Meet the New Kitties

We loved our eight years with Cowboy. He was the weirdest and awesomest (yep, that’s a word) cat ever.

He was my little buddy and followed me around the house doing strange things. He would sit on my lap for hours while I would write my articles or blog. And, he slept on top of me each night.

He would sneeze quite often, make a sound like an Ewok when he wanted something, and fought until the very end for his furry little life. We didn’t realize what a gaping hole was left when he passed away. After several days of crying and being pretty mopey, Biceps said a strange thing.
“What about getting a new kitty? And maybe not just one, but two?”
I had a feeling he was lonely without the furry dude, too.
But, I was pretty resistant at first. I mean, how could a new cat-or even two new cats-take the place of Cowboy? But, Biceps reminded me that we aren’t replacing Cowboy, no cat could ever do that. We are giving two new kitties a new home–a much needed home. And they in turn will bring us happiness and entertainment.

And so, after days of scouring rescue centers, talking with several “foster parents” and driving around, we found our forever kitties.
This is Maxwell.
Originally he was named “Flame” due to his orange markings on his nose, ears and tail. But that name we decided was weird. For several days, we confused the he k out of the little guy. I called him “Scout” and Biceps called him “Piglet”. Neither of us could agree, until the name “Maxwell” surfaced. It stuck and the name fit his personality all too well.

He does everything to the max. Whether he is eating, sleeping, being extremely cute or playing, he does it full force. There is no half-hearted efforts here from ol Maxwell.
And, he is all that is boy-stinky, haphazard and always attacking something.

And this is Bianca-the complete opposite of Maxwell. She smells like roses. Literally. We have a feeling she is stuffed with potpourri.

Bianca has taken it upon herself to clean Maxwell. It may seem sweet and motherly, but deep down, I think it’s mainly because she can’t stand the smell.

They became best buds right off the bat, doing everything together. They’ll even eat at the same time and switch to their water bowl at the same time. It’s bizarre. But pretty par for the course in our house. Nothing around here is ever normal….

Welcome home, you two crazy cats. We are so thankful that you are here. Even if you have jumped into the toilet on several occasions, knock things off the fireplace mantle and race through the house at 500 m.p.h..
They have definitely brought life back into the house. Lots of life….

Cowboy has gone “Home”.

My precious little furr-ball is home with his Maker and I believe he is warming the lap of the late Grandpa Kenny Greiman.

At the tender age of 8, Cowboy contracted a heart disease that led to a kidney failure and within two months, he was taken from us.

Cowboy Cat 2000 was laid to rest underneath the shed in our backyard-his favorite outdoor destination. From his hidden vantage point, he would slyly survey the going’s ons in our yard; irritating the squirrels, birds and any other creature simply trying to go about their daily life.

As you can see, this blanket was one of his favorites to snuggle underneath on cold winter days. We wrapped his little body in this blanket, tied it with the string he loved to chase around the house and gave him back to the earth.

Buddy, I’m going to miss you-Cowboy Cat Greiman, October 2003-August 2011.

Weird Christmas Cards Photos

It all started when I met Kayle.

He seemed normal enough. In fact, he seemed much cooler than me. He played in a band, owned a house, had tattoos and rode a motorcycle.

As we all know, first impressions can be deceiving. After a few months of dating this cool guy, I began to get to know the real him. Here are a couple of weird things about my seemingly perfect man:

I found out he toots during ab workouts.
And he cannot be interrupted when eating cereal.
He has no ‘favorites’; as in favorite movies, candy, or food.
He folds down his socks when he wants to be ‘casual’.
Often, he gets distracted during conversation and begins to count the number of letters in the words you are saying. For example, his favorite word(s) to count is Family Restaurant. ‘Why’, you may ask? Because there are 16 letters in this phrase and that makes 4 beats of 4. Get it? Neither do I….

At any rate, all these eccentricities pointed to the fact that he was indeed weirder than me. But it is still a close race on who reigns in the weirdness department.

And when two weirdos join forces, this is what happens.

Christmas 2001. 

A little funny, but not overboard. We started off innocently enough. Also, we made the firm decision that everyone we know gets a card and a picture, no exceptions. This includes but is not limited to: our friends, relatives, accountants, pastors, boss’, etc.

Sometimes, I regret this decision.
Like pretty much every year.

And then, Christmas 2002.

We were in Boston on tour with Hubby’s band. We had to make do with what we had, and this is what we chose. It’s pretty cute, I think.
Man, I loved those mittens.

Christmas 2003.

By far our most normal picture to date. We took this at the Flea Market in Tulsa where we get our ornament for the year. Subsequently, I broke this ornament in 2009. Geesh….I am such a clutz sometimes.

However….Life really can take some twists and turns, can’t it?

Christmas 2004 was a tough one. No card or picture was sent out that we can recall. We were more concerned with the small explosion that happened at the end of 2004.

To commemorate the explosion, we sent this picture out for Christmas 2005.  As you can see, our house blew up. It was a miracle not a soul was hurt, but that is a whole other story.
And we knew our lives and the expectations on our Christmas card pictures would never be the same.

Christmas 2006. 

A missions moment with the Greiman’s.

Christmas 2007. 
How do I explain why we decided to do this? I can’t and won’t.

Bananas in hammocks for Christmas 2008. 
I wouldn’t recommend trying to drive around in one of these costumes.

Christmas 2009.
Merry Poop-mas. My pastor didn’t say a word about receiving his card this year.

Christmas 2010.I have never felt more beautiful in all my life…And crazy.

Christmas 2011. We explored our Germanic roots.

What’s better than giving Satan a wedgie? Nothing, that’s what. Christmas 2012-full of heavenly humor.

2013 Christmas Card Photo. The year of the dork.
 

He’s just not that into baths

He’s just not that into baths….
It’s very typical to have a cat that doesn’t like water. I know you’ve heard it before.

But this giant fur ball was brought down to size by the strong hand of a bath and the pictures are worth sharing.

The unsuspecting kitty.

Little does Cowboy Cat know that he needs a bath…and needs it bad.

A visiting kitty (who will remain nameless) brought fleas to our giant fur ball.

Cowboy Cat investigates his arch nemesis.

The fur ball’s worst fear is realized. Lather, rinse, repeat.