Hi, it's me Crash.  See that picture up there.  I was very young then.  I'm getting old now and can't climb to the top of the cabinets any more.  That was fun.  I could look down and watch everybody and not get in anyone's way.

 

Mom complains now that I'm always underfoot.  I don't know what that means because she doesn't step on me.  I just try to stay next to her, maybe sometimes in front of her.  It's fun.

 



She bought us some food today and came home telling us all about the cute kittens she saw at the store.  I think she really wants a kitten.  I think she's crazy.  Burnie and I are all the cats she needs.  We give her all the love she needs.  We let her sit next to us, we make sure she gets up on time in the morning.  I even help her stretch her back in the morning. 

I sit next to her when she's on the computer and I meow and meow until she stops what she's doing and bends down to pick me up.  Then I move around so she can't catch me and she has to keep stretching her back.  Then I let her pick me up and I purr so she feels good.  She says her back doesn't hurt so much since we've been playing our game.

Well, gotta go.  I have some bags to check out.  I wonder what food mom bought for us today.

A Problem

I have a problem.  I have decided that I should visit every presidential home/library.  I've already visited the homes/libraries of Presidents T. Roosevelt, H. Truman, D. Eisenhower and J. Kennedy.

I decided that this year I would take about four days and drive to Virginia and visit Mount Vernon and Monticello.  I mentioned this to some friends and they reminded me that James Madison had a home near there.  Okay, I can still visit three homes; my trip would be a little longer than the four days I planned.  I'll just take one extra day.

Last week I decided to do some research and discovered that James Monroe was a neighbor of Thomas Jefferson.  Add one more to the list.  Then I read that Woodrow Wilson's library was also nearby.  Now I was up to six days.

Today I was looking at a book from Virginia tourism and discovered that William Henry Harrison and Zachary Taylor also lived in Virginia.  John Tyler is buried in Virginia.

Now it looks as if I'll have to make several short trips to Virginia rather than one long trip this year.  I simply can't take a two week road trip because I have other vacations planned and Crash and Burn might not let me back in the house if I keep leaving them.

I'm very fortunate to have such a problem;  I'm still healthy enough, physically and mentally,  to travel.

Upgrade

This past weekend I took a trip out to Riverhead, LI to visit relatives.  I had made reservations at a hotel chain where I am an "honored" member.  Since this was a holiday weekend and there were a couple of weddings staying at the hotel, rooms were limited. 

I have a profile with this chain and in it I specify that I prefer a lower floor since I've never been comfortable riding in elevators and it has gotten worse since I'm retired and don't have to any more.  The woman at the desk assigned me a room on the 3rd floor and then realized that I prefer a lower floor.  Instead of telling her that I could take the 3rd floor, I kept quiet.  She kept checking available rooms and finally asked a co-worker if she could do it.  I wondered what she meant, then she said she could give me an upgrade.

I was thrilled, what kind of upgrade would it be.  Might I possibly be getting a suite?  She finished the process of checking me in, noted the room number and gave me my keys.  I moved my car around to be nearer my room and checked it out.

This was my upgrade

I've never heard of having a bathtub so close to the bed.  It's a good thing I don't walk in my sleep.

I guess the upgrade was that it was a Jacuzzi tub, but not quite what I had expected.  Oh well.

 

 

Today we remember and give thanks to these young men.

 

Hi, Burnie here.  I had a very good week.  First, mom had her cleaning ladies here, so  I had to be locked up with Crash for a very long time.  But I didn't mind too much because she has to use catnip to get us into the room.  I'd really go into the room on my own, but if she wants to give me some catnip, I'll gladly take it.  Don't tell her though.

Then, later in the week, she had some company.  Four of her friends came for coffee and cake.  The best part is that none of them is allergic to cats, so Crash and I had the run of the house.  I got lots of pets and scratches from them.  It was so nice.  Usually, when mom has company, someone in the group is allergic to cats so we have to be locked up.  I like these new friends better.

Well, that's about it for now, time for my nap.

Crash here.  Sorry I'm late, but mom was very busy yesterday and then later she went out without turning the computer on.

Well, it's only a day later.  Mom has spent the past couple of days cleaning her closet.  I don't know how she does it, but she made such a mess in the rest of the house.  She keeps taking things from her closet and putting them in the guest room and disturbing me when I'm sleeping in there.  I'm not really a guest since I live here, but it's a very comfortable bed.

