Home at Last!

There I was, sunning myself in the window.

I was trying not to be stressed out.

It had been days since I'd seen Mom and Daddy.

Let me tell you, I had been so stressed that I did

things I should have gotten in trouble for.

I had also doubled up on my toys in my food bowl.

I was NOT happy.

Nothing against Sneaky Girl, but

she's just not Mom.

Then it happened.

At first, I thought I was hallucinating.

Then, as Mom approached, I realized it wasn't a dream.

Mom and Daddy were really home!

It took me a little while to recover from their absence.

However, after a little outdoor bird therapy I began to relax.

Mom and Daddy seemed to need time to relax too.

You can see in this photo that I'm still a little stressed.

You may also notice that there's a slight orange tint to my world.

That's because our state and all the states around us 

are on fire.

So the air is smokey and the sky looks like this:

Despite the lousy air quality,

I still managed to enjoy my outdoor time.

I also enjoyed my indoor time.

After all, Monday came and went.

So all my humans were at my house socializing.

Things are back to normal.

And, have I mentioned?

I'm really happy to have Mom home.

She says that's she's not going to leave me

again for months.

I really hope she's telling the truth.

>^.^<

Back and Gone Again

So, she did it.

Mom left me for nearly three days!

I tried my best to hang out with Daddy, but I was 

just so depressed.

I wouldn't even nap on any of the usual living room furniture.

I just sat in my box hotel or on the dining room chair.

Daddy tried his best to lift my spirits by sitting outside with me.

He also let me spend some time with Felix.

We've become pretty good friends.

At least, the best we can through a window.

When Friday rolled around, Mom finally returned.

I let her know how displeased I was that she had left for so long.

She made a peace offering of catnip.

As you can see,

I prefer the stuff she trims off the plant rather than

the stuff that's still growing.

Once she was done trimming, she set the bowl down for me.

I eagerly accepted her peace offering.

Nothing beats fresh nip!

Although, it can make one a little paranoid.

Over the next two days I continued to work out my stress.

You see, I couldn't help but notice that not everything Mom

took with her on the trip came back into the house.

I thought, perhaps, that Mom was just planning to fetch

her sleeping bag out of the car the next day.

Well, Saturday came; Mom and Daddy left the house.

Upon their return...no sleeping bag.

I showed my stress by putting Yoda-Mouse in my food bowl.

Then came Sunday.

Again, they left and returned without Mom's sleeping bag.

I turned to Mimzy in their absence.

Over the next couple of days I turned to the nip.

I tried to put the anomaly out of my mind.

Then it happened.

Mom went rummaging in the closet.

She brought out Daddy's sleeping bag and the

rest of the camping gear.

It all became clear.

Mom left her stuff in the car because she was already

planning on leaving me again.

This time Daddy would be going with her.

I would be left staring out the window wondering

if my humans would ever come home.

Oh, sure, Mom says that Sneaky Girl will be

staying over to keep me company.

Mom tried to reassure me that they would, indeed,

be coming back in a few days.

A FEW DAYS?!

I gave Mom the cold shoulder.

Sure, this happens every August.

Sure, they always come back.

I sure don't have to like it!

>^.^<

Ups and Downs

Over the past couple of days things began to go my way.

It all started with an ACTUAL nighttime recon.

It was a nice long one too!

Then, the next day, Mom put my favorite patio chair 

out onto the grass.

I could keep an eye on the neighborhood without touching

 the wet grass or blocking the sidewalk traffic.

This also gave me a great view of Felix.

He had a good view of me, too.

By day three, however, things took a turn for the worse.

Mom got out her sleeping bag.

She does this a couple times a year, but I wasn't expecting 

it until autumn.

I tried to put it out of my mind.

So I opted to spend some quality time with Mom.

I agreed to go with her and the Nice Ladies on a 

human style daytime recon.

This time, however, Mom and I rode in the 

back seat of the golf cart.

I must say that it was an entirely different experience

than riding in the front seat!

Still, I was secured to Mom, so it wasn't

long before I relaxed and enjoyed the ride.

I even felt secure when Mom tried for those

difficult camera angles.

The rest of the day was fairly pleasant.

Then I remembered the awful truth.

Mom had indeed packed a bag to go with her sleeping bag.

At least it was a small backpack and not a suitcase.

She also kept saying that she would miss me.

That's never a good sign.

Still, there is an upside.

Daddy didn't do any packing.

I guess it's going to be male bonding time for a couple of days.

>^.^<

Daytime Recon

As summer rolls on I continue to take up my daily

post on the sidewalk by the clubhouse door.

From there I can keep a close eye on all the windows

where the neighbor cats live.

I've also continued my daily chomp on the tasty plant.

Every Thursday, as promised, Quiet Girl has been visiting.

I've also continued to receive the appropriate attention from Mom.

One issue, however.

She's been talking about those horrible grooming things.

That is to say that she's been saying things like, 

"I need to trim those claws", and "you really need a good brushing!"

Well, I may have to agree on that last one.

As it turns out, I recently coughed up the second hairball of my entire life.

The problem is that I HATE being brushed.

I just need to figure out which I hate worse:

being brushed or coughing up hairballs.

The truth is, even though it's awful, the coughing up of hairballs is over quickly.

Brushing, on the other paw, seems to go on FOR-E-VER!

The other problem with this summer has been the distinct lack

of nighttime recons.

Now, those of you who have read my blog for awhile know just how

much I love my nighttime recons!

I have a theory on why Mom has been failing me in that particular department.

You see, she was put in charge of closing the pool at night.

You must understand what kind of human I'm dealing with.

She LOVES the water.

It makes no sense to me whatsoever!

So, when I say 'she closes the pool at night', understand that it usually

involves her jumping in to extract the pool toys.

Well, then she has to change out of her wet things.

So which dry clothes does she put on?

Her pajamas.

That's right.

And, apparently, humans don't like to go outside at night in their pajamas.

You see my problem.

So, yesterday I agreed to go for a daytime recon.

You read that right.

Daytime recon.

Of course, we couldn't do it my way.

We had to do it the human way.

In the golf cart:

I think I'm getting used to it.

Fear not.  I was strapped in and riding on Mom's lap.

Also, that's Nice Lady 2 driving,  New Nice Lady 1 was 

riding in the back while I got to ride shotgun.

When we were done with the recon, I casually reclined on

the cool dining room floor while Mom returned to the office.

Eventually Mom returned and I ventured out to talk to Felix for a bit.

 Then I checked on the progress of the catnip growing on the patio...

...and checked for bugs.

Hopefully moths...those are tasty.

At the beginning of the summer, Mom found a tea kettle

in the river, (you read that right).

So she started using it for a watering can.

She often leaves a bit of water in it for me to find.

It's tasty.

After all that, I reclined on the patio for a bit.

Then I checked the neighborhood to the left...

...and then the right.

I ventured out to my sidewalk spot and discovered

I have a new upstairs neighbor.

Apparently his name is Tucker.

I hope he'll start coming out onto the balcony like Angel used to.

I showed him that the sidewalk belonged to me.

Even all the humans and dogs step aside for me.

Yep.

I'm king of my domain.

Now if only I could get Mom to fall in line.

Unfortunately, her will is strong for a human.

>^.^<