Astrid & Lisbeth

LISBETH’S BEST BIRTHDAY EVER

Tuxie Tuesday

I have the most thoughtful and generous boyfriend in the entire universe. For my birthday last week, Charles sent me a big box of goodies. And he even sent some toys for the other Kitties Blue. Here are a few photos of me investigating everything.

Check out the super cool fish bed and how adorable I look in it. Astrid, however, thinks all beds belong to her, and she demanded a try out before I had the opportunity. She got her cooties all over it! I snuggled in when she got out. Afterwards I had to give myself a good bath to get rid of those tortie cooties.

Here’s the proof of her cheekiness!

Astrid’s bed hogging aside, I am such a fortunate kitty to have the most wonderful boyfriend in the world. I love him very much.

Purrs and paw-pats, Lisbeth (with kisses for Charles)

p.s. Isn’t he handsome?!

HAPPY 7TH BIRTHDAY ASTRID & LISBETH

Birthday Edition: Friendly Fill-Ins

Friendly Fill-Ins is a blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Lorianne (Four-Legged Furballs). Sentences to be completed can be found on their blogs each Thursday. To join the hop, click on the link to either of their blogs.

As Astrid and Lisbeth are celebrating their seventh birthdays today, the remainder of the Kitties Blue crew decided they could complete this week’s fill-ins. Their completions are in teal italics.

Lisbeth: 1. I am going to give Calista Jo a great big smack right into next year the next time she bothers me. She got all up in my face yesterday, and I had to retreat UTB.

Astrid: 2. I want to be more assertive and not let Misty May bully me.

Astrid: 3. Once in a blue moon, I enjoy getting in bed with Mom in the morning and nuzzling into her neck.

Lisbeth: 4. I have a large collection of toys; though, I do have to share them with the entire Kitties Blue crew. I did, however, get a big box in the mail yesterday from my sweet and thoughtful boyfriend Charles. I get to open it today, and I do not intend to share whatever I find inside.

Celebrating

I absolutely love seeing these kitten photos taken of the girls while they were in foster care. Lisbeth’s name at the time was Cary and Astrid was Tabitha.

As he does for all his fursibs, Mau made a cake for the girls in his Cat Scout Bake Shop. Please join us for a slice or two as well as some nip bubbly and regular nip.

Thank You

The girls received a beautiful birthday card from Pipo, Minko and their mom, Ingrid (Meezer’s Mews and Terrieristical Woofs). Astrid and Lisbeth are sending their sincere thanks for the remembrance.

And finally, we are joining the Feline Friday blog hop at Comedy Plus. Click on their badge to join us there.

August 17, 2018 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Birthday Friendly Friday Fill-Ins 27

SISTERS’ GOTCHA DAY CELEBRATED IN ART

Caturday Art

Last week baby Lisbeth had the spotlight for our Caturday Art. At the time she told you it was close to the date of our Gotcha Day in 2011. Well we popped up on Dad’s Facebook page yesterday, the 13th…our official Gotcha Day. We don’t really celebrate our Gotcha Day, as Mom and Dad know the date of our birthday. Mom decided, however, she would use that photo of us for today’s art.

We are not sure what we think of this. Lisbeth looks totally evil. Even though she isn’t always the sweetest of cats, this creation definitely doesn’t do her any favors. I think maybe Mom should have totally gone Halloween with this and given Lisbeth a witch’s hat, but I had no say in the matter.

To create this “art,” if you can call it that, Mom used Pixlr, piZap and Picasa. I’ll admit she didn’t have the best photo to start.

Neither of us look very happy, or we were extremely exhausted. And check out those ears! We both are very happy to have grown into them.

We are entering Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. To join and/or find links to other art creations, click on Athena’s badge.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

Yep…it’s almost time to slap a smile on your face and snap a selfie for tomorrow’s hop. Who will be stalked, bribed or bamboozled into being your host is anybody’s guess.

We were delighted to see so many back on the hop last week. Mom didn’t do a very good job of taking us visiting last week, but life is settling down around here, and we are getting back on track. Thanks for being so patient with us.

Purrs and paw-pats, Astrid

October 14, 2017 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Caturday Art Blog Hop Gotcha Day Kitty Written Blog Sisters 23

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?

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

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.

