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Typing With Wet Paws: December Update Edition

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Tails Up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This holiday season has taken a turn nobody expected. On the night before Thanksgiving, Papa fell down some stairs and had to go to the people vet. The people vets are taking good care of him, and he should be better soon. Mama Anna goes to the people vet every day to help and spend time with him. Aunt Linda takes care of things on the home front, and I will be in charge of social media for the rest of December.

The posting schedule for December will be: lawless wasteland. There will be posts, but no promises on when or about what. Probably pictures of me. There can never be enough pictures of me. Mama Anna gives me updates on Papa when she comes home. Things are going okay, overall. Papa is in good hands, and Mama Anna is in good paws, meaning mine.

Mama Anna is not sure what we are going to do for decorating this season, because helping Papa comes first, but she does want to do something. Maybe one of those ceramic trees she tells me her mama and aunts used to have. We will see. She did get out a box of some Christmas stuff and in it was a me-sized Santa hat. Here is a fun fact: I am 100% fine with Mama Anna putting things on my head. Nobody else, though. Maybe I will let her put the Santa hat on me for a holiday picture.

Yesterday, we had lots of snow here in this part of NY. Mama Anna loves snow, and she liked being able to look out windows at the people vet and watch it fall. I watched it from Mama Anna’s office chair, pointed toward the bedroom window. Unlike Mama Anna, I have no desire to go out in it. Being barefoot by default, I do not like even the idea of putting my beans in the cold stuff.

My job, when Mama Anna gets home, is to greet her at the door and lead her to the bed, so she can tell me all about her and Papa’s day, and then we cuddle. Then I get gushy food. I also inspect the bag Mama Anna takes with her for the day. It has lots of pockets, so it is super interesting. She can get a paper book, her tablet/Kindle, and journal stuff. It could theoretically also hold a calico cat, but apparently they do not allow cats into the people vet. Hmph.

Anyway, how was your Thanksgiving?

Typing With Wet Paws: Mama Anna’s Birthday Week Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. October has been a quiet month for the blog, but that’s not because nothing is going on. It’s actually the opposite. Super powers are in full swing, and Mama Anna is not idle. I will say, though, that she is slow on the uptake on one thing.

Her favorite week of the year is what she calls the tucked away week, from December 25 to January 1, aka between Christmas and New Year’s Day. She has only this year acknowledged that there is a second (or rather, first, as October comes before December) tucked away week, and that is between October 24th (her birthday) and October 31 (Halloween.) Start and end with a holiday both times, special foods and customs, seasonal decor, friends and family, you get the drift. Which is quicker than her in this case. That’s okay. Not everybody can be a cat. I am, though, so I lucked out on that one.

Anyway, Mama Anna’s birthday was great. Social media people showed up with good wishes, Aunt Linda took her to lunch and the art store (Mama Anna loves the art store) and Papa got Chinese food for dinner and they got to hang out at home. I gave her cuddles and headbonks and we played red dot, which was super fun. The next day, the party kept going.

This is Cousin Skye, who is a dog, and different from Big Sister Skye, who is a cat (Rainbow Bridge) and her lobster toy from all of us. That is the only picture of said lobster toy, as she loved it to death. Literally. RIP, Lobster. We all knew that going in. Next time, Kong. That’s Uncle Brian with her, who is married to Aunt Mary, who makes the bestest pina colada cake (I have to take the humans’ word for it, because apparently it is Not For Kitties) I stayed home with Papa, because I am not great on my own for whole afternoons. They did go thrifting and I got to inspect the results of that. I approved everything.

Here I am, with a paper bag that passed inspection with flying colors. Very crunchy, smells great. Papa said I did mostly great on our afternoon, playing with him, getting treats and cuddles. I did pace for the last hour-ish, but as soon as I heard Mama Anna come home, I was all better. I have been sticking close to her ever since. She had to help Aunt Linda do something out of the house on Monday, which is too soon for Mama Anna to go out after being out already, but she brought back interesting bags and I got catnip. I forget what happened after the catnip, but my paws are amazing. I have switchblade fingers.

For those wondering if I am going to dress up for Halloween (if your question is do I let Mama Anna put things on me, like hats and capes, the answer is yes) wait no longer. I will be dressing as an ice cream sundae. Dark fudge and chocolate on vanilla, to be exact. It is the traditional dress of my people, the Calico. It is also the same as my everyday look, because it’s just that good.

What are you up to this tucked away week?

