Typing With Wet Paws: Zombie Shows and Future Plans

February 23, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Still snowy here in NY’s Capitol region, and my people have a heating pad and weighted blanket, so napping on cold days is primo. I don’t know why Mama Anna thinks I would be on her desk chair (even though she has pictures) when I have all of those things (plus a new stuffed friend that she says looks like me, but I don’t see it) on the bed. Either way, I may be able to convince her to work some from the bed because there is definitely something going on with the chair.

The boys, my play cousins, Ollie and Murphy, are also doing well, even though they literally broke Aunt Melva’s heart (shaped glass candy dish) on Valentine’s Day. They are cute, so she forgives them. They say hi. They are looking forward to doing some guest blogging here in the future. Maybe I will let them chime in from time to time.

what do you think is causing Murphy’s airplane ears? Also, why is it Ollie?

There is a guy named Murphy in Z Nation, the show Mama Anna just finished watching. He is kind of a main guy, and is sometimes blue or red, but usually kind of pink. Mama Anna liked that show a lot, and she has already seen Black Summer, the show that comes before it, which she will probably watch again at some point. Do you know of any other zombie shows she might like? The Walking Dead is her favorite, and In the Flesh after that. If she gets a new show (preferably with a lot of seasons) then I get belly rub time while she watches it. Sometimes, I watch along with her. I can get behind a show based on hunting. That’s how I like to imagine it works when she goes to that “shopping” place.

Now that we are starting a new week, she will be spending more time at the desk, so maybe these shows are training for future shopping expeditions. Sometimes, she and the other humans (Papa and Aunt Linda) make other humans bring them stuff and then go away. I can respect that. Oen of those people brought Mama Anna a new set of ink cartridges for her printer. The box is far too small for me to sit in but that’s okay. I still have a mailer from when the sticker paper came. I am resourceful. Anyway, this week, Mama Anna is working on figuring out how to blend two websites and then start putting down some actual English words on the new book.

What are you up to this week?

Typing With Wet Paws: So, That Was January Edition

February 2, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up. Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Not a lot of blogging this month, but we (Mama Anna, me, and everyone else) are still here. Here are some of the highlights of what I will call the Silent Month:

Mama Anna is taking longer than she expected to get to the Actual Publishing part of independent publishing, but that only makes her more determined. Papa will be helping her, so look for updates soon.
My new purpose in life is to break into the drawer where Papa keeps my treats. He has caught me multiple times and he and Mama Anna are pretty sure I will eventually get it. I also know where they keep the BIG bag they refill the one in the drawer from, but I know I can’t open that on my own (yet) so I still have to ask humans for help.
Speaking of help, Mama Anna has found a couple of things that help her a lot in both the mental health and writing fronts.
- she now uses a specific notebook for a sleep tracker; how many hours, if she remembers any dreams/nightmares, that kind of stuff.
- writing time is every weekday, and it doesn’t have to look the same every day.
- the reading tracker is a big ol’ success. She may do a blog or video about that, because visuals are a big part of it. She will probably do something similar for TV/movies, as she wants to do more of that kind of stuff. She can watch stuff while rubbing my belly, so I am all for that being a more regular thing.

As you can see, I am extremely committed to getting into these things. This does seem to mirror Mama Anna’s determination to get back on the writing/publishing horse (metaphorical horse; we are in an apartment, so there is no room for a horse.) It may take a while, but we will get there.

This is obviously the year of play cousins, because I have another one. We have a new across the hall neighbor, and it is our building’s maintenance human. He is really good at playing guitar. He also has a dog, Moe, who is a Chihuahua. We have kind of met through the door. Moe’s dad told Mama Anna that Moe likes cats. I am always down for new friends, so we will see what happens.

Another thing Mama Anna has started doing is to design stickers/images for her planners and journals. She is, of course, going to make some me stickers, because duh. Cats are the best. Making her own stickers and stuff is helping her creative brain a lot, which is a good thing. It also makes sure that she keeps monthly themes for her planners, and that the themes are things she likes.

Okay, that’s about it for January, so we go on to February next. Hope yours is going great. Headbonx!

Typing With Wet Paws: Overstimulated and Loving It Edition

January 3, 2025annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. This post is a little late because I have been busy. Christmas was great. Here is a picture of me in the middle of a huge pile of tissue paper:

While Mama Anna’s usual way of wrapping presents is to use pretty paper and tape over every single possible way to get into the package (fun fact: the first present Mama Anna gave to Papa was one of the “I am going to marry this girl” signs, because that’s how all the women in his family of origin wrapped presents.) this year she went a different route and everything went in dark red paper bags stuffed with white tissue paper. This made Christmas awesome. So many bags! So much crinkle paper! I didn’t know where to look next, what to investigate. Everything was crinkly and there were paper caves and the humans were all super happy.

