Ridiculous War of the Window Continues

Elway is totally unreasonable when it comes to this silly War of the Window. He is never going to win and I wish he would just take the treaty Mandy is offering and move on, but he is so stubborn. He sits in the window and opens the blinds at the most inopportune time. Mandy throws him in the bath tub, and turns on the water. Elway does not really fight Mandy when she puts him in the tub, but if he does try to escape, she just puts him back the water. He does not care, and secretly, I think he likes the attention. Honestly, I just wish this War would end.

I see that Elway has told you about Strange Cat. He is just jealous. Strange Cat and I will talk for hours and I think he wishes I was playing with him instead. Mandy never had a problem with Strange Cat until Elway started fighting with her and now Mandy tries to chase her off. Strange Cat keeps coming back though, and I enjoy her company. She tells the most amazing stories about running from big dogs, chasing rabbits and birds, and she has even met up with Turtle! She told us that in the outside world, there is no box! She said you can make the box wherever you want. I told Elway about the box being anywhere, and he tried using Mandy’s planter as the box. She found Elway's "freedom" last night. I could not tell if she was upset, but I got the feeling that she was not thrilled. I think I will stick to using the box because I do not like to upset Mandy.

Well, I am going to go dig in Mandy’s strawberry plants.
Peyton

Cat Food Treasure Chest!!!

Mandy was in the laundry room, which I have been hesitant to write about because it is rather scary, it looks and sounds very different. Mandy said they had to improve that area, because the old machine left large puddles that ran into the kitchen. I guess it didn't know how to use the box. But I digress. Last night Mandy and Sam came in with two large grocery bags. Seriously, how much food can these people eat? But Mandy did not put the food away until this morning. She took the bags into the laundry room and started unpacking them. Guess what was in those bags?! Cat Food! Two bags full of nothing but cat food! I watched Mandy put the food away, and I am so glad that we have that much food! It is like a cupboard of cat feasts!

This morning, I wanted to show off for Strange Cat. She has been back regularly, even though Mandy tries to scare her away. I am showing Peyton how fickle Strange Cat is by making her think I like her. When she likes me more than Peyton maybe he can move past this crazy school-girl crush and act like a real cat again. So this morning, I raced all over, I ran on the kitchen table, played in the bathroom window, and jumped in Mandy’s strawberry plants. Yep, I made sure to aggravate Mandy, so she would chase me. I ran circles around her and the big tub, and showed Strange Cat that I was a Bad Cat and that I could run fast! She was impressed and Peyton was jealous. Mission accomplished. Meow.

Well, it’s nap time. It's hard work to be bad.
Elway

Strange Behavior

Mandy was sure acting strange yesterday. She woke up and did her morning routine, only to leave, and when she came back she was acting bizarre. She was walking funny and her eyes looked really strange. She came into the house and went into the bedroom and closed the curtains and the doors and went to bed. She slept during the day! When she woke up she put on her sun glasses and wandered all over the house. She wore those sunglasses for hours, and she even cooked dinner in the dark! I am not sure what caused such strange behavior, but this morning she seems like she is back to normal. At least she isn’t wearing her sunglasses in the house, and he eyes look normal. Mandy told Sam about the strange place she went, but all I caught was something about a place for her eyes. They acted like it was normal, so I am not worried.

However, Mandy and Sam are worried about this Oil Spill that the TV keeps talking about. The TV says it could change life at the beach drastically, and raise the price of fish. I love to eat fish, and Mandy and Sam eat a lot of fish too. This morning I was sitting with Mandy and the TV said that if the oil gets into the shrimps breading ground it would cause real problems. I love shrimp! I sure hope that this mess doesn't mess with my favorite food! I hope they get it all cleaned up soon. Mandy would never let us leave a mess around.

Well, the lizards are all in a tizzy about something outside. I am going to see why they are running around!
Elway

Outside Amusement

Mandy is constantly checking the big tub. She says it is almost ready for the summer. I do not know what she is checking for, so today, I hung out by the big tub trying to figure it out.


If I actually decide to jump in the big tub, I am sure Elway will update you, but for now, I am only checking the big tub.


Superman Sam has rescued our toys multiple times since the original rescue, but it has not been as heroic. He only lifts the couch a little bit and grabs the toys out on his own.

Mandy bought us new toys. They are squishy balls that Mandy throws against the wall or ceiling. They bounce all over the place and Elway will run around and hunt them down. I just watch from under the safety of the bed.

Peyton

Superman Sam!

