For you, Heidi: Pistol-Yero

Heidi, I took these pictures of Pistol-Yero just for you. Here he is, on the bed where he sleeps with Jim and me (and when Sunflower heals, her, too).

He ponders my lens.

He reaches out to touch it. I pull it away before he can.

Jimmy grooms Pistol-Yero, Pistol-Yero grooms Jimmy.

Pistol-Yero and I, in my office.

To anyone else who may stop by, I did this for Heidi because she made a special request in a comment that she made on my last post.

A time of high ambition and roaring energy in the Kracker house

As you can see, Pistol is full of energy, vigor, and vim.

So is Jim.

And Martigny, too.

Chicago can hardly be constrained. This is how we all are around here, right now. Give us some time. Rest will come, energy will be restored, Sunflower will heak and we will all be back as we were.

I just need about a 20 year nap, that's all.

So it shouldn't be too long.

Do not expect any good photography or clever stories from me tonight, folks. I am drained and exhausted and it is all I can do to make a post at all - but I feel I must post just so you will know that Grahamn Kracker is keeping this blog alive. Those of you who visit the blog in the parallel universe already know what we have been through here since Sunflower fell and hurt herself.

Those of you who don't can find out right here: Sunflower's ordeal.

You  can see how drained Toast Ed and Prickly Pear Blossom are. Thank goodness, Chicago is there to help get them through it.

And here is Royce, getting a drink. I know some of you will be greatly concerned to see such a picture and will want to admonish me to keep him indoors and serve him only the cleanest of water, but Royce is at least 15 years old now, maybe sixteen and he has lived this way all of his life.

We cannot change him now.

Royce walks away from his reflection.

Oh, my! The accident had not yet happened when I took this picture. We had just gotten up and the day was pleasant and we thought that it would remain so. It did not.

Pistol-Yero at 1:07 in the afternoon.

Little Wry Kracker and Muzzy, the strangest looking of all the Kracker cats.

Oh no! This picture got in here twice! Well, I am too lazy to go to html and take it out. That's how exhausted.
Oh, my! They really are exhausted.

And so am I. What would I do, without Jim to help get me through such moments?

It's late, I am tired, I don't think I will bother to title this

Wry has gone off to New Mexico and Arizona with his parents for a short visit. Before he left, he reached out and touched Royce.

Then, in the evening, as I was preparing the photo of Wry and Royce for this blog, Jim hopped atop my monitor and settled down. The monitor is only about and inch-and-a-half wide.

As Jim rested there, Pistol stepped out from behind the monitor. I was surprised, because I did not even know he was in the office.

These two just napped away.

It's a long workday (but I love it). Jim does his part to make it successful

I came into the office at about 10:00 AM yesterday, to begin my workday. As always, Jim came with me, eager to help. I have an array of harddrives set up behind my monitor. Jim climbed atop them, to keep them warm.

This is Alaska, you know.

I don't know how Alaskans without cats in the workplace keep their harddrives warm.

All that hard work dries a cat out. Jimmy leaves the harddrives and goes to the oscar tank to get a drink. Jimmy basically will not drink out of anything but a fish tank, unless no fish tank is available.

The last of the two oscars died recently, after being with Jim and me for seven years or so.

Now, I must figure out what kind of fish to replace it with. 

I have already bought ceramic pigs to create a new fish tank decor.

Then Jimmy goes to the window to see what's happening outside. Jimmy can't drink out of this tank, because there is a lid on it.

There was a lid on the oscar tank,  too.

Jimmy broke it.

He did not want to die of thirst.

A bit later, Jim comes and sits down on the keyboard. How can a person even work at a computer, if a cat doesn't sometimes come and sit down on the keyboard?

Jim decides to sit on my lap. I am skilled at working with a cat on my lap. I have a great deal of practice.

It can be a little challenging to see the screen, however. Soon, though, he will get down and I will have a clear view of the screen.

Later, he comes back. He digs his claws into my sweatshirt and pulls himself up to my chest and shoulder. He forces me to take a break.

In this way, Jimmy keeps me sane. Or at least from going more insane than I already am.

Later, he comes back and does it again.

Jim does not want me to go insane.

He does not know what insane is.

He is insane.

Maybe that's why we love each other so much.

We are both insane.

Then Jimmy steps onto my keyboard. Please take note of the photo onscreen. Something is about to happen.

Jimmy hits a certain key and the photo that I was working on disappears! Another one of the same subject takes its place!

Originally, I had considered printing this one, instead of the first. 

Now the first has disappeared. I know I can find it again, or at worst, dig up a backup copy, but I don't want to.

I think maybe Jimmy has just told me that I should print this picture instead.

But then I go back and find the other one, and print it.

Jimmy is smart, all right, but I can't let him become my picture editor.

The day wears on, the sun drops beneath the horizon, leaving only the afterglow to creep into the office.

Jimmy does not falter, but stays right here with me.

