Madi: Why do they always conclude it was

ME.......?

Ok yes I'm an only cat and when 'something' happens

they think I'm the culprit. Well to that I say

malarkey.

So the question being asked,is how did the ladder get off the fire truck below?

Mom and Dad say Madi did it!!!

I say it jumped off by itself or there was an unknown force in the house, like a Cat burgular.

I say don't blame the resident cat w/o proof!!!

Mom here: If you look closely, you will see there are little hooks that hold the ladder on the

fire truck. Don't let MADI pull the wool over your eyes she is NOT

innocent. She wasn't caught red 'pawed' this time; however, she was caught

red 'pawed; with the ladder in her mouth recently.

We often wonder why does Madi does things like this, what makes her think to try?

Paul Gray said

"One must love a cat on its own terms"

........and we do!!!!

Happy New Year to all our Blogging friends and their assistants. You have all

enriched our lives since we started blogging on June 25, 2009.

We look forward to keeping up with each of you in 2010.

MADI AND MOM

Madi; Look what Sis 'gave' me

Mom: Madi what are you doing?

Madi: I'm watching Animal Planet on the itty bitty kitty TV sis gave me.

Come watch with me there a lots of cute kitties on it.

Mom: Madi that isn't yours and the kitty pictures are of Cali, Harley, Milk-way and You.

Madi: You and Dad have that giant TV. Why can't I have this one?
Mom: Madi it isn't a TV it is a Digital Picutre Frame sis gave to Dad and me.

Madi: Mom I beg to differ. I've been around the 'virtual block' (actually my feet have never touched the ground) a few times.

I know what a picture frame looks like. I can tell you it doesn't move like this.

Mom: It appears there is no convincing you so we'll just say it is an itty bitty Diva TV just for you.

Mom: Madi was quite mesmerized by the Digital Picture Frame

when we turned it on. Now if it just had audio of cats meowing that would blow

her mind.

Mom has the floor today

I absolutely love how the Sun cast itself into my house making

mundane things gorgeous. My day job keeps me away during the daylight hours.

Today might be our last sunshine for the week......

rain moving in tomorrow

During my Christmas Break I'm enjoying various rooms in sunlight.

Notice the Sun on the angel in the Nativity Scene...

coming through the dining room window onto a chair

coming through the skylight in the study


reflecting the skylight onto the glass of the picture

shining through our octagonal window onto the couch

and finally me taking a picture of my shadow

I was glad to let Mom have the floor...that kept the

flashy beast out of my face and hopefully all my meals will be

on time without me having to get in her face. Speaking of

meals Mom came home with a 4 lb bag of kibble today.

Madi

Madi: The things I put up with

I'm hungry, please feed me.......

Mom are you listening? I'm trying very hard to be patient....

Do I have to get right in your face?

Put the flashy box down now and

FEED ME....turkey Please?!

Too bad the video wasn't on...she was definitely talking to the face!!!

Mom wants to show you...Lovely wood turned gifts

In my Christmas Day, post I mentioned that I would show you pictures

of the gorgeous hand turned wood gifts my son-in-law made for family and friends

this year.

Please click on the pictures to get a better look.

Top row (left to right)

screwdriver, tea candle holders (cherry wood) with LED battery flickering flames. One of the those was for me.

Second Row (l to r) wine bottle stopper, wooden apples (cherry wood)

clock (maple) for his brother. Below the apples there is a back scratcher, 2 more screwdrivers,

mallet is made from dogwood that was in his parent's yard. Also picutred are

two decorative fishing lures. The beautiful bowl was made from a Holly tree his boss cut down.

He made the bowl for his boss.

A better picture of the bowl.

When I was buying his Christmas presents from WoodCrafters...I saw a bowl...

they told me he would not be able to turn a bowl until he took classes.

HA HA HA to them

He turned a bowl w/o classes. I believe he can do just about any thing.

He is also a great cook!!!

Ring box below was for my Mother.


Keep in mind all these items start out as a chunk of wood.
I have no clue how he does it. I will say that his Christmas list contained
several different tools he needs for his wood turning. We bought all of them.

