"Go into the sunlight, Molly." The Husband and I coaxed the furry Girl as she walked beside the side fence. We had been admiring our new front fence, yet again, when we noticed how the late afternoon light lit up our Molly the Cat. Did she oblige us? Of course not. Fortunately, I happened to click the camera just as she wandered off the sun-lit path. "You're welcome," said Molly the Cat. Purrrrrrr.  I'm linking up with the photography meme Wandering Camera hosted by Soma Acharya of Whims and Fancies . Click here to learn more about this month's meme and to check out other participants.

Missus Lady and Hero Man have been hanging outside in the backyard with me a lot lately. I like it, even when they suddenly go into fits of chatter and laughter as they play with their paints, scissors, hammers, saws, and other stuff. They crack me up, my humans do. Purrrrrrrrrr. There is one quirk of Missus Lady that bugs me. Click, click. Click, click. When I hear that puckering kiss sound, miao, I turn around, miao, nearly all the time. Click! goes the Missus Lady's camera. How many pictures of me does she need? Miaooooo.

I've nothing to say. See you next week. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

This morning I was trapped in bed between Molly the Cat and The Husband, both sound asleep. Smiles on their faces. Dreams in their hearts. Musical notes danced from their noses. I wanted to get up. That Girl woke me up when she jumped and thumped onto the bed. After doing her settling-in kneading and drooling on the sheet (TMI?), she curled into a snug ball and pressed herself firmly against my side. So much for personal space. Later. I really wanted to get up. Still against my side, now upside down, Molly was stretched from around my shoulder to nearly my knee. She laid partway on her back and partway on her side in that twisted way of cats. Her bottom half was on her back with her feet turned away from me and her tummy wide open for the universe to see. (They are so cute, Molly's feet are.) Her front half was on her side, facing towards me with her arms stretched way far. (That cute little nose.) How could I interrupt such a pose from sleep? With luck, I thought, the

I overheard Missus Lady and Hero Man talking about whether to grow a couple of small patches of grass for me to lounge in the back yard. That's nice of them, but it doesn't really matter to me. Besides I rather like that they can't find me right away. Purrrrrrrrrrr.

Miao, miao. The days are getting cooler. I wonder if it has anything to do with what my humans are saying, "It feels like Fall." Fall who? Is Fall one of those tiny doggies that wandered and sniffed around the backyard yesterday morning. Some kind of chihuahua they were.  Miao. I thought I was seeing double. They both wore pink halters. Miao, miao. Maya and Daisy were their names. I was lying in the Shady Room when Maya came into view. She was too busy checking out the plants to notice me. I had almost tip-toed into the Sunny Room when I came across Missus Lady talking to Long Blonde Hair who suddenly reached down to pick up Daisy. Humpf. "Molly isn't bothered at all," Missus Lady said, "If they were cats, she'd be snarling by now." Missus Lady got that right. The doggies were so much nicer than the cats that try to take over my territory. Those cats have no shame. Miao.  Daisy and Maya are welcome to wander around my yard anytime.

Today I'm throwing words onto the page. The end of daily posts for a year is coming up in October. I don't want to break stride. . . .Well, well, well. . . Hello, Miss Molly by Golly!. . .Why thank you, Madame. Molly gave me permission to share the photo of her standing at attention, guarding the front yard one morning last month.

Yesterday evening Hero Man told Missus Lady where my newest favorite spot is in the backyard. Miao. "The apple tree on the north end?" Missus Lady asked, playing on her computer. "Yeah. She stares at something in the tree. It's like she's waiting for something. Maybe she saw a baby bird fall out of the tree." "Apples are always falling. She can get bonkered!" Miao. Bonkered. I never thought of that. Miao. Hero Man chuckled. "Maybe that's how cats get high. They get hit in the head, they're suddenly stoned." "And, seeing stars!" Hahahahahahahahahahahahahahahahaha. Miao. That's not funny.  "We're not laughing at you, Molly," said Hero Man. "We love you." Silly humans. I love them anyway. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Someone once asked my humans, "Where does Molly sleep?" "Wherever she wants." So true.  Purrrrrrrrrr. During the day, they let me wander in the backyard. I sleep all over the yard. One of my favorite spots is beneath the avocado tree shielded by the butterfly bush. The only times they won't let me sleep out there is when it's raining, it's too cold, or it's too hot. And, when they go away. I don't really have a best sleeping spot indoors. I like to circulate to keep Hero Man and Missus Lady on their toes. Missus Lady is really good at finding and cleaning my throw-ups almost right away. My humans don't make me feel bad when it happens. They tell me it happens to the best of us. They also say that they would love it if I would do it on the tiles in the hallway. Sometimes I can oblige. Last night, I slept with my humans, next to Missus Lady's feet. That's the safest place to be. She doesn't turn much. I like t

This is Silver. Aren't his blue eyes amazingly blue?  Old Silver lives on good friends Missus and Mister H's ranch. He's a Persian mix, methinks. He rules the cat roost on the ranch.  Molly Girl doesn't know a thing about him. I think she prefers to not know about any cats that The Husband and I know. "Miao, miaooo! That's right!" exclaims Molly from down the hall.

