June 2022

CELEBRATING WORLD’S BEST CAT DAD

Sunday Selfies: Week #409

We imagine many of you are celebrating the World’s Best Cat Dad today. We are fairly certain each of you who have a human dad consider him to be the World’s Best. And we believe that is exactly how it should be. So here’s best wishes for Father’s Day to all the cat dads (as well as all dads) but especially ours.

cat dad selfie: Portrait of Cat Dad Tom surrounded by heart-shaped portraits of the seven Kitties Blue

Thanks Dad Tom for taking such exceptionally good care of us. We love you!

Hopping Time

Now it’s time for you to share your selfie, one of your dad or maybe the two of you together. If you and your dad are celebrating and do not have time to join us today, we totally understand. You can hop over anytime between now and Thursday.

But whatever you do, make certain you give your dad extra cuddles, purrs and love today. That’s exactly what we plan to do!

Purrs & paw pats, Misty May, Astrid, Lisbeth, Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy, Sawyer & Kizmet

THE CAT ON DAD TOM’S HEAD

Caturday Art

With tomorrow being Father’s Day, I think the photo I selected for today’s art is purrfect.

cat on head: gray cat sits on back of chair above man's head in a Caturday Art portrait.

That is Kizmet perched in her usual spot on the top of the chair behind her dad’s head. It is one of her favorite places for watching the birds and other outside critters. If you missed our previous post by the same name, you can check it out here.

To create the art, I used the Cincelado effect from Painnt and increased the contrast. I then added an overlay from piZap and a frame from favpng.

Kizmet and her dad are participating in the blog hop hosted by Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty. If you’d like to do the same, click on Athena’s badge.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

As mentioned, tomorrow is Father’s Day, and I would not be surprised to find Kitties Blue have planned something special to celebrate. But, as usual, you will have to pop over to see what it might be. And, of course, you are encouraged to do a little something extra for your dad. But remember, nothing is ever mandatory in order to participate. We simply want you to have fun, and if possible, make some new friends.

So, please join Kitties Blue tomorrow. Seeing your happy and adorable faces is the highlight of their week.

June 18, 2022 by Janet Blue Kitties Blue 14

FLASHBACK FRIDAY WITH ANGEL MAU X TWO

Feline/Friendship Friday

I do not have new photos of any of the Kitties Blue to share. So, I decided to dive into the archives and do a Flashback Friday photo from this same date, June 17. The year was 2016.

Angel Mau X two: tuxedo cat (in a photo from 2016) sits on counter. His reflection shows in nearby cell phone.

It is the dashingly handsome Mau X two. If you look closely, you will see his reflection in the cell phone on the counter. He and Allie would have celebrated their sixth anniversary next month, and Mau would have turned 18 in August. Instead he’s been at the Bridge for almost two years. I miss him everyday.

Angel Mau will be participating in both the Feline Friday and Friendship Friday blog hops at Comedy Plus and Create With Joy respectively.

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #216

The other Friday blog hop Kitties Blue and I try to participate in each week is Friendly Fill-Ins, hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Lorianne (Four-Legged Furballs). If you’d like to participate, you can find the four sentences to be filled in each Thursday on their blogs.

This week I got a little help from Sawyer and his cartoon counterpart, Stinky. As usual, the three of us used teal italics to fill in. Any additional information is in parentheses.

1. Sawyer: A product I would endorse is Temptations™.

2. Stinky: If I had a boat, I would name it Periwinkle after my beautiful girlfriend.

3. When I moved from Santa Barbara, CA, to Kansas City, MO, at age 23, where the only person I knew was Tom, was one of the first times I truly felt like a responsible adult. (I drove there with a girl friend and everything I owned 14 months before Tom and I were married.)

4. I struggle with change most especially when it relates to losing one of the Kitties Blue.

To join the hop, click on the fill-ins badge.

We look forward to seeing you all again tomorrow when we’ll share some Caturday Art.

June 17, 2022 by Janet Blue Angel Cat Feline Friday Flashback Friday Friendly Friday Fill-Ins Friendship Friday 13

SAWYER’S SILLY POEM & THANKFULS

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

Once again Angel Sammy and Teddy (Two Spoiled Cats) came up with a doozy of an inspiration photo for today’s poetry challenge. And, once again, I have added at cat. Sawyer is this week’s lucky participant and this silly poem is written in his voice.

Silly Poem photo of grey tabby cat (Sawyer) sitting on a woman's lap next to a yeti-like creature aboard a subway.