Sam is a hero! He rescued my toys from the demise of the couch graveyard! Last night, Sam wanted to give me one of the bathed mice, which we got at Christmas, but when he opened their bath tub it was empty! He asked Mandy were my mice were, and she told him they were under the couch. Do you know what he did? He picked up the couch and Mandy grabbed the toys! Mandy couldn’t reach all of the toys, so Sam picked up the other side of the couch! I ran under the couch to see what it was like and I could see the inside of the couch! Mandy grabbed me before Sam set the couch down, but those few seconds were amazing! I went where no other cat has gone before! I couldn’t believe that Sam could just lift furniture like that! He is Superman Sam saving the lives of cat toys everywhere!

Now that the weekend is over, life after tax season is rather normal. Sam and Mandy are still getting up and feeding us breakfast at our normal time; however, Sam is coming home early and eating dinner with us! Mandy and Sam are playing games, watching TV, cleaning house, and working outside. It is fun to watch them talk, laugh and work. Sometimes they even leave us home alone and go out on what Mandy calls dates. Maybe sometime they will take me on a date, they sound fun.

Do you remember Strange Cat? I haven’t mentioned her in a while, but she is back. Peyton loves her and it makes me sick. I’m sure he doesn’t talk about her much, because he is slightly embarrassed by his school-girl like crush. He sits in the back yard and cries and cries for her to come. I have tried to get rid of her, but she just doesn’t take a hint, and Peyton just tells her to ignore me. Well, yesterday Mandy caught me fighting with Strange Cat. Thankfully she is afraid of Mandy, and she ran away just as soon as she heard Mandy yell from inside. She was long gone before Mandy could open the back door. I hope she is gone for a while, and Mandy is watching closely to make sure she stays away. Peyton needs to get over this ridiculous crush. We have much better things to occupy our time--eating, sleeping, playing, eating, Mandy and Superman Sam.

Well, I am going to go catch some sun outside before it gets too hot and Mandy closes the windows.
Elway

Surprising Peyton

Weekends are my favorite! I probably say that every Monday, but we have so much fun on the weekends that I need to say it repeatedly.

When Mandy and Sam came home from their Sunday activity, Mandy surprised Peyton! He was on his ledge in the stairway. He can see most of the house from up there, but he was curled up in the back corner, so he couldn’t see the front door. Sam walked into the house and greeted Peyton. Mandy tip toed up the stairs and popped her head up over the ledge and said “boo!” Peyton hit the ceiling! Meow Meow! He jumped down and ran into the bedroom and hid! Mandy, Sam and I laughed and laughed! It took Mandy a long time to calm Peyton down. He was pretty humiliated. Who wouldn’t be? Letting Mandy scare you?! Meow Meow!!!

Sam and Mandy cleaned up the outside some on Saturday. Mandy found some pretty big lizards while she was weeding. I watched her in the back yard, but I had to sit in my kitchen window to see Sam. It was awful that they were not together because I couldn’t watch them at the same time.

I think that the War of the Window is over. I didn’t give up, but Mandy and I reached an understanding. She gave me some extra loves and snuggles, and we worked through the war to reach a treaty. For now.

Elway

Picture Purrrfect

The War continues, but I am tired of arguing with Elway about the War, so that is all I am going to say about it.

I believe I have figured out what the end of Tax Season means and it boils down to two words…late breakfast. This morning, I tried to wake Mandy up. My sure-fire method would not work because of the way she was sleeping, so I had to be creative. I tried the yelling cat, the bladder masher, and the toe chaser. Nothing worked, so finally I figured if you cannot beat them, join them. I crawled in bed and snuggled Mandy. Guess what?! She woke up and fed me! Finally!

Sam was home with Mandy yesterday and it looks like he will be home today too! We have been relaxing with them and it fun! I think today they are going to be outside, because there is a lot of stuff out there for them too do. Sam started last night while Mandy was cooking and made a mess, so I bet they finish.

The other day, Mandy grabbed her camera as we were waking up from nap time. I do not normally like to share pictures, but I want to show you that not all of life is about the War of the Window. In fact, Elway really posed for Mandy. So here are some pictures.

Nap time is over already?



Ok, sure I'll pose for you. Let me wake up first.

You want a piece of me?

Gross! I'm tired of taking pictures!

I posed too, but not as much as Elway. He is such a ham. He loves to pose and look cute. I tried to change my expression for Mandy. Here are some of my photos.

Do not wake me up. I will get that camera!

It is such a beautiful day, I should get up and play outside.

Please can we stop this nonsense?

