Banana and Cheese

Banana's Teeth

2012-01-11T22:56:00.000-05:00

Cheese woke up just in time to save himself from rolling off the comfy blue and… chair. For the 754th time, he wondered why such a lumpy-in-all-the-right-places chair was left in the basement. He was glad it was here though, because he felt safe when he snuggled down in its’ blue and brown and yellow stripiness. Nobody and nothing bothered him here, which was just the way he liked it.
But now he was wondering 2 things:
1) What caused him to need to come to his safe place, and
2) How long had he been there?

Cheese pondered these questions as first he stretched, then gave himself a good, long bath. He knew that for some reason, a good ear-cleaning seemed to lead to good answers.
He thought back, way back, to this morning? Yesterday? No, he definitely remembered having dinner last night, then having a long, quiet sleep in darkness, so it must be a new day….
He suddenly stopped licking and began shaking…he remembered why he had had to run to his safe spot! Just after the sun came up, he heard the sound—the horrible, awful, terrifying sound of what his people called “cat carrier”! The sound of that beast meant just one thing—he was going to the vet, and he hated the vet! [To be fair, he didn’t hate the vet—she was very nice and kind and gentle. No, what Cheese really hated was the cold, slippery table. And, it always smelled of dog! Yuck! And also, truth really be told, Cheese was not very adventurous outside of his own yard. “Out there” scared him a little.] As soon as Cheese heard the first teeny, tiny creak of the door of the “cat carrier”, he ran as fast as he could, down the stairs, across the basement floor, to the safety of his chair.
But wait a minute! If he was here, then who did the “cat carrier” trap inside its door?
Banana? Banana!!!!
Cheese jumped off the chair, ran across the basement floor, and up the stairs. He skidded around one corner, raced through a doorway, and slid to a stop in the biggest room in the house. No Banana. He sniffed the air. He could not smell Banana. He meowed a little as he left this room and headed to the next room…and the next…and the next. Banana was nowhere to be found.
He had an idea…he rushed to the big, glass doors, and looked into the back yard. What? No Banana there either!
Just as Cheese sat down to think some more, he heard the familiar noise from the garage that always came just before his people walked in the door. He heard a car door slam, and a teeny, tiny creaking noise…the BEAST!! That “cat carrier” was coming his way! He ran as fast as he could down the stairs…..to his safe spot.
He heard footsteps overhead, and then the “cat carrier” squeaked—he knew that sound was the opening of its’ door. It was quiet for a moment, then Cheese heard Banana’s bell, jingling.
“Cheeth….Cheeth…wheh ah oo, Cheeth?” Cheese heard something calling him—it sounded like Banana, and yet it didn’t.
“CHEETH!!” Oh yes, he could tell Banana’s yell anywhere. He crept out of the chair, slinked across the floor, then quietly padded up the stairs. He peered around the corner, just as a beam of sunlight came through the window. He squinted into the bright light, and saw….Banana’s teeth! Her mouth was open, and her TEETH sparkled in the sun!!
“Cheeth! Do oo ike mah teeh?” Banana smiled. “I uss ad em cleaned!”
Cheese had to admit, Banana’s teeth did look nice…and clean…and….bright!
“Ow,” Banana asked, “Ut’s oo eat? I’m sarvin!”

The Humming...bird

2011-10-13T14:20:00.014-04:00

“Cheese, is that your stomach?” Banana looked disgustedly at the other cat, who was lying on his back in the sun, as sprawled out as a creature can be. It was late summer, and the cats were on the porch, soaking up as much sun as they could. They knew autumn was coming, and then winter, when the nice warm sun would be hibernating (or so it felt).

“Huh?” Cheese looked confused. “I just ate 3 minutes ago, Banana. You might be hungry again, but I’m not.” Cheese rolled over and gave the other cat his full attention. “What are you talking about?”

Banana tilted her head and listened again. “What IS that noise? It’s getting louder. Now it sounds like a buzz bug [cicada], but not really. Do you hear it? Now it sounds like Twitch when she’s happy.” Banana jumped up on the window ledge, excited to see their friend. “Hey, Twitch! Where are you?”

But Twitch was nowhere in sight.

The sound was getting louder, and Banana was getting more curious by the moment. She ran around the porch, stopping lots to look out the screens. Cheese watched her while he stretched his body from one end to the other. She didn’t know it, but he was laughing at her…on the inside. He was a smart cat, and knew how angry she could get, and how much she weighed when she pounced on him...

He let her run and wonder a little bit longer, and then he couldn’t hold the laugh in anymore. He snorted, “You really don’t know where that noise is coming from? Ha! Look up!” He pointed with his paw at a red object, hanging on the outside of the porch on the rain-runs-down thing [gutter].

Banana stopped her running, and looked toward the red object. There was something hovering there in the air, but it was moving too fast for her to get a good look at it. For 5.84 seconds, it sat on the edge of the red thing, and she could see it was a…bird!

“Cheese! I see it! Let’s go get a closer ‘look’ at it!” Banana started to drool a little, because her idea of looking was to watch the bird fly into her mouth. She could almost taste it.

“Good luck, Banana. Those birds fly faster than all the other birds in our yard [25-30 mph actually]. That’s a hummingbird, Banana. It likes the sugar water that Gale and Karen put in that red thing. That sound is the noise its’ wings make when it flies—I sat here yesterday and watched it all day!”

“Hmmmm….” Banana considered this.

“No, humming…hummingbird.” Cheese explained. “But you know the real reason hummingbirds hum, don’t you, Banana?” Cheese put his paw over his mouth, trying to hold in a laugh.

“No, why?” Banana sat down, waiting for the explanation.

“Because they don’t know the WORDS!!!” Cheese rolled over and gave in to the laugh that exploded from inside of him. It felt good.

For more information about Hummingbirds:

http://www.hummingbirds.net/about.html

Banana and Cheese, The Book!

2011-10-10T18:47:00.005-04:00

Greetings Friends! We have missed you but have been busily scratching away at our book. The Name is: Banana and Cheese, Project Cleanup! We wanted to give you a sneak peek of the cover. Take a look!

And while we are at it, CD has just completed a new children's book that will be released on October 17th. The book, Snakes Wear Socks, is beautifully written and is full of colorful illustrations. Take a look and buy a copy here.

Spring

2011-04-07T11:24:00.000-04:00

Watch Out Cheese! Spring cleaning is on the way!

We're Getting There!

2011-04-04T12:46:00.002-04:00

Words have been put on paper, sketches have been made, ideas have been presented and discussed, and we're that much closer to the dream!

I'm not sure Banana and Cheese are as excited as we are; they're completely focused on the screen door and the backyard beyond. It's good to have a goal, no matter how small.

I Am Sad

2011-03-11T00:58:00.004-05:00

I am sad now because a friend of mine has died, from a disease called cancer. [Parents--a very good book about death is The Tenth Good Thing About Barney by Judith Viorst].

I am sad because I will never see her again. I will miss having lunch with her, inviting her to my house, and I will miss sending e-mails to her. I will miss her smile--she especially smiled when she was around children and cats, because she loved both.

She was a very good person; she was always doing things for other people. She did not say mean things about others. She was always willing to help me and to help others. She made me feel good about myself. I will miss her very much, and I know lots of other people will miss her, because she made them feel good too.

Because I am sad, I am crying. Not all the time, but alot. It's OK to cry when someone dies. It's also OK to smile and even laugh, because sometimes you remember silly things that other person did. What's not OK is to laugh when someone else is crying--that's a very hurtful thing to do.

When I cry because I miss my friend, Karen gives me a hug. That makes me feel better. Even when I am not crying, other people give me hugs and tell me they are sorry, because they know I miss my friend. And, when I see my other friends crying, I hug them too, because I am sorry they are feeling sad.

It also helps me to talk--to talk about how I am feeling, and to talk about my friend who has died. I especially like to tell stories about the fun things my friend and I did together. Sometimes telling those stories even makes me smile, even if I'm still crying a little.

