Awards

THANKFUL THURS(FURS)DAY

We have oodles to give thanks for today. We have decided to start small and build up to the grand finale.

1. Dad brought a big paper grocery bag home from shopping yesterday. The humans always take reusable bags with them, so we haven’t had a great crunchy bag to play and hide in forever. We think this is the first one Calista Jo has ever seen. None of us would indulge the humans, however, and allow them to get a photo of one of us in the bag.

2. We are so glad our humans are finally home. We missed cuddling in bed every night and stealing their warm kitchen chairs as soon as they get up. And, of course, we missed the birdies, squirties and our catio. It has rained almost non-stop since they’ve been home, but we still have been going out and tuning into our favorite TV channels.

3. Leo at Savannah’s Paw Tracks has been lovingly nursed back to health, for which we know efurrybuddy is very happy and relieved. But now Leo needs his forever home. We’d like to help him find this in California where he now resides. Please help spread the word.

4. Today is the birthday for our nation. We are so happy that we live in America where we all have our independence. This is particularly impawtant to us cats as we cherish and flaunt our independence daily. Have a great celebration today, but make sure all the kitties are in the house before the fireworks start. All the loud noises and bright lights are pretty scary.

happy 4th of July gifs

5. And finally, we received a new award, My Favorite Things Award, from Katie Isabella. It was such a great surprise, and we are so, so grateful to Katie. If you don’t know her, we are really surprised and ask that you please drop by and visit her. That our blog is one of her favorites warms our little kitty hearts.

Isn’t it a beautiful award?

Of course, we need to do something to accept this, but we don’t mind. We are just so thankful that we have readers who like our blog. We are supposed to list six things that are our favorites. Then we get to pass this along to other kitties or woofies. As there are eight of us, and we all like different things (except catnip is a fav for all of us), we are each going to list one or possibly two or three things that are our favorite(s).

Lily Olivia: My favorite things are to go outside so I can hide from Mauricio and the other kitties and to sleep in my dough bowl on the kitchen counter in the sun.

Mauricio: My favorite thing is talk and talk and talk and gripe and protest and me-yowl and caterwaul.

Misty May: Sleeping on mom’s head is my favorite thing, of course.

Giulietta: Vegging the day away on the upper pedestal of the cat tree/condo is mine.

Fiona: Snuggling with my sisfur, Giulietta, and giving the humans my super, wide-eyed stare so that they wonder what I have been doing.

Astrid: Escaping from the house or catio to explore the yard and sleeping in the sun on the chair cushion in the sewing room are my favorite things.

Lisbeth: I like to watch bird and squirrel TV and nap on the laundry room hamper.

Calista Jo: I have three favorite things. I love to jump on top of Mauricio and try to get him to play with me. I love chasing and being chased by Astrid. But most of all, at bedtime, I love snuggling in the crook of Mom’s arm, purring and then falling asleep.

Deciding who to pass this award to is so super hard. We have so many favorite blogs. But here’s our list:

♥ Katnip Lounge ♥ Jacqueline’s Cat House ♥ Nylablue (our Honorary Sisfur) and Sherriellen’s Purrfect Pad ♥ Prancer Pie ♥ Colehaus Cats ♥Kitty Tales ♥

We have many, many more favorites. Some already have this award and others we will leave available for our picks to nominate.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Jo

P.S. We just found out that Beverly and Sophie from moggiepurrs have nominated us for another award. What an embarrassment of riches. Thank you so much! We will post about it in a day or two.

HOME ALONE AGAIN!

We’ve had an eventful few days. Sunday was our humans’ 40^th Wedding Anniversary. That seemed like a pretty big deal to them. Since none of us were around 40 years ago, we didn’t get too excited, especially when they didn’t give us any of the prime rib or short ribs they brought home from dinner.

Also on Sunday, Mom’s nephew’s wife, Andrea Parks, won Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. She owns Frost Cupcake Factory in Campbell, CA. Again, the humans were atwitter with excitement. We didn’t understand what was such a big deal, until we heard she won a $10,000 prize. She can sure buy oodles of treats for her kitties. If you have an interest in meeting Andrea, click the link above.

One other thing occurred on Sunday, and it is what precipitated this post. We were minding our own business and mostly napping on another rainy day when suddenly our radar systems started to send out WARNING messages. Deciding to investigate, we discovered three large suitcases in the bedroom. We know three suitcases is an indication that both humans are planning to leave us alone and not just for overnight or a long weekend.