So those are all of the pictures for now. You can imagine there were several more, but these were my favorite. Oh, and just a warning for Shrimp Dad--Elway heard Mandy talking to Sam about suggestions on how to win the War of the Window--he is not happy you sided with her.

Peyton

War of the Window…Continued

The War continues. My goal is to break Mandy down, so she will not fight me about this window. I want to sit in that window and look at on the world, and those hideous blinds are in my way.

After Mandy’s moat, I knew I had to be clever in my next move. I watched her and plotted. I waited until just the right moment to make my move. Sam drained the moat, so I knew that my time would come soon! Peyton tried to warn me that this was a bad idea--he said it would guarantee my defeat--but I thought this strategy would allow me to win the war!

When Mandy was in the rain room, I opened the blinds! Meow! Elway strikes again! Just before Mandy jumped out of the rain, I closed the blinds; I showed her that I could control the blinds.

I was a little surprised when Mandy did not admit defeat right away, instead, she fought back. Mandy filled up the moat, and gently picked me up. I should have known something was coming, because Mandy has been yanking me out of the window, but as soon as she had me, she set me down in the moat! She said maybe she would consider a crocodile for her moat. I guess this was not such a good idea. Peyton said Mandy won this battle, but I'm not willing to admit defeat. However, whenever I get in the window, whether I play with the blinds or not, I always end up in that moat.

It's time to re-evaluate my tactics. Any suggestions?

Mandy and Sam are sure glad tax season is over. I don't know what that means for us, other than my breakfast was almost two hours late! Sam is still sleeping, and Mandy isn't on her regular schedule. I don't know what will happen today.

Well, there is a strange noise outside and I want to go check it out.
Elway

Tax Day Sneak Attack

Elway might have won the battle yesterday, but Mandy did not raise a white flag, instead, she planned a sneak attack. Yesterday morning when Mandy was getting ready to go to work, Elway jumped in the bathroom window and started playing with the blind again. Mandy yanked him out of the window and tossed him on the floor. Not more than three minutes later Elway was in the window again. Mandy turned around and looked at Elway. She gave him the evil eye, and they had a stare down. I was shocked; Mandy won!

Elway jumped down and into the tub. Mandy decided that rather than to keep ripping Elway out of the window she would build a moat. Elway jumped in the tub to help Mandy. She did something to the tub to keep the water from going down the drain, and she turned on the water. At first, Elway thought it was a game, but when the water did not drain, he panicked and, ungracefully, jumped out of the tub. Mandy left the water in the tub all day, knowing that Elway could not get in his window without getting in the tub.

Just before bed last night, Elway decided he was going to try and get in the window without launching from the tub. It did not work. He fell in. He jumped. He splashed. He cried. Mandy and Sam came into the bathroom and discovered that Elway had flailed water all over! There was water all over the floor, the walls and the sinks! Mandy and Sam cleaned up the bathroom and Elway and laughed the whole time! Poor Elway was humiliated.

I guess Mandy has won this battle. I wonder who will win the War of the Window.

Today is Tax Day. I greeted Mandy when Sam left. She picked me up, as she has every day this week, and we stood at the front window and watched Sam leave for work. Then she told me it was Tax day and we did a spontaneous happy dance all the way around the living room. I do not know what Tax Day is exactly, but Mandy’s happy dance shows her excitement! I still want to know what it means for me.

Peyton

Tax Day Sneak Attack

Elway might have won the battle yesterday, but Mandy did not raise a white flag, instead, she planned a sneak attack. Yesterday morning when Mandy was getting ready to go to work, Elway jumped in the bathroom window and started playing with the blind again. Mandy yanked him out of the window and tossed him on the floor. Not more than three minutes later Elway was in the window again. Mandy turned around and looked at Elway. She gave him the evil eye, and they had a stare down. I was shocked; Mandy won!

Elway jumped down and into the tub. Mandy decided that rather than to keep ripping Elway out of the window she would build a moat. Elway jumped in the tub to help Mandy. She did something to the tub to keep the water from going down the drain, and she turned on the water. At first, Elway thought it was a game, but when the water did not drain, he panicked and, ungracefully, jumped out of the tub. Mandy left the water in the tub all day, knowing that Elway could not get in his window without getting in the tub.

Just before bed last night, Elway decided he was going to try and get in the window without launching from the tub. It did not work. He fell in. He jumped. He splashed. He cried. Mandy and Sam came into the bathroom and discovered that Elway had flailed water all over! There was water all over the floor, the walls and the sinks! Mandy and Sam cleaned up the bathroom and Elway and laughed the whole time! Poor Elway was humiliated.

