Aby-a-Day – 30 Juli 2020: Sand warriors (Thursday Things)

Lorelai’s love affair with the sand area under the swings continues.

Rory ran over to the sand area all by herself. Unbeknownst to her, Izaak followed her. He thought it was an excellent chance to practice his stalking.

It was pretty easy, considering Rory was completely oblivious, busily digging in the sand.

At one point, she seemed to notice Zak sneaking up on her.

And then she just went back to rolling around.

Rory takes her sand rolling very seriously.

Step by step, Zak drew closer.

Well, that was anticlimactic.

After Zak’s epic stalk and pounce, Rory felt the need to do some more rolling around. Zak was not impressed.

Aby-a-Day – 24 Juni 2020: Wordless Wednesday (Lorelai found a feather!)

Aby-a-Day – 15 Maj 2020: Gun-Hee and his tail (Photoshop Friday Flashback)

Gun-Hee loved chasing his tail. I posted a video of him chasing it in 2007, and then, a few months later, I posted a
“non-video” version of him chasing his tail.

Later, I took my three favourite shots…

…separated them from their background…

…and made a sort of action-collage of the three.

I was so proud of this at the time, I even put it on a T-shirt…but looking at the original PSD file…YIKES! Those edges are so bad! I guess I have learned a thing or two in 13 years.

Aby-a-Day – 13 Maj 2020: Wordless Wednesday (When you try to use the litterbox at a show and your little sister is being a brat)

Aby-a-Day – 3 Maj 2020: Just some cats outside in springtime…(Cinema Sunday)

Yesterday, we took the cats outside for some exercise. We’ve had some days of rain, but even though it was a bit cloudy yesterday, the cats wanted to go out, so out we let them…

Lorelai, of course, LOVED it.

As did Alfred.

Dashiell, as I posted yesterday, had his own kind of fun outside.

When Izaak wasn’t striking poses…

…he was exploring the great outdoors with Rory.

I wish I could be as joyful as Freddy running outside in the daisies.

Here’s a short video of the four of them outside.

Aby-a-Day – 22 April 2020: Wordless Wednesday (Angel and Alfred outside)

Aby-a-Day – 18 April 2020: Izaak and Angel up a tree, round two (Silly Singapura Saturday)

As I posted last Sunday, Izaak and Angel’s cat tree battle has become an afternoon ritual.

Angel goes to hang out and chill on the top of the cat tree, Zak tries to unseat her, and she defends herself.

And she is 100% capable of defending herself. I mean, look at that hiss! She may have only two teeth, but this girl is FIERCE!

Angel has no problems keeping Zak in his place.

Zak attempts to take over the top again…

…but look at Angel’s cocked arm. She’s more than ready for him.

Zak makes one last half-hearted feint at Angel…

…and nearly falls out of the hole in the bottom of the house.

…and…Zak out.

Aby-a-Day – 12 April 2020: Izaak and Angel up a tree (Silly Singapura Sunday)

It’s become something of an afternoon ritual.

Izaak and Angel have a cat tree battle.

Angel occupies the top spot, and Zak occupies the house.

And then Zak attempts to storm the castle and take over the top.

He has some…interesting moves…

He’s very stealthy…

Okay, that’s just plain…what is that, even? What is that meant to accomplish?

May as well settle in, Zak. You’re not going to knock Angel off her perch.

Aby-a-Day – 9 April 2020: Good day, sunshine (Thursday Things)

Europe changed to Summer Time last Sunday, and that combined with a few really sunny days has given the cats some great sun puddles.

The other day, Lorelai was luxuriating in a sunbeam on the living room rug.

Look at that face..!

I swear she’s smiling.

And then, suddenly…she started playing with a goat hair catnip toy.

This was interesting because Rory doesn’t really play with toys. This is one of Alfred’s favourites. I got it at a cat show and it was called “Stinky Goat.” I think they steeped it in valerian root, because it is really stinky.

