Aby-a-Day – 23 Augusti: “When you put the whole picture together, recycling is the right thing to do” (Hipstamatic Monday)

Sweden is well-known for its recycling system. We used to have to go to several different places to recycle (paper and cardboard were in our område, but metal, glass and plastic were in other areas around town.

But two years ago, we got two consolidated underground recycling stations in our område. It is so much more convenient!

And, we can take the cats with us, turning a mundane chore into a fun outing.

The stations have kiosks for regular household trash, food garbage (which is turned into fuel for buses and home heating), coloured glass, clear glass, metal, cardboard, paper, and plastic.

It’s also an amazingly clean and odourless place, too, considering it’s a place people bring their trash.

The stations also don’t attract scavenging corvids, seagulls, or rats. Just Abyssinians and Singapuras.

One other nice thing about the recycling stations is that you can meet your neighbours. I think the whole concept of these tidy little stations is brilliant.

Aby-a-Day – 22 Augusti: “You cannot handle my swag” (Cinema Singapura Sunday)

As you might recall, I have been trying to document Izaak’s swagger for a while now.

Yesterday, when we took the cats outside for a walk, I think I finally managed to get it.

You can really see his bum swing in this series of photos.

Compare the way Zak walks compared to the way Alfred walks. Freddy’s back stays straight and he bends his wrists and ankles more.

Here’s a short video showing Zak’s Singa swagger on YouTube.

Aby-a-Day – 21 Augusti: “The lion crouches in the tall grass. The gazelle sniffs the air. The awful stillness before the strike” (Swedish Saturday)

This afternoon, we took the cats outside. The grass on the hill is really tall right now, and Izaak was looking at it longingly.

Because he always follows me everywhere, I went down the hill myself to give him a little push.

And, of course, Zak marched down the hill to meet me.

I love watching him move through the grass. It’s almost like he’s swimming through it.

Meanwhile, Alfred was coming back up the hill.

The grass where Freddy was is even taller than the grass Zak was in.

Lorelai was in the tall grass, too. Even though she was restricted by her leash, her joy at being outside after a week of rain was undiminished.

Everytime I see the cats in the tall grass, I wonder what it must be like to be a small cat in the big world, where walking through tall grass is like strolling through a jungle.

Aby-a-Day – 18 Juli: My sweet summer child (Swedish Singapura Sunday)

You may recall, I have been working on a Four Seasons of Izaak project and a couple of weeks ago I took some Summer photos.

I wasn’t completely happy with them compared to the Winter and Spring photos.

Also, the tree looks more “summery” now than it did last month because now, the cherries are ripening.

So, when we went outside yesterday, I put Zak up in his tree and took some more photos.

Just like last time, he climbed up the branch, used it like a scratching post, and tried to eat the lichen.

Zak is pretty good at moving around up in the branches.

I think he really enjoys his tree time.

In the end, this shot is the one I’ll use as Summer in the project. And, like the Spring photo, I may have touched it up a teensy bit in Photoshop…but only three layers, no big deal.

Aby-a-Day – 17 Juli: A curious series of events (Serious Saturday)

Okay. Today was…weird. Strange. Mysterious. And not a little bit scary. It has many layers to it. It starts earlier this week, when I bought a used tricycle.

Since Covid, my balance is a bit off and my Dutch bike is getting harder to ride, especially when I am carrying things. But good tricycles are expensive, and cheap ones are…unpredictable. I’d been looking on a Swedish used item selling website, but there was nothing. Then, on Wednesday, I happened to check it again…and there was one listed, in Skövde, for only 2900 kr (about $300 USD – wicked cheap). The trike had been put up the day before, so it really was serendipity. He delivered it Thursday. It’s going to take a bit of practice to get the hand of riding it (bicycles and tricycles handle very differently) and it needs some lights and reflectors.

Another point: Björn is away on a weekend gaming trip, since everyone is vaccinated. Last night, I was on my own, so I ordered those lights and reflectors on Amazon.se. As part of this shopping, I went out twice after sunset to look at the trike to see what I needed and where I could mount things. When I went out, I got a lot of mosquito bites. I also ran into my upstairs neighbours, who told me they were going on a trip in the morning (this becomes important later). I fell asleep watching Hamilton, woke up at 4am, and went to bed. Woke up at 10, itching like crazy, and took some Benedryl. I was reading in the bedroom (it’s cooler there during the day than in the living room) and the Benedryl made me doze off. When I woke up, it was almost 4pm.

Which meant the cats’ breakfast was late. I immediately went to feed them. Izaak and Lorelai weren’t around, but that’s actually kind of normal for them; Zak has been hiding from me when I feed him, especially in the morning because he doesn’t want to be shut up in the bedroom, and Rory likes to hang out on the balcony and eats later.

But it was bothering me. Afternoons, Rory sleeps on the end of the sofa, and Zak eventually comes out of hiding. Kalle and I searched the house; I had started a load of laundry and thought they might be shut in there, but they weren’t. Now I was getting worried. I started thinking they might be outside, but how? They didn’t get out when I went outside last night, because they were here for dinner. Around 5:30pm, I went outside, both to look for them and also to see if I could put the tail light back on the trike. As soon as I got to the trike, Zak appeared, yelling a blue streak!

“WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN!? WHY WAS I OUTSIDE? WHERE WERE YOU!?” And I couldn’t answer that, because I have no idea. But that means Rory was probably outside, too. I put Zak back inside and Kalle and I scoured the område. Kalle suggested we check with the Anderssons, and I told him they’d gone on a trip this morning. We looked everywhere, but couldn’t find her…but it occurred to me that late afternoon is Rory’s nap time. WHen I messaged Björn about it, he thought she might be napping under some bushes in one of her favourite spots, like near the sandbox. So, we decided to wait for an hour and try again. Kalle mentioned that the door wasn’t locked when he went shopping; he had forgotten that until after we searched. Alfred, as you know, can open the front door if it’s not locked, and when the Anderssons load their car, they block the door open. Kalle and I started theorising: The door somehow was left unlocked (I don’t remember NOT locking it, but I don’t remember actually locking it, either) and Freddy opened it. Zak, Rory and Freddy go out in the hallway, and the front door is open because of the neighbours’ trip. The Anderssons see Freddy and put him inside, but they don’t see the other two. I also knew no one had found her; she’s pretty well known in the område and all the children know her by name. She has two ID tags and nobody had called or checked the Blanket ID site.

Kalle suggested taking Zak with us when we went out to look for Rory, and I had been thinking the same thing. So, Zak and I go out to find Rory and Kalle was still getting ready…but there Rory was, right at the door, waiting to be let in! I have no idea when they got out, how long they’d been out, where they went…nothing. Just our theory of events, at least until the Anderssons get home. But, this shows that taking them outside often and in all seasons is a VERY good thing, because they know where they live. A lot of indoor cats don’t learn that, so if they do escape, they are easily disoriented and don’t know how to get home.

Epilouge: The Anderssons didn’t see the cats this morning. I just messaged Oksana, and she didn’t see Freddy, Zak or Rory this morning. The mystery continues. So much for all that CSI I’ve watched in my life.

Aby-a-Day – 12 Juli: Don’t let the cat out of the bag (Hipstamatic Monday)

Yesterday, we took some recycling out to the bins, and of course the cats came with us. Which, of course, drew the kids in like a magnet.

This one little boy, who we’ve seen outside as long as we’ve been taking the cats out, loves the cats…

…but his love tends to involve happy shrieks and picking them up. Alfred and Izaak generally get enough love and prudently run away and hide in the bushes. But Lorelai on her leash is a captive audience for his attention.

It’s funny. This boy loves the cats, but is also a little afraid of them. I don’t know what he thinks is going to happen or what he thinks Rory is going to do.

Eventually Rory went into one of our recycling bags. This fascinated the boy.

It also brought a little girl to look at Rory in a bag.

They had a pretty good time playing with the bag, Rory and the kids. It was cute to watch.

Aby-a-Day – 11 Juli: Izaak in the sticks (Swedish Singapura Sunday)

One of the times we took the cats out, Izaak rand down the hill and into the bramble.

He had to navigate a bunch of sticks down there.

He did a remarkable job, to be fair.

For an indoor cat, he does a pretty good job outside.

Aby-a-Day – 10 Juli: Silly sandy kitties (Silly Saturday)

I wanted to take the cats out today, but the weather had other plans. But I found these photos from an earlier. Lorelai just LOVES rolling in the sand.

Izaak, on the other hand, likes to dig. They are so fun to watch!

Aby-a-Day – 8 Juli: There’s a new kitty in town! (Thursday Things)

The other day I looked out the livingroom window and saw a little girl and her mom waling her cat on a leash!! I took photos with my long lens through the window, so they are a little blurry.

I don’t know anything about her, apart from she lives in the C block of our apartment building. I saw her in a first-floor window yesterday.

She reminded me so much of Kylie!

The white kitty was obviously very new to walking on a leash…

…but she was doing an excellent job!

I kind of wonder if I’m not a little responsible for this. I mean, back when I was in the SCA, I took Harri to events, and, suddenly, there were a lot of people bringing their cats out, too. I like to think I inspired this kitty adventure.

Aby-a-Day – 1 Juli: Sum-Sum-Summertime (Thursday Things)

So, you may recall that I took some lovely photos of Izaak and his tree in winter and spring. Well, the other day when we all went outside, I thought the tree was ready for the summer photo, so I put Zak in his tree.

At first, he thought about jumping down.

But then, Zak climbed even higher into the tree!

And…used the branch as a scratching post.

Juuuusssst before trying to eat the lichen on the tree. Cat won’t eat dry or wet cat food, but lichen he eats?

Eventually, Zak decided to come back down, and the photo session was over.

This one shot, though, is the one I think I’m going to use in the Four Seasons project.