Headbonx, Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Papa’s Birthday Eve Edition

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Tails Up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We are still in the cat days of August, which are mostly me lying in front of our air conditioner, Koolio, during the day and doing most of my cat stuff at night. Mama Anna had her special talking vet appointment yesterday, and tomorrow is Papa’s birthday. We are going to do whatever he wants, which will probably be at home, because he is a homebody. That must be where I get it. He will probably ask Mama Anna and Aunt Linda to go get cannoli, because he likes that better than cake (which is still good.) I think the Italian side of the family must approve.

this is about what I look like during the days

Mama Anna is chugging along with the writing stuff. When the sun is on her desk chair, she can go to the soft office, which is the big bed. She got a lap desk she can pop on the big bed and work with her laptop from there. It also works for writing longhand, which is where she does the most of her composing. I like to be on hand (or paw) to supervise and inspire.

Since my “days” begin at night, one of my favorite parts is when Mama Anna comes to bed after her bath and watches an old English tv show on her tablet. It’s like The Walking Dead but in the 1970s in England, and there are no zombies, but lots of farm animals. Obviously, she likes it a lot, and it inspires her to do more world building and character lore development for her medieval post-apocalyptic stories. Zombies aren’t a problem in this show, or in her books, but questions like “crap, where are we going to get salt?” and “oh no, the sheep ate the wrong grass; does anybody know what we do now?” are super big deals. Mama. Anna. Loves. It.

Reading is kind of not happening right now, which she is not liking, but the Talking Vet gave her some tips that she will try. That happens sometimes. She has plenty of books, so that is not the problem. My suggestion is to keep watching stuff and give me belly rubs.

We have Papa’s presents ready to go, and he gets to pick what dinner will be. Yes, I will be getting a special treat as well, because I always do on holidays. Usually, we share a can of people tuna.

What’s up for your weekend?

headbonks, Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Fully Nipped Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws.

pizza and me keeping each other warm

Mama Anna went to her first improv class in many cats last night, and she loved it and is going back next week. According to her, there were zero cats there, but she had fun otherwise. She also was working on her next project with Aunt Melva before and after class, and today, she worked on cover design for Aunt Melva’s nonfiction project. Safe to say there is stuff going on around here. In case you were wondering, I sat on the pizza box for about an hour. That’s how comfy Koolio keeps us here. The flowery thing behind me is Aunt Linda in her new dress. she looks nice.

Speaking of nice, I have a new toy. It has catnip in it and my humans tell me that Bigger Sister Olivia and Biggest Brother Ginger both loved this toy. Big Sister Skye was a straight edge kitty and did not indulge in catnip. This one was so nippy that I smelled it before it was even out of the packaging and came from another room to yell at Mama Anna to tell her that was mine and I needed it right away. Thankfully, she understood and opened it on the big bed so she and Aunt Linda could both watch me play with it. Papa is off at work. Suffice it to say I love this toy. It is great. I will be playing with it a lot.

10/10 would nip again

Mama Anna and I binged a show on Netflix the other night. It is called The Survivors, and it is Australian. At first, she thought it was going to be some kind of zombie or adventure story. She likes both of those kinds of stories, but this show is not one of them. It is a drama, which Mama Anna also loves, and one of the characters appears to have some form of dementia, which she knows because of some people in her life. She says the representation there was excellent, both of the person with dementia and their caregiver. There was also a story about a missing person and an unalived person and some caves in the ocean. It also had two timelines, and she really, really likes two timelines.

She also finished The Survivor Wants to Die at the End, by Adam Silvera. It is number three in the Death-Cast series and she wants the next one right now, please and thank you, but it is not out yet. I suggested she read something else. Reading got hard again, but she is working on that. In case you want to read this series, she says it is one hundred percent a read in order series. I don’t know what book she will pick next, but probably a historical romance.

Oh wait. She is reading Tears of the Wolf, by Elisabeth Wheatley. It is a fantasy romance but heavily Viking-flavored. If you are new to this author’s books, this is a good place to start. She still wants to read a historical romance, so I will keep you updated on that.

What are you all reading this week?

headbonx, Storm

Typing With Wet Paws; Sunday Funday Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. I am blogging on Sunday this week because we finally got a break in the heat, and there was a while earlier when it was me-ing outside. That is Mama Anna’s favorite kind of summer weather. Papa is working a long shift today, which is nice for him, because he likes his job, but it does leave me without my Papa for such a long time that I do have to mention it. I will spend a decent amount of time on the Papa spot in the big bed, so he remembers where home is.

