Glad you're feeling better.

I have a weenie cat too. Her name is Mia and she is 20 lbs of scaredy cat! She has mastered the under the covers lump. She thinks she is invisible when she does "the lump". Cracks me up everytime!

The only thing worse than taking a sick day when you actually feel sick is to be sick all weekend long and be better just in time for work on Monday. I spent my entire Saturday sleeping. I didn't even make it to the couch until Sunday. Here's to having your (our) health back!

Four days without a post from Crazy Aunt Purl! I was beginning to worry! Seriously, I'm glad you're on the mend and hope you feel up to your usual spunky self very soon.

So cute!

Both of our kitties do that too. Is it embarrassing to admit that I have forsaken washing the bedding just because I didn't want to disturb them?

I also found one of our cats nestled in one of my grandma's homemade quilts...which was still hanging on the quilt rack.

hey laurie~

Sorry to hear of your sniffleness. I am ensconced on the sofa with huge, HUGE toes from foot surgery. Elective is a funny word...I think the med. insurance community has a different slant on it than my jammed big toe joint. But no matter! Feeling more human today than yesterday...the sun is shining, yay!

Maybe Bob is part vampire?! He draws energy from the dark side...of the covers. Just think how much he loves you to stay within your scent all day? Now that's some love!

Feel better soon!!!

glad you're feeling a little better. i wish i could spend all day under the covers like bob. that'd be the life :) as it is - ill just sit at my desk and dream of a nap...

Bummer on the feeling ca-ca; hope you are back at your normal energy level soon. Take care - head for home early if you need to. Just tell Big Company, Inc. we said so.

When it is time for me to leave in the morning, my dog purposefully trots to the far corner of my room and curls up and tries not to look at me...(my room is small and the dog is big). However, he seems to think the 'purposeful trot' and corner of the room placement means he is invisible and can stay in all day. Alas...out he goes, with treat, to hang out with air, light, sounds.

smellily? love it eleventy much...hope you feel better soon, even if wine doesn't technically make you well, it can make you not care that you don't feel good!

To make Crazy Aunt Pearl feel a little better, go check this out… Tom Smith’s song “Cat Macros” page on FuMP … click “Play”. Full lyrics are below, as well as a link to mp3.

http://www.thefump.com/lyrics.php?id=85 (can be bought here)

Cat Macros - by Tom Smith

I is a kitty and I has good fun
I is entertaining everyone
Dint used to be an internet icon
Till my mom got a digital Nikon
Now she stalks me round the house
Interrupt when Ize chasin a mouse
Waitin for me to make a silly pose,
Stickin that camera up my nose
Goes to compooter, she starts playin
Makes up something I might be sayin
Upload the pic for all to see,
All her online friends go SQUEEEEE
Cat macros.

So I go cuddlin wit a stuffed bear
Gettin peanut butter all over my hair
Sprawled in a sunbeam, swattin at flies
Trapped in the laundry wit big sad eyes
Lickin at toesies, scratchin at fleas
“I Can Has Cheezburger, peese?” — [chz. FTW!]
Mom still doin her photo shoot,
Good thing my little furry butt is cute
Stickin my nose in an empty dish
Lookin for an invisible fish
I has no idea what you just said
So here’s me with a pancake on my head
Cat macros.

Now I is songcat singin this bridge
From my stage on top o’ da fridge
I is only two years of age
But I got my own MySpace page
Da silly pictures people wants
But only wit impact fonts
I keep dis up, but for how long?
Oh hi, I transpozed yur song

So I has lyric all my own
Can I has leftover to take home?
I is Emo Kitty, I has angst
I gots yur breakfast, k, thx
Invisible Walrus step on you
No, I has mighty feline fu
Yur full o’ win - Yur full o’ lose
Last Verse Kitty is not amused
I’m in yur Thai food, nibblin’ ginger
I is stealth kitty, bein a ninja
I’m in yur spookhouse, bein a haunt
I’m in yur limburger — DO NOT WANT!

ugh. Nothing worse than actually being sick on a sick day. I was out for four (4) days over the last two weeks, actually sick. Couldn't even knit. It totally bit. You have my sympathy.