Aby-a-Day – 28 Juni: Lorelai brings all the boys to the yard (Mischievous Monday)

Since we’ve had to keep Lorelai on a leash, the neighbourhood kids are asking to pet her, hold her, and walk her on her leash. Interestingly, it’s mainly boys who are asking! They get so excited when they see us, and if we’re out without the cats, they ask us when we’ll bring them out again.

It’s so much fun to watch them interact with Rory. And I get it…when I was a kid, I always wanted to “help” neighbours walk their dogs. There’s something about holding the end of a leash with an animal at the other end of it that’s like no other feeling.

Aby-a-Day – 27 Juni: “You must get high on lawn clippings, Jack, ’cause this ain’t grass, man. I’m telling you that.” (Swedish Sunday)

One thing all of the cats love to do when we go outside is chew on the grass. Alfred and Lorelai especially enjoy chomping on fresh, green bladage.

It’s funny. Izaak and Dashiell aren’t as much into eating grass. But it’s the first thing Freddy and Rory do when we open the front door.

Nom nom nom.

Sometimes, though, the camera catches some humourous faces.

Like this one. Freddy’s trying to catch moving grass…but he looks like he’s doing a heckin’ screm.

Aby-a-Day . Shadowing Izaak (Hipstamatic Monday)

It has been raining really hard for the past two days – lightning, thunder, and a tremendous amount of precipitation. Last week, however was sunny and bright.

When we went outside, I was struck by the way Izaak’s shadow looked. I had to take some Hipstamatic snaps of him.

Aby-a-Day – 19 Juni: Happiness is a warm puppy (Swedish Saturday)

A couple in the C part of our building recently got a Swedish Vallhund puppy. We’ve seen them walking him outside, but we had yet to be outside with the cats when they were training him.

Until last Thursday, when we took the recyclables out. As we know, Lorelai likes dogs. But she’s never really met a puppy before.

The pup is really young, and he’s squirmy and yappy. At first, Rory was a little taken aback.

But eventually they touched noses.

Then Alfred strolled up to meet the puppy, whose name is Toke (Pronounced “TOH-kuh”).

It was pretty funny to see how big Toke made Freddy look. Toke looks a little intimidated. Toke’s humans were happy to introduce him to our cats; they want to get a kitten as well.

And then Izaak joined the party.

“That sure is a funny-looking cat!”

“Wait…That’s no cat!”

Aby-a-Day – 13 Juni: Here’s looking at you, Lorelai (Selfie Sunday)

The other day when we took the cats outside, Björn got the idea to use his phone’s front camera to take some photos of Lorelai from a different angle.

Rory was standing on the rug frame, so Björn took photos of her from underneath.

I’ve got to admit…I never really thought about taking photos from below like this. Pretty brilliant, I think.

Rory seemed to like it, too.

Björn managed to get himself into a couple of the shots as well. I think they’re cute.

Aby-a-Day – 12 Juni: Ministry of Silly Walks (Silly Saturday)

Dashiell is a very beautiful and graceful cat.

As long as he’s standing still.

As handsome as Dash is, he has a very…awkward way of walking.

Standing: Gorgeous.

Walking…not so much.

Aby-a-Day – 7 Juni: A nice day outside (Hipstamatic Monday)

The other day I took Alfred, Lorelai and Izaak outside for a little romp.

I let Rory go out offleash, but I had it with me just in case she decided to be naughty. She was happy to jump into the tall grass on the hill.

Meanwhile, Zak investigated the big tree.

Later on, we made two discoveries: Markis, and catmip growing in the grilling area! Not sure how we never noticed it before. Maybe it’s new.

I wouldn’t have noticed it if it hadn’t been for Markis.

Zak is so funny…he really wants to be friends with Markis.

We also ran into the neighbour boy who loves Freddy. Freddy was sweet enough to let the boy pick him up, and the boy was thrilled. He knows all their names and calls out to them, it’s so cute.

Aby-a-Day – 6 Juni: Americans in Sweden (Swedish Sunday)

When we go outside with the cats, I do try to get Angel to come outside, too. But the last time we went out, Angel was happily ensconced on one of the chairs on the balcony. So, I let her be.

That didn’t stop her from joining us in her own way.

What was really adorable, though, was that Dashiell noticed her sitting on the railing watching us.

He was like, “Hey! Angel!”

Not sure if Angel is Juliet, Rapunzel, or Roxanne in this scenario.

Dash was the only cat who really noticed her. Alfred only saw her because he wanted to know what Dash was so interested in.

“Wait! No! Angel, come back!”

Aby-a-Day – 5 Juni: Daddy’s little girl (Swedish Saturday)

Sometimes, after being outside for a while, the cats slow down. That’s when we know it’s almost time to go back in the house.

Lorelai often gets up on Björn’s shoulder. She’s a very accomplished shoulder rider.

Izaak usually wants to stand or sit on me…but this time, he really looked like he wanted to be on Björn’s shoulder, too.

And Zak seems pretty put out that he can’t get up there, too.

Aby-a-Day . 2 Juni: Wordless Wednesday (Two boys, one tree)