A VICEROYSHIP, AN AWARD, TWO REVEALS & AN ANNOUNCEMENT

I have a jammed packed post today, which none of my adorable but recalcitrant fur balls consented to help with. After all, it is Sunday, so we all know what they are doing!

I know you are here to find out what the big birthday surprise will be on Tuesday, but I am not announcing it until the end. Of course, you can always exercise your free will and skip to the end now.

They did, however, ask to write this paragraph a few days ago and for me to post it, so first of all: “We have been appointed by King Spitty as the Viceroys of Treasure Island in the San Francisco Bay. We requested this spot as it has special meaning for us. It’s where our humans were married forty years ago! If that hadn’t happened, all of us might be living with other peoples. We are delighted that we have some of our favorite kitties as neighbors. Savannah is in charge of the east Bay Bridge. And Ernie, Wally and Zoey from The Island Cats are viceroys for the west Bay Bridge. When we are not busy, we’re thinking we can have lots of fun chasing each other all over the island.”

“Okay, back to Mom.”

We received a beautiful award from Carmine, Melita and Jewel from Fur Everywhere. The kits, especially Astrid, and I have admired this one for a very long time and are so pleased and proud to accept it. It is The Wonderful Team Member Leadership Award. Of course, we now need to make some nominations of our own, but as this blog is going to get a little long, I will let the gang announce those later this week. Thank you so much to Fur Everywhere.

Our first reveal is next. It is the portrait of our Fiona who is cat #14 in HH’s (Lou’s) 30 in 30 Days of cat paintings. Here she is, but please check out HH and the Boys or Lou’s website for all the portraits and Lou’s other art. If you would like to compare this to the photo I sent Lou, you can see it on our Felines page. It is totally Fiona! I continue to be amazed by how Lou is not only able to capture the exact expression of the cats but also their true essence.

Day 14 - Fiona by Lou Belcher Acrylic ~ 6" x 6"

And FINALLY, the reveal you’ve been waiting for. A couple of very bright kitties, Sparkle and Cathy Keisha, guessed correctly.

For Mauricio’s and Misty May’s birthdays, we will have a commentathon. For every comment on Tuesday’s birthday post (one per household please), I will put 50 cents in the Piggy Bank. Any comment posted through midnight on September 18th, will qualify to have 50 cents deposited. On the 19th, I will determine how much I have raised. Fifty percent of that will go to Barn Cat Buddies, the rescue/TNR with which I am affiliated and from which Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista were adopted.

Now for the exciting part: The other fifty percent will be donated to the nonprofit animal (not restricted to kitties) rescue or shelter selected by the individual who wins our raffle. I will enter all commentors into Random.org to determine the winner.

The only caveat is that should the winner not reside in the USA, the group they select must have a web-site through which I can donate by PayPal or credit card.

And remember, you do not need to be a blogger to enter! I know a few of my readers do not have blogs, but they may very well have a favorite rescue/shelter!

And the very best part. I am not limiting the amount I will deposit into the Piggy Bank. The more money we can stuff into it, the more I will donate. I am not rich, but it is so important to help all the animals in need. And my girls and guy can do without a few perks for a while. After all, they are spoiled beyond belief.

Misty May, Mauricio and I look forward to hearing from you on Tuesday.

P.S. This is our 200th post! So, here’s my challenge: Let’s see if we can get that much into the Piggy Bank.