Now we’re thinking this is pretty nervy of them as they were just gone for four days two weeks ago. Dad used to travel lots and lots and be gone for a few weeks at a time, but the thought of both of them leaving again so soon was causing us bucketfuls of distress.

On Monday we noticed the tandem on top of the car. Unless no suitcases are involved (day trip), that always adds up to too many days away. We begged for a copy of their itinerary and length of trip, but were denied any such information. We tried to see the check for PlayTime Pet Sitting to get an idea about how big the money number was but couldn’t see it.

After all that effort we took to moping about, napping (still raining) or snapping and clawing at Mom and Dad to show them our displeasure. All of us, that is, except Fiona and Calista. Fiona was into the second day of following Mom around the house and whining. Fiona pretty much goes into hiding as soon as the humans leave until they return; thus, her added complaints. On the other hand, Calista Jo was her usual happy-go-lucky self. Since the humans went away for 12 days just 12 days after she became our meowmate, she doesn’t know any better.

Mom receiving her award.

The one thing Dad shared with us was the fact that they have to go away. It seems our mom is receiving some kind of award from USA Volleyball at a banquet. Unless they are having a bazillion courses at the banquet, we can’t imagine that would take too long, so something else must be happening as well. But they are not talking. (Dad sent photos for us to share.)

Mom speechifying.

Monday night Mom checked under the frig and stove and liberated the toys we had stashed there. She also gave us one of the catnip toys from the batch she made for Barn Cat Buddies. This was very thoughtful, but just not enough to get in our good graces before leaving.

Maggie will be coming twice a day to take care of our needs. Again, not enough! And no Jeanmarie as she’s at home in Virginia Beach, VA. Maybe we can convince Maggie to tell us when the gallivanting humans plan to return. That way we will know when to begin working on any surprises we’d like them to have upon their homecoming. MOL!

Maggie has permission to let us out on the catio when she comes in the morning and let us back in at evening feeding time. BUT SHE WON’T! She’s afraid one of us might escape. At one time, Mom thought this was being a little overly cautious. However, now that she and Dad have found Fiona on the wrong side of the catio door with some regularity, they have decided to withdraw that allowance. Of course, as Fiona will be hiding from Maggie the entire time, we don’t think this should stop the remainder of us from being outside, but we have absolutely no say in the matter.

L-R Top: Fiona and Lily Olivia
L-R Bottom: Astrid and Misty May

So here we are…stuck…again! And we have no idea when we’ll be sprung from the daily doldrums of just hanging out and napping and probably squabbling with each other.

Finally, before she left, Mom asked us to post two things for her. We have no idea why we are accommodating her, but here they are.

If any kitty bloggers who follow us live in or near Louisville, KY, (So that’s where they are!) and would like to get together (How long could that take?), please leave a comment.
To all of our bloggy friends: If any of you live in Oklahoma or have family or friends there, we are praying for you after these terrible and destructive tornadoes. Please let us know if you have anything you need or anything we can do for you.

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette

As you can see, Giulietta’s methods leave much to be desired.

P.S. We’re trying to keep up with our Comments on the blogs of all our friends, but if you don’t hear from us everyday, please accept our apologies. The humans took both laptop computers, and we do not have access to either desk-top computer. So we are left with an iPad. Giulietta is the only one of us who knows how to operate one. She is much better at reading than typing due to the hugeness of her paws. And she is a champion napper as well who must be dragged into action. It took her four days to complete this post. Argh!

May 24, 2013 by Janet Blue Awards Backstory Barn Cat Buddies Kitty Written Blog 20

SUNSHINE AWARD ACCEPTANCE

Awards have been flying around like crazy lately, and our mom, who loves all things bright and shining, is so excited to have been nominated for one by Beverly Harvey, another cat lover/blogger, and her kitty Sophie from moggiepurrs.

The nomination is for the Sunshine Award. Beverly said that she nominated Mom because of her cheerful and inspiring posts. That definitely made Mom and us feel all sunshiny inside and out!

As usual, there are rules to follow if you accept the nomination, which, of course, ~~we do~~ she does. Thank you so much Beverly and Sophie. We and Mom are so appreciative of you for thinking us worthy of this award.

Rule 1: Post The Sunshine Award logo.

