For those of you craving a “DOOD” fix, here's our boy pondering the meaning of a glass window and why he can see me, but can't get through it to reach me. This video is Rated: G for Goofy

©2012 Robin A.F. Olson. A still from the movie: How Much is that Dood in the Window?

©2012 Robin A.F. Olson. Enjoy!

And no, I'm not going to mention it's Super Bowl Sunday.

On October 29th a freak snowstorm hit Connecticut. It let a brutal mess of downed trees and limbs, robbing most of the state of power. We had no light, heat or water for a week and our cable/internet was out for 9 days. I'm still trying to recover from the damage, the lost time and the pressing needs of running a cat rescue pretty much on my own. I'm gearing up to posting more stories. Just bear with me a bit longer.

©2011 Maria S. Remember this photo? Amberly's babies-when they were baby-sized!

I've got some updates to share on our former foster babies, the arrival of our snowshoe sisters, the Pumpkin Patch boys, as well as some sweet photos of Amberly's family. There's also going to be a story about a little kitten, struggling to survive on his own and the horrific secret he had inside him. It's a story of how one kind soul reached out and stood by this cat no matter what it took. We'll also be having more give-aways on some truly fun products (hint: one is full of catnip!) so I hope you'll make sure to check back here soon or visit us on Facebook for more updates.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Bluebelle, Jack LiLac & Periwinkle (left to right) looking all grown up! Jack is as big as his mama, Amberly-at just over six pounds.

Until then, I hope you enjoy this sneak peek of brand new photos of some of Amberly's family-who are still hoping to find their forever homes! We're having an Adoption Event on Saturday, so stop by and visit if you're in the area! Details are on our web site.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Blaze, as usual, being nutty!

Now that I'm certain the DOOD does not have Feline Leukemia, I was able to let him out of the bathroom and allow him to mingle with my cats and Mazie. I knew there would be some issues, but many things surprised me.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. I'm free from my room. Now what do I do?

Firstly, DOOD was fearless about meeting the other cats. In fact, he was a bit too confrontational with Nora and Nicky. It seemed that DOOD was checking out each cat, trying to gauge if he could dominate them, play with them, or stay clear of them. It didn't take long for him to understand that the females were just not loving him jumping on them. Most of the boys didn't care, though it was pretty funny to see our huge cat, Nicky get scared of little DOOD, who chased him around the living room. Nicky could have sat on him and it would have been “game over” for DOOD.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. This is pretty much what I end up seeing for a majority of the day-Blitzen & DOOD wrestling.

Right away the DOOD and Blitzen became fast friends as I had hoped. I often see them rolling around the floor, in a blur. There's no growling, no ears back. They chase each other. They lick each other's face. They don't sleep together, but other than that, I think they're bonding or humping each other-hard to be certain what the heck they're doing or trying to do to each other! It's a good way for both of them to release pent up kitten energy and I'm glad for it.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. The first night out, DOOD was already finding a spot on the bed to call his own.

Some evenings, the DOOD comes upstairs and hangs out with us and some of the other cats. It's amazing how relaxed he is and how accepting the others are. Of course not every cat is his biggest fan, but they seem to be working it out.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Spencer, our mascot, with the DOOD by his side.

I found DOOD sitting next to Spencer one afternoon. Spencer couldn't be bothered about the newcomer, but it was as if DOOD wanted to be his friend. It was sweet watching them sit together so peacefully.

The biggest change was seeing how DOOD has relaxed and stopped attacking me. Between working with him while he was in quarantine and the fact that he's no longer stressed from being confined, he has really started to blossom. DOOD still furiously licks my face, but for a shorter period of time. He's comfortable being held and doesn't nip my hands. He plays with toys with vigor, but doesn't suddenly grab my ankles and scratch. He's so different from the wild child I rescued a few months ago.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. The DOOD with Nicky and Nora (far left).

He seems to be quite happy, exploring his new territory. I trained him to go to “his spot” to be fed and he's learning to stay off the counters. He's using the litter pans the others use and I finally saw him sleeping. He lays belly up some times. It's clear he's relaxed and in a very short period of time. It must have been a big change for him going from being the only cat to one of many.

I think about the email I got from his former owner-they had just seen one of DOOD's siblings and it made them wonder how "the cat" was doing. They never referred to him by a name, just "the cat." They asked if he was still attacking me and said that their son used to kick and chase DOOD around the house. I wanted to go to their home and kick and chase their kid. I never wrote them back. They don't deserve to know how he's doing.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Thinking about what could have been...

I imagined what DOOD's life could have been like if I hadn't gotten him away from that family. He would have gotten more violent. Eventually they would have either let him go outside, then not worried about providing for him any more or they would have dumped him at a shelter and being so anti-social he would have probably been put down.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Ho Hum...not a care in the world!

