Stomach sickness :(

Well, somehow, I have contracted a stomach ailment that has really taken its toll on me. So, I haven't posted anything new in a few days. I did take a nice photo of 9 and Chani looking out the bedroom window, but I'm a bit too laid up to download it onto my comp.  As soon as I feel better, I shall do so and post it in the blog.

Happy Friday everyone and enjoy the weekend.

9 and Chani at Mom and Dad's

Chani is definitely relaxed here at my parents. She's been rolling on her back and letting me give her belly snorgles. Last night, she and 9 were on their chair (er... my dad's chair). Unfortunately, by time I got my camera, Chani decided to jump down. Ah well...
Now, my mom's computer desk has quite a lot of stuff on it, but there is some clear area behind the computer. 9 is having a great time hopping up and down the desk and the shelf above it, knocking things over, maneuvering around the wooden dolls she has on display. Yes, common words here in the household are: 9! Down! No! Get down! Not that he seems to listen.

At any rate, both 9 and Chani are doing just fine here, enjoying snuggles and food and lots of love.

An All Chani Post

As I've stated, Chani is a bit more skittish that 9. She has certain people she likes (I'm one of them, fortunately) and certain people she 'pretends' to like. My mom is definitely a 9 fan but not much of a Chani fan. My dad laughs how Chani looks at him like she wants to be petted by him, but runs away as soon as he goes to pet her. However, the person in the above picture is Kris. Kris is an old friend and fellow cat lover who Chani willingly will hop up onto the couch and sit next to. Kris didn't want her whole picture posted, just the one where Chani was the center of attention.
Here's a view of Chani from her perch on the tower. I was sitting below her and looking at her through the entry hole. So cute. Love that pink nosie.
And finally, here's the line drawing I uploaded to SanQ Designs. This dog is based on Tommy of The Poupounette fame. I hope I have his approval as well as #1, Tama-chan and Sei-chan! I've named this design after him too (Clothing - Tommy-kun).

Quick note!

Hi All,

Not to be self-promoting, but I am :). I've added a new link onto my blog that will lead you to my new CafePress shop that displays some items with my Abstract Primitive designs. Please, feel free to browse and such. Would love to hear what you think about what I've got up there (right now, only 3 products, hope to add more in the next few days/weeks and beyond).

The store name is SanQ Designs. The meaning is not "sans Q". It's something quite different. Here's a little explanation.

When I was living in Japan, a friend came up with "3 Q" for "Thank you". There is no "th" sound in Japanese, so any word that begins with "th" is kind of pronounced with an "s" sound instead. So, "Thank you" would sound like: "Sank you". Said quickly you would have: "Sankyuu". Now, "3" in Japanese is pronouced, "san". So, my friend would write "3 Q" instead of "Thank you".

Because I miss and love Q so much and because I want to thank people for visiting my site and I'm just thankful I can share my art this way, I decided to name my store: SanQ Designs.

Hope you enjoy this!

More pics of the kitties tomorrow!

oh, and I apologize for the horrible punctuation in the explanation. I know I've mangled it a lot. Please forgive me!

New Furfriends

Hello! The other day, I went to visit my realtor who is also a good friend of a friend and therefore my friend. He and his family have a few fur friends. I've only met three of them so far and have taken pictures of two.

First up is Diego, a Balinese cat, who is regal, tolerant and just loves being 'spanked'. He's a great kitty and I just loved taking photos of him.

Next up is, Delila, a Bichon Frise puppy. I'm not sure how old she is, but she's about 6-7 lbs. A pure fluffball of energy. (Oh, and all their pets' names begin with D. There is one more dog, named Darcy who is an older dog that I've met. I'm not sure what the other cats' names are and I haven't met them yet.)

Delila even dances!

As for Diego being tolerant, well, let's just say that Delila looooves him and just wants to play with him. Diego puts up with it but there are times when he just is not in the mood. Fortunately, on Sunday, he was in the mood to play with Delila a bit and 'put her in her place'.