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

August 22, 2017 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Birthday Giveaway Kitty Written Blog 20

THANK YOU, FILL-INS & GIVEAWAYS

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #67

It’s Friday again. Funny how that continues to happen each week. The only way I can keep track of what day of the week we are on is by which post we have to write. Even then I occasionally get messed up. Anyhoo, if it is Friday, it must be time for fill-ins. Each week, Annie (McGuffy’s Reader) and Ellen (15 And Meowing) each select two sentences for us to complete.

Kitties Bue let me complete all of them this week, as they have never been to school, like the catio better than any room in the house, and have never visited any place in our area but the vet, and they surely wouldn’t recommend that to anyone.

This is a blog hop. To enter click on the fill-ins badge. You will be whisked away to Annie’s blog, where you can enter the link to your post.

My completions, as they are each week, are in teal italics.

1. If someone were visiting my area, I would recommend a visit to the Mill Mountain Star. You can read more about it on our posts, Sharkie & Blue Visit the Star and Come Fly with Me for Sammy.

2. My favorite room in my home is the kitchen. After waiting more than 25 years, we re-invented it about six years ago. It is where we all spend the most time.

3. Back-to-school time makes me think of how I always wanted to wear new school clothes for the first day of school, but it was always too hot. I would end up roasting in a wool skirt and sweater and regret my decision.

4. My favourite year of school was probably third grade, as that is when I discovered I liked to write. I have been doing it ever since.

Thank You from Astrid & Lisbeth

Astrid and Lisbeth would like to thank everyone who came by yesterday to wish them a happy birthday. They especially want to thank Lisbeth’s boyfriend Charles for the beautiful e-cards he sent (a separate one for each girl). He also sent a box of goodies. The girls will share about that tomorrow.

They received another gorgeous card as well. This one is from one of the Three Gingersnaps, Teddy (aka Butter Bean). It features their favorite colors.

Still Time to Enter our Two Giveaways

In honor of their birthday, Astrid and Lisbeth are having a giveaway to include some items of swag from the BlogPaws Conference as well as some The Cat on My Head goodies. If you’d like an opportunity to win this giveaway, please leave a comment on the girls’ birthday post, Astrid & Lisbeth Are Birthday Girls, prior to 5 p.m. ET on Monday, August 21. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced the following day.

Our second giveaway is for the gorgeous 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 also will end on Monday at the same time as the birthday giveaway. This giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. This winner also will be selected using Random.org and announced the following day.

See everyone again tomorrow for Caturday Art.

August 18, 2017 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Birthday Friendly Friday Fill-Ins Giveaway 12

ASTRID & LISBETH ARE BIRTHDAY GIRLS

Birthday Girls

Where does the time go? Astrid and Lisbeth were just kittens when this blog began. Though Astrid still looks like a kitten (compared to some of the bruisers among Kitties Blue) and can scream like a two-year-old, they are all grown up! Today, they celebrate their sixth birthday. The birthday card from me shows them then and now.

Of course, our resident baker, Mauricio, has whipped up a birthday confection for his sisters. Please join us for a piece of cake in celebration.

The girls received this lovely birthday card from the always thoughtful and kind, Pipo, Angel Minko, Mr. Jack Freckles and Mom Ingrid. Both girls send kitty kisses of appreciation to each of them.

As this is Thoroughly Poetic Thursday, I promised to write them a poem.

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

Birthday Poem for Astrid & Lisbeth

Nearly six years have come and gone,
Since you became part of Kitties Blue.
Two kittens so devoted to each other,
Side-by-side and stuck like glue.

To see you together now is a treat.
You’ve gone your separate ways—
Personalities divergent and unique.
Never getting together to snuggle or play.

When we see you near each other,
Lounging and snoozing on the cat tree,
We wonder if we are dreaming
Or if sisters again you will decide to be.

No matter what the future brings you,
We pledge our care and love forever.
As members of the Kitties Blue clan,
You are two of our special treasures.

Our poem is part of Angel Sammy and Teddy’s Thoroughly Poetic Thursday. Todays prompt letter is “J” and prompt words are 1) Juicy, 2) Jump, 3) Jungle and 4) Jealous. As you can see, we went our own way this week; though, writing about Astrid and Lisbeth, I could probably have selected jealous.

If you’d like to see what Sammy selected to write about this week as well as find links to other poems, click on his badge.

