Working Girl

Happy Friday my friend! I hope you had a fun and interesting week. I didn’t know what to do with myself this week, now that there are no holidays to celebrate nor traveling to be done! With this week being the first week of the month, I knew Mom was going to be very busy at work which wouldn’t leave me a whole lot of time to use her computer to tippy tap out my weekly discourse. I believe in being part of the solution, so I decided I would help Mom at work. I figured if she accomplished more during her workday, she would be home more, thus I would accomplish more tale tippy tapping! Don’t you just love logic?
I have never worked in an office setting so I wasn’t sure what hat would be appropriate. I couldn’t go by Mom because she is a fashion nightmare, so I had to use my own sense of style to decide. Since I was going to be meeting lots of new people, I figured I should dress formally, yet with a little flair. Rather than throw a bucket hat on my head, I chose to start out my day in a fabulous, tres chic, number that my friend Icy bought for me. I brought along many other hats as well. I figured a hat for each different task would be appropriate.
Mom insisted that she didn’t need any help, but I think she was just too proud to admit she needed another assistant. Even as we were driving to the office, she would tell me it wasn’t too late to turn around. I stressed to Mom that I didn’t mind and that I was very excited about becoming a modern working woman! I don’t know why she seemed so stressed about the whole thing. We were going to have fun!
As soon as we arrived at Mom’s place of work, I headed straight for her office and booted up the computer. While Mom went to alert her co-workers of my presence, I went on-line to check on a few things.



I was relieved to find that the surprised kitten was on Mom’s work computer. One never knows when one might need the surprised kitten to cheer one up!
When Mom was ready to get working, she shooed me out of her chair and gave me my first task. She had a whole stack of papers that needed to be put in their respective files. That sounded easy…certainly I could do it! I found a box to stand on and set to it!



Without a thumb, this was NOT an easy task. I could sort of hold it between my toes, but I kept getting paper cuts in my delicate little paws when I tried to push the paper into the file folder. After a few tries and a few cuts, I decided that filing was not for me!
Mom thought of something else to make me productive. She promised me that shredding would be a lot easier because the shredder grabs the paper out of your hand when you push it near the opening. That sounded easy – I could do it! She turned on the machine and proceeded to slide a piece of paper down into the slot. It made a very loud grinding noise and little slivers of paper came out the bottom of the machine. Yikes! I better keep an eye on my tail! I had to make sure it didn’t do one of its flicky moves and end up as a pile of fluff in the shredder bin! I took off my boa- to avoid it being eaten by the shredder – and I went to work!



I tried to control my tail, but the more I thought about it, the more agitated I became, which made it swish around more. While I did love pulverizing paper – I wasn’t sure why - my paranoia about my tail was taking all the fun out of it!
I asked Mom if there was something else that I might do since I didn’t like paper cuts or taking the risk of losing my tail. She stared at me for a minute, sighed and handed me a stack of papers that needed to be copied. All I had to do was lay the paper in the tray and it automatically fed into the copier and both the original and the copy came out the other end. That sounded easy – I could do it! I took the stack of papers Mom had given me and laid them in the feeding tray. I pushed the big green button and the huge stack of papers started feeding through the copier. It was fun watching the paper go in side and come at with a clone of itself! I took a look at the copies so I could see how much the copies resembled the originals. When I looked at the copies I wondered why Mom had asked me to copy blank white sheets of paper?!?!?!? I called to Mom and she came into the copy room. I didn’t want to make her feel dumb, so I acted like I was proud that I learned to use the machine as I held up the blank pieces of paper. Mom grabbed her head with her hands, shook her head and informed me that I had put the originals in upside down, so I had copied the back of them. That meant I had to do it all over again.
I was careful to put the originals in so that when it fed into the copier the side with all the printing was laying face down on the glass. The second time’s the charm, and I completed my first administrative assignment! As I was collecting the copies from the tray, the empty glass caught my eye. I had seen in movies how people make copies of themselves just for fun. I peeked up and down the hallway outside the copy room and saw that no one was around. I closed the door over and jumped onto the copy machine…



I sat for a while and made several copies to give my co-workers as souvenirs of my visit. I figured they could put it on the walls of their offices like they do with the pictures of the famous people they meet. After I felt like I had done enough copies, I jumped down from the copier to admire my work…



Well, what did you think I was copying?!??!!?!??! Shame on you!!! I’m a lady!!!
I went from office to office distributing the copies of my tail. Everyone was very excited and thanked me profusely! I made sure to give one to Mom to put on her wall!
I had worked up quite a thirst, but I didn’t see any water bowls on the floor. Mom said I had to use the water cooler if I wanted a drink of water. They had these funny little cone cups with which to drink the water. I thought the cup would make a cute hat – and I was right!



I suddenly realized it looked too much like a dunce cap, so I quickly took it off and selected another hat from my collection with which to adorn my fabulous noggin.
As I headed back to Mom’s office, I noticed a blank dry erase board hanging in the hallway. There were dry erase pens just sitting on the little shelf attached to it. I thought I would create some art to brighten up the hallway. I got to work and created one of my favorite things to draw.



As I put the finishing touches on my Stick Cat Steve sketch, Mom came up to me and told me it was lunch time. We had a lovely lunch at Mi Casita – which I mistakenly thought was My Catsita. I was very disappointed there was no tuna on the menu, but they had some delightful beef dishes.
By the time we returned to the office I was exhausted. I told Mom that I needed a nap so I curled up in a box in her office and took a nap….a really long nap. Mom had to wake me up to take me to the car to go home. I felt bad I hadn’t helped all afternoon, but Mom said it was okay – she was able to get a lot done once I went to sleep. That was good…I think. Hmmmmm…
The next day I decided I was going to go back to being a housecat/adventurer. I would rather chase giant fleas up a pole (see my January 6th, 2011 blog) than file pieces of paper! I have new respect for Mom…and her thumbs!
Have a great week!!