Tomorrow will be a hard day, because there will be a Memorial Service for my friend. All of her family and friends will be there, and we will say good-bye to a very special person. We will cry, we will smile a little, we might laugh together, and we will hug each other. But most of all, we will remember all the good things about my friend.

And there were a lot of good things.

Later this spring, Karen, Banana, Cheese, and I will plant a magnolia tree, as a way to remember my friend. That will be a good thing to do, because every time we look at that tree, we will remember our friend. And, when it blooms every Spring, we will be reminded of that beautiful person who is not here any more.

Gale Charlotte Website

2011-02-23T03:51:00.004-05:00

OK, the time has come to unveil the news! Gale is writing a children's book about Banana and Cheese!

Go to Gale's new website and read all about it!: www.galecharlotte.com

Look for the special link to some of our kitty friends.

Banana and Cheese wanna-be!

2011-02-16T22:56:00.004-05:00

We taught her everything she knows! B&C

http://www.annarbor.com/pets/dusty-the-criminal-klepto-kitty-steals-neighborhood-belongings-and-brings-them-home/

Happy Valentine's Day!!

2011-02-14T10:36:00.005-05:00

Happy Valentines Day to all of our Lovely Fur Friends!

Yes, We're Still Here!

2011-02-11T12:38:00.004-05:00

Yes, we're OK--we haven't frozen solid. We haven't been buried in snow. Banana and Cheese are not hibernating!
Banana is eating, sleeping, and eating some more. Cheese is eating, cleaning himself, and sleeping, then taking a nap after that--you know, the usual stuff.
But Gale and CD? They are very, very busy....on things that we can't tell you about just yet.
So, stay tuned.
And Twitch---get that mess cleaned up!

Lazy Twitch

2011-01-25T19:28:00.004-05:00

“Twitch! Get to work! Clean up this mess!” Banana roared. “We need this space for our next adventure!”

“Yeah, Twitch,” Cheese agreed. “You’ve been rolling around in these holiday bits for far too long. Every day, Karen and Gale look out here and say, ‘Same old stuff. You would think the cats would have done something more exciting by now.’”

“Ok,” yawned Twitch. “I’m going, but your next adventure had better be worth it.”

“Oh, it will be,” purred Banana and Cheese…..

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

2010-12-25T07:23:00.022-05:00

Part Two, in which we discover why there are scratching posts in homes with cats….

Cheese had fallen asleep while thinking about all those human holidays of the winter, but Banana had just had a great idea and needed to share it with him. One more teensy nudge, and Banana watched as Cheese fell from the bookcase and landed with a thud on the floor.

“Grrr!!!! I’ll get you, Banana!” Cheese chased her from the room, which was just what Banana had planned all along. They needed some privacy so Banana could explain her brilliant idea to Cheese.

An hour later, they were taking turns at the scratching post.

Awww…look at the two cats! They’re being so cute together, using the scratching post…” Gale laughed at the earnest faces of Banana and Cheese. “I’m going to get the camera and take a photo—they look so serious!”

Banana and Cheese were so focused on their scratching, they didn’t notice the flashes of light. “OK,” grunted Banana. “I think that’s the last of the message to Kitty Klaws! I hope she gets our wishes in time."

“Don’t worry, Banana! We’ve sent our message with days to spare! She works magic on all those wishes!” Cheese tried to sound confident, but he was a little worried too.

“I know, but there are just so many cats in the world…maybe she won’t have time to get to our wish!” Banana sat and thought for a minute. “Maybe we should scratch it again, just in case?”

“She’s got it, I can feel it!” Cheese felt so happy, he twirled in a circle, chasing his tail, until he got dizzy and fell over.

“Did you get a photo of our silly cat?” Karen asked Gale, as they watched Cheese tumbling around on the rug.

Now, what follows has been, up until this moment, a secret to all beings except for cats, but Banana and Cheese have given me permission to tell the story…..

The story of the winter cat holiday, Felidae Whiskermas!

What, you ask, is Felidae Whiskermas?

Well, you’re familiar with what happens on the night of December 24^th? Better known as Christmas Eve? When Santa Claus pays a visit to the homes of good children? Even adults look forward to Santa’s visit (it’s true!)—they can’t wait to see what gifts he’s brought down the chimney or through the door. It’s a magical time for humans, and even grown-ups can’t really explain how Santa gets to all those houses, all over the world, in one night. AND, he brings gifts and fills stockings at each and every stop! AND, nobody ever sees Santa, even though some try and others say they hear Santa, or his reindeer, just outside….yes, all very magical indeed.

Well, there’s other magic on Christmas Eve—magic you’ve probably never even noticed. It happens in the blink of a human eye, and it’s easy for humans to miss—it’s just that quick. Just 47.3 seconds after Santa leaves, when everyone is rushing around, eager to see what gifts have been left for them, what goodies are in their stockings—that’s when the magic happens.

47.3 seconds after Santa leaves your house, your cat vanishes. Yes, all the cats, from all over the world, gather in one magical place to celebrate Felidae Whiskermas.

[Sorry, the place will remain a secret to humans; besides, humans don’t really care that much; they’re too busy with their own celebrating!]

In this magical gathering place, there are treats, games, and…catnip! But best of all, Kitty Klaws (ever wonder where Santa Claus got his name?!) comes to visit too! Kitty Klaws has spent months carefully listening to the scratches of cats from all over the world. And in this magicalplace, the wishes the cats have scratched to her come true. That is, the wishes Kitty Klaws has heard will come true, for Kitty is just like every other cat we know, and sometimes she just doesn’t listen at all. That’s why you will sometimes see your own cat, frantically clawing their scratching post; they have a great wish to send to Kitty Klaws, and they are really, really hoping she will hear it.

On this particular delightful, magical night, Banana and Cheese are having great fun with their friends: Pekeo, Earl, Kona Kitty,

Freya and Teego

The Baby, Grayce, Tiny Johnson, Felix, Rupert, Scouty, CC, Sweet Pea, Maui, May Ling, Salem, Sylvester,

The Katnip Lounge

Admiral Hestorb, Teego, Charlie, Kiki,

Tabbouleh, Joey, Orange, Vegas, Angel, Kirby, Mac, Freya, and Twitch.

Admiral Hestorb

Cheese is munching on some chicken, and Banana is chasing a little blue light around the circle.

Angel, Kirby and Mac

All at once, the cats stop what they’re doing, sniff the air, prick up their ears, and begin purring….

Kitty Klaws has arrived! Kitty moves quickly and quietly from cat to cat to cat, and then, with flick of her tail, she’s gone.

Charlie

Shortly after, the cats make their sleepy way back into the human world. While it’s just been a blink of a human eye, they’ve been celebrating for most of a cat day, and they are very, very tired.

Miss Kitty

Sometimes they’re so tired, they take extra cat naps every day until the next Felidae Whiskermas (and that explains why cats seem to sleep so much, doesn’t it?) .

On this particular Felidae Whiskermas, Banana and Cheese head back to the human world with big smiles on their faces and packages tucked under their collars. Kitty Klaws heard their wish!

The next morning, Banana meows and meows to go out. Karen opens the door, and Banana rushes out, Cheese following close behind. They run after the squirrels, sit under the bird feeders for a while, and even have a roll in the snow with Twitch. Karen and Gale watch them play for a while, and then Gale turns to Karen, a puzzled look on her face.

“Karen,” she asks, “where do you suppose Banana and Cheese got those mittens?!”

Happy Felidae Whiskermas to all our furry feline friends.

Happy holidays to all our human friends—we wish

you all the best in 2011!

“It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year!”

2010-12-24T14:02:00.017-05:00

Part One, in which we learn about Human Winter Holidays….

Banana and Cheese were sitting at the patio door, watching the snow fall. Banana sighed deeply, flopped onto the floor, and put her head on her paws. “Well Cheese, that’s it. No mores squirrel-chasing for a long time!”