One proud Mother in Law or MIL as he calls me.

Madi: Sleepy Saturday Searching for...

As I lay here exhausted from Christmas, I'm

contemplating how to once again ease into my role as

Center

of

the

UNIVERSE???

Any suggestions?

The Diva

Madi is glad to have HER house back to HERSELF!!!

She is not very good a sharing the limelight.

Happy Saturday to you all.

The Mom

Madi: Friday "Christmas" Friend meet Howard

Good Christmas Afternoon to all my friends.

I hope each and everyone of you found exactly what you

wanted under your tree today. We all got up early here so the

our daughter and hubby could get on down to celebrate with her hubby's family.

So on to HOWARD aka Howie the Shiba Inu member of our family.

We started celebrating on 12/23 at my brother in law and sister in law's house.

Her children joined us there for a fine evening of fun, delicious food, and family.

My step-niece lives W.Va. We finally had a chance to meet her puppy, Howard.

What a cutie pie. He has so much personality it is hard to contain him. Everyone is

his friend and he has to smell every inch of you.

Look at his curly tail. Everyone had to rub his tail. It is a wonder it

wasn't straight when we left.


His coat is absolutely wonderful.
His mom is an English teacher. She told me he was named after
Howard, a strong willed character in Fountainhead.
Before she decided on the Shiba Inu she read alot about them.
They are strong willed and don't always strive to please their owners.
I guess he is alot like ther high school students...always testing their limits


His mom told me he rarely barks and look he has laser eyes just like Madi.

I received a digital picture frame from my daughter and son in law. I can see lots of
Diva pictures being down loaded in the future. There will be lessons on the care and use before they go home.
My son in law is a very talented wood turner. Every year we very excited to see what he made for everyone.
We'll post about those later with pictures. GORGEOUS!!! He is so good he could sale them but he says he won't give up his day job just yet.
Ok we're off to catch up on all the blogs.
It is raining buckets here in NC. Hubby, Madi and I are cozy inside.

Madi and Mom

Merry Christmas to all our friends

Merry Christmas Eve, Eve to one and all.

Oh boy does the house smell good. Mom has been cooking

up a storm. She likes for the house to smell good when my Sis (aka 1st family diva) and her hubby arrive so she bakes the day they are due.

ONE word of warning to all puppies and kitties.

DO

NOT

FALL

for

this...it gets me every year!!!

Mom says, Madi come here for some Christmas cheer.

I go galloping over to my dish thinking oh boy I bet it is ham or turkey.

Nope it is orange, I don't eat orange food.

Mom says it is pumpkin.

It is good for your constitution. Well

that is a load of malarky Mom!!!

Since our company sleeps upstairs near the office,Mom and I will be MIA for a few days. We will catch up with everyone as soon as possible because we'll miss you.

We found this pretty candle arrangement we'd like to share with you all

MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL

our Blogger Friends and their Assistants you have all added joy to our lives

Madi and Mom

Madi: I've discovered when....

....something plays music

and wee people on it

start to magically ice skate

one should seek higher ground

to observe

from afar and of course turn on one's

laser eyes for protection

Yep Madi is afraid of this music box

when turned on it plays

"We wish you a Merry Christmas"

and the little people in the center

ice skate.

I guess Madi never claimed to be a brave Diva...just a

DIVA

Madi: Last minute Christmas Shopping

Can we Talk?

Are you a procrastinator?

Have you finished your shopping?

Did you wait until the last minute?

Are all the stores and malls too crowded?

IF so, let me suggest you visit my little namesake below.

I've contracted with the owners to let all my friends shop 24/7 for the next 3 days

either in person or online.

My best serious Diva Look

As you can see by the title, it is all about Divas and their needs

Please stop by or visit on line at

http://www.divamadishoptilyoudrop.com/

(please click to enlarge for the full effect)

Isn't this too funny? Mom and Dad went to walk at the mall eerly this morning before the shoppers arrived. This was actually Mom's first trip to the mall since the Christmas rush started.

The flashy box was in the car so she ran out to get it so she could show everyone that

I have a store!!!

