March 2023

A RARE TORTIE SIGHTING

Sunday Selfies: #448

I have my paws crossed that my mom remembers to post this, as you don’t get to see me that often. I cannot believe that she didn’t post Cooper Murphy and Audrey’s Caturday Art until a few minutes ago. She just totally forgot. I really hope after you add your selfie to our hop that you’ll visit yesterday’s post and leave us a comment.

Without further preamble, here’s my rare tortie sighting selfie.

 

Portrait of a tortoise shell cat surrounded by a brown scalloped-edge frame embossed with with light bronze flowers and leaves.

 

Do you like it? Did I do a good job? The last time I was on the blog was January 14. I have started spending a lot more time with mom, usually when she’s busy trying to work on the computer. I wonder if I’m the reason she forgot to publish. I know I was in her lap last night. You can see her hand on my head. I was getting scritches when I snapped this. If the late post was my fault, I am sorry; though, scritches are more important than posting!

Hopping Time

Now that I’ve shared my selfie, it’s your turn. I know all of you get more practice at this than I do, so I am expecting some pretty great selfies. And I really hope you’ll invite some of your friends to join the fun. We always welcome newbies and the opportunity to make new friends. Remember, all anipals are welcome regardless of species. And if you don’t post on Sundays, that’s not a problem. Our hop is open through Thursday.

Thanks so much for following and supporting us and for joining our hop.

Now go enjoy an easy Sunday.

Purrs & paw-pats, Astrid

 



COLORFUL TABBIES

I just discovered that I did not post this last night.
Hope you will still check it out!

Caturday Art

Cooper Murphy and Audrey were sharing each other’s company on the bed when I was able to snap just one photo prior to Audrey getting up and leaving.

 

Large ginger tabby cat and small brown tabby kitten in rainbow colored art with a navy and aqua frame with an aqua bow in the upper right.

 

To create today’s art, I used the Miami Aliens effect from Painnt and added the Flux filter from piZap at 40 percent. The frame is from favpng.

Here’s puzzle for you as well.

preview110pieceCats in Flux

Cooper and Audrey will be participating in the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty. You can do the same by clicking on her badge.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

I am totally shocked, but I actually know who will be your host tomorrow. In fact she’s already taken her selfie. It’s Astrid, and she didn’t have much of a choice, as she was sitting on my chest at the time. She does look pretty great, so the two of us hope you’ll drop by to see her and hopefully you’ll hop with us as well.

Have a terrific Caturday.

 

CELEBRATING ST. GERTRUDE WITH AUDREY

Celebrating St. Gertrude

Painting of St. Gertrude of Nivelles in a garden holding and orange tabby cat with a white cat and tuxedo cat at her feet.

 

March 17 is not only the feast day of St. Patrick but also the feast day of another important saint. St. Gertrude of Nivelles, who lived from 621 to 659, is the patron saint of gardeners, travelers, widows, recently deceased people, the sick, the poor and the mentally ill. People call upon St. Gertrude for protection from mice, rats, fever, insanity and mental illness. But first and foremost, St. Gertrude is the patron saint of cats and cat lovers. So while you’re imbibing in a green beer or two today, give a toast to St. Gertrude.

Feline Friday

Small brown tabby cat looking out the window.

 

Do you think Audrey was looking in the garden for St. Gertrude? Whatever she was watching—most likely a squirrel—she definitely was engrossed.

Audrey also will be participating in the Feline Friday blog hop hosted by messymimi’s meanderings. To participate click on the Feline Friday badge.

St. Patrick’s Day

Being one-half Irish, I didn’t want to ignore St. Patrick completely. So I have convinced Cooper Murphy to come by and dance a bit of a jig for you.

Ginger tabby cat dressed as a leprechaun.

 

Wishing all a Happy St. Gertrude’s &
St. Patrick’s Day

p.s. Sorry Kitties Blue and I didn’t do the Friendly Fill-Ins this week. Sometimes we just can’t find the right words.

 

 

SKY-HIGH INSANITY & THANKFULS

Thankful Thursday

I am starting off with thankfuls today, as my poem is truly lame.

Stinky is thankful for everyone who shared Periwinkle’s and his adventure on Tuesday.

 I am thankful for sun. Even if it is cold and windy, as it has been for a few days, the sun always puts me in a better mood.

I am particularly thankful for my friends. My friend of 39 years, Mary Jane, took me to lunch last week to celebrate my birthday. After we came home, she took a couple of selfies with Kitties Blue (Kizmet and Misty May). If you have been following us for a while, you may recall that Mary Jane was Mau’s human girlfriend.

College of selfies of a smiling lady with two cats...one a grey cat and one a tuxie.

 

Kitties Blue and I are thankful for each of you who follow and support us.