Can I just ask, what is it about orange cats? Why are they always so, uh, supersized? My orange "kitten" is going to need a dog door rather than a cat door at this rate. We've pretty much given up on his name & call him FatBoy now.

When Harold is really scared, he goes under the bed so he can see It coming, but when he wants to sleep, he snuggles under the covers just like that! I've learned to look for the mystery lump before I throw the covers back or (even worse) throw myself onto the bed. Cat pancake!

Glad you're feeling better. Milk it for all it's worth!

Glad you're feeling more human. When I first adopted Mallory she meowed all around the house, like a homing beacon and then hid under the covers of my bed for 2 whole days before she finally came out and ate something.

Oh, I appreciate the cat weirdness... this morning I had to wait to shower because one cat was using the toilet (he taught himself, his actual use of it is pretty sporadic). Meanwhile, the other one was in the kitchen furiously "burying" his food. To protect it from the wild bands of raccoons roaming my apartment? The confluence of so much weirdness was an unsettling way to start the day.

BTW, such a cute quilt!

Bwah! Glad you're feeling better. Who knew that Bob worked undercover?

So glad you're feeling better. *sending sympathy over the internets*

I nominate "smellily" as best new adverb appearing in a blog by a PUBLISHED, PROFESSIONAL writer.

And I would just like to suggest that Bob not sleep sheddily on your sheets while you are lounging smellily on the sofa.

Penelope - that is...um...er...ok. CAP, I hope you get all well without ANY Icky Residuals (I'm still dealing with some Shingles Aftermath). Poor Bob, he's so sweet. Hmm - did you ever read "A Bear of a Day and a Man of A Night"? Are you SURE he's a cat all day while you're gone...and not Roberto the Golden Pool Boy? Sure he'd stay feline while you're home. You might be surprised.

I spent the day shrouded in sweatshirt material, but it's becuz I was too lazy to actually dress. Sorry to hear you are feeling sick. Better now than when in NY, I say!
I also have a scaredy cat, who hunkers down thus rendering her 'invisible'. cats are funny!

that was me, trying to go undercover. Whoops!

Somehow, my cat mysteriously once climbed under the mattress pad and was pulling one of Bob's tricks...hiding from the scary, scary sunlight!

I'm sorry that you're not feeling well, Laurie. I hope resting yesterday helped. I can set my clock by the odd things my cats and dogs do all day. They sleep, eat and poop at certain times of the day, and if I interfere with that I find interesting items of revenge (aka poop, yacked-up hairballs, and other unmentionables that I won't mention here) around the house in strategic positions.

Take care of yourself and feel better soon. That is an order!!! ;o)

Ah, well at least he only chases foot mousies at night. Our little dear catches real ones outside and brings them in to share with us: the chase, the squeaks, the, uh, finish--usually between 4 and 6 am. I am not feeling the love!

my lump my lump my lovely kitty lumps

My cat does this as well, but not because she is a weenie. She hides in blankets so she can scare the hell out of someone when they happen upon her. I swear she finds tremendous joy in this.

Good to hear you're feeling better! I know what you mean about not liking being sick on sick days. I lost 4 (four!) days last week. I was even too sick to knit.

I read "smellily" really fast and thought I saw "smell lily". Love "Laurie-language" and glad you're feeling better!

eh: Love your comment! Of course now that's what I'll be singing the next time I hear that song ... my lump my lump my lovely kitty lumps

My orange cat, who is afraid of loud noises and people he doesn't know hides under our bed or in the dungeon.

He, too, seems to be more of a vampire cat than the others. He prefers going outside at night.

Much weirdness where cats are concerned. Is that why we like them?

Glad you're feeling better!

Oh, what a sucky reason to call in sick! I hope you're feeling better by now.