In a good way.

I swear though, if I hadn’t seen her and just saw the photos, I would have thought this was Izaak!

Aby-a-Day – 5 April 2020: More fun outside in the sunshine (Swedish Sunday)

Today I am sharing the rest of the outside adventure photos I took a couple of week ago but never posted. Starting with Dashiell and Lorelai outside.

Alfred following Dash and Rory down the hill.

I could have sworn I had already used this series of Rory bounding down the hill…but evidently I never did!

Same thing with these two of her loping along the walkway. They’re great! How have I not used them?

I love this one of Rory watching birds fly overhead.

Björn took these two of a very determined Izaak.

Zak and Dash are such buddies.

Our upstairs neighbour, Oksana (Markis’ human), loves Freddy because he is so cuddly. Apparently Markis is not much for snuggling his humans.

She loves the fact Freddy lets her just hold him.

She used to come downstairs just to get some cuddle time…haven’t been able to do that in a while, though.

It’s fun to watch them chase each other.

And to finish the collection, a couple of very cute portraits. Here’s Zak in the sunshine.

Freddy joins Zak in his sunbath.

And last but not least, Angel and her shadow.

Aby-a-Day – 23 Januari 2020: Fun under the covers (Thursday Things)

Lorelai loves to bury herself under our duvets.

And Izaak loves to attack the moving lump under the duvet.

It’s so funny to watch him stalk the lump.

I really should have made a video of this…it was so funny watching Zak try to predict where the lump would go next.

“HA! Gotcha!”

“Wait, what?”

Alfred comes to try to help. Spoiler alert: He isn’t helpful.

By the time Dashiell shows up, Rory has admitted defeat and popped up from under the duvet.

Is it just me, or does Zak look disappointed?

Aby-a-Day – 21 Juli: Singapura Stubborn (Singapura Cinema Sunday)

The other day, Izaak found a stick toy in Kalle’s room. It was a fuzzy green ball with a bell and a leather “tail” attached to an elastic cord, with the stick stuck in a crate.

He really wanted to play with that toy, but I was in the middle of doing laundry, so I didn’t move the stick for him. But that wasn’t really what he wanted; he just wanted to play with the soft toy on its own, not as a stick toy.

Singapuras are very…focused little cats. When they want something, they don’t give up easily.

You can watch Zak’s determination in this video…it went on a lot longer than just this, though. There’s stubborn…and then there’s Singapura stubborn!

Aby-a-Day – 13 Juli: Getting grabbed by a pussy (Silly Singapura Saturday)

Yesterday, I showed you the cat toys I found in London to bring back for the cats.

But what did the cats think of them?

I got our resident soft toy expert, Izaak, to examine them. First I gave him the Donald.

Zak really liked “killing” this toy…even before I had a chance to take it off the cardboard!

So what did he think of Donald when I took him off the card?

Yep, still good.

Putin was also a hit. Not as much as Donald, but still worthy of a solid kicking.

The Catmium credit card and the Catberry were…okay. Zak liked the card’s rattle.

But which was the “best” toy?

ALL of them, apparently! Although I think Zak’s favourite is Donald. The hair probably reminds him of his mousies.

Aby-a-Day – 1 Juli: Another Bee Movie (Movie Monday)

When I made the video of Izaak and Lorelai playing with the bumblebee, Björn was making one, too.

It’s kind of interesting, to see someone’s photos and videos taken at the same time you were taking photos and videos…it’s just from a slightly different perspective.

It’s actually kind of fascinating. The exact same scene playing out, the same events…but, different.

Compare the two videos and you’ll see what I mean.

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

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 – 20 April: Don’t be so sad, Mommy…(Silly Singapura Saturday)

I have been asked how the other cats are dealing with the loss of Jacoby. They definitely know he’s not there…but they don’t seem to miss him. He was sort of a loner, although he would sleep with the others, especially Alfred and Izaak. Jake of course was mainly bonded with me, and Zak has kind of decided that I’m his, too.

