Tribute to Greenies

So, what do you blog about when you can’t think of anything at the last minute? The cat of course.

Probably from the first week we brought him home, Bishop learned quick where we keep the cat toys, in a drawer near the computers. As a kitten, Bishop would immediately run to the drawer in our living room if we stood up from the computer chairs. Now as a big kid, (9 month old kitty) he will come up to us while we sit at the computer, put his paw gently on your knee to let you know he wants your attention. By the time you reach down to acknowledge him, or pet him, he has vanished, literally dematerialized, and poof reappears next to and looking longingly at the drawer. What’s in that drawer, you ask? Bishop, has one true love and that is his dear “Greenie”.

Greenie: -noun, def. a handmade crocheted/puff ball of yarn, psychologically and physically habit-forming.
I quickly crocheted the first greenie for him the night we brought Bishop home. It is made from some of my handspun yarn that had been sitting on the shelf forever. I don’t know if the attraction comes from the scent of the yarn or the feeling of the natural fibers or what, but it has been a long standing favorite. In total he has three greenies now, 2 crocheted and one pompom styled.

The name came to me inspired by Matt’s little niece. Last winter we took a roadtrip with Matt’s family and his niece had these dolls she carried with her. One was a pink dog which she named Pinkie and the other was a blue hippo named Bluey, naturally. Well, Bishop’s toy is green, so Greenie it is, there you go.

Through Greenie, we’ve discovered that Bishop could and would play fetch all day long. Sometimes he’ll just carry a greenie around the house with him from room to room. If we can’t find the greenie I’ll say “Bishop let’s find your greenie” and he will follow me around the house until we can find it. If we forget to put it away at night, he’ll bring it into our bed at night. He’ll set it down and then lie down next to it and reach out a paw so it is resting on the greenie. Each greenie has become a felted blob from being loved, chewing on it and playing with it so much.

Bishop loves his greenie.