July 2017

CLEANLINESS = CATLINESS

Man-Cat Monday

We kitties like to keep extra clean. And sometimes, a guy just has to give his “little” brother a bath.

 

Mauricio believes in cleanliness and gives Cooper Murphy a bath.

A kitty should never go to bed dirty. Cleanliness is key.

 

 

A wee bit of wrasslin’ may have occurred after this incident. And then it was off to Dreamland. I dreamt about my beautiful and lovely wife Allie. I have no idea what Cooper Murphy dreamt about, but my guess would be food!

Mom has a special post tomorrow about aging cats. We hope you’ll come back to read it.

 

CROTCHETY COUGAR LILY’S SELFIE

Sunday Selfies: Week #155

A few weeks ago, Lily Olivia joined a group of senior lady cats, the Crotchety Cougars. They have a signature red hat to wear. It was made by member Phoebe’s mom, Ellen (15AndMeowing). When I attempted to get Lily to wear it and take some photos, she was totally uncooperative. If you missed the post, “Lily Olivia is a Crotchety Cougar,” you can see it here.

Today, when Lily Olivia seemed in a bit of a mellow mood, I plopped her hat on her head and asked her to take a selfie. She used the phone and snapped off three photos. I was stunned by how agreeable she was, after all she is a Crotchety Cougar.

 

Lily Olivia models her Crotchety Cougars red hat for Sunday Selfies.

Lily Olivia's grumpy expression is appropriate for a Crotchety Cougar.

 

As you can see, she is wearing her usual grumpy expression along with her red hat. I wouldn’t expect anything less.

If you are a senior lady cat, of at least 15 years of age, and would enjoy belonging to the Crotchety Cougars, contact Kali of The Canadian Cats.

Now that Lily has shown you her selfie, it is time for you to add yours to this week’s blog hop. All anipals are welcome (domestic or wild) regardless of species. And you can join the hop anytime through Thursday. We know some of you don’t post on Sundays. The link to add your photo is below.

If you’d like to include the hop on your blog, the code to do so also is below. If you decide to do this, we have one request: Please link back to The Cat on My Head and/or display our badge. This is so that anyone joining the hop from your post will know where it originated. Thanks in advance to this kindness.

Comment-a-thon

I had planned to announce the winner of our comment-a-thon here today. Unfortunately I have not heard back from that person and so will not post the information today. I want to know to which shelter/rescue we will be sending our $80 donation prior to the announcement. As soon as I know, I will share here.

Enjoy an Easy Sunday!



RARE SIGHTING: SIBLINGS TOGETHER

Caturday Art: Siblings

Today’s art is another piece from Dad Tom. Mom liked the photo so much, she decided not to tinker with it. She only added the mats and the frame.

 

Siblings

 

Not only is it unusual for Mom to keep her hands off of the art, but it is also darned unusual to see Misty May and Mauricio hanging out together. Though they are siblings and always together as kittens and young cats, they pretty much go their own ways now. Their camaraderie is what drew our dad to take the photo.

This is our entry in Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday art blog hop. We know we say it almost every week, but this is one of our favorite hops. To enter some art and/or view the other submissions, click on Athena’s badge.

Sunday Selfies

You don’t want to miss this week’s selfies, as Mom will be announcing who won the $80 donation we will be making to the rescue/shelter of the winner’s choice. That’s right $80. Mom combined the 50 comments on our anniversary post and the 30 on Allie’s post at Friends Furever. We’re delighted we get to pick our mom’s pocket for so many green papers.

We hope you also will post a selfie on our blog hop. We haven’t decided as yet which of us will be your host. Mom may check and see who hasn’t had the honor in a while and coerce that one of us to snap a selfie.

See you tomorrow.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo and Cooper Murphy

FUN WITH FILL-INS WITH KITTIES BLUE

,Friendly Fill-Ins: Week 64

Some of Kitties Blue and I are joining Annie (McGuffy’s Reader) and Ellen (15AndMeowing) for their weekly Friendly Fill-Ins blog hop. I have completed statements #1 and #3. Kitties Blue completed #2 and Astrid did #4. All of us used teal italics for our completions. To join in the blog hop, click on the badge below to be whisked away to Annie’s blog, where you can enter the link to your post. And while you are there, check out 10-week-old, foster kitties, Bonnie and Clyde, on her Thursday post. You’ll definitely SQUEEEE!