Love & kitty kisses,
Josie

Ms. Josie goes to Washington

Welcome friend! I hope you had a good week. I went on a great trip since the last time I blogged. If you twist my arm, perhaps you can persuade me to tell you all about it! Well…okay…. I’ll share my photos and my tale of fun.
Mom and Dad bought tickets to a concert at the Warner Theatre in Washington, D.C. and they decided to make a long weekend of it. They were going to head out on Friday morning so they could spend some time enjoying the city before the concert Saturday night. I asked if I could come along….I promised I wouldn’t get into any trouble. When they finished snickering (what was that all about?!??!!?) they told me I could hitch a ride with them to D.C., but I would be on my own for sightseeing. I agreed and immediately headed to my hat room to start packing a lovely assortment of hats.
We headed out late morning, which gave me plenty of time to get enough beauty sleep for my appearance in our nation’s capitol! It only took about five and a half hours to get there though the scenery, or lack thereof, made it seem longer. There wasn’t a whole lot to look at until we turned onto US Route 1 and headed over the Potomac. It was magnificent! All of a sudden there was an overload of sights to see: the Washington monument, the Jefferson Memorial, the Lincoln Memorial and the capitol building - one right after the other.
We passed really old, beautiful buildings that must have been around for a long time. I pressed my little kitty nose against the car window and oohed and aaahed as we passed the gorgeous buildings that house our government. It was quite impressive!
Our hotel was on Pennsylvania Avenue just a couple of blocks down from the White House. I asked Mom if she thought the President might be taking visitors and Mom shook her head no. Well, did he know we live very far away and had driven for hours to get here? Surely, he could make time for us. Again, Mom shook her head no. Hmmph, well, we’ll see about that!
We pulled up in front of the hotel and the hotel staff immediately swarmed the car. A couple of them set to work unloading or bags and hats, and another filled in a ticket to give Dad. When all the bags were out of the car, one of the staff drove off with the car. I pointed and yowled as the car disappeared down the block, but Dad assured me they were just taking it for safekeeping while we were in town. He promised they would bring it back to us when we were ready to leave. I certainly hope so!!
As I turned to head into the hotel, I saw our luggage being carried away on a big rolling thing. All my hats were on it!! Mom grabbed me before I could throw myself at it. She promised me that my hats would meet us at the room as soon as we checked in. Well…..if not, I would just have to go out and buy a bunch of new ones…hey, that wouldn’t be so bad!
We were on the sixth floor so we had to take the elevator to our room. They had these really smart elevators. You just pushed the button for the floor you wanted to go to and it would tell you which elevator could take you there…and it remembered what floor you wanted! Once inside of it, I was amazed to see it had a television! That allayed my fear of getting stuck on the elevator…at least you would be able to watch TV and keep up with all the events in the world while you were waiting to be rescued. Maybe you would even see the effort to rescue you on the TV. Now that would be cool!



When we arrived at our room, the hotel staff member with our luggage was waiting for us. He carried all the bags in and started pointing out the features of the room. I figured that was something for Mom and Dad to pay attention to so I made a beeline for the window. We certainly didn’t get a room with a view, but I didn’t care. I was going to go exploring in the big city!
After the hotel guy left, I turned back to check out the room. On the desk was a big tray of snacks and beverages. Ooooh! A jar of assorted nuts!! I trotted over to the tray, and just as I was about to grab the container of nuts...



Mom shrieked and scooped me up – with me still reaching for my chosen snack!
“Please don’t even touch those,” she begged. Mom then explained to me the perils of the mini bar/mini snack tray. We figured that since there wasn’t even a price list, we most certainly could not afford any of it. Mom told me that even if you only just touch something on the tray you will be charged for it. Needless to say, I took great pains to walk slowly and carefully past that evil tray!!!
We decided to have a nice dinner before retiring, so we went down to the lower level to exit out onto Pennsylvania Avenue. There we saw the most wondrous thing. An escalator with no one on it! I had seen escalators before in airports, but they were usually packed with people so you really couldn’t see them. This one was very pretty and at the top of it was my favorite coffee shop! It looked very inviting, and fun, so I decided to take a ride. I rode slowly up the one side and then rode slowly back down the other side.



Before I could get back on to go up again, Dad took my hand and led me out to the street.
We had a great dinner at the historic Round Robin Bar! The gruyere macaroni and cheese fried in truffle oil was excellent and I stuffed my belly full! It was time to call it a night. I slept like a log that night!
The next morning we awoke to forecasts of the temperature outside rising to well over 100 degrees. With the heat index it was going to be like 120 degrees! That is not good weather to be walking around a big city wearing a fur coat. I was going to have to be careful. Mom didn’t want me to go outside for very long, and I promised I would stop back in the room to cool off from time to time. I grabbed a bottle of water and rode the elevator down to the level that led out to the street.
The White House wasn’t very far away, so I thought I would try to walk to it. As I padded along, I noticed a poor robin in the street, just panting away. I felt so bad for him. I know birds don’t trust cats…for good reason… so I had to assure him I meant him no harm. I reached under my hat and pulled out an umbrella hat that I thought might help him. I also offered him a drink of my nice cool water.



He must have been really thirsty, because he didn’t hesitate about coming close to me and taking a big gulp of water. I sat with him for a while and let him have as much water as he wanted until he could cool himself down. He was most appreciative and declared that I was his new best friend. Since I love making new friends, this was most exciting! I invited him to walk up to the White House with me but he had an even better idea…



We rode a double decker bus around the city! My new friend, Rob, and I could get on and off wherever we liked. Rob figured it would be a fun way to see more of the city and still visit the President.
It was too hot to get off and do a lot of sightseeing, so we stayed on the bus until we arrived at the President’s house…the White House! We ended up walking around a while before we found the visitor’s center. We presented ourselves to the information lady and declared that we were here to talk to the President of the United States of America! She looked at us rather blankly and asked if we had scheduled a tour with our congressman. Well, no, but we had driven over 5 hours to get here. She frowned and shook her head. She told us we had to have scheduled a tour at least 21 days out from the date we wanted to tour. But I had advice for the President about the deficit problem! “No!” she said quite adamantly, “you must leave now!”
I put my tail between my legs and shuffled out. How do you like that! I can’t meet with my country’s President. Perhaps I could find a Secret Service agent and they could help me get in to see the President. Where in the world could I find one?
Rob and I figured we most likely had to be on the White House property to find a Secret Service agent. We had no idea how right we were! Since Rob could fly and I was a good climber, he flew to the top of the White House’s perimeter fence and I climbed it with my natural cat expertise.



