Almost Wordless Wednesday

Dad took this picture. Isn't 9 handsome?

9 and Chani on a Tuesday

Good morning! 9 here. You know, Mom always says that I'm not too bright. Well, I'm not sure how true that is, but I do know that I'm adorable and I want to help her out (because Lisa told me that Mom needs some TLC). The other day, I had the perfect opportunity (or oppurrrtunity as Wendy might say... see! I'm smart!). You see, Mom bought a bag of kibble for my sisfur and me. She left it on the ground in the plastic bag. Now, I thought she went to look for something to open it up so she could refresh our food bowls.

So, I decided to rip it open with my teeth and claws. After all, what use are they otherwise?
Here's the biggest opening.
Here are some other attempts.

Not bad handiwork, don't you think?

Hello, Chani here. I tell you, 9 is such a naughty boy, but he has his uses heehee. You see, I watch him get into mischief and then I take part in the end results. Now, Grandma and Grandpa saw 9's "attempt at helping Mom". They took the food away, wrapped it in a plastic bag and hid it in this magical food storage area. I heard Grandma and Grandpa tell Mom that they're not sure who got into the bag itself. Mom blamed 9. Heehee, I let 9 take the blame, but you know, I know Mom is thinking that I got some of the fresh kibble too.

And I'm not telling if I did or didn't. =^.^=

Spring Valley Friends and Views

Yesterday, I went into the rolling hills of Santa Clara to any area called, Spring Valley, in order to help prepare for a season of wood firing. The kiln is on a property of some pottery friends and their animals. Above is one of the newest members, David Henry. David Henry is a very friendly guard dog, whose job it is to protect the herd of goats (no pictures of them in this round, but I'll be sure to take photos of them the next time I go!) from the local coyotes and mountain lions. He's a really sweet dog who loves human attention but is also very good at his job.

This is Mr. O. He's one of the oldest members and came to live here to take care of any potential mice or rat invaders. He's quite the gentleman, and doesn't mind a few scritches from the humans.

Mr. Eeke is another feline protector against rodents. He let me pet him a bit, but the clicking of my camera was too much for him, so he went off into the shrubbery to find a safe place away from me. Still, he's quite a handsome tabby with beautiful yellow eyes. I shall try to take more photos of him during the kiln firing season (which should start in about a month when the rains start and last during the rainy season).

This is Ginger. She's one of the crowd who have lived here for what seems like forever. Another veteran member is Ratso, but I was not able to get a picture of her... Next time... Ginger's a sweet German Shepherd, but she was misbehaving a little bit with the introduction of David Henry. Ginger was used to being the biggest dog in this family, but now, David Henry is the biggest. Still, there weren't any fights while I was there and their owners are making sure that life stays harmonious amongst the animals.

This is Buddy. He's another new addition. Stocky and powerfully bit, he's a sweetie too. He's got a girlfriend who lives across the street. Her name is Mazie (seen below) and is quite the swimmer. While I was in the Spring Valley, it was really hot, about 92º F, so Mazie cooled off by jumping into the pool and doing a few laps.


Spring Valley is quite remote. You can see vultures flying overhead. I took a few shots, but this was the only one that wasn't blurry. I shall have to work on my photographic technique to get better shots of this bird.

A small lake... this is the view from Mazie's back yard. You can see how dry it is and why we have to wait until the rainy season to fire the kilns. The thing about wood fire kilns is that you start it up and continuously stoke the kiln for about 5 days straight 24 hours a day. This can be a fire hazard if you are not careful and of course, we don't want to worry the residents of this area.


Another view.

Here are some fruits and vegetables growing in Mazie's garden and orchard.

Unfortunately, t's been too hot for Mazie's human to keep these plants freshly hydrated and so most of his peppers have died. Still, there were some vegetables that survived. I loved the orange of this pepper and just had to take a picture.

Some grapes. They were tasty! I took a lot of photos of these. I love how some of the grapes seem to glow.

Finally, just to show you that I'm not neglecting my two kitties, here's a shot of Chani playing with the ball in a tube. She would bat at the ball, get it going and then roll over on her back. Not the most lady like position, but hey, belly!
Hope you had a great weekend!

Friday Night Fun

Hello All! 9 here. Our mom has been far too busy of late to play with me properly not to mention blog properly. It's so wrong! So, I've taken over tonight. I was peacefully lounging on my tower when she came home later than usual. I refused to come down to greet her like I usually do. That'll show her. I was trying to stay disinterested in her, but then, she brought out this really cool rattle with a feather on it. I know she was trying to bribe me and make herself feel better for neglecting me so much. BUT, can I just say that I'm having a blast playing with it and growling to make sure Chani knows it's my toy AND that the toy knows I'm boss? Ooh! It's getting away. I have to chase after the toy and bunny kick it!

Oh my goodness, boys! Chani here. I came down from the upstairs to greet Mom properly when she came home. I know how hard she is working to keep us well fed and such. Mom and I share a special cuddle time right before we go to sleep at night, so I know she loves me a lot. But, I do know she feels a bit guilty that she doesn't have a special cuddle time with 9 and understand her trying to bribe him with these new toys. The feather toy rattle is ok, but I'm not all that interested in it. I prefer my green fuzzy toy and this great piece of yarn I found.

