My Co-Worker - The Hard Part

Warning - To those with a sensitive stomach, you may want to skip this post.

Fin: Mom! Mom!

Me: Fin! I am on a conference call. Keep it down!

Fin: I AM HUNGRY!!

Me (Covering mouthpiece) Gosh are you hungry? Okay, great you need to eat! (Turns up phone volume, races to kitchen, slaps stinky food on plate, and races back to desk) Blah, blah, blah

Fin: (Strolling through the hall five minutes later) I'm full!

Me: Blah, Blah more businessy stuff

Fin runs into the office and proceeds in horking up two consecutive hairballs.

Me (Covering mouthpiece): Dear Cod! All of that! Now? You gotta do it now? Are you okay?

Fin: I'm better now.

Me: Well that's good.

Fin: Better clean that up, and I'm hungry again.

Me: (Places call on speaker as I try to clean up the hairball). Urphal (Sound of trying to avoid horking myself).

I'd like to say that never happened in my old office, but there was this one time when a pregnant lady thought it was less disruptive to vomit into a trashcan repeatedly during my class rather than leave to go to the restroom.

Um, no, not less disruptive little lady.

My Co-Worker

Fin: Mew! Mew!

Me: What Fin? I'm on a conference call so keep it down.

Fin: (Brushing against shin) Meow!

Me: Do you want to come up on the desk?

Fin: Mew!

Me: (Placing puss on desk) Okay here you go. No don't walk on my keyboard! Oh that's my water! Don't rub your face on my phone, you'll hang it up! (Places puss on the other side of the desk) Sit over here, it's safer.

Fin: (Rubbing head against my forehead) Mew!

Me: (Liberally applying pets) You are so cute, I hardly mind the naughtiness.

Fin: Purrrrrrrrr

Note: This scene is repeated at least four times a day now. Sweet!

Tweet Mystery

As I've mentioned, my parents are fairly clueless when it comes to bird names. At my request the other day, they propped me up on the wall in the yard for a little peak into the world beyond. I wanted to see what was causing some of the noise I hear sometimes.

Look at this!

Here we are in the desert suburbs, and look at what lives next door. My parents claim these big fellas are Chick-Hens! Now you know that can't be right... Chick-Hens look like this...

That can't be right! I'm hungry now...

Brazen - Tweet Week

Well it's been a long hot summer, and while it's true that I've been absent from my porch, I'm still Queen of the Porch and all tweets should know this. Right? Yet I found myself having to raise my voice to get everyone in line this weekend.

Here I am telling the Doves, what for!

I had everyone "flying right," taking turns in the fountain...


When some brazen little Hummingbird (Yes a HUMMINGBIRD!) flew right up and sassed me to my face. It then cut in front of the finches, for a sip in MY fountain. I was so shocked that I failed to smite it down with my Paw Of Doom. Next thing I knew, I thought I heard the finches snicker!

This is unacceptable friends... I need to take back the porch!

Bird Calls - Tweet Week

I've long suspected that my parents don't know everything. One area that I suspect they're close to clueless is in what to call the varieties of birds that live here in the desert. I think they have the big ones down - Doves, Pigeons, Sparrows, Mocking Birds, Hummingbirds and Crows. I'll even give them credit for recognizing Road Runners, although I've never seen one in person.

Here is where things start to break down. Any small bird, that is not a Sparrow or a Hummingbird, is called a Finch. Still I trusted them.

When they called the less than attractive medium-sized brown bird a Nevada Brown Bird - I began to doubt them.

I still believe Dad saw a "Monster Pigeon" (big as a small dog) even when Mom says it with a snicker. I will also go with his claims that he sees a Falcon sometimes.

When we saw a lovely sparrow-sized bird that had a yellow face which turned orange and eventually red on his chest, I had my doubts that it's real name was a Tequila Sunrise, but I let it go. I had no real proof.

Then the other day we saw a little Finch-sized tasty, er pretty, looking little bird. He was a bright chartreuse with a black face and black wings. When Daddy called him a Wilson, named after his resemblance to a tennis ball - well, I knew they were clueless for sure.

Fatberd - Tweet week

I thought in honor of Spring I would repeat our Tweet Week posts for our feather friends. Please enjoy!

::Music Implied::

Fatberd singing in the dead of night
Take these felted wings and learn to fly
All my life, been waiting for my Fatberd to arrive

Here was some of my inspiration for Tweet Week. My Fatberd. I had my eye on one of these little fellas for awhile, so imagine my surprise when he flew into my life the other day...

Dad went to the mailbox and returned while Mom was... indisposed. He yelled out that a package had arrived for ME. I was so surprised, first a paw it forward and now this!

"It's a surprise for Toontzy. It's gonna be for Tweet Week." Mom yelled from her perch.

"Meow! Open it Dad! Do It!"

"I'm gonna open it!" Dad yelled to Mom.

"No! Not yet, I wanna take photos!" Mom yelled which only I heard, and naturally choose to ignore.

"Do it Dad!" I mewed loudly as Dad got busy cutting into the package. I held my breath as I waited to see if my birdy dreams had come true. I made sure that I continued my loud meows, to cover Mom's continued yells to leave it alone.

"Oh this is really cute! It's this blue bird." Dad yelled out to her.

"No! I said don't open it! Don't give it to her yet!"