It didn’t take long before several Secret Service agents appeared out of nowhere! Oh good, perhaps they could show us…..I was immediately grabbed by the scruff of the neck and hoisted into the air. Now I know that cats have lots of skin to grab in the neck area and it is considered an acceptable way to hold a cat, but I had not been held like that in a long time and it was not a very dignified way to be held!
The agents frisked me and checked my collar for….I’m not sure what they checked my collar for, but whatever it was it wasn’t there. I explained to the agents why I was there. They looked at one another and agreed I was not a security risk, but they did inform me that I was NOT going to meet with the President.
At that point I didn’t care and all I wanted to do was go back to the hotel and cool off, Rob and I caught the next bus back down Pennsylvania Avenue and headed immediately to the room. Mom said it was okay for Rob to come in for a while. Both Rob and I settled down for a little nap until it was concert time.
Dad woke me up in time to go get dinner and then head to the show. Rob rode down in the elevator with us and we walked him down the street to where I had met him. He thanked us for our hospitality and we gave him a bottle of water to take with him. I told him I hoped we would return to D.C. very soon and I promised to look him up.
We had a light dinner and headed excitedly to the show. I wore a lovely blue dress hat and carried a fan so I could daintily cool myself if it was warm in the theatre.



The theatre was beautiful - very old and ornate. We had excellent seats - 4th row center! The show was fabulous!! It was very funny with lots of great music. For the second encore, Mr. Minchin played one of my favorite songs: Hallelujah by Leonard Cohen. I had promised Mom I would behave and not leap on stage since we weren’t in our hometown where I am well known. I had already gotten myself in enough trouble today, I didn’t want to push it!
After the show we waited outside the theatre and Mr. Minchin very graciously came out to sign autographs and take pictures with his fans. Mom was so excited she forgot to ask me to be in the picture with she and Mr. Minchin, so I had to jump in at the last minute. Unfortunately, I ended up covering up some of Mom’s face. Ooops!



We thanked Mr. Minchin for a wonderful evening and headed back to the hotel. We had a good sleep and a delicious breakfast and headed home Sunday morning. I was sad to leave – there was so much more I needed to see, but Mom and Dad had to get back to work Monday. If you ever get the chance to visit D.C. you must go – it’s a fascinating city!
I hope you have been staying out of the terrible heat! I think I have had enough of summer already – don’t you agree? Have a great week!

Love & kitty kisses,
Josie

Extreme-ly Exciting!

Hello friends! There have been some mighty big doins in Fayetteville this past week and a half! The television show Extreme Makeover: Home Edition rolled into town to give a brand new home to a lucky Fayetteville resident. The house they picked was off of the main road running past our neighborhood, so there has been lots of screwed up traffic in our neck of the woods!
Everyone knew ahead of time that the show was coming to Fayetteville so the town went nuts planning how to help and celebrate one family’s good fortune. It was a big secret as to who the lucky family was, but as soon as it was announced things became really crazy! Roads were blocked off, spectator buses started shuttling back and forth and large construction trucks were in and out of the neighborhood. People were volunteering to help and construction went on for 24 hours a day.
Being a cat, I was curious, so I had Mom drop me at the top of the main street and I was able to trot pass the security guards unnoticed. I wasn’t being sneaky or anything - cats do just roam neighborhoods now, don’t they?
I had to be careful to avoid trucks and cranes and backhoes all in action at once. It was like an obstacle course, but I managed to get to the spectator area. As I chatted with some of the folks, it didn’t take long to figure out that all the spectators had just one goal in mind: Meet Ty Pennington. I had no idea what he looked like, but I didn’t have to. When the illusive Mr. Pennington emerged from behind this massively big bus, the crowd went wild. He was a rather handsome guy, for a human, so I could see why the ladies were excited. Everyone was screaming at him and jumping up and down.
You know how easily I get stirred up, so it didn’t take long before I was as excited as everyone else. So when Ty started walking to the bus as if he was going to go hide in it, I couldn’t help myself. I was going to meet him!!!! I scurried out away from the crowd and just launched myself in his direction. It was quite the leap and I landed squarely on his chest and had to grab his neck and shoulders to keep from sliding to the ground.



I startled him, but he was very kind. He thanked me for coming out and asked if I was going to be helping with all the work that needef to be done. I promised him I would do what I could. I think I blushed and giggled when he gave me a hug and gently place me back on the ground.
Since I promised Ty I would help, when it came time to pull down the old house, I was right there in the middle of it. I had already gotten a hard hat, but the rest of the volunteers were given theirs and told to get in line. I liked the idea of everyone wearing a hat. In fact, everyone in construction wears a hat – not the most colorful or stylish ones, but I do like to see chapeaued heads!
Everything takes a while when it’s being filmed. The cameras had to be in place, actors had to say their lines correctly and all had to go just right or it had to be done again. When it was time to pull the house down we were ready. When the directors told us to pull, I pulled as hard as my little kitty arms would let me. It was quite the feeling of satisfaction when a part of the house came down. Wow, I’m strong….okay, WE were strong!



I helped as much as I could until Mom came to pick me up. I told her all about my exciting day. She told me that there was going to be a big event in Festival Park to help raise funds for the family’s expenses. There was going to be music and food and a water slide and food and face painting and food. That sounded like something I would be interested in attending!
Dad, Mom and I headed over to Festival Park Sunday afternoon to partake in the festivities of the event they titled “Heroes, Hearts and Hardhats Music Festival.” There was to be live music all day. Mom gave me a talking to about behaving myself – she did not want to look up and see me on the stage! I told Mom I would do my best to keep a low profile, but I could make no guarantees.
I enjoyed listening to the music and taking big laps of my delicious ice cream cone. It was vey hot which made the ice cream taste extra good. I was happy just lounging in the grass until the greatest 70’s band ever took the stage. They were called Dathrowback Band and they were great. I found myself dancing and swirling and shaking my booty all over Festival Park. I inevitably ended up dancing my way up onto the stage to join in the fun. The band had all these great costumes lying around back stage and I helped myself to one before bopping out onto the stage.



