More Treats Mom!

Hurry up with the treats, Mom! I have watched over your foot the past week and endured the crutches and the lack of play, so I deserve more treats NOW!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Nothing like a nice easy Sunday morning in my favorite spot in mom's bedroom underneath the air-condition vent.

Substitute Secretary

I thought I would give some assistance to mom with the cat blog this weekend. Even though she has been home everyday for the past week recuperating from foot surgery, she has done a pretty good job keeping up with the blogging, so I thought I would give her a break.

Hey mom - I think you missed a comma on the blog today. Can I help?

I don't like that picture. Why did you have to show my backside?

There! All done! How did I do mom? Do you think any friends will come visit?


Whew! That was tiring. Time for a nap the rest of the day!

Friday Flick

Hello my furry friends!

While mom has been recuperating from foot surgery, she discovered the video mode on her camera. For your entertainment today, she is sharing a short video of me. I was getting a little extra reward this week because I have been such a good nurse. I just love it when she rubs the head and neck! If you listen real close, you can hear me purring as I nurse mom's foot.

If you look really close, you can see the old ugly bruise on my mom's hand from the IV. Her vein collapsed and they had to put in another one somewhere else! Poor mom!

The video quality isn't very good, but you get to see me in 3-D action! Hope you enjoy!

Quirk Meme

Ok guys, I was tagged by Mickey for a meme. This is the first try at this, so let's hope it works.

This is my friend, Mickey. I am afraid I might lose him in the dark because he is so tall, dark and handsome.

The rules:

• Link to the one who tagged you.
• List the rules on your blog.
• Tell about 6 unspectacular quirks of yours.
• Tag some blogger friends with links.
• Leave a comment on their blog to let them know they've been tagged.

1. I like to find that one splot of sunlight coming in from the door and lay in it.

2. I like to check out Mom's food,even though I do not eat it. I like my food. 3. I like to lay on the footrest of my mom's chair. 4. I like to sleep in Mom's clothes basket so she can give me more attention. 5. I like to hang out in the bathroom with Mom and watch what she does.

6. I like to help mom with the filing.

I tag Jasper, Marilyn Monreow, and Goldenshade

Watchful Wednesday

Nurse Praline on duty!

Special thanks to Miss Ann at ZOOLATRY for my newest picture. Mom went back to the doctor today and he removed her bandages from the surgery, but won't take the stitches out until next Tuesday. She still has limited movement, can't get the foot wet and is basically stuck on the couch. When mom asked the doctor what she needed to do the next week, his response was "REST." That means I get 7 more days with Mom all to myself!

Tummy Tuesday

I don't get to do this too often because the sunlight comes through this door in the late afternoon and Mom is usually at work. The best time to lay in the sun and expose my tummy is on a Saturday or Sunday afternoon when both mom and I can take a nap.

Whenever mom sees me lying down like this, I always get a good tummy rub!

P.S. about the technical problems. Sorry to all of my fur friends and their beans about the bad links the past couple of days. For some reason, my link switched to "catblog" instead of "blogspot" and many of you couldn't visit. Mom thinks she has it fixed now for the previous days. I am blaming it on her medicine from the surgery.

Moose Tracks Monday

Mom should know that she shouldn't put a bowl of icecream down and leave it. We kitties just love the creamy taste of expensive icecream.

P.S. Mom wouldn't let me eat it because it had chocolate in it.

Guardian Praline - Not So Easy Like Sunday Morning

Don't even think about touching my mom's foot!

Normally, I would be taking it easy on Sunday morning, but since my mom had her foot surgery, I have to take care of her and make sure she doesn't do any damage to that foot. She gave me a bunch of extra loving yesterday as a thank you for my special duties. Don't know how long I can handle this duty of pampering her though. She is supposed to take care of me, but I guess "turn-about-is-fair-play" as they say.

Nurse Praline

Watching over Mom's injured foot!

Furry Friday

Which one is the "real" Praline? My mom just can't grow out of her stuffed animal phase. I just don't understand why she would want these stuffed kitties when she can have the real thing?

My posts my be a little slower the next few days because my mom is having foot surgery this morning. The good news is that she will be home with me for a week - the bad news is that she won't be able to walk around and play with me. Special purrs for my mom!

T13 #2 - Being a Flatface, Furball

My thoughts on being a flat face, fur-ball!

1. We get called all kind of names like, "owl cat", "Gismo", "flat face", and my favorite, "Sweetie."




2. We are unique individuals and we don't usually see many like us. We have a "look at me" personality and crave the attention of being different.





I'm NOT fat, I'm FLUFFY!



3. We are so "floofy", so our humans just love to hold us and hug us all of the time. I think we remind remind them of those stuffed animals they used to love as children.


4. Because of our "floofiness", wherever we go, we always leave a part of us behind. Mom says she always takes a little part of me with her wherever she goes.