Well. I soon made a decision. This year, Mama Anna brought back stockings (the presents kind, not the wearing kind) to the holiday, and I got my own. It says “C” on it, for Calico Cat. I got a teeny me-sized insulated tumbler, because Mama Anna and Aunt Linda have and love their big ones, so I got one in proportion. It’s mainly decorative because I have water bowls. (One of them, I have had since I was with my first human, Mama D –Happy Holidays, Mama D! Hope you are doing as great as I am! — and the other one was passed down from Big Sister Skye.

Oh. Speaking of which, I am going to get another play cousin. This one will be the puppy kind, and her name will be Skye, so she will be Cousin Skye and Big Sister Skye is Big Sister Skye. Or maybe she will be Dog Skye or Puppy Skye. I will decide later. Mama Anna and Aunt Mary have already started making plans for virtual play dates, which will involve them holding us up to the screen while they have their weekly video chats.

Okay, back to Christmas. I got a stuffed fish that was not very interesting, so Mama Anna and Papa put it in a bag with some catnip sprinkles and sealed it. They will leave it there for a while and then try giving it to me again. I LOVE catnip. I have also discovered that I love a treat called Temptations. Papa gave me my first one on Christmas morning, and I LOVE it. Now Papa has to give me one or two when he comes home from work. This is non-negotiable. Mama Anna reminds me that while treats are fine, the prayer does NOT go, “lead me straight to the Temptations.”

This morning, I reminded her why there is the rule about not allowing me near her open mugs without supervision. The humans got themselves a machine (it is on the counter, where I am not allowed) that makes hot water superduper fast. Mama Anna uses that to make her morning tea if she doesn’t want to wait for the tea kettle. I should note that her big pink tumbler is too big to fit in this machine, so she has to use a regular mug. Some of you can see where this is going next.

Is this not the most appropriate paper clip I could possibly put in Mama Anna’s tea when she wasn’t looking, or what? Now she’s mumbling something about mug covers. Wonder what that’s all about. Anyway, that’s what’s going on around here. 2025 is shaping up well so far. How’s it going for all you guys?

Headbonx!

Typing With Wet Paws: Storm Saves Christmas Edition

December 16, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. My tree is up, but not in the way we expected. Let me explain.

I was originally going to call this post “Shingle Bells” because the reason Mama Anna did not blog last week was because she came down with a (thankfully mild) case of shingles and was not up to blogging. She is feeling somewhat better now. It’s a process. Anyway, back to the tree. Yesterday, Mama Anna felt better enough to put up the tree. We actually have two trees for the people, one rose gold and one regular tree colored. Mama Anna went into the closet where things were, and found the box with the lights and the box with the rose gold tree and the ornaments, but surprise–there was no tree stand.

This presented a problem. Aunt Linda offered to get another small tree the next day. Mama Anna reminded her that separately sold tree stands exist. Then she had an idea. She did have a backup Christmas tree (the humans deduced that the green one was in storage) – my pink one. Aunt Linda sometimes thinks Papa doesn’t like pink, but he says she is mistaken; he does. Anyway, he loved the tree and only wanted a few ornaments plus the white lights on the tree. Which is what Mama Anna did and now they all agree that the smaller tree is more in scale with where it is.

It looks kind of like this. I found the AI.

Don’t worry about me, though, because I was happy to help, and Mama Anna had a backup-bakup Christmas tree. Now there is a small bottle brush tree on her desk, with some fake snow and gold ball ornaments on it. That’ll do. In other news, Papa bought the whole family a soft fuzzy blanket that came in a box and guess what, I got the box.

Now let’s check in on the boys over at Aunt Melva’s house and see how their preparations are going so far:

Yeah, the tree had all these dangling things hanging off, but we fixed that.

Looks like things are going according to plan over there. Good job, boys.

Mama Anna is feeling better. Not one hundred percent yet, but it is perfect weather for snuggling under a blanket with a feline friend and getting some extra naptime. It seems to be working so far. She should be back up in fighting trim by the end of the week. That gives her plenty of time to finish Christmas shopping and maybe even blog about her holiday notebook.

Okay, that’s about it for this week. How are things shaping up for you?

