Home Sweet Home

Well I had planned on posting one last set of pics from the last day of our trip, but unfortunately we all got food poisoning and spent the day in bed instead of at the fishing village we were supposed to visit!

So after 3 flights and a car ride we are home! The kitties are very happy to see us :)

We Can Has Kittaz!!

In addition to moving to a new place last month, we decided to adopt two kittens. That's right, two. They are brother and sister and they are named Fela Kitty (grey, boy) and Ladybird (striped, girl). To quote M, "They are awesome. They make everything better." Even when they are spilling my plants all over the floor and licking my hair in the mornings.

They also have their own Tumblr, if you're interested - www.erafuz.tumblr.com

A Cat Named Chauncey

Meet the newest feline on Osage Ave . . . . Chauncey!

She has a mustache.

These are the best photos I could get of her, she's still getting used to her new surroundings and her new housemates. Welcome home, Chauncey!

Kitty T.V.

We've had several days recently that were sunny and in the 50s. Perfect time to air out the room and give the cat a brand new experience.

On a sad note, Billy moved away last weekend with our other housemates. He's now living three looooooong blocks away, WAH!

This little one

I'm in love, and let me tell you why.



As I write there is a warm bundle of purr in my lap. And he crawled up and fell asleep here without the use of force.



Growing up I had to trap and hold my cats to get them anywhere near my lap. But this one, oh this one will climb onto you, nestle in, fall asleep. Doesn't matter where or how you are sitting, as long as you're reclined he's there. He's fallen asleep on my throat as I lay on my back napping, he's slept on my lap under the table during dinner, and he's even curled into the crook of my knee as I lay on my stomach on the bed. Sometimes he even grooms your face with his rough little tongue before falling asleep (if you let him).

When you come home from work he greets you at the door, purring. He spends about 60% to 70% of his time purring, whether he's awake or asleep, mellow or wild.



A typical day is spent partly on M's lap while he works at the computer:

. . . and partly in the act of living up to his name, Wild William, wielding his needle sharp claws and teeth mercilessly:





Then, inevitably, this happens again.



Pretty soon he will move out when our roommate's house purchase goes through, and then I won't know what to do with myself. How would you feel if this little angel left you?

Bill, being wild

SPROING!!

Wild Bill, Ladykiller

Hi. This is Wild Bill.



I know. Seriously.



He is about one month old and he is being raised by my housemate Mike (who is moving out soon, so I'm trying not to get attached, HA). There's really nothing more to say until I can get a good video of him, then he will speak for himself. You think you're prepared for it, but you're not.

Kitty Time!

Since we can't have pets in our house I have to get my hit of kitty goodness when we cat-sit for M's cousins in Center City.



This is Porter, he was adopted from the U Penn Vet school's feline blood donor program where he spent a year or so of his life donating blood to sick kitties. He spent that time living in a lab so when they first got him home he didn't know any of the normal kitty tricks, like hiding under the bed. When he got scared he would just run and face the wall, kind of like a "you can't see me if I can't see you" type of thing. Erg, adorable. Now he is incredibly affectionate and well adjusted, a total love-bug.

OMG Kitties!

Just a tidbit of cuteness for today. I went to San Diego to visit my friend Chez a few weekends ago and we spent a lot of the time playing with her kittens (as one does when confronted with kittens). This is an award-winning bit of cinematography on my part too, make sure you watch the whole thing, there's a surprise ending! (I had to post it on youtube because it is too long for Blogger to deal with).

Sienna, attacking the bag.

Ted and Tarquin

This is my last Ted the Titan post, I promise. He finally bloomed on Monday night, and Ernesto and Tim were there almost the whole night, monitoring him and taking temperature readings. The spadix of the flower (the big phallic-looking thing in the middle) got up to 100 degrees F in places during the height of the blooming. Here are some final pictures of the inside of the flower. Check out the deep burgundy, nice.



They cut a small hole in the side of the flower so we could see the tiny little flowers at the base. They are also going to harvest some of the pollen and share it will other conservatories across the country that have titan arums. The flowers on the bottom are female, and they become receptive first, which is the reason for the intense stink (attracting flies that have pollen on them from visits to other arums). The ones on top are male and they will release their pollen after the female flowers are no longer receptive, in order to avoid self pollinating.





In other news, my 12 year old cat, Tarquin, finally passed away last night. She had diabetes and kidney problems, so it was her time. Here are a few pictures of her in her better years.











Isn't she beautiful?