5. We have that "awwwwww" factor, especially as kitties.



6. We get lots and lots of belly rubs.


7. We get to sleep where we want to - especially the comfortable places.



8. We make great decorations around the house.



9. We don't get our noses caught in doors (can you find mine?).



10. We like to talk to our "beans" all of the time and usually get our way.



11. We are just plain cute!



12. We get very special names - like "Miss Paula's Sweet Praline".
    
13. We have that "cattitude".
    

Wordless Wednesday

There has to be a paw somewhere under that fur!

Praline Candy

A special thank you to Ann at Zoolatry for my picture!

For those of you that don't know what a Praline is, it is a very sweet sugar confection (candy) from New Orleans. My mom loves Pralines and Cream ice cream and praline candy and when she saw my red and chocolate fur, the name just stuck!

I am also a very sweet, southern belle! We also make Pralines in South Carolina!

Moping Monday

It was so good to have mom home this weekend after being on the road all last week, but guess what? She is traveling again this morning. She thought she could satisfy me with a stuffed kitty, but I showed her what I thought about that.

I just love to lay on that clean, cool, glass table, even if I do have to share it with that stuffing. He doesn't hold a candle to this Southern Lady! Happy Monday, all!

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Another Baby Praline picture. Nothing like lying upside down on the back of a couch and getting that "Awwwwww" from mom.

Photo Hunt - Emotions - I didn't do it!

Thinking about emotions, the theme for today is "guilt". We cats tend to get blamed for everything that happens in the house, especially when the humans made the mess. I promise I didn't make this mess. This is what I had to put up with when my mom was working on her Ph.D. She had papers and books from one end of the office to the other end of the computer. We basically had a path to get from the door to the computer to the bedroom to the bathroom. It was really fun to run through the house and make all of the papers go flying and see mom jump up from the computer to do a foot race and an amazing game of catch to keep those papers where they started. I also liked to put my "tooth" of approval on the student papers. Things are a lot better now. She only has one room that has a bunch of "junk" in it when she decided to leave the university as a professor. Now, if I can just turn my big eyes on her and "guilt" her into cleaning up my room, we'll have it made.

Furry Fighter Friday

Just a special post for remembering Stormie. Please give Muff a special sniff and purr when you see her at the Rainbow Bridge. You fought a valiant fight and you were a beautiful cat.

All of the beans experience some sadness with this day, so please know that you are not alone.

The rest of us should give our special fur children a little extra attention, hug, and treats today to show them how much they have brought into our lives. Praline has already received hers!

Thursday 13 #1 - Reasons to hide in the Closet

1. Mom opens the door and I just love to explore an opened door.

2. Hey, while I was exploring the closet, I found that the towels and blankets provide a nice, soft bed to tale a little catnap.

3. Hide and Seek - Mom can't find me and it makes her late for work, movie, etc. This is the most fun game.

4. It's a great way to pick out the colors that best compliment my beautiful coat.

5. It's a great place to hide when she runs that loud machine that picks up all of my precious fur that I have taken time to carefully placed in various corners around the house.

6. When Mom finds me, I help her remember that she "must" clean out this closet. I just remind her to make sure she leaves one or two towels or blankets for me to snooze in the afternoon.

7. Just Because I can

8. It gives my mom something to laugh at first thing in the morning when she sees those owl eyes looking back at her.

9. I look so cute behind all of that soft material.

10. When Mom finds me, she says, "Oh, there you are, aren't you cute?" and then she quickly runs and gets that flash thing to record history.

11. Once she finds me, I look at her and say "oh well, I guess it is time to find another hiding place" and I calmly leave the closet. (P.S. She has another closet that is a doozy where I can find all types of hiding places and it takes her days to find me.)

12. There' s something challenging about getting behind that closed door when it open just to see what is there.

13. The only thing better is to try to grab one of the sock or underwear drawers when mom opens it. You have to be fast to get into those, but what a challenge?

Baby Praline

Let's everyone say, "Aw . . ."

Mom got a bit nostalgic today and started digging in old boxes to find some of my baby pictures. I was a little ball of fur as a baby and grew to be a big ball of fur. I am so happy I picked my mom almost 13 years ago.

My mom's grandmother bought this bunny for my first Christmas and she wasn't able to give it to me because she went to the "Human Rainbow Bridge" a couple of weeks before Christmas, so my mom's grandfather gave it to me. This was my first toy and I played with it for several years!

Would you believe this picture was "green" when my mom found it? I guess the film was old - prior to digital cameras. My mom was able to restore it with a software program she has and boy, was she glad she was able to save the picture.

Have a wonderful Wednesday!

Not that Movie, Mom

Mom decided it was time for a movie marathon this weekend. She tried to play "101 Dalmations" and "Must Love Dogs" and I put my paw down on those. I quickly let her know that if we were going to spend Sunday watching movies, they better have some cats in them.

Mom decided to do a Harry Potter marathon (even though she has read all of the books and seen all of the movies several times each).

We just finished the second Harry Potter movie, which has a bunch of kitties in them! However, the poor cat in the second movie gets frozen. My mom covered my eyes for that scene, but I peeked. The kitty was okay in the end.