Thankful Thursday

For Dad Tom and I, we are grateful that we decided to adopt both Lisbeth and Astrid. I had seen Astrid on PetFinder. We met Lisbeth when we went to meet Astrid in her foster home. Most of you know that Astrid and her brother were abandoned kittens who were integrated with Lisbeth and her littermates. That does explain a lot about their differences. I know both girls are happy to have a forever home with lots of love, care, toys, treats and a catio.

With this, we are joining Brian’s Thankful Thursday Blog Hop. To participate, click on Brian’s badge.

Giveaways

Yes, you read that right! We currently have a giveaway in progress for the gorgeous 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 prior to 5 p.m. ET on Monday, August 21. The giveaway is open to all readers worldwide. The winner will be selected using Random.org and announced the following day.

Additionally, Astrid and Lisbeth asked if they could giveaway a few more items of swag from the BlogPaws Conference as well as some The Cat on My Head goodies. Of course, I could not turn them down on their birthday. If you’d like an opportunity to win this giveaway, please leave a comment on this post. We will end this giveaway at the same time as the other (5 p.m. ET on Monday, August 21). This winner also will be selected using Random.org and announced the following day.

Black Cat Appreciation Day

Today we give a shout out to all those gorgeous black kitties, especially those waiting in shelters for adoption. Black cats are not unlucky! They are beautiful creatures with all the same wonderful qualities of any cat of any other color. My very first heart cat was Thelma, an all-black, sweet and gentle cat. So, if you are thinking about adopting, please consider a black kitty. You won’t be sorry!

August 17, 2017 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Birthday Black Cat Appreciation Day Poetry Thankful Thursday Thoroughly Poetic Thursday 36

MEETINGS, RULES, LEARNING & NIPHEADS

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #65

We are back with this week’s Friendly Fill-Ins. Mom completed numbers 1, 2 and 4, and we kitties completed number 3. We think she did a pretty good job this time around, and we totally agree with all her completions. As always, we (Mom and us) used teal italics for our portions of the sentences.

Usually, Mom has long, drawn-out explanations along with her filled-in portions, but they really were not necessary today.

1. Meetings are boring unless they are meetings with friends for lunch.

2. Rules suck but are necessary or our lives, those of others, our society and the world would sink into chaos. It already may be there!

3. The best time to get treats and/or nip is when Chris comes to clean the house. She is not stingy like our parents. As soon as she arrives, we all gather around her.

4. I have learned that if I remain open to new information and ideas, I will never stop learning.

Friendly Fill-Ins is a blog hop hosted each Friday by Ellen (15AndMeowing) and Annie (McGuffy’s Reader). Each week Ellen selects the first two incomplete sentences and Annie selects the second two. The hop is on Annie’s blog, which you can get to by clicking on the fill-ins badge.

If you haven’t participated previously in this fun hop, give it a try. It is an excellent way to learn a bit more about your blogging friends.

Coming Up

Mom will be here tomorrow with what is sure to be some wild and crazy art for the Caturday Art blog hop.

We also hope to announce the winner of the $80 rescue/shelter donation from Allie and Mau’s Anniversary Comment-a-thon. An alternate winner was selected using Random.org as the original winner did not respond to our e-mails.

Our Sunday Selfies blog hop this week will be dedicated to a dear friend and new angel, Mitalee HoneyBee, from Critters in the Cottage. Please make a special effort to join us and honor this sweet and beautiful angel.

Until then, we remain your faithful friends.

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

p.s. Will you please continue too send your purrs and POTP and ask your humans to pray for Allie and Raz’s dad, Bill, who remains hospitalized.

August 4, 2017 by Janet Blue Allie and Mauricio Anniversary Astrid & Lisbeth Comment-a-thon Friendly Friday Fill-Ins Kitty Written Blog Prayers Sisters 12

PROOF OF THE TRUCE

Is This a True Truce?

Yesterday Mom plopped me down in front of the laptop and told me I had to write this post. Imagine my shock. We rarely post on Mondays, as we are tying to recover from the flurry of Sunday Selfies. Apparently she feels some urgency in getting this news to you. I don’t see the importance of this myself, but I never turn down an opportunity to tap my toesies on the keyboard. Though, I prefer to write what I want…not what is dictated to me.

Supposedly this whole to-do started yesterday when Lisbeth mentioned something about a possible truce. Supposedly, Lisbeth thinks we are having one. She even claimed to have photographic proof, which seems to be the reason I am here today. I have been tasked with sharing that proof, which surprisingly actually exists.

