Duncan's Blog: November 2012

New shutters!

What the hell is going on?! Duncan isn't sure he likes the idea of these new shutters!

Maybe I'll watch from the coffee table instead of the windowsill!

Are they really gone, momma?

So exciting!

We lost 3 shutters during Sandy so Ang and Dave decided to just get new ones and the guys are here putting them up so Duncan is ALL excited! There's all kinds of banging and drilling going on downstairs right now and he's in his tree waiting to see what the heck is going on! Can't wait till they get to our windows and he gets to "help" them! I always have at least 1 window open a little bit and I'm betting he'll have lots to say to them when they get up here! Stay tuned for details!

The new scratching board.

Picked up a new scratching board for Duncan because his old one is pretty torn up but he seems to like it more as a bed! Silly kitty! Had to put the old one back so he has a place to sharpen his claws. For some reason, he has no desire to scratch the sisal and carpet posts on his cat trees but he loves his cardboard scratching boards! Whatever keeps him from clawing the furniture makes me happy, tho!

THE BIRDS!!!!!!!!!!

Duncan is totally freaking out right now! There are a whole BUNCH of big black birdies -- they could be crows but I'm not a bird person so I have no clue! -- flying around in front of the house, landing on the tree and the wires in front of his window and he's beside himself! He's all hunkered down so he can keep an eye on them but they can't see him! At least that's what he seems to think! Better than tv!

Oops!

Poor little kitty! Duncan loves to snuggle up in my afghans, especially the one we keep on the couch. But he can't just snuggle into it, he has to keep crawling around under there! I didn't notice him climb up there so when I saw the afghan start to slide off the couch, I figured I just hadn't put it all the way back and since I was across the room I just let it fall. But when it hit the floor a furry little head popped up looking VERY surprised! Silly goose evidently crawled right off the edge of the couch! But all is well. He's now curled up on his favorite pillow and sound asleep! Guess he figures the afghan is too dangerous so he'll just stick with the pillow!

DUNCAN!!!!!!!!!!!!!

WHAT AM I GONNA DO WITH THIS CAT??????? I went grocery shopping today and after dragging all the bags up, got the fridge/freezer stuff put away and just left the cans and a bag of dry cat food for later because my back was screaming at me that it needed a break. I really love Thanksgiving with all the wonderful smells coming from the over but, damn, its all such heavy stuff to cart around! Well, I came in here and got involved with emails and phone calls about my sister who just lost everything in a fire until I heard the unmistakeable sound of kitty crunchies hitting the floor! Sure enough, Duncan had chewed a hole in the bag and was happily munching away when I got into the kitchen! He knew he was being a bad kitty -- as soon as he saw me he froze and then gave me his "Hi, mama! Look what I found!" look! And, of course, I burst out laughing! Mind you, he has a full bowl of crunchies but he wanted the NEW ones! Little stinker! But he is just so darned cute that I can never stay angry with him! So now everything is cleaned up, he has some fresh crunchies in his bowl and all's well with the world according to Duncan! And I can only wonder what he'll be into next!

Love is a warm lap!

Duncan has become a real lap kitty -- something I've always wanted! Gus, Sybil and Esa were all sweethearts and Syb would curl up next to me on the couch and put her paws on my leg and her face on her paws but none of them were ever lap cats. But Duncan seems to find his mama's lap to be the best spot for a nice cuddle and a warm nap and I just LOVE IT! And he's also fallen in love with tummy rubs! This picture is from a few nights ago but since he just left my lap after a nice, long snuggle with lots of tummy rubs, I just had to post about it! And now I guess I'd better go feed him since he's taken up his post in the kitchen and is hollering that he's STARVING! Yeah, he sure knows how to work his mama!

Fussy, fussy, fussy!