I can't talk too much this week because my mom is on the road every day (leaving early in the morning and getting back most days at night) and she needs to spend time with me when she gets home. A very special thank you goes out to all of my fur friends for your kind words for my sister, Muff. My mom and I really appreciated your thoughtful words.

Remembering Muff

Hello fellow fur kitties . . . I thought I would take a moment to introduce you to my fur sister who has crossed the Rainbow Bridge. Her name was Muff and my mom and her husband got Muff from a farm in rural South Carolina in 1978, the year my mom graduated from College. My mom grew up with dogs (a collie and cocker spaniel), but her husband did not like dogs and my mom wanted a pet, so they got a cat. Muff was a gray ball of fur and gave them both great joy. She destroyed two different couches because she did not like to scratch on the given scratching post, but preferred the backs of the couches. When she was a kitten, she had ring worm and my mom "caught" it from her and she lost all of her eye lashes, but she didn't care, because she loved Muff and continued to take care of her.

Muff became a great lap kitty and when my mom would come home from teaching all day, she would lie down to take nap and Muff would curl up right beside her. Muff loved to eat popcorn, ice cream, yogurt, and fresh fish. One day when her dad got a fresh plate of fried fish (I think it was Bass and Crappie), he put the plate down and went to get something to drink and when he got back, Muff was enjoying the fish. I don't think he ever forgave her for that.

At 16 years of age, Muff was diagnosed with Chronic Renal Failure and was only given 6 months to a year to live. She had to have IVs and other medications and appeared to do better. Unfortunately, her dad chose to leave my mom and he took Muff with him. My mom told him that if she had to lose both of them, she would rather lose them at the same time. The interesting thing was that Muff died one month prior to my mom's divorce (after 21 years of marriage) in 1996. I was eight months old when my sister crossed Rainbow Bridge. She was a wonderful Southern Belle and my mom still misses her. One of my mom's former students (a 7th grade student) did a hand painting of her and it still hangs in the hallway. Mom is going to try to scan the picture so all can see it.

Both Mom and I hope to see Muff across the Rainbow Bridge in many years to come. We love you Muff.

Muff Portait
My mom says, "If anyone knows a Josh Summers, who would be about 26 years old and lived in the Irmo area, she sure would like to contact him and thank him for painting this portrait when he was in 7th grade.

Easy Like Sunday Morning

Today is a day for rest. Mom left early this morning to sing in the choir at one church and play the piano at another church, so I took advantage and had a little extra snooze time. We like to lie down and get some zzzzzzz on Sunday. Mom must be on the road EARLY tomorrow to visit some universities, so we are going to take it easy today.

Hmmmm. . . Bad Hair

Well, Jasper has challenged us to a "bad hair" day picture. I kept trying to tell mom that I didn't have any of those days because I was a southern belle kitty and we always looked our best. Unfortunately, mom has one of these scanner things and she can find older pictures of me when I was a teenager and didn't know any better and . . .


No, mom, not that one!

Well, fellow kittieladies and kittiegentlemen, she found one of my adolescent pictures from when we were in Clemson. I had heard something outside of the window and like the curious cat that I am, I perched up to look out. Mom thought it was so cute, that she snapped a picture. My human grandmother calls me the "owl cat" because of my eyes and this picture tends to prove it.


So, there you have it, the ONE bad picture of Sweet Praline in her youth. (I think my mom had been too busy to brush me that morning)

We Overslept

Well, I messed up this morning and didn't wake up mom. The sun coming through the window was so soothing, that I just kept on sleeping. Next thing I know, Mom comes rushing in the room saying she was already supposed to be at work. Now everyone knows a cat must have her beauty sleep, especially on a Friday morning. But then again, my Mom really needs a little more beauty sleep lately, so I thought I was doing her a favor. Just you wait . . . I will get her up tomorrow earlier than normal, even if it is the weekend. Surprise - Surprise

P.S. I left mom a surprise in the hallway last night. I can't wait for her to walk into (or shall I say, onto) it and yell, "yech, Praline".

My First Day

Mom came home today and told me about this website. She said that Jasper McKitten-cat's dad told her that this was a neat place to meet other kitties and human parents. Mom and I are both very new at this "blogging" thing, so we ask that you are patient with us as we learn how to do this.

I came to live with my mom when she went to Clemson University in South Carolina to work on a Ph.D. The funny thing is - my mom is a die-hard University of South Carolina Gamecock fan! Go figure . . .

My fur mother is a seal-point Himalayan and my fur father is a red-tabby Persian, so that is where I got my unique markings! It was a good thing that I had long fur because it sure was cold in the upstate of South Carolina. I used to help mom grade papers for her math students and even gave one student with a bad grade my "tooth" stamp of disapproval. You should have seen mom try to explain the teeth marks in the graded test! Mom made it really hard to get around the apartment with all of the books and papers on the floor, while she was writing her dissertation. I used to jump up on her keyboard when she wasn't paying enough attention to me because everyone knows that I should come first in her life! If I wasn't so old (12), I would still do that. I now settle with sitting beside her at the computer and meow until she gives me a treat!

Well, that is enough for a first post. I hope to be back later.