That was just not going to happen. When I saw DOOD's photo in one of 10 emails about cats needing rescue. I knew he had to come here. I didn't know why, I just knew I had to help him. Now that he's been with me for a few months, I admit that the DOOD may become a “foster fail.”

When I turned 50, I promised myself that “one day” soon I would get my last cat. He's be a fluffy tux. He'd be an adult. I have conflicting feelings about putting DOOD up for adoption, but saving an adult is important and kittens can always get a home. I can't seem to put DOOD on Petfinder just yet, but I'm not sure I should keep him. I want to be as responsible as I can and thoughtful about how my other cats are handling him being here.

©2011 Robin A.F. Olson. Sick in bed with a cold, the DOOD helps me feel better.

If DOOD continues to do well and is accepted, I think he's found his forever home. Shoot. I love him! Can you blame me?

If it just doesn't work out, I will make certain he's placed with a family that respects his needs and can provide for him and not subject him to abuse and aggression. Either way, the DOOD will be in a good home.

So far life in the DOODLESPHERE is all blue skies and pouffy white clouds.

Amberly's kittens are SIX WEEKS OLD! Time flies! Can you believe they were found in a nest under a tree? If you missed their AMAZING RESCUE, you can read about it HERE. Are these the SAME kittens? Is it possible they are NOT SICK? I don't even know what it's like to not have a kitten with upper respiratory to battle or something worse:::KNOCK WOOD::: anti-jinx!!!

I'm SO grateful that the kittens are doing so well and to make it even better, I swear EACH of them is more lovely than the last. Amberly made some very special kittens, that's for certain!

Today, instead of blathering on and on, let's just enjoy a multitude of images from a few weeks ago and more I just got yesterday-including some adorable videos! Grab a cup of coffee or tea and sit back and smile. It's a good day to smile!

Here are the babies! (make sure you scroll ALL the way to the end for the funniest photo, ever!)

©2010 Robin AF Olson.

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson

My southern belle posse is posing for their next album cover entitled: “Teenage Kittaen Dreamz.” Sugar Pie (far left) is obviously the troublemaker of the group and Honey B. does not “do” photo shoots, so she's off camera, sulking.

Their CD is available on Mee-owTunes.

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson. Blitzen. Bad boy!

Apparently Blitzen decided there weren't enough cushions on the deck to rest upon, so he decided to flatten my Dianthus!

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson.

What you can't see here is that this flower box is hanging off the side of the deck. The deck is almost 17 FEET off the ground. Needless to say, although this was pretty funny upon first glance, as soon as I could snap a few quick photos, this boy was outta that box!

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson.

I know he's mocking me! He dares me to disturb his super cuteness, but I will not be thwarted! (ooo! I never thought I'd use “thwart” in a blog post!)!

©2010 Robin A.F. Olson.

Although my flowers aren't in the best shape, at least Blitz is safely asleep on the cat bed next to my desk. Sweet dreams, you little _____!

If anyone wants to know why my back hurts and I can't get my work done, here's one of my many excuses. (see above)

Yes, this is me, in my office and behind me is BLITZEN, where he's decided he would rather sit even though there are SIX cat beds and a big windowsill in my TINY OFFICE for him to enjoy! No. He needs to perch on the back of my chair and lean on me.

Anyone who visits this web site regularly knows there aren't enough cat photos. There just aren't. Thankfully, Davander Mobile just released the latest version of CatPaint for lucky iPhone and iPod Touch owners. For 99 cents it's great for creating absolutely absurd images using your own photos as a background. Then you simply add their pre-loaded cat images to any "catless" image or add more cats to an existing photo; if you feel badly that you only have 2 cats and want to seem more like a hoarder (like me with 8 cats).

I swiped a few examples off the Cat Paint Gallery so you can see the work of true “artistes.“ It's very simple to pick up on how to create your own Catserpiece, and during the creation, the cat art meows every time you place one! Great for taunting real cats while you do your art.

As seen on Cat Paint's Gallery Page! Nice job, whoever you are!

Of course if Taylor Swift can enjoy this, well, that just says it all. What it says, I do not know, but heck there's a CAT in the photo. WIN!

I just did my own Cat Painting. It might not have been Mewseeum quality and of course I would pre-fur an option to add my own cats. Maybe that will happen in a future version, but for now, I feel satisfied that my boring photo of the Tappen Zee Bridge has been transformed into a moving tribute to something. Maybe. Maybe not a tribute, but not a bad effort. Okay. Just look at the photo I made and like me so I can feel good about myself! I don't have Taylor Swift's legs...or anything else that she's got, for that matter.

©2010 Robin AF Olson. “The Bridge to Tabbybithia”

So go. Create art. Or bug someone with an iPhone to share this app with you. Just don't bug me. I'm busy creating another catsterpiece.

Wow. What a day.

