Friday, September 2, 2016

Fill-Ins and Photo Ops

Yet another weekend is upon us! What's even better is that here in the US, it's a three-day weekend thanks to the Labor Day holiday on Monday. And what's even better than that is that it's time for the weekly Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by the dynamic duo of 15andmeowing and McGuffy's Reader!


Our hosts somehow always manage to give us increasingly creative fill-ins week after week. Here are the clever fill-ins for this week:

1. My favorite way to exercise is _________.
2. Something I learned last week was _________.
3. I am sentimental about _________.
4. Some people might find it surprising to know _________.

I nearly fried my brain trying to come up with answers worthy of these. I hope I did well enough.

1. My favorite way to exercise is using my recumbent exercise bike.

(Although not the most favorite activity of my day, I exercise every morning before work. What makes it as good as it can get is my exercise bike, because I can pedal away with my legs while at the same time holding a book to read or a device on which to blog. I can even tell myself that holding up a book is the same thing as an arm workout. Right?)

2. Something I learned last week was that I may have a phobia of sloths.

(This is a weird and random one, but I guess that's not all that unusual for me. What spurred this discovery was the fact that, due to his relatively lazy and immobile nature, my sister and I often jokingly and oh so lovingly compare her cat Toby to a sloth. When I realized last week that I really didn't know much about sloths, I decided to do a little research on them. That's when, after but a couple YouTube videos, I realized that watching the poor little guys try to move around actually made me feel uncomfortable. I  love all animals, but have you ever seen a video of a sloth trying to conquer a field of grass, or trying to cross a road? It's the most bizarre combination of sad and strange. Of course, that may just be me.)

3. I am sentimental about my cats' and dogs' fur and whiskers.

(I'm not sure how weird or abnormal this is, but I tend to collect and keep any whiskers I find at my house. What's more, I have little containers with fur from each of my angel furbabies, including Rosie and my past two pups, Banjo and Shellie. And, back when Rosie was an only cat, I spent years collecting her whiskers that I'd find. On the day she crossed the Rainbow Bridge, I suddenly realized that I couldn't remember where I'd put the baggie that contained my large collection of her whiskers. I was on the verge of a total meltdown when something compelled me to look inside a purse that I had not even used in over a decade, and there they were. Somehow they had landed in that dusty old bag, and some higher power must have had pity on my panicking soul and urged me to look there. Rosie's whiskers are now tucked safely away with her cremated remains and clay paws.)

4. Some people might find it surprising to know that I am not a big fan of my mancat Evan's name.

(As many of you know, Evan was dumped at the front door of the cat clinic where I used to work, after being paralyzed in a coyote attack. I did not name him. Rather, the veterinarian owner of the clinic selected his name well before I adopted him. To be honest, and although I can't really pinpoint exactly why, I've never been fond of the name Evan (I mean absolutely no offense to anyone with this name!). However, Evan absolutely loves his name and has since the day he got it. That's why, after adopting him, I simply couldn't change it. For the record, I would have named him Fergus.)

Well, that all being said, Eddy would now like to show off her pics of the week.



Look at this little ball of energy sitting still for two whole pictures! So what that you can't even see her face? It's the small victories that count.

In case you can't tell, in these pictures Eddy was sitting on my lap while I knelt on the floor. That's what it takes sometimes, to get her to sit still for more than half a second. Lap bribery. And stay tuned, because next week Eddy will share with you the plethora of bloopers from this largely unsuccessful photo shoot.

A very happy Friday to all of our furiends!


***
Our Tip of the Day:
Today's tip is an expansion of one of our first, earliest ever tips from way back when. And that tip is to make sure that you take into consideration as many factors as possible when choosing a name for your furbaby. After all, it is important that your furbaby have a name that will indeed grab their attention in any situation. Although not a proven fact, it is often said that cats and dogs might best learn names with two syllables. Longer names can potentially become confusing, perhaps with the risk of a cat or dog losing interest or recognition before it is all said. Also consider whether the name at hand sounds like a name of any other animal or human in the family, so that there won't be any confusion. And don't forget whether it could potentially sound like or be confused with other common words or commands. Popularity, or lack there of, could also play a part, especially if you want to ensure that your furbaby has a name that won't grab the attention of other same-named animals in a crowded setting. All of this being said, one very important factor, perhaps the most important, is your furbaby's own personal preference. Some animals will simply respond to certain names better than others, so it is never a bad idea to test out a variety of names to see which one your furbaby responds to best.