Cheese looked questioningly at Banana. “Why can’t we chase them? They’re right out there at the feeder, eating corn and shaking their tails this way!”

“Well, duh, Cheese—our paws will get too cold in the snow! I’ve tried to walk through the snow, and I’ve lasted about 20.6 seconds—Karen had to come out and get me because I was stranded under the picnic table!” As Banana remembered her ordeal, she shook herself, then started licking her white paws.

“Well, some animals aren’t so delicate—here comes that dog from across the street!” Cheese peered through the glass door, then looked again in surprise. “What’s that on her tail?!”

Dog-from-across-the-street walked toward the patio door, tail held high in the air. “Hey cats! Happy St Nicholas Day! Did you remember to leave a shoe out last night? I borrowed one from my person (don’t worry, it wasn’t his best-tasting one), put it outside the door, and look what was inside this morning: a tail bell!” Dog-from-across-street wagged her tail, and there was a loud jiggling sound.

“THAT. Is THE MOST frightening thing I have ever SEEN!” Cheese turned and ran.

“Ignore Cheese, Dog-from-across-the-street,” Banana explained. “He ran and hid during the loud Diwali celebration hosted by the Roys last month too. He just does not enjoy noise very

much. Candles make him nervous too, so even though Comet Cohen invited us to tonight’s Hanukkah celebration, I will have to go without him.”

But Dog was not listening anymore; “Squirrel!” she barked, and off she went.

Banana sighed and settled down for another long winter nap….

One week later, Banana and Cheese, still sleepy from the night before, when they celebrated the Festival of the Virgin of Guadalupe with Blythey Soto and her people, were stretched out on a heat vent. They took turns wandering from window to window and wishing they could be outside. But there was still snow everywhere, and even though each cat tried, they couldn’t last more than 20.6 seconds outside—their paws just got too cold.

“Cheeeeeeese! Think!” Banana whined. “There’s got to be something we can do to get outside! Maybe we could ask Karen and Gale to build us a….” Before she could finish her thought, Banana heard the doorbell. Cheese had started running for the basement, but Banana ran to look out the window to see what friend was coming to visit.

“Cheese! Stop! It’s just Lucy Carlson and her people. Ooooo….wow….” Banana stopped talking as Lucy walked in, wearing a bright red sash.

“Do you like it?” Lucy asked. “Today is St. Lucia Day, and all the young girls in our family get to wear these this morning. It’s so soft and makes me feel so pretty…” her voice trailed off as she stroked the sash for the 22^nd time that morning. “But enough chit chat! Have you two scratched your message to Kitty Klaus yet?” Before Banana or Cheese could answer, Karen called them into the kitchen so they could try the tasty Swedish cat treats Lucy brought to share. Yum! There was plenty of fishballs for all!

Another week passed; it was a busy week of birthdays—first Erika’s birthday, and then Peter’s birthday. The cats were thrilled with the smunchy wrapping paper and the licks of ice cream they stole from dishes when nobody was looking.

On this day, the whole family had gathered in the living room. They were napping, reading, wrapping gifts, batting at decorations on the Christmas tree, chasing balls of ribbon, but in the midst of all the activity, Banana was doing what she had been doing for weeks now—staring outside, wishing she could find some way to be playing in the snow and visiting her birds at the feeders.

Cheese, who as taking a break from decoration destruction, was startled when Twitch jumped up on the ledge on the other side of the window.

“Hey!! Cheese!! Happy Solstice!!” Twitch looked so happy, but Cheese just looked….puzzled.

“What is Solstice, Twitch?” Cheese made himself comfortable, for he knew this would probably be one of Twitches’ long stories.

“Well,” Twitch began, “Solstice is a holiday some humans celebrate—for them, it’s a time to celebrate the Return of the Sun. And, as all outdoor cats know, tonight will be the longest night of the year, BUT beginning tomorrow, each day will be a little longer…and warmer!’ Twitch purred in happy anticipation. “Evergreen Marsh has invited me to his humans’ bonfire tonight…he says they will be burning a Yule log. There will be food and heat! Want to come?”

“Ohhh….no thank you,” Cheese shivered at the thought of all that fire. “Banana and I have….um…we’re….uh…scratching our wishes to Kitty Klaws tonight! Yeah! That’s what we’re doing—scratching our wishes…” Cheese was relieved he had thought of something to do, so he wouldn’t have to tell Twitch that he was really afraid of the fire. Besides, they really did need to figure out what to say to Kitty Klaws.

“Well, suit yourself,” Twitch shrugged. “I plan to be warm tonight, and then tomorrow, it will stay light a little longer, and before we know it, Spring will be here and there will be lots of little ones running through your back yard! Yes indeed, this is a very important night for all wild animals like me. Well, see you in a few days—I can’t wait to see Kitty Klaws either!” With a happy flick of her tail, Twitch was gone.

Cheese sat at the window a little longer, thinking about all the human holidays that were celebrated this time of the year—there had been so many already, and Cheese knew of even more holidays to come: Christmas, Kwanzaa, Boxing Day, New Year’s Eve, Chinese New Year. Each holiday was special to some group of humans, and the humans had unique traditions for each holiday. But no matter what holiday the humans celebrated, they were convinced their cats should be included, because of course cats did not have any holidays of their own, and would probably be sad this time of the year if they weren’t included in whatever the humans were doing.

But! They…would…be…WRONG!

Christmas Party!

2010-12-13T13:03:00.007-05:00

To all the kitties out there! Our Halloween Party story was such a success that we have decided to throw a Christmas Party story.

If you plan on coming, please RSVP by Saturday, December 19th!

Pass it on!

Banana and Cheese

Thanksgiving

2010-11-25T11:56:00.003-05:00

It was the 4^th Thursday in November; one of Banana’s favorite days in the whole year, because Thanksgiving Day was a time for feasting and people and feasting and friends. Oh, the food! Banana had watched with great anticipation as Gale put the biggest bird Banana had ever seen into the oven just 2.5 hours before. Banana had sat right by the oven for a long time, until Karen spotted her and shooed her away, saying, “It will be HOURS before the turkey is done!” Reluctantly, Banana left her viewing station, and went to find Cheese.

Cheese was sitting in front of the television, watching as shapes seemed to float by on the screen.

“Wow! What’s that?”

Banana pointed to a humongous orange cat hovering inside the big black box.

“Gale says it’s a helium balloon, Banana. I don’t know what that is, but look at how small the people are, compared to that cat! Hmmm….” Cheese peered more closely at the screen. “That cat reminds me of you, after you’ve eaten your bowl of food AND mine!”

“Hrumph!” Banana turned and left the room. She called back, over her shoulder, to a still-laughing Cheese. “I’m going to take a nap…in front of the stove. That way, I’ll get the first bite of bird!”

Cheese was torn; he wanted to watch some more of those “balloons”, but he also wanted some of that turkey. As he rocked back and forth, trying to decide, he heard a familiar rumble in the distance. Banana heard it too, and she came running back into the living room.

“CD!!!” The cats pawed at the front door, each trying to be the first to greet their friend.

“Hey cats!” CD fairly burst through the front door, she was so excited to see Banana and Cheese. “Look what I brought for you!” CD held up two little, teeny, tiny…Native American and…Pilgrim costumes?! Banana and Cheese sniffed, then started backing away. “Oh, c’mon…you two will look great in these!” CD used her most convincing voice. “Just try them on. Then, I’ll draw your pictures. Pleaaaase?”

How could the cats refuse CD? They put on the pilgrim hat and the beads and the coats and had to admit—they DID look good!

Later in the day, as Banana and Cheese joined the rest of their family…Karen, Gale, Erika, Peter, and Joey…and many people friends…for a wonderful Thanksgiving feast, CD captured it all. Banana didn’t even notice; the turkey was just too…yummy.