I think my funky 70’s outfit deserves a closer look…



Mom was so busy dancing around in the VIP tent, that she didn’t even notice me. I joined the band for a couple of songs, but then the heat started to get to me - cat fur and all – so I thanked the band and boogied off the stage.
We enjoyed a couple of more performers and then it was time to leave. Before we left, we stopped by this cool photo booth that was set up by the Blueridge Log Cabins folks – the company building the house for the Home Makeover people. Mom, Dad and I had fun mugging for the camera. It only took a couple of minutes for the picture to be ready! I thought it was a really cool souvenir.



The construction work continued the next week even though the temperatures soared into the 100’s. I read in the newspaper that there were plenty of volunteers, - more than they needed, so I stayed out of the way. I knew they still needed skilled workers, but I wasn’t much with dry wall or pouring cement!
I did ask Mom to drop me off at the work site on the last day – the big “Reveal Day.” Word had gotten out that the first lady, Michele Obama, was going to be visiting. Oh wow! I would really like to meet her.
I arrived early and waited impatiently with many, many, maaaaaaany others. We saw everyone – Ty, all the designers and finally, Michele Obama!!!!
There were still a few things to do before the big event, so Mrs. Obama and I volunteered to help finish up the trim on the house. We grabbed a couple of paintbrushes and ladders and went to work. We made a great team and it was an honor to work beside her!



It was very exciting when it was time for the family to return and see their new home. I don’t want to give any details and ruin the show for you, so all I will say is…..watch Extreme Makeover: Home Edition when it airs its Fayetteville, NC episode sometime in October.
If you do get the chance to watch the show, look out for my human brother. When the show gets to the part where Paul the designer is at Sears talking in front of a bunch of women helping load a truck with all the goods the show purchased, he’ll be the guy with brown curly hair and glasses, wearing a black shirt and pants that is actually doing all the work lifting the boxes. I hope they keep some of that part in! It would be fun to have a famous brother!
Well, I better go now. It’s been a busy week and boy, are my paws tired!! Until next week… stay cool! (and I mean temperature cool, not attitude cool…okay, well maybe attitude cool too)

Love & licks,
Josie

Hobnobbing Kitties

Hello my friend! Welcome to my world! I bet you already knew what my topic for this week’s tale was going to be! When I heard my dear friends William and Kate were visiting the U.S. I knew I had to make plans to meet them in Los Angeles. While I’m not a big fan of flying – all the security…and the tight fit in the seat…and having to pay to bring all my stuff with me…people just staring at me for some reason – I would endure the trek across this great country of ours to see my favorite newlyweds!
I flew out of Fayetteville, so it wasn’t that bad getting to the plane. I had to use Mom’s plastic card to pay the fee to bring two suitcases with all my necessities along with me. I also knew that wherever Prince William goes, a polo match tends to break out, so I thought it would be a good idea to bring my trusty steed, Butterscotch, along with me so I would be ready. I couldn’t afford to buy her a seat, so I had to stuff her into the overhead storage compartment. I apologized to her as I tried to stuff her hooves under her so I could close the door. She assured me she was fine and was happy just to be going on my adventure with me.



I was disappointed that I wasn’t going to arrive in time to greet William and Kate, but I figured I would catch up with them at the polo match which had indeed been scheduled for the next day as I had suspected it would! My friend Icy was meeting me there, and we were going to have a fun weekend of hobnobbing with the upper crust. We were just in Los Angeles for a couple of days, so we were going to be two very busy kitties! We met up and had a nice dinner, then went to sleep early so we would be fresh for the events of the next day.
We greeted William and Kate as they arrived at the polo club. They were very excited to see us again – they hadn’t seen us since their wedding! We chatted excitedly and William insisted that we be allowed to accompany them inside the club. Icy, Butterscotch and I trotted in behind them, feeling special and holding our tails high.
William noticed Butterscotch and asked if my friend and I might be up for a couple of chukkers of polo. I quickly said “yes!” I asked William if I needed to pay, as the others were doing, for the privilege of playing polo with him. He laughed and told me that of course I didn’t. I was his special guest!
I think Butterscotch was afraid of all the beautiful, athletic looking polo ponies mingling on the field. She stayed very close to me and didn’t say much. I reminded her of our adventure at the steeplechase and I assured her this would be much easier with no fences to jump. She did look relieved at that fact, but she had never played polo before. I whispered in her ear that I had never played polo before either, so we were in the same boat! I told her it would be fun and don’t worry. Luckily I was right!
The stands were full of people who had paid good money to watch this match. I was very excited to be a part of it. When the match started all the ponies and riders raced as fast as they could after a ball. William had given me a mallet to use so any time Butterscotch and I galloped near the ball, I took a big ol’ swipe at it – I didn’t connect too often – but it was fun trying!



Butterscotch had a great time running as fast as she could all over the field. Sometimes she didn’t pay attention to where the ball was, so we sometimes ended up on the wrong side of the field. But it didn’t matter - we had a blast!
After the third chukker, we called it quits. I thanked William for including us in the fun, but we were pooped! He said that was fine, and he would meet us at the trophy award ceremony when the match was over.
Icy, Butterscotch and I had lots of fun cheering loudly from the stands. No one was surprised when William’s team won the match! He is quite the accomplished polo player! We headed over to the area where the trophy would be awarded. Kate was going to have the honor of making the trophy presentation.
We had to wait for everyone to gather and it seemed to be taking forever. Icy climbed aboard Butterscotch and they trotted around the field as Icy pretended she was playing polo. I had been eyeing the nice bowl at the top of the trophy…it would be just perfect to curl up in for a quick catnap! I couldn’t resist and I settled gently into the trophy top. Oh, this was comfy! I closed my eyes and drifted off until it came time to award the trophy.
I awoke to the sensation of flying….I popped my head up to see that I was being hoisted high over the winning team’s heads. Had no one seen me in here?!?!??!? I grabbed on to the sides to keep from falling out and let out quite a loud meow.