Thankful Thursday is a blog hop hosted by Brian. If you’d like to participate, post on your blog for what you are thankful, then click on his badge to go to his site and enter your link.

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

I almost didn’t have a poem for this week’s challenge, which is hosted by Angel Sammy and Teddy from Two Spoiled Cats. Just looking at the inspiration photo made me dizzy and nauseous, and I definitely couldn’t see a way to believably add one of Kitties Blue to it.

 

A girl on a high dive aboard a huge cruise ship.

 

I am not a fan of heights or crowds, so one would never find me on a huge cruise ship like this or on a sky-high diving board.

Sky-High Insanity

This is completely insane.
Even if I don’t break my neck,
I’ll never do it again.
Accepting the dare was foolish.
I just didn’t want to appear mulish
By refusing to take the chance
To prove I’m a total bad ass.

© Janet Buickerood Blue – 03/15/2023

 

If you’d like to try writing some poetry, check out Two Spoiled Cats (by clicking on the poetry badge) for next week’s inspiration photo. Please read Angel Sammy’s poem when you visit. He sends it to Teddy each week from the Rainbow Bridge, and I can guarantee you that it won’t be lame.

Thanks for joining us today. We’ll be back tomorrow with some fill-ins.

 

 

 

 

WINTER RETURNS: CATS HUDDLE

Wordless Wednesday

 

Three cats (a dilute tortoise shell, a gray tabby Manx and a tortie kitten) huddle together on a cold winter day.

 

Calista Jo, Sawyer and Audrey will be joining the Wordless Wednesday blog hop at Comedy Plus. To do the same, click on the WW badge.

Looking Back

Last week, I totally forgot to share a Looking Back post. My bad! The one I have selected for this week is from November 13, 2012, and is the perfect accompaniment to this post. It’s entitled, “Eight Seven-Cat Nights,” and is about eight days and nights with no heat. Kitties Blue and I hope you’ll check it out and leave us a comment on the post…even if you don’t enjoy it.

Thanks for joining us today!

 

THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CLXXVIII

Snow or Pie?

Stinky is excited for today’s adventure and hopes Periwinkle will enjoy it. He doesn’t have much time to fret about it, as Periwinkle comes flying out of the teleportation tunnel and into his waiting paws right on time. She’s out of breath but manages to say, “Wow the tunnel was fast today. I’m feeling a bit dizzy. Thanks for catching me.”

The two tabbies share some whisker kisses before Periwinkle runs to the window to look outside. “Where’s the snow? My mom told me you finally got your first snow of winter.”

Stinky replies, “I’m sorry but it has already melted. I don’t think we had even an inch.”

“Darn, I was hoping to see it,” exclaims Periwinkle. She then asks, “What’s the plan today if we aren’t going to play in the snow? Are we going to eat pie?”

Stinky giggles at this, as it is Pi Day*, and lots of people celebrate it by eating pie. Stinky tells Periwinkle that they may have pie later but his plan is for a walk in Vic Thomas Park, which is part of the city’s Roanoke Valley Greenway system. He explains that it’s just two blocks from the house but it’s super windy, so they’ll teleport there as they’ll be doing a lot of walking when they arrive. Not wanting to waste anytime, Stinky grabs their coats and hats and then takes Periwinkle’s paw and leads her back into the tunnel.

∗ Pi Day is an annual celebration of the mathematical constant π. Pi Day is observed on March 14 as 3, 1 and 4 are the first three significant figures of π. It was founded in 1988 by Larry Shaw, an employee of the Science Museum’s Exploratorium in San Francisco, California.

Vic Thomas Park

On arrival at the park, one of three (Vic Thomas Park, Wasena Park and Smith Park), which lie next to each other and the Roanoke River, Stinky asks Periwinkle if she remembers their last adventure at the river?

 

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats and standing on a bridge.

 

“Oh, Stinky, how could I forget. That’s when it was flooded, and we had fun canoeing with your dad’s help. The water was all the way to this bridge. It was fun but a little scary.”

“As that happened almost three years ago, let’s give our friends the link to that post, ‘A Day on The River,’ so they can check it out.

“Great idea, Stinky! Now that we’re here, what’s on the agenda?” asks Periwinkle.

Ann Davey Master Memorial Sculpture Garden

Stinky tells Periwinkle, “We are going to explore the Ann Davey Master Memorial Sculpture Garden.” He further explains that the goal of the project is to provide public art to blend with the park’s design. The intention is for it to represent Master’s commitment to the arts, as the former director of the Art Museum, as well as her dedication to the environment with the Clean Valley Council.

“Oh, I know what’s happening. You want to climb on the sculptures, don’t you? It will be like our ‘Elmwood Park Art Walk’ adventure when you climbed on those sculptures.”

“Well, maybe,” admits Stinky.

Calling the Flowers

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats with the sculpture of a girl kneeling with her head back and hands in the air, entitled, Calling the Flowers.