As each being sat back, feeling very full and very blessed, there was a loud crash in the kitchen. Banana and Cheese were first to reach the scene, and found Twitch…covered in what was left of the pumpkin pie! “I…well…the back door was open, and well…I slipped,” Twitch sheepishly admitted. She raised her paw, to start the long cleaning process. “Hey! This not-tuna is pretty good!”

We wish all of our friends and family, near and far, a very Happy Thanksgiving…we are very thankful for each and every one of you!

The Sky is Falling…A Nature Lesson

2010-11-16T06:19:00.007-05:00

It was a beautiful autumn day. Banana was, as always, crouched under the bird feeders. Today, she was waiting for those really ravenous, radically red cardinals. Cheese had been tracking the sunbeam all morning, and he was now sunbathing in it. He was being nice and sharing it with Joey, who was visiting for a while. Some things are hard to share (like your favorite toys, your bed, your food bowl), but sunbeams are usually big enough for two or three beings to lie in; in fact, Cheese was expecting Gale and her book to come in and curl up in the sunbeam at any moment. Cheese was staring at this…smudge on his paw…and…his eyes…were slowly….closing….when all of a sudden, he heard a big gust of wind. Shortly after that, he heard Banana.

“The sky is falling! The sky is falling! Cheese! Joey! Run for your lives!” Banana was shouting as she ran as fast as she could across the yard and through the wide-open patio door.

She slipped on the throw rug just inside the door, regained her “dignity”, and then scurried underneath the sofa.

“Hurry!” Banana panted. “We’ll all be safe under here!” Banana was shivering with fright, and covered her eyes with her paws.

Cheese and Joey just stared at her.

“Quick! There’s no time to lose!” Banana took one paw from an eye, and motioned toward the cats, then towards the sofa. “The sky is falling, and we’re all in danger! Even the squirrels! Good thing they don’t know about this safe sofa, or we would have quite a crowd in here…” Banana suddenly became quiet as the thought of SQUIRRELS…in her HOUSE…passed through her mind.

Cheese used this moment of silence to really look at Banana. She didn’t appear to be hurt, but maybe something hit her head? He and Joey got up, stretched, and then wandered out to the patio doors, to see if there really was something dangerous happening outside. It also crossed his mind that, if Banana were correct and the sky WAS falling, that a squirrel MIGHT land right…next…to…his…mouth……

Cheese was drooling as he peered outside. Another gust of wind blew through the trees, and a large number of yellow, orange, and red leaves rushed past. There was another, smaller breeze, and the leaves swirled through the air. They landed, rustling, on the patio outside. Joey jumped into the leaf pile made moments before. His head popped out when Cheese started to laugh.

“Banana!” Cheese shouted. Banana’s head popped out from under the sofa.

“Banana! You are so silly!” Cheese laughed. “The sky is NOT falling. You thought the exact same thing last year. Remember?” Banana tipped her head to the side, and looked at him skeptically.

“The leaves are falling. From the trees. It happens every year. That’s why our people call it FALL. Because the leaves…fall.”

Banana still looked unconvinced. She had trouble remembering when she last ate, let alone remember something so long ago!

Cheese went on, patiently explaining. He loved knowing things that Banana didn’t. “Like I told you last year, when you were such a young cat: leaves fall from the trees in the fall. It’s a scientific fact…” Cheese raised a paw. “The days are getting shorter, and the nights are getting longer. The leaves love to dance in the dark…we know this because we can see them moving at night, making shadows in the house that we love to chase. Remember last week, when you bumped into the wall when you were chasing one?” Cheese giggled, and Banana scowled at him from under the sofa. “OK…anyway—the leaves dance in the trees at night. As the nights get longer, they dance longer. Banana, pay attention! This is the most important part!” Cheese raised up on his hind legs and waved his front paws in the air.

“And so, Banana, the scientific reason leaves fall from the trees every year is because they get so tired from dancing all night long!” Cheese finished with a flourish and bowed when Joey and Banana burst into applause.

The Halloween Obsession

2010-10-31T23:20:00.037-04:00

The prelude to our story is here:

http://www.jconline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=201010130304

With anticipation, Charlie, Mike and Nick started to knock on the door….

Hold on, hold on—wait a minute….there’s more back-story to be told.

Twitch had been working on a project, and was very eager to show it off. She ran to the sliding door at the house next door and batted on the screen until Banana and Cheese, who were stretched out on the floor soaking in the sunbeam, woke up and raised their heads.

“Now what, Twitch?” yawned Banana. “I’ve only been asleep for 83 minutes. Leave me alone.”

“Listen, you two! I have a very special ‘project’…I call her Ms. Whisp…to show you, and I want you to leave your house and come to my house [the empty house at 311 Walnut] and see it! It’s important, and can you come tomorrow night (that’s when it will be all dry), and have some mouse bits with me and some others I’ve invited? I think it’s a party? Pleeeeeeease?” Twitch was talking so fast and was so excited, she fell backwards and knocked right into the Jack-o-Lantern on the bottom step.

“Oh! Pardon me, Mr. Orange!” Twitch was a very polite cat after all.

“Well,” Cheese stretched and yawned, “I think we can make it. Our people are having a party too, and it will be really noisy here.” Before Cheese could finish asking, “Do you know what the other cats will be wearing to your…,” Twitch was running off, shouting over her shoulder, “Great! Gotta go! I’ve got tons more cats to invite!”

“Well,” Banana noted, “Twitch seems a little more bizarre than usual. Do you think she even realizes that tomorrow is Halloween? Oh, never mind…..now, how are we going to sneak through the fence, AND, more importantly, what are we going to wear?”

The next night, as the streetlights came on, Twitch was adding the final touches to her creation. Her nana, a beautiful all-white cat named Switch, was perched on top of the dress form, “supervising”. “Twitch, give this contraption another push around the room! That will help it dry faster!” Switch neglected to add that, when Twitch would give her that “ride” back and forth a

cross the room, she loved feeling the breeze blowing through her own fur, and the great view out the window of 311 Walnut St. One more push across the room, and Switch jumped down.

“Twitch, I’m impressed by your masterpiece.” Switch squinted. “You know, it almost reminds me of some human, wearing a dress!”

“Oh, don’t be silly, Nana!” Twitch scoffed, but secretly was pleased. Her creation, made of white plastic shopping bags, and her special “glue” of: axel grease from that auto repair place down the street, tuna fish oil, and cat spit, was holding together nicely. She didn’t have time to completely admire her artwork, because the other cats had begun to arrive through the broken back door. But, why were they all dressed so funny?

In they came: Banana had been practicing being the scary vampire—and she was! Cheese had rolled in…cheese (he was terrible at being original!).

Zippy, Sadie, and Speedy were dressed as those famous monkeys: See No Evil, Speak No Evil, and Hear No Evil.

Zippy, Sadie and Speedy's Blog

Freya and Teego’s people had dressed them as Catman and Robin (not the bird).

Freya and Teego's Blog

Little Tabbouleh snuck in wearing a baby bonnet. Charlie the cat had a long, grey beard.

Charlie's Blog

The honorable Admiral wore a few of his medals and ribbons.

Admiral Hestorb's Blog

Angel came as a ghost with a pumpkin head and Kirby came as Frankenstein.

Angel and Kirby's Blog

Cokie came as a witch.

Cokie's Blog

Hanna sported a frightful costume-dog mask and ears! Lucy wore a Charlie Chaplin moustache stuck to his whiskers.

Hanna and Lucy"s Blog

And Miss Kitty? She photographed it all!

Miss Kitty's Blog

Unfortunately, Amy’s cats couldn’t make it; they had told Twitch they were having a party of their own.

“Happy Halloween!” the other cats yelled. Twitch was so pleased with all of her company, she neglected to properly admire every costume.

“Great!” Twitch exclaimed. “Now I’ll be able to start work on Ms. Whisp’s ‘dance’ partner!”

