The Life and Travels of Maurice - The Space Cowboy

Having a stiff one after a long day in Maranello.

We have two cats, and one of them - Gracie - absolutely loves those little furry mouse toys (George could care less about them really).  She has gone through hundreds of them (and I literally mean hundreds - I bought her a box of 100 once on eBay).  They disappear all the time and she assassinates them with extreme frequency.  Drowning seems to be her preferred method of disposal.  Whenever they get too battered I throw them away and she moves on to torturing new ones.  

From the Department of Redundancy Department.

 

Gracie playing "Prison Camp" - George just waiting for something to eat.

If you stay in a bathroom long enough, you will start getting visitors under the door - one after the other.

For the most part, as long as they still rattle, Gracie isn't partial to particular colors or even if they still have a tail or not....with one exception:  Maurice - The Space Cowboy. (I named all twelve from one of the early batches for some reason.)    

Maurice has managed to hang tough for years in spite of being Gracie's favorite "playmate".  Sadly, he's been drowned at least a dozen times this week and his fur is finally starting to come off which means.....

Maurice has looked better.

It may be time for Maurice to head to that old cheese factory in the sky, but I thought I would take a minute to memorialize a loyal and tough mouse who has literally been around the world and back.

Maurice and his buddy (Wiggles - pictured here) stowed away in our luggage on more than one occasion - I'm sure with some help from Gracie.

Checking out the Matterhorn in Zermatt!

They built a snowman in the Swiss Alps!

On a Chandelier in Fussen.

Neuschwanstein Castle in Germany.

Riding a summer luge!

Outside the BMW Museum.

Dinner at the Hofbrau House.

Doing a little spelunking in Slovenia.

Flying down the Italian Autostrada.

Checking out the Lamborghini Museum.

A romantic gondola ride in Venice!

Saying goodbye to Venice.

Tiny mice in the tiny Republic of San Marino.

Making a new friend courtesy of our waiter.

On the island of Capri!

Literally being "church mice" in Saint Peter's Basilica at the Vatican.

Roman holiday.

Au revoir Maurice, au revoir.