Anyways, I hope you all have a great weekend. I'll try to get Mom to take more photos of us and blog a bit more this weekend. She is going to a wood kiln preparation tomorrow and will be doing more pottery on Sunday (something about a December sale). But, I know she'll make time for me (errr... I guess she'll make time for 9 too even though he's such a naughty boy).

pottery blog update

Hi All,

If you tried to visit my clay blog in the past 2 days, it was having issues. I'm trying to get a custom DNS to work with it and it just won't stop giving me attitude. Until I figure it out, I'm going to keep it as it was.

Sorry for the issues!

Spinning the Clay Fantastic

Thanks!

Sleeping positions

I suppose I won't get any work done if Chani is sleeping on my laptop. It's ok, though, it's after work hours.

9 doesn't think that anyone should sit on the couch. Not without petting his gorgeous belly at least.

Fall/Autumn Pottery Sale

Hello! I hope everyone is having a great weekend. This is Shadow in the above picture. She's the studio cat of Blossom Hill Crafts, a pottery studio located in, appropriately enough, Los Gatos, CA. Shadow is about a year and a half old and came to BHC as a kitten, escaping a horrible winter rain storm. She thought it was better to stay inside where it's warm and dry instead of living life on the cold, wet streets.


Today, we had our annual Fall pottery sale and Shadow had to make her inspection, giving her seal of approval to all who were displaying their pottery.

Below, you can see my display. I've been a potter for about 12 years now, working at BHC since 2000 or so. I can't really remember, but it feels like BHC has been a part of my life for a very long time.

I won't be attaching any close up shots in this blog post because I'm starting up a new blog that is all about my pottery. As soon as I'm able to get that blog up and running, I'll link it here. (Site is now up... Spinning the Clay Fantastic. I'll also be customizing it as soon as the sale is over... custom domain name, format, you name it!)


These pictures were taken before the customers started to arrive. Fortunately, a few bowls, cups and pendants were sold by the end of the day. I hope more sell tomorrow!

The Two Towers

About a week ago, Mom started to get really protective of Chani. This all started when one evening, 9 was playing with a giant plastic bag and got stuck under one of the handles and ran all over the family room, living room and dining room creating a huge ruckus. Chani was upstairs at the time and did not see what the giant noise was. And so, Chani was terribly freaked out and refused to come downstairs for about a day and a half. After this, Mom became very caring and nurturing to her little female grandcat, trying to win Chani over. She's succeeded a bit, but Chani's still being picky about who she will deign to give her notice.

What does this have to do with today's blog post? Well, 9 has always been a bit of an attention hog, stealing Chani's toys and lately, kicking her off of her tower. After such actions, he will then sleep on the top of his newly conquered territory..

Mom had enough of that. After a few days of telling me that we needed two towers (yes, TWO towers), one for each cat, she and my dad finally bought Chani her own tower...

Queen Chani atop her new tower.

Now, what do you think 9 has done? Yes, he has decided that this tower must also be his and will try to knock Chani off of it.


But, Chani defends her tower with a little help from the humans in the house.


9 likes to go into the little cubby hole too. He barely fits. It's kind of funny to watch him squeeze his behind into such a small opening. Then, hilarity ensues as paws go thwap thwap thwap, waving about at each other.

Laser eyes... notice 9's ruby red lasers and Chani's yellow white lasers.


Anyhow, Chani is happily enjoying her new throne. Personally, I think the green matches her coloring better the solid tan tower.

9 in action

You've all seen 9 in jumping action before. He's still got that talent despite his growth. BUT! He's started something new recently.

9 plays fetch now. He will start playing with this Evil Blue Feather Toy (I've lost track of the number, so will now call this one and any future Evil Feather Toy by some descriptive name). After a few, he will bring it to me to toss and he fetches it. This started when he decided to play with the toy, which has a bell on it, at 6 a.m. one morning. I was still half asleep and just picked it up and threw it across the room. 9 gamely followed it and brought it back for me to toss again. Needless to day, I was enchanted and awake so we started playing this way. My dad has gotten into the game too.
9: Grrr! I'm the proud hunter. Do I not look dashing carrying my "kill" in my mouth?

Nom Nom Nom

Another in the line of: Oh my gosh! Look at how big they are getting!

Or: Photos of anyone's backside are just not flattering.

Yes, 9 and Chani still have the whole routine of Chani eats on the left and 9 is on the right. This is only at the beginning. After a few noms, they switch sides. Then, Chani will walk away and 9 will finish her plate. On occasion, Chani will get a few more bites off of 9's side, but not always. My dad is so worried that Chani isn't getting enough food, that he is putting her plate and her up on the counter so she can eat in peace. He's such a big softy :)

A mostly 9 post

First off, thank you to Wendy for honoring 9 and Chani with her lols. They are great! And welcome to all 9 and Chani's new fur and non fur friends. It's great to meet you all!