Typing With Wet Paws: Unsupervised Saturday Edition

December 7, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Today, I am unsupervised. Mama Anna is down with her traditional bug. Papa is having a long winter’s nap because he works super hard, and Aunt Linda is far into her knitting, so there is nobody watching as I write this blog. That means I can do anything I want.

The trees are not up yet; that will probably be tomorrow, so I have energy to spend. It’s snowing today. Not much, but enough to still count. Mama Anna looooooves snow. Right now, she is mostly concentrating on sleeping off the bug (I highly approve of this) and I have time on my paws.

As you can see above, I found the AI picture thing. The splootches aren’t right, and I do not own a tuxedo, but if I could play an instrument, it would 100% be an upright bass.

my favorite video game

Mama Anna first learned of this game with Big Sister Skye, who loved it. Big Sister Skye also liked variations on this game with mice, strings, and lasers. The one with toys wasn’t around when she was, but I bet she would have liked it. I do. The fishies are a classic, though. I love when Mama Anna picks a video I would like, and then we watch it together. I still watch her kinds of videos, because those are fun, too. Maybe I can convince her to install the Sims 3 pack with pets in it (she owns it but only put a few packs on this computer) and ask her to make a Sim Storm. Then I can watch myself. That should be fun.

Since this is on Mama Anna’s site, I should probably say something about what she is doing, other than that she can be grouchy when she is sick. I think she needs some tea. She is putting together a journal tote that she can take into Aunt Linda’s room for when we girls are all hanging out in there. Mama Anna calls it parallel play, because sometimes, we are all doing our own things but doing them in the same place. Usually, Aunt Linda plays with strings (she calls it “knitting” or “crochet.”) or looks at her glowy box. I don’t know what Mama Anna wants to put in her journal tote, but I suspect a journal, some pens and some ephemera might be included. I will, of course, investigate and report back, or ask Mama Anna to do a bag tour.

Okay, that’s enough. Papa is up from his nap and doing interesting things on the computer, so I need to observe. Headbonx!

Typing With Wet Paws: Post-Thanksgiving Edition

December 2, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers. I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Normally, I like to post on Caturdays, but this was a holiday week, with first Thanksgiving and then Black, White, and Orange Friday (where prices are lower so people can afford more and better treats for their Calico cats. I guess other colors, too.) Anyway, I’m here now, and Mama Anna will blog later in the week, then I will be back on Caturday.

OK. Thanksgiving first. We had a good day over here. Papa cooked. He used to do that for monies, so it’s good when he cooks. I assume. I am not allowed to eat people food. I did get gushy food, though, so win. The people liked the food, though, which was kind of the point. Papa crashed the next day. Mama crashed the day after that. I like when the humans crash, because the big bed is nice. There are a lot of pillows, and a weighted blanket with a fuzzy cover. The best best time is when Mama Anna and Papa are both in bed and then I can get between them and it is cozy.

Before I go any further, this just in from my compatriots, Murphy and Oliver, who live with Aunt Melva:

We helped Mom decorate, then tried to eat the plastic pumpkins. We are hoping you and your family, especially Storm, had a great Thanksgiving.

–Murphy and Oliver

Thanks, boys. We totally did. We also had snow that day and the day after, which made Mama Anna super happy. She loves snow.

Okay, back to me. Mama Anna is leaning hard into the holiday season, which is another phase of her superpowers. She is currently looking for a soft (I think she means stuffed) star in gold or maybe yellow, to put on the top of my tent, which is where I work when we are at her desk. She also wants to put up some fairy lights in different places, the family Christmas tree, and then there is a new development for this year.

The new development is that I get my own tree this year. I have had a different experience from most kitties when it comes to Christmas trees. I was super young when I lived with my first human, Mama D, and don’t remember what we did for winter holidays. My first Christmas with Mama Anna, we visited family, and there was a tree, but there were also a lot of moving boxes so I could not get to the tree and wasn’t allowed unsupervised in that room anyway. (sheesh, hide inside one recliner one time, and suddenly you’re a flight risk) We have trees here, but they are small ones and on a table that is set up so I can’t get to it. The humans call that “cat-proofed.”

This tree will probably be on Mama Anna’s desk, and I am allowed to investigate, even knock it over if that’s what I want to do. Maybe I will, and maybe I will completely ignore it. Because cat.

Anyway, Mama Anna is eager to get the final things together to publish A Heart Most Errant. After that, she gets to start on A Heart Most Ardent. Probably the same time, Mama Anna and Aunt Melva (with help from the boys and me) will be working on one final pass on Drama King and then start the publishing process for that.