17 comments:

David E. McClendon, Sr. said...

Some names just seem to fit. Some names never quite fit the person/animal. That is why we get nicknames.

Marg said...

Evan is an all right name. At least it is original and not many cats have that name. Eddy, you are looking mighty good. Love those pictures. Have a great week end.

pilch92 said...

Thank you for participating in the fill-ins, I always enjoy your answers. I am impressed that you use your exercise bike every morning, I am so lazy. I have never seen a video of a sloth, but I think I will pass on that or I will probably feel the same way you do. I think it is sweet that you save your furbabies' whiskers and fur. And I am surprised you don't like Evan's name, that was kind of you to let him keep it though. My Joanie was named Megan which didn't seem fitting so I named her after my Mom :) I read somewhere that cats respond better to names that end with the long e sound and that seems true with my cats. Tallulah never comes when called. I hope you have a great long weekend!

pilch92 said...

PS: Eddy looks adroable, good job posing.

Kitties Blue said...

Mom had also always heard that animals respond well to names ending in a long E sound. That never stopped her from using names that didn't. We think we like Evan for a name way better than Fergus. Our MacKenzie was named Cyrus when we adopted him. That had to go! Some kitties seem quite easy to name and others require a lot of trial and error. As you know, we are quite fond of the name Astrid. Mom has never collected whiskers; though, she knows lots of people do. She always figured she didn't know which kitty it belonged to so lost its importance once it was lost. Always enjoy seeing how you complete the fill-ins! XOCK, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

meowmeowmans said...

Wow, impressive posing by Eddy. Guess she was really enjoying your lap. :)

Great fill-ins, as always. We save all of our cats' shed whiskers we find, too!

da tabbies o trout towne said...

guys...de food servizz gurl haza book her keepz finded whiskerz in...her all wayz sayz ta find a whiskerz izza good thing.... { plus we noe R selves... how hard it iz ta put em bak in ~ ☺☺☺

heerz two a lake whitefish kinda week oh end ~~~~ see ya twoozday ~~~~~~♥♥♥♥

Stacy Uncorked said...

My aunt swears by her recumbent bike - I had one in PA, but wasn't a fan of it because I didn't like my positioning on it (probably if I had the instructions I could have fixed that issue, but since I got it off Craigslist and couldn't find the manual online, I was stuck in the previous owners setting...heh!) My aunt likes to watch her favorite shows while on her bike - keeps her in shape and caught up! ;)

Sloths sure are interesting creatures, aren't they?

I wonder if the reason you're not a fan of the name 'Evan' was because of the circumstances of how he ended up at the clinic - poor thing! But it's cool he gets to be spoiled by you. :)

I hadn't thought about the whole naming thing - two of our puppies have 2-syllable names (Travis and Rolex), the puppy has a 3-syllable name (Reddington - actually full name is Raymond Reddington) but all of them have nicknames from their names that they also respond to, and most of them are 2-syllable ones. ;)

Great answers all around! Have a great weekend! :)

Exercise and Learning, Sentimental and Surprising – Friendly Fill-Ins for Friday Fun!

My Dog Sam - Ruptured Disk said...

I like cats. Eddy looks friendly...

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Those are nice pics, Eddy.

Patricia said...

A sloth phobia! Who would have thought. At least you should be able to avoid sloths so the phobia is not paralyzing.

The Island Cats said...

Great fill in responses. The mom collects our whiskers too..though not our fur. She does have a couple of Wally's baby teeth too. :)

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

I save whiskers and nails too! But I think sloths are adorable...especially babies.

Cathy Keisha said...

The peeps collect my whiskers; in fact, they have whiskers from all their cats. Pop also collects my claw sheaths and furs. When the adopted the peeps, the shelter lady begged them to change my name.

Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat said...

We love Eddy's photos! At first, I named the homeless kitten I was feeding Lily. She even came to that name. Until I took "her" to the vet before adopting her and found out she's a boy. Oops. Bear Cat it is.

Purrseiodn said...

Great answers for the questions. Hope you're having a wonderful weekend!

Anonymous said...

I always enjoy your answers. Sloths? Really?? Well, we each have our own set of phobias and such. Mine is spiders. *bleh*
Thanks for being a part of Friendly Fill-Ins!
Annie at ~McGuffy's Reader~