Seasons Greetings 2018

Hello folks, Winnie here. I must tell you this.

My human grabbed me and with one swift move pulled a Santa hat over my eyes.

I was annoyed and gave my human 'the evil eye'!

... and Happy New Year.

Christmas Decoration

This year our human decided to put up Christmas decoration which was never done for many years.

It is a simple one.

Compare it to the elaborate one of our human brother's home.

Ginger Visitor

When it did not rain, the day was hot with scorching sun overhead.

Taking advantage of the heat, our human went out to check on the laundry hanging outside to dry and something bright orange caught the eye.

Outside the right-hand side neighbour's outdoor garden above the drain was the visiting ginger cat that belonged to the left-hand side neighbour.

Beside the potted plants and above the drain, there's a cool cosy napping spot.

Our human could not resist and snapped away. As usual this totally relaxed chap just opened his eyes lazily and then continued to snooze unafraid of our human.

Eyeing through the MeowsHole !

There are times when we wondered what Winnie is doing in some corner.

Our human snoops around so as not to startle Winnie.

And this was what our human saw when crouching low on knees peeping through the MeowsHole!

Winnie was in the midst of her body lift!

Too Long!

Words could not describe that irritated look on her face!

She Couldn't Care Less!

We have been experiencing daily heavy thunderstorms but on certain odd days when it did not rain, it was scorching hot!

And on that certain odd scorching hot day, our human found Winnie relaxing unladylike.

She certainly is following Dr. Seuss' quote – "Be who you are and say what you feel, because those who mind don’t matter and those who matter don’t mind".

Skittish Ginger Visitor

There were loud voices from the neighbour and then a motorbike revving.

But it was the chirping sounds that intriqued our human to look out.

Our human saw this skittish cat squatting gingerly and staring wide-eyed (and managed somehow to snap only this one photo).

[Our human thinks the cat was chirping '@#$%' to the boys!]

With the grill door opened only inches, the cat shot off and out to the road.

This cat belongs to the neighbour and was frightened off.

Usually he's a totally relaxed visitor.

https://thechairspeaks.blogspot.com/2018/06/totally-relaxed-visiting-lounger.html

Slim Leg

I have been so much loved by so many cats that one of legs is now a tad too slim.

Our human is afraid that it would break and decided to take action. The friendly cuddly panda was tied up at the slimmest part.

Just when our human finished doing that, Winnie woke up staring as if to say, "What are you trying to do?!"

Strange Orb

Winnie has never seen a pumpkin before.

This was her reaction when our human bought one and placed it in front of her.

Mr Batman

Meet Mr Batman. He works at reception in a minimart near where we live.

He must have got into many fights to prove his machoism for he has numerous wounds and scars on his face and body.

But he turns totally mushy when our human pets him.

Feather Heavier than Lead

There were times when our human feels a tad naughty and loves to prank Winnie.

This is one of those times. Enjoy Winnie's reactions!

Youthful looks!

Winnie's guesstimate age is 15 or at least 14 but she looks youthful for her age. Perhaps it is her small size. 

Our human is keeping a close eye on her for any symptoms or indications of aging sickness. But she does have loose sagging skin near her 'armpits' and 'hips' that indicate her senior age.

Click below if you would like to read about how Winnie came. 

https://thechairspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/07/whimsical-winnie.html

NB: Winnie was not a kitten and our human waited for more than a year before deciding to take her.

New Chair?

As said in the previous post, it has been raining daily and at times with very heavy thunderstorms.

To catch drips from the MeowYard roof, our human placed a thick towel on the floor to soak it up.

Too lazy to put it back in place, our human just draped it on the 'chairs' and look who promptly jumped up to claim!

The Flash Game

It has been raining daily lately. Winnie crawls in her cave bed to sleep a lot.

Being a light sleeper, Winnie wakes up and comes out each time our human want to take a picture of her curled up comfortably inside.

This was taken without using a  flash. Her eyes were opened.

She was not happy and closed her eyes when the flash was used...

...and walked off with a huff with eyes still closed.

A Tired Visitor

Going through some old photos, our human found this. 

This photo dated 7 July 2007 was taken on his very first visit and our human remembered blogging about this visitor. 

Here's the link:

https://thechairspeaks.blogspot.com/2009/09/home-alone-celebration.html

Food Recovery?

This morning our human went for a hike in the nearby forest reserve. 

Approaching the car park, there was an empty parking spot with a black kitten lurking nearby. 

That black kitten was hungry.

It then dawned on our human that yesterday, Saturday, was the 'Hungry Ghost Festival'.

Excerpt from Wikipedia:

"The Ghost Festival, also known as the Hungry Ghost Festival,  is a traditional 

Buddhist and Taoist festival held in certain Asian countries. According to the Chinese calendar, the Ghost Festival is on the 15th night of the seventh month.

In Chinese culture, the fifteenth day of the seventh month in the lunar calendar is called Ghost Day and the seventh month in general is regarded as the Ghost Month, in which ghosts and spirits, including those of the deceased ancestors, come out from the lower realm.

On the fifteenth day the realms of Heaven and Hell and the realm of the living 

are open and both Taoists and Buddhists would perform rituals to transmute 

and absolve the sufferings of the deceased."