To help make the fill-ins a bit more interesting this week, I solicited the help of Cooper Murphy, Mauricio and Misty May.

  1. As a child, my favorite playground activity was playing on the monkey bars. Even though we had to wear dresses to school in the fifties, we girls still hung upside down from the monkey bars with panties showing. Of course, in those days we wore what are now commonly known as granny panties (full-coverage).

 

Fill-Ins - Week #64.

“I probably could have used some shorts or at least some underpants before I took on this activity!”

 

2. KITTIES BLUE: For breakfast, I we have Friskies stinky goodness paté. We have the same thing for dinner. We eat a variety of flavors, but it must be paté.

3. An instrument I would like to play is the piano. We have an antique piano, and I used to play. I do not have enough strength or flexibility to play anymore, but we still have the piano (not the one pictured below).

 

Fill-Ins - Week #64.

“Allie you’re the sweetest thing that I’ve ever seen, it’s true how my head starts a spinning when I look at you…” *

 

4. ASTRID: I always try to stay away from Misty May, because she is mean to me.

 

Fill-Ins - Week #64.

“Put your dukes up Astrid. I’m coming for you.”

 

So those are our fill-ins for this week. We will be here tomorrow for Caturday Art and to announce the winner of our Comment-a-thon donation. You won’t want to miss that announcement.

* Lyrics from the song, “Allie,” by Ray LaMontagne.

OOPs, Mom forgot to publish this at midnight. Good help is so hard to find – Kitties Blue

 

ASTRID’S UNAUTHORIZED EXPLORATION

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

It’s time again to get our “rhyme on.” This is one of our favorite days of the week, when we get to join Angel Sammy and Teddy with another poem. “G” is today’s prompt letter. I pondered all week about writing a poem for Giulietta, but finally decided to go with one of the prompt words for this week, based on Astrid’s antics of Tuesday evening. These are this week’s prompt words: (1) Garden (2) Giggle (3) Groceries (4) Grandma.

I’ve selected the subject of garden. I’m certain that has peaked your curiosity about the title of this post. Read on, and you will see the link between the two.

Astrid Takes Flight

Our garden was a thing of beauty in the spring,
With green grass and flowers bright as any bling.
The rains kept coming day after day,
And all of nature’s beauty was on display.
Everything now is dried up and brown.
Looking at it makes Mom and Dad frown.
In spite of this, Astrid felt the need to explore
And snuck right out the catio door.
She jumped and flew about ten feet to the ground,
Where she took off without making a sound.
For three hours she had her mom in a tizzy,
As Mom searched in the heat until she was dizzy.
Where that stinker was hiding is unknown.
We’re just thankful she decided to come home.
The garden is no place for a fraidy cat like her,
When skunks and groundhogs she might incur.
Though the garden may be turning to dust,
The critters still find scavenging flowers a must.
Gardens are fun places to explore and play,
But for most kitties this is not a place to stay.
This is especially true for our adventurous cat,
Who disappears into the shrubbery just like that!
She is tired today and acts quite ashamed,
When yesterday she thought it was the perfect game.
You can bet Mom won’t be letting her out of her sight,
In case Astrid once again decides to take flight.

© Janet Buickerood Blue 07/26/2017

I bet you expected to see Astrid here, but she is embarrassed to show herself after being a naughty girl. So in her place, I am sharing a collage of flowers, from when the yard was still thriving, and a photo of one of critters mentioned in the poem.

 

flowers in our garden

 

groundhog in the garden

To read Angel Sammy’s poem and find links to other poems, click on the badge below. You will also find the prompt words for next week if you’d like to pen a poem yourself. It isn’t all that hard, and it does not have to rhyme.

Thankful Thursday

We think it is pretty obvious for what we are thankful today. Of course, it is Astrid deciding to come home. Dad Tom, however, is not too happy or thankful for the two-inch gash Astrid put in his arm when he grabbed her. But that will heal. Had we lost Astrid, our hearts would not.

