Thursday, December 31, 2015

12/31/2015: Elf OFF the Shelf!

Remember that dancing elf that Clinch loves to play with?  If not, check out my Christmas post for pictures and a few videos then come back here.  I'll wait...
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And never brought to mind
Should auld acquaintance be forgot,
And auld lang syne
All caught up?  Great!

I thought I'd get some work done before tonight's festivities (well, before the nap before the festivities).  I need to retake pictures from some free instructions on my jewelry/crafts blog to put into a regular document.  I'm going to demo the technique soon and want to print it out without using all of my cyan ink.

I got everything ready, turned my task lights on, which caused the elf to dance, and his "click click click" drove Clinch inexorably to my desk, right on top of my work surface:

"I've been here the whole time."

"Why do you sigh?"

Steve was able to get him off of my desk by calling him, but he came right back to play with the elf:

The elf looks at the kitten askance

Steve suggested I move the elf to the windowsill in the dining room.  He didn't stay there long:


Let's try that again:


Third time's a charm?


How about #4:

Nope.

Despairing, I cried out, "He's too fast for me to take a picture!"  Steve recommended I shoot a video instead.  That worked much better.  I used my camera this time instead of my phone, so you shouldn't have to turn the sound up (although you may miss what Steve says at the end):


After I took the elf away for good, Clinch ran around the house chasing a milk jug ring like a lunatic. I threw it off of my desk, and he brought it back (he's a good fetcher!) at high speed, pushing things around on my desk.

He has finally tired himself out and is napping somewhere, and he's tired me out, too.  It would seem that the instructions will not get finished today.

Happy New Year!  Be safe and come back in 2016 for more of Clinchfield's antics!


Monday, December 28, 2015

12/28/2015: "No! You stay where it's warm!"

Today we've gotten the second snowfall of the season.  This one is nasty - snow mixed with icy rain.  The house was pelted all day long.  It has finally calmed down, so around 8:30 this evening Steve started changing clothes to clear the driveway and our very long sidewalk.  Here is what I dared to capture, stepping outside extremely briefly in my bare feet:


Yes, Mom, I know I shouldn't go outside without shoes in the middle of winter.  I was out there less than 30 seconds.

Any cat lover knows that cats are drawn to change.  Clear off a bookcase's shelf, and the cat will jump on the empty shelf.  Move the bookcase, and the cat will sit in the empty spot.  Put a closed box or bin in the middle of the floor, and the cat will jump on it.  An open box or bin is even better - the cat will jump in it.  Put a sweater on a bed, and that's the only place the cat wants to sleep.  If you've cleared off your desk but have just one pile of papers left, that's where the cat lies down.

Clinchfield is no exception.  Steve put on his long underwear and flung his jeans out to put on, and Clinch instantly noticed the change and took action:

"Don't go outside!  It's cold and yucky out there!"

"Mama, keep Papa inside!"

Clinch wouldn't budge, so Steve had to pull the jeans off of the floor so he could get dressed.

Now poor Steve is outside shoveling.  He tried using the snowblower, but it didn't sound like it was going too well.  There must be too much ice.  I hope it doesn't start snowing again!

Sunday, December 27, 2015

12/27/2015: Sweet Clinchfield with Papa (and Pixel, too)

Shortly after I got up from my nap this afternoon, Steve sat on the bed to pet Pixel, who had been lying on my legs while I slept, impeding my movements.  Clinchfield came up to investigate, Pixel left, Steve pulled the kitten on his lap for some petting, and the rarest thing happened:  Clinch stayed.

We've been trying to get him to cuddle and be a lap cat, but he's still so much of a kitten that moments like this are few and far between.  Yeah, he'll come up between our pillows after I've been up in the middle of the night, and I can hold him for a while, but it's always almost at arm's length.

While I was watching them, Steve said, "I really should get up and do something."  I replied, "This is the most important thing you can do right now."

I grabbed my phone and took a bunch of pictures to commemorate the occasion.  I was expecting Clinch to dash off when I stepped fully into the room, but he didn't.


He likes a lot of petting behind the ears
(but stomach scratching invites nipping)

Say cheese!

Constant petting is required to keep a lap kitten happy

Within a few minutes, Pixel came back and was jealous:

"Hey!  What's going on up there?"

Pixel claims the bedpost as his (for the 100th time)
while Steve strains his bad shoulder to pet him.