Here you see that 9 has completely charmed my dad so much so that my dad is willing to 'share' his chair with 9. I'm pretty sure that this whole act is part of 9's ultimate plan to take over Dad's chair completely and utterly. He's in for a good fight. Q never was able to take over Dad's chair. We'll see who is more determined here.


9: Chin scritches are divine!!!

9: I wink in adorableness in order to hide my cunning plan. I shall overcome you with my cuteness and this chair shall be mine!


And even though Chani has had a few posts all to herself, she couldn't allow 9 to have this page to himself. She had to show that she's trying to take over Dad's chair too, just in a slightly different way.

Oh, and one more thing. My workload has increased in the last few weeks, so I'm only working from home on Tuesdays. As soon as I adjust to this schedule, I hope to be posting as regularly as I used to!

AND I'm also getting ready for a pottery sale that's coming up September 19 and 20. (Yes, I'm also a potter in my spare time) I hope to start blogging about that once the sale is over. I'll keep you all informed about that and may post some pictures of my work soon.

Toesies and more snuggling

It is Toesday after all, so I just had to post this pic of Chani's jelly bean toes. I love her toesies.

This photos is from the previous set where 9 was cleaning Chani and then lay on top of her. They were both so cute, I just had to post it.

Paws and Ears

Who's little paw could this be? Hmmmm... I'll give you a clue

Ginormous ears or rather ear in this picture

Sometimes, this is all I see of Chani when she naps on her perch.

9! Chani is NOT a pillow!

Ok, maybe she doesn't mind being a pillow...

Apparently, while I was gone, 9 and Chani decided to snuggle up a bit and Chani let 9 use her head as a pillow. My dad was great enough to take pictures (ok, it's in the blood, my dad and I take pictures of our cats whenever they are doing something cute or just whenever and oh my gosh, did I just call my cats "our cats" eeek!).

Dad said that Chani would move her head and get a little more comfortable, but 9 didn't move his head at all while she repositioned herself. What a life, eh?

Hope you're having a great weekend. For all of us in the US, Happy Labor Day! Enjoy your Monday holiday =^.^=

Cleaning Chani... again

As I stated in the last post, 9 still takes his Chani cleaning duty seriously. He just knows that Chani needs his extraordinary cleaning skills help to keep herself looking like the Queen/Ruler of all She surveys self that she is. Doesn't it looks like he's giving her a kiss on the cheek? She doesn't look thrilled, but she's not exactly stopping him either.

9: Ears... your ears must always be pristine, Your Highness.
Chani: Enough with the commentary! Just do your job right or it's off with your head!


I know it looks like they might be hugging in this picture, but no. 9 and Chani turned my parents' bed into a king sized battle ground. Sigh...

I went into a Petco this morning to get them more kitten kibble. 9 is 11 months and Chani is 10. Right now, it's hard to get food for them because

1) their age... so close to 1 year and I really don't want to get them too much age appropriate kitten food or too little...
2) pet stores keep running out of the type of kitten food that I started them on so I have to find another one that isn't too expensive or not enough for them. Chani's stomach is a bit delicate, so it's kind of a gamble to switch foods on them.

BUT... the main thing that I wanted to say about going into Petco this morning... apparently Halloween is just around the corner because all the Halloween costumes are out.

MUWAHAHAHAHAHA.... yes, I bought them costumes... I've already put on Chani's costume (on her, not me). She needs to grow just a tad for it to fit right, especially the head piece. 9's costume... well, it fits and is most appropriate. I cannot wait for October!

9 and Chani... growing up

First of all, thank you for all the well wishes. I feel much better now than I did last week. That stomach bug really kicked me hard!

Ok, now for some pics of the kits, because I know that's why you're all here =^.^=


9 and Chani snuggle on occasion. So, I'm always happy when I'm able to catch them together. 9 still takes his Chani cleaning duties a little seriously. On this day, she was taking a lovely afternoon nap, 9 was looking out the window and then decided it was time to clean Chani. She was so relaxed that she just let it happen. 9 is really a good big brother to her. After a bit of cleaning, 9 decided that he needed to rest and Chani provided a pillow for his weary head.

Here's a side by side picture just to show you how big they've become. Neither is one year old yet, but they are truly looking like cats now instead of kittens. Part of me is kind of sad about that, but Chani is still my delicate little Miss and 9 is still my brawny big little Man.
Yes, she is definitely growing into quite the lady cat.


I know I keep saying that 9 is not too bright, but let in this picture, you can definitely tell he is bright and quite capable of contemplation.

Back in the day, when I would talk to Q (of course, I was cuddling him as well or he had just done something I didn't want him to do), I would say: Q, my darling... Love of my life... I love you dearly... yada yada yada

Last night, 9 was being rambunctious and chaotic as only a 10 month old kitten can and I said: 9, darling... Love of my life...

I had to stop there. I hugged 9, said: Q was the Love of my life, but I love you very dearly too, 9.

Funny how things just remind you that Life does indeed go on.