You can touch my paw

Are you kidding me right now? Can you see I’m trying to sleep? Don’t care if you heard a meow It may have been an annoyed peep Let’s get this straight and evenly precise Only I can disturb the daytime snooze Consequence comes when you roll the dice It may involve blood and a bruise I’ll catch you later when it’s time To stretch, yawn and head to the dish This nap will no longer need to rhyme As youRead more

Melange-O-Rama

Did you know that the meaning of melange is “hodgepodge” or “assortment?” I named my blog Mary J. Melange because I planned on writing a variety of content rather than singularly about cats or bicycles or poetry. It is today that I’m sharing a chaotic hodgepodge of stuff would have been called mish-mash were it not for Dan’s recent post at No Facilities. Great minds think alike, but I may have to outdo his assortment. Just because I can. IRead more

#SoCS: Luck be a Whiner at Home

“Mooommmeeeooowww!” “Oh Gibbs…” “What Mooommmeeeooowww?” “Why are you whining so dang much?” “I’m not whining, I’m crying.” “Cats don’t cry, not in the human sense.” “My heart is breaking.” “Why?” “You’ve been gone far too much lately. Not home. Absent from the couch, where I lay on your lap.” “I’m living my life and enjoying the summer with other humans.” “What about meeeeeeeee?” “Gibbs, I can’t stay home 24 hours a day, every day. That would be boring and unhealthy.”Read more

Prising Gibbs

“Try to prise a limpet away from its rock and it will cling all the harder.” ― Jeremy Holme A limpet is a marine mollusk. I have a cat who will serve as its stand-in. Some days, prising Gibbs away from my side requires a chisel and pry bar. I am his rock with a thin coating of super glue. Where I go, he goes. When I sit, there he is – gray paws kneading rhythmically on a pair of LeeRead more

#CBWC: Soft Kitty

This week’s entry for Cee’s Black and White Photo Challenge (CBWC) includes photos of pets or stuffed animals. This is an easy one. I have innumerable photos of Gibbs the cat, so without further ado… Join the fun of black and white photography by clicking on the link at the beginning of the post. Details and weekly themes can be found HERE and Cee publishes the B&W post around mid to late morning CST on her main blog page HERE.Read more

Light and Shadow

Green light of his eye holds a soulful gaze He lays in the comfort of red and gold Hardness of life digs into clouded daze The stress of being cat cannot be sold “Hey mom?” “Yes, Gibbs?” “Watcha doing?’ “Trying to write a sonnet or poem about you.” “I hope you are telling everyone that I’m a good boy.” You are, buddy, most days…” His world has changed somewhat for the better Gray paws roam free without prison’s firm gateRead more

#SoCS: Calculating Distance

Calculating… “What did you say, Gibbs?” Just thinking and calculating the distance between me and the bird sitting on the windowsill. “Where did you learn such a big word?” Dan’s cat Mimi. She said her owner is into calculating something called math. “Yes, I know about Dan and his math abilities, but how long have you and Mimi been talking to one another? And exactly what allows you to do this? Having you been emailing back and forth? Using myRead more

Read, watch TV, nap.

“Sleep did not honor me with it’s presence.” ~Alysha Speer~ MJM’s Diary of the Tired: Monday, March 15, 2021, 3:30 am – Gibbs the cat wakes me. The change in time may be at fault here, or he may be his usual self who believes he deserves kibble upon vocal and mischievous demands. Monday, 3:35 am – I used the water spray bottle. Gibbs settled down. Monday, 4:00 am – I am awake again, but not by the paws ofRead more

One-Liner Gibbs

Gibbs took his annual trip to the vet on Monday. He hates the carrier and car rides, so I imagined the thought from his handsome face as we drove home from the place of disrepute. “This is such bullshit.“ Gibbs is a healthy boy. He weighs the same as last year, 12.4 pounds. His color-changing left eye is functioning properly, but we keep watch of it. He had his rabies and distemper shots, and bloodwork was submitted to the labRead more

#SoCS: Cleaning the Sty

Recently, Gibbs had few “sneezy” days and he lost his lunch a couple of times. Perhaps that’s normal, once-in-awhile cat behavior or perhaps it’s a sign of illness. In this case, my current supposition is that Gibbs was surrounded by too much dust and cat hair. It was evident when I started deep cleaning the bedroom and bathroom sty last weekend. Most often, I try to clean these spaces every two weeks, but this time it was three. I hadRead more

Kittygate: Finding a Way Out

“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” ―Nelson Mandela Dear Mr. Gibbs, Did you ever think this was not going to happen? I love you to pieces, but there are days and times when deviousness and the desire for food outweigh your common sense. The area past the carpet is forbidden and that does not change when my back is turned or I am otherwise occupied with straightening the rogue hairs that occupy the left side of my head. It’sRead more

#SoCS: I Need a Cape

First thing, right off the bat, I need sun. More sun. In the past three weeks, it’s been mighty scarce. I think we had one day where it came out for about 20 minutes and another day this week when it would filter itself behind a cloud, shine bright for a few minutes, then go back under the clouds. This may be the reason why I feel a bit lethargic of late. If it were not for the pandemic, NatashaRead more