Madi: Saturday Laundry Supervisor

I see Mom has been busy washing. Oh no I see
one item not folded properly...



Look down here in the corner, she did not put all the
wash clothes in the same pile. Horror of horrors
they are not color coded. Mom do I have to
watch you every minute? You know all the like
colors go together.


Looks like I'll have to exchange my Diva Crown
for my supervisor's beret...off to find the Mom
to show her how things are done.

Steps to getting the perfect Madi Picture

She has to wash her face


She sits quietly while her make up is applied
notices she keeps her paws out of the mix


She decides today's shot will be only of her best side

Madi's Sis is 38 today!!!

Today, August 28th, is our daughter's 38th birthday.

This was her first official portrait taken at 2 and 1/2 months. She has been a ray of sunshine in our lives since 8/28/71. Her Dad nicknamed her Big M (sometimes he can still get away with calling her that). When she was a toddler, she hated to take a nap. She always asked how long she had to sleep? I'd say about 'two hours' which was an eternity to her. As she got older, she would tell us she loved us '2 hours (because to her that was a LOT) and a bunch'. Her smile still lights up a room and she is an amazing young woman.

Happy Birthday Big M

Dad and I love you 2 hours and a bunch.!!!!

Please pass the peas and rice

I know Madi should not be on the table, Madi knows she should not be on the table...that said...Madi IS on the table. This is not the first time nor the last. It is one of those obsessions she gets. She'll sit with us for several weeks. The cutest thing is when I sit down, she'll rest her chin on my wrist (don't tell her, I love it when she does that). In her defense, I will say she is well behaved when she sits with us and most of all she DOES NOT do it when we have company.

One Smart Dog

Hi Friends...Mom read this story to me. I thought you all would enjoy it especially our dog friends. Madi

Below is an excerpt from an article by columnist A. C. Snow, in our Sunday, August 23, 2009 newspaper, The News and Observer. The article was about the bumper stickers you see in and about Raleigh claiming my child is an "Honor Student at so and so school".
Mr. Snow wrote, "Well, we have an honor dog down the street. On a recent morning at 3 am, Rusty let his mistress know he needed to go out. Upon reaching the door and discovering that Raleigh was undergoing one of its recent gully washers, Rusty turned tail and raced down the hall, into the bathroom. There, he cocked his leg and let fly at the commode. He missed the bowl for the most part, but his owners gave him an 'A' for effort."
To the best of Mom's knowledge this is a TRUE story, as you can tell by Madi's expression...she

is skeptical.

Madi's first year: Trials and Tribulations Part II

Madi Climbs, strolls and jumpst to the top of the Secretary.

Madi's fascination with heights did not end after the grandfather clock caper. A few months later, she changed her focus to the mantel. This trip was a slightly more challenging. It took her about a month to complete her trip. She had to jump on the back of this white chair only to find the lamp was in her way. We thought she is stumped. Not to be defeated she enrolled in a refresher Physics class to figure out the math for the jump. She finally had access to the mantel only to find she needed some fancy foot work to cross the mantel w/o knocking over the knick knacks to the other end. Once again she was not defeated. The Cat Woman in her said, I can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Once again Dad comes home, as soon as he walks into the family room Madi announces her presence with a triumphant MEOW. Dad is not happy but he can't reach her from the floor, he doesn't want to scare her. Slowely he sweet talks her down. Now it is time to rearrange the furniture. We move the white chair to the middle of the room for a few days. Finally it dawns on me, Madi is screaming for mental and physical enrichment. Her inner mountain goat needs something HIGH that is HERS. That is WHEN and WHY we bought blue perch. You've seen lots of pictures from that perch. There have been no more trips on the mantel. As you can see a little adversity, brings out the best in Madi. She worked hard from day one to train us properly, too bad we were sucg slow learners. At about 1 year old Madi traded in her jumping shoes for her Diva crown. A Diva's needs are easier to handle than those of a mountain goat.

Madi's first year: Trials and Tribulations part 1

I was not blogging on Madi's 7th b-day (March 11). Today and tomorrow I'll post two stories about Madi's first year with us to celebrate how lucky she was she is still here and how VERY LUCKY we are she chose to STAY!!!
Madi Climbs: Mount Grandfather Clock: Part 1

Madi was angelic when we brought her home at 2 months of age and weighing 2.5 lbs. During the first 4 months of cuteness she was really sizing up her peeps, deciding best how to rule her domain. She cast her cuteness net over us, reeling us in hook, line and sinker. At 6 mos. and maybe 5 lbs, her true colors came out she was a really mountain goat in a kitty body. This picture is our staircase...to the left of it our Grandfather clock. The gap between the stairs and clock is about a foot. One afternoon Madi's Dad heard a faint meow (aka 'look at me Dad'). He looks to his left to find Madi on top of the Grandfather Clock. Somehow, Madi was able to jump between the banisters upwards to the top of the clock. As if this wasn't bad enough (cat claws on fine wood), she decided to carve her 'name' on the wood. Yes, she had gnawed on the top. THIS WILL NOT BE ALLOWED Dad says!!! Now that she had discovered the trick there was not keeping her or her teeth off. We covered the clock with a sheet hoping to spook her, NOT!!! Her launch point was where the wicker mag. rack now sits. I was at my wits end trying to keep her off the clock. Finally, I remembered seeing a stair step magazine rack in a magazine. I bought the last one they had at Linens and Things. Here 7 years later it still sits there...to the best of our knowledge she never went up there again.