The Stinky Subway Passenger

This guy’s fur smells really gross.
Someone needs to squirt him with a hose.
He’s obviously not self-cleaning like a cat,
Otherwise his fur would not be one huge mat.
Whoever let him on the subway
Should be docked a month’s pay.
I’m not sure I can hold my breath much longer,
And the smell just keeps getting stronger.
I can’t believe my fastidious mistress pretends not to notice
The extent of this guy’s malodorousness!
Thank goodness our stop is coming up soon,
As a swear I am just about to swoon,
Possibly even hurl my lunch on his feet
And hence need to beat a hasty retreat.
But wait, is Mr. Smelly getting off now?
Well, thanks, hip hip hooray and meow!

So, another poem completed. Sawyer and I hope you got a bit of a giggle out of it. If you’d like to give poetry writing a whirl, click on the poetry badge at the left. You’ll be whisked over to Two Spoiled Cats where you will find next week’s inspiration photo. You’ll also be able to read Angel Sammy’s poem for this week as well as find links to poems by other bloggers in the Comments.

Thankful Thursday

Kitties Blue are thankful the catio re-staining is almost complete. If you missed yesterday’s post, “Cooper Murphy, I’m Bored,” which was Kizmet’s response to the catio being off limits, click on the post title. It is hotter than a lit firecracker here, and it’s not even summer yet. Cats, however, can manage temperatures up to about 100 degrees. And, our catio is under roof, shaded by a big tree and the house and includes a water fountain and extra large water bowl. And Kitties Blue can and do pop into the house through the cat door as often as they like. So, heat or no heat, they are anxious to have access restored.

All the kitties and I are thankful for your support, following and friendship.

Thankful Thursday is a blog hop hosted by Brian. To visit Brian and participate in the hop, enter the URL for his blog in your browser.

June 16, 2022 by Janet Blue Poetry Thankful Thursday Thoroughly Poetic Thursday 13

COOPER MURPHY, I’M BORED!

A Few Words Wednesday

bored cat: Gray cat perches on cat tree and looks down on orange tabby cat in an orange tent.

The catio has been closed; it’s being re-stained. Kitties Blue are displeased!

Cooper Murphy and Kizmet are popping over to Comedy Plus to participate in the Wordless Wednesday blog hop.

June 15, 2022 by Janet Blue Wordless Wednesday 12

INVITE ENTHUSIASM INTO YOUR LIFE

Sparks

When I started thinking about a Spark for today the word, enthusiasm, popped into my mind. It is often hard these days to become enthusiastic about anything. When I found this quote from Dale Carnegie, I knew it was just the reminder I needed to get off my @$$ and get excited about life again. After all, I certainly am not getting younger.

INVITE ENTHUSIASM SPARK INTO YOUR LIFE: tongue out grey cat plays with you and presents quote from Dale Carnegie: Today is life-the only life you are sure of. Make the most of today. Get interested in something. Shake yourself awake. Develop a hobby. Let the winds of enthusiasm sweep through you. Live today with gusto.

I selected Kizmet as my representation of enthusiasm. As the youngster among the Kitties Blue, it is not a surprise she’s the one who gets most excited about things she encounters. In today’s blurry photo she is playing with a toy from one of the monthly Cat Lady Boxes. She knows when the box arrives there are two cat toys inside, and she always grabs one as soon as the box is opened. As with this one, she usually doesn’t even give me the opportunity to take the tag off.

I hope each of you who stop by find something to be enthusiastic about today.

Sparks is the creation of Annie from McGuffy’s Reader. Sparks began as a blog hop, created by our friend. Annie stated when she began Sparks, “I believe we are meant to be lights in this world. If we allow our light to shine, we can see where we are going. It is then that we can begin to truly see each other clearly. Together, we can light up the entire world.”

Awww Mondays

Kizmet is participating in the Awww Mondays blog hop at Comedy Plus. You can meet her there by clicking on the Awww badge.

The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky

Your favorite cartoon tabbies, Periwinkle and Stinky, will be taking their next adventure tomorrow. These two active youngsters have barrels of fun when they’re together. One of the best things is that they enjoy taking you along with them, so please plan to meet them over at Friends Furever tomorrow!