How did your holiday go?

Typing With Wet Paws: Introducing the Boys Edition

November 14, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. Now that Mama Anna is finally letting me watch videos I want to see, we have play dates where I can watch those videos (and play with them) and Mama Anna watches. We were doing exactly this the other day when Papa called Mama Anna on the talky box (she calls it a phone) and I heard his voice. I love him a lot, so I ran to the talky box so I could talk to him, too. I have done this before. What was different this time, though, was that first I popped my paw on the keyboard and it paused the video. Mama Anna was surprised and happy. I don’t know why she is surprised. I have seen her do it about a million times. It’s not that hard.

Anyway, whatever it is a cat has to do to get some help around here, it looks like I’ve done it, because now I get to train the new guys, Murphy and Oliver. They work remotely because they live with Aunt Melva in her house which is different from our apartment, but they both love the office over there, so I think collaborating will go well. I will let Aunt Melva introduce them.

This is Oliver and Murphy. They arrived on the scene at my house during the summer. I had only been fur-free for a few months when I inherited these two boys. I did not seek them out. Rather, they found me and settled in. They made themselves at home by trotting across my keyboard and snagging my picture window curtains. They claimed the latter job was done to make my living room look more lived in. While I appreciated their efforts, I had been previously fine un -holey drapes.
Since they made quick work of adding their own stamp on the house, they were looking for employment. Storm graciously offered to let them act as assistants to her blogging work should it ever become necessary. While I was hesitant to allow them entry into the business world, they insisted on joining Storm’s mentorship program. We’ll see how it goes.

–Melva Michaelian

Cat distribution system strikes again. Since they are Aunt Melva’s boys, I guess that makes them my play cousins. I can deal with that. I am awesome at playing. Also, I like everybody.

So, anyway, this week stuff. Mama Anna is all excited about paying her first invoice for the indie publishing thing. Papa has to help her with a thing or two, and then there will be news about fun things like pre orders and release dates and even a cover reveal. Did I mention she really likes the cover? She is already looking forward to working with the Killion Group again.

She also has some plans for future blog posts, both here and at MelvaAndAnna.com, plus how she is going to handle filling the storage on this account at its present level. She will probably have to ask some people about that, which is okay. She is great at talking to people, and most of those pictures are probably of me. If not, then they should be. She might be willing to open a gallery of only kitty pictures over at MelvaAndAnna if you guys want to see one. That would include me, Murphy, and Oliver, though not all three of us in the same place. (I do love car rides, though, so who can tell?)

Anyway, that was my week, and those are my play cousins. How about you?

Typing With Wet Paws: Post-Birthday Edition

October 25, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The birthday I am referring to is not mine (we celebrate that on February 14th) but Mama Anna’s. Mama Anna loves birthdays. They don’t always have to be hers, but this one was. She and Aunt Linda went out for lunch and then craft store shopping, and then after Papa got home from work, he ordered Mama Anna’s favorite pizza, and they did presents and all hung out. I gave Mama Anna lots of cuddles and head bonks. I could not make her a cake, but I did make her lots and lots of biscuits, which she said are even better.

Even though this was Mama Anna’s birthday, I am the one who has big bed news. Aunt Linda got everybody new pillows (all the humans, that is) which means Papa and Mama Anna did not need their old bed pillows, so guess what — they gave them to me! Mama Anna had put my big cat bed on a small table next to her new desk, and, while it is super comfy, it is also too big for that table, so now it is a bed on the people bed during the day. What goes on the small table now? Glad you asked. It is the old people bed pillows. They are soft and comfy and they are parent-scented, so I love them a lot. One of them is going to go in my adventure cave, but that is for later.

Mama Anna also got another wooden crate to put on her desk to hold the planner stuff she uses on a daily basis, and before she put stuff in it, I put me in it. She didn’t get any pictures, and I didn’t stay long, because it did not have any pillows in it. I am all about the comfort. Technically, everything is a cat bed, but for actual bed-beds, I now have the big cat bed on the people bed, the pillow bed on the small table and then my tent on the desk.

There is one more thing that I should mention this week, and it is about my tent. A couple of days ago, Mama Anna put her hand into my tent, to tap the cushion, which is her way of telling me she would like me to go there. Well. She felt something under the cushion, which did not feel like cushion, so she investigated. She picked up the cushion, and underneath it were the following things:

one empty perfume sample spray (Twilly de Hermes)
two silicone earbud tips (my favorite thing to steal)
two bobby pins (Mama Anna refuses to ask why they are bent)

She. Took. Them. All. She also says that now, she will be inspecting my tent daily. Next time, Mama Anna wants to take a picture of my stash before she confiscates it. If I stash things that are okay for me to keep, then she will let me keep them, but sharp things and chemical things and swallowable things are dangerous, and best handled by grownups.