Since Papa is out hunting for cool stuff (that’s what working is, right?) we are having a chill girls’ day in with me, Mama, and Aunt Linda. Mama Anna is spending part of the day helping me with my blog post, and part of it playing Sims (one of her Sims families now has a calico cat, so that makes the game that much more fun) and part of it taking naps.

This has been an interesting week on the home front. Nobody likes heat, but Koolio takes care of that. Earlier this week, Papa had to do some stuff at the people vet. No cone of shame, but he does have to take some pills. He is brave. He doesn’t even have to hide them in tuna or anything. I am proud of him. Mama Anna picked up a low grade virus that she gets sometimes when stressed, but that is also under control. I have been working hard on nursing duties (the health worker kind, not the kittens-eating kind) which seem to be working because the humans are getting better. Aunt Linda appears to be fine.

I am still in love with the orange Ulta bag. The humans agree I get to keep it until it gets too worn or gross, at which point, Mama Anna and Aunt Linda obviously have to go to Ulta again. I wonder if they make pet beds. I bet they would be awesome. Mama Anna should show the picture of me on the bag to the Ulta people. I bet they’d love it. I pick it over some other beds when given options. Aunt Linda got me a canvas pouch with a calico cat on it, so the humans can keep my daily dose of treats in one place that is obvious in case a cat sitter or somebody needs to know where my stuff is. They can probably put the catnip there, too. There’s also a spare toy. Speaking of which, Mama Anna got me a laser pointer (that is safe for kitties) that has different options for the shapes I can chase. Variety is a good thing.

This is me on top of Mama Anna’s Kindle and one of her composition notebooks. I love this time of year, because Mama Anna gets super happy about school and office supplies going on sale. I, of course, have to inspect all new arrivals and make sure they smell right. That means like us. In about a week, we will be moving into the end of July and then it will be August, which is Papa’s Birthday season, and also shifts, at least for Mama Anna, from summer to pre-fall, and pre-fall is Super Powers Prep Time.

This is also the anniversary of the time I tried, without permission, to be an outdoor cat. Spoiler alert; I am not one. Many thanks to Mama Anna, Papa, and Aunt Linda for spending all that time looking for me and making sure I got home safe. I am never going outside again. I am an indoor cat for sure. Koolio, heaters, fans, comforters, electronic devices, toys, beds, Ulta bags, all that good stuff. Also treats. There are zero treats in the wild.

How is your weekend going?

Headbonks, Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: So This Is July Edition

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Tails Up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We have landed in July. So far, it’s shaping to be quite the month.

First of all, my human cousin was born! They were expected a little later than this, but everybody is happy and healthy and home. We have not met them, of course, but seen pictures. I am not sure how much I am allowed to say here, so we will call them Human Cousin, pronouns they/them. There is no cat at their house, but there is a dog. I am sure they will be besties.

my greatest achievement of the summer

I am very proud of myself, having managed this great feat (with my great feet) this early in the summer. I managed to get on Mama Anna’s office chair, while there was a towel on it (she says terrycloth is the best texture for both heat and anxiety) and turned it so that I was both directly in the sunbeam and directly in front of Koolio (our air conditioning unit, if you are new here. Also, for those who are new, Hi. I’m Storm. You love me. We’re friends now. What’s your name?)

again with the terrycloth

Kitty fit check. If you were wondering if I would let Mama Anna put clothes on me, the answer is yes, but ONLY Mama Anna, and we have only done hats and scarves so far. We may try dresses later, but I am already gorgeous au naturel. Mama Anna did once see a video of a calico cat wearing a clear raincoat walking through rainy Tokyo, which cemented for her that if I ever need a raincoat, it will be clear. I probably won’t need a raincoat. I am an indoor cat.

Have I shown you this picture of me in a box before? Well, it’s worth a second look. I love boxes. They are pretty great. With the way Aunt Linda likes Amazon, I am not lacking in boxes. Right now, I have an orange Ulta bag that I love super super super much. The humans have agreed that this is a special bag and they will keep it until it’s beyond use. They are smart. Mama Anna had Papa take pictures of me on the bag because he takes the best photos, and the next step is to get him to send her the pictures so we can put them here. Did I mention I really love this bag?

That’s about it for this week. Mama Anna has some TV and movie stuff to watch while rubbing my belly, so we better get to it.

What’s going on with you?

Typing With Wet Paws: Koolio in the House Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. As the title might suggest, we have our air conditioning on, and it feels awesome. I have been unusually talkative lately. Papa and Mama Anna think I want to make sure they are okay because it is summer weather now, and Aunt Linda thinks I am reacting to the air pressure. The weather report says it will be me-ing soon and that does things to the atmosphere.

