10/14/05

1. The best picture you have ever taken of something/someone This is one of my favorite pictures, ever, of the spud. She had just woken up from her nap, and I came in with the camera, and took several pictures of her, and she started getting fussy because I kept snapping PICTURES instead of freeing her from her PRISON. You’ll note that she’s holding onto a pacifier, which is attached to a ribbon, which is attached to her shirt. She love her pacifiers fiercely when she was little. We didn’t call them “binkies”, though, we called them “rah-rahs”. 2. The best picture of yourself & why you think it is. My favorite picture of myself, ever. I don’t know that it’s necessarily the best picture of me, but it’s certainly my favorite. Christmas day, my Junior year of high school, and a bunch of us were hanging out at our friend Norm’s house. I just look so damn young and happy, it always makes me smile. 3. A favorite picture that someone else took/painted/doodled My parents and my nephew, Brian, on the last day the spud and I were in Hawaii. Debbie snapped it, using one of the waterproof disposable cameras I took to Hawaii with me. I think I was laying under the trees trying not to get sunburned, and the spud was snoozing on a blanket on the beach. Seeing this picture (I have it hanging over my desk) always makes me want to go back to Hawaii, even though I was miserable much of the time while we were there.

* * *
In my comments yesterday, Martha asked for more information on the cube I mentioned. This is what it looks like:
It’s basically made of nylon and wire, and there are nylon tassels hanging from the top. I got two cubes (I had to toss one because it was covered in cat poo and I didn’t want to scrub it down) in the cat section at Target. They were in a pack of two for $9.98, I think. I’ve also seen them at Wal-Mart in single packs for around $4 each. I cannot tell you how much the cats love this toy. It’s light and moves easily, so they can get in and push on the side and basically “roll” it around. Like I said yesterday, the kittens loved to roll it from one side of the room to the other, and once we were keeping the door to the kitten room open all the time, I’d occasionally find it in the hallway. I looked online to see if I could find them, but had no luck. The label on the top says “Sport Pet”, if that helps at all. Oh, and I forgot to mention that they’re pop-up cubes, so in theory if you wanted to pack them away for a while – if, say, your cats got bored with them, or for moving – you could fold them flat to do so.
* * *
So we were laying in bed last night, and I was harassing Fred about keeping Bear. This is nothing new, I did the exact same thing with all the other foster kittens we’ve had in the past, especially Jodie and Rambo. His response is always “You promised you wouldn’t beg to keep any of them!” and “What’s that you’re saying? That you never want to have any foster kittens ever again?” “What would we name him?” Fred said. “If we were going to keep him.” This is nothing new, either. We thought of new names for Rambo, too – the most popular being “Worm” and the second most popular being “Gollum.” We started throwing out names that started with “S”, just to keep in the tradition, since all of our other cats have names that start with “S”. Not that we ever CALL them by their names, but still. “Satchmo!” Fred said. “Uh, no. Satchel!” I said, thinking of Satchel Pooch, the dog from the “Get Fuzzy” strip. “Uh. NO,” Fred said. “Stevie! We could name him after Stevie the blind wonder cat!” “Cute,” I said, pondering. “But Stevie was a pain and Bear is a sweet little monkey.” I thought some more, then giggled. “Shalimar!” I said. Fred laughed. “That’s a good one!” Silence fell as we both thought some more. “Tom Cullen!” Fred said. You know how something that’s not THAT funny hits you just right, and you start laughing so hard you come thisclose to passing out? That’s what I did when Fred said that. “M-O-O-N!” Fred said. “That spells Tom Cullen!” I flailed around and laughed, gasping for air. Under the covers, the kitten in question became alarmed and ran out from under the covers and jumped off the bed. “These are our cats,” Fred said. “Spot, Spanky, Scrappy, Stanley… and Tom Cullen.” “Man,” I said when I could breathe again. “That’s a good name. It’d be fun to call the vet and say ‘I’d like to make an appointment for my cat’ and when they said ‘What’s his name?’, we could say ‘Tom Cullen. But we call him Moon.’ and see if they got it.” We went on to talk some more about other things, and I tried a few more times to convince him that we should keep Bear, even going so far as to say “Mister Boogers likes him so much! No one else will play with him!”, but it was no good, the man would not be persuaded to add a little kitteny goodness to the permanent household. Hmph. Bear hung out with me for a while, and when I went to put him in the kitten room, the spud asked if he could come in her room for a little while. I told her to put him in the kitten room before she went to sleep, and I went to bed. This morning, I was awakened by cold little kittens toes on my shoulder. Fred was standing over me holding Bear. “Two conditions,” he said. “Huh?” I said, and yanked an earplug out of my right ear. “I have two conditions,” he said. “What’s that?” “First of all, his name has to be Tom Cullen.” “Of course.” “And secondly, no more foster cats until he’s old enough to not get sick from every little illness they bring into the house.” “Okay,” I said. “Kitten season is mostly over for the year. He’ll be old enough for us to start bringing kittens into the house when it starts up again next Spring.” “Then I guess he’s ours!” Fred said. The shelter manager called me a sucker when I told her we wanted to adopt him. Heh. Of course, if I’d had my way we would have adopted the first five, the second two, and all four of the most current batch. I guess it’s probably a good thing that cooler heads prevail in the And3rson household. Meet Tom Cullen And3rson: “Be vewwy vewwy quiet. I’m going to sneak up on him and scare him!” When I talk about his crazy eyes, this is what I mean. Big, round, crazy psycho eyes. He’s very clean. We let the cats outside for a little while yesterday. Mister Boogers kept an eye on Tom Cullen (hee!). I guess we need to get Tom Cullen his own collar. We don’t want him running away! He doesn’t need much room. He just wants a little of the Poo warmth. Playing in the bubble wrap. Making himself just a little TOO much at home. All of today’s uploaded pics are here. Previously 2004: No entry. 2003: I’m pretty certain “Never going to fucking go hiking with him EVER A-FUCKING-GAIN” crossed my mind at least once. 2002: Hotel room so big/ roomy, spacious, perfect. Butt/ is what it smells like. 2001: No entry. 2000: No entry. 1999: Don’t get your bippies in an uproar, though; we’re not trying to get pregnant. ]]>