Miao. On Sunday, after a whole week of traipsing about every day, my humans lazed about the house. They also did a bit of puttering. Over breakfast, I overheard my humans agreeing that Hero Man will put in new light bulbs in the kitchen. They've been using the kitchen stove light and a flickering light above the sink for several nights. Late afternoon, Missus Lady thumped down the stairs from the office to fix lunper (lunch + supper). After she stuck the chicken into the toaster oven, she opened the hallway closet and pulled out bags and packages of all sorts of light bulbs. For weeks, Hero Man said to Missus Lady, "We need light bulbs." She answered, "We have a lot in the closet." Said he, "I looked." Said she, "They're there." Hero Man was surprised to see all the light bulbs in the hallway. "Where were they?" Missus Lady replied, "In the bookcase in the closet." Said he, "All I found was the bag with the l

My adoption papers say that I was born on August 8, 2010. That means I'll be turning eight on Wednesday. Three cheers for me: Miao! Miao! Miao! For my birthday: I wish the day to not be too hot.  I wish to hang outside most of the day.  I wish tasty food for my meals.  And, I wish Hero Man and Missus Lady to stay home and be available to cater to all my needs.  That's my birthday wishes. Purrrrrrrrrr.  This is me 6 years ago when I adopted Missus Lady, Hero Man, and Little Old Lady. Almost right away, my Humans let me explore the outdoors. At first they followed me to make sure I didn't go outside our property lines.   I miss hanging out with Little Old Lady. What's the big deal with these computers? They took out the shed so I have nothing to climb anymore. See you next Monday.

Ciao, Sono Molly la Gatta. Molly the Cat, I am, to the rest of you. Missus Lady said if I wanted to write Monday posts, have at it. Quindi eccomi qui. So here I be. For as long as I want, I shall be Monday's guest blogger on The View from the Top of the Ladder . (It's time for a new name, agree?) Meow. Or, should you prefer, miao. Have you read any Italian words so far? Sorry. Scusa. That's the Missus Lady inserting Italian words as I dictate to her.  Missus Lady is learning Italian in a very disorderly way. Does she sign up for a class or listen to tapes? No (same in Italian, by the way a proposito, lo stresso in Italiano). When she remembers she wants to learn Italian, she finds an online translator thing and keys in English phrases. Then she says the Italian version a few times,  causing Hero Man, should he be in the office, to ask, "What are you saying over there?" Hero Man is learning Italian, too, but he waits until the Missus Lady tells him w

I haven't had breakfast yet and I'm already thinking nap time. Molly the Cat and I woke up early today. Soon after sunrise. And, it felt cool. That's a good thing. It's been hot, I tell you. Maybe not as hot as where you are, but scorchers for us. It got comfortable yesterday evening. You should've seen Molly. She scampered around the house, jumped on couches, sniffed in corners, and swished around our legs to see what we were doing. Her appetite came back. It was nice to see, after days of her lying like a rag on the floor next to an open window. This morning, she popped upstairs and jumped on the bed. I pretended to be asleep so I could watch her try to sleep, or maybe stay awake. Whenever she seemed to nod off, she opened her eyes and looked around her. A couple times I closed my eyes only to open them moments later to see her looking at me. Ah, restlessness! We didn't even have to tiptoe away from the happily heavily snoring Husband. Downstairs, Molly and

Go ahead, Missus Lady. Work on the computer. Don't mind me. Purrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr.

Molly the Cat walked out of the office just now. My taking photos of her while sleeping annoyed her. The camera has a loud beep when it turns on. That's how she knew. The Girl got me up a few minutes after sunrise. I knew this because I'd stumbled back to bed after a visit to the bathroom. The morning already felt hot so there was no instant getting back to snoozeville. I almost got there when Molly gave out a roar downstairs. I chose to ignore it as well as her next roar. Silence. Crash! Then a tinkle of something broken. Sigh. The Husband of course was oblivious to Molly's noises. I found the something broken in the kitchen sink. It was the yellow porcelain crocus that sat in a cup on the kitchen window ledge. Two of its petals broke off. I stuck the crocus back into the cup and placed the petals on the saucer. Still looks good. Molly probably was tracking a squirrel running along the fence. Does she know what she would do if she ever caught one? I still

"Peek-a-boo," says Molly the Cat.  Click .  This morning. It was. :-) I'm linking up with the monthly photography meme Wandering Camera hosted by Soma Acharya of Whims and Fancies . Click here to learn more about the meme and to check out other participants.

When we've been out and about more than usual, Molly the Cat comes upstairs to the office to hang with us in the afternoon until dinner time. Sometimes she wanders in, circles the room to see what we're doing, then leaves, as if to say just checking. Other times, she jumps onto my desk and walks back and forth in front of me. Purrrrrrrrrr. When she's done with my attention, she heads over to the Husband and does the same thing. Purrrrrr. And, then there are the times where she decides to stretch out at my feet and take a nap. So sweet, our Molly the Cat

Hi ya! Hey ya! Hope all's well with ya. All is well with us. I'm reaching into my archives for the next several days so I can play catch up around the house. "I'll do it tomorrow." has finally reared itself into today.  Such is retirement. :-) Have fun out there. Today's post (edited) was first published on April 26, 2012.  It's narrated by Molly the Cat, who had been living with us for over two months when she had her adventure. ============ "Hey, Kid, your people are looking for you," said Lickity Split, as he speeds by me. I barely get onto the sidewalk when he turns the corner at the end of the street. There is no use following him. All afternoon I was following him. Just as I catch up to him, he jumps onto a fence and climbs over it into the unknown. I scoot back into my hiding place. Everything was fine and dandy when I first got outside, but it's now dark and cold. I have no idea where I live. If I was home righ

Molly the Cat, our darling girl, looked to be considering a potential hidey hole. With the glare of the sun I wouldn't have seen her if she hadn't moved. It was a small let-me-get-cozy-in-here movement. Click.  She's such a sweet girl, our Molly the Cat.