This also is our entry in Brian’s Thankful Thursday blog hop. To enter, click on the badge below.

 

Comment-a-thon Reminder

Have your entered our Comment-athon for an opportunity to win a donation to your favorite 501(c)(3) shelter or rescue? If you haven’t, you only have until 11:59 p.m. tonight to enter. Anyone leaving a comment on Mau and Allie’s anniversary post, “Allie & Mau’s 1st Anniversary,” will be entered in the drawing . For every comment made Kitties Blue will donate one dollar, with no cap on the amount. If you haven’t commented, please do. We want to donate bunches of green papers.

You can earn a second entry by leaving a comment on Allie’s Sunday Selfies post. In addition to the second entry in the Kitties Blue drawing, you will earn an entry into Allie’s drawing for an Amazon gift card. So, pop on over to Allie’s blog at Friends Furever right now, as her entries will also close tonight. Winners will be selected using Random.org.

HOUSE-CLEANING-DAY OBSTACLE COURSE

Wordless Wednesday

 

Obstacle Course

 

BP_Wordless_wed_Hop_Logo_2014
  Wordless Wednesday at Create With Joy

Comment-a-thon Reminder

In recognition of Allie and Mau’s anniversary, we are having a comment-a-thon. Anyone leaving a comment on their anniversary post, “Allie & Mau’s 1st Anniversary,” prior to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, will be entered in a drawing for the opportunity to have a donation made to a 501 (c) (3) shelter or rescue of the winner’s choice. For every comment made Kitties Blue will give one dollar with no cap on the amount. If you haven’t commented, please do. We want to donate bunches of green papers.

You can earn a second entry by leaving a comment on Allie’s Sunday Selfies post. In addition to the second entry in the Kitties Blue drawing, you will earn an entry into Allie’s drawing for an Amazon gift card. So, jump on over to Allie’s blog at Friends Furever. Random.org will be used to select the winners.

DO YOU HAVE A GOOFY BROTHER?

Giveaway Winners

Before we answer that all important question about goofy brothers, we need to answer another one. Who won our blogoversay giveaway? We are excited to announce that the Animal Shelter Volunteer Life kitties (Zoe and Gracie) and humans (Kevin [meowmeowmans] and Tracey) are the winners of a prize package containing BlogPaws Conference swag and exclusive The Cat on My Head loot. Concatulations to these great friends.

Our Goofy Brother

Do you live with a goofy brother (or sister for that matter)? If you do, you are not alone. We have one too, and his name is Cooper Murphy. We realize that according to Dr. Neel’s estimate Cooper is not quite two years old yet. Mom believes any kitty younger than two can be expected to act like a goofy kitten sometimes. Purrsonally, we think no matter their age, all kitties can and do act goofy when the mood strikes. But Cooper Murphy takes it more seriously than most.

 

Cooper Murphy is a goofy cat.

 

This is our brother on a recent, purrticulary scorching hot day. We think he’s more crazy than goofy, but Mom said it wouldn’t be nice to use that word. What was he thinking, crawling under the catio rug and stuffing himself into that much-to-small-for-him, plastic cat cubby? And that belly-up bathing could’ve been taken into the house where it was much cooler.

Do you know that phrase, “Mad dogs and Englishmen go out in the midday sun,” from a Noel Coward song? We know Cooper Murphy isn’t a mad dog, so maybe he’s an English cat. Oh, MOUSES! Now Mom says that we may have offended some of our English cat friends. If that is the case, purrlease forgive us. That was not our intent. And we didn’t intend to offend any of our woofie friends either.

Comment-a-thon

Mom has reminded us that none of us is purrfect. Say what? She says we best keep our mouths shut now except to remind you about our comment-a-thon in honor of Allie and Mau’s first wedding anniversary.

Anyone leaving a comment on their anniversary post, “Allie & Mau’s 1st Anniversary,” prior to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, will be entered in a drawing for the opportunity to have a donation made to a 501 (c) (3) shelter or rescue of the winner’s choice. For every comment made Kitties Blue will give one green paper with no cap on the amount. If you haven’t commented, please do. We want to donate oodles of dollars.