As you can see by the second photo, I am uncertain about how wise it is to be in such close proximity to Lisbeth. She may have been pretending to ignore me in that first photo, but I can feel her staring at me in the second one. Thus, the grumpy expression and airplane ears. But, once again, no hissing (Lisbeth), screaming (me) or whacky paws.

Is this really a truce? Will it continue? Who knows? I certainly have no idea. It would be nice to have the support of my sisfur, as I am still being bullied by Misty May. Mom says I shouldn’t run from her but turn around and smack her. I don’t think that is going to happen. I see her racing toward me with that big, poofy tail, and I freak!

But, I digress… I suppose Lisbeth and I could be mellowing as we approach our sixth birthdays next month. That would be nice. But I have no intention of holding my breath. I suspect either Lisbeth or I will be giving you updates. But from my side, consider no news good news.

Purrs and paw-pats, Astrid with kisses for my husband Sampy

July 17, 2017 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Backstory Sisters 19

BITE ME!

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week 15

As promised, this is our follow-up post from Astrid’s and Lisbeth’s birthdays. Before we share some cards and photos of their birthday gift, the two girls have completed the Friendly Fill-Ins hosted my Ellen at 15 And Meowing and Annie at McGuffy’s Reader. Their completions are in teal italics.

Lisbeth:

1. When I run out of hisses, I use growls instead. I am not very sociable and can warn off my housemates from approaching me with these two defensive methods.

2. My guru is my mom.

Astrid:

3. I am afraid of Misty May. She is a bully and taunts and chases me. Her tail puffs up as big as her body, and I squeal like a little piggy.

4. I feel empowered enough to go to the second floor and visit Mom and Dad in bed. I had not been going to the second floor for a very long time. My marriage to Sampy (Kitty Cat Chronicles) has given me more confidence (except when it comes to Misty May).

To enter the blog hop, visit Annie’s blog. The link is above.

The girls received this very sweet and beautiful card from Pipo and Minko, who are always so thoughtful.

They each received their own e-card from Lisbeth’s boyfriend, Cat Scout Charles, as well.

The Birthday Gift

Dad Tom saw the gift on-line. We both agreed it was too cute to pass up. Unfortunately for Lisbeth, she was not there for the unveiling and so not in the photos. She refused to come in from the catio and even missed her dinner.

So, there it is…a shark bed! Yep…another bed! That’s Calista Jo’s pink kitty cubby bed in the background (her birthday gift) in which she has never shown any interest. As you can see Calista Jo was very interested in Mr. Shark. She even tried chewing on his teeth. Birthday girl Astrid, along with Mauricio and Fiona, happily investigated. Only time will tell if any of the Kitties Blue decide they like Mr. Shark well enough to crawl inside for a nap. Mauricio and Fiona are the main occupants of Calista Jo’s birthday bed.

So that’s it for the most recent birthdays. The next ones to celebrate will be Misty May and Mauricio on September 17.

We’ll be back tomorrow for the Caturday Art Blog Hop. The plan right now is to feature Fiona. It seems only right as the current tropical storm has been named after her.

August 19, 2016 by Janet Blue Astrid & Lisbeth Birthday Friendly Friday Fill-Ins 24

BIRTHDAY WISHES FOR ASTRID & LISBETH

It may be Wordless Wednesday, but we will be a bit wordy today.

Happy 5th Birthday

Two very sweet girls, Astrid and Lisbeth, turn five today. They are not blood siblings, but they are littermates. Unfortunately these once inseparable girls no longer like each other…AT ALL! Nonetheless, we all love them and wish them the happiest of birthdays.

They asked Mauricio to make their cake in his Bake Shop at Cat Scouts. He decided to make a separate cake for each girl. Please join them in a piece.

They received a card from our special and great friend, Sammy (onespoiledcat), that they’d like to share with you.

The girls also each received an animated electronic card from our vet. They send each client a card for their birthday, which we all think is pretty sweet and thoughtful.

The girls have a gift from their dad and me, but I would not let them open it early, so they will share it with you in an upcoming post.

In other news…

Black Cat Appreciation Day

Though neither Astrid nor Lisbeth are black cats, they do have black furs. And two of our angels, Thelma and Twinkle, were black. We love black panfurs at our house. If we had room at the inn, I would definitely add a black kitty to our gang. Black cats are the last to be adopted, which we think is crazypants. So as Kitties Blue honor black cats today, we ask that the next time you think of adopting consider a black beauty. To read more about this special day, visit the ASPCA’s website here.