My five-year-old does the hiding-under-the-comforter thing, hoping to scare whoever comes to straighten up the bed. He makes a bigger lump.

My cat does this - but not because he's scared...noooo....not kubrick, but because he's playing...except that he forgets about his tail...Generally all you see is lump under the covers and an orange tail sticking out...quite funny actually :)

As I was reading about Bob being afraid of the daylight and air, and hiding in bed, I realized it sounded like someone else I know: Me.
It's been big news lately on my blog that I'm awake and out-and-about during the "light hours vs. the dark hours."

My kitty hides under the quilt, too!

From the Cat Haiku collection:

My brain: walnut sized./
Yours: largest among primates./
Yet, who leaves for work?/

Bob-- love ya! Sleep well.

Laurie: milk'em for all they're worth.

'smellily' = one of my favorite words today.

Also from Cat Haiku:

There's no dignity/
In being sick--which is why/
I don't tell you where./

One more thing: who are you calling a Hidey Hole??????

Must be something going around, I fell asleep all day Saturday (with my shoes on) and was still tired on Sunday, no sickness, unless the mental kind counts.

Bob knows.

My scaredy-cat Diva is 10 years old and we have friends and family who have NEVER seen her. They think she's one of our shared psychoses.

We think she has some other dimension where she spends most of her time and just pops back into this disappointing and frightening universe when she's hungry. Or, she might actually be a black hole, since she seems to be steadily gaining mass. And light bends around her.

apropos to this post and to your previous post (how I love it when I can mulit-task!!!) in which we recommend items we love: AIRBORNE. It really really works.

Feel better....

i take sick days when i feel particularly good, because to spend 8 hours feeling great at work would make me feel not so great thereby throwing a perfectly great day out the window. which just makes me want to hide under the covers with bob.

and your rumply bed looks perfectly made to me.

Hey Laurie -- are you still scheduled for BEA on both Friday and Saturday? I may go on a day pass, and if you're reading on only one of the days, I want to choose that one!

It's sad that sick days sometimes have to be used up for actual sickness. Cats have it figured out. They just look cute and cuddly and get to spend the entire day under a blanket, every day.

Hope you're feeling better!

We had a cat like Bob. "Sammy" was a depressed cat and hid under the covers (little did we know he was in pain from his teeth, which is why he was depressed). Anyway, one time we had friends stop by to feed the cats and scoop the poop while we were away. Our friend, a former cop, was jolted into police-mode when he encountered something moving under the covers of our bed. It was Sammy of course. Fortunately Sammy poked his little orange head out just in time and avoided being smacked or tackled by our well intentioned (and pumped with adrenaline) friend.

Hi Laurie!
Glad you're on your way to healthy again. One of my cats lurve it when I change the sheets on my bed - It's his favouritest thing ever!! When I start flapping the sheets in the air he's right under there chasing invisible mice and hiding and peeking and rolling around. He likes it best when I finish making the bed with him underneath all the sheets so he can gradually ferret his way out then flop down on top all proud of himself. His evil brother likes to sit on top of the sheets and attack his every movement. I guess my sheets are never clean for long, but I find the whole deal immensly entertaining.
Have a great day!

Grady used to do that (my cat) until I got another kitty. Now they have too much fun shooting death-ray glances at each other, so nobody hides anymore.

The duclet tones of Jim Cantore describing Storm Stories is perfect to doze to. Feel better soon, Laurie!

So my cats aren't alone in their weirdness? 2 of the 3 come running when we make the bed or change the sheets for the sheer pleasure of being made into the bed. They stay there as a mysterious lump for a good 10 minutes.

Hope you are feeling better!

Much sympathy coming your way from the East Coast. Hope you are feeling much much better before you have to get on a plane for BEA (only ten days away! I am doing a very bad job of waiting patiently!)

If you haven't already, make sure you listen to cat macros posted above. Guaranteed to make you feel a little better. BTW, I think Bob may have written it, working undercover. (I crack myself up!)

