Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for January 31, 2020

(Theme to Jaws starts playing…)

Despite the worry quite literally in the frame, that last panel is a lovely family portrait.

And three cheers for thorough and well-rounded blizzard prep by the Man and the Woman here!

And the storm takes an unexpected track, leaving the BPH with less than 2 inches of ‘blizzard droppings’….

Snow days part one: I can remember one year when I was teaching. A huge snow storm was predicted. It was headed right at us. There was no way it could miss. So I stayed up half the night reading. When I finally went to sleep, I expected to be awakened by the “SNOW DAY” phone call. Instead, I was awakened by the alarm. I looked outside and there was not a flake of snow to be found. At the last minute, the whole thing veered to the south and missed us by about 15 miles.

Yep… it’s barely dusting snow (or sprinkling rain) and the tv starts blatting… “STORM TEAM SIX!!!!” Meanwhile the Girl is sensibly asleep.

You need power to flush the toilet?

Wow, is this a blizzard or the Apocalypse?

Or is this actually what blizzard preparation is like and I’m just horribly naïve?

Love the Woman in panel three, gushing over her proud lumberjack man.

Ooh, lovely! Fire, hot chocolate, candle light, fuzzy blankets, stories, and a warm layer of cats!! Let the Hunker Games begin!

I’m so relieved that Goldie won’t have to suffer the winter outdoors. I always worry about the outside critters during snarly weather.

Do they have milk jug hats? Sally does:

https://www.comicskingdom.com/sally-forth/2020-01-31

Love seeing all four feline faces in the last panel.♥

Anticipation – Carly Simon

We can never know about the storms to come

But we prepare for them anyway

And I wonder if we’ve really ready now

Did we remember the ketchup (cats-up?) today

Anticipation, anticipation

Awaiting our fate / We should be hibernatin’

And I tell you how great it feels to wait with you

And how right you all feel around me

But I, I ate some bread just late last night

When I was thinkin’ about how scary tonight might be

Anticipation, anticipation

Awaiting our fate / We should be hibernatin’

And tomorrow we might be snowed in together

I’m no prophet – I don’t know nature’s ways

So I’ll try to see into the void right now

And stay right here ’cause these are the cold, cold days

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BeAEMw0W7BE

Boring bit of rambling below.

I miss getting snow. Darn global warming!

The best magical way to avoid a disaster is to prepare for it.

The last panel looks as if they’re waiting for Doomsday (sorry Robin).

Let’s hear it for SNACKS! (and delicious snacks for the cats)

Nice to see not everyone’s worried here. And does ‘everyone’ know where their Tommy is?

At this point, I’m worried that the blizzard won’t come. What a disappointment after all that work!

Well, humans. You’ve got one extra cat to snuggle up with, this time.

Simon and Garfunkle: Scarborough Fair

Are you going to the grocery store?

Eggs and milk, and snacks would be fine,

And don’t forget the kibble and treats,

All the cats believe that’s sublime.

…….

Tell the man we need some chocolate bars,

Eggs and milk, and snacks would be fine,

And marshmallows and crackers to make those s’mores,

Women and Kids believe that’s sublime!

…….

Tell him we need some batteries, too,

Eggs and milk, and snacks would be fine,

And don’t forget TP and litter, as well,

Forgetting those would be such a crime!

…….

Are you goin’ to the grocery store?

Eggs and milk, and snacks would be fine,

We could be here past April or more,

Although the plow will be here on time!

Aw, Puck’s Pithy comments on the People’s Preparation.

There you go, nothing can touch them now since the Woman has the fuzzy blanket out.

In panel three is Puck anticipating a cozy fire?

Celebrate the weirdness, Puck!

And then the power goes out because someone in another strip crashed a drone into a transformer…

and then the blizzard doesn’t come lolololol

I have a question for those who get this comic in their newspaper: how does the coloring look? Her watercolors are so pretty, I was just wondering how it “translates” to print.

They are so prepared – they must be Scouts!

I love the last panel! Such a wonderful family portrait!

Ever prepare so much for a blizzard that you’re angry it DOESN’T come?

If it is like our weather people, they will prepare because the end of the world is forecast and two snow flakes will fall. Two weeks ago, the whole city shut down for an ice storm that never showed up.

When I come back into a new life, I either want to be a cat in a household like mine or a weather forecaster. They can be wrong 75% of the time and still retain their jobs.

And then it doesn’t snow.

Interesting timing of this strip considering what’s happening with Activision/Blizzard.

And now they will learn the forecast was wrong. Happens frequently in Florida with hurricanes.

