• Family

    Refrigerator. Cat.

    November 23, 2023 - By 

    We are spending this Thanksgiving with family in Iowa, at our new house on the lake. We drove up Tuesday afternoon, once the kids were released from school, and it was cold, dark, and late when we pulled in. We unloaded our stuff and went straight to bed. Wednesday morning we woke up bright and early (also, I may have forgotten to turn off my weekday alarm) and set about getting our grocery shopping and other miscellaneous pre-Thanksgiving errands done. I returned from a mid-afternoon supply run to find the household in a panic. The basement refrigerator had suddenly stopped…

  • Fun

    New Home Decor

    October 20, 2020 - By 

    My previous cat Maia used to relax very strangely on chairs. Visit this post to see the pictures then pop on back here: Home Decor I thought this was weird. But apparently, all cats are weird? Or maybe just mine. Because Phoebe does the exact same thing: Forget the cat beds or fancy cat houses, give her a people chair and she’s all set. (If you look closely at the image above, you’ll see the china dishes – the ones that survived the bowling ball incident – safely stowed away.

  • Fun - Travel

    Cats and Chickens

    December 12, 2018 - By 

    I went to Key West and I mostly took photos of cats and chickens. No, seriously. If you’ve ever been to the southernmost point of the United States, then you’re aware that chickens – both hens, roosters, and their offspring – freely roam the streets. These so-called “gypsy chickens” are super cute if you’re a tourist, and – I would imagine – super annoying if you’re a resident. I was a tourist and therefore, I delighted in taking photos of these wild fowl. And since you see them everywhere… well, I ended up with lots of photos of chickens doing…

  • RemoteDance

    Acts of Desperation

    July 14, 2010 - By 

    It should be common knowledge by now that the cat is on a diet. Which, of course, she hates. We have an automatic feeder for her, set to go off at 6pm every evening and dispense 1/4 cup of cat food. Every evening, at 5pm, Maia can be found sitting patiently next to the feeder, and she will sit there for an hour until it makes the magic noise at 6pm which means the food is about to fall into the bowl. Sometimes, however, she gets a little desperate. Like a little kid at a candy machine, she knows where…

  • RemoteDance

    Crazy Cat Lady

    April 8, 2010 - By 

    I used to tell people that if I never met The One, I would grow up to be the “crazy cat lady.” You know, the weird sweet little old lady who lives down the block in a 2-bedroom craftsman-style house with her 5 million cats. AND/OR: I’d be like the lady I encountered on an LA freeway last week, putzing along with multiple bumper stickers proclaiming her love for all things feline: Thankfully for all involved, I did meet The One, and he has a strict “2-cat maximum” policy. But I still love my cat. A LOT. I mean, if…

  • RemoteDance

    Diet Fail

    June 11, 2009 - By 

    As you may remember, the cat is on a diet. But, as you may also remember, she is not losing any weight. We finally figured out why. One night, we were in our room getting ready for bed, when we heard a noise coming from the kitchen. Crunch. Crunch. Crunch. (pause) Crunch. Crunch. I looked at Chris. He looked at me. “Did you hear that?”“Yeah, it sounded like—““Someone eating the dog food?”“Well, Chloe’s in her kennel, so who…” We opened the door and turned on the light in the kitchen. And there she was. The cat was eating the dog food. Of course,…

  • RemoteDance

    The cat is on a diet

    April 25, 2009 - By 

    My cat is fat. Although, personally, I prefer to call it “extra fluffy.” Anyway, because my sweet little baby has a belly that wobbles back and forth as she runs, she has been on a diet… for a year. And she has not lost any weight. I believe this is primarily because she is lazy. It doesn’t matter if you only eat a quarter cup of food a day if all you do is sleep and lick yourself. Recently I had to take her to the vet for her annual vaccinations. We had the following conversation. Vet: You have a…