If you are allergic to a thing, it is best not to put that thing in your mouth, particularly if the thing is cats. – Lemony Snicket
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Category Archives: Animals
I love animals! These posts are about cats, non-cats, behavior, health, animal welfare and rights, animals in the news, pets, animal humor, animals in the wild, you name it.
Kitty Derps
You might not believe this, but my cats are not always completely photogenic. I’d say, that on average, it requires about 10 derpy photos to get one good photo of any one of my cats. So here’s my gift to you: a gallery of my kitty derps. Don’t tell Jesse, Sam, Momo, Oliver or Abbey, because 1) they will be very embarrassed; 2) they might exact revenge by posting a gallery of Marci derps (and there are many, I tell you); and 3) they might kill me in my sleep. They have tried before; I am lucky to be here.
Abbey says grrrrr…
Sam’s letting all her nips show!
Oliver sniffing my camera.
Wink, wink, Momo!
Jesse’s letting it all hang out!
My Reputation…Dare I Say It? Yes, In Haiku Form.
Today’s post comes to you from The Daily Prompt, which asks: “Do you have a reputation? What is it, and where did it come from? Is it accurate? What do you think about it?” I have chosen to answer these questions in the form of haiku, accompanied by illustrative diagrams. Enjoy!
| Since I have five cats And you have only one, I state proudly, “I WIN!” |
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Litter in my bed, |
| Two plus three is five And I was the one with two. Spouse: Crazy Cat Guy. |
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I love to snuzzle |
| Clothes covered with hair, White on black, black on white. But I still want these pants. |
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“Achooo! I love you!” |
| It’s 2 am; do you really need food now? Yes, we will starve to death. |
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Vancouver in February? Screw That! Hellooo, Arizona!
February is the PERFECT time to escape the Pacific Northwest. It’s rainy, overcast, gray, possibly snowy (or slushy, more likely) and you’re probably itching to see the sun right about now. Seasonal Affective Disorder makes me so SAD!!! So, why not go somewhere warm and sunny? It’s Valentine’s Day weekend, AND I’m turning 40 later this month, so Chris and I decided to turn mid-February into a Sunny-VD-BD Extravaganza by heading out to Sedona, Arizona!
I did a lot of hiking, camping and backpacking in the arid desert canyon-country parts of the US while I was in grad school (Fort Collins, CO, by the way) and I haven’t seen these parts in YEARS. I really miss the desert – as I biologist I’m completely fascinated by how various life forms have evolved and adapted to survive in such a harsh environment. Further, the rock formations make you feel like you’re on a completely different planet. So, I’m very excited to get back to the desertish parts of the country and enjoy the sun, fresh air, and warm temperatures! Happy birthday to ME!
We left EARLY on Thursday morning, flying out from Portland, stopping in Phoenix, and arriving in Flagstaff. We picked up a car and decided to eat lunch at MartAane’s Burrito Palace, which was AMAZING…if you like BLTs and grilled cheese sandwiches and guacamole, the Ultimate BLT is for you. I highly recommend the curly fries, as well. And a strange aside, they DO NOT offer diet soda! Oh well, I’m on vacation, right? Yum!
The smallest baggage claim ever, discovered at the Flagstaff Airport.
I ate this whole thing. Do I regret it? My answer is no. I know you are jealous.
MartAnne’s – Amazing artwork by Emma Gardner graces the walls.
We had some time to kill before our hotel room was going to be ready, so we headed over to Williams and spent a couple of hours at Bearizona, where you can ride an open-air bus (or drive your own car, should you wish to exercise that particular insurance risk) around the park and see wolves, bears, sheep, buffalo and all sorts of other critters. We had a good time feeding the goats in the Bearizona Barn Yard, but watch your fingers! Chris almost came away with only nine of his!
Just a few pictures of Bearizona…if you request them, I can send you about 200 more. Lemme know.
Finally, we headed down 89A through Oak Creek Canyon and arrived in Sedona at the Amara Hotel. Just in time for sunset. Just in time for desert and drinks (the Almond Joy actually does taste like Almond Joy candy bars, and I had to get three of them just to make sure that this assessment was correct). What will the rest of this vacation bring? You’ll just have to wait for the next installment to find out!