Yes. You need the water to flush the toilets. And, another hack is filling the washer with ice to keep the beer and wine cool…then you can use the water for the toilet, or, after boiling on the gas grill, to wash dishes… These are things you learn living in hurricane land…

AW YISSSS! Love it. :-)

Now watch—it’ll blow right over and not even hit them. :P

If you have a well-no power =no water

Thank Cat the Boys and Goldie don’t have to worry about flushing the litter box.

Aside from all the very informative toilet and water info, the little faces in the last window caused me to feel sad/worried about the situation. One positive note – there are 4 kitties inside now, not 3.

Today is National Bigwig Day. Just the sort of nonsense one expects of the US Congress (rhymes with, and is synonymous with "transgress.)

If you have a bigwig, wear it with pride. If you are a bigwig, for once, try not to be too conspicuous. Some non-bigwig might want to lift your hair so they can be a bigwig.

And a shoutout to one of my favorite characters in Watership Down .

AWWWWWWW…. the last panel is so sweet.

And Fritos. Greasy corn chips are very good fire starters, and, in a pinch, they can be eaten.

I’m reminded of the final scene from the movie, The Thing from Another World … "Watch the Skies! Everywhere!! … " …

Harry Potter, “And now we wait?” Hermione, “And now we wait.”

Georgia posted a picture of Elvis posing on a rug:

https://www.instagram.com/p/B799xlZphmu/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link

So glad Goldie is inside now!

“He’s a lumberjack and he’s okay”

While the power is on, why not binge watch “Our IX Lives” and introduce Goldie to the joys and tribulations of Gato Viejo……along with that character in my Valentine themed avatar…..

Many years ago, an ice storm hit the entire state of North Carolina. I took care of my elderly mom, and we’d lost power and the landline. This was before the popularity of cell phones. My brother-in-law who lived across the state was so worried about Mom that he drove through the ice storm with his truck full of camping supplies and stayed with us for a few days until the roads cleared. Greatest brother-in-law ever!

You did a great job, People.

Uncomfortable flashbacks to the last episode of Dinosaurs …

Even here in Oakland, one of my friends has such a long drain pipe, he has to pump the flushed water to the sewer, so he has a genset for that. And while we have reserviors up in the hills, without electric pumps, they can get drained. They needed gensets for the recent fire-related electrical shutdowns (which didn’t last long enough to be a problem).

if it were Oregon, it would turn out to be half a day of snow that melts by the next day.

Only to find that the weather forecasters miscalculated and there will be no blizzard

…but did the Man get toilet paper? That is the absolute most important item needed from the store!

Charge up the portable DVD player!

There was a time for us that wasn’t important. Course there was a time there was no such thing as portable DVD players either. Back then as long as there was light to see by it was reading books and playing boardgames. Talking with each other didn’t require light really. So there was things to do when the power went out. Course once it was back one of the first things was to check out what was on TV. Still have those options, and certainly still use them to save a little power on the DVD player, but we do play movies or TV shows while the power is out.

If Jim Cantore shows up on the lawn of the BPH, they are in for it!

When I was a kid we were on well water, and also down a private road. The neighbor closer to the street had a generator, so when our power went out the crews would come by, see lights on, and keep going – so my parents would have to call repeatedly to get them to fix us up. Filling the bathtub was very much a necessity!

Puck is so cute with his comment, “Getting weird with it.” Whenever I feel down, I look at BCN and it always brings a smile to my face and lifts my mood. Thank you Georgia.

Board games – don’t forget board games. (Cats love to hide the pieces.)

Good Man, Man – you’re approaching Rock-Star Status!

Georgia wrote: "We go now live to BREAKING CAT NEWS! It was hard to decide which real life practical blizzard prep tips to include. I even asked friends and family back home in New England to list out their prep, in case I was forgetting anything! These are some solidly good ones.In real life, we also kept a regular “winter pantry” of canned goods on hand like beans, diced tomatoes, corn etc to make chili and other such things on a wood stove/by fire if the power went out. (Soup and Dinty Moore, too! ) I still keep a winter pantry, but now it’s filed under “earthquake prep,” lol! You can take the girl out of New England…

What are some of your storm/disaster prep items and/or steps?

“I chopped a bunch of wood for the fireplace!”

Then you wasted an obscene amount of time and energy. Next time, use a bucksaw and sawbuck.

“And in silence, they awaited the storm.” From the Rick Wakeman album, Journey to the Center of the Earth. I just love the last panel!

OT Espresso.

Georgia has two photos of all four cats on her FB page. One with them in the window and the other with them on the big red couch. In both Lupin and Goldie are at the opposite ends….just like in the end panel today. BTW, the window one is all back of the head for you BotH fans.

Snacks, snacks are essential.

That last panel is a thing of beauty.

the waiting is the hardest part!