There is no deep hidden meaning in this post, or even a shallow surface meaning. Think of it as penance, or atonement, for past failures to provide photos with my posts, which — I realize — a good blogger should always do.
Thing is, I’m no good at hunting up Creative Commons pictures that might be relevant, or even attractively irrelevant, to what I usually write about. And I don’t generally run around taking pictures of this and that anymore. (Our breakfasts? The cleaning ladies? My hairdresser?)
However, I do feel I can always fall back on the four-pawed members of the household when the need arises. Since I’m pretty sure I haven’t done any such falling back since the end of 2014, perhaps you’ll cut me some slack here and let me show you the five relatively okay shots I got last night of S & S. That should be sufficient penance for at least four entirely verbal posts already run. Then, starting tomorrow or the next day, I can babble on shamelessly photo-less for a while. Thank you.
Left to right: Sophie, who cannot jump high and therefore needs orange stool to mount her scratching post; orange stool for Sophie’s use; humidifier on top of air purifier (both for us, not the cats, although I suppose they benefit, too); electric heater (only used for daytime naps) on top of second orange stool (which is there for symmetry and because Bill likes lots of orange, not because Sasha needs it); Sasha, trustingly offering us her rear; she can jump, which explains why heater is on “her” stool. Blocking the view: footboard of fake Victorian bed I thought romantic when I bought it twenty years ago in my sixties. What was I thinking of? Hanging on to the headboard bedposts?
Another view. Despite the bright light, this is really midnight, chez nous.
SASHA’S CLOSEUP. She’s the acknowledged family beauty, but she just wasn’t cooperating last night. “Let’s sleep already,” she was saying, in body language.
SOPHIE’S CLOSEUP. Sometimes she looks good, sometimes not so good. This is sort of in the middle, but what can you do at midnight?
ONE LAST SHOT, because I hated to turn out the light. You don’t think they get up on their matching posts every night to pose for pictures so nicely?
Then Bill called out from the part of the bed I haven’t shown you, “Let’s sleep already.” (We’ve learned so much from these cats.) So that was that.
Lights out, nighty-night. Don’t let the bedbugs bite. (As they said in the seventeenth century when mattresses — you should have been so lucky as to have one then — were stuffed with straw.)
Now one or both cats will jump from their expensive perches — we’ll hear them — and run downstairs to frolic freely in the dark, disarranging the upstairs hall rug as they go. What they do down there I cannot tell. I don’t go snooping. Cats deserve some me-time, too.
ON BEING OLD 
Are they siblings? They look so similar.
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Three and a half years apart. Sasha was just six, Sophie is two and a half. Same breed though (British Blue), and same breeder, but different parents. Temperamentally, they are very different. Sasha barely tolerates Sophie. Sophie would spend most of her life with Sasha if allowed. Also Sasha is much smarter than Sophie. I can share this with you because neither of them can read.
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I understand that. Fortunately my cats don’t read my blog either or I’d be in big trouble. They are both beautiful.
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Thank you, on behalf of both of them.
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Yours match, too! Such beautiful girls. But you need one more to complete your set.
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Yes they do and yes they are. But don’t let Bill hear your last remark; he keeps saying the same thing. Unbeknownst to him, I have indeed toyed with the thought. The trouble with acquiring a third, that he doesn’t realize, is that I do have a third. Him. Not quite as grey, or furry, but still…He has no idea how much looking after he requires! And since all three of the ones in the house already demand a lot of stroking, I’ve already run out of hands!
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love your cats. in my eyes, they’re beautiful.
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Thank you, Shimon.
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They are both exceedingly clever to pose for you. This made me miss our two long-gone brother cats for a bit.
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You give them too much credit. They both like to get into that egg-like position on top of the scratching posts (we have four, two in the bedroom and two downstairs), but rarely at the same time. This apparent posing was so unusual, I had to try to commemorate it on camera. Unfortunately the posts are too far apart to get a good picture on the phone camera. But I tried. I’m sorry if the post made you sad.
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Beautiful cats!!
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They are, aren’t they? When you live with them every day, you get used to them and don’t really think in those terms. So thank you, Barbara, for reminding me. They’re also very good girls, too.
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Nina, I’m not a cat person either, but I enjoyed seeing photos from your bed : )
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Cynthia, cat person or no (and I wasn’t either, until about six years ago), it’s always fun to get a peek of someone else’s life. I know I’m loving the daily glimpses of yours you’ve been blogging about lately!
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Thanks, Nina!
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