64 thoughts on “10/14/05”

  2. Okay, am I the ONLY one who doesn’t get the “Tom Cullen” thing? Explain please, to this brainless brainerton!

  5. Congratulations on Tom Cullen becoming a permanent part of your family.
    I wanted to let you know that at the front of WalMart in their $1.00 crap, er, treasures they have fleece baby blankets. They’re pretty thin but perfect for cat pillows. I’ve bought several over the summer for our three cats and have just folded them over our worn out old pillows and sewn up the sides. Perfect!

  7. Laura: Tom Cullen is a character from “The Stand.” He is slightly retarded and thinks that M-O-O-N spells, well, everything. He’s prone to announcing “M-O-O-N, that spells (whatever)!”

  9. Oh Robyn…the Tom Cullen thing is hilarious. I am horrible about remembering book references, but I will always remember “M-O-O-N, that spells Tom Cullen, laws yes!” When you fill out forms at the vet, you should write MOON in the name field, then inform them that it’s pronounced “Tom Cullen” thankyuoverymuch.
    Laura, Tom Cullen is a character in The Stand by Stephen King. He couldn’t read or write, so he thought everything was spelled M-O-O-N.

  10. Hello little TomBoy, MoonBoy, special kitty! Meester Boog can be your 2nd Dad and you can be a good cat. If you ever need money for tuna or cheezies for you and Meester Boog just let me know.
    🙂
    Mary

  11. I also HIGHLY endorse the cubes. At my house:
    7 cats + 4 cubes = non stop fun
    They have velcro tabs so you can attach them and make tubes or use them seperately. I got mine at Target too. We have a throw pillow in one and our old man cat basically lives there. We may get some more, to have downstairs they love them so much. When we have a bunch of people over we just collapse them and shove them between the wall and the couch.

