I've done a lot of blogging about our chickens but I haven't mentioned the other seemingly more typical animals at our house. I say "seemingly" because our two cats are quite a pair.

Chion (chee-own), which means cry-baby in Spanish, has lived up to his name every day for the past 11 years. He cries to come into the house then 5 minutes later he cries to get out of the house. It's endless. But we've had him since before the kids were born and he is much esteemed by my husband and the kids. So to keep the peace, when I'm sitting at the kitchen table near the glass sliding door, I serve as doorman.

Our other cat, Toddy, is a fairly new addition to our lives. We got him about 2 years ago when he was abandoned by his owners. He had been hit by a car and left at the veterinary hospital my husband works at, never to be re-claimed.

As a result of that car accident, Toddy is completely blind but, he has adapted to that amazingly well. He can easily find his way around our house, both upstairs and down.

He also has a great temperament and tolerates just about anything the kids do to - and with - him.

But Toddy's downfall is his love of food and lack of activity. He would much rather sit on the couch with a warm body than do anything else. As a result, he is VERY overweight - and lots of people notice that.

"WOW, he's so HUGE!"

Yup, he is.


Toddy was "dressed-up" for our Holiday card this year. He weighs a little over 20 pounds right now.

So a few months ago the kids decided that Toddy needed to "get healthy" by exercising more. Their plan: turn our living room into a "gym" with an obstacle course and running path. The kids push Toddy through the course and are pretty gentle with him so I allow the gym play for a little while because quite frankly, Toddy really does need the exercise.

But yesterday when I got home from the office, something wasn't quite right with Toddy. His fur had a strange hue to it. As it was explained to me by L., Toddy got into some paint in the bathroom downstairs.

And to digress a little, I really don't know why I call it a bathroom. It's the place where Toddy sleeps and has shared with numerous baby chicks not big enough for the coop. I have finally come to terms with the fact that I have totally lost control over that room....

Anyway, it turns out the kids spilled some blue paint in the bathroom and Toddy walked through it. We still haven't been able to wash it off.

Is my house dull?

Nope.

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