William saw me and brought the trophy down and gently lifted me out. I was a little shaken, but fine. William suggested I might want to go back to my hotel and take a nap before we had to be at a gala event that evening. I agreed and our little group headed off to take some much needed naps!
After a refreshing nap, Icy and I got busy gussying up for the gala reception. Butterscotch was very tired and didn’t want to go, so I tucked her into bed and told her we would bring her something to eat when we came back. I think she had fallen back to sleep before Icy and I were out the door!
We arrived at the event early so we wouldn’t miss William and Kate who would have to get us in past security. We had fun watching the celebrities arrive one by one. We would clap and wave as they passed by. Finally, William and Kate arrived. Icy and I gracefully walked over and twirled around so they could check out our beautiful gowns. They told us we looked lovely and we told them that they did too!
The crowd was cheering wildly and William thought it would be a good idea to take a minute and wave hello. Icy and I felt silly just standing there, so we decided to wave to the crowd as well. Being a celebrity is fun!!



Since the crowd was waiting inside, the event organizers came and directed us to the door. William took my hand to make sure I didn’t get lost in the crush of people, and we walked the red carpet into the event.



I was speechless (imagine that!) when I saw all the celebrities gathered in one place!! The funny thing was that they were as star struck by William and Kate as I was by them! None of the other women were wearing hats, so Icy and I took ours off and instead opted for the more demure tiaras I had stashed under my hat.
One of my favorite people we met was Tom Hanks and his lovely wife Rita. They were so funny and charming that the four of us spent as much time as we could with them. Tom was just so funny we just laughed and laughed…



They were many other stars – Barbra Streisand, Jennifer Lopez and Nicole Kidman to name a few. We pretty much stayed in one place and people came up to meet us. Icy and I were having such a great time we didn’t want it to end.
Alas, it was soon time to head back to the hotel. We needed to get some rest before leaving to catch our planes home in the morning. We hugged and kissed everyone goodbye, then climbed into the limo that William let us borrow to take us back to the hotel. We opened up a bottle of milk that was in the limo’s fridge and sipped it out of champagne glasses, pretending that we were famous felines fleeing our adoring fans!
Icy and I said our goodbyes when we returned to out hotel. We were catching flights in different directions at different times so we wouldn’t see each other in the morning. I love hanging out with my fellow feline fashionista!
I hope you enjoyed my tale! Have a great week! I will be hanging out with the Extreme Makeover Home Edition people this week as they build a house in Fayetteville. I’ll tell you all about it next week!

Love & kitty kisses,

Josie

Feline Fourth Festivities

Helloooo friends! Welcome to another action packed edition of Josie Tales. I hope you had a fun and colorful 4th of July! I know I did! Well, I’m not going to keep you in suspense – let me get right to my story!
Mom and Dad announced that they were heading out of town for the 4th of July. It may be a national holiday, but to them it’s more importantly their wedding anniversary – Dad said he wanted to lose his independence on Independence Day…Dad is very funny. Since my brother was working all day on the 4th, I was going to be left to my own devices, which meant I had to start making plans. I could go out of town myself to visit some friends, or perhaps invite some friends here to attend some events with me. When I turned to head out to the deck to relax and plan my holiday, I saw a pathetic little kitten face staring in the door. It was Squeakers/Ginger/Hey You, who had taken up residence on our deck. I would hate to leave her alone on her first holiday. Besides, she needed to learn about things that matter to humans, so that when she is finally adopted she will fit in easily with her new family. She needed someone smart and savvy to teach her about the world. That sounded like a job for me. That settled it - I would spend my holiday with Squeakers/Ginger/Hey You.
After I bid adieu to my parents, I headed to my storage room to get supplies for the day. I sorted through my vast collection of hats and picked out some for S/G/H and I to wear. The first event on our agenda was the downtown parade. We needed a ride to the parade so I sent S/G/H to ask my brother if he could help us out. Who could resist that insanely adorable kitten face? Not my brother! He gave us a ride to a location right near where the parade was going to pass.
The loud noise of the marching bands scared S/G/H at first, and she hid behind me. She slowly became braver and braver and eventually she was marching in place and waving her little American flag.



S/G/H had such a great time, she thought that was the end of the holiday. Little did she know there was so much more to do! Now that I had her interest stirred, I took the opportunity to explain the history of the holiday on the drive home.
I told S/G/H that the 4th of July celebrates the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. She asked from what we had needed independence. I told her that our forefathers sought to break from England and start their own country. S/G/H looked puzzled. She told me she has watched BBC America through the back door, and the British seem so smart and funny – why would we want to break away from them? I tried to explain to her about unfair taxes and restrictions that the British were imposing on the colonists, but she seemed horrified to think that we had been unkind to the British. I told her we were all friends now, so it turned out okay. I reminded her of the BBC America Top Gear episodes where they came to the United States. They wouldn’t have come here if they didn’t like us. That seemed to placate her and she decided our independence was worth continuing to celebrate.
When we arrived home it was time for our next activity. I told S/G/H that a popular meal on the 4th was hamburgers and hot dogs. While those foods are tasty, we were going to have something more feline oriented. I pulled out the chef’s hats and we got to work. S/G/H liked being my assistant chef as we grilled up some beautiful tuna steaks. Since it wasn’t traditional food, I put little American flags in them to make them more 4th of July-ish.