"MEOWWWWW"

"Oh she loves it! She's rubbin it all over her face.... Now she's kickin its a-"

"No!" Mom said as she came into the kitchen, just in time to see me finish some darling bunny-kicking business. "Shoot! Did you not hear me when I said not to open or give it to her?"

"What? No. I thought you said TO open it."

Touching

Well almost...

So Saturday morning I decided to take a look out on the porch and see what the weather was doing. I had only stepped a few feet out when I noticed Yard Cat Mittens hanging out. He headed over towards me and as I looked down I saw my girl Finny had followed me out too.

I wasn't sure what to do, so I did nothing. I stood still and Fin and Mittens got to within a foot of each other. Mittens sat down and uttered not a hiss or a harsh word. Fin on the other hand read him the riot act with hisses and growls.

As we strolled into the house I noticed a nip toy that Fin has never paid attention to and I threw it out onto the porch. Mittens started to toss it about and that attracted Finny. She ran right up to him as he lay on his back bunny-kicking the toy. You could see they were both confused and had no idea what to do next.

True to form my girl started to growl and true to his form Mittens politely batted the toy towards her. Fin took off for the house and there ended the meeting. Interesting.

Wordless Wednesday

Out of focus but still cute as can be.

Favorites

This is one of my favorite pics of my girl.

She seems a bit off her game today. She ate like a little pony yesterday, and then today not so much. I just set out some tuna (the really good kind) and I hope it does the trick. Tuna has typically been her very favorite thing.

She has always been finicky but the current tummy issues make it even more complicated. Often I set out a little buffet and see what she feels like eating today. You just never know what it will be, today turkey, tomorrow could be beef. 

It's fine though, as long as she decides on something, it's a good day. Ah victory! I see her at the dish. Tuna it is.

Failed on Friday

To explain why my blog has been so neglected this week I thought I would share this cautionary tale from Mom's blog Hart Stories by Meg S. Hart. Take it away Mom...

Yesterday I started working on my first project for my new job, and my mind actually boggled. I had to hold my hands upon my head to prevent an explosion. It started innocently enough as these things often do.

I decided to read through the full manual, not just the items I was tasked to change. I was reading the first few paragraphs and tried to locate a document it mentioned and couldn't find it. Huh?

Document two is mentioned and I looked and... nowhere to be found. What? So I thought I would go to lunch and pick it up with a fresh pair of eyes. Seemed reasonable.

I brought up the same document (Topic 13 - I know ominous right?) I had clicked on earlier in my review, and it was totally different. No, that can't be right. I checked again, and no, nothing looks familiar.

Did I loose my mind at lunch? Sure it's possible, but in the space of a lunch hour? I probably shouldn't admit this but I must have pulled up this document at least three different times, somehow hoping it would look like I remembered. It was like a grown-up game of peek-a-boo.

I was lucky that the document-numbering gods left the telltale numbering of topic 12 behind. Yes it turns out that sometime during my lunch hour the topic, formerly known as 13, was now 14.

I think I am now at the point that I can find it funny. Until they change the numbers again... peek-a-boo!

My Good Time - Ruined

Hi Friends! It's me, your pal Finny. I had a big weekend planned and it was ruined.

On Friday Dad had the back door cracked open for the first time in awhile, naturally I took my chance to go out on My Porch. I could see that there was plenty of clean-up for my parents to do, but overall I was ready to reclaim my turf.

I rolled on the cement to show my interest in spending quality porch time this weekend. Dad reported my interest to Mom and I thought the matter was taken care of.

Saturday I sat patiently by the doorway awaiting it's opening. Mom obliged by cracking open the door, but before she open the screen she had to find her camera. Suddenly on the other side of the door was my nemesis... Yard Cat Mittens!

Hiddy Ho!

There he was, waiting for a morning snack. I hissed and growled through the door. Mom however, fell for that act and gave him one! Suddenly my porch time was cut short. Every time we set out to visit My Porch this weekend there was that nare-do-well Mittens.

Unbelievable. I may have to come out of retirement and teach that puss who's Queen of the Porch.

Bugged

Okay I was a full-on slacker this week. Here is a little something to tide you over... I plan on some porch time with my girl and my camera this weekend. Now onto my girl... and this horrifying day from awhile back.

I'm not a killer - well the one exception to that is a big juicy bug. I am the Mighty Bug Huntress! The other day, when Mom left for work, the garage door must have been open just enough to allow in the bugs. ::Claps Paws::

I was paroling the hallway when I spotted the first one. I was so excited by the site of the large crawler, because I only get the rare opportunity to use my skills. I followed it for a while and then I brought down the hammer and killed him dead. I was preparing for a nap in the bedroom when I saw another one - naturally I hunted and killed it too.

I was just waking up from my nap and there was another one in the hallway. What the fluff? So I whapped it with the Paw of Doom.

I needed a snack by now so I headed out to the kitchen (Oh you didn't think I was gonna eat em did you? Um no - they give me indigestion). Anyway in the kitchen - there was another one! Whap - deaded.

When Mom came home and saw all my hard work she freaked out, and then she thanked me, as she gathered the carcasses. I assured her I got them all - I think. I'm sure I'll get them all - eventually. Mom? Stop shuddering. Oh no, don't call the bug guy - I'm pesticide free.