Poor Mr. Mushu

Greetings most humans and many others,

Well, Missy Linda is driving me crazy worrying out loud about Mr. Mushu. If you remember, he and Mr. Nelson do not get along, and Mr. Mushu hasn't run into very many dogs who do not like him. He doesn't seem to realize that a huge cat with claws always has the upper hand with a dog the size of Mr. Nelson. Mr. Mushu actually weighs more than Mr. Nelson.

Missy Linda is worried because Mr. Mushu hardly comes out of her bedroom, and then, only to eat and use the litter box. He just lies around back there all day and night. Personally, I don't see the difference in his lying in the bedroom or lying in some other room. Mr. Mushu has never been what one would call an "active" cat. That's why he weighs more than Mr. Nelson!

If Missy Linda spent half as much of her time and effort working on things rather than feeling guilty and worried, she might get some things done once in a while. I'm just sayin'.

Mr. Nelson is in the Doghouse!

Greetings most humans and many others,

Let me just say that I love Mr. Nelson, and I enjoy watching his antics from my vantage point, but I get sick and tired of the way that Missy Linda and Tio Kane fawn over him all the time. I must admit that I don't feel guilty for enjoying it when he gets into a little trouble.

When Missy Linda brought in some planters the other night when it got cold, she didn't pay any attention to what other things were in the pots. Well, there were some big ol' pine cones that the girls had picked up when they went on walks. Mr. Nelson thought that they were quite crunchy and fun to chew into little pieces!

Late in the evening of the freeze, Tio Kane did not see Mr. Nelson sleeping in any of his usual places. When he heard crunching noises, he went to investigate, and there was Mr. Nelson in the living room gnawing and munching on several huge pine cones. He had totally masticated them down to the core just like the squirrels do. One problem, other than the huge mess he made, is that there are sharp thorns on the ends of each "petal" that could injure his mouth, and of course, there is a danger of his choking. Missy Linda has told me about a dog she used to have named Sugar, who had to be rushed to the vet several times because of sticks and other various objects lodged in her throat. I don't believe that Mr. Nelson got punished at all for being so naughty. That's the part that burns my buns!

Then, yesterday, when Missy Linda got home from work, she accidentally fell asleep on the couch for about an hour. When she awakened, she didn't see Mr. Nelson anywhere in the yard, so, of course, she started calling him. There was no Mr. Nelson anywhere, and there was no barking to answer her calls! When she went to investigate, there was a hole under the fence, and there he was just prancing around on the back side of the fence as if he was supposed to be there! Missy Linda was annoyed because he had worried her and because, if he starts digging out of the yard, she won't be able to trust him when she is gone from the house! He is going to get grounded if he's not careful! Now, that I would enjoy!

The Auction

Greetings most humans and many others,

I heard on the news that there is an auction today selling Bernie and Ruth Madoff's stuff. Can you hardly believe it? That is the kind of jewelry and doodads and things that I would be interested in having.

I can just hear Missy Linda now if I were to say anything about it!

"What? Are you a crazy Styrofoam tortilla keeper person? You know I have a minimum wage job, and you are lucky you even get to live here! I probably could not even afford the catalog for the auction! And what would you do with expensive things like that? You don't even have a use for them."

To that, I would say, "Whose fault is it that I never get to go any place or do anything?"

I'm not sure what would happen after that because I've never pushed anything that far. I should probably be a little careful since Monday is trash day. I don't want to be the topping on the trash can!

Now He's Gone

Hello most humans and many others,

Well, I must report that Mr. Sunflower is gone. It looks somewhat like a crime scene on a CSI show.

The other day when we awakened, his stalk was broken from where he had been rooted. His stalk was hanging off the ground because his neck was caught between the slats of the wooden fence with his huge head on the other side of the fence. His leaves were stripped!

Missy Linda can't solve the mystery of whether it was squirrels, or maybe, raccoons. She doubts that a squirrel could have pulled the huge head through the fence like that. However, some of those squirrels look pretty pumped. It did happen either at night or early enough in the morning for Missy Linda to see it when she arose. (It would not be hard to be that early these days!) Missy Linda has trouble winding down after she works the night shift, so because she is awake late, she doesn't get up too early nowadays.

Who do you all think murdered Mr. Sunflower?

Emo Sunflower

Good morning most humans and many others,

Since I sit here a look out the window a lot, I have been watching a sunflower that came up right by the back fence in the yard. This is one of those kind that have the huge center that are grown for the seeds. I think it probably was born of the bird seed that gets strewn all over the back yard.

Even though the sunflowers that grow from the bird seeds are usually little short ones with small flowers, this one was huge and beautiful. Tio Kane and Missy Linda called it "Emo Sunflower" because it never turned its head toward the sun. It just stood there looking down the whole time.

Sometimes in the past, there would be kind of a whole patch of little sunflowers around the bird feeder, and those would follow the sun all day, every day. It was an entertaining phenomenon to watch (if you don't have any more of a life than I do these days!)
As you can see, this is one sad-looking sunflower. Missy Linda's friend Alicia says that maybe it is not emo, but just sad and disappointed with its life. I don't know. What do you think?

On a lighter note, HAPPY BIRTHDAY, MISSY BARB! (Her age is not anywhere close to Amelia's age even though their birthdays are two days apart!)

Lying Low

Hello most humans and many others,

Here I am lying low today---again. Actually, I probably spend more days trying to stay clear of Missy Linda than I do trying to be with her. Today is probably going to be one cranky day for her so I am going to do my best to stay away from her.

She hates it when she works the evening shift at work and then has to work the first thing next morning. That is what has happened today. She did not get to sleep until way after midnight last night because it takes a while for her to get to sleep after working at night. She says her legs ache, poor baby! Anyway, now she is up early because she has to get to work this morning, and they are opening earlier right now for holiday hours. She is going to be one big ol' b-word when she gets home today!

I'll talk to you guys again as soon as it is safe to come out into the open, OK?

Too Fast

Hello most humans and many others,

Wow! Here it is already November! Missy Linda is all in a dither because she says nothing makes her feel farther behind than the first of a new month. On Thursday, it will be Missy Amelia's fourth birthday! Missy Linda is sad that all her girls are growing up so fast. Missy Emma is already two, and she is the youngest one. Missy Linda was hoping for more little girls, but that is probably not going to happen. She will just enjoy the ones she has. After all, not everyone gets that many sweet girls in her life.

Customers in the fabric store where Missy Linda works are buying fabrics for Christmas gifts and decorations. That is another thing that makes Missy Linda realize how far behind she is in other areas of her life. She had better figure out a way to better organize her time and energy. I am sure that I could help her with that if she would just allow me. She just thinks that because I can't walk around and because I am inanimate, I don't know anything. Well, I could show her a thing or two, and one of these days I will do just that!

Loving Halloween

Hello most humans and many others,

How was your Halloween? We have fewer children than we used to have on this street. Missy Linda says when they first moved to this neighborhood, there was a steady stream of kids all evening long. Either all the kids have grown too old, or they go do other things. There seem to be lots of parties and things.

Missy Linda says that she wonders if parents realize that most of those stories about razor blades in apples and poison in candy are actually urban legends. Supposedly the only kids who were really poisoned on Halloween were sickened by their own father.

As it turns out, Mr. Nelson loves Halloween! He did not bark at all, and after a while, he got the courage to come to the door. A couple of minutes after that, he started trying to follow the little goblins and princesses. He became upset when he had to come back into the house because he really loved the kids. Maybe he can go trick or treating with Missy Ryley and Missy Emma next year.