August 2017

LAPS ARE PURRFECT FOR CATS

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

 

 

As we do each Thursday, we are entering Angel Sammy and Teddy’s Thoroughly Poetic Thursday at Two Spoiled Cats. This week’s prompt letter is “L.” The suggestions for poem topics are 1) Lamb, 2) Love, 3) Lap and 4) Lunch.

I wanted to write about love or our angel Louise, but exhaustion did not allow me to put the time and effort into my poem to do justice to either subject. So, I selected lap as my subject.

 

Cats and Laps

A person’s lap is the perfect place for a cat.
It doesn’t matter if the cat is skinny or fat.
I wish all Kitties Blue loved to nap in my lap,
But some would rather snuggle with Dad.
Then, of course, when it’s a hot summer day,
I’d prefer they just go their own way.
A cat in my lap is not a dream come true.
When it’s more important to try to stay cool.
But when the winter cold comes along,
I’d be happy to have more than just one.
Curled up in a ball with a rumbling purr,
For the doldrums of winter, they are my cure.
Until the summer heat begins to abate,
For a place in my lap Kitties Blue must wait.
When the cold temps come, I’ll offer my lap
To any Kitties Blue who desire a nap!

© Janet Buickerood Blue 08/30/2017

 

laps

 

To read Angel Sammy’s poem and find links to other poems, visit Two Spoiled Cats by clicking on the above badge.

Thankful Thursday

We also are joining Brian’s blog hop. Kitties Blue, in keeping with the subject of our poem, are thankful for laps, as evidenced by the above collage. And they don’t care what season it is. At least one of them, usually Lily Olivia, camps out in my lap everyday.

To join in the blog hop, click on Brian’s badge.

 

RAINBOW BRIDGE REMEMBRANCE DAY 2017

Remembering Friends

 

Today, we celebrate Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. Established in 2015 by Deb Barnes (The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey), this special day is for pet guardians to honor the memory of those beloved pets in their life they have lost but never forgotten. It’s held every year on August 28, in honor of the day Deb had to say goodbye to her Ragdoll cat, Mr. Jazz, the meow author of Purr Prints of the Heart – A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond.

In the past, we have remembered our family members who have received their wings and gone to the Rainbow Bridge.

This year, we are honoring our sweet Fiona who lost her battle with CKD on December 1. Instead of remembering all of the Kitties Blue angels, however, we are remembering our angel anipals with a special graphic.

 

Remembering Friends on Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day.

 

So many of our anipals are as dear to our hearts as our own, and we miss them terribly. So, we decided to remember and honor them today. Kitties Blue and I know that many more friends have received their wings during this past year, but it was not possible to list all those here. If we have missed anyone who was especially dear to you, please accept our apologies.

These are the angels in our graphic, beginning in the upper left corner and continuing clockwise.

This is a blog hop. If you have written a remembrance post today, visit Zee and Zoey (link in first paragraph) to add the link to your post.

We send our condolences to all who lost a beloved family member in the past year as well as purrs, prayers and POTP as your hearts continue to heal.

Love, purrs and paw-pats, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy and Mom Janet

STINKY SUNDAY SELFIE #2

Sunday Selfies: Week #159

We have a guest host today for our blog hop. This guy/girl showed up to scavenger the sunflower seeds under the bird feeder. We were threatened with a big stink if we didn’t post this selfie.

 

Stinky Sunday Selfie

 

We told Mom that this selfie did not require a pretty frame, as it would be stinky no matter how she tried to fancy it up. She unfortunately insisted. PFFFT!

One plus for us, however…no kitty was disturbed or awakened from a nap with the demand for a selfie.

That’s it for today. Mom’s working on an elaborate post for tomorrow’s Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day and said we had to keep this short.

By now most of you know how this blog hop works, but if not, here are some guidelines:

  • The link to add your selfie to the hop is below.
  • You also will find below the code to use if you’d like the hop to appear on your blog.
  • You do not need to post on Sundays to join.
  • The hop remains open for entries through Thursday midnight.
  • Please be so kind as to display our badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head.

