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This is Penny

She lived in an ancient used bookstore in downtown Long Beach, CA

This store was huge, dark and crowded with 10' tall, make-shift wooden shelves. Some made from planks, some made from crates, some made from, seemingly, whatever wood was found around. I couldn't even tell you what the walls were made of, they were all covered top to bottom with shelves. The whole place was stocked very heavily with books. Some of the aisles weren't more than 2' wide. The store had been around for so long that if you digged deeply enough you could find some real treasures!

When I first met Penny, I was browsing through the Mystery section. I glanced up from the 1st edition Arthur Conan Doyle (pre Sir) that I was looking at and saw her staring at me from about 5yards away. Quietly sitting in the middle of the aisle, just watching. I said, "hi, kitty". She had no response. A couple of minutes later, she was still sitting there watching me, I turned in the opposite direction, went a few aisles down to browse some more. My decisions made, I turned to head for the cashier. But, at the end of that aisle sat Penny. Just watching me. "Oh! Hi, kitty!" Nothing. I turned the other way not wanting her to think I was approaching her and took the long route to the register. By the time my transaction was complete, there was Penny! Approaching me from on top of the counter. She layed down right in front of me looking for a bit of petting to which I, of course, obliged.

The store closed in October. Seems the city feels you can never have enough ugly condos sitting over-priced and empty.

I miss that place. And I miss Penny who now lives in the home of the ex-store owner.

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That's Quincy's eyeball! Doesn't she look intense? Don't look too long, she will hypnotize you...

"you want to give me green mouse..."

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So, now my scanner is acting hinky. So here are previously seen photos, Obamicon'd.

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Bow Chicka Wow Wow...Chicka Wow Wow...

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Don't hate me because I'm beautiful...

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HOW MANY LICKS DOES IT TAKE TO GET TO THE TOOTSIE ROLL CENTER OF A TOOTSIE POP?

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Good vs Evil

In case there's any doubt, the little one is "Evil". She actually will answer to "Bad News".

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Pretty Girl Flynn

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I didn't do it! (yet...)

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OH, MOTHER, YOU ARE SO DROLL.

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KITTY OR DECOR?

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Quaizy Quincy

I don't know why, but sometimes Quincy likes to stand on top of a door...

No Photoshop here. Just a really weird angle.

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KITTY NOIR: PART DEUX

That's Pug in front wanting very badly to go to sleep. That's Flynn behind him, trying to pretend that she is not waiting for him to lay down so she can wedge herself between us and suckle from him, as she did for about 10years. It freaked him out at first but he got used to it after a few times.

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KITTY NOIR

That's Pug on the left, Quincy in the center and Flynn on the right.

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This is my baby boy, Pug (a.k.a. "Face" and a whole lot more, but Face was his favorite). He was about 16 yrs old in this picture. I found him when he was far too young to be on his own and, literally, fit in the palm of my hand. He was a big "talker" and a mama's boy, both were fine by me. When he was less than a year old he was diagnosed with a "brain fungus" which, I think, was just the vets' way of saying, "it's clearly something in his brain, but we don't know exactly what it is." At that time he spent about 4months on steroids and every vet visit was a reminder of the "inevitable", which never came to be. At least, not for another 16 years, when he developed a brain tumor. It's been a few years now and, as my eyes start to water, I still haven't fully snapped back. Maybe this will by "cat"thargic for me. I love and adore my girls, but Pug was THE cat.

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This is my pretty girl Flynn. AKA: Pretty Girl, Girl Friend, Sweetness, Silly, Skippy, Miss Thang, Flintstone and Aunt Bea. She'll answer to any of them. Unfortunately when I took this picture she had a bit of a cold, that's why the watery eyes. I know this picture is way too close but she always walks towards the camera when she sees it. In 13years I haven't been able to get a really good shot of her. She's a tad bit overweight (that's why the Aunt Bea reference) Her legs are quite short and she has teeny tiny feet and unlike other cats that I've had (including Quincy, from last week) she eats just little tiny bites of food at a time. And she LOVES trucks. The bigger the better. She never misses watching the garbage truck out the window.

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That's my baby girl Quincy! She looks so sweet in this picture but she's a real trouble maker. I don't know why her eyes are yellow in this picture. They're actually emerald green. She's "soft like a bunny" according to the attendants at the vets' office. That's because she's a turkish angora mix as it turns out. She also runs a bit like a bunny because her back legs are longer than her front. Her very favorite toy is Green Mouse who she likes to throw around by his tail. When she looses Green Mouse, Orange Mouse is a fine substitute. On another day I'll tell the story of how she came to be with me.