So you may have noticed...

that I didn't get the pictures up as I hoped. The camera is somewhere in the house, but it is still MIA at the moment. I have had a headache since Monday so I haven't really put in a lot of time looking. So in the meantime here are more cat stories.

I still haven't got the tree up but I have most of the other decorating done - and one of the things we have are the little stuffed singing things that Hallmark had the past few years - I am not sure if there is one this year or not - with the snowmen, penguins, dogs, etc. Well, every time I start them up Virgil and Barney come running and just stare in fascination at them. Virgil was the same way with them last year.

I also put lights on the palm tree that they keep trying to eat - they love them and think they are balls (they are big color changing round bulbs with led's in them). They seem to think that the lights are toys for them. I am most worried about the stuff in the back bedroom window because Barney keeps wanting to play with the cords - not only is it the issue of him biting and electrical cord, but he could pull them down and have one land on him - a few are pretty heavy. I squirted him a few times and he stopped, and hasn't done it since. He didn't bother them until yesterday, and it may be because I was changing some stuff around (I should add - we have all blue and white led's in back - it is crazy bright, and then the more Christmas themed stuff in front - if you think I had a lot of lights on Halloween, well, lets just say if you can't see our house from space then I am not doing my job. I will have pics once the tree is up). He also keeps trying to pull down the little plastic light holders in the front - they just love those things.

While I was putting the lights on the banister inside (oh, yes, we decorate the actual inside too, not just the windows) he did his whole thing where he lays on his side and then launches himself off the wall. It was on carpet but it still worked pretty well. He was on the landing so he didn't fall - but I swear sometimes he is a little too daredevil for me.

Kirzon is continuing his quest to be #1 cat - and he has gotten very good at it. He is also, for reasons I don't understand, suddenly having a good time bothering me when I try to sleep. He paws at my hair, he stands on me, he stares. Now, when he does it in the morning I get it - he wants me up to feed him. But I feed them before bed, so I know he isn't hungry. I try to be snuggly with him but sometimes he is so needy and just won't stay where I need him to - he climbs on me and since I have no muscles it hurts, and so I move him over. Then he goes back and does it again like 5 or 6 times, then he gets offended and leaves.

Lola is perkier lately - I think winter is more her season because her allergies aren't bad - they are better now that she is older but they are pretty much non-existent in winter. She is snuggly too. I am trying to get her and Barney to get a long - they will sit near each other but it usually involves a lot of yelling.

Virgil still loves to knock stuff down. He is still the sweetest little guy but not snuggly like I want him to be (although he does snuggle sometimes). I have to admit that to me he is just such a beautiful cat - all the others are cute but Virgil is so sleek and just gorgeous.

Barney, well, he is still cute as the dickens, and still mischevious as ever. His eyes are still goopy - I am bumping him back up to twice a day on his eye junk and if that doesn't help by next week he will be visiting the vet. He is also showing another spot where the fur is thinner - on his belly where is brown spot is. His armpits are growing back - I think it is stress grooming because he is very fastidious when he cleans, and seems much more aggressive about it. It started before Floyd passed but not long before - I am wondering if he knew something bad was going on with Floyd at the time. He isn't too bad when I am home but I am keeping an eye on him and try to distract him if he gets obsessive. It hasn't been long since Floyd left so I am going to wait and see a bit - if he keeps it up it will also mean a vet visit.

So last night I couldn't sleep (which is odd for me because I have narcolepsy and can usually sleep very well). Barney always sleeps near me, and he always knows if I am awake - usually because I start to rearrange the pillows so I can move. Last night I rolled over, and he came up and decided to sleep on my right ear. I have to admit it - I like when he does it because he always slept up by my head when he was a baby. After a while of that I still couldn't sleep, and my shoulder started to hurt, so I gently moved him and rolled on my side - he has learned that when I put him down next to the body pillow and tell him to wait that he should stay there until I am settled and then he can find a spot he likes - again, always near my face (though not on it). So he did that last night, and got all comfy. I woke up again later, he was still there, but I wanted to roll over so I held him to my chest, rearranged everything and flipped over with him still being held - he ended up facing the opposite direction, laying on his other side, not even knowing he was moved.

OK, so it is now about 5 hours after I started this - I got busy at work, then did some visiting of other blogs, then it was time to go. So the good news is when I got home I found the camera! So there are now pictures below. There are a couple of Barney in the reindeer costume, as best as I could get at least, and then a few of Barney and Lola fighting, then a couple of Lola trying to crawl under some papers and hide, and one of Barney. I will try to get more of Virgil and Kirzon up tomorrow.