Toysday with Tama-Chan

Tama-Chan: As we all know, playing is the ultimate purpose in life and brings with it so many enriching experiences. I love to play and today, I want to feature some of my favourite games.

The other day, I mentioned my pheasant feather. Do you have a pheasant feather because if you don't, get your people to find you one! They are the best and they are also very, very pretty! I like to play with mine in our tatami space...

But also on #1's bed which provides a pristine surface:

I also love to play on my various cat trees. #1 caught me this morning as I batted the mousie on the downstairs one:

I am of course happy to share this feature with my housemates. You all know that Tommy is a real softie so he likes to play with his cuddly toys when he is at home:

or drop fairly loud hints at #1 about wanting to play with her outside...

As for the back room... electronic surveillance has yielded the following images:

The little climbing tree and the noise-making tunnel. Baby stuff...

Manly Monday and Meme

Tom: I am very happy to report that my paw is finally all healed and so yesterday, #1 got out the Chuck-it for the first time in three whole weeks! I had so much fun with the tennis ball which I love to catch in mid-flight (#1 always thinks I'm going to swallow it in full flight...). We got some good actions shots of me for Manly Monday:

In other news, #1 was tagged by our friend Nessa for a first name meme which she found quite challenging, given the first letter of her name... Here it is:

01. What is your name? Virginia. The following answers must all begin with the first letter of your name.

02. A four letter word? Vein … Got mine poked last week when I gave  blood plasma

03. Girl's name: Vivienne - one of my cousins

04. Boy's name: Vivaldi (yes, OK… it’s a surname, but I like his music!)

05. Occupation: Vet (The Guardian Angel who looks after Tom and Tama-Chan)

06. Color: Violet (are there any other colours starting with V?)

07. Piece of clothing: Velvet Cape (once… in my youth…)

08. Food: ”Viking” (what the Japanese call an all-you-can-eat buffet)

09. Item in the bathroom: Vitamins

10. Place/City: Viña del Mar (Tama-Chan’s Grandmama but also a beautiful town in Chile where my brother lives!)

11. A reason for being late: Venue confusion!

12. Something you’d yell: Vale! (did a bit of Latin in my younger days…)

13. Movie: “Vertigo”

14. Something you can drink: Vin Rouge or Vin Blanc (this is France, you know!)

15. Band: Van Morrison (not a band, but he is Van…)

16. Animal: Vicuña

17. Street name: Victoria Row (in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island)

18. Car: V8 (VroomVroom…)

19. Song: “Velocidade” by Cesaria Evora

20. Activity that includes more than one participant: Viennese Waltz!

We would like to tag the moms of our following friends to play: Abby & Stygia, Khyra, 9Kai and Chani, Misha, Velcro, and the crowd at Forever Foster. Have fun!

We suspect that some of you may be expecting a photo of our Mancat-in-Training...

Pretty cool and mancatly for 8 weeks, eh?! In answer to the questions, "Sir" is going for his first round of shots tomorrow, and will be ready to be introduced to Tom and Tama-Chan when his Mama goes home, at some stage over the next week. We don't want to leave her all by herself in the back room as she would get very lonesome.

Snuggles on Sunday

Tama-Chan: We had a lot of sad news this past week, so we want to make today into a particularly snuggly and fun Sunday. Let's kick off with a few classic shots of me and Tommy doing what we do best:

We had friends over to dinner mid-week and I enjoyed a snuggle with one of them:

My spies tell me that the back room is often a snuggle-fest:

But you know, there is also "snuggling in motion" which is something that hyperactive kittens do particularly well:

Only occasionally is there a relatively quiet moment of sharing, back in the back room...

Brothers

Tom: These are not our favourite posts, but we find ourselves once again saying goodbye to a friend. Remember KARMA, our meezer friend who went to the Bridge on Monday? Well, it is with great sadness that we have to tell you that his brother TASHI also made the journey yesterday.

His mistress and friend, Ms. L says "He was such a great guy, fierce and gentle, alpha kitty and cuddler. I'll miss him forever. I think he just missed Karma too much to go on living without him. They had been inseparable for 17 years."

Our #1's overwhelming memory of the two brothers was of them stuffed into a single bed that somehow seemed the exact right size to accommodate them both:

These two were true brothers, always together. We are so sad that they have now gone, but like to imagine them well and strong again, frolicking at the Bridge with all the other cool cats who have gone before them. Run Free, Tashi and Karma!