Mama Anna was curious to see if I would accept clothes. The answer is yes.

Mama Anna tells me that tomorrow’s trip will be the last one of the summer, as she and Aunt Linda are going to see Aunt Mary again tomorrow. That is why I am posting today. They will be back on Sunday, so only gone for one night, but that is still too long for my liking. I get to spend the weekend with Papa. He may work on the new headboard. You will all be glad to hear it is unanimous that I will be allowed to scratch it if I want (it’s distressed already.)

Now that we have the proper inside temperature, and nobody is sweating to death, the humans will be better able to function. I still get the open window in Aunt Linda’s room, so that’s good. Having air conditioning means that it is much easier to function. The humans had been stubborn and insisted that fans were enough, but Papa ended up at the vet last year, and then they broke down, got Koolio, and, well, Mama Anna hauled out her weighted blanket last night. She had her feet sticking out. Best of both worlds.

Last week, Aunt Linda put a lot of her extra yarn in storage. She still has more to put away, and all of the humans need to switch their winter and summer clothes. Seems like a lot of work. I just shed. Much more efficient. We also have new summer sheets, which I will have to inspect when the humans make the bed next. That whole bit about “remove cat” being every other step in instructions for changing sheets with a cat around is funny because it’s true.

the white thing is a t-shirt, so I will shed on that and not on Mama Anna’s pink chair.

Warmer weather means more daytime naps for everybody, and then more activity when it is dark and cool. I could have told them that. With Mama Anna’s desk in front of a window, that puts her in direct sun during the day. Thankfully, she can take paper and pen to the soft office, or her laptop, for that matter, and go back to the desk at night. In case I didn’t mention it earlier, Mama Anna got a whole big box of tiny bubble wands and keeps one at her desk. She says blowing soap bubbles is good for calming down when she has anxiety. I am not sure about them. I gave them my best Halloween Kitty posture, but they don’t seem to do any harm, so maybe they will be fun to bat with my paws, as was suggested. These are the regular soap kind. Mama Anna needs to try the catnip kind. I will probably like those.

What does your weekend look like?

Headbonks, Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Sads, Happies, and the Sweetest Spot Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. We have some sad news first, and then will move on to happy stuff. I am sorry to say that Papa’s mama went to Rainbow Bridge right after Easter (I did not get to meet her, but Mama Anna and I are big fans of her work – Papa.) and then earlier this week, one of Mama Anna’s and Aunt Melva’s dearest writing friends, M.P. Barker, had also gone to Rainbow Bridge. Mama Anna and Aunt Linda will be going back to the Old Country to celebrate Aunt M.P.’s life on Monday. Mama Anna will probably be pretty soggy for a few days after that. Also needing naps.

At the end of that week, though, there is happy stuff. Aunt Mary’s son, Uncle Andy and his wife, Aunt Leah, are expecting their first person-kitten in July. This weekend, they are having a special getting ready for the new addition party, and Mama Anna and Aunt Linda will be going to that. Papa will be staying here with me, which I appreciate. They may also get to meet Cousin Skye (who is a dog, and different from Big Sister Skye, so I will be sure to say Cousin Skye or Big Sister Skye, to make sure you know who I mean.) but that may also wait until another visit because the getting ready for baby party is probably going to take the whole time.

Mama Anna does not do summer well, so that kind of visit is going to have to happen before the middle of June or after the end of August. In between there, Mama Anna will be home with Koolio (the correct spelling, as the label on the remote in Mama Anna’s desk drawer reminded me. I think the other spelling refers to an entertainer.)

Happy Birthday, Aunt Linda

The exciting thing about today is that today is Aunt Linda’s birthday. She wanted to stay at home and order in Mexican food. The humans seemed to like theirs, and from what I managed to get (only smells, unfortunately) from sticking my face in Mama Anna’s quesadilla. Apparently, that is not allowed. I was only trying to join the celebration.

This weekend is also the Tulip Festival here in Albany, NY, USA. We live very close to the park where it is, and the humans plan on going tomorrow, but I will be staying home. First, I am not allowed outside, and second, there are A LOT OF PEOPLE there. The humans will bring home any interesting smells or maybe stuff from vendors. Come on, locally grown catnip!

This is a picture Aunt Linda took of me, when she thought I looked especially long.