June 13, 2022 by Janet Blue Awww Mondays Sparks 15

ALLURING LISBETH

Sunday Selfies: Week #408

alluring Lisbeth: framed selfie of a tuxedo cat

Yesterday, I mentioned I was hoping to convince Lisbeth to be your host today. When I asked her, it turned out she was amenable to the suggestion. But with one caveat: She was not leaving the cat tree to do it. That wasn’t a problem for me and obviously not for her. She took a terrific selfie.

Lisbeth invites you to join her on our Sunday Selfies blog hop. The more quickly you get your selfie snapped, the more time you’ll have for a nice, easy Sunday. Nonetheless, if you cannot join Lisbeth today, she’ll be right here waiting for you through Thursday.

On behalf of all the Kitties Blue and me, Lisbeth thanks you for your following, support and friendship. The fact that this hop has been going on every Sunday for nearly eight years seems impossible. Thank you for making it happen!

June 12, 2022 by Janet Blue Sunday Selfies 26

KRAZY KALEIDOSCOPIC KIZMET

Caturday Art

Krazy Kaleidoscopic Kizmet: Artistic photo of grey cat

Kizmet is the subject of today’s Caturday Art with Cooper Murphy’s bum and tail photobombing her from behind on the right. You cannot tell in this version of the photo but she had something like a piece of twine wrapped around her head, which is why Dad Tom snapped her photo.

To create the art, I used the Strawberry Terrance effect from Painnt to which I increased the saturation. To that I added the Perplex filter from piZap at 70 percent. The frame is from favpng.

I made a puzzle as well.

130CatCaturday Art Grey

Kizmet will be popping over to Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s blog to join her Caturday Art hop. To participate in the fun, click on Athena’s badge.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

Another week has sped past, and it’s time to start thinking about getting your selfie snapped in preparation for tomorrow’s hop. As is usually the case, the identity of your host is unknown. That means, you’ll need to join us tomorrow to find out just who it is. I am hoping to convince Lisbeth to step up, as she has not posted a selfie since mid-April. Anyhoo, all the Kitties Blue will be looking for you tomorrow in all your adorableness.

June 11, 2022 by Janet Blue Caturday Art Blog Hop Jigsaw Puzzle 13

ALL MOUSED OUT

Feline/Friendship Friday

Two photos of a belly-up napping (all moused out) ginger tabby cat with iPad showing Mouse for Cats game.

By the looks of Cooper Murphy, chasing a computer-generated mouse is exhausting. He claims to have just enough energy left over to join the blog hops: Feline Friday at Comedy Plus and the Friendship Friday at Create With Joy.

If you’d like to see another of Cooper Murphy’s mousing around photos, check out the post, “Feigning Disinterst to Fool Mouse.”

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #215

I had to get a little help this week with #2. All seven Kitties Blue agreed on what they’d like to see as a reality show. All eight of us used teal italics for the fill-ins.

1. If my life could have a rewind or pause button, I would choose to rewind until a time when Fiona, Lily Olivia, Mau and Giulietta were all alive.

2. Kitties Blue: I We think a reality show about Cats Gone Wild would be interesting.

3. If my life had a soundtrack, it would include “California Girls” by the Beach Boys.

4. My personal style could best be described as super casual at home and more upscale than the average population of our area when I go out any place; although, my clothes always have a generous amount of cat fur.

If you’d like to participate and link to the hop, click on the Fill-Ins badge.

That’s it for today. We’ll see you all tomorrow with some Caturday Art.

June 10, 2022 by Janet Blue Feline Friday Friendly Friday Fill-Ins Friendship Friday Kitties Blue 15

PETTING IS FREE

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

The Two Spoiled Cats, Angel Sammy and Teddy, provided us with a particularly amusing, inspirational photo this week. I did my usual and added one of the Kitties Blue to that photo.

Petting is free: Photo of three frumpy and grumpy old ladies playing bingo with the addition of an orange tabby cat being petted on the stomach by the middle lady.

It’s difficult to tell, as Cooper Murphy has spread himself across the table, but these ladies are playing bingo, which I took into account in my poem. Unfortunately, it isn’t much of a poem.

Petting is Free

Don’t look so grumpy ladies.
It’s just a silly bingo game.
I know you can’t resist my floofy tummy,
And you won’t lose any money.
Petting is free unlike those bingo cards.
So get your fingers busy; make me purr—
I promise to put smiles on your faces,
And your bingo addiction I’ll cure.

If you’d like to write a bit of poetry, check out Two Spoiled Cats for next week’s inspiration photo. Please make certain you read Angel Sammy’s poem when you visit. He transmits it to Teddy each week from the Rainbow Bridge, and he is an accomplished poet. Click on the poetry badge to go there now.