Rule 2: Nominate 10 fellow bloggers. The kitties and I admire so many of the bloggers we follow, and many of them already have this award. To my knowledge, none of those listed below have the Sunshine Award, and I personally believe each is very deserving. They bring a bright light and plenty of chuckles and MOLs into our lives each time we read their posts. If you are unfamiliar with any of these blogs, please click on their link and see what they have to say. Also please check out Beverly’s blog. The link is above.

I am nominating:

Amanda’s Books and More Just seeing five-year-old Amanda’s smiling face in the header makes me happy as well as her mom Christina’s posts on a variety of subjects.

Anakin The Two Legged Cat for his spirit and the joy he has brought to so many by being just like any other cat despite being born without a pelvis or legs

Friends FurEver If I wasn’t already a fan of this blog, Ellie’s and Allie’s birthday party and the fantastic Cinco de Mayo party with sombrero nip cookies and meowgaritas would have been enough for my kitties to beg me to make this nomination.

Furries of Whisppy If you want to know why I am bestowing my nomination on this blog, you need only check out their “Friday Fun” post of May 3, featuring Ling, Cosmo, Boomer, Coco, Tutu, Felix and Meow-me playing. Also, Boomer and Tutu look so much like my Astrid and Lisbeth, I can’t resist them.

The Howling Mad Cat as this blog’s kitty is a 21-year-old grey tabby who is still going strong. That has to make anybody feel happy.

Just Dip It in Chocolate as Lizy shares inventive and delicious menus as well as great craft projects. And she has by far some of the best photography of food on the web.

Katnip Lounge for having the fortitude to care for 13 adorable kitties with so many varied personalities as I would if I could!

Manx Mnews is another multi-kitty blog with great photos and some very inspiring quotes that I find relevant to my life.

Spitty Speaks as Spitty represents the epitome of catitude and always cracks us up.

Sweet Purrfections If you don’t know Truffle and Brûlée, you must visit. Brulee’s fur is enough to brighten your day and bring a smile to your face.

Rule 3: Announce their nomination in their blog’s comment section. I am posting this prior to completing Rule 3. I will fulfill this requirement tomorrow. If you are a nominee reading this, please feel free to accept prior to my posting that comment on your site.

Rule 4: Provide links to the nominees’ blogs as well as a link to the blog of the person who nominated you.

Rule 5: Answer the questions. This is designed to help people get to know you better.

Questions:

1. Favorite Color — Co-favorites aqua and purple. When I was in high school my bedroom was decorated in aqua, white and shades of purple. I even had an aqua Princess phone (for those of you old enough to remember phones that weren’t mobile).

2. Favorite Animal — =^ ..^ =

3. Favorite Number — 7. The optimum feng shui number of kitties for our house is seven. We have eight now (which seems to working out okay) and have had eight in the past, but at that time our now Angel Steamer was in assisted living (a huge animal cage probably meant for a St. Bernard) as she was quite old and rather fragile.

4. Favorite Non-Alcoholic Drink — Diet Coke, which I consider the breakfast of champions. (I don’t drink coffee.)

5. Favorite Alcoholic Drink — German Wines. I love red wine as well, but sometimes it doesn’t like me very much.

6. Facebook or Twitter? — Neither. Hubby Tom has Facebook and shares with me anything he thinks I might find interesting; especially anything involving Barn Cat Buddies, the TNR organization I support.

7. My Passions — Cats, gardening, biking, blogging and reading. I haven’t had much time for reading anything but blogs lately. When it gets too hot for gardening, I’ll have more time to get to some books I have waiting for me.

8. Giving or Receiving Gifts – Always, giving. I never met a present I didn’t like receiving, but I shop for my friends and family all year so that I know I have just the right gifts for each person.

9. Favorite City — Siena, Italy

10. Favorite TV Show — The Amazing Race. Though we have traveled a lot in other countries (Tom more than I have), I see places on that show I will never have the privilege of experiencing. Last night was the season finale which I missed (but recorded), so no spoilers please!

May 6, 2013 by Janet Blue Awards Kitty Written Blog 20

TOM SELLECK AND A LIEBSTER AWARD NOMINATION

We recently received a nomination from Lizy McGow at Just Dip it in Chocolate for the Liebster Award. We love this yummy, chocolatey blog and are so honored, especially Lisbeth, that Lizy has bestowed us with this pawesome nomination.

The Liebster Award is an award given by bloggers to fellow bloggers on the rise but with less than 200 followers.

The rules are as follows: answer 11 questions posed by your nominator, post 11 questions to your nominees, post 11 random facts about yourself and nominate another 11 blogs meeting the afore stated criterion.