 

“See, I knew it. Don’t you dare actually climb up and get in her hand,” Periwinkle admonishes Stinky.

“Gee, Periwinkle, you’re no fun. I guess I’ll just tell our readers about the sculpture. It’s called Calling the Flowers. It was sculpted by local writer and artist, Lawrence Reid Bechtel. I think our readers might enjoy checking out his website here.”

When Stinky gets down, the two tabbies head back on the path until they arrive at the next sculpture.

In Flux

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats with a sculpture of made of recycled light poles and entitled, In Flux.

 

Stinky tells Periwinkle that the sculpture is called, In Flux, and was created in 2010 by Bland Hoke and Matt Rink (All Creations) from recycled lamp poles. The tabbies spend some time exploring it, and Periwinkle is delighted when Stinky decides to remain on the ground with her.

When they come to the next sculpture, Stinky hops right up on the rock where it sits. Periwinkle rolls her eyes but jumps up on the other supporting rock. She asks, “Is this supposed to be an animal?”

Rigsby the Raccoon

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats with the sculpture of Rigsby the Raccoon made from tires pulled from the Roanoke River in Virginia.

 

“Yes, his name is Rigsby the Raccoon. Polly Branch created him in 2020 from tires that were discarded in the river. Rigsby is the mascot of the Clean Valley Council.”

Periwinkle points to another sculpture and asks Stinky about it.

Annie’s Peace

Sculpture of an orb with wings entitled Annie's Dream.

 

“That’s called, Annie’s Peace. It was sculpted by famous, local artist, Betty Branch. It’s in memory of Ann Davey Master.”

“It’s beautiful, Stinky. Thanks for not climbing the pole and getting on top,” Periwinkle says as she squeezes his paw. Stinky continues to hold Periwinkle’s paw and tells her he wants to show her one more thing that isn’t part of the Sculpture garden.

Bridge Mural

After a short walk, the tabbies find themselves under a bridge. “Stinky, this is so colorful and beautiful,”

 

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats under a bridge with a colorful mural.

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing winter coats and hats under a bridge with a colorful mural.

 

Stinky tells Periwinkle that the bridge is going to be replaced beginning in the spring, and he doesn’t know what will happen to the mural then. “However, there are murals all along the Greenway. Dad says he’ll take us out on his bike when the weather warms up so we can see them,” Stinky explains.

“That will be really cool, Stinky. Speaking of cool, I’m getting sort of cold. Are we ready to go back to your house?”

“Yep, let’s head back to our tunnel. I have a surprise at home,” Stinky replies.

Periwinkle gives Stinky a quizzical look, but he doesn’t say any more.

Pi Day

When they arrive at Stinky’s, he takes Periwinkle’s coat and hat and hands her her apron and chef’s hat. “Does this mean what I think, Stinky?Are we going to make a pie?” asks Periwinkle.

“Yep, let’s go!”

 

Two cartoon tabby cats wearing chef's hats and aprons, sitting at a kitchen counter with baking supplies for Pi Day.

 

Periwinkle and Stinky get busy making a tuna pie. While it’s baking, they clean up the kitchen. And when it comes out of the oven, they share it with all of Stinky’s fursibs. There’s lots of pushing and shoving among all the Kitties Blue to get the biggest piece. Audrey, aka The Hoover, is especially aggressive. But everyone enjoys their fare share.

Finally it’s time for Periwinkle to head home. The tabbies spend about a half hour whisker kissing and paw hugging. Then Periwinkle enters the teleportation tunnel, and with a wave and whoosh she is gone. Stinky heads to the bedroom to nap and dream of Periwinkle.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be joining the Happy Tuesday blog top at Comedy Plus. Click on the badge below to do the same.

 

SPARKS: BE PREPARED FOR SURPRISES

Sparks

 

Two tabby cats, one brown and one grey lying together with the quote: "One must be prepared for some surprises in life - some things will work out your way, some won't. You just have to keep working and do things to the best of your ability." by Fawad Khan.

 

This photo may not be the perfect accompaniment to today’s Spark; though, Sawyer was surprised when Audrey joined him for his nap. And he appears less than happy with the situation. When I selected the Spark I didn’t have a photo in mind, except maybe the following one.

 

Yard, tree, birdbath, umbrella and flag with a light covering of snow.

 

Though a “wintery mix” was the forecast for Saturday night, I was surprised to wake up to this Sunday morning. This was our first snow of winter, and as you can see, it didn’t amount to much. There are blooming daffodils in the photo. Of course, “working to do things to the best of one’s ability” has no relationship to this photo.

The author of today’s Spark, Fawad Khan, is a 41-year-old Pakistani actor, producer, screenwriter, model and singer.

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.”