Just then, there was a knock on the door, and then the doorbell rang. The doorbell? It had never rung before, and Twitch looked bewildered, because she didn’t even know what it was. Banana pushed her to the door; “It’s the thing that makes Cheese run from our living room! Go open that door and see which friend is behind it!”

Twitch was a curious cat, and was interested to see who was behind that door. She jumped up and grabbed the doorknob. The door swung open, and there stood three little people. They were dressed funny too, and each one was holding a bag. Twitch looked at their faces; their eyes were opened wide, and their mouths were hanging open. Before she could invite them in, the little people turned and ran away…

The boys ran all the way back to Charlie’s house. “Crazy cats!” “White, plastic bags!” “Old, white cat!” “Smell!” Until they could fully catch their collective breath and wits, those were the only words they could choke out.

Minutes passed, and then Charlie whispered, “Did you two see what I saw back there?”

“I saw a bunch of cats!” Nick began, with some confidence. “They were…were…wearing bits of cloth, twigs, leaves,…a medal?” he sounded less sure now. “One had…was wearing cheese? One was wearing a vampire cape? OK—two were wearing those costumes that people sometimes put on their pets! They were Batman and Robin!” He hurriedly finished his part of the story, “Did you guys notice they were all carrying trick-or-treat bags too?”

“I saw…I saw…a white cat sitting like the head of a mannequin, and the mannequin-thing was wearing a dress…made of plastic bags?” Mike shook his head, not really sure that that was what he saw. “Could that be? Naw…” Mike shook his head, refusing to believe the “old woman of 311 Walnut” was really a bunch of bags stuck together.

“I’m not sure I believe all that I saw back there, but I sure know what I smelled,” Charlie started.

“TUNAFISH?” The three boys whispered.

“TUNAFISH!” They giggled.

And they never again went to the door of 311 Walnut again. Especially not when they started seeing TWO figures moving in the window!

Halloween Edition with Guest Spooks!

2010-10-29T17:57:00.005-04:00

Halloween Sunday.

Yes, that is the day. Screeching and howling-quite grueling I'd say!

If you have the courage, take it from me. Stop

by our blog, spooktacular fun it will be!

“The Wind in My Fur…Er…Hair”

2010-10-24T23:43:00.009-04:00

Banana and Cheese were in the backyard, enjoying the early autumn weather.

“Oof,” exclaimed Cheese, as he reached…way…up…the tree. “I’ve almost got…that…BZZZZZ…bug…rats!” He flopped down.

“Stop it, Cheese,” scolded Banana, “you’re disturbing my nap…er…bird watching!”

Just then, the quiet was interrupted by a “Vroom, vroom,” and the purr of an engine; it was faint at first, and then grew louder.

“CD!!!” Both cats jumped up and ran with great delight through the house and to the front door, which was opened just for their viewing pleasure.

A final “Vroom”, and then the motorcycle was silent. CD, pulling off her helmet, strode up to the door.

“Hey Cats!” CD bent down and scritched each head. The cats, who loved getting some of that CD attention, begged for more scritches. CD patiently patted and scratched ears some more….and some more.

“So Cats, I’m off on a great adventure tomorrow! I’m going to ride my motorcycle as far west as I can!”

The cats, who didn’t know directions or distance, but could sense that CD was excited about something, looked up at her. They were fascinated by her words, but at the same time, were distracted by her cool boots; they smelled so good. Sniff…sniff…was CD seeing another cat?!

“Aw…you two don’t even look like you’ll miss me.” CD was hurt, but at the same time was pleased that the cats were showing an interest in her black boots. “Well, I’ll miss you guys!”

“Hey, Banana, you ready for one more ride?” CD strapped on her helmet, then reached up on the shelf for Banana’s “helmet”, which looked more like a metal funnel with a strap—probably because that’s what it was [editor’s note: I’m sure they make real helmets for cats, but you’ve got to admit that the funnel is more visually funny!]

Banana, who heard the word “ride” and saw her helmet being lifted from the shelf, twirled in circles. She LOVED riding with CD!

“Whoa! Stop so I can strap this on, Banana! “ CD laughed. “Ok, let’s go, girl!” She picked up Banana, and carried her out to the motorcycle. "Hold on tight, Banana!"

“Vroom, vroom.” CD started the noise machine (as Cheese lovingly called it), and the two buddies were off for one more ride around the block.

“Wow!” Banana shouted when they returned 5 minutes later. “That was fun! Cheese, you should take a ride too!”

“No thank you,” snorted Cheese, trying to act like he didn’t care when really his legs were shaking at the thought of sitting on that machine. “That helmet would mess my fur.”

“But it’s a great way to catch bugs---see!” Banana smiled and Cheese looked with envy at the gnat on Banana’s front tooth.

“Well Cats, I’ve got to go.” CD looked and sounded sad. “I am off on my adventure, but I’ll be back in a couple of months. Don’t worry—I will write to you…I mean draw to you…all the time.”

Karen and Gale hugged CD, and watched and waved as she rode her shiny red motorcycle down the street and out of sight.

One month later, a postcard arrived. The cats smelled CD on the paper, so they pushed in for a look.

“It says here that CD has found some new friends to ride with!” Gale glanced up from her reading. “Isn’t that great, Banana?”

Banana just looked horrified. CD…found…a…new…cat?

The Imposter

2010-10-11T17:10:00.018-04:00

“This is Rakel Madmouse, CNN (Cat Network News), reporting on another dumped dumpster, very near the spot of the last dumpster dumping.

Security camera footage shows an entirely different dumper, but police suspect this one may be working with the other two…..”

"Rats! Someone has robbed our loot!" Banana screeched! " Come on Cheese, we better get home before our people wake up."

“That imposter!” Banana sputtered, as she threw a piece of cat food at the television. “How dare she? That…that…DOG!”

Well,” Cheese carefully began. “It was a good idea.”

“BUT IT’S A DOG!!!” Banana shouted.

[Dear reader, we humans just don’t understand quite how insulting this new situation is to our feline friends. I can only guess that it’s as embarrassing as showing up on Halloween dressed in the exact same costume as your arch enemy. Now THAT would be annoying!]

Be On The Lookout

2010-10-02T16:26:00.008-04:00

Reporting: Rakel Madmouse, CNN (Cat Network News)

October 2, 2010 4:31 p.m. EST

At approximately 2:30 a.m., two bandits rummaged through several trash cans and dumpsters leaving behind a destructive mess. The two suspects were caught on a security camera and are shown here. Anyone with information on the whereabouts of these hooligans can be posted here.

Live Web Cam Feed

2010-09-27T16:59:00.006-04:00

4:59 P.M. est.

Apparently Banana and Cheese have found the cookie jar. Interesting. We always thought that Cheese was the innocent one.

As The Door Closed...

2010-09-16T17:53:00.005-04:00

Karen and Gale loaded their suitcases into the car, gave each cat one more pat on the head, one more stroke of the back, and closed the door behind them.

Banana jumped up on the window ledge and looked outside. “They’re gone! You know what this means!”

“Yeah,” Cheese responded, “it means you’re going to rush right out and eat all the food they’ve left and we won’t have any more until our other friend arrives to feed us. It MEANS I’LL STARVE!!”

“No, no, no…well maybe yes,” Banana looked doubtful. She shook her head, “NO! You don’t realize what this means, do you?”

Cheese wandered down the hall, his voice trailing back, “I wonder if they remembered to leave 2 cups of water for us? I don't think I can make it until our friend comes to give us fresh water later today. I'm so thirsty! Ack! Cough! Do you think they might…maybe…might…have left a faucet running?”

"ARGHHHH!” The annoyed Banana went running, as fast as she could, down the hall at Cheese, and knocked him over. “It means we can find that little black box, push the buttons until the television comes on, and then we can watch whatever we want!” Banana was panting, but Cheese couldn’t tell if she was excited or just out of breath from running.

After Banana had a little snack and Cheese had a little drink from both of the cups left in the bathroom, the cats went into the living room, found the little black box, and started pushing buttons. Pushing Button Number 6 caused the television to come on, and Banana put a little special lick on that button, so they could remember to push it again if they heard their other friend coming in the door to feed them.