Definitely not an easy task. I really had to put my thinking cap on to complete all of this…so, if you are still reading, here goes. And if you don’t care to find out a little more about me, please skip to my list of nominees. If you are not familiar with or a regular visitor to these, please check them out. I am sure you will find them enjoyable.

The 11 Questions posed by Lizy:

1. What is the number one thing you love most about blogging? That I am writing again and have reawakened my creativity.

2. What is your all-time favorite movie? “The Good-bye Girl” (I am dating myself, which I continue to do throughout this process.) It doesn’t matter how often I see this movie, I still laugh until I snort! And at my age, I will probably soon be laughing until I wet myself.

3. Are you a coffee or tea person? I’m actually a Diet Coke person, but I do drink tea as well. The husband, Tom, is a coffee aficionado with this fancy built-in coffee/espresso/latte, etc. etc. etc. machine. I hate the smell of it and don’t even like to kiss him after he’s been drinking it. But go figure, I love coffee ice cream and candy.

4. Looking back, what was the best year of your life so far? Every year since my marriage in 1973, except for 2011 when I broke my leg and was laid up for 22 weeks.

5. Beach house or mountain cabin? This one is a no-brainer for me: beach house. I grew up in California less than one hour from the beach. My favorite sound is that of ocean waves.

6. Have you ever visited a foreign country outside the one you live in? Which one did you love the most? I’ve visited many and have loved them all for one reason or another, but Italy always comes out at the top. A trip to Russia in 2011, though, was really fabulous!

7. Do you know when to stop talking when you argue or do you go on and on and on like the energizer bunny? Sometimes one and sometimes the other. I do have a problem with repeating myself two or three times however.

8. Favorite music era and genre? 60’s Rock & Roll

9. If you have to pick a super power, what would it be? I would want to live my whole life without requiring any sleep (except maybe an afternoon nap with the kitties on occasion) so I could get lots more stuff accomplished.

10. When was the last time you ate Fast Food and what was it? I don’t eat fast food unless someone I am with really, really wants it. I went to Chik-fil-A with a friend several years ago and to Taco Bell with another friend just as long ago.

11. First or last person to get a joke? Somewhere in the middle, but I definitely can’t remember them to retell.

Boy, I’m glad that is over! And now on to the 11 random facts about myself.

1. I made my wedding dress.

2. I met Tom Selleck in 1985.

3. I was a scorekeeper for indoor volleyball at the Atlanta Olympics.

4. I don’t like the wind. It makes me angry and grumpy.

5. I saw the Beatles live at the Cow Palace in San Francisco in 1965.

6. I was an Avon Lady.

7. I don’t like marshmallows or meringue.

8. I can’t whistle.

9. I climbed to the top of the 100-yard, 505-step Il Campo bell tower in Siena, (my very favorite city in Italy) with a spinal fracture.

10. If I had been a boy, my parents were going to name me Sam.

11. In 1967 I rode a roller coaster 17 times in a row in the rain.

Okay, that actually was the fun part, and I am excited to read the random facts about those I nominate.

Now to the questions for my nominees.

1. Why did you start blogging?

2. Summer or Winter Olympics and favorite sport?

3. What’s the most outrageous/daring thing on your Bucket List?

4. For the women: Ryan Gosling or Hugh Jackman? For the men: Halle Berry or Emma Stone?

5. If you were forced to appear on a reality show, which one would you choose?

6. Would you rather spend $200 on a great pair of shoes or a gourmet meal?

7. Favorite ice cream flavor?

8. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would that be?

9. What was your very first job?

10. What is your favorite and least favorite veggie?

11. What one cancelled television (recent or from the long-ago past) show would you like to see return?

And finally to the best part: my nominees. (Disclaimer: If any of you have more than 200 followers, I apologize for not knowing that. I won’t tell if you don’t.) Concatulations all!

Anakin The Two Legged Cat

Feline Funnies

Kitty Tales

Sweet Purrfections

Two Torties, a Tabby and a Tuxedo

March 1, 2013 by Janet Blue Awards 17

THANK YOU

Calista Jo ‘helping’ me write this post. Typing is rather difficult, but my lap is very, very warm.

I’d like to thank all of you who have sent congratulations and concatulations on our receiving the Reality Blog Award. When I decided to write a blog about our kitties, I had no idea how many cat blogs were in existence. Nor did I