Madi aka Diva

Mom: Our daughter's First Real Christmas

Technically this is her 2nd Christmas; however, since she was only 4 months

old on her first Chritmas we call this her First Real Christmas.

This picture is engraved in my mind forever. As you can see by this picture,

she was very surprised. Truly Christmas through the eyse of a child.

The next picture is what she was looking at that had her so excited

Note we had the Christmas Tree in her playpen to keep the inquisitive

hands of a 16 month old safe.

Thanks Madi for sharing the blog with your sister. After all, she is

the reason we adopted our first cat....hence the reason you are here.

Mom

Madi: I'm so embarassed I can't look at you

Mom and Dad ganged up on me. In between giggly profusely, they (well mainly Mom) asked if they could have the blog today. Well duh they control the purse strings and put food on my plate so what could I say?

Here is the deal, Mom is off work until Jaunary 4, 2010.

Trust me when I say, she already has too much time on her hands, as you'll see below.

The perfectly fine routine Dad and I have will be nonexistent the next two weeks.

To the copyright lawyers out there, I, Madi, had nothing to do with this.

They (Dad said he doesn't want any credit)

pirated a perfectly good Christmas poem and just made it

SILLY....are you ready? Probably not....

Up on the roof top click, click, click

Look what I found it wasn't

St. Nick

nor was it Rudolph, Dasher or Blitzen

HO HO HO

it was a little bit of Snow

Yep it snowed, sleeted and rained in

Dixie last night. This is

what was left on our back roof

This is the amount on the front roof...if you notice

above the roof line the very, very, very tall

NC Pine trees (~50') that is why we don't like

sleet and freezing rain here in NC. The ice collects on the pine needles

which makes them very heavy then the tops of the trees start to lean.

We've had at least 20 of them cut down over the years for this very reason.

MADI

YOUR DAD AND I THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR

LETTING US EXPRESS OURSELVES.

HAPPY WEEKEND BEFORE CHRISTMAS TO ALL OUR FRIENDS.

Madi: What'cha making Mom

Madi: Mom's in the kitchen I hear her unwrapping things. I better go snoopervise. Maybe I'll get a taste. I see a few ingredients carrots, zucchini, tomatoes let me see here is the recipe.
Oh she is making Crowder Pea Salad.
Mom: Get DOWN now!!! (I bellow in my stern Mom voice)
Madi: You talkin' to me? With lots of Diva-ttude.
Mom: Well only you and Dad are in the room and I don't see him on the counter
Madi: Well I've never been so insulted (She says with her evil cat-i-tude eyes).

The noise Madi heard, that woke her from her 100th nap of the day,
was me opening the box of candy pictured below.
Since I'm normally working at this counter she jumped here first.
I hear your collective 'a cat on the kitchen counters'.
That is just how it is when you are owned by a cat.
You use lots of hot water, soap and paper towels on the counters.

Yesterday I rec'd this box of candy as a gift.
It is Artisan Chocolates.

They are absolutely too pretty to eat. However, I except my hubby and I will
force ourselves to eat them.

Click on the picture for a closer look

FYI: Once Madi figured out she wasn't getting anything she
left in a huff.

Madi: Sunrise and Sycamore

Mom is the best assistant, so I'm giving her blog privileges today.
She has some pretty pictures to show you.

Some say winter is the dull, drab and dreary

As you can see from the below pictures, I found some beautiful color.

Sunrise December 16, 2009.

A gorgeous color picture of a Sycamore tree at Pullen Park in Raleigh. I pass this tree every day of the year. It is huge and very old. In the winter, the bark of the Sycamore is white.
Taken December 16, 2009...first sunny day we've had in about a week.

Please click on it for a better view.

Black and white effect of the same Sycamore Tree.

Both pictures are stunning.

Thanks Madi it is my pleasure to be your assistant.
Mom

Madi: These are a few of my favorite things.....

Boxes and bows and ribbons and things

Hi Friends I'm all rested up after my marathon gift post.
I'm ready for the next adventure of the Season,

HELPING MOM WRAP PRESENTS

Madi absolutely loves it when I bring out all the gift wrapping equipment.