Hope you're having a great Tuesday!

New Tower!

I couldn't resist. I just had to get Chani a new tower. And so, I did. Petco had one that just sort of called to my inability to deny myself a chance to spoil the kitties. This tower is much taller than the old one. I was kind of surprised at how tall (it's taller than I am!). Yes, I did see it at Petco but it was on an elevated platform. And someone else carried it to my car.

Chani doing her best impression of a vulture.

So, I bought it for Chani, but it seems that 9 has decided to take it over. He's slept in the top level a few times. They're still battling it out for dominance or possession. I'll let you know how that goes.

Well, I'm off to go celebrate my birthday today doing a variety of things (see a movie, have some friends over, maybe take some photos of a Bichon Frise puppy...). Have a happy Sunday all!

9 and Mom

I would have to say that 9 is not uncomfortable with my mom at all. I would worry that he might be transferring his affection to her away from me, HOWEVER, he simply loooooooooooooooooves everyone. And he still comes to me or comes out from wherever he is when I come home and call his name.

Does he know how to turn on the charm or what?

Thursday Tidings

9 and Chani have settled in to my parents' house quite nicely. They've even found the best seat in the house and are attempting to take it over. Unfortunately for them, my dad is quite possessive of HIS chair. Still, they do try.

Things are going pretty smoothly here. Living out of a box is not all that fun, but it's only temporary. I can handle it! And it gives the kitties something to experience. Lately, 9 has been showing off his jumping prowess, both vertically and horizontally. This means that all of us have to do a little de-cluttering so that the kitties don't hurt themselves or the stuff on the tabletops, dresser tops, countertops... you get the picture.

I tell you, keeping both 9 and Chani off of the dining room table is next to impossible! Oh, and 9 really enjoys sharing some of my dad's cereal in the morning. We really have to watch him closely or he'd be eating everyone's food!

Still, I'm very thankful that my parents have let me move back in with them for this short time AND that they love having the kittens with them. (Mom has definitely shown a marked preference for 9... oh! and he slept next to her yesterday afternoon, on his back cradled between her and the armrest of her chair... talk about kissing up! Dad has the photographic evidence. I shall post that in the future.)

It's Hawaiian Shirt/Dress Tuesday!

Walking around the International Marketplace in Waikiki, one can find almost anything! Me, I found these adorable outfits for 9 and Chani. Unfortunately, they're a little too small. Next time I go to Oahu, I have to get the next size up.

Mom was a willing participant in showing off Chani.

Chani: I can't believe the indignity!!! Grrr.

Isn't the little ruffle cute??? I thought so at least.

9: Maybe if I sit like this, she'll take it off sooner. Or maybe I'll look so handsome and patient, that she'll give me treats!

Mom helped pose 9 too.

I did get some golf club covers from the Waialae Golf Course. They are hats with the Waialae logo with knitted sock-like extensions for the golf clubs. I cut off the sock part and I'm left with the hats. I bought one for 9 and one for Chani. Now, they're both packed up in my boxes. When I find them, I'll have to put them on the cats and take photos. I mentioned this plan to the cashier at the course and she told me to send photos to the manager as she'd love it! Ok, as soon as I find the covers or unpack them, I'll take the photos and post them :).

Snuggles on a Saturday night and more new friends

Last night, I went out to dinner with my parents and 4 good friends, Emma, Aki, Joe and Heather. (Emma and Aki are married, Joe and Heather are married). After dinner, we all came back to my parents' house so that my mom could show off some of the travel binders that she and my dad put together after one of the many trips that my parents have taken. Mom does all the writing about the history of the place and prints up all the pictures. Dad cuts the pictures out for her. Oh, and we had to have dessert too.

At any rate, Aki is like me. He firmly believes in giving kitties snuggles/snorgles/hugs and kisses whether the kitties would like to be snuggled/snorgled/hugged and kissed or not.

9 getting some love. 9 got a lot of love and attention last night. He really enjoys being the center of attention.

Emma gave 9 love too.

