Here are a couple of photo sets to start off the week.

• Kitties on the Ides of March -- Sulpher's birthday, and the calico kitties on the Ides of March.

• Idyllwild, San Diego, and Forest Falls -- Photos of nature from several area road trips taken in the last week or so. Includes some texture studies.

Kitties and glass stones. Featuring ghost kitty!

Dear Sonyaaa, Valeria and Sulpher,

Your game of "Trip The Moogle" at dinner time is not likely to speed up delivery of your meal when the moogle hasn't even managed to get the food down from the cabinet yet. Next time I suggest you begin this game while the moogle has the food container in one hand; this will maximize your chances of buffet dining for the next several days.

With love,
jyasu
Food Services Coordinator

An afternoon on the Banning-Idyllwild Highway. On a whim and because the weather was rather nice today, I went up to Idyllwild and out along one of the most beautiful highways in SoCal (IMHO), of which my photos really don't do justice. Ah, to be driving along in a T-shirt with the windows rolled down when there's snow on the ground and the smog layer's several thousand feet below. It was a good day ^_^

Cat modeling. Cat models attire and her new tail; Sulpher and Sonyaaa model life as a kitty.

There are no kitties where I am right now. I've checked all the nooks and crannies where a kitty might be able to hide, but I have not found any kitty ears, or even a hint of shed fur and whiskers. I think a sign about "pet policies" scared them away from this building. Waaaah.

There are no kitties here. At least there will be kitties again tomorrow night...

A brief note to Valeria. Sometimes a picture says it all.

A useful bit of information to know about my kitty: Sulpher is capable of consuming an entire Olive Garden breadstick in under ten minutes. She particularly enjoyed the generous coating of garlic and butter, but after she'd licked that off she ate all the bread too. Yup, that's Sulpher, my carnivorous feline.

My mp3 player shipped with a complimentary cat toy -- several cat toys actually. First there were the packing peanuts from the shipping container, and then there was the small box that held the player itself. But the best kitty toy by far was inside the box -- a pair of in-ear headphones complete with cord. Sulpher has played with those headphones for hours. I do believe those headphones have been all over the apartment by now. They were on my bed when I woke up this morning. Presently they are draped over one of the water bowls (where she is patiently chewing on the jack).

I can't stand in-ear headphones of any sort, so in a way I'm glad that they have found a new and highly-valued purpose for someone I love. That said, I have to wonder why I bother with proper cat toys from the pet shop when random electronic components and packing materials satisfy all of their playtime needs.

In related cat news, Sulpher curls up with me at night when I go to bed now! Awwww! A couple of nights ago she purred me to sleep. She's such a sweet kitty...

A quick kitty health update for all our fans:

1. Sonyaaa had her followup visit with the vet today, and her teeth and gums are perfectly fine now. The suspicious patch on the back of her neck is not cancer; it responded to the antibiotic cream, so it was likely an infection. Sonyaaa has sensitive skin in general, it seems she has an allergic reaction to something. Awww, kitty.

2. Sonyaaa has to go back to the vet in 3 weeks for one more followup, mainly so the vet can critique my feline toothbrushing skills. You see, I have to brush her teeth once a night to keep her gums from getting infected again. If we can keep this routine up then she might never have to worry about that scary cleaning surgery again! That said, have you ever tried to brush a cat's teeth before? It's an interesting battle -- one I have not had much success with in Sulpher's case.

3. All three kitties are on preventative flea treatments, since they live in a building with other animals and fleas are apparently a big problem in this general area.

4. Valeria's tummy problems appear to be completely resolved by now. Yaaay!

5. Sonyaaa's up to 9.5 pounds again. Uh oh, I may have to start rationing her food separately from Sulpher for awhile.

Sleepy kitties. Sleepy kitties gave me an opportunity to take some longer-exposure shots utilizing available ambient light. Here are some of the better results.

(On a related note, if anyone wants to donate a nice macro lens to my collection, I promise lots and lots of kitty closeups.)

Dear Sonyaaa,

Despite its name, my Blackberry is not actually an edible piece of fruit. I regret to inform you that it is simply a brand name; it has no membership in the set of tasty things.

Omelettes make the world go round. Or at the very least, they make me a very happy moogle. Three cage-free eggs, a dash of spices, a large quantity of diced mushrooms, a smaller quantity of diced tomatoes, and four different kinds of cheese. Mmmm, bliss.

For the record, Sulpher agrees. I know this because she stole a piece of my finished creation before I was able to take my first bite. She seems to like the tomato in particular. She was less interested in the shredded cheese sprinkled on my plate, much to my surprise. Oh, kitty.

This evening I discovered that Sulpher likes Earl Grey. I have previously discovered that she doesn't care for mint tea. I'll leave you all to contemplate this combination of observations for now, and will let you know if I discover any other black teas to her liking.

X-ray images of Sonyaaa's teeth. At some point I'll capture candids of Sonyaaa's new patch of shaved fur. It's not too conspicuous, but it's still a bit jarring to see on a cat with such beautiful fur.

Winter cats. Sulpher enjoys a pastry bag, and no-flash pictures of the calicos.

Sonyaaa is supposed to be fasting tonight, because she has an appointment with the kitty doctor tomorrow and they want her tummy to be empty. Sonyaaa is expressing her discontent at the imposed fast by shredding a roll of paper towels. Thanks dear, I'm sure my sinuses will benefit greatly from shredded paper particles floating in the air.