PetBiz Collaborative

I chose this Spark because it speaks to me, and it has everything to do with “working to do things to the best of one’s ability.” This past week I have been trying to create reels for Instagram. Though I had done a few in the past, this was a project set up by a group, the PetBiz Collaborative, of which I am a member. It has been an incredibly difficult challenge, and one to which I will be putting in some additional effort. If you’d like to see what I have accomplished, click on the Instagram-logo-bearing mouse on the sidebar. And if you are interested in finding out more about the collaborative, click on that link.

Awww Mondays

Audrey and Sawyer will be participating in the Awww Mondays blog hop at Comedy Plus. If you’d like to do the same, click on the Awww badge.

The Adventures of Periwinkle & Stinky

Those two fun-loving tabbies, Periwinkle & Stinky, will be setting off on a new adventure tomorrow. You’ll be able to find them right here, as it is Stinky’s turn to plan their adventure. Adventures are more fun when you join in, so they’ll be waiting for you.

p.s. This is our 3,200th post.

BUSTER THE LONGHORN BULL

Sunday Selfies: Week #447

Today’s selfie is of longhorn, Buster the Bull, from Steele’s Tavern, Virginia. Actually, we don’t know his name but decided he should have one.

 

Selfie of a brown and white longhorn bull in a green field in a rustic, hardwood frame with ribbon and ricrac bows with button.

 

When he asked if he could share a selfie with you, we didn’t think we could refuse. Those horns look very scary.

Did you know that Periwinkle & Stinky visited the longhorns on one of their adventures? It was July 14, 2020, and also Cow Appreciation Day. If you’d like to see lots more longhorns as well as Stinky and Periwinkle in their cow headdresses, click on the link. They look totally adorable.

Whether you have taken a selfie today or you have enlisted a surrogate, we sure hope you’ll join the Sunday Selfies blog hop. Did you notice we are getting close to that 450 hop milestone? Take advantage of these last couple of preceding Sundays to purrfect your selfie skills.

If you haven’t done it yet, also take a little time to spring your clocks forward an hour. Purrsonally, we hate this messing around with the time. We get totally confused about when it is time to eat. Our mom, on the other hand, who always preferred standard time has decided she likes the longer hours of light during daylight saving time.

Thanks for joining us. Have a terrific and easy Sunday.

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

 



CAT TREE MISCHIEF

Caturday Art

Art featuring two cats getting into mischief on a cat tree.

 

Today’s art features Cooper Murphy and Kizmet getting up to some mischief on the cat tree. Cooper Murphy had been happily curled up in the top perch when Kizmet decided it was time to pester him.

As always, I used the Painnt app to create my art. This is the Pastel Butter effect. I did slightly tinker with the color and settings. The flower border is from favpng.

Of course, I have included a puzzle.


preview110piece
Pastel Cats

Cooper and Kizmet will be joining Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. If you’d like to do the same or just check out art created by your fellow bloggers, click on her badge.

Caturday Art badge with face of green-eyed tabby cat.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

It is hard to believe that not only is it time for Sunday Selfies again but also daylight saving time. So don’t forget to set your clocks ahead an hour before you go to bed tonight.

I don’t know about the furries at your house, but Kitties Blue will definitely be looking for breakfast and dinner an hour earlier according to the time on our clocks. Their tummy clocks know exactly what time it is!

Anyhoo…don’t forget to snap your selfie so you can join our hop tomorrow. Kitties Blue and all your other friends will be right here looking for you. We will be having a guest host, and you definitely don’t want to miss seeing him.

Have a terrific Caturday.

 

ANOTHER SUNNY DAY ON THE CATIO

Feline Friday

 

Grey Manx tabby cat sleeping on a perch on a catio.

 

Kitties Blue, including Sawyer, continue to enjoy the catio during our unseasonably warm weather. According to one of our local meteorologists, our current temperatures are about three weeks ahead of where they normally would be this time of year.

Sawyer will be participating in the Feline Friday blog hop at messymimi’s meanderings. To participate click on the Feline Friday badge.

Friendly Fill-Ins

Time again to let you know a bit more about Kitties Blue and myself by completing the weekly fill-ins. Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Lorianne (Four-Legged Furballs) host the Friendly Fill-Ins blog hop. On Thursday they each select two sentences to be filled in by hop participants, and you can find those on both blogs. Enter the hop by clicking on the graphic.

Sawyer assisted with the fill-ins again this week. I can always count on him when I need some help. We both used teal italics for our fill-ins. Any explanatory information is in parentheses.

1. Be sure to always be kind because there are too many people who cannot be bothered.

2. Sawyer: I would never give my treats away to any of my fursibs. (Audrey, aka The Hoover, however, is always trying to steal them.)

3. I got these beautiful chakra stones healing crystals for my birthday from one of my dear friends.

4. Just because I can’t carry a tune doesn’t mean I don’t like to sing.