  14. HAHAHAHAHA! Fred is a sucker. (I mean that in the best way possible.)
    Yay for Tom Cullen and yay for you getting to keep one kitty. Robyn, I could never do the foster kitty thing because I barely stand it when YOU take them to the pet store to be adopted, there’s no way in hell I could do it myself.
    You’re a super start and pillar of kitten strength!

  15. Yippe – Mr. Boog has a brother who will play with him. The best thing I did was get a second kitten when I had a 11 year gap in the ages of my boys. My two youngest ones play and attempt to kill each other with Kill Licks and provide hours of fun. I AM, however, on my way to Target this weekend to get some cubes. I do think they will love them and they need more toys. Right? One can never have enough cat toys.

  16. This is my cat Mr. Boogers and this is his cat Tom Cullen. (This is my dog Stinky and this is his dog Nunzio- Dharma and Greg).
    SUCK-ER!
    Hee!

  19. Okay, Fred is LAME! Why could he not agree to keeping Rambo and Jodie?! I totally wept when those kitties were gone? Damn dman dman! Welcome to the household, Moonie-Boy!!

  20. OMG – first of all, congrats on the new baby. May he & Meester Boogers live to be lifelong friends.
    & second – Tom Cullen/M-O-O-N nearly made me pee myself laughing. That is a FABULOUS name!!!

  22. Ya know, the moment I read that you kept him behind, I knew, I just KNEW. He planned it, of course, because that’s what kittens do. “If I fake being sick, the Momma will keep me until I’m better, and if I’m the only sweet cute little kitten she’s GOT to fall in love with me and keep me forever and ever and ever…”
    Welcome Tom Cullen!

  23. Oh yeah – I was going to mention this yesterday but I forgot. For those of you that don’t want to make fleece cat pillows in baby colors, there are these stores called “Fabric Stores” and they have fleece in many colors and prints. It’s all the rage these days. All you do it buy the number of inches (or fraction of yards) for the size of the pillow. You would probably be able to get two or three pillows out of the same piece of fleece. It’s usually pretty wide.

  25. Val: Heh. Smartass. I knowwwwwwww there are fabric stores, and actually Wal-Mart has a fabric section, but the baby blankets I got ended up actually being cheaper.
    Though there was a smiley-face fleece fabric that I was seriously considering on my way through the fabric section of Wal-Mart!

  26. Yaaaay!! Robyn, I’m so glad you’re keeping Bear…oops! I mean Tom Cullen. Him & Callie are identical to my cats when they were kittens (they just turned 13!) except my Jesse is black with the white Disco Medallion. Callie and Miz Poo are just like my Janey. We didn’t get ours until they were three months old, so seeing yours together was like looking at my cats before I got them. There’s nothing like a sweet black cat…you’re going to love having him in your family. Congrats!! 🙂

  27. I wondered just how long you could resist! I was so happy that Jodie and Rambo were adopted together. You must be Happy Dancin’ all over the house. Congratulations on talking Fred into keeping The Bear…not too much convincing was required, heh?
    Have a great weekend!

  29. Yay!! I was really happy to see you’re keeping Tom Cullen. I hoped you would—thanks Fred! I hope Tom (Moon) and Mr. Boogers have many happy years playing together!

  30. M-O-O-N! When you take him to the vet, tell them you’re concerned he may have Captain Tripps. Heeee. 🙂
    Seriously? Best kitty name EVER. Congratulations!

  33. Meester M-O-O-N, I’m so glad you have a great home!
    I love the name you and Fred picked… so cute!

  35. AAhh!! That made me so happy!! Yay!!!!!!! See, he was MEANT to be yours. He was probably faking that limp just so you’d take him home. Sucker!