Stella -- I'm reading on Saturday only. But I'm a really crappy public speaker, so if there's a big celeb speaking on Friday, come on Friday LOL.

oh!! But if you do come Saturday there is a Q&A session after the reading so you can say hey or ask anything you want. Also, my parents will be there, you can meet them too. Yes I am 12 and need my parents to go with me.

My big orange Buster cat does the same thing! For the same reason. The universe contains many frightful things. Especially the doorbell. Doorbell=people=SCARY!

My Doodlebug used to sleep under the covers all the time, a warm cozy doughnut. Now that the kitten (he's a year old now) has joined the family, she doesn't spend any time under the covers anymore because said kitten decided she was fair prey and attacks her every time she goes under. She is one seriously pissed girl. I think she "hides" in my closet or under a slipcovered chair now. Not that they provide any more protection against the kitten. By the way, I took up your Feliway Comfort Zone Plug-In suggestion and purchased one this past weekend. I think I see some improvement - a reduction in the obsessive zooming through the house at dangerous light speeds (kitten, Moomin), toe fur plucking and whining for meals (Doodle), and general overall skittishness (eldest male, Hobbes) with any thing outside of the general routine. Thanks O Endorser You!

I sympathize with owning crazy cats. My cats are totally afraid of being UNDER the covers. They'll sit atop the bed but never tucked away under the covers. Total scaredy cats.

My cat has broken through the underneath of my boxspring, and has her secret hideout literally inside the bed.

Aaaaah... the perfect gift for us crazy people.

http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2142

OMG! I totally have Bob's Doppleganger living in my house. Hobbes loves to be under the covers. He climbs into bed with my son every night and gets under the blanket where he sleeps until he sees fit to get up and do his work of hunting elephants all night long! He does it well though, we've yet to see an elephant in our house!

My poor kitty can not figure out how to get under the covers unless you lift them for him... He is quite insistent about this - digging until you give in!

Amy, Pan does that too! Harold can get in by himself but Pan just can't find the magic button that lifts the covers, so he stands there going scratch scratch scratch until I either raise the covers or shove him away in annoyance for the silly reason that I'm trying to sleep.

Sorry you were feeling ill, hope you are oodles better soon.

LOL re your hiding kitty. My cute little dog aka the neediest dog in the world sleeps under the covers with me at night, all curled up in the hollow made between my chest & my knees when I lay on my side. The funniest part is when he barks when he's under the covers...cuz he's SO VERY FIERCE from under there...

silly babies. aren't they the best?

Bob is a special little soul. At least, you'll be able to find if you come home and want to count noses.

I hope you're feeling better, Auntie. Nothing worse than having to waste a sick day on actually being sick.

Yay Bob! I think he was keeping your spot warm, ya' know, just in case you decided to go back to bed.

When Creature is being a scaredy-cat she goes straight under the bed forgetting, of course, that the attached "entity" (her tail) is supposed to go under as well. Amazingly enough, once under there she forgets all fear and becomes the Orange.Demon.That.Lurkes.Under.The.Bed. I have ankle scars to prove it. The only time she gets under the covers is when we're nappin' together on the sofa. I can whisper the words, "Momma's got the blankie!" and she comes dashing madly through the house to jump under and become the Snugglebunny.

How can people live without cats?

Hope you feel better soon! :)

Get Well Soon!

My dearest friend's cat also spends his days under the covers. Wonder if he'd get along with Bob?

Whem my beloved Bearice is awake, everything is a potential death threat. I get home from work and she acts as if we've never been introduced. A slight breeze? terrifying. A paperclip falling on the floor? doom, doom, doom! The hilarious part is that when she finally falls asleep she does her snoozing belly up with legs slayed, lying right in the middle of the floor. Apparently paranoia requires consciousness to maintain.

Good times are happening over there at Chez Lumpy Bed! Mine hasn't thought to be warm and comfortable in the bed. My scaredy lump hides under the bed or jammed in a corner of the closet.