Well, that black kitten had a full belly and no, it did not lap up those beers!

The Mutant Awakes

A few days ago, our human was tickled by Winnie.

Walking past the MeowRoom door, our human saw from the corner of the eye Winnie sticking her head out staring at our human.

Stealthily walking backwards, our human quickly grabbed the cellphone and started snapping Winnie's pictures.

It was not easy as the cellphone kept shaking from our human trying to keep a straight face not to laugh out loud lest the 'cat face walks out leaving its mutant teenage turtle shell behind'.

PS: Our human will start blogging about untold stories of Winnie's previous roommates as well as our human encounters of kitty friends.

A Drooling Cat is a Happy Cat

Can you see those drools?

Ninja Turtle Hideout

Our human found a really old T-shirt. 

Intrigued by the cartoon Teenage Ninja Turtle, our human's sister-in-law bought two sets of T-shirts and sweat pants at a night market for her 6-year-old daughter (our human's niece); the other set for our human. The label says '10-11 year old'. Well, both niece and aunt could fit in that set! That happened almost 30 years ago.

Niece has long outgrown her set. Our human still wears that comfortable faded purple cotton sweat pants but not the top and decided that Winnie should wear it. 

Winnie would look like a turtle if she stuck her head out more.

Child Or Children of the Earth?

Winnie's cave bed was littered with her fur and drool and its cover had to be changed. Our human dug out old T-shirts again and found an interesting one.

This picture (bird's eye view) was taken from above and please don't mind our human's foot.

Feeling a little perplexed while staring at those words with Winnie inside, our human googled 'Child of the Earth' and found this.

Known as a “Child of the Earth” or “El Niño de la Tierra” in Spanish, this insect has also been called the Jerusalem cricket, and  “the old bald man” (Who-tzi-Neh) by many American Indian tribes, and the “potato bug.” ... In reality, they can bite, but usually only when they are cornered or when they are picked up.

So let us pretend that Winnie's cave bed says 'Children of the Earth', an organisation with the slogan, 'Inspires and unites young people for peace worldwide'.

Or shall our human add 'ren' after the word Child for Winnie?

Camp Out

Weather was hot lately with no rain.

Odd Sleeping Positions

Winnie loves her DIY cave bed.

Since we live in a tropical country with hot weather and wearing a permanent fur coat, Winnie feels the heat.

So in the hot afternoons, Winnie tries her best to 'air' cool.

Our human gave names for these following positions. We will be happy if you could give better descriptive or apt names.

Stick-out

Three paw wave

Colours Cat See

The cloth cave was littered with Winnie's fur that had to be cleaned out and changed.

Since cotton is less likely to attract fur than synthetic fibres, our human started digging out old cotton T-shirts and found one with gaudy orange colour.

Winnie did not mind that showy colour and promptly settled in. 

It was only then it struck our human that cats do not see colours like human do. Cats colour vision is limited to shades of blues, grays and greens.

Sleeping with the Panda

It was a quiet afternoon. Too quiet to be true that worried our human a little. 

Our human decided to walk round the house just to check and found this amusing sight – Winnie sleeping head in with her tail sticking out beside her panda toy companion.

Totally Relaxed Visiting Lounger!

Imagine our human's shock on stepping out of the house on greeted by this sight at the porch.

We do not have a ginger cat. Obviously a male, he was totally relaxed lounging there unafraid of our human.

It was only when our human was less than three feet away, he turned, looked at our human lazily, got up reluctantly and sauntered slowly out.

Rehashed Cave

The idea has been on our human's mind a long time ago and a lot. Finally overcame procrastination and got into action.

The old unused basket with a handle that was gathering dust in the corner was taken out and cleaned. Out came all the old unused T-shirts and the most suitable size was chosen.

Put them both together; line the inside with an old clothing and this was the result.

Winnie approves!

Freaking Hot Days

The last few days has been torturously hot. There were some very short showers that made the heat worse and the air muggy.

To cool down, our human had to take four showers a day. Those wearing a permanent fur coat like Winnie, of course, is at the most disadvantaged.

Winnie was found 'heading' the plank on the wall.

Then got up (to air her stomach a bit), changed position to lie on cooler spot in the opposite direction.

New Hidey Spot

There was a heavy thunderstorm few days ago that lasted several hours. It caused flash floods in certain parts in town.

Winnie was no where to be seen and that got our human a little worried. Armed with a small torchlight, our human walked round the house shining the torch in every corner and finally saw where Winnie was.

Apologies for the blurred picture; that corner was dark.

Prank Gone Sad

Winnie would not come when called, unlike Captain Jack Sparrow HAWK who would run in anytime unless he was busy doing his toilet duties.

Our human decided to play a prank on Winnie and called out loud, "Jaaaaack!".

Winnie came running in, looked around and then at our human mewing loudly as if to say, "where? where?".

It shocked our human and vowed never again to play this prank.

PlayTime!

Our human decided to clear out some toys.

Winnie came and chose a small hemp-wrapped cylinder with a small bell and a few feathers.

She played with it, shredded and tore it apart. It lasted a few days and then got bored.