Amber & Blizzard

So, I am sick.  I was so sick on Christmas Eve, my mom and dad had to drive me back because I couldn't have taken the train.  While I am here, stuck in bed, under my cozy new comforter (another thanks to mom and dad) eating coconut balls (thanks to Auntie Carol) and surrounded by cats (thanks to Woody, Tiggy, Ginger and Pickles), this is what is happening outside.

 

Danger! Decorations!

Some days, you are glad to be in bed.

Amber & Dead On

I like this better than the original, maybe.



Sadly, I am not a monster.

Amber & Emergency Evacuation

My commute was two hours long this morning.  WTF, MTA?  I switched to the F at 49-50th Street only to have it stop in the tunnel.  For 30 minutes.  The automated robot voice kept saying we were stopped "while the train crew is investigating track debris."  But then the real live conductor came on and told us that there was a problem with the emergency brake.  I didn't pull it.  I swear.

Anyway, about 20 minutes into the stall, they announced we could leave the train through the front car and walk along a little ledge onto the platform at 42nd Street.  This was a scenario I had not planned for. I mean, I am ready if the Cloverfield monster comes, but I am not ready to go meet those little bug guys on their turf.

Luckily, after this traumatic experience, which also involved me discovering one of my significantly-located shirt-button-holes was too large and was venting my chest on its own, I had my new Eileen Fisher catalog to comfort me.  It's 72 pages on lovely over-sized paper with close ups of fabric.

Thank you, catalog porn.

Amber & Woodra Pooja

Today is the second of the annual kitty poojas!  Happy Woodra Pooja every one!

(photo by James)

Like, Gigi, Woody has a dual nature that we celebrate on this special day.  Woodrow Wilson Gutherie Feline is both an incredible snuggle monster, always close by and looking for under-leg tummy rubs...

But also the world's crankiest old man cat, barely tolerant of the affections of his little brothers.

Thus, Woody teaches us that we are all compassionate, but that being nice doesn't mean letting others walk all over us (or chew our necks).  Woody reminds us that, through it all--even if we start out a small snake-eyed frizzy beast...

...even through Elizabethan Collars and knee surgery...

(photo by James)

...our foremost duty is to honor and respect the miracle of life and to enjoy every day that we can spend with our fellow living creatures-- especially if they provide us with environments.

 To celebrate Woodra Pooja, there be lots of ritualistic face rubbing, with the customary shedding of great amounts of facial fur.  Thus, we coat ourselves with the essence of Woody: softness.

(photo by James)

Once the rubbing has completed, there will be some eating of wet food mixed with water, plenty of sink hands (with Woody perched on the edge of the tub--not on the sink) and then we will repeat the cheek rubbing and coating of our pants in fur, pretty much every time we sit down.

There will be the traditional offering of a cup of water out of which I have taken sips for paw bathing and drinking.

(photo by James)

And there will be appreciation of how beautiful and special all living things are.  And we may even get weepy thinking about how lucky we are to have such magical and unique interspecies friends who mean so much to us every day and give us unconditional* love.

And then there will probably be more lap time.

Happy Woodra Pooja!

*Unconditional as long as there is wet food, clean litter and belly rubbing.

Amber & AAAAAAAGH!

It's the three-headed monster of cuteness.

Amber & Gifts for the Little Guys

We here at Amber & aren't really doing much holiday shopping this year. Thankfully, my friends and I have exchanged the greatest gift of all: not exchanging gifts so that we can avoid that big ugly boot of capitalism stomping all over our mid-winter spirits. But, there are some small gifts that need to be given for those too small to understand that Santa can still love them without forking over presents.  I mean, of course, cats.

Here at Amber &, we recommend Dr. Earl S. Pussum's Fancy Feline Elixir Organic Catnip.  Now, not all cats love catnip, but if they are genetically disposed to love it, they will really, really love Dr. Pussum's.

I promise. Santa came a little early over the weekend to our house, mainly because Pickles was mewing for play and I was stuck in bed with a cold-ridden head that felt like it weighed a ton.  The jolly fellow of the North brought four sacks of Dr. Pussum's one for each monster in my house.

Woody chose to use his as a pillow, because, well, he's an old guy who likes to nap.  Notice the one eye watching me to make sure my photography doesn't disturb his rest?

Tiggy is under the bed with hers.  And Ginger is up on top of the dresser with his.  I guess neither of them wants their moments of pleasure documented.

Pickles, however, took a far more traditional, and yet predictably Pickles, approach to his Dr. Pussum's sack: trying to bite off one of the corners and spill the contents all over my bed.

He's demonstrating his special skill of biting and licking at the same time.  And here, he is showing classic Crazy Head.

When I write my encyclopedia of cat care, that photo will be used to illustrate the Crazy Head entry.

Note the back foot action as I play tug of war.  That's my boy.

Dr. Pussum's, I tell you.

Amber & Contingency Plans

I love having two plus two cats. Yes, the kittens are a little nutty, and, yes, they have chewed through many wires causing my personal electronic devices much trouble, and, yes, they did bring ailments into the house that resulted in Woody having Schaubhut-deemed-unnecessary dental surgery, but have you heard about all of the boys snuggling on the couch together?

There's one catch I have to deal with right away: What do we do when the Cloverfield Monster comes?In the old plan, I loaded Tiggy and Woody into the larger Sherpa and jumped on my bike and head for the GWB. Having seen the movie, I know he'll spend a fair amount of time making his way up here from lower Manhattan, so I have a pretty good chance... if I can find my tire pump.

But with two plus two, do I cram all of the buddies into one bag? Or can I pedal with two bags?

Maybe I need to get a sidecar?
That's sure going to be a pain getting up and down the stairs.

Amber & Grouchiness

I've had a frustrating work week. But, it's hard to stay grumpy when you're in the middle of a botanical paradise. The daffodils are beginning to bloom, the cherries are sprouting, and even the corylopsis reminds me that it's spring.



I sure love my job-- weeds and carbon-copy forms in triplicate that have to be manually typed and all.

Plants are like the kitty cat who defends my Tokyo from the Grumpzilla monster.