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Dutchkin's Diary

Last Year's Christmas Village

You know those miniature villages people put out around Christmastime? The ones with all the little houses and people and sparkly lights? Well I have a story about one of those. This happened last year and I remember it like it was just yesterday:

Last year, just like every year, Grandmaw and Mom put up their own Christmas village of tiny houses and people. They put it in the living room on top of the piano, which was in the corner, diagonally so that there was a huge triangle of empty space behind the piano all the way to the floor. Sometimes Luna would get stuck back there, but she hadn't gone back there in a while so Mom and Grandmaw didn't even think anything about it.

So they placed this village on top of a blanket of white felt that looked like snow. For three weeks, nothing happened. All the houses had lights in them and they'd light up and it looked real pretty. You could see inside the houses, the church, the shops, and you could look at all the little people.

Grandmaw loves her village so much and she's had most of the houses for a long time, at least 20 years. Well, a few nights before Christmas, I decided to check out this village close-up. I jumped up on the piano, lost my balance, and fell into the triangle of space behind the piano! I grabbed hold of anything I could sink my claws into. I pulled the whole piece of white felt along with every single part of the village down with me. There was a HUGE crash that woke Mom up. She looked around and saw nothing. Then she realized the piano was bare! The village was gone! "One of the cats must've done it," she thought. So she peered over the top of the piano. There I was, along with shattered pieces of miniature buildings and broken little tiny people. If only I could've climbed out on my own, Mommy would never have known it was me. But, thankfully, (since I couldn't get out), she had heard the crash and she came to my rescue very quickly as she was worried I might step on a piece of glass or a sharp piece of person.

Then she went to Grandmaw and Grandpaw's bedroom to tell them what happened. She barged into their room, telling them that I destroyed the whole village (snitch). She assumed they'd heard the loud crash, but they hadn't and had been asleep until she woke them up. Grandmaw was understandably very upset. I lucked out because Grandmaw was upset with Mommy for leaving me out in the living room area at night. I was not even really in that much trouble. Grandpaw and Mommy moved the piano, and Mommy gathered up the tiny pieces of broken buildings and shattered people. The next day, she spent 10 hours using superglue to fix all the houses, people, fixtures, reindeer, and even the Santa Clause and his sleigh. She couldn't recover all the pieces, and some fragments were too small to even know what they were, but she was able to reconstruct most of the buildings and people. It was paintstaking work and I'm glad I didn't have to help. I couldn't have helped that day anyway. I was busy grooming.

This year, the piano is firmly placed against the wall so that there is no space behind it. The very cracked, but salvaged buildings, people, etc., along with some new replacement houses, are set to be put on the piano tomorrow. I will see if I can restrain myself from destroying it all over again.

I hope you liked my story!

Purrs,
Dutch

Tattered Ear

Last week, I got in a fight with Sir Thomas. He's bigger and tougher than I am, but I just can't seem to leave him alone. I don't know why! I always have to be picking a fight with him!

So anyway, the one last week got rough. I got pretty beat up. I didn't get any good licks in at all! So I reluctantly say that Sir Thomas won the fight. Grandmaw and Grandpaw saw my ear first, and they knew Mommy was not going to be happy.

Sir Thomas tattered my poor little ear! Now I look like one of those old stray alley toms you see in the TV shows and movies... you know, the homeless one who is skinny and fleabitten and has a split ear?? Well that's me these days.

OK so it's not that bad. I still have a home, and I'm not fleabitten. But my ear is furrever damaged. Mommy isn't even mad at Sir Thomas. That's the most messed up thing of all! He cuts up my ear, and I get in trouble!! I guess she knows that he never starts the fights. . .

Well I guess I might actually like this ear thing, now that I think about it. It makes me look tough! (along with the missing teeth, wobbly belly, leaky butt, and crippled leg, MOL)

Purrs,
Dutch

New Pictures!

Meows,

Well they're not exactly new pictures--more like OLD pictures, actually! Really, really old pictures! Mommy searched all last weekend for pictures of Smokey, Mitzy, Sheba, Molly, and Kitty Boy. She found pictures of Smokey, Sheba, and Molly, and she also came across some pictures of me when I was Sindri's age and younger! She even found the ONLY kitten picture of me--the very first day she got me! Wow! I can't believe I was ever that tiny! That was even before Grandmaw accidentally ran over me and caused me to be the gimpy, Leaky-Butt, Wobbly Dutchkin that I am today!

I also added some new Bjork music to my page, in case you didn't notice! One of the videos is of Bjork at the 2001 Oscars, when she wore the Infamous Swan Dress! You see, at the time, Bjork was nominated for Best Actress in a Motion Picture for her amazing performance in Lars Von Trier's Dancer in the Dark! She played Selma, a Czechoslovakian immigrant to the US. The movie is set in 1964. She was going blind and saving money to pay for an operation to save her son from the same genetic disorder which would eventually lead to his blindness. She worked in a factory but would daydream that she was in a musical. She broke one of the machines and got fired, then her "friend" Bill, a cop, stole all the money she had saved! How awful! She then went to see him to get her money back, and he tried to kill her! She was already blind, you see, and he sneaked into her trailer and pretended not to be there so he could see where she hid her money. That's how he knew where it was so he could steal it. Anyway, Selma ended up killing Bill, but it was in self defense! But she was subsequently arrested and given the death penalty. I won't tell you the rest in case you want to watch the movie--it is beautiful, but somewhat hard to find. I bet you could find it on eBay! You can find anything on eBay. It's low budget, but it's Mommy's favorite movie in the world (along with Requiem for a Dream--if that movie doesn't get you to think twice about doing drugs, nothing will-- and House of Sand and Fog). She thinks it is a million times better than the Hollywood big-budget movies that are made. It makes you think, and she loves movies that make you think. It also features Bjork, of course, which is the main reason it is her favorite movie! But, to get back on topic, the reason Bjork wore a swan dress to the Oscars is because that same year, 2001, she released her 4th album Vespertine, which featured a swan on the cover! So she was promoting Vespertine!

In the video, she is singing "I've Seen It All," one of the songs from Dancer in the Dark. It is one of our favorite performances.

The other one is Mommy's favorite Bjork song, Pagan Poetry, performed live on David Letterman's show. He MISPRONOUNCES her name though!! As Bjork put it, her name rhymes with Bee-Jerk, not Bee-Jork. So it's pronounced Bee-yerk, not Bee-york! Not that it's a big deal, but you'd think that he'd be able to correctly pronounce the names of the guests on his show!

I am excited because Mommy, Sindri, and Lucky Boo are coming home tomorrow! Mommy gets homesick in Statesboro so she comes home just about every single weekend, and of course Lucky Boo and Sindri come too. She could never leave them in the apartment alone, especially because Lucky Boo has to take medicine every 12 hours!

Well I am looking forward to seeing her tomorrow. I am looking forward to seeing Sindri too. I love to playfight with him! I haven't been able to go outside very much lately because of the dog, Angel, who up until yesterday was roaming the neighborhood. Her owners just didn't seem to care that she was always chasing other peoples' cats! But yesterday, a neighbor grabbed the doggie and took her back to what is supposed to be her house--even though she is rarely there because she is always roaming around the neighborhood. But the neighbor opened the door to Angel's Parents' house and put her inside! So I think they got the hint that noone in the neighborhood appreciates them letting Angel out all the time. Hopefully Angel's Mommy and Daddy will take better care of her and make her stay in her own yard. Then maybe we cats here will be allowed to go outside again! I miss going outside, and so do Sir Thomas and Luna.

Purrs,
Dutchkin