The cats loved the Discovery Channel, so pushed more buttons until it came on the screen. After 37 hours of watching, they decided to push some more buttons. During the time Karen and Gale were gone, the cats slept, ate, looked at Twitch through the window…oh wait! CD has already told you all this!

But, she didn’t know (remember the special lick on the button?) that the cats also watched some cartoons (not enough cats), some soap operas (boring), some game shows (the excited people and all the yelling made Cheese nervous), some reruns of “Mister Rogers Neighborhood” (Cheese loved his voice; it was just so calm!), and after 2 full days of the Food Channel (Banana sat down on the little black box and Cheese could not push her off), the cats decided

to watch some old movies.

“The Cat in the Hat” was silly—Banana and Cheese loved to see what would happen next to the fish in the bowl.

“Cat on a Hot Tin Roof” sounded scary, but the cats watched it anyway. Humph!!!

The cats decided this one was a stupid movie because it was not about a cat…at…all.

They love the Cheshire Cat in “Alice in Wonderland”—he was mellow, and mysterious, and could even disappear! Everything a cat should be.

But by far, “That Darn Cat!” was their favorite—finally! A movie with a cat as the star!!!!

All in all, the cats are glad their people have come home. Banana missed her daily chats with Karen, and still has not been able to tell her all the details about the tips for cooking turkey that she picked up on the Food Channel—Banana talks, but Karen keeps going to sleep and misses the best part. Cheese is just happy that everyone is where they are supposed to be. And that special lick on the black box means the cats can still watch anything they want during the day.

But recently….Gale noticed something. “Hey!” she shouted. “Are you really taping ‘Man vs. Wild’ every night, Karen?!”

While The Girls Are Away, The Cats Will Play

2010-09-09T18:23:00.007-04:00

I'm just the illustrator, so editor's get your red pens out. You will have a field day with editing my post. And you will see why Gale is the talented author and I am forbidden to write. Artists pay attention to colors not misspelled words or where the commas go.

Enough. Let me tell you why I am here.

Gale and Karen are away on vacation and I feel it's my duty to report on how Banana and Cheese are doing. Yesterday I paid a visit and while I can't tell you everything because I don't want to rat on the cat's, I can at least tell you the funniest. I know all of you cat's out there can relate.

Have you ever come home to the toilet paper unraveled and cleverly distributed throughout the house? Here's a peek as to what Gale and Karen are going to come home to and why.

Cat hair on the bed. I mean LOT'S of cat hair. After vacation it's always pretty clear that our feline family members have taken up your space on the bed. We all find this endearing because in our minds we think it is because they miss us and this is the closest they can be to us while we are away. Well, I have got news for you. Take a look at what I observed:

Banana and Cheese, don't worry. The rest of the secrets are mine to keep!

School Days

2010-09-08T14:42:00.005-04:00

For almost every kid, teacher, principal, bus driver, lunchroom attendant, custodian, aide…you get the idea… in America, when the days of late August and early September arrive, it means one thing—it’s time to go back to school. Cats are lucky (or unlucky—it really depends on your point of view); they don’t go to school. Ever. Cats do not like to be told what to do, and while they are curious about things, they do not have the patience to learn to read about the things that interest them. They have paws, not fingers, so holding a pencil is hard—therefore, they do not write as well as humans do. Maybe that’s why they are so interested in the keyboard of my computer?

College kids go back to school too, and Cheese knew that because he saw Peter packing boxes, suitcases, laundry baskets, duffle bags, CD cases, and sniffenloofers (that last word was made up—I wanted to see if you were paying attention!). Seeing this made Cheese sad, because he liked to have Peter at home. Peter was really good at head rubs, he was a very clean animal, and he sometimes left melted ice cream in the bottom of the bowl for Cheese to lick—yum! Peter was also Cheese’s human—Peter thought he picked Cheese, but really Cheese chose to live with Peter and the rest of the family. Now Peter was leaving to go back to school, and Cheese’s heart hurt.

“What’s wrong with you?” Banana flicked her tail in Cheese’s sad-looking face. “You’ve been sitting here by the door all morning.”

“I’m waiting for my chance,” replied Cheese. His voice sounded mysterious, so Banana’s ears pricked up and she was instantly very curious.

“What chance? The birdbath is in the BACK yard, and there are birds in it! If you are quiet, you will get your chance to….surprise them! You haven’t caught one yet, but you’ve surprised lots of them.” Banana thought Cheese was confused about what he should be doing; after all, it was Friday afternoon, and that meant it was time for Cheese to jump at the birds in the birdbath.

“Oh, never mind,” sighed Cheese. “You wouldn’t understand. And, you couldn’t be quiet either.”

“Hmph!” Banana snorted. “I could be quiet for 14 seconds if I needed to. So there!” Banana stuck her tail in the air and walked toward the back door. At least she remembered her “obligations”, even if Cheese forgot.

Time passed (human time: 30 minutes. Cat time: who knows?). Karen and Gale helped Peter load the boxes, suitcases, laundry baskets, duffle bags, CD cases, and sniffenloofers (just making sure you’re still paying attention!) into his car.

“OOF! Whoa! What did you pack in this box, Mom?” Peter asked. “It’s heavy!”

I think it has your medicine kit, your boots, your ‘mom-is-worried-you-might-need-this’ stuff, and…CHEESE!” Gale yelled as Cheese’s head popped out from the top of the box.

“Ohhhh…I’m sorry, buddy, but they don’t allow cats in my apartment.” Peter gently lifted Cheese out of the box and put him on a nearby chair. “I’ll be back to visit you soon, I promise.”

Cheese jumped off the chair and ran from the room.

Banana found him curled up on Peter’s bed; the comforter and sheets were gone, but it still smelled like Peter, and that made Cheese feel better.

“Hey,” Banana said quietly, “It’s almost time for dinner. Then it will be bedtime, and then you know what? We can get up early and watch the cool buses go by the front window! Remember how those kids bounce up and down when the driver hits the bump in the road? That’s funny!!!!”

Cheese smiled, just a little.

The Noise….A Birthday Mystery

2010-08-29T17:52:00.019-04:00

Banana finished her 2^nd lunch of the day, and went padding down the hallway, to see what Cheese was doing. She found him hiding under the bed, waiting…for what?

“Hey!” yelled Banana. Cheese jumped. “What are you doing in here? It’s a nice day to bird-watch!”

Cheese was shaking so hard she could hear his teeth chatter. “Don’t….don’t…..you hear…that…that noise?”

Banana sat, cleaned her ears one at a time, and….listened. There was a tiny, faint “Whrrr” noise, far off—she couldn’t really tell what it was or where it was coming from. This noise did not scare Banana—it just made her curious. She could have laughed at Cheese, but he looked so sad and afraid that she felt sorry for him.

“C’mon,” she said in a loud, brave voice, “let’s go find out what’s making that sound!”

Cheese shook his head, and moved further under the bed. “I can’t,” he cried.

“Yes you can!” shouted Banana, and she bit his tail.

“YOW!!!” Cheese darted out from under the bed and skidded to a stop in the hallway.

“Now that you’re out here, we might as well….investigate,” Banana calmly purred. She pushed open the hall closet, and Cheese peeked under her legs into the dark space. “Well, it’s not the vacuum cleaner; it’s right here.” Banana pointed at the silent monster.

Banana listened again. “It’s not the ‘ARRRRRR’ growl of the outdoor vacuum [humans call this a lawnmower] either. The noise is softer than that. Hmmm….let’s go, Cheese,” and she pushed him down the hall.

Cheese slowly and quietly poked his head around the doorway, and looked into the bathroom. “It’s not the hair dryer either,“ he sighed, with some relief.

“I know what it is!” Banana yelled over her shoulder, as she ran to the door. “It’s a BZZZZZ bug!”