Hi Laurie, That is such a pretty quilt that you have in the picture. Where did you get that?

Robin -- I got it at Target on sale last winter in the kids aisle.

our cat pixie gets under the covers and puts her cold cat feet on us. Was really cute until DH (the cat affection thief) had a loud sneezing fit and said cute kitty clamped onto his arm with her teeth to make him stop. Now pixie cat comes across the room to bite or scratch DH every time he sneezes. Serves him right for stealing my kitty snuggle time.

Having recently begun mending from being sick, I can absolutely sympathize, Laurie. To make sick matters much worse, I was very unwell (with a 102 degree temperature) while on holiday in HAWAII. How big does that suck. But I got to visit with my sister, her kids, and my mom, so it wasn't all gloom, doom, and bad.

Glad you, too, are on the mend. Airborne DOES work wonders. Run, don't walk, and buy a boatload of it today.

My older cat, Rozz, hides under the covers during the day. I like to sneak upstairs and pounce on him. it makes me laugh.

Laurie,
Interested in the yarn market photos? I need a good email address to send them to if you want to see them.

Thanks.. and may I suggest the cure that no one has suggested? Orange Sherbert.. will make you feel better.. honest.

Laurie you have to check on my post on my (very infrequently updated) blog from April 20. It has a very similar lumpy bed story. Love all the cat pictures!

Laurie.. here is an email address for me that you can use.. travelknitteacher@yahoo.com

OR the one that I signed up w/ to post on this blog.

Thanks,
Jeannie in Korea (for now)

I have a beagle who sleeps under the blankets. At first it was only at night (yes, in my bed - and I love it), but then I started noticing he would disappear during the day and I would find him in the unmade beds.

goofy dog

Jodi

OMG - I am so glad I am not the only one that has a 48 page ToDo list. It is totally out of hand, but I can't live without my lists... Love your bumpy bed photos and hope you feel better soon! PS - I have a really, really good (and easy) chicken noodle soup recipe if you'd like it. Big hugs!!!

Glad you are feeling better! My Rocky does the cover thing too. Sometimes he even does it while we're sleeping. I worry he is brain damaged from sleeping under the covers so much!

Hey now, to be fair, that spot under the covers looks like a place I would want to hide when under the weather too. Or, you know, in case of a storm. Or rays of sun. Those things are out to getcha, man...

get better soon. and thanks for the funny pictures! ps. i really enjoy being voyeuristic and seeing what your blankies on the bed look like! i like home shots. i think you should take more home pictures (and not just kitchen spots and where the square watermelons once lived. and, by the way, how are the hot peppers?)

Man, you people would go nuts over the strange shit in MY house.

My SO hates to get rid of anything.

If you dare, go here: http://www.twango.com/channel/Bratfink.public

But I warn you, NOT FOR THE SQUEAMISH.

[I will not be held responsible for any illness or disability resulting from the viewing of these pictures. Not that I have anything. OK. You can have a cat. Or The Boy. The choice is yours. And stop that laughing.]

Dont worry laurie, he isnt the only strange small furry animal on the planet. My sisters cat does exactly the same thing but please picture shedding black cat and crisp white sheets?

my mother hates him, yet he loves her crisp white sheets with a passion....

I have a couple of undercover kitties, too. Fun when you sit on them unawares!

Per other comments: totally cute quilt! Target kids aisle? I was sure you were going to say it was "handmade" by "someone." When we moved 2000 miles with our three cats and stayed overnight at "**** ********" motels, our big orange tabby managed to disappear completely within the the motel room. We searched everywhere when we were ready to leave but couldn't find him. Finally we noticed the bottom lining of an upholstered chair sagging quite heavily. Guess who had managed to find a way to hide himself inside there. It was hell getting him out and back into his cat carrier IN THE CAR to drive all day to the next motel...

Sorry you have been sick, but are you saying Storm Stories is STILL on????? I love that show. It is my favorite geek show, next to How It's Made, the best geek show ever.