We look forward to seeing all you loyal selfie supporters hopping. And please, invite your friends to join us. We always enjoy meeting new anipals.

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



VINTAGE-INSPIRED ART

Caturday Art

 

Vintage-style art for Caturday Art blog hop.

 

I am delighted to be back with you again today. Mom says this is not one of her favorite art creations, but I like it. I think it has a girly as well as a vintage look. She created it using piZap, PicMoney and Picasa. She didn’t really keep track of exactly what she did.

Basis for this week's art. The original photo shows me on the catio, watching either a squirrel or bird on the other side of the screen.

I hope by boyfriend Charles will come by and see me.

This is our entry in Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. To join this fun hop or see the other submissions, click on her badge.

 

Sunday Selfies

Tomorrow begins year four of our blog hop. Most of you who entered last week indicated that you’d like us to continue. So, for now, that is the plan. I believe we will have a guest host tomorrow. Mom won’t give me hint, so I can’t tip you off. You’ll just have to check back tomorrow.

Until then…purrs and paw-pats, Lisbeth

DO YOU MAKE YOUR BED?

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #68

As we do each Friday, we are participating in the Friendly Fill-Ins blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Annie (McGuffy’s Reader). Kitties Blue have allowed me to complete all the fill-ins. My completions are in teal italics.

To join the hop, click on the badge below to go to Annie’s blog where you can add the link to your post. Both Annie and Ellen publish the Fill-Ins on Thursday, so if you haven’t joined in this fun hop, check out their posts next week so you can complete the Friendly Fill-Ins. It’s a fun way to learn a bit more about your fellow bloggers.

1.  Making the bed is a waste of time, But Dad Tom likes it made. He does it each day, usually having to work around Lily Olivia and Calista Jo.

 

Lily naps through Friendly-Fill-ins.

With 18 years of practice, Lily Olivia is the consummate napper.

 

2.  My favorite app is PhotoFaceFun.

3.  My first car was a lemon yellow 1966 Plymouth Valiant with black interior and bucket seats. I was 22 years old when I got it in 1971.

4.  The best car I ever owned was is my current car (a 2011 red Ford Fusion), because it has heated seats and a vanity plate that reads, PRRFCT!

Mau would like to add that he has owned three “cars.” His favorite is his Cat Scouts Hooligan Paddy Wagon. If you’ve never seen it, visit our post, “Cat Scouts: Start Your Engines.”

 

Friendly Fill-Ins

Prior to leaving for 2015 BlogPaws Conference

 

As this is a short post today, Kitties Blue and I would like to take the opportunity to ask for your continued prayers, purrs and POTP for the Friends Furever kitties, Allie (Mau’s wife) and Raz’s, Dad Bill. He remains hospitalized and on a ventilator. Thank you.

 

 

KITTY KISSES

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

As we do each Thursday, Kitties Blue is joining Angel Sammy and Teddy from TwoSpoiledCats for their poetry day. Today’s prompt letter is “K.” We decided to use one of the four prompt words for our poem this week. Those words are: 1) Kiss, 2) Key, 3) King and 4) Kindle.

 

Kitty Kisses

Kisses come in many shapes and sizes and
For a variety of reasons and intentions.
There are pecks on the cheek and
Smacks on the lips, French kisses and
Kisses on the head or the hand.
But the best kisses are kitty kisses. Cats
Normally kiss with their eyes, giving
The object of their affection a slow blink.
But like Lily Olivia and Misty May, they
Often give real kisses if one asks nicely.
I always ask, “May I have a kiss, please?”
Usually my reply is a wet, raspy
Tongue applied to my nose or face.
Sometimes I only get one quick kiss.
On other occasions I may get 20 or 30.
I don’t know how I “trained” these two
To give kisses when asked. If I did,
I would train all eight to do exactly the same.
Kitty kisses are the best…if you can get them.
Just always remember to ask nicely!