Anyway, she says she's going to donate them to some charity.  I hope she makes arrangements soon before she changes her mind and keeps half of the "stuff", which she has done in the past.

The weather hasn't been too good lately, not much sun, so there's no place for me loll around on the nice warm sunny floor, and the windows aren't getting opened either.  How boring.

I've been spending my days lately just following mom around the house, from room to room.  She sometimes sits down, but Burnie runs to sit next to her.  It makes me very sad, then I go off to my room (the guest room) and sulk.

That's about it for now, I feel a nap coming on.

Mom was Right

I must admit that I am a slave to my timer.  I use it for everything.  Years ago when we had a swing set for the boys and their friends would come over, I would tell them that they could have a certain amount of time on a favorite swing, then they would have to let someone else have a chance.  I would set the timer and they know that when it went off, someone else had a chance.

I also used a timer on the light in my son's room.  As a child, he would get so involved in reading that he would lose track of time and stay up way past his bedtime.  I would give him an hour to read, then the light would go off and he would have to go to sleep.

I even use it when I want to sit and read for an hour.  That way I'm not distracted by checking my watch.  Unfortunately, that is the time when my phone always rings, but I digress.

Years ago, when I was first married and my mother was visiting while I was baking a cake, I set my timer for the recommended minutes.  My mother, who was a terrific baker, commented that she never timed a cake.  I asked how she knew when it was done and she replied that she knew when she could smell the cake.  I was shocked and couldn't believe she could really tell just by the small.

Last week I was baking a cake and puttering around the house while it baked.  I was in my office at the other end of the house when I smelled something - it was the cake.  About 30 seconds later, the timer went off.  I checked and sure enough, the cake was perfectly done.

I guess mom was really right about this.

Burnie Here

Hi, it's me Burnie.  Mom has been busy getting out her summer clothes and putting the winter ones away.  She wasn't too happy when I jumped into the empty box.  Doesn't she know that cats really like being in boxes, no matter the size.

I'm really lucky, I don't have to worry about changing from winter to summer clothes.  All I ever wear is my fur coat, it suits me whatever the weather.  Sometimes, mom has to comb me and she takes so much fur, she thinks she could make another cat out of it.  I hope she doesn't, I don't want to have to share with yet another cat.

Anyway, for all you moms out there, Happy Mother's Day.

Class

                                         

Have you ever wondered what class looked like?  Well, look no further than this photo.
 

 

 

This woman, Condoleezza Rice had been invited to speak at the commencement at Rutgers University.  Unfortunately, the tolerant left leaning faculty and students don't believe in giving voice to a conservative person, no matter how accomplished that person may be.  Ms. Rice is a concert pianist, she was the former Secretary of State and National Security Advisor in the George W. Bush administration.  I don't like pointing out "the first" anything since it takes away from someone's actual accomplishments, but she was the first female African-American Secretary of State.  She was also a professor of political science at Stanford University and is now a member of the Stanford Graduate School of Business faculty along with being a director of the Global Center for Business and the Economy.  She has accomplished more than most of the students and faculty of Rutgers could ever dream of.

 

The objections stem from her part in the administration during the Iraq war.  Because of the various protests and sit-ins, she has graciously declined the invitation.  Here are her words:

 

"Commencement should be a time of joyous celebration for the graduates and their families.  Rutgers' invitation to me to speak has become a distraction for the university community at this very special time."

 

In her statement, Ms. Rice also defended her record, saying that she was honored to serve her country and that she had defended America's belief in free speech and the exchange of ideas, but that she didn't want to detract from the commencement ceremony.

 

I guess now Rutgers will have to search for another speaker, one who has the credentials and accomplishments acceptable to the left.  Maybe Snookie or Miley Cyrus is available.  They seem to fit the standards of some of the faculty and students.

The Real Story

 

Last week, Crash told you that she was very tired because mom was so busy all week that she didn't get a chance to nap.

 

Let me tell you the real story.  Crash and I were both so tired, that's true.  The real reason we were so tired was that we may have been a little (just a little) bit hungover.  Mom always gives us some catnip as a bribe to keep us quiet when we're locked up.  That day, she knew we would be locked up for a very long time, so she gave us a lot of catnip to bring us into the room and to keep us quiet.

 

Look at those pictures.  Don't we look like we had a little too much catnip?  I'm not complaining, it was good, but then, mom had to take our pictures to show the world that we enjoyed our catnip too much.