You can earn a second entry by leaving a comment on Allie’s Sunday Selfies post. In addition to the second entry in the Kitties Blue drawing, you will earn an entry into Allie’s drawing for an Amazon gift card. So, jump on over to Allie’s blog at Friends Furever. Random.org will be used to select the winners.

That’s it for us until tomorrow.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, angel Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth, and Calista Jo

p.s. Cooper Murphy says he is not putting his name on this as we maligned him. MOUSES…what a sourpuss!

 

THANKS FROM MAU WITH REMINDERS

Yesterday was such a special day, and I want to thank everyone who dropped by to help Allie and me celebrate our first anniversary. We are such lucky kitties to have found each other, fallen in love and had the opportunity to get married. We both have such wonderful memories of our wedding day in 2016.

I also want to share the lovely card I received from my sweet and thoughtful wife.

 

Allie's anniversary card for Mau.

 

My other duty today is to remind everyone about our blogoversary giveaway and our anniversary comment-a-thon.

Blogoversary Giveaway

In celebration of our fifth blogoversary, we are giving away some swag from the BlogPaws conference as well as some exclusive The Cat on My Head loot. If you have not had an opportunity to earn a chance to win, leave a comment on our Fifth Blogoversary Blowout post before 5 p.m. ET today. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced tomorrow.

Anniversary Comment-a-thon

Would you like to win a donation to your favorite 501(c)(3) shelter or rescue? If, so you only need to leave a comment on yesterday’s Allie & Mau’s 1st Anniversary post. Mom has agreed to give one green paper for each comment with no cap on the amount.

If you leave a comment on Allie’s anniversary post, Sunday Selfies and a special Anniversary!, you will gain a second entry to win this donation. And you will have the opportunity to win a $25 Amazon gift card from Allie.

Your comments must be made on both posts prior to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 27.

Once gain, thanks for celebrating these two special occasions with us. Kitties Blue appreciate the support and friendship you have shown us during the past five years.

Ciao and meow, Mau

ALLIE & MAU’S 1ST ANNIVERSARY

Sunday Selfies: Week #154

One year ago today, Allie and Mau were married at Cat Scouts with Denmaster officiating. It’s was the first (and so far, the only) marriage of two Cat Scouts. Today were are celebrating that special day with a selfie collage as our entry in the Sunday Selfies blog hop.

 

1st anniversary Sunday Selfies

 

Here are a couple of photos from last year’s wedding celebration.

 

Allie & Mau's Wedding Day. (1st Anniversary)

The Wedding Party: Mau and Allie; Best Man Sammy, Maid of Honor Gracie, Groomsman Charles, Bridesmaids Anya and Sundae.

 

1st anniversary of Allie and Mau

Allie and Mau on the dance floor.

 

The couple received this beautiful anniversary card from Mau’s best man (now angel) Sammy and his brother Teddy (Two Spoiled Cats). Both Allie and Mau send them their heartfelt thanks for remembering this day with such a special memento.

 

1st anniversary card

 

Comment-a-thon

In honor of Allie and Mau, Kitties Blue are having a comment-a-thon. Anyone leaving a comment here prior to 11:59 p.m. on Thursday, July 27, will be entered in a drawing for the opportunity to have a donation made to a 501 (c) (3) shelter or rescue of the winner’s choice. For every comment made Kitties Blue will give one green paper with no cap on the amount.

Additionally, a second entry can be earned by leaving a comment on Allie’s Sunday Selfies post. In addition to the second entry in Kitties Blue drawing, you will earn an entry into Allie’s drawing for an Amazon gift card. So, jump on over to Allie’s blog at Friends Furever after you post your selfie. Winners on each blog will be selected using Random.org.

Giveaway

If you missed our Firth Blogoversary post two days ago, you also missed the opportunity to win some BlogPaws Conference swag as well as some special The Cat on My Head loot. But don’t panic, you still have time to enter by leaving a comment at Fifth Blogoversary Blowout. The giveaway closes at 5 p.m. ET tomorrow.