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At least I’m not allergic to Lucky Charms
Yesterday I was a happier person. Albeit, I was a person who sneezed and sniffled and had a nose so itchy I wanted to rip it off my face and throw it on the ground, (like so, below) but I was happier. I was a person who was not diagnosed as being allergic to anything.
Which I thought was odd, since my nose was determined to become the slimiest creature on earth, a title which is technically owned by eels, who produce the most slime per unit body mass of any other animal on earth. Why, nose, why go for such a title? How about something a little less mucousy and sneezy? I argued with my nose about the issue, but she was not having any of it. Hence, yesterday I took myself down to the allergy center to get tested so that I could potentially dash my nose’s dreams of becoming permanently disgusting.
You might notice that allergen 2 seems to be a lot angrier than the control (-) or allergen 1. Can you guess what it is that I am allergic to? I will give you five guesses (that’s your hint, btw).
So let’s start over again. Yesterday, before allergy testing, I was a happier person. When I walked into my house, this is what I used to see:
Awwwwww, right??? Look at those itty bitty kitties! So snuggly and cute (well, the white one looks a little demonic, but for the most part, they are pretty freaking adorable). WELL NOT ANYMORE, JACK, because since I’ve been allergy tested, all I see now when I walk in the door is this:
Which will inevitably lead to this:
And then this:
Or else this:
Which will obviously end up with me like this:
and
Until finally, I’m like:
And ultimately like this:
What’s a girl to do? How can I be a crazy cat lady AND be allergic to cats? Oh, the bitter, bitter irony. You taste like cat fur and litter box dust, all rolled up into one huge hairball of sneeze. Why, sucky immune system, why???
The good news is that I am willing to live the rest of my life taking potentially unhealthy doses of nasal steroids and antihistamines every day (or at least until all the cats die and I run out of cat refills). Also, I did not take any tests yesterday that indicated I am allergic to Lucky Charms cereal. So wow, bright side it is. Suck it, universe.
We’re pleased to announce 2013’s Cat of the Year Award…
The Grammy’s. The Emmy’s. The Golden Globes. Even the Academy Awards. They all pale in comparison to the Sigman-Koski Awards, which has one highly-coveted CATegory: that’s, right, CAT OF THE YEAR! And without further ado, the winner of the 2013 Cat of the Year Award is….
Jesse, who just turned 15 years old this past January 3rd, won paws down for being the best cat in the Sigman-Koski household during 2013. His primary talents include snuggling on the couch with humans during nap time, purring, inciting the wrath of Oliver (which mostly involves growling), and avoiding food-bowl conflicts. Congratulations, Jesse! We love you!
And for those of you who read or watch Game of Thrones:
Our House Sigil:
Shit. It’s my turn to do the litter tonight. :o(
Anniversary, Table for Two!
Today is Chris and my second anniversary. Yay! Two of my happiest years ever, back to back. I’m so fortunate to have found him, and that he willingly puts up with all my quirks and foibles. Last weekend we got away for a couple of nights, staying at Abbey Road Farm B&B, the same place where we stayed three years ago when we were dating. We did some wine tasting, gambling, goat frolicking…wait, what? Yes, goat frolicking! These little guys were only a week old when we saw them…soooo precious! The little lambkins were super cute too, but they were a bit older, 5-6 weeks. Here are a few picture for you to enjoy!
Celeste and her two little boys.
Baby goat kisses!
Mabel and her three kids. We actually milked Mabel three years ago.
Cats cats cats cats cats!!!
Our cats are enjoying the sun that rarely shows itself during winter in the Pacific northwest. How many cats can you find in the below picture? Hint: one of them ran away just before I snapped the photo. Dang it, Abbey!!!
And when it comes to sharing, Samantha needs to recognize that it’s not her cat bed. Well, it’s not Oliver’s either, and he needs to recognize that there is not room for two cats, especially if one of them is Oliver-sized. Poor Samantha!
Just for that, Samantha gets my favorite Grumpy Cat meme:
Getting Our Paint On
Look at us getting our painting on! Chris and I took a painting class at a studio called The Loaded Brush, where you get all the materials you need for a painting, plus beer and wine if you’d like. It was so much fun! We signed up for the Chat Noir class, and had a great time. It was really interesting seeing how everyone’s paintings differed, even though we all painted the same picture. The instructor was very good and did a great job going step-by-step throughout the process of creating our paintings. We think we might even go back for another class sometime!
Fuzzy Undertones 
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