Get well.

I always find it interesting to be home when I normally wouldn't. The cats can be thoroughly entertaining. Hmmm. Maybe I shouldn't mention this tidbit on dates.

My cat Zoe also does the undercover lump. The most notable time she did this was when I was out of town and my friend Mary was taking care of the kitties. Mary came in to check on them, and Sable came running, so happy to see a visitor. Mary couldn't find Zoe, but she found the treat can and shook that, knowing that this generally brings Zoe trotting out (running would be too much effort). No sign of Zoe. Mary called for her, looked everywhere in the house, and after a few minutes started to panic, thinking that maybe Zoe had escaped at the last visit, that now she was on the side of the road, and she'd have to call me and report that she'd killed my cat.

After about half an hour, she went into the master bedroom, and sat down on the bed in tears. As she sat, she heard a noise, and sure enough, there was Zoe! We have a waterbed, so her 16 pounds kind of sinks down into it, and she's mastered the art of getting under the covers without disturbing them at all, so there's no trace of her when she's hiding.

Jeez, now they have cat lady action figures, why didn't I think of that.

http://www.perpetualkid.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=2142

A former roommate's cat the aptly-named Cringer (from the He-Man cartoon) vanished. The apartment door was open and we feared the worst, walking around the neighborhood calling for the cat, who almost never went outside. Turns out the cat had clawed her way INSIDE the box spring of the roommate's bed.
Once he is inside his lair I am sure Bob becomes a lion. Or perhaps a mighty battle-cat?

That's why I don't have cats. too weird!

[i]Today I'm feeling better today[/i]

I love how you enclose your sentences with little book-endy words.

What I don't love is my remedial html skills. Pfft.

At least with a lump under the covers cat one never needs an excuse for the unmade bed. If I WANT to make the bed I have to do it fast while MS Sophie is having breakfast. At night I share with one on the covers cat and one under. Believe me I roll over very very carefully :]

We too have a scaredy cat. I have to be very careful to not sit on any lumps in the bed - more often than than not she is the cause of the lump. I live in fear that I will forget this fact, plop down on the bed, and cause her bodily harm!

Laurie, I am glad you are feeling even a little better.

Bossy likes to duck and cover too.

So I went out yesterday and bought some of that almond oil from L'Occitane (I had to, we were out of the lavendar foot cream Frank likes.) I wonder if L'Occitane is noticing the curious spike in the products you recommended as hundreds of CAP readers rush out to buy the stuff.

"What do you think?" I asked Frank; he likes the Sesame oil Rainbath stuff I use.

"Smells like Play-Doh," Frank said. "But that's OK; I LIKE Play-Doh."

Greaaaaaaaaat. I informed him that it cost $30 for me to "smell like Play-Doh." But he was happy with the foot cream and I like the almond oil - it absorbs really nicely. I'm going to have to tell my sisters about it.

Oh Laurie,
Sorry your were under the weather. I have tea & sympathy to send your way. Feel great soon.

My Bob likes to hang out under the quilt, too! In fact, on the notes I leave for the cat sitters, which are my brother and sister-in-law and yes they get notes, too, I tell them that he'll either be under the bed or the quilt. Too funny! Maybe it's a Bob The Cat thing?

Hope you're feeling better!

Wow. There I was, trying to have this ginormous pity party about how aaawwwwwful things are for me today, feeling OH SO sorry for my sad, pitiful self (and my chronically aching neck)....and then, I had this brilliant idea - go check and see what's up with Crazy Aunt Purl! AND NOW! I'm laffing my buns off over here. Thanks, you're always cheering me up with your hilarity. I'm so getting your book, too.

:)

You have a silly cat! Mine runs away from invisible things a lot. Glad you're feeling better.

Hee hee! My cat Twist does the same thing. He just luuurrvves crawling under there! Many times I've not even realized he was there and have lain on the bed! (Oops!)