This spot on her bed is mine, mine, mine. Not hers, and not Mama Anna’s to sit on when she visits. If you are a cat, you will understand this is where all the good human-y smells are kept. The mattress is also super soft, and the pillows are nice. Aunt Linda has a few new pillows, which I always make sure to scent as soon as possible, by which I mean make them me-scented.

Anyway, that’s what’s going on around here. Mama Anna thinks that the best way to honor Aunt Michele is to keep writing. Aunt Michele was the first in-person writing friend Mama Anna had, and the one to introduce her to Aunt Melva. In turn, Mama Anna was introduced to Aunt Michele by another writer friend, because writers know writers and that is an awesome thing.

Typing With Wet Paws: It’s Gonna be May Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Posting late today because Mama Anna did some big time work on her sleep debt today. I need her thumbs to make entries. She has some problems with sleep (proof she is not a cat) so when it gets her, nobody interferes, even if it is Saturday morning. Anyway, she’s up, so am I, so here we go.

This is a screenshot of Mama Anna’s current Sims 4 save. I took it with my butt.

First of all, let’s address the new desk. This was not cat-approved. Though it did mean she moved her book crates to the other side of the desk, like I asked, she also put the CPU of the new computer where they used to be, instead. This leaves me a very small amount of space to occupy on the actual desk, and when I sproing up there, I generally land on the keyboard. This time, I managed to take a screenshot.

The new computer is working out pretty well, actually. It took Mama Anna, Papa, and Aunt Linda to figure out that this was a job for the pros, because it was Not Working. One trip to the pros later, it’s working great. The screen is huge, which is great for Mama Anna’s eyesight. This is true for images and for writing and internetting. Her chair is super comfortable (also pink) and there is a coffin shaped pillow that says “Rest in Peace.” How much clearer could she be that I am meant to nap there? Apparently not when she wants to work, though.

*especially* in sunbeams

Right now, Mama Anna is getting ready for the new month, which is May. That is the month that has Aunt Linda’s birthday, which should be fun, and is the spring-iest month (IMO) before summer sets in; nobody around here likes summer very much, though now that we have Coolio, the heat is no longer trying to melt any of us in our own home. Mama Anna is also getting the office part of her and Papa’s bedroom ready for the new season. Summer is different than the rest of the year. For May, Mama Anna is leaning into pastel colors and florals, with a request from Aunt Linda, for “cool colors.” She is not sure what themes she will use for June, but July is red, white and blue, and nautical. August is pre-fall, and then the super powers come back with autumn. So, really, we are now getting ready for autumn.

Part of that is making best use of this site, now that it is its own thing, as well as the sister site, Melvaandanna.com. She and Aunt Melva will have things to say about this.

me, awake. I deserve an awake picture in my own blog post.

Because the humans have not summoned Coolio from his winter home (Aunt Linda’s closet) they have opened the windows. This, of course, is wonderful. I can smell all sorts of things, and feel the breeze in my fur. I love sitting in Aunt Linda’s window and watching the world outside. Mama Anna has a window above her printer that is on, but I cannot get to it. I can’t imagine why she wouldn’t want me to get to a window, but she is fond of her printer.

Anyway, that’s our week. What’s going on with you?

Headbonx, Storm

Typing With Wet Paws: Mistress of Her Domain Edition

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Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The eagle-eyed among you may notice something different about today’s blog, and that is that the address for this blog, and all things Mama Anna, is now annacbowling.com. That is a step forward, and new things will be showing up very soon, but that is the first one. Links should still work. Pretty exciting.

Also exciting is that there is a headboard downstairs, inside the front door. That is for Papa and Mama Anna’s bed, because they have Had It with all of their pillows falling down the gap between mattress and wall, and that might actually be part of Mama Anna’s insomnia. Trust me, you do not want to see her sleep tracker right now. They plan to put the thing together tomorrow, and then I will get to inspect it. It’s wood, so it should be scratchable. I am already practicing on my scratchy cardboard thing.

I should mention that there is a headboard in storage, the one they got from Grandma Marilyn’s house, which has a super fun cabinet thing built into it. I was hoping they would bring that home, but there is more furniture in front of it, and besides, this one fits their aesthetic better. The other one is white and Papa likes darker colors. So does Mama Anna, actually. When it comes to furniture, that is, because they love the white parts of me. Also the black and orange parts.

Today is a rainy and windy and chilly day. Not a day the humans want to go outside. It’s much better to stay home and cuddle with me. Mama Anna may mess around with the website a little, so pardon the sawdust if she tries out a couple of different things. I, of course, will be closely supervising and lending a helping paw when needed.

What’s up for your weekend?

Headbonx, Storm