The Nor'easter hit today and we got lots of SNOW! They're saying we could get 2-4 inches by the time this is over! So it was the perfect day to make a big pot of chicken soup. Well, Duncan was going out of his mind with all the good chicken smells around here so, naturally, he HAD to have some and he couldn't wait -- while I was cutting the cooked chicken up he was on the counter begging so, of course, he got exactly what he wanted when he wanted it! I figured he was loving it so much, I'd just give him a plateful. Evidently, once he'd had his fill, he was DONE. He had dumped it all off his plate and onto the floor and wanted his REAL (i.e., CANNED) food! Can you say SPOILED?!!! But I'm sure he'll be in here begging for more when its time for my dinner! And, yeah, he'll get whatever he wants! After seeing all the posts for missing furbabies on Facebook today, spoiling Duncan just feels right. Sure hope everyone is able to be reunited with their babies.

Hurrican Sandy

Well, we were very lucky and survived Sandy relatively unscathed. We did lose some shutters off the house and power was out but came back Tuesday morning. The hardest part was waiting for the internet to come back on! But all things considered, we really were VERY lucky. Of course, Duncan might have other thoughts on that! He was really pretty good until the power went out and all we could hear was the roar of the wind and some poor kitty crying outside. He REALLY hated the wind making the windows rattle, tho. He's such a vivacious little guy that I've never seen him quite so freaked out. He was like a furry little shadow all night. Usually when we go to bed he'll cuddle for a few minutes, then he retires to the foot of the bed and stays there till its time to wake momma up for breakfast but that night he snuggled in my arms all night long! We actually got up at one point -- the wind was SO bad that I just couldn't sleep! -- and came out to the living room. His laser light toy REALLY works well by candle light -- thank you, Mary! -- and that kept both of us entertained and our minds off the winds for a bit. Couldn't really get any decent shots of the weather from our front window but maybe these will give you an idea what it was like!

I was concerned about the tree outside coming thru the window and sending glass all over the living room so I tried to put up a makeshift protection using a shower curtain -- I cut them and use them as curtains for the window in my bathtub -- but in trying to put it up, I knocked the curtains down! So here's a shot of our "redneck window treatment"!!!!

My friends (and landlords!) came over on Tuesday and put up the new curtain rod so now we're back to normal! THANK YOU, ANG AND DAVE!!!!!! Duncan really HATED that shower curtain!

And last night was one of those perfect evenings when Duncan decided the only place to be was on momma's lap and, yup, that's my crocheting he's sitting on. I really don't mind putting my crocheting down for a good snuggle with Duncan, tho! Now we're just hoping and praying the Nor'easter we're expecting to hit tomorrow doesn't do too much damage and that the power (and internet!) stays on! My heart breaks for all those poor souls who have lost everything. They REALLY don't need this new storm! Will be praying for them to survive this, too.

HOLY COW -- its been awhile!

Between being crazy crocheting Christmas gifts and then Sandy taking my internet away for a week, its been way too long since I've been here! Lots of silly things to report on Duncan, tho! He has also earned the nickname Crash Kelly! Here are some pix of the aftermath of his latest calamity -- he knocked the top shelf off the wall and shattered some porcelain dolls I've had since I was a kid. I didn't take pix of the broken trinkets -- just too upset, I swept them up as quickly as possible and just moved on so I wouldn't toss him out on the streets! He really is a good little boy and I know he doesn't mean to be destructive -- he's just the most curious little guy and gets into places I never imagined in my wildest dreams! So this is just to show where the shelf USED to be! You can still see the marks on the wall! As you can see, he had to take the "overland" route -- from the top of the glass sliding doors to the top of the cabinet and then across the medicine cabinet!

Of course we made up fairly soon after and he was back to being his adorable self. This basket was part of a gift from friends -- they FILLED it with goodies! -- and then I was using it to store blankets till I could deliver them to Project Linus but then Duncan discovered it and has made it his. Now there's only 1 blanket it in and its also his! We were playing peek-a-boo -- he'd duck down and wait till I'd call him to pop up and look at me! Silly goose! He makes me laugh just like Gus used to!