Why is it every time something important is about to happen in my life that I can count on getting my period? What's up with that? Not only did I get it, but I GOT IT. You know what I mean? I swear my body is out to get me, but like everything else, perhaps it's a blessing in disguise?

Sure. Whatever you say.

So. BlogPaws!-my first Conference Presentation was this morning at 11:00 AM. I had practiced out loud, in the shower (hey, not that kind of practicing!), in the car, in my head when I laid down to go to sleep. I knew what I needed to say, but was worried I'd rush or fumble or both...or worse, forget the entire thing!

I knew I should try to be relaxed and calm. There are lots of nice folks here-about 250 of them. My PowerPoint presentation was only 10 minutes long, then I was to spend the remaining time on a panel discussion. The topic: “Leveraging Social Media.”

I promise I'll re-post this soon with photos, but for now, I can only write up some notes. Try to visualize...

...me. With bad cramps, feeling woozy. Slept for about an hour because I was an idiot and ate a HUGE chocolate cupcake before I WENT TO BED last night. Between the sugar and the caffeine, there was no hope I would really sleep. I DO know better, plus I'm worried that my Wii is going to yell at me when I get back home for eating like a moron while I've been in Columbus. Even now there's a HUGE vanilla cream puff from Schmidt's Sausage Haus sitting on the desk in our hotel room at the Westin!

Okay so back to visualizing me, sleepy, shaky, in my first session which was about how to do a product review without getting sued by the company whose product you're reviewing or get into trouble with the FTC. Basically, don't lie and be clear that you are reviewing something you were paid to review, if that's the case and you're off the hook if you didn't get paid, just don't be a twit and make declarations that are anything outside of simply “my own observation or opinion.”

Okay, common sense. What was dreadful about this session was one of the speakers was not able to show her slides. The computer locked up, then after restarting, they realized NO ONE knew the password to log onto the Mac! This poor woman, just calmly went on ahead and did her thing. Me, I thinking, “oh shit. I hope that doesn't happen to me. I'm dead meat if my presentation doesn't work—the same one that I still don't know if it got loaded onto a Powerbook or if it runs!”

I looked at my watch. My pulse was throbbing in my throat. My hands were trembling. Time to head to my session. I got upstairs and ran into Helin, one of the other presenters. I love Helin. She's from PeoplePets, so that make her super cool to know, but really without it I'd like her just as much. She's so cute and bubbly! She told me the room was still being used. They ran late! They ran SO LATE, it was 11 AM, instead of 10:45 am when we were supposed to get the room, get prepped and get going.

Ha ha ha. Another squeeze on my blood pressure! Those folks would not get out of OUR room!

They finally left and we started to set up. Jennifer Laycock went first. She ran her preso off her laptop. She was great. As I listened to her, I started to worry that she was going to talk too much about what I planned to say. I sat there and thought; “No..no..don't talk about analytics! Okay, yes, talk about Twitter, but no oh...don't talk about..ack!” Then I got so absorbed about worrying what she was going to say that I spaced out and thought I will have nothing to say! I am blank.

Then it was my turn. My Preso wouldn't run.

Oh $#$@#!

So I talked about doing stand up comedy. I made some jokes. They realized PowerPoint wasn't LOADED onto the laptop I was supposed to use. They tried MY powerbook, but the adopter (ha ha ha! I'm leaving that typo-I meant ADAPTER) didn't work. We used Jennifer's PC, but it took so long to get it working, I had to introduce Helin and she did her presentation while things were getting sorted out. What a mess!

I got back up to talk. This is it. I was shaking so hard, I could barely press the arrow key to advance the slides I designed. I told them about my journey blogging about Tweetie (remember him?!) and The Tweetie Chronicles. Sockington and Jason Scott. Instead of stumbling, it was smoothly delivered. I didn't go too fast, but I kept a good pace. I made everyone laugh and as I got near the end I was surprised it went so quickly. After the presentation was over, there was only time for a few questions. I was very happy that a few folks came up to me and told me to make sure I didn't give up on doing stand up comedy! Does that mean the presentation sucked? Hmmm...just realized that!

I think it went very well, considering everything that happened. It was so worth all the work and practice and looking back on it I can say I enjoyed it very much and hope to get the chance to do it again.

The rest of the conference was just fine. I learned a few things. I met a LOT of people. I need to sort through the enormous pile of cards I got and start figuring out who to check in with, who to follow on Facebook and Twitter and who to be real life buddies with. It was so much fun to meet Caroline, aka RomeotheCat on Twitter. She and her team kicked butt putting this conference together. For a first time event, it was great. Well put together, good food, good space, good folks. There's much more to write, but I'm just dead tired and I have a vanilla cream puff waiting for me.

I don't care if I have to face the wrath of my Wii, too. So there. I'm hormonal. I have my needs.