Thankful Thursday

Each Thursday Kitties Blue and I also like to shares the things for which we are thankful, as part of the Thankful Thursday blog hop hosted by Brian.

First of all, Stinky asked me to thank those, on Periwinkle’s and his behalf, who take part in their weekly adventures. If you are not one of their regular readers, check out their Tuesday post. They visited Normandy, France, to commemorate D-Day.

Cooper Murphy is thankful that I finally got my act together and helped him complete his Cat Scout craft project for May. We made cat planters out of soda bottles. We made a small Kizmet and a large Mau.

Admittedly, I am not a very good artist or painter. Mau’s nose and mouth should have been a half to a full inch higher. However, I do think it resembles him. Both Cooper and I are thankful to Angel Cat Scout Sammy P’s mom, Ellen (15 And Meowing), for providing the projects and instruction each month.

Finally, Kitties Blue and I are grateful to all our friends and everyone who follows and supports us!

We are participating in the Thankful Thursday blog hop. You can do the same by visiting Brian’s blog. The URL is on his badge.

June 9, 2022 by Janet Blue Cat Scouts Thankful Thursday Thoroughly Poetic Thursday 11

YOU
For Fiona

It seems like only yesterday…
You were just a kitten.
When I saw your pleading look,
I was completely smitten.

Now at only six years old,
You are getting ready to leave,
Soon you will have your wings.
I’ve already started to grieve.

You’ve fought hard for the past year,
And I’m not ready to say good-bye.
I can’t imagine you not in my life
I am so sad…today I had to cry.

I am grateful and blessed
For my six years with you.
You’ll live in my heart forever.
You’re one of the best ever Kitties Blue.

YESTERDAY

Many yesterdays have passed since
You gained your angel wings. Today
Is six months since you left us behind
To remember and mourn. Our hearts
Continue to hurt, and we miss
You as much as the day you left.
Giulietta whined from the catio
Yesterday as I worked in the yard.
I know you put her up to it. That
Was your way of getting me to,
Allow you to join me as I
Gardened. You were there with me
In spirit. With every meow
I thought of you and how much I miss
Your sweet face and disposition.
In these past few months, many friends
Have traveled your same path in your
paw-steps. I am certain you were
Waiting to greet them with purrs and hugs.
I pray you and your friends are laughing,
Frolicking and having fun together.
Picturing that makes me smile, but
Does not lessen my sadness at your
No longer being here to snuggle
And receive our love, care and kisses.
Fiona, please do not ever forget
You are still and always will be loved.

ONE YEAR MISSING YOU

One year has passed since you flew away,
And I still think of you everyday.
I see your sweet face in my mind’s eye
And wish we’d never had to say good-bye.
It’s nice you’ve sent us kitties needing a family,
But my dearest love, we are now at capacity.
You thought it would take more than one cat
To take your place in our habitat.
We love Cooper Murphy and baby Sawyer dearly
But thinking either could replace you makes me teary.
You were one-of-a-kind and will stay in my heart
Until the day I join you and we’re no longer apart.
When once again I can hold you in my arms
And revel in all your love and feline charms.
Together with you and all who have passed.
I will spend eternity contemplating how blessed
I was to share my life with my furry children,
Each and every one of you one-in-a billion.

UNTIL

I miss you each day.
Until we meet in heaven,
The pain will remain.

ONE OF A KIND

I don’t know how to say good-bye.
I thought you were invincible; though,
You used up many of your nine lives.
You ruled us all with an iron paw;
Never took “no” for an answer
And always got your way.
If not, you’d bark to signal your
Displeasure and sometimes raise a paw.
I always joked that you were bi-polar.
When I told people you were a calico
They immediately understood what I meant.
Today was unnaturally quiet in the house.
Can a home seem empty with eight cats?
I will miss waking up at night to find you
Sitting next to me and staring at me.
I will miss you yelling at us as you did
When you wanted breakfast and dinner.
I will miss watching you lounging and snoozing
On the porch settee on a warm afternoon.
But most of all I will miss your kisses!
When kitten Sawyer befriended you,
We suspect you were imparting your
Wisdom and secrets for controlling us.
Time will tell if he was a good listener.
But whatever he may have learned,
Neither Sawyer nor any other cat
Can or will replace you in our hearts.
Lily Olivia, you were one-of-a-kind.