Tama-Chan Tuesday

Tama-Chan: It's COLD over here! When we got up this morning, it was -7 celsius (about 20F) and everything was white. We did go out into the run to see what frost felt beneath our feet but I have to tell you, indoors is best on such days! Look at the (somewhat neglected) bird bath!

It's been a busy day for #1 as our house-sitters arrived early afternoon. They are really nice and I think we're going to have a great time with Mr.S and Ms.L! They went off to meet Vidock and Viking this afternoon! Here they are with Viking:

Oh, what's that? You were hoping for some photos of me? Yes, that would be nice, wouldn't it? If #1 had actually taken any... I fear this is the best I can offer of recent vintage:

She has promised me a proper photo session when she gets back...

So, it was supposed to start snowing tomorrow but now they're saying Thursday. Maybe it will hold off until #1 leaves. It's actually beautiful here at the moment. Look at this photo she took yesterday:

Oh and guess what? It's 15C (60F) in Tokyo at the moment so now she's stressed out about what clothes to take. Fur is so much easier!

Manly Monday

Tom: We have been reading about all the snow in England on various friends' blogs and it is making #1 very nervous. Do you remember last time around, when she left for the States, and she was worried about all the strikes? This time, it's the impending snow. She is stressed again!

When we went out this morning, there was just a very light dusting of snow. Sen-Chan's "Fairy Tree" looked so pretty!

I am of course always eager to play, whatever the weather! That is what being manly is all about!

Bibi-Chan: In my last few days of kittenhood, I am of course still playing with the obvious things, such as the camera strap.

But as Mancatness looms, I have been considering more serious pursuits, such as helping #1 with the baking:

Or putting away the left-over roast chicken...

And of course, helping to make the beds...

It's looking pretty good, don't you think?

Wishing you all a great week!

Snuggles on Sunday

Tama-Chan: With #1 going away again, we are looking ahead to two Sundays without a "Snuggles on Sunday" post (more like "Shopping in Shibuya" knowing her...). But we DO have one for you today!

I shall, as usual start with myself. I was just so delighted to be reunited with Tommy when #1 let me and Sei-Chan out of the back room yesterday evening!

I also did a lot of snuggling with #1 when we were in the back room:

Sei-Chan, on the other hand, was just waiting to get back onto #1's bed and resume her evening, night-time and early morning cuddles!

Bibi is also a "Bed-Boy" dividing his time between inside and outside the bed. Here he is, sitting on #1, perhaps in a vain attempt to keep her from leaving?!

During the day, he always spends considerable time snuggling with Tommy:

We have recently been asked a number of questions in the comments and thought we would answer them today.

Why is this blog called "The Poupounette": The blog was first started by Tommy and his older brother Sen-Chan, who went to the Bridge in January 2009. Sen-Chan was a total sweetheart and his nickname was "Poupounet" which means something like "sweet little thing" in French. When the idea of the blog came up, we looked for a title in the spirit of "gazette" and thus was created "The Poupounette"!

How are the girls' incisions? They seem to be doing really well. Neither is licking or pulling at the stitches. #1 was a bit worried yesterday when they came out of the back room and started galloping around the house and jumping onto the high beam in the study, but they don't seem to have harmed themselves.

How do we find all our wonderful house-sitters? Mainly through a website! In three years of doing it, we have had one bad experience and many wonderful ones. We really love sitters who come back again and again, such as our Australia friends. The PEI sitters coming this time are friends of friends.

SoothSEIying SEIturday!

Sei-Chan: OK, so what is the deal? My name is NOT Cassandra so why do I always get to announce impending catastrophe? I say it's really not fair! Anyway, I do have a sense of duty so I shall just get on with it: the bad news is that #1 is about to leave us again! Can you believe it? She has only been back from the States for about two and a half minutes! This time, she is going to Tokyo. The only consolation is that she will only (only!) be gone 10 days. She was originally going to go just for fun and then suddenly finds herself with a zillion client meetings. She is even going to the Japan Equine Federation and the Japanese Ministry of Agriculture (on "you know what" business...). She keeps mumbling that she REALLY hopes she will have enough time for shopping. Apparently, shopping in Tokyo is totally awesome! Our house-sitters this time are coming from Prince Edward Island, and will arrive on Tuesday, and #1 leaves on Thursday.

Anyway, today's good news is that Tama-Chan and I have been released from the back room and are free to roam the house again. Believe me, its nice to stretch one's paws! And reclaim my supervisory position overlooking #1's desk!

Friends on Friday

Tom: Greetings one and all. It's already evening here but #1 has has one of her busy days so our lateness can't be helped. I have had some interesting adventures at the bottom end of the Big Field the last few days and want to tell you about them!

First of all, I met another woofie called TOM! Isn't that amazing? Actually, #1 says she already knew about him as she had met him when he was a tiny puppy, some years back. He is now a mature gentleman of 8. He is, as you can see, a Brittany Spaniel:

We had a nice meet and sniff session but he does not seem to be much into play. His master told #1 that he hunts so he is a serious-minded woofie. I personally am so glad #1 taught me about the Frisbee and the ball!

Then this afternoon when we were in the field, my girlfriend Damia came out to play! She has been pretty sad lately because here big sister is close to going to the Bridge, so it was really nice that she could come out for a good romp!

That would have been it for today but Vidock said he really wanted to include a Frootbat picture! Please note the big white "arrow" on his face, pointing to the ears!!!

In response to those who have asked, Vidock does not live with us as we have no room right here. He still lives where he was born and where his sire and dam, and all kinds of uncles, aunts, half and full sisters and brothers live! He shares a stall and paddock with his half-brother Viking. It is only 5 minutes by car and there is a real (small) castle right there!