Their ears pricked, both cats looked into the tree and studied the branches. But they couldn’t hear that special late-summertime song. It wasn’t a BZZZZZ bug—a cicada—either. Now that the cats were outside, they could tell the “Whrr” noise was coming from inside the house. The cats were so curious by now that Cheese even forgot to be scared. What was that “Whrrr” noise, and where was it coming from?

They hurried inside, rounded the corner into the kitchen, and ran right into Karen’s legs.

“Whoa! You two scared me!” Karen reached over, unplugged something, and the “Whrr”ing noise stopped. “I’m just mixing the batter for Gale’s birthday cake. Want to see?” She pushed the bowl to the edge of the counter, and the cats looked up. They saw a bowl with some white, creamy liquid inside. “Now I’ll pour this into 2 pans, and after it bakes, I’ll frost it. Later, we’ll put candles in it, and sing ‘Happy Birthday’ to Gale. She will be so happy to eat this yummy 2-layer cake.”

As the cats thought about the fact that a liquid, poured into a pan and baked in an oven, could make a tasty treat, Karen licked the beaters of the mixer.

“I would share, but I don’t think you would like this batter, Cheese. And Banana—you just ate, didn’t you? I’m sure you’re too full, so won’t want to try it either.”

As the cats looked back at Karen, she wondered what they could be thinking…

Karen would never guess that Banana was thinking a 43 layer cake would be a much more sensible birthday cake. And Cheese? Well, Cheese was trying to figure out whether 2 or 3 BZZZZZ bugs should be added to that batter, to make that birthday cake just right!

If you want to learn more about cicadas:

http://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/

If you want to see (and maybe bake) some great cakes:

http://www.cakes.com/

Gale Goes on A Trip (Part 2)

2010-08-22T14:29:00.008-04:00

Banana was pleased to have Twitch’s full attention again. ‘’Gale said she left the house named England and flew into Greece with Erika.”

“Wow,” Twitch interrupted, “that sounds really messy. I got into grease once, and it took me all day to lick it off my fur. That stuff tastes nasty!”

“Hmph,” growled Banana, who did not like to be interrupted when telling a story. “I’m sure Gale and Erika wore protective gear when flying. She’s usually a careful, if somewhat untidy, person.”

“Yeah! And anyway, Gale said there was a lot of water around the Greece, so she must have stayed clean!” Cheese looked a little worried at the thought of his people being as messy as Twitch. “It sounded heavenly,” Cheese purred, “clean, blue water as far as they could see. Gale said they went swimming a lot, and they put special masks on their faces so they could see…FISH!!!!”

All the cats shuddered at the thought of having something on their face, but could see the logic in doing it just to be closer to those fast and clever creatures called fish. Cheese started to drool at the thought of all those fish, so close that he could reach…out…and…snag…them...

“Hey!” Cheese yelped. “Why did you bite my tail, Banana? That hurt!”

“You were starting to fall asleep, and you weren’t paying attention to me—that’s why,” explained Banana, who followed the tail bite with a swipe to Cheeses’ ear.

“Ow! I was too paying attention! I was listening with my eyes closed!” Cheese pushed Banana on to her side, and the wrestling match was on.

"YO! HEY! STOP!” Twitch shook the screen door. “I want to hear more about your person’s trip to the House of Grease!”

“Oh…why yes,” panted Banana, happy to stop wrestling so she could tell more stories (she wasn’t as young as she used to be, and those wrestling matches could get tiring if they went on longer than 11.6 seconds). “Gale also said they saw some old things in Greece. She said some of them were so old they were…ancient and ruined.” Banana was pleased she remembered the new words that Gale had used when describing the sights of Greece.

“HA! That’s a good one,” laughed Twitch. “They went to see old stuff that was in grease? You’re pulling my hind leg, aren’t you? I know people are strange, but…”

Twitch’s voice trailed off, as she got lost in the thought of what could be so great about old rags, covered in grease. Banana must have heard what Twitch was thinking, because she wondered if ruined chew toys, with the stuffing popping out of them, would really be very interesting. Cheese used the moment of silence to resume his dream of fish in the clean, blue water.

At that moment, Gale walked into the room. She looked at the three cats, each of whom were looking back at her with what really looked like what she would call “puzzled expressions.” “Wow,” Gale murmured, “Sometimes I’d like to know what you cats are thinking!“

Gale Goes on a Trip (Part One)

2010-08-16T07:03:00.006-04:00

Banana and Cheese were lazing in front of the open screen door one summer afternoon when Twitch wandered up .

“Hey!” Twitch poked her nose against the screen. “I saw one of your people leaving with one of those scary bags on wheels a while ago…I think it was about the same time my kittens caught their first mouse. Why was she pulling one of those things behind her? Haven’t you warned her how dangerous those bags can be to cats and their tails?”

Cheese raised his head, yawned, thought about going back to sleep, but remembered how persistent Twitch could be when she wanted to hear a people story.

“Gale said, as she scratched my head that morning, she was going to an air something, so she could fly to see Erika. Erika lives somewhere-not-here in a house called England.” Cheese flexed his paws.

“Wow,” exclaimed Twitch, “That must have been a really big bird, to carry Gale and her wheely bag all the way to that other house.”

“Yeah,” piped in Banana, who was eager to tell Twitch things that Twitch didn’t already know, “Gale told me it was across the water!”

The three cats sat and thought about this for a while, because, after all, it was a hot day and it was the cat-napping time of day.

Banana, who couldn’t stand the silence, continued the story, “Gale said she saw lots of kinds of

people, wearing different types of clothes from many countries. She said Erika took her all over the city in double-decker bus, but they also walked a lot; in fact, she says everyone walks because it is such a big city—she told us about these horrible things they put babies in—called “buggies”. I mean, with all those wheels, can you imagine how nervous those cats in that England must be?”

When Banana paused to take a breath, Cheese jumped up, eager to tell Twitch more about his person’s trip. “Gale and Erika went on a train—it’s something like a big, noisy car that runs on tack….no, that’s not right…a track—to visit some friends. That trip sounded boring, because their friends don’t have cats. But they do have big back gardens, and there was a park with a pond and ducks and squirrels and whales….no, that’s not right—a PLACE called Wales.” Cheese, embarrassed to realize that in his excitement, he was stretching all the way up the screen, pretended he meant to do that, then stretched back the other way, with his tail-covered behind sticking straight up.

Banana was shaking from side to side, eager to continue the tale. “Erika also took her to a very green place—they had to walk across a bridge (Cheese sighed at the thought of more water)—and…and…they saw SHEEP!!!”

At this, the three tumbled over, exhausted by all the new thoughts they were having. Traveling did make one tired!

Just before he drifted off to sleep, Cheese thought of one more thing.

“Twitch, Gale brought chocolate back to share with her friends!”

The three cats made gagging noises.

“Ewwwww….that stuff makes me sick!” Twitch shuddered. “ Maybe those other people really aren’t her friends…”

Twitch spotted a butterfly, and leapt off the step.

“Wait,” meowed Banana, “…there’s more.”

Saying Goodbye to Tabbouleh

2010-08-07T12:02:00.014-04:00

It was a typical Saturday morning—wake time was 6. Banana had taught Tabbouleh the secrets of Banana Standard Time, and he had taken over the job of waking the family. He was a little quiet with his “meows”, but Banana was confident Tabbouleh’s voice would get louder in the next few weeks. She could tell Tabbouleh was going to be a big cat—he had gained 2 lbs. (according to Gale) since he arrived, and he was quite a bit more annoying when they played—he attacked her tail with gusto, and it was no longer an easy task to push him off when he pounced on her back.

As Gale sleepily prepared Tabbouleh’s wet food and refilled his water dish, he explored the legs of the dining room table. Cheese watched from his perch on “his” chair at the table with wariness; the little guy could really jump these days, and it wouldn’t be long before Tabbouleh could make it up on Cheese’s chair. Now THAT would be annoying!