I have to print this picture several times, because ink splotches keep appearing on it. I clean the heads, print again, clean the heads, print again, and still the ink splotches appear.

Finally, I pull out a big pad of ink soaked lint. It looks like it might be made of cat hairs. The printing proceeds just fine, after that.

It grows later and later. Jimmy hangs in there with me.

Hey! This is not Jim! This is Pistol! My little Pistol-Yero. Right after we got up in the morning, he went back to bed for a nap. He napped all day.

But now he comes out to help with the night shift.

Pistol does his part.

I finally leave the office at a few minutes before 4:00 AM.

Both cats leave with me.

Only Pistol follows me into the bedroom.

A few minutes after I settle down in bed, I hear Jimmy at the door. I get up to let him in. He does not come in, but Pistol goes out.

I go back to bed. About 15 minutes later, I hear Pistol at the door. He wants back in. I let him in. He snuggles up by my head and purrs.

Fifteen minutes after that, I hear Jimmy at the door again. He wants in, badly. I get up and let him in. Margie sleeps through it.

Then the two cats pile on and we stay put, sleeping and waking, until 9:30.

And now a new day has begun.

I am in my office.

Cats are with me.

I anticipate a productive day.

We were all very lazy today

I was very lazy today. Did a lot of nothing. Sat around for awhile, pocket camera nearby. Jim sat down by me, after he spent the night sleeping atop me. He does both quite often. But wait... who is that blurry orange fellow on the floor?

It looks kind of like...

...Royce... Royce is who it looks like. But can I be certain? I had better zoom in a little closer...

YES! YES! IT IS ROYCE! I was right, all along.

And there, sitting on the floor, just feet from Royce... why, it's Pistol-Yero! My leetel peestol-yero!

Jimmy has moved to the coffee table and there is a classic movie on TV. Do you recognize the movie? Can you guess?

How about now?

This ought to erase all doubt. It's Gone With the Wind, of course. I was too lazy to watch but a few minutes of it. Then I had to go buy a burrito from Taco Bell. Tryskuit will be very upset with me when she reads this, but it was a very healthy burrito.

Once Pistol saw that Jim had left the arm of the couch, he came and sat down beside me.

Pistol Yero - my little Pistol-Yero!

Royce and Chicago.

Jim proves to be quite mobile; soon he will be off his rocker. But where's Martigny? I assure you, she is not far away, even though I failed to get a picture of her today. Muzzy is hiding out in the bedroom of Toast Ed, Prickly Pear Blossom and toddler Wry.

The other four Kracker cats are all in Anchorage, where they live. Maybe one or more will come and visit tomorrow. We will see. I hope one or more does, whatever chaos might result. I always like to see the Anchorage Kracker cats.

I get good news, then take nap with Pistol

I am just too exhausted and weary to make much of a post tonight, but I promise you - good things are coming soon - both concerning the Kracker Cats and Cats Met Along the Way. I promise. So don't go away.

And I have good news! Today, Sunflower drove me to Anchorage where I made a followup visit to the doctor who gave me a new shoulder. He let me start my therapy! 

I don't really get to do much, but three to four times a day for the next week I am to remove my arm from the sling, bend slightly at the waist so that my arm hangs down to what ever degree it hangs down and then, by use of a gentle swaying motion from my body, let my arms swing ever so slightly back and forth. 

I do this for a week, then go back next Monday. Assuming that all goes well between now and then, he will then add in one or two range of motion excercises. "Baby steps," Doc said, "just take baby steps for now."

When I got home, I felt exceptionally sleeply - "exceptionally sleepy" being normal these days - and so I decided to take a nap.

"C'mon Jimmy!" I called out to Jim. "Let's go take a nap." Today was surprisingly cold, for late July, and so Sunflower had turned on a couple of electric heaters. Jim had positioned himself in front of one and would not budge from it - not even for a nap.

I continued on into the bedroom. There, waiting on the bed for me was Pistol. Carefully. I eased myself down. Taking care to avoid my injured shoulder, Pistol walked all the way around me and then curled up in the crook of my left arm. He turned his face to the side and pushed his forehead into my chest. He closed his eyes and purred and purred and purred.

Then, as news of Obama's visit to Iraq and of the arrest of Radovan Karadzic played on NPR, the two of us dozed happily off. Occasionally, I would slide my fingers over his fur. Each time, he would purr. We did not get up for over two hours.

One of these days I'm going to be healed and I will have to stop this kind of thing.

As the clock neared 10:00 PM, Toast Ed and Prickly Pear Blossom invited me to go on a walk with them, baby Wry and Muzzy. The rain had finally diminished to a sprinkle, so I did. We hadn't gone far before these two dogs spotted Muzzy from across the road and came charging over, eager to take him on.

Before they actually closed the distance to within fighting range, they stopped, turned around and backed away. They simply did not want to suffer the humiliation of both being whipped by a house cat - even if Muzzy was far and away the biggest and strangest looking house cat they had ever seen.