  36. Okay, all of us who had the secret pool on how long it would take the And3rsons to cave now have to pay up!!
    I got Tom Cullen instantaneously. What a hoot.

  37. Welcome to your new home Moon/Tom Cullen/Bear. You are one lucky little kitty kat. About 20 years ago I had a cat named Moon. Adopted him the night of a full moon. Lucky kitties I tell ya …lucky kitties indeed.

  39. SO happy you’ve decided to keep “Moon.” I have a black cat almost identical to him, and he’s real joy. In fact, I named him “Buddy” because he loves to stick by my side, no matter what. His nickname is “Little Bud”…you can read more about him here.
    I’m sure you’ll have great times with your new kitten!

  42. Okay. I am admitting that in the beginning of this post when Fred said no, I was a bit sad and muttered a bad word. When you felt kitty toes on your shoulders I figured the Spud never put Bear in the kitty room. When Fred said two conditions, I let out a little yip of happiness!
    Fred, you’re a good man!
    Congrats guys, on the new baby of the family!

  44. Oh thank GOD you finally kept one. This past August I was so inspired by all your efforts that I decided to foster a tiny puppy. I promptly fell deeply, madly in love with him and begged 24/7 to keep him. Finally my lovely, fabulous husband gave in and little Otto became my 9th anniversary present. However, I’m never allowed to foster again. I’m happy that I’m not the only softie around. Congratulations on your newest addition!

  50. HA! I KNEW it!! But I never suspected Bear, you really play favorites on a daily basis so I was surprised..hee! I still think Callie matches Poo so well but you know? After looking at his pic I know what it is about him.
    He is the black version of Mr Boogers.
    Congratulations Mommy and Daddy! I guess he is the pseudo replacement for Fancy Pants? Sniff….colorwise anyway.
    BTW Spud was a baby doll! 😉

  51. It just dawned on my that you got a Halloween kitty too! Of course I thought of Salem for a S name right off the bat.

  55. I knew Fred would let you adopt one sooner or later. Congradulations!!! Happy adoption Tom Cullen!!

  56. I had a feeling after reading the last journal y’all were gonna keep M-O-O-N that spells bear!
    Congrats to you and condolences to Miz Poo! =)

  57. I think Mr. M-O-O-N developed his “limp” just in time… he might be smarter than you think! He knew a good home when he saw one, and he wasn’t leaving!
    Congrats on the new addition, and welcome Tom Cullen, M-O-O-N.
    ~Tanya

  58. Robyn, your Tom Cullen looks a lot like my Moose! I’ve been fostering him since he was a couple days old, he’s 8 weeks now and quite a vicious little guy. He’s going to live with my mom after he’s neutered, not for another month or so. I love him, I bottle-fed him and wiped his honey to make him poop – it’s the closest I’ve come to motherhood EVER and I’m not entirely sure I’ll be able to let him go! Anyhow, CONGRATS on the new addition, he’s very cute! There are about a billion Moose pictures (and other pictures of my critters) here if anyone wants to see! http://www.flickr.com/photos/skwairpeg/sets/519276/

  59. Welcome home, Tom Cullen, and congrats Robyn and Fred. Tom Cullen is a baby ringer for my Will, including the round-eyed crazy look. Goofy black cats are the best.

  60. Hi,
    I love you kitty pictures. I have 3 fat cats whom I absolutely love to death. In any case, I noticed your an avid reader. Is anything you are reading close to how Jennifer Weiner writes. I love her books and am out of something to read so I thought you might have a suggestion…..
    Thanks!

  61. M-O-O-N, that spells “yay!”
    The shelter co-manager told me Saturday that you’d adopted The Kitten Formerly Known As Bear. (She also said that Sugarbutt had been returned…how is he?)
    Tom Cullen is one lucky kitty to be adopted into the Anderson Palace for Cats! Congrats on your new family member!

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