Once again, we hate to leave you with too much sadness, so we will end this post with a photo of the new life that is bubbling up in the back room...

Fangs on Friday!!!!!

Tama-Chan: Tee Hee Hee! That stopped you in your tracks, didn't it?! I know that today is FROOTBAT Day but #1 and I thought we would have a bit of fun with this photo she took of me a few days ago:

That pheasant feather really was irresistible!!!

And now onto this week's Frootbat shots. First me...

Next is Grandmama, Viña del Mar:

And finally, Frootbat-in-Training "Sir." This is the best we could do in one of the 2 second windows in which he is not dashing about madly:

By the way, in reply to those who asked, it was #1's leg that Sir was climbing up. She is sticking exclusively to twill pants and jeans at the moment!

Thursday with Tommy

Tom: We're a little late in posting on our blog today. #1 got a call from the blood bank in Chartres and went off for a blood plasma donation, so she left immediately after our walk this morning. But now she's back, and all is right with the world again!

To be honest, I am somewhat short on exciting news today. It has been cold and very grey the last couple of days, and it's supposed to start raining later this afternoon, so we just went out for a little post-late lunch walk up the lane and back. Looking at other blogs, I realise how very lucky I am that I am allowed to run free most of the time, so I can really run fast and feel as though I am flying:

#1 says this is because we live in the country and because I am very good boy, and have never gone off by myself, even when tempted by woofie friends (ViVi, for example, is terrible - she gets out of the door and is gone!). But see for yourselves:

You wouldn't hesitate for a moment to trust this face, would you?

Wordless Wednesday (or is it?)

Farewell to a Friend

Tama-Chan: Today is usually my day to post, and I shall do a little one further down, but we wanted to dedicate this post to a family friend who was helped to the Bridge last night.

KARMA, a beautiful Meezer boy, was adopted by Ms. L in Hong Kong, with his brother Tashi, at the age of 7 in 1999. The family they had been living with since kittenhood was returning elsewhere and didn't want to be bothered with shipping them. Lucky for them as they entered a life of utter indulgence and devotion! After a number of years in Hong Kong, Ms. L moved to France in 2004 and the boys came too, along with their Burmese sister, Coco. Ms L says "Tashi got sick about a year ago and has been relatively stable for about 4 months. Karma started getting sick with renal failure in January and has declined quickly.  He is the sweetest cat I've ever had and loves to be held like a baby on one's shoulder." #1 spent time with Karma on a number of occasions and can confirm both his handsomeness and sweetness. She made sure to ask Sen-Chan to wait for him at the Bridge last night to show him the ropes and be his friend.

Here is Karma in all his Meezer glory:

Chillin' (!) on the radiator...

And on the right, with his brother Tashi:

Goodbye, Sweet KARMA.

Today being Toesday, I do have a picture of my little toesies for you:

And a fun one from the back room...

Yes, "Sir" marks the return of pink pawpads to the household!

What's that? You actually need to see their faces?!

Foggy Monday Friend

Tom: We woke up this morning to what people in Newfoundland call "Tick,Tick Fug" and our medieval castle was looking a little on the spooky side!

I of course have a good time whatever the weather and today was no exception! In fact, I have made a new friend on these morning walks and we ran into him today! He is a huge flame-coloured German Shepherd and his name is "Pataud" which means clumsy, but as in "clumsy puppy with paws that are too large for him!" Anyway, he is about 5 or 6 and is a pretty nice woofie, and we enjoyed playing for a few minutes.

Something Different This Sunday

Tama-Chan: Since we had a snuggle picture included in Thursday's post, we decided that we could allow some space to #1 to post some pictures that she took yesterday and which do not involve us (gulp!). That being said, before handing over the keyboard to her, just one itty, bitty little shot of me this morning, basking on the back of the sofa, with Tommy curled up behind me:

#1: I wanted to share with you some picture from yesterday afternoon, when I had the opportunity to spend some time with a group of people who were clearing tree trunks and branches from one of our local woods using Percheron horses, and a couple of donkeys.

In most cases, this type of work is done using heavy vehicles such as tractors which leave huge grooves on the forest floor and demolish most things in their path. Horses cause no damage and can get into places that vehicles can't, plus the sight of them at work is enough to take your breath away:

Of course, the Percherons are incredibly powerful and handsome, but the donkeys were working just as hard!

By mid-afternoon, the pile of wood was already quite impressive!

It was a beautiful, sunny spring day, and a real treat for all those who were there!