The Name Game

So I have seen a lot of our blog friends participating in The Name Game - explaining how you got your name. So I decided it would be fun to do for each of the cats (and I threw in some of their nicknames, and heck, even where my name came from).

Kirzon - is a misspelling of Curzon, a character on Star Trek:Deep Space 9. If he had been a girl, he would have been Jadzia. It is funny that we now have some kitty friends with those names - we think it is so cool. Kirzon's nicknames are Kirzy, Kirz, dude, and recently Old Man, since he is the oldest.

Lola - Originally I was going to go with Lolita, and Lola as a nickname. But that is too confusing, so it ended up we just always used Lola. No special place or anything that either came from. Her nicknames are Lo, LoLo, Lololololo, Gassy (she is a gassy girl) and crabby when she is well, being crabby.

Virgil - For some reason, starting a few years back, I started giving things the name Virgil. Virgil is the ancient poet who is also the tour guide to Hell and Purgatory in Dante's Divine Comedy. I think I must have started it after reading Inferno. So when we found out about him at the vets, I just instantly went to Virgil. He is also known as Virg, V, little tuxie boy, and sometimes V-Man.

Barney - Barney was tough. We found out about him at the vets and I told them I would think about it (knowing full well we would take him) and so on the drive home I started trying to think of names because nothing came to me instantly (there are a lot of cute names I though of but since I knew other cats with the same names I decided not to use those.) I started going through the names on the TV shows I watch. I only needed to get to Monday - Barney is actually Barney Stinson (Stinson is his middle name) after Neil Patrick Harris's character on How I Met Your Mother. He is usually Barn, Barnacle (which fits because he is snuggly) snugglebug, and Smiley Joe (because he is always smiley)

Gus - Gus is another one where I went through TV shows I like - this time he is named after Gus from Psych. If you went with a full name it would really be Guster Burton (the character is Burton Guster on the show but they call him Gus). If for some reason we had found out after Gus was Gus that he was a girl (and believe me, we are positive he isn't) then he would still be Gus. The kittens don't have too many nicknames but Gussy and GussyGus are two we have for him - I also call him my little creamsicle boy (because they are both orange and white).

Stella - Stella actually was named that by her first human mom. I was originally going to go with Trixie for a girl (strangely, Trixie was Lola's original name) and then when we were thinking of second names (we had already said we would take 2 kittens - even before they were born we told the vets office to let us know if any were dropped off again this year) and we thought it had to go with Lola and Trixie - first we thought of Mabel, but then Stella came up. It was actually going to be the name used after Trixie but then Stella was already named it, and really she seems like a Stella. We were kind of trying for a roller derby girl kind of feel (Lola, Trixie and Stella all work for that, as would Roxy or Mabel). As it turns out it never occurred to me at the time that there was also a Stella on How I Met Your Mother - but seriously that is not where it came from. So our next girl kitty will be Trixie. Stella also hasn't got too many nicknames yet, but she has gotten Stell, Stelly, and StellyBelly.

And, just for the record, my name (Amy Beth) was picked by my mom from one of her favorite books, Little Women. If I have any nicknames I am not aware of them (probably for good reason!)

Oh, and as for the pic from yesterday of all 6 - that was natural, with no treats involved (believe me if there were treats no one would have been sleeping). I think it is because Brad is out of town. Virgil just wandered by - it isn't unusual for the other 5 to be on the same sofa (though that close is not as common) - I was sitting next to them, and Virgil came by (he likes to sit on the cabinet behind the couch) and sat down for a few - I was so shocked at first I didn't want to grab the camera, but it was pretty close so I lucked out. He left about 2 minutes after the picture so he was there maybe 5 or 6 minutes total. Oh, and you can see that they are on a blue blanket with the other blankets nearby - that is because I am keeping the new sofas covered for now because I was afraid since Lola can't get to the bed, she might try the couches - they have plastic under the blankets (which is why the other stuff fell - everything slides down) to be safe but there haven't been any problems, so the plastic will go soon (but will be kept just in case - oh, and thanks to I think it was Jacqueline, who suggested using inexpensive shower curtain liners when the bed was an issue - we are using those on the couch - they work great!). Also if you don't see us visiting as much it is because with Brad gone for the week (his cousin is in from Sweden, and usually Brad, the cousin and Brad's parents take a week long trip while he is in - I don't go with) I am getting a LOT done at home. Like seriously a ton of organizing!

And don't forget to read down to my earlier posts! We have a bunch of doggies who could use some purrs and woofs down there!