When the steaks had those beautiful grill marks on them, we took them off and chowed down! We had to be careful to remember to take the flags out of them or in our fit of hunger we might end up eating one! The steaks were delicious and we ended up eating them all!
We were so stuffed we could hardly move! S/G/H asked me what activity was going to be next. When I told her swimming she nearly jumped out of her skin with excitement! Our neighbors were leaving town for a few days and they had offered their pool to us to use whenever we wanted. I wanted S/G/H to get the full 4th experience so it seemed a no brainer that we would take a dip in the pool.
I had a swim cap to cover S/G/H’s delicate kitten ears and an inner tube in which she could paddle about the pool. She asked if we could swim now and I told her we needed to wait an hour after eating before swimming….with all we ate, maybe even 2 hours. S/G/H looked devastated. She asked me why in the world did we have to wait so long. It was hot now and a swim would be so refreshing.
Staring into those big kitten eyes, I could not for the life of me remember why. I excused myself to go inside with some dishes, and I made a mad dash to Mom’s laptop computer. I know I’m not supposed to use it when Mom’s not around, but this was an emergency. I tippy tapped as fast as I could to find the answer to S/G/H’s question. Aha! I got it!
I scurried back outside, though I made it a point to look cool, calm and collected as I stepped back out on the deck. S/G/H asked again about the one hour wait after eating. I was ready. You see my young friend, if you swim too soon after eating you will get a cramp in your leg and drown…or get a cramp in your stomach and drown…or the food will make you less buoyant and you’ll sink to the bottom of whatever you’re swimming in and drown. I was running out of reasons so I threw in one of my own. You will be too full and when you do a belly flop you’ll lose your lunch in the pool so everyone will have to get out….and you’ll drown.
S/G/H didn’t say another word. She just went to find a shady place to stretch out and take a nap. I used the time to clean up and rest a bit. After an hour I awoke my young friend and we headed excitedly over to the pool.
I put little S/G/H into the inner tube and gave her a gentle push. She paddled as fast as she could all over the pool. She liked making little waves that made her bob up and down. I asked her if she liked waves and she exclaimed “Yes!” I decided I would help her make some waves!
I climbed up on the neighbor’s deck and walked all the way back to the house. I ran as fast as I could and just before I reached the edge of the pool I jumped so I would go right over S/G/H as I yelled Caaaaaannooooooonbaaaaaaaaallllll!



I hit the water and made a huge splash. S/G/H giggled as she wiped the water out of her eyes while she bobbed up and down on the big waves I had created for her. “Again! Again!” she squeaked. No one needs to twist my arm to make me do cannonballs. I cannonballed again and again and again. Finally, I had to stop as it was getting late and there were other activities in which we needed to participate! I had to practically drag S/G/H out of the pool to dry her off so we could get on with the festivities.
My parents don’t let us fire off the loud, popping, dangerous fireworks, but we are allowed to use sparklers. Mom had left us a few boxes to play with and I thought it was a good, typical, 4th of July-only sort of activity that S/G/H should experience. I lit the sparkler with Dad’s lighter and it took a moment before it sparked up, making S/G/H jump back. Her eyes were huge and her mouth hung open as she stared at the light dancing in my hand!



When the first one burned all the way down, I lit another. When that burned down, I lit another. S/G/H just continued to stare in amazement. I finally asked her if she would like to hold one. She hesitated, but didn’t want to disappoint me, so she took the sparkler. She cringed as I lit it, but seemed delighted when it started.



She just stared and grinned as I lit one after another. It’s a good thing that we didn’t have more boxes or I would have spent the rest of the night lighting sparklers for S/G/H!
There was one more very important event that S/G/H had to experience. The beauty and wonder of a fireworks show. We live near Ft. Bragg, so we can see the magnificent display they fire off every 4th. We had to wait until it was dark enough for the show to start so we hung out on the porch keeping a close watch on the sky.
Suddenly, Malcolm appeared out of no where. He popped up over the side of the railing and grabbed my Dad’s lighter and lit a little red, what looked like a piece of paper. When it caught on fire he threw it on the deck and it exploded making the most awfully loud sound. S/G/H and I jumped back in surprise.



Poor little S/G/H started to cry. I scooped her up and hugged her as I gave Malcolm a very stern talking to. I think he was mad that we didn’t save him any tuna steaks. He probably saw us grilling and was hoping to get a free meal. I told him that he was very mean scaring a poor little kitten like that and he needed to apologize. He patted S/G/H on the head and mumbled something that could have been an apology before he and his firecrackers went slinking out of the yard.
I took S/G/H inside for some milk and managed to calm her down. Soon we saw flashes of light outside the window and we rushed out on to the deck as a bright burst of red light exploded in the sky. Ooooooooooh! We both said. I saw someone coming up the deck steps and prayed it wasn’t Malcolm again. It wasn’t. It was dear Steve. We invited him to watch the fireworks display with us and we all settled down on the railing.



We oooohed and aaaaahed through the whole show. We were disappointed when it was over, but it had been a lot of fun. I looked over at Squeakers/Ginger/Hey You and she was fighting to keep her eyes open. Such a busy day for such a little kitten. We said goodnight to Steve and I carried Squeaker/Ginger/Hey You to one of the deck chairs and laid her down gently. I believe she was asleep before she hit the chair!
I found myself yawning, so I headed inside to bed. Tristan arrived home from work in time for me to tell him about the fun that was had by all. He was sorry he missed it. He tucked me into bed and said goodnight.
What a nice day Squeakers/Ginger/Hey You and I had. It’s fun to watch someone experience things for the first time! Aaah, I remember the days when everything was new to me. I hope I taught her a thing or two that will help make her a well rounded cat!
That’s all for this week. Have a great week and I’ll see you again next Friday!