As for Percheron horses in general, they are known for their gentleness and their love of people. It's often hard to take photos of them because they always want to be right where you are, so you can give them cuddles! They are quite a bit bigger than regular saddle horse (they were the war horses ridden by medieval knights) and even though many people think that draft horses are slow, Percherons are amazing movers, probably due to the Arabian horses who contributed to the original bloodlines.

Thankful Thursday

Even though it is just another Thursday here in France, we would like to embrace the spirit of the wonderful American holiday being celebrated today and wish all of our friends a HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

We are thankful for one another and for a nice home and lots and lots of love. We are thankful for all our wonderful blogging friends who share the smiles and the tears with us and make the world such a fun place.

Tama-Chan and Sei-Chan are grateful for feeling so much better, and for snuggling with #1 when she shares special time with them each afternoon.

Tom and Bibi-Chan are grateful to have one another to play and snuggle with!

Vidock is grateful to have found his forever family but still be able to enjoy his birth home and his brother Viking!

And #1 is grateful for the best family in the world!

Watching on Wednesday

Tommy: This photo was taken a few days ago, when I was supervising Titan's work on the long reins. #1 says I look very well focused, as though I was being trained myself!

I am happy to report that the girls are both doing well. It took Sei-Chan a little longer than Tama-Chan to snap out of her daze but they are both "back to normal" today. I am sadly not allowed to go in and see them as I have been totally forbidden from licking their tummies. Sigh.....

PS: Our friend Chey has been unjustly suspended from her own blog on trumped-up charges. Please go and sign the petition to bring her back!

Tama's Tired Tuesday

Tama-Chan: Dear Friends, it has been a very odd couple of days. First of all, #1 locked me and Sei-Chan in the back room and starved us. Then she put us in the car and drove us to Dr. C's (with Sei-Chan singing all the way...) and abandoned us there. All kinds of strange things happened there, and then we suddenly got very sleeeeeeeeeeeeeeepyyyyyyyyyy. When we woke up, we had fur missing and were sore and very sleepy and wobbly. Then #1 and Tommy came back and brought us home. We are in the back room again. It's very cozy and warm. And we are so very grateful to be there together. Sister solidarity!

Here we are last night:

And this morning:

#1 has promised we will feel all well and chirpy again very soon. In the meantime, she is keeping my pest of a boy, Bibi, away from us.

We would also like to send our purrs to our friend Kari who always leaves such nice comments to our posts but has no blog of her own. She mentioned that a little brother kitty went to the Bridge yesterday. Our thoughts are with her and her family. And we just found out that our sweet friend and fellow blogger, Aoise, went to the Bridge yesterday. Please stop by her blog with a kind comment for her very sad Miewmie if you can.

Manly Monday and Update on the Girls!

Tom: Sorry we are a bit late posting today. #1 has not had one moment to blog between when she got up before 7am and now, almost 7pm! We are happy to say that the girls are safely back home and I have had my annual shots and pronounced to be in perfect health! Tama-Chan is in great shape too but Sei-Chan, poor little darling, has been told she needs to go on a diet! She put on an awful lot of weight after going on the pill so we are hoping some of it will come off following the operation, but she may need some "help." Dr .C said not to do anything drastic but she would like for Sei-Chan to weight the same as Tama (there is now adifference of one kilo between them!) by this time next year. Oh and Sei-Chan had her second FeLV/FIV test and she is negative. Hurray!

Now onto manly things. I have some extremely manly photos of myself for you today:

Firstly, true manliness means loving your stuffies!

True Manliness means knowing when to be quiet and just supervise. This is Titan, a young Percheron gelding, who is going through "basic training":

And finally, utter manliness is knowing when to show your cute side!

Bibi-Chan: The Bibi here! Guess what? It's my birthday soon! I will be a whole year old on December 4th! Do you think I look devastatingly handsome?

I think it is very manly to play with your woofie brother:

It is sharing #1's bed so as to keep her warm on cold winter nights...

... And discovering the joys of "hanging over" the radiator during the day!

Vidock: I think that manliness is making sure your brother knows who's the boss. That would be MOI, Viking!

This just in: I just sent #1 a photo of myself and Viking playing in the mud!

Followed by a heavenly relaxation session!

Snuggles on Sunday

Tama-Chan: It has been a while since we did a Snuggles on Sunday post. When #1 was away, we enjoyed snuggling with Ms. P who was so good to us, and Ms. K who came with her for the first week. Now #1 is home and we have been snuggling with her. We feel so fortunate to be together and to be able to snuggle together. The Blogosphere has been full of so much sadness recently, and it makes us appreciate what we have. We had our own great loss just a few weeks ago, and we all miss Yuu-Chan terribly, but we are determined to live and love, and share with all our friends. So, Dear Friends, this week's snuggles are dedicated to all of you.

Actually, all of the photos we have for you today, with one exception, focus around Tommy who is the ultimate snuggle magnet!

First off, me and Tommy

And here is Sei-Chan with Tommy

And Bibi with Tommy

Can you even see him in this photo? Look for his collar!

And here are the two boys snuggling with #1.

We also have a special bonus for you today. Do you remember our little friend Tora who went to live with our Franco-Japanese friends? He made fast friends with his Siamese big brother, Kaze, and now he has a new kid brother! His name is Chibi (it means "little one") and he was a lost kitten before he was found and given a forever home by the Y family. Tora and Chibi get on really well!

One final note: First thing tomorrow morning, #1 is taking me and Sei-Chan in to see Dr. C. She says that, after what happened with Yuu-Chan, she has decided against any more kittens so we will both be having our operation. We expect to be home early evening. Could you spare a purr for everything to go smoothly for us?