From The Archives: Cookie Outside and in, January 18, 2011

January 17, 2026 Bernadette

Cookie outside at the top of the deck steps.

Just before Mimi, Cookie was my garden cat from the mid-90s to 2012, up until the day she died. She overlapped with other cats, like Moses and Sally and Stanley, but she was my garden kitty for the longest time of all. And just like we saw Mimi—and Mewsette—do, Cookie also sat at the top of the deck steps and looked out at all that cold white stuff and decided to stay where she was. Cookie was 19 years old here.

Below, I did got back inside to get this photo with her l0000ng shadow. I still couldn’t even get all of her shadow. She’s looking at me like I know she’s wondering why I went back inside. Humans are weird sometimes.

So now I’m outside and she wants to go in Giuseppe’s wondering what she’s even doing out there. But he can’t help her because he doesn’t have thumbs.

Then she’s back inside and she want’s to go back outside. Cookie with her little speckled nose. But she had warmed up her paws and was ready for more.

Poor Cookie, she's stuck insice. — Poor Cookie, she’s stuck insice.

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I came back inside and she stayed inside, though, wistfully looking out at the sun on the deck. She always looked sweet sitting at the door in the sun, I think I loved her best when she was just sitting in the morning sun, looking out the door.

From the Archives in Previous Years

Lucy Birdwatching, January 2007

black cat birdwatching — Lucy birdwatching.

Oh, she can almost reach out and touch that dove! Between the flying snowflakes and the fluttering birds, little Lucy almost can’t contain herself. The big north window has always been a prime birdwatching spot because the feeders are right outside the window. Lucy was about nine months old here and full of play.

Below, making plans…how was she going to get that dove? Birdwatching is so exciting!

And then that sparrow landed on the edge of the feeder and started giving Lucy a piece of his mind! Oh, those ears started to flatten out, and if that window hadn’t been there…

Memories of Lucy are always sweet. Sometimes with an unexpected loss, especially far too young, we forget there were lots of happy moments before that.

From the Archives in Previous Years

Almost Synchronized, January 17, 2007

two cats bathing — Sort of synchronized.

Namir thought he was having an after-dinner bath, but he was in fact performing the important work of mentoring a kitten. Working in my office that evening I looked down from my computer to see Namir having a very thorough bath with Lucy carefully watching his technique. Darned digital camera from that era didn’t focus on every other photo I took, but I can tell you she was serious in this endeavor. Lucy adored her mentor and soon began her own thorough toilette, glancing at Namir every so often to match his posture.

Below, each works out a variation on the curl.

to cats bathing — Two variations on the curl.

I moved around the room, filing papers and sorting items, organizing boxes of customer’s printed orders and planning the next day’s work. No matter where I walked around them, neither of them paid me any attention at all. It was a good lesson.

Life could be fraught in those days. Just two days before, we had said goodbye to Stanley at age 25. My mother had been in the hospital with pneumonia after the holidays, which meant that she was in ICU on life support for a few days. My brother was feeling isolated in his apartment with the agency. The previous autumn the mortgage company had foreclosed on me after months of accusations they hadn’t received my payments, a charge that would be proved fabricated, and in two weeks I would proceed with filing for personal bankruptcy to stop the proceeding, a situation that is resolved but affects my life to this day. But on that night in the office, two beloved cats could do their thing on the braided rug and completely distract me from everything. What a miracle that is.

From the Archives in Previous Years

The Cats in the Hat, 2010

These aren’t really “from the archives”, but I don’t have any from the archives in previous years to add. So I thought I’d choose these photos of Kelly and Cookie from January 2010, because they are real favorites.

Kelly subjects the crocheted hat to the sleepability test.

Every crochet item I make must be tested by at least one kitty, especially Kelly, my Lead Crochet Tester. This means it must be subject to the following activities as appropriate with the shape and size of the item: walked on, kneaded, climbed into, climbed underneath, smelled, tasted, slept on, slept in, carried off or fought over.

Kelly generally tests items for sleepability, and this alone involves most of the items above. She did try to fit herself into it in various ways, but only succeeded in getting all four legs in it and crouching in it. The hat flunked Kelly’s sleeping test, though it was fun to sniff and walk on.

Cookie was actually the first one to step into the hat, but she was distracted by the crochet bag. Not to be outdone by Kelly, when Kelly was done with her testing Cookie got back into the hat. Cookie usually tests for bathability, how comfortable the item is for having a good bath. Again, the hat flunked Cookie’s bathing test.

Perhaps this means I get the hat all to myself? Only if I hide it or hang it where no one can get into it!

Cookie subjects the crocheted hat to the bathability test.

Photos From the Archives and Vintage Photos

Photos pulled “From the Archives” were taken by one or another digital camera of mine between 2002 and, well, yesterday, but usually they are older than that, and I had never had the chance to feature them. Vintage Photos are from my film archives back to 1983 when I purchased my Pentax K-1000 camera. They’re a fun way to “introduce” other members of my feline family who came and went before I began blogging, and to illustrate my feline family in general from days gone by.

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painting of cat looking out door — “The Little Sunflower”, pastel on velour paper, 11″ x 16″, 1997 © B.E. Kazmarski

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