Also, I gave Papa a gift earlier this week. It was a hair tie. One of the good ones. Papa does not have hair on his head, except for his beard, but it is the thought that counts. He very appropriately praised me. Papa loves getting gifts from me, and I wanted to thank him for the gushy food he gives me every night. He wanted to be the gushy food guy, and I think that was a really good decision.

That’s about it for this week. Mama Anna is working hard on doing her very first indie publishing venture. She is nervous but also excited, so it evens out. What’s up with you?

Typing With Wet Paws: New Desk Edition

October 19, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. The big news here is that I have two new beds, which is possible because Mama Anna has a new desk.

I think the new desk is part of Mama Anna’s birthday, which is later this week, but it came early, so she and Aunt Linda put it together, together. I did not know what was going on at first, because we haven’t had new furniture in a while, but I got scared when Mama Anna started putting lots of stuff on the bed, that does not normally go on the bed. This is because that is how she used to get ready for moving out of a room when we were on our year-long camping trip to celebrate my adoption. I was concerned because i like it here and did not want to leave, but plot twist, we were not leaving. Mama Anna was rearranging stuff so that there would be room for the new desk, and now she has a real office space that is easier to work from than a tv tray in front of a bookcase.

This is the new everyday setup. I applaud Mama Anna for knowing I will need my own space on her desk (the tent) as well as the bigger bed next to the desk, which is on top of a small coffee table so it’s off the floor. We are right over the baseboard heater, which will be nice and warm for fall and winter, and when Koolio comes back in the summer, we will be near him, too. The pink thing under the lamp is her Delfonics utility pouch. Mama Anna will give a tour of that later. I am smart enough to stay out of it.

I have indeed been alllll over this desk and inspected every inch of it. Usually, it is big enough for me and Mama Anna to have our own spaces, but when there are birds or squirrels outside, I need to be by that window. Maybe I should ask her for another bed at that end of the desk. She can’t have any plans for that area, can she?

What are you guys all doing this weekend?

Typing With Wet Paws: Second Week of January Edition

January 13, 2024annabowling Leave a comment

Tails up, Storm Troopers! I’m Storm, you’re awesome, and this is Typing With Wet Paws. You would not believe the stuff that is going on around here. Mama Anna is serious about this getting back to business stuff. The good part about that is that I get to snooze in my favorite bed; Mama Anna’s sock drawer. It is right next to her desk when she is working on the computer. I find he clickety clack of keys relaxing. Sometimes, she does the writing by hand stuff at the desk, but usually that is for the people bed. There are seriously a lot of pillows on the people bed. In any event, I am Not Allowed to have anything to do with the leather notebooks. I don’t see the need for a rule like that. I only scratched one cover. With the leather treatment, you can hardly tell. Anyway, let’s get on with the week that was.

There is a rumor, and I can neither confirm nor deny that a decision has been made, that Mama Anna may be switching out the fairy lights around her desk. The ones that are there right now have green wires, and the ones on the tree that they are really seriously putting away this week, they mean it, are white. That goes better with whatever it is that Mama Anna has planned for sprucing up (see what I did there?) her desk area. As long as I still get the sock drawer, I have no strong opinions on the matter. Whether or not she can actually put or get at any socks in that drawer does not matter. Also, I know nothing about how certain items from her traveler’s notebook charm-making stash ended up on the floor up to and including next to my bowls.

One way I can tell for sure that Mama Anna is into the whole writing thing is that today, while she was researching the inheritance rights of Russian women in the eighteenth century (answer: it matters which part) she actually ate part of a handful of my crunchies. She’d managed to function well enough to follow me from her desk to where the crunchies are (only hoomans can open it) but totally spaced on actually putting them in my dish. She assumed the stuff in her hand was dry roasted peanuts (a favorite writing snack) and stuffed some in her mouth. Then right back out of her mouth because dry cat food does not taste like dry roasted peanuts, and they have a very different texture. I won’t say how many bites it took for her to figure this out, but please understand this is the extent to which her brain is back in story land.

Anyway, that’s about it for this week. What’s going on over on your end?

Typing With Wet Nails

for the love of romance

family