Love & kitty kisses,
Josie

Litter Bugs

Greetings friends! So happy you stopped by to check out my blog! I hope you read my tale last week about the wonderful folks and kitties at the Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary. I certainly had a wonderful time and I hope you enjoyed reading all about it.
The problem with visiting a place such as that is that you feel like there is so much more you would like to do to help. Unfortunately, my lack of a thumb and inability to drive a motor vehicle limits the contributions I am able to make. I keep in touch with Miss Alana and wait for her to mention something with which I am able to help.
Such an occasion presented itself recently when Miss Alana mentioned she was heading to the Food Lion to pick up some necessary supplies for the shelter. I have been to the Walmart and have experience operating an electric shopping cart – albeit the shopping cart ran amok, but I think that was more Bobbi and/or Corny’s fault – I think I would be able to handle it with my fellow feline companions. I told Miss Alana I was an experienced shopper and I offered my assistance. Miss Alana gladly accepted my help and I agreed to meet her that afternoon for some serious shopping.
My brother wasn’t working, so I bribed him with food to drive me to the shelter. Miss Alana hadn’t told the others I was coming, so they were surprised to hear the pitter patter of my feet as I entered the shelter. They all rushed up to me and gave me hugs and kitty kisses. We chatted for a while so I could catch up on all the shelter news. After I was up to date, I asked for volunteers to head to the Food Lion with me and Miss Alana. I couldn’t believe all the paws that shot up – everyone wanted to help!
We assembled by the shelter’s van and I handed out lovely hats for our journey. Not ones to keep still, we killed the time by chasing each other around the van. When Miss Alana finally arrived we all climbed into the van and found a place to sit. We each had to find something to hold on to so we wouldn’t slide around in the back of the van – though that would have been a funny sight!
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It was a quick trip and we arrived at the Food Lion in no time. We were very excited about getting out of the van! We were all pushing to be the first out the door, so a bunch of us went spilling out into the parking lot when Miss Alana opened it. We scrambled to our paws and I led the way into the store. I told the others to follow the sound of the jingling bell on my collar and I would lead them to the pet aisle. That worked great! We went parading through the parking lot and through the automatic door. Poor Miss Alana was left behind as she had to grab her purse and lock the van.
I grabbed the first basket I found and helped the others get in it or hang on the side. It was not electric, so it was a lot easier to control (though not as much fun!) It didn’t take me long to find the pet aisle and I stopped in front of the Frisky Party Mix packages. I pointed the others in the right direction and we all started flinging bags of snacks into the basket until there was room for no more!



Just as we finished and had started to talk about which bag we were going to open first when we arrived back at the van, Miss Alana walked up shaking her head. We showed her our basket full of “necessary supplies” for the shelter. Evidently, Miss Alana did not have the same idea as we did as to what constituted a necessary supply! She told us that while she loves to buy treats for the residents, there was a more pressing need at the shelter for cat litter. Litter?!?!?!?! Well that’s no fun! We all groaned and made faces. Miss Alana told us we could each pick one bag of treats and leave it in the basket. We begrudgingly put back the excess bags and headed for the boxes of litter.
The boxes of litter were pretty big and we could only get so many of them into the basket. It’s a good thing Miss Alana brought us along, because we ended up carrying a bunch of boxes!
We piled the boxes of litter on this moving black belt thing. Some of my fellow shoppers didn’t know when to let go of the boxes - they went rolling down the conveyor belt along with the boxes! I told the cashier that Casper was priceless, so don’t ring him up. We all had a good giggle at that!



Miss Alana paid for the necessities with money donated by generous supporters, and then we were ready to head back to the van. Before we left, I stopped at the customer service desk and asked if it was possible for us to meet the food lion. The women behind the counter looked at me funny. His likeness is on signs all over the store, so surely he was around somewhere. I told the lady that I thought he/she would like to meet some of his/her feline distant relatives. When she finally realized what I was talking about she apologized and told me that there was no actual food “lion” and that it was just a logo. What a disappointment!
We each took a deep breath, picked up a box or two of litter and headed across what now looked like a really biiiiiiiig parking lot. Some of the braver cats stacked the boxes high and looked like jugglers trying to keep them balanced. There were a few boxes dropped, but they eventually they all made it to the van in one piece.



It took a while to load all the boxes in the van. The litter took up most of the back of the van so we had to crowd in the front for the ride home. Fortunately, we had the bags of treats to keep us busy, so we opened up some bags and passed them around.
We had full bellies when we arrived back at the shelter. Now we had to unload all those boxes! We kitties decided we were going to make things easier by having fun with it, so we took off our hats and went to work.
While Miss Alana was distracted by a phone call, we started bringing in the boxes one by one. We carefully stacked them just so. It was tough balancing some of them just right, but when we were finished, we called to Miss Alana to come check out our creation. Can you tell what it is?



If you guessed it’s supposed to be a cat head, you are right! Pat yourself on the back and have a Friskies Treat!
We had fun poking our heads through the holes we left for the eyes, nose and mouth. Miss Alana thought it was pretty good, though she warned us that with it being in the middle of the floor, someone was bound to knock into it. She had a point, and since we didn’t want anyone to get hurt, we helped Miss Alana move the boxes to the storage area. I guess she won’t have to worry about running out of litter for a while!
After we finished moving the boxes, we all agreed that it was time for a catnap. I cuddled up with the others to nap while I waited for my brother to return. I was so exhausted that Miss Alana had to carry me to the car when my ride arrived. I slept all the way home. Hard work wears you out!!!
Well, that’s all for this tale. I hope I have other opportunities to help out Miss Alana and the kitties. I’ll let you know about it if I do!
Have a great week, and Happy 4th of July!

Love & kitty kisses,
Josie

Blind Cat Rescue

Hello my friends! Welcome to my blog! This week’s tale is very special!! I am honored to have had the privilege of visiting with some very special kitties and humans in a town not far from where I live! Now that I know where these fine folks are, they won’t be able to get rid of me!!!!
It all started with the invitation Miss Alana sent to all her Facebook friends. She told us that they were having a visitor’s day at the Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary to celebrate their new building. I told Mom about the Blind Cat Rescue and asked if she and Dad would like to give me a ride there. She was very excited about going and promised me we would make time in our busy Saturday to find our way to St. Pauls.
The day of the open house finally arrived and I couldn’t wait to get going. Dad had to work for a little while in the morning, so I passed the time by picking out lots of hats to take with me. I stuffed Roody full of all my favorites! I wasn’t sure how many kitties I was going to meet, so I brought as many as I could cram into Roody’s pouch. Poor Roody looked like she was going to explode, but she assured me that she wasn’t uncomfortable.
When Dad finally returned home, I scampered to the car with Roody in tow. We sat and waited for slow poke Mom to get in the car. The ride seemed to take forever – I just couldn’t wait to get there. I was a little nervous though – I wasn’t sure what to expect from the blind kitties. My friend, Mimsy, was blind, but she had a forever home and had a sister to look out for her. How would this group of all blind kitties be able to get along?!?!?!?!
We turned onto the dirt road that led to the shelter. I was the first to spot it at the very end of the road. Before the car was even fully stopped I was bounding out the car door, calling out Miss Alana’s name. When my Mom caught up with me, she scooped me up and told me to calm down. She explained we needed to be quiet and calm when we entered the shelter as to not scare the residents. That made sense, so I toned it down…for now anyway.
I was the first to reach the door and I led my family inside.