As you can see, Zak decided it was okay for Jake to let him share me with him (this was how I woke up on St. Patrick’s Day).

But since Jake’s been gone, Zak (who as we know loves playing with furry plush toys) has started playing with one of my Pusheen dolls. I found she had been dragged into the living room. And there was no question who had done it…He looked too proud of himself!

Zak has a very specific way of playing with Pusheen, too. First, he pretends to ignore her…

…and then he whips around and SMACKS her!

And after that…

…it’s pretty much on like an early video game involving gorillas and barrels.

After a brief spar, the opponents retreat into their neutral corners, eyeing each other cautiously.

And then bite,

bite,

bite,

ATTACK!

Uh oh, looks like Pusheen may be winning…

…Oh, no, Zak’s got this.

It’s so funny to watch Zak drag Pusheen around. She’s almost as big as he is!

Well…Zak wasn’t wrong. It did help cheer me up a bit.

Aby-a-Day – 25 Mars: “I think the loveliest time of the year is the spring…I do, don’t you? Course you do!” (Hipstamatic Monday)

It’s finally spring here in midwestern Sweden.

We can tell because there’s no snow, the temperature is getting up above 5°C, and the swans have returned to our little lake (See those two little white dots in that photo up there? Those are our swans).

Even though it was still a little chilly, I took Lorelai and Izaak outside to run around. It has been ages since they really got to run around, and run around they did.

Rory got out the door and immediately started bounding down the hill, with Zak in hot pursuit.

It is amazing how far they can get in such a short time. They are almost down to the road at the bottom of our hill.

Rory was fascinated by something in those sticks…

…Whilst Zak was more interested in trees.

Finally I got them back up the hill…

…and into the open area behind our apartment.

They’re very familiar with the back of our apartment.

We had an audience…apparently that other cat we saw on the balcony last summer has a roommate.

As much as they enjoyed running around on the back lawn, it was pretty clear that there was only one ultimate goal…

…the sandbox!

Rory did her usual digging holes in the sand and then running away from them.

Finally we all got cold enough to go back in the apartment. But we had 45 minutes of fun and bonding before we went back in.

Aby-a-Day – 18 Mars: Finally, a fun gym! (Movie Monday)

You may have noticed, in the background of yesterday’s post, a pretty cool looking kitty gym. We won it in a raffle at a cat show last summer, but we had other cat toys set up in the living room, so I’ve only just set it up.

Even though it seems more like a toy for kittens, everyone but Jacoby has played with it. I actually caught Angel examining the tunnel this morning (sadly, I couldn’t grab a camera without her fleeing)!

The gym came as a set, with the actual gym and a smaller-than-usual crinkly tunnel. Here is Izaak adorably posing inside the tunnel.

The tunnel is fun…

…but the kitty gym is funner!

Zak was having so much fun with the gym…

…he didn’t even notice that Lorelai was watching him.

At first, she seemed a little perplexed at Zak’s fascination with the gym.

But eventually Rory became almost mesmerised waatching Zak playing with the kitty gym.

Here is a short movie so you can see what fascinated her so much.

Aby-a-Day – 17 Mars: The return of the Silly Shamrock Hat (Silly Sunday)

You may remember that silly Guinness St. Patrick’s Day floppy hat I posed Alfred, Logan and Jacoby with last year?

Well, it’s baaaaaaaaack!

Freddy was a lot less intimidated by the hat this year than he was the first time.

Rory was…

…not impressed, shall we say.

…Izaak, on the other hand…

…Zak really seemed to have fun with it.

It actually has a lining in it so it will fit on a person’s head, but if that wasn’t there, Zak would have gone all the way inside it.

Zak playing with the hat renewed Rory’s interest in it…a little.

But ultimately she just left it to Zak and found something else to play with.