Blog Hop

Finally, it is your turn to post your selfie and add it to the blog hop. The link is below.

Each week we have new participants and several more woofies are joining us. Kitties Blue are extremely grateful to all the new participants as well as those who continue to support our hop, as we fast approach our third anniversary of Sunday Selfies. Remember, all anipals are welcome regardless of species. For those who don’t post on Sundays, the hop remains open through Thursday.

If you’d like to include the hop on your selfies post, the code to do so is below. Would you please be so kind as to display our badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head so your followers will know the origination of the hop.

Thanks for joining us today. We look forward to having lots of comments so we can make a large donation.

 



ASTRID’S MAGICAL ART

Astrid is joining you today as the subject of our Caturday Art. She also will be completing this week’s Friendly Fill-Ins. We postponed them from yesterday to celebrate our fifth blogoversary.

Caturday Art

 

Astrid's magical, ethereal art.

 

Mom created our art today using the faded-out photo below as the starting point. I was enjoying a sunbath in one of my favorite places—the window on the staircase landing. We have some form of stained glass hanging in most of our windows. Sometimes I like to be in front and sometimes behind.

 

The basis for Astrid's Caturday Art.

 

We always like to tell you how we create our art so you can try something similar if you like. Mom started in Picasa. She first applied the Heat Map filter and then the HDR one. From there she went to PicMonkey and added the Space overlay in the hardlight mode and then the Clouds overlay. (She can’t remember the setting on that one.) The inner border, which looks like splotchy snowflakes, was added with piZap. She framed it up using Picasa. I like it. Do you? I think I look magical and ethereal. I hope my husband Sampy (Kitty Cat Chronicles) likes it.

This is our entry in Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. To submit your own art and/or see the art of the other participants, click on her badge.

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #63

This is fun: Not only am I the subject of our art, but I also get to do the fill-ins. This hop is hosted each week by Mom Annie from McGuffey’s Reader and Mom Ellen from 15AndMeowing. This is a blog hop as well, and you can enter by clicking on the Fill-Ins badge, which will take you to Annie’s blog. My completions are in teal italics.

1. My favorite thing on my daily to-do list is to wake Mom up by kneading, burrowing, nuzzling and snuggling her. I actually do not do this daily as it would not be a surprise if I did. She loves it, except for the fact that I try to pull the covers off of her with my claws. Fun times!

2. My least favorite thing on my daily to-do list is to deal with Misty May bullying me. MOUSES! She is a big pain in my backside.

3. I could really do without Misty May (obviously) and also this unending heat and humidity. Even in the early morning it is too hot for bird and squirrel watching on the catio. We all have been napping in the house more than usual.

4. I would love to have more treats! Duh!

Blogoversary and Giveaway

Dearest friends, Teddy and Angel Sammy (Two Spoiled Cats), sent us a really pretty and sweet card for our blogoversary. I want to share it with you before I write about our giveaway. They are such wonderful friends. Mom and all Kitties Blue appreciate their thinking of us.

 

 

We love you too!

If you missed our fifth blogoversary yesterday, you may not know that we are having a giveaway for some BlogPaws Conference swag. NEWS FLASH: And since yesterday Mom has decided to add some special The Cat on My Head loot. One item is brand new to our collection, and the winner will be the first person to receive it. If you haven’t already, leave a comment on yesterday’s post for the opportunity to win. You must leave your comment prior to Monday, July 24, at 5 P.M. ET. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced the following day.

Special Sunday Selfies Hop

Tomorrow is that day of the week when you dust off your best smile and join us for our Sunday Selfies blog hop. This will be an extra special hop, as we will be celebrating Mau and Allie’s first wedding anniversary. We’ll be partying all day and having a comment-a-thon. Mom will give one green paper for every comment left on our blog (with no cap on the amount) to the shelter or rescue selected by the commenter whose name is selected by Random.org. We’ll have more details on that tomorrow. Allie will be having a special giveaway on her blog (Friends Furever), so you’ll want to make certain you visit both blogs tomorrow.

That’s it for me. Time to run off and get my beauty sleep so I can wake Mom up nice and early.

Purrs and paw-pats, Astrid