The first person I saw was Miss Alana and I rushed up to her to give her a big hug. She laughed and welcomed us to the shelter and showed us around. All the time Miss Alana was talking I was peeking into the rooms to see if there were any felines around.
It was really cool - each housing area had both an inside and outside space for the residents. They had a hole cut out in the door with a flap over it for the kitties to go in and out as they pleased. There was a big fan out in each run to help keep the sunbathers cool. I know I would spend lots of time outside if I lived here! There was a wall – like a garage door – that could be pulled down when storms rolled through the area or when it got really cold. Wow! This place was great!!!
After we finished our tour, I asked Miss Alana if I could visit with some of the residents. She told me that the kitties had been looking forward to meeting me and they were anxious to show me around.
I pulled a couple of hats from Roody’s pouch and headed into one of the kitty rooms. There were pictures on the wall of each of the occupants which made it easy to get to know everyone. They heard me enter the room, and the first fine felines to welcome me were Hermes and Snicker. I let each of them select a hat and then we turned and posed for a picture.



Snicker acted as host and introduced me to the other kitties. They all moved about so sure footedly that I almost forgot they were blind! We chatted and they showed me all the nice things they had to climb on. They offered me some food and water from their bowls, which I must say was quite delicious!
The kitties were all different colors, shapes and sizes. Speaking of shapes, I felt quite scrawny when I was introduced to a…..er……um….”robust” kitty named Maggie. She had a unique shape – more barrel-like than any kitty I had ever met. Maggie was very sweet and friendly and she didn’t take it wrong when I went out to the car to bring in some fat free milk for her.



I explained to her that when I start putting on weight I switch from regular milk to fat free and it really helps. We all shared a bowl of the fat free milk and Maggie agreed it was quite tasty.
Our milk snack fueled us up for some fun. Lily and I headed out to the supply area to wrangle up so more toys. The toy bins were way up high, so Lily hoisted me up so I could grab a tub. What lucky kitties – so many toys!!



We had so much fun pulling toys out of the tub and batting them about the room. I couldn’t get over the fact that these blind kitties were able to play just like sighted cats! They knew no fear as the leapt all over the room chasing catnip mice and balls with little bells in them. At one point I was so busy chasing a leopard print mouse that I didn’t pay attention and crashed into Paul. He was very nice and told me not to worry. He was probably thinking to himself – silly sighted cat!
After we managed to bat every toy in the tub under beds or blankets or cages, it was time to think of a new game. How about a game of Marco Polo? Even though the game is usually played in a pool, the enclosed room would give the same effect as being in a pool – without the wet fur smell and awful wet cat appearance!
Casper volunteered to be “it” first. Everyone scattered and climbed up high to avoid being tagged. I was the slowest of the bunch and it took Casper no time to tag me with his paw and yell “You’re it!” Drats! These blind kitties were putting me to shame! They were certainly a lot quicker than Steve and Malcolm, my usual playmates!
We had to ask Miss Alana for a blindfold for me. I was interested to see how well I did without the benefit of my eyesight. Even with the limit of only one eye, what a difference that one eye makes. It was so weird not being able to see anything. So this is what the blind kitties felt like! I took off my hat so I could hear better. I found I would have to rely on what I heard to figure out where the rest of the gang was. I tilted my head and listened closely. I reached out my hand to keep me from walking into things.



I moved very slowly. I could hear my new friends snickering as they heard my paws shuffling on the floor. From the snickering, it sounded like they had settled themselves up on the beds and the scratchy climby thing. I called out “Marco!” and a chorus of voices replied “Polo!” They were indeed way up high. I took a deep breath and started feeling my way up the obstacle course. It really didn’t take too long to get used to not seeing and after a few minutes I managed to corner Chester and tag him – actually, I think Chester was being nice and let me catch him!
After a few rounds of me being “it” every other time, we decided it was getting late and we should check on the humans to see what they were up to. When I found Mom, she told me that visiting hours were going to be over soon and we would have to head home. My goodness! Time had just flown by!
As I was waiting for my parents to finish talking to Miss Alana, I noticed a magazine sitting on a table. It was published by Purina and there was a picture of a beautiful blind cat on the cover. Hmmmm, that cat looked familiar. I asked Lily to take off her hat…I took a close look at her markings and then at the markings of the cat on the cover. That was Lily on the cover!!!! I was very impressed. It was a beautiful photo! I asked Miss Alana if I could have a copy of the magazine and she told me I could. I asked Lily if she would autograph a copy for me and she graciously obliged.



As I stood admiring my autographed magazine, I noticed that the visitors had tracked a bunch of dirt onto the floor. A couple of us felines decided we would help out and clean up after the messy humans! Lily grabbed a broom, Casper collected some trash and I took a sponge to wipe the floor.



Miss Alana told us we did a wonderful job and she gave each one of us some treats -Friskie’s Cheezy Craze Crunch - yum, my favorite!
I went from room to room saying my goodbyes. I hated to leave my new friends, but I had to go home. I promised them I would come back and visit again very soon!
As we walked to the car I realized that I had almost forgotten that I had asked Mom to write a check from my book sales account to give as a donation to the shelter. I collected the check from Mom and presented it to Miss Alana.



She was very grateful and gave me a big ol’ hug. I told her that she was very special and that kitties everywhere sleep better knowing there are people like her in the world.
As our car pulled away, I waved at my friends out the window. Mom told me that Miss Alana had mentioned to her that they are in need of volunteers to help take care of all the precious kitties. I told Mom that I would help spread the word and see if we could drum up some help. I know if people visit the shelter they will fall in love with the special residents and want to be a part of it.
As I settled in next to Roody for a much needed cat nap, I thought about how amazing it was that the blind cats were just like any other cats. They are loving, playful, independent and very patient with silly cats who stink at playing Marco Polo!
If you would like more information about the Blind Cat Rescue and Sanctuary, just go to www.blindcatrescue.com and check out all the beautiful kitties available for sponsorship. There are also many great videos showing the playful blind kitties doing their thing! It will make you smile and feel all warm inside!
Until next week…

Love and kitty kisses,
Josie