As Tabbouleh gobbled down his breakfast (not leaving even a tiny bit for her, Banana noted with annoyance), Cheese watched Karen do something odd—Karen was putting Tabbouleh’s bed, extra food, and toys into a box.

Tabbouleh spent the rest of the morning doing what he did best: scaling the sofa, sliding down on to a nearby table, jumping to the big black chair, tumbling to the ground, and then doing it all over again. Later in the morning,

Banana watched Karen put Tabbouleh into a cat carrier (Cheese would have seen this too, but he “disappeared” to the basement as soon as he heard the rattle of the handle of the carrier). Banana had watched Gale do the same thing earlier in the week (when Tabbouleh went to the vet for his first shots), but this time it was different—Banana could feel some sadness in the air as Karen gently closed the carrier door. Banana saw the box on the floor next to the carrier, and she rushed to find Cheese.

A little while later, Banana and Cheese watched as Karen picked up the carrier, and Gale lifted the box from the table. The cats heard the front door shut, and then all was quiet; quieter than it had been since Tabbouleh fell into their lives five short weeks before.

When the door opened again, Karen and Gale came in empty-handed. Again, that sense of sadness came in with the women, and the cats realized they had some rubbing and purring to do with their people. As Karen snuggled Banana, Gale stroked Cheese, and the women wiped tears from their eyes. “Today, we took Tabbouleh to his new home,” Gale explained. “He seemed a little scared at first, but the little girl and little boy were so gentle, I’m sure he’ll feel at home in no time. I think he’ll like it there; he’ll have lots of new places to explore, and a new family to love him.”

If cats could cry, you would have seen Banana and Cheese wiping tears from their cheeks too—they understood Tabbouleh had left to become part of a new family, but they were really going to miss the little guy. Karen suddenly looked worried; “Do you think Tabbouleh has enough to eat at his new house? Do you think he’ll have enough toys to play with?” Banana and Cheese looked at each other, pleased that Banana had thought to convince Cheese to come up from the basement long enough to put some of his favorite treats into the box that Karen had loaded for Tabbouleh.

The treats landed right on top of one of Banana’s favorite red shoestrings. The cats knew they had done their best to make sure their little friend had some things from their home to take to his new home.

As the sun went down that night, each creature in the house had the exact same thoughts: “Wow, it’s quiet here without Tabbouleh! He really did become a part of our family! I’m going to miss him.”

And indeed, they did. They missed Tabbouleh every day.

Banana and Cheese: A Guide to Feeding Squirrels

2010-07-21T15:48:00.022-04:00

Banana and I have spent a lot of time observing squirrels; sometimes in our backyard, and sometimes in our front yard.

Therefore, we feel very qualified to give you our list of things to feed, and not to feed, our furry four-footed friends.

First, our list of things NOT to feed to the squirrels:

1) Steak. Squirrels will eat meat; we’ve heard that they will even eat hamburgers if they live near college students. But squirrels will not eat steak because they rarely have steak sauce in their nests.

2) Ice cream.Squirrels are very slow eaters, and they hate it when ice cream melts all over their fur. Also, unless they know you very well, they will not come down from the tree to take the frosty treat before the ice cream has softened into a puddle.

3) Cardboard. Banana pushed a piece of cardboard under a tree just last week, thinking she might fool a squirrel into coming down for “pizza”, but she soon found out squirrels are very, very clever.

4) Goldfish. We’ve talked to some of our cat friends, and nobody has ever seen a squirrel dip a paw into a pond. Likewise, no squirrel has been silly enough to fall into a pond (unlike some friends we know…Twitch!).

5) Cat food. That’s just wrong! Very, very wrong, and they will not like it. Trust us when we tell you to feed cat food only to cats. Banana suggests that you feed cat food to cats quite often.

Now, our list of things Banana and I think people ought to feed to squirrels (especially if we can watch):

1) Spaghetti. Although we have never witnessed it, trust us when we tell you that squirrels love spaghetti. But, before serving spaghetti to squirrels, please invite Banana and I to your house. We want to laugh at…I mean…watch them as they try to suck those noodles into their mouths. We think it would be very funny…I mean…nutritious to serve spaghetti to squirrels.

2) Meatballs. See spaghetti (above). If you served spaghetti and meatballs at the same time, that would be hilarious…I mean…a complete meal. It makes Banana and I want to break into song (please join us):

“On top of spaghetti,

All covered with cheese,

I lost my poor meatball,

When somebody sneezed.

It rolled off the table,

And on to the floor,

And then my poor meatball,

Rolled out of the door.

It rolled in the garden,

And under a bush,

And then my poor meatball,

Was nothing but mush.

The mush was as tasty

As tasty could be,

And then the next summer,

It grew into a tree.

The tree was all covered,

All covered with moss,

And on it grew meatballs,

And tomato sauce.

So if you eat spaghetti,

All covered with cheese,

Hold on to your meatball,

Whenever you sneeze.”

3) Corn. Squirrels really do like corn. Banana and I like it when Gale hangs the corn on our corn cob feeder; the squirrels spin around and around as they try to get the kernels off the cob. Very entertaining, and nutritious too.

4) Sunflower seeds. Squirrels like sunflower seeds…a lot. I think they like them mostly because cats do not like sunflower seeds.

5) Bagels. Another food that is amusing for cats, tasty for squirrels. We especially like it when the squirrels put their paw through the middle, and twirl the bagel as they eat it.

For more information on squirrels, check out this website:

http://www.squirrels.org/

And, if you would like to sing along with the song, “On Top of Spaghetti”, here’s a great YouTube video:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i0jLgf8rK4c

It’s Our Year

2010-07-10T06:41:00.020-04:00

It was July 4, 2010…..

“Hey, Banana,” shouted Cheese, as he peered at the computer screen. “You’ve got to see this!”
Banana sleepily strolled into the room, stretching her hind legs as she moved toward him. She also had to sidestep Tabbouleh, who pounced on her paw. “This had better be good. I was dreaming I was climbing a mountain of kibble.”

“It says, right here on Gale’s computer, that it’s our year! It has been since February, and nobody told us,” pouted Cheese.

Banana, suddenly very interested, jumped up into the chair next to the computer desk.

Tabbouleh, who had been chasing after her, skidded across the floor, and smacked up against the pink leg of the dinosaur piñata. “What are you talking about? Our year? I knew every day was our day—Gale says that all the time. But our year? I don’t understand.”

Cheese pointed to the computer screen. “It’s the Year of the Tiger, according to the Chinese lunar calendar. And it has been since February 14^th, but nobody bothered to inform us of such an important event. “ Cheese suddenly looked like he was dreaming. “We should be honored with a parade, or a party, or maybe a fountain should be named after us.”

“Yeah!” exclaimed Banana, falling into the same dreamy state. “Or we could have a huge banquet, with lots of food and dancing squirrels! We should make sure our people have this party before Tabbouleh leaves; that would mean presents, because everyone brings presents for kittens.”

“No, wait!” Cheese suddenly looked panicked. “NO parties or parades; those get too noisy. And too many people would want to come. Maybe just a quiet night in the back yard?’

“That’s purr-fect, “ agreed Banana. “As long as there are plenty of snacks. How about tonight?”

The cats and their people spent a nice evening out on the patio; as the sun set, Cheese was delighted to see the fireflies begin their light show. But imagine the shock the cats felt when loud booms, followed by flashes of colorful lights, filled the sky.

Banana and Cheese were startled, but the noise woke Tabbouleh from a kitten nap he was taking next to his new best friend the pink dinosaur! As their people clapped and cheered, Banana leaned over to Cheese, and whispered, "They knew it was our year all along. I can’t wait to see what else we do to celebrate.

I’ll bet next we’ll be getting our very own chickens!”

To learn more about the Chinese Lunar Calendar (are you a boar? A monkey?)

To learn about the Year of the Tiger, and how you can help save these great cats

To learn more about fireworks