Still Life, With Cats

We’ve got a trip out of town coming up. We have been using the same petsitting service for years, and most of the time the people who come to take care of our furry horde have been here before. But this time there will be a new person, so we scheduled a time for her to come over.

She was reading the doormat (the one that says not to let Sherman out) as I opened the door. I noted that the doormat was correct, and as if he knew he was being discussed, Sherman came charging forward, demanding attention the nanosecond she stepped inside. He followed us around as I gave her the quick tour, shoving his head into every discussion and insisting he be noticed. Clearly he never got the memo that cats are supposed to be distant and aloof.

* * * * *

Fifteen years ago today this little corner of the internet went live. Technically the blog started a bit earlier, on a different platform (I vaguely recall it was Diaryland, but who the heck knows anymore), but it didn’t take me long to determine I’d much rather have my own domain than have to piggyback on someone else’s, so I shut that down and registered this domain, and never looked back.

Way back in 2000, I was hand coding every single entry in HTML, using Notepad, because I knew if I didn’t do it all manually I’d never get the hang of programming for the web. At some point I decided I was tired of hand coding, so I tried out Greymatter, and also Moveable Type (both of which were perfectly lovely programs). Eventually, though, I settled on WordPress, which I’ve been using ever since. I admit some days I miss the simple HTML layout I first started with, but using the WordPress system gives me a lot more flexibility and, well, to be honest, I no longer have the time (or perhaps the desire) to be coding all of this in Notepad.

Anyway, happy blogiversary to me. Fifteen years ago today I kicked things off with an entry about cats. Obviously, all blog platform technology aside, some things around here will never change.

So I think I mentioned that this year for Christmas, Richard got ‘me’ (aka the cats) a Butterfly Jar.

It seemed like such a great idea- a glass jar with some kind of weird electronic butterfly thing inside, that flutters in a disturbingly realistic way every time you tap the jar. What could be remotely sinister about *that*?

Well, it turns out there was some kind of device built into the lid. An hour or so ago we heard this strange humming sound coming from the living room, and when we went to investigate, whammo. Suddenly we were hit by some kind of shrink ray. Turns out that butterfly has a nasty sense of humor, and isn’t a fan of having someone tap on its jar all the time.

We tried running, but it turns out that tiny people look just like tasty snacks to house cats. My side still hurts from being batted y Rupert’s giant paw.

We climbed into an empty mason jar (good thing I’m a canner) and pulled a lid down on top, but it’s only a matter of time before the cats work out how to knock that off. It’s probably too late for us. But please. Be safe. Avoid the butterfly jar. And also cats.

‘Tis the season for Holidailies.