Aby-a-Day – 25 Maj: This time last year…(Swedish Saturday)

I thought I would chip away at my massive backlog today…

This time last year, we hadn’t gotten Izaak yet, and we were showing Lorelai the outside world on the end of a leash.

Well, she was only three months old…but I think these early outings laid the foundation for her being so good offleash outside now.

Look how little she was!

Even though she was so small, she was still fearless.

Of course, she had her big brothers with her to protect her. Not only Alfred…

…but Jacoby as well.

Rory was lucky to grow up with two protective big brothers.

Aby-a-Day – 23 Maj: “A corner of the mournful kingdom of sand”(Thursday Things)

Lorelai loves the sandy area around the swings in the yard behind our house. I don’t know what it is. But when we go back there, it’s because she’s run back there.

And it’s not like she thinks it’s just an enormous litter box. I mean, she’s not Alfred!

No, I just think she likes the way it feels on her feet and how she can dig and dig without ever hitting a bottom.

Izaak is…trying to see what she sees in it.

He’s not quite understanding what she thinks is so awesome about it, but he’s really trying.

Just when he’s starting to appreciate the sandy goodness…

…Rory shows up.

And proceeds to tell Zak that he doesn’t know how to enjoy the sand properly and he’s doing it all wrong.

Uh, Rory? I think this is an example of “to each his own.”

Aby-a-Day – 20 Maj: It’s not as easy to make a 29 second video of a cat running down a hill as it looks…(Movie Monday)

So I am pretty proud of my Little House on the Prairie spoof with Izaak running down the hill that I posted yesterday. Mainly because it looks so perfect…but it wasn’t as easy as it looked.

Someone on Facebook asked me why I put Zak in Slo-Mo. Well…the reason is…he runs too fast when he gets going. This is the first part of what I ended up using…a whopping five seconds.

Here’s the ending bit. Don’t blink or you’ll miss it. So yeah, you can see why it was slowed down.

But it really took a lot more work than it looked. We had Lorelai and Alfred out there, too…my original thought was to have Rory and Zak running together down the hill. That just didn’t work out. Here are all the takes we did…with the original sound.

Aby-a-Day – 18 Maj: “I think I’ll go for a walk outside now, the summer sun’s callin’ my name…” (Swedish Summer)

In both New England and Sweden, a pleasant sunny day is like a special gift, not to be squandered. One must go out and enjoy the good weather while it lasts…because, in both places, wait five minutes and it’ll change.

Take today, for example. It was raining so hard that it woke me up. Anyone who knows me, knows what a difficult thing that is to do.

But a couple of weeks ago? It was gorgeous outside, and we absolutely needed to get outside and enjoy it.

And oh, how Lorelai and Izaak enjoyed it.

The way they interact outside is so different from the way they interact inside. They are best buds, the two who grew up together, the cat show team, the “kittens.”

They play chase games in the house, but it’s taken to a whole other level when they’re outside. They are pretty evenly matched: Zak is older and heavier, but Rory is faster and sneakier.

I know we don’t have a subway to ride, or a city to explore, but we can run around free outside…and that’s a fun option to have.

Aby-a-Day – 17 Maj: NOM nom nom…(Friday Flashback)

I make a photo family calendar for my mom every year – that’s the only gift she really wants. May’s page is a collage of various cat show photos of Izaak and Lorelai.

Since I am reminded every day this month of the time Rory tried to nom her NOM rosette…I thought you should, too.

Aby-a-Day – 16 Maj: Kalle’s couch brings all the boys to his room (Thursday Things)

Alfred and Logan were truly “Brothers from another mother,” and when Logan died so young and so suddenly, poor Freddy was probably the most affected by our loss.

Lorelai’s arrival a month after Logan’s death helped Freddy cope. But then when Izaak joined our family a month and a half after Rory, it took Freddy a little while to accept little Zakky.

As Singapuras are wont to do, Zak kept cuddling up to Freddy in spite of Fred’s opinion. Fast forward almost a year, and Freddy and Zak are usually found cuddled up together…especially on my legs whilst I’m asleep.

Another of their favourite napping spots, especially on sunny afternoons, is on the couch in Kalle’s room.

Okay, so Freddy and Zak aren’t the bonded pair that Freddy and Logan were…partly because Zakky loves everyone in his way. He’s also closely bonded with Lorelai, of course, and he had an…interesting…relationship with Jacoby. I’ve even caught Angel playing with him! But Freddy and Zak have their own special connection, being the two boys in the house.

“I can make anybody love me! So there!”

Aby-a-Day – 13 Maj: The fine line between peace and war (Hipstamatic Monday)

This afternoon, the cutest little scene unfolded on the sofa next to me.

Izaak came to join Lorelai on the Ikea cat bed where she was alternating between napping and birdwatching.

And Zak started to groom Rory.

It was so adorable and sweet.

At one point, Rory seemed to be a little over Zak grooming her.

But then she succumbed to the ministrations of Zak’s tongue.

It really was a touching, lovely moment…

…until, suddenly, it wasn’t.