© Janet Buickerood Blue 08/23/2015

I tried repeatedly to get both Misty May and Lily Olivia to give me at least one kiss for a photo. But, of course, being cats, they refused to cooperate. So, you’ll just have to trust me that they actually do this.

To read Angel Sammy’s poem or find links to other poems, click on his badge.

 

Thankful Thursday

Today, we are thankful for receiving the Blogger Recognition Award. We haven’t received an award in forever, making this especially nice. Our award was given to us by the always entertaining TwoCatsViews’ Hemingway and Steinbeck. We send them our sincere thanks.

 

As with most awards, this one comes with a few rules.

  • Thank the blogger who nominated you and provide a link to their blog √

  • Write a post to show your award √

  • Give a brief story of how your blog started:

Most of you know by now that I started this blog on a whim. I have been writing professionally and for my own pleasure most of my life. Unfortunately, I have a short attention span. Other than items I was assigned to write, this meant that I mostly stuck with poetry. Then one day it came to me that I could write a blog about our often amusing cats. I’d never read a blog, and I knew nothing about blogging. But here Kitties Blue and I are five-plus years later. I’ve learned a lot and am still learning.

  • Give two pieces of advice to new bloggers.

1) Have a plan and find your niche. Obviously, this is something I did not do prior to starting our blog. I had no plan other than to write about Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo. At this point, it has become obvious to me that I write this blog to entertain you. Though I do product and book reviews and some posts about cat health and behavior, my focus is on fun.

2) Proofread, proofread, proofread. No one wants to read a blog filled with typos, spelling mistakes and bad grammar. If this is not your strong suit, asks someone in your household to read your post before you publish or read it yourself out loud. Your eyes will skip over errors. Your mouth will not. Those of you who write in some form of “animal speak,” should not ignore this process. I’ll admit, I often have trouble understanding such posts. But if you have a compelling story, I most likely will continue to come back to your blog.

  • Select 15 other bloggers to whom you want to give this award.

At one time I was really good about following this rule, but I have seen this award on most blogs I read regularly. So, I am going to be a rule breaker this time, and suggest that if you do not have this and would like it, please award it to yourself.

  • Comment on each blog and let them know you have nominated them and provide the link to the post you created.

Guess I get to skip this one.

We are entering Brian’s Thankful Thursday blog hop. You can always find something in your life for which to be thankful, so consider joining the hop. To do so, click on Brian’s badge.

 

MEOWVOLOUS BIRTHDAY GIFTS

Birthday Gifts

I am the luckiest lady kitty in the world. I have the most wonderful and thoughtful boyfriend. Oh yes, and he is handsome too.

The day before Astrid’s and my birthday, we received a box addressed to Kitties Blue. I immediately recognized the return address; though, the name was omitted. I was anxious to open it, but Mom made us wait. It was worth it. Charles’ talented mom, Inge, made some of the gifts. There was something for me, Astrid, Mau and Mom, as well as some treats and toys to share.

Here are some photos. The first two are of me admiring my new star blanket, in my favorite colors, while Cooper Murphy looks on. Isn’t it totally gorgeous?

 

Lisbeth checks out birthday gift from Charles.

Lisbeth and birthday blanket from Charles.

 

Astrid got her very own birthday gift as well—an owl kicker with a feathered tail. Here she is checking it out.

 

Astrid checks out birthday gift from Charles.

 

This next photo is of Mau in his new hat. It has bakery confections on top, including a cupcake with a cherry on top. He was not really happy wearing it, but Mom says he better get used to it. She thinks he looks adorable.

 

Mau sporting his baker's cap from Charles.

 

Mom’s gift was a really cute dishtowel.

Giveaway Winners

I also get to announce the winner of Astrid’s and my birthday giveaway as well as the winner of the giveaway for the book, The Book of the Cat: Cats in Art. That winner, selected by Random.org, is Stephanie B.

The winner of BlogPaws swag and The Cat on My Head goodies from our birthday giveaway is our friend, Annabelle, from Manx MNews. She too was selected by Random.org.

