stoneshop just got me this.



Yes, it's a USB drive. A full 8 gb of cuteness. It looks like Tigger, and like Tigger, it has a hole in its left ear.
Beware of geeks bearing gifts, you'll end up giving them your heart in return before you know it.

Everything just tastes so much better if you don't simply eat it but instead carry it into the bedroom, while loudly proclaiming your victory, then manage to let it escape so you have to catch it again, preferrably noisily and within two metres of someone's ear, at an ungodly hour.
Then, if you find that you cannot retrieve it, act all nonchalant and as if nothing ever happened, and start making polite inquiries about breakfast.

Okay, maybe I didn't need to know that after all. Good morning, all y'all.

Tigger caught another mouse today. I managed to take a few pictures. Sorry, I'm a horrible person, I know. And now you know, too.

Not computer related, though.
We've been having a bit of a mouse problem in the kitchen. The kitchen is rather far from our living quarters, so the mere fact that we have a resident de-mousing service going by the name of Tigger doesn't keep the kitchen mice-free by itself.
So we started storing all of the interesting stuff in closets with properly closing doors, and no holes or other possible entrances. All except for some macaroni, which was stored in a stainless steel container with a lid that doesn't quite close; the mice can still get to that, but they can't get out unless the lid is taken off, and that has allowed us to catch quite a few mice.
But lately the macaroni remains untouched: it seems the kitchen has been deserted by our tiny furry friends.


However, we store food elsewhere, too. There are shelves in the garage/toolshed/workshop where we keep our stock of flour, pasta, rice and other long life stuff. Oh, and let's not forget instant noodle soup.
A few days ago, as I grabbed a bag of bread mix to put into the bread maker, I noticed a familiar looking round mouse-sized hole in the back of the bag. It's funny how much they seem to like flour! I mean, they left the other stuff alone: sunflower seeds, raisins, chocolate... all of these seem more attractive to me than a bag of flour with a bit of yeast in it. But then, I'm not a mouse.

So today we went to Ikea (which is only 5 kilometres from here) and bought some see-through plastic crates with lids. All of the vulnerable stuff now goes into these rodent-proof boxes. From now on, this former mice mall is strictly window shopping only. And while they're gazing lustfully at our stock of bread mix, let's hope they forget to watch their little backs, so Tigger can wake us up by entering our bedroom with a mouse between his fangs, and loudly announcing another victory.

This one was made by Stoneshop, not me. And yes, Tigger caught the rabbit himself. Now this is a *very* controversial picture, it was refused by the Lolcats site! They probably didn't like it because it shows a dead rabbit. Oooh, how scandalous.
Click on the pic to see a slightly bigger version, and to vote for or against the picture if you like:

...inspired by texaswren's posting.

(Originally posted on MySpace)
I don't have a lot of time right now so I'll just say that my cat Tigger has had an operation two days ago. He had trouble walking, which got worse and worse, so we took him to a vet, who found (after keeping him for some days) that he had developed bone cancer in one of his toes.
The toe has been amputated and it's needless to say that I'm feeling very relieved. Tigger's chances of survival are now good and he's clearly feeling much better. The toe caused him a lot of pain. He looks a bit silly but it's great to have him back!

(Originally posted on MySpace)
...are all over the internet all of a sudden. Either it's that or I've been living under a rock. Suddenly there's lot of 'lolcats' sites like this one or this one.
Here's my very own lolcat:


Well, he makes *me* LOL...
If you like this pic, please go and rate it here!
If you don't, there's no need   ;-)

OK... I promise I won't make a habit out of this but here's another one. I'm told this one is better.


If so inclined, please rate it here.

(Originally posted on MySpace)
*does the happy dance*
Tigger is back. One of my housemates found him.
In fact, he and his little boy heard a pitiful meowing in a barn or storage building down the street. They rushed over and told us about it, and we rushed right out to listen.
My boyfriend heard it too, but wasn't sure whether or not it was Tigger. Nevertheless, he was certain he'd heard a cat, and he found an air vent that would permit a cat to get out of the building after the grid was removed.

So he took the grid off and we lied down on the floor and peeked inside to see if we could catch a glimpse of a cat, but no. All was still inside.
I figured it was best to go in there, even though that made this a case of breaking and entering. He removed some stacked-up tiles so I could crawl inside.
It took me a while to find any trace of a cat in the large space inside, but as soon as I heard a meow I was sure it had to be Tigger!
He called for me, and I answered him, but he was too scared or too confused to come to me. It took him a while to realise it was really me, and then he came to me and let me pick him up.

When we came out my boyfriend brought him some food and water immediately, he seemed much more hungry than thirsty. After he'd eaten a bit we all went home.

Tigger is now happily resting on his favourite chair, purring away, with a belly full of food. He's lost a lot of weight, but he seems healthy enough. It feels so good to have him back. I love a happy ending.
*grateful sigh*

(Originally posted on MySpace)
Tigger is missing. He's been gone for a week now.
Maybe it's because we are away from home a lot lately, for two or three days at a time. One of my housemates feeds him while we're gone, but it seems he doesn't like being home alone; the last time we were gone he didn't come in to eat, and he only came home after we did, and meowed accusingly at us for a long time.

This time he didn't come home at all.
I'm feeling guilty* but I really can't think of a better solution than to leave him home and have someone take care of him. And it's temporary. But try explaining that to an animal.

I called all the relevant numbers and gave a description of Tigger, we have walked around the block and called his name, and I think we'll make one of those heart-wrenching flyers to post around the neigbourhood.
The cat flap is set to 'catch'. But it's not catching anything.

Outdoor cats run a certain risk, I know that much. But that knowledge isn't helping much.
I miss him. He's supposed to pounce right on top of us during the night, walk around a bit, and then curl up against my hip, purring loudly.

Ten years together isn't nothing. He's my little black shadow, so to speak. Let's hope he's coming back.


* He's not even wearing a address tube at the moment. I even bought him a new one recently, but never got around to fastening it to his collar. And he's neither chipped nor tattood. There you go...