First she has to check out the top of the bow box while I arrange all the boxes to be wrapped.

Oh boy Mom is this sis's hubby's gift? He is going to love this I just know it.

(FYI: That box was quickly moved very far away from the tree
it was a train wreck looking for a place to happen)

Mom I think you should use this green ribbon on that package.
Is that red ribbon the kind you curl with scissors?
Oh boy that is a cat's version of Curly Fries.

Mom is this for my sis?
Love the color!!!
I think this color will look very nice with her green eyes

What is in the bag? It smells very good...like Christmas Cheer.
Did you hide my catnip tube in here?

I see some name tags way down in the bottom of this box

do you want me to jump in and sort them all out for you?

No you don't need my help? What in the world the bow has sticky stuff on it. Ewww

Mom I can't believe you are really going to use this recycled gold bow again

I've been here seven Christmases and I've seen it each year.

Madi was actually a lot of help this year...she only sat on one piece of paper. Thankfully she kept her claws in when she was walking about on the paper. She just cannot understand why I don't like perforations in my wrapping paper. She didn't run off with the ribbon or chew on it until it was too wet with cat slobber or steal my pen.
All in all we were a good team.
Thanks Madi
Big hug and extra treats from your Mom for all the help.

Madi: Many Moons

Mom here: Madi has been working pretty hard the last few
days opening presents and playing with Christopher her stuffed mouse.
She has earned
some down time. We hope you all enjoy Mom's photos of the moon over the last month.
Mom is dabbling in different exposures and times of day.
Mom blogging alone today with Madi's approval

Madi: Part II Christmas Gift Unwrapping

If you are just visiting us for the first time this week, you might want to read Part I Receiving the gift from yesterday to know what is going on here.

*******

As you can see, Mom taught me all about tearing into a gift. Boy was that fun.

Madi: Oh my word Mom what in the world is that??!!

Mom: Jeepers Creepers I believe it is a mouse Madi

Madi: A what? Is it alive?

Mom: No it is a stuffed mouse.

Madi: You have got to be kidding me?

Mom: I kid you not Madi. Look it has a place to put catnip.

Madi: Bambi, Happy and Fern you have made this Diva Kitty happy.

Madi: What is this in the tube?

Mom: It is a year's supply of catnip

Madi: You have got to be kidding me

Mom: Madi you already said that.

Madi: I don't smell any catnip

Mom: As soon as you stop sniffing I'll put it in for you.

Madi: Mom it is pretty big. I bet it eats a lot. Look at that fat tummy.

Mom: Madi it isn't real

Madi: Well I'm just sayin' I'm not sharing my kibble with it!!

Madi: Mom it smells pretty good for a mouse.... and it has
a very nice long pink tail...

Madi: This is BIG......But I'm a BIG Girl Never Fear I can handle it

Mom: As you can see, it has received......

THE MADI SEAL OF APPROVAL ....AND

when I'm not playing with it it makes a great pillow

Mom here: I apologize for the fuzzy picture. Madi was ACTUALLY asleep on it.
Her head on the mouse's butt.

PS we decided to name it Christopher

I had to quickly turn the camera on and snap ASAP before she moved.

NOTE TO ALL: WE MADE 4 SEPARATE VIDEOS OF MADI TOTING IT, PUSHING IT ACROSS THE FLOOR, MEOWING TO IT, ETC. I TRIED TO LOAD EACH OF THEM WITHOUT SUCCESS. I WAITED AN HOUR EACH TIME FOR THEM TO LOAD THEY WOULD NOT.

BUT TRUST ME SHE LOVES IT. I CAN TELL YOU FOR A FACT MADI DOES NOT

TOTE MANY THINGS SO THIS IS A

WINNER.

Thank you again to Jazzi and her Mom for hosting the event and to

Fern, Bambi and Happy thank you for my very own Christmas Mouse.

Merry Christmas to all the furiends out there.

I hope you all had as much fun as I did receiving and unwrapping my gift.

Madi the Happy Diva Cat