Mom will be contacting each of you for your mailing address.

That’s all I have to say, except to send a final thank you to Charles and Mom Inge as well as all my love to Charles.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lisbeth

 

SUNDAY SELFIES THIRD ANNIVERSARY

Sunday Selfies: Week #158

Welcome to the Third Anniversary of our Sunday Selfies blog hop. Kitties Blue and I honestly are flabbergasted that this hop is still going strong. We do have times when our entries wax and wane, but usually we stay around 50 entrants. For all of you who have been with us from the beginning (and there are several), we send a huge THANK YOU, as well as kitty kisses and hugs. If we didn’t have two giveaways already in progress, we’d have one, and we just might anyway. We’ll surprise you next Sunday and let you know!

While trying to determine which of the Kitties Blue should have the opportunity to be the face of our third anniversary post, I had a light bulb moment. I’m a bit surprised as my brain has been stuck somewhere between gears today. I decided to share some statistics about our first Sunday Selfies post and our previous two anniversary posts along with a photo from each.

Starting from the beginning: Post #1 on August 17, 2014. We had seven entrants and Lisbeth was your host with three selfie photos. This was one of them. She was in the midst of having a catnip snack.

 

First Sunday Selfies post featured Lisbeth.

 

We celebrated Astrid and Lisbeth’s birthday as part of our first anniversary post on August 16, 2015. We had 61 entrants. Can we beat that today? A photo of the girls as babies was shared as well as a selfie of each girl. As Lisbeth got the first entry on today’s post, Astrid gets this one.

 

First Anniversary of Sunday Selfies featured Astrid & Lisbeth's birthday.

 

For anniversary #2, we posted at week #104 which fell on August 7, 2016. We had 59 entrants and both Calista Jo and Fiona were your hosts.

 

Sunday Selfies 2nd anniversary with C.J. and Fiona.

 

If anyone is interested in revisiting those posts, just click on the appropriate photo. We will charge ahead toward anniversary four as long as most of you are still enjoying the hop and willing to come along for the ride. You can let us know in the comments.

Remembering a Precious Angel

If you joined us yesterday for Caturday Art, then you know that today we are remembering and honoring another dear friend from Critters in the Cottage. Just a little over two weeks ago, the Critters said good-bye to sweet Mitalee Honeybee. We honored her on the Sunday Selfies post, C.J.’s Sad Selfies in Remembrance of Mitalee.

Today we remember the Critters’ four-pound, tiny dancer, Esme. Esme received her wings on Wednesday at only 11 years old. My dear friend, Mum Sophie (aka LP) is not certain she wants to continue blogging; though, we hope she will after a break to grieve for her angels. She has promised to post today. That way you can stop by and leave your condolences there. The entire family is devastated by yet another loss so quickly after Mitalee, as you might imagine. All our prayers and purrs go out to the entire family.

 

 

Giveaways

We currently are running two giveaways. You still have time to enter either or both. They close tomorrow (Monday, August 21) at 5 p.m. ET. Winners will be selected using Random.org and announced on Tuesday. The first is for some swag from the BlogPaws Conference as well as The Cat on My Head exclusive items. To enter, leave a comment on the girls’ birthday post, Astrid & Lisbeth Are Birthday Girls.

Our second giveaway is for the must have art book, The Book of The Cat: Cats in Art, by Angus Hyland and Caroline Roberts. For an opportunity to win a copy of The Book of the Cat, please leave a comment on our review post by clicking here. This giveaway is open to all readers worldwide.

Today’s Blog Hop

By now most of you know how this works, but if not, here are some guidelines:

  • The link to add your selfie to the hop is below.
  • You also will find below the code to use if you’d like the hop to appear on your blog.
  • You do not need to post on Sundays to join.
  • The hop remains open for entries through Thursday midnight.
  • Please be so kind as to display our badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head.

That’s it for us today. We look forward to seeing all our loyal supporters hopping. And remember, invite your friends. Newbies are always welcome.