I guess Mandy has won this battle. I wonder who will win the War of the Window.

Today is Tax Day. I greeted Mandy when Sam left. She picked me up, as she has every day this week, and we stood at the front window and watched Sam leave for work. Then she told me it was Tax day and we did a spontaneous happy dance all the way around the living room. I do not know what Tax Day is exactly, but Mandy’s happy dance shows her excitement! I still want to know what it means for me.

Peyton

Elway’s Success!

Last night was a true success! Elway decided it was his turn to try and wake Mandy and Sam. He did a great job! He sat in the window in the bathroom and played with the blinds, which made the most awful sound whenever they hit the wall! Elway was able to climb behind the blinds and then smash them against the wall.

Sam and Mandy both yelled at Elway to stop, but he ignored their commands. Then Sam had to get out of bed to make Elway stop but as soon as Sam was back in bed, Elway was back in the window. Mandy grumpily rolled out of bed to stop Elway. She yanked him out and tossed him on the floor, and went back to bed. Elway stayed out of the window just long enough to let Mandy fall back asleep and then he was in the window again, banging the blinds against the wall. Mandy leaps out of bed, snatches Elway out of the window and drags him back to bed. Elway snuggled in and cuddled Mandy until she was asleep, and then he was out of bed and back in the window. This time though, he crawled behind the blinds and sat as still as possible. Mandy and Sam yelled at Elway to get down, and went back to sleep. Elway won the battle! He says he can see the street from the window and can see the cars as they drive by the house. Honestly, I do not understand his fascination with cars or people; I prefer to watch the bugs and birds.

Well, Mandy says Tax Day is tomorrow. I do not know what that means, but she says Tax Season is over then. I wonder what that will mean for me.

Peyton

Adventures into the Wild Weekend

Ok, so my weekend was hardly wild, but it was fun! Mandy stayed home with us most of the day on Saturday. We played and snuggled and ate. Mandy also went up stairs and did some cleaning up there. She threw blankets out of the room and Peyton played with them.

We really have no idea what Mandy did in the rooms because she did not let us in the rooms; she never lets us in the rooms. Meow.

Anyway, it was fun to play with the blankets, but eventually we gave up hope of helping Mandy clean and went back outside. Mandy left the windows open practically all weekend! Peyton and I ran in and out as much as we pleased, and we could loop through the house as much as we wanted. Mandy even threw my golf ball outside and I have been able to play with it around the big tub. When it falls in the big tub, Peyton tries to fish it out, and if he can’t reach it, Mandy will rescue the ball. I love weekends!

Mandy says that tax season will be over this week! Everyone, especially Sam, seems very excited about tax season coming to an end. I wonder what will happen after tax season?
Elway

Pretty Saturday

I love Saturdays. There is no denying that Saturday is the best day of the week. Mandy stays home with us all day, and the windows are open when it isn’t raining. Today is great! It is bright and sunny and the windows are already open! They were open as soon as Sam got up this morning! I love open windows!

The house is already clean, and I hope Mandy doesn’t bring Vacuum out again, but I have learned where I can hid so Vacuum doesn’t come after me. However, I still loathe Vacuum. He is loud, and rude, and he tries to eat my toys.

The flowers are starting to die and that makes me sad. I enjoy sitting by the lilies for hours a day, smelling the beautiful aroma which fills the whole house; I will miss the pretty flowers when they are gone.

Well, I’m off to sit next to the pretty flowers and enjoy them while I can.
Elway

Screaming Mandy

I do not normally report embarrassing Mandy moments, however she has snapped enough pictures of me, that for once I feel I must share this story. Please do not tell her I told you.

This morning, Mandy was in the bedroom getting ready for her jumping, stretching routine, when suddenly she lets out the loudest scream I have ever heard from her. She goes flying out of the bedroom clear into the TV room. I have no idea what made her scream, but this is quite the achievement. I have tried to scare Mandy but have never been able too. Elway has tried too. While we have archived a mere startle, we have never received the much desired scream.

Well, the scream was so startling that neither Elway nor I desired to find out what made her scream. We stayed with her and fluttered around her until she calmed down. Eventually Mandy went back into the bedroom. I let her pick me up and I snuggled into her arms hoping to get a glance of whatever startled her. I could see nothing. Nothing at all!!

Now for the crazy part that really embarrasses Mandy, but I have to share or you will never know the end of the story. Sam comes home! Meow! I rolled over laughing with Elway. Whatever scared Mandy made her call Sam! Sam came in and finally Elway and I caught a glimpse of the evil thing that scared Mandy. It was…wait for it…wait for it…a frog! Meow! Meow! Meow! I do not know why this frog scared Mandy so. She has caught frogs and freed them when they get trapped by the big tub. She has caught them and freed them when they sneak in the front door. I will never know why this frog made Mandy scream, or how it got in the bathroom. Elway says it came through the water chair.

So, it was an adventure this morning. I hope that someday I can get a scream out of Mandy like that. It sure was funny! However, if Mandy ever screams like that again, I hope I know why. It was very unsettling when I did not know what was wrong.

Well, Mandy is home for a long morning, so I am off to nap before she leaves for work.
Peyton

Springtime!

I really think that Spring is here to stay; it is so beautiful outside! Mandy opens the windows as soon as she gets up in the morning, and we can play outside before breakfast! But she closes the windows when she goes to work. She says she does not trust us with her fish. She says she cannot watch us from the office, so we have to get used to being inside while she is gone. But when she gets home, she opens all the windows again, until it is dark. She says we cannot play outside because she cannot see us.

Several of you have asked how I am feeling--I am better; thank you for asking. The medicine worked and my infection is all cleared up. While I did not like the Vet, or the medicine, I am glad to be feeling better.

Well, Mandy needs to get to work. I will remind her that she is going to be late if she does not hurry.
Peyton

Happy Easter!

It was Easter weekend, and Mandy and Sam celebrated their risen Savior yesterday. Mandy has been playing songs about Him on the noise maker, and Peyton has been singing with her. Sam and Mandy got up early for a Sunday and left in their dress-up clothes. They were gone a long time. I’m not sure what they did all day, but it was an all day affair. I was glad when they came home.

Mandy bought the most magnificent flowers. They are huge white fragrant flowers. Mandy said they are Easter Lilies, and they make the whole house smell good. She put them in front of the kitchen window that she opens for me. I sit in my open window and smell the flowers for hours on end. It is lovely; it is my new favorite place to sit.

Yesterday would have been lovelier, except Sam used the “b” word…bath. MEOW! Like cats needs baths! Please someone tell him that! But they said we were a little smelly. Peyton had accidently fallen in the pool the day before—that was rather funny—and then he rolled around in the dirt. We did feel rather dirty. So into the bath tub we went. I hate baths, but I can’t do much about it. After the bath, Mandy dried me off with a big towel and then snuggled me. Peyton was so angry about the bath that as soon as he got out of the bath, he jumped into the litter box….yep your reaction is probably the same as Sam’s. Gross, Peyton! He left Mandy to clean Peyton off again. Peyton reacts better to Mandy—most of the time. But finally Mandy got Peyton cleaned off and then he ran all over the house, and finally settled in the dirt out back. I think his train of thought was to get as dirty as possible after the bath. I told him, he must really like bathes if he was going to roll around in the dirt wet. But he did get himself cleaned off. I dried myself off next to the beautiful flower. They are lovely.

Well, it is Monday, and the week starts over. Mandy is getting ready for work. So I am going to go back to my new favorite window next to the beautiful flowers. Mandy opened the window first thing this morning. I love flowers.
Elway

Tortured Cats

Help! We’re being tortured. Ok, well, I’m not, but Poor Peyton thinks he is tortured. You see, he stepped in wet litter. That’s not only gross, but messy. I hate when I have to clean that up, and as you may remember Peyton is not the cleanest cat in the house.

So when Mandy saw the mess he was making tracking litter all over the bedroom, she picked him up and that’s when the supposed torture started. She tried to wipe off the wet litter, but it was stuck pretty deep in the pads of his foot. So Mandy did the unthinkable, she tried to wash Peyton’s foot in the sink. He screamed and hollered and cried, and twisted all around trying to get away. I came running; I thought Mandy was trying to kill him. When I got in there, Peyton was attacking Mandy trying to get away, but Mandy won and got his foot back in the water. He screamed and hollered some more. I jumped up on the counter so I could talk to Peyton. I knew Mandy was only trying to help. I could see the litter in Peyton’s foot, and he kept fighting Mandy making it difficult for Mandy to get the litter out. I talked to Peyton and told him to calm-down; Mandy was only trying to help. I think I helped a little because Peyton let Mandy finish washing his foot. Then she took him into the other room and snuggled him with a towel. He snuggled right in and just ate up all the snuggles she gave him. She made sure he wasn’t hurt after the fight and then she let him go. He just curled up in her lap and purred. What torture, right? He can be so dramatic.

Well, today is trash day, and I love to watch the truck come pick up our can. I’m going to go sit in my window.
Elway