mossy branch, avidly watching the goings-on below.

She also took a moment to sample of bit of moss-covered stub, which apparently tasted awful. It led to the best derpy cat photo I’ve ever gotten of her.

Luna trying to get the taste of icky branch out of her mouth. I love the fact she looks like a baby just after taking its first bite of something sour.
Luna trying to get the taste of icky branch out of her mouth. I love the fact she looks like a baby just after taking its first bite of something sour.

A short time later, the entertainment value of the tree waned, and so she and Kirby began chasing each other all over the back deck. Here we see she’s learned a lot from watching MMA with us, and has Kirby in a bulldog choke.

Luna sitting up with her brother in a chokehold.
Luna sitting up with her brother in a chokehold.

All this activity tired her out considerably, and she ended the night by engaging in some seriously adorable sleeping.

Luna lounging on a sofa cushion, showing that fluffy white streak on her cute kitteh belleh.
Luna lounging on a sofa cushion, showing that fluffy white streak on her cute kitteh belleh.

For those who need the full-metal cute overload, the full set is here.

Starspider made me a lovely little wool-and-silk felted scarf for Christmas. I took one look at the thing, and knew I would never get to wear it. Once I brought it home, it would no longer be mine. And I was right. I placed it on the bed, where Misha discovered it. She sniffed it over once, then twice, then gave it a good cheek-rub, then climbed into it and sunk her face into a loop, and fell in instant love. Once she got done rubbing her whole body over it, she then stomped it into a good sleeping shape and proceeded to inform me with quite clear body language that she was pleased with the gift.

Misha lying atop the white-and-blue felted scarf Starspider spent so much time and care making.
Misha lying atop the white-and-blue felted scarf Starspider spent so much time and care making.

I’ve had to put it up by her pillow so I can get my bed space back.

Misha on her pillow, using the scarf as another pillow, and showing by body language and expression that she believes she is the most regal felid in existence, and has the silk-and-merino-wool scarf to prove it.
Misha on her pillow, using the scarf as another pillow, and showing by body language and expression that she believes she is the most regal felid in existence, and has the silk-and-merino-wool scarf to prove it.

She uses it as a bunker when she hangs out with us in the living room. In all ways, she is quite pleased with her gift. It’s a good thing Starspider has a cat and understands that our possessions are sometimes not our own.

And, speaking of kittehs who own a bit of our former possessions, Luna has certainly taken over the center back cushion on the second sofa. She uses it as a platform from which she can demonstrate her superb cute-sleep talents.

Luna tucked vertically into the hollow she's made in her couch cushion. Note the incredible fluffiness of her tail. She's one of the poofiest cats I've ever encountered.
Luna tucked vertically into the hollow she’s made in her couch cushion. Note the incredible fluffiness of her tail. She’s one of the poofiest cats I’ve ever encountered.

She went through about ninety-seven different adorable poses whilst I was there, which made it hard to watch the fights, which was unfortunate because they turned out quite eventful. Did you see Anderson Silva become the second person in UFC history to break his leg in half on another man’s leg? Yes? Gruesome. Quick! Have a sweet kitten as an antidote.

Luna twisted in a pretzel of delightful kitten-fluff.
Luna twisted in a pretzel of delightful kitten-fluff.

And Kirby has accepted the new sofa downstairs as his own, and is well-pleased with it. He appears to like firmer surfaces than his sister.

Kirby curled on his lovely new blue sofa. Alas, I didn't get down there in time to see his original face-plant in it.
Kirby curled on his lovely new blue sofa. Alas, I didn’t get down there in time to see his original face-plant in it.

Many more cute sleepy kitty photos as this link.

For our New Year’s Eve, we walked over to the local maclargehuge church for their winter light show. I made this little video for ye. You can turn off the sound if you’re sick to death of Christmas music, but I did try to choose things that aren’t utterly awful. Some of it’s even quite historic, if you like old phonograph recordings.

Love the lights. That’s the one useful thing about this church: a lovely light show, and it wasn’t even slam-in-your-face religious. I appreciate that. You can see the still photos here, if you like.

I’ve spent most of the last few weeks hunkered down with outside communication shut off, furiously writing and researching, only emerging to go to work and to B’s for food and fights. I think you’ll like the results, especially after I’ve gotten round to clearing out my severely overstuffed inbox. I’d meant to get to that, too, but the weird anxiety issues around communication that make me such a horrible correspondent worsened this winter. Bloody silly brain. My poor stepmother actually didn’t recognize the voice or the number calling on Christmas, it’s been so long. That seems to be letting go its grip, though, so those of you who have waited so long and so patiently and not given up on me should hear from me quite soon! I hope.

The mail-people, thanks to my parents’ timely Amazon gift card, shall soon be bringing me the books necessary for me to start a series that should keep you deeply entertained (and perhaps vaguely horrified). I’ve also a little light blasphemy composed that has made the beta readers burst out laughing whilst taking notes for their next conversation with a fundamentalist. Several geology posts are in the can, including one I promised to our own Brianne sometime last summer. We at last have a conclusion to our Mount St. Helens field trip. And I’m about to dive in to the next phase of our Catastrophe tale. I spent a refreshing night organizing all of my completed and in-progress research, and generally setting things up to be a more prolific writer in 2014. As long as nothing terribly unexpected happens, it should be a great year.

Thank you all for making this blog the best place to be on the entire internet, and for giving me a billion and one reasons to keep writing forever. I love you, and I hope this is your best year yet. Ye olde traditional Scottish blessing is a bit late this year, but no less heartfelt for a’ that:

May the best you’ve ever been be the worst you’ll ever see.

funny-pictures-hugging-cats

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Fabulously Cute Felines and Other Midwinter Tales
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4 thoughts on “Fabulously Cute Felines and Other Midwinter Tales

  1. rq
    1

    Here’s to a productive year for everyone! I mean, except for those people whose goal is to have an unproductive year.

  2. 2

    I plan to be as unproductive as possible! Except in the catapult category, of course. And I seem to have promised to build my wife a TARDIS. It turns out she wants it full size. The “bigger on the inside” part may be a bit challenging, although I do possess the correct sort of screwdriver.

    Loving the cat pictures! Although the outdoor ones bothered me just a little. Cats really are better off if they just stay indoors. Keeps the vet bills lower, as well.

  3. 3

    Luna in the mossy tree making her “icky face” is so adorable! It really made my morning.

    Looking forward to what you bring in 2014 because 2013 was pretty awesome!

  4. rq
    4

    Trebuchet
    We’ve actually found our cat feels much better with some time outside (fresh air, exercise). The best part is that the world is his litterbox, so he goes out to do his business, then comes back in to sleep on the radiators. True, we have to make sure he doesn’t catch any parasites, but with regular application of the appropriate medication (drops, pills) it’s actually not that bad. We do try not to leave him out there for too long, but he’s smart enough to know where his food bowl is.
    We also live on the edge of the semi-wild with several stray cats around, so I’m fairly sure the songbirds are careful enough to avoid capture by our rather clumsy specimen, plus there are some fairly nasty jays around (of the dive-bombing sort).

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