And a little bit of dessert... 9 is really spoiled!!!

Chani did not escape the love, although she did try to run away. However, in the end...

Aki was able to get ahold of her too.

They didn't get loved on the entire night. There was time for some play too.

And just for reference and a distinct comparison to my former apartment, here's a picture of my parents' couch and family room. I look at this image and think: Can you find the humans in this image? There is so much stuff! (From the back: Heather, Joe and Aki, looking at a binder about Japan, I think). I showed this image to Emma exclaiming about the amazing amount of stuff: and she said: It's awesome! She's so right.

Ahhh, it's good to be home :)

Sorry!

Still no pictures yet. I've been a bit busy and it's been hard to take pictures of 9 and Chani.

Today, they received their latest baths. Found 5 fleas on 9 and only one on Chani. Somehow, I think that the fleas on Chani are smarter, because I found that one right on her face, the dry area. All of 9's fleas were by his back legs. I'm hoping that this latest bath finally takes care of the flea problem. 9 and Chani won't be ready for their Frontline treatment until the 20th.

So, please keep your fingers crossed for me!

Being inspired by Cori of Albert and Elvis fame, here are some baby pics of 9 and Chani.

Moved out...

Ok, so I'm completely moved out of the apartment. My mom's poor living room is stacked with boxes. So is part of my old room (clothes and bed stuff), the bathroom has a box or two outside of it. The garage has shelves, the dining room table and my deconstructed bed in it.

9 and Chani are at the kennels again getting a second bath because the first flea dip did not get all the blood suckers off of them! I managed to comb off 2 fleas off of 9 and 1 off of Chani last night. But, I think it's for the best that my dear babies get a 2nd bath. Apparently, they were very good when they got their first bath. Chani whined and tried to cling to the bather. But, they were good... unlike my beloved Q who hasn't been to this kennel in about 10 years (he got kicked out for swiping at a passing Vet) and is still remembered. Ah, my darling Q.

Mom and Dad are enjoying having 9 and Chani around. Mom already bought them toys and has given them treats. So has Dad... oh dear, talk about spoiling the grandcats.

I will take some photos soon so you can see the stack of stuff in the living room. I hope my mom doesn't mind!

more Hawaii

Here are a couple more pictures of Hawaii. I still have to pack up the rest of the kitchen and all the stuff on my dining room table. Sigh... moving.

White Lotus in Honolulu.


The City of Refuge on the Big Island.

Back to packing!

Moving News...

Well, it looks like I'll be moving sooner than I expected. Taking 9 and Chani into the vet's to get flea dipped before they head off to my parents' house. My mom really doesn't want fleas in her house! I don't blame her. I'll be packing up the last of my belongings and working tomorrow and hopefully moving out Wednesday night.

Talk about getting things moving very quickly!

Will attempt to get some posts in with some pictures in the next few days, but no promises. Might post more Hawaii pictures :)

See you when I'm settled!

Hawaii

Hello! I'm back. Here are some shots of Hawaii. Above is the view from my hotel room in Kona. Nice, yes? I was really happy there.
Here's a shot of a rainbow from our room in Honolulu. There were a few rainbows since the rains kept coming. Fortunately, the showers were pretty short.
Pink lotus from a pond outside the hotel.
Bird tracks in the sand on the beach in front of the hotel. Took a few shots of those.
Birds in the pond between two nearby hotels. I'm not sure what kind they are, but they sure were very pretty.
Finally, a night view of Honolulu.

Overall, it was a great trip and I had a hard time coming back to the Bay Area.

Here's some news for you. A lot of changes will be happening for me in the next few weeks. I've been trying to buy a condo in San Jose. It's slow going, but I've got a really positive feeling about it. This means that I will be moving out of my apartment, away from Chris. He was a great kitten sitter, but we both have our own paths in life to follow. I'll probably move back to my parents' place for a bit before I actually move into my condo. It's a bittersweet time, but I'm looking forward to the change.

I'll keep you informed!