I apologize for the state of the covers.  Like I said, I had just gotten up from a nap.  If I had known there would be a photo shoot, I would have straightened up a bit.

Here's my favorite picture of the whole affair:

My three boys!

Shortly after this, Clinchfield got all bitey and scratchy and ran off.  It was very nice while it lasted, and I hope it won't be too long before it happens again!

Thursday, December 24, 2015

12/24/2015: Merry Chr... Oh, no - not again!

I was all set to do a quick "Merry Christmas" post from all three cats, but Clinchfield, as usual, had other plans.  He does like to make work for me.

I wish I had posted the archive reports of Clinch getting trapped inside our dining room table.  We can take care of that now.  If you're friends of mine on Facebook, you've probably seen my posts about Clinch being "in jail."  To refresh your memory, or if you missed my posts, here are a few pictures:


Picture taken 8/29/2015 by Steve

Picture taken 8/31/2015 - yes, he did it again two days later
(I got to get him out this time)

Here is what Clinch would have written in his diary if he could hold a pencil:
Dear Diary, I have found a perfect hiding place, one where I can see and hear everything but where no one can get at me, especially that pesky female the authorities call "Fe". I cannot get to my favorite toy, the large male called "Pixel", but that is a small price to pay for this perfect location. However, the authorities don't think I can get out of this "TAY-ble" just because I jumped down in here from up above, where the bars are farther apart. I'm sure I could jump back up there. Maybe. Possibly not. Either way, I never get the chance to try. The authorities have cathandled me out on my two attempts then pushed the chairs back so I cannot get back to the hideout's entrances. Why do I never get to have any fun?

We kept the chairs pushed back until my Mom and stepfather came for lunch late in September, then, figuring he wouldn't do it again, we pushed them back in.  How wrong we were:

Picture taken in the wee hours of 9/27/2015
(he was lucky I was up so I could extract him)

Again, we kept the chairs away from the table until we had company, which was this past Sunday when Dad, Barb (my stepmother), Uncle Howard, and Aunt Pat came for dinner.  Clinch showed no signs of jailing himself again until today.

Steve gave me this adorable solar-powered elf that dances:


The best sunlight was on the dining room table.  The elf danced away, and his "click click click" drew Clinch over to investigate:

I swear this table was clean just a few days ago

When he walked away, I could tell he still wanted to play with the elf, so I thought, "Oh!  I should shoot horizontal like everyone says you should," and turned the camera.  I started shooting, moved to turn the dining room light on so the video would hopefully be clearer, and realized that Clinch batting at the elf from underneath the table again was all he could do.

I did cut out most of the window's glare, but right before that, if you look carefully on the left side of the screen, you can see Clinch climbing in the table.  There is sound later in the video, but you'll have to turn your volume up a fair amount.  I should figure out how to fix that.


Sorry it's not all that clear and is a bit jumpy.

Now we have the chairs pushed back away from the table again and are likely to keep them pushed back indefinitely.

So, now I'm to where I thought I was going to be at the start of this post.

Merry Christmas from

Pixel, who didn't want to pose by the tree

Fe, who is making her first appearance on this blog

and, of course,

 Clinchfield, who has thankfully not tried to climb the Christmas tree (yet)



Thursday, December 10, 2015

12/10/2015: My poor (lace) heart

Sorry I haven't written in a long time.  I've not been feeling all that great, and Clinchfield has been a relatively good kitten.  He still has his crazy streaks, but usually they're short-lived and non-chaotic.

Then came today...

We have Cappuccino, my mother's dog, again for a few days.  I think Clinch is excited, because he kept trying to play tag with her when they first arrived yesterday.  This morning he was frisking around the pup trying to play as well as running all around the house.

When I took my shower, I decided to close Cappuccino in the bathroom with me.  I latched the door (which we usually don't do), so Clinch was reaching in under the door and playing under/with/around it.  A few times he got pretty loud, so I yelled out, "Clinch, knock it off!"

I guess he took me literally, because when I opened the door, this is what I found:


This is the stiff lace heart from the bathroom door.

"You did tell me to knock it off, Mama!"

Here's how the bathroom door is supposed to look:


See how high up the heart is?  Clinchfield is quite the jumper.  I have a video of him jumping that I'll have to show you soon.

"Honestly, I was just following directions."

And here is poor, beleaguered Cappuccino trying to hide in the bedroom:


It's quiet in the house now, so I'm hoping Clinch has gotten it all out of his system.