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| Calli Patch-Pelt |
Hello, I am Calli, matriarch of the family, I am 12 years old, going on 13. I have several titles, Papa's Princess, Mama's Mugwump (that means Big Chief in the Algonquin language, so the dictionary says.) Mama and Papa also call me Calli poppet, Calli Patch-Pelt, and Sweetie-pie. This is me relaxing on mama and papa's bed. Yesterday was a stay-at-home-relax-in-bed kind of a day. Rappy was on the bed too, all stretched out like a long sausage, mama said. 
It is nice and warm up in their bedroom cos the chimney from the fire downstairs is behind the wall the bookcase is on. Papa complains sometimes that it gets too warm, and he throws the duvet off himself. He moves about a lot too so I usually sleep down by mama's feet cos she doesn't move much at all. She doesn't kick me out of bed like he sometimes does when he tosses about. Rappy likes to sleep on mama's side of the bed during the day, up near her pillow. Sometimes Jet jumps up on the bed and he likes mama's side too. He is a huge black cat and he scares me a bit, sometimes he waits for me when I come down the stairs, he hides behind the door and jumps out at me. I hiss at him and run away and he chases me. Mama says he wants to play with me and give me a head wash, he is always washing Rappy,
It is nice and warm up in their bedroom cos the chimney from the fire downstairs is behind the wall the bookcase is on. Papa complains sometimes that it gets too warm, and he throws the duvet off himself. He moves about a lot too so I usually sleep down by mama's feet cos she doesn't move much at all. She doesn't kick me out of bed like he sometimes does when he tosses about. Rappy likes to sleep on mama's side of the bed during the day, up near her pillow. Sometimes Jet jumps up on the bed and he likes mama's side too. He is a huge black cat and he scares me a bit, sometimes he waits for me when I come down the stairs, he hides behind the door and jumps out at me. I hiss at him and run away and he chases me. Mama says he wants to play with me and give me a head wash, he is always washing Rappy, 
but he is so big I'm a bit scared of him. Sometimes though we do sleep close together on mama and papa's bed, I know he doesn't want to hurt me, but big black cats are scary to me. He is funny though, he likes to squeeze himself into small places, like the little cat bed in mama and papa's bedroom, it's really more my size, but he has claimed it and he squeezes himself into it, then turns round and round and ends up half hanging out of it. He sleeps in it a lot now when he isn't on the bed. Sometimes Jet and Rappy crawl under the duvet with mama, Rappy curls up in her arm but Jet goes
right down by her feet and cuddles her legs, sometimes she has to jump out of bed cos she gets cramp and she says it hurts a lot. It's cos he is so heavy, papa says he weighs about twelve and a half pounds, I only weigh about five or six, Rappy is about nine or ten pounds, so I don't want either of them jumping on me, they would squash me flat. Today, Wednesday, is not much better than yesterday, it is very cold and damp outside so we are all staying in again. Mama was very busy yesterday making lots of soup, most of it goes in the freezer, she made Cauliflower and Broccoli soup and Carrot and Coriander too.
We are going to relax in the bedroom for a while, until mama lights the fire this afternoon.The picture opposite is Rappy stretched out like a sausage, he is just asking to have his tummy tickled, sometimes I like to have a tummy rub or tickle, but not so much as he does. Mama even blows raspberries in his tummy, and Jets, but I won't let her blow them in mine.
This morning Jet jumped up on mama's lap when she was sat on the sofa having a cup of tea, so she got papa to bring the camera and she took Jet's photo, he doesn't like the camera, he calls it 'that clickety thing' and you can see him scowling a bit cos she stuck it right in his face. Then she took one of Rappy cos he was sat on the carpet below glaring at Jet. He gets a bit jealous when Jet sits on mama's knee.
Rappy has been busy ratting again, he brings them all home to show mama and papa, I catch mice sometimes, but I eat them.
Mama and papa make a big fuss over all of us though, they love us very much and we are their family now that all their human babies are grown up and gone away. We love them very much too.
Mama is still knitting those Santa socks for papa, she is almost halfway up the legs now, in spite of Jet, he thinks he is helping her when he jumps on her lap and holds the yarn down. She doesn't get cross with him though cos she says he is cute. 'Cute' - him, hmmph! I could think of something else to call him, but not 'Cute. She is doing the legs in red and white stripes cos that's what papa wanted, he is going to a Bowls match one night in his Santa suit and he will be wearing those socks, and he will have to take his boots off if he plays; I think he will look like a Liverpool football supporter. Mama has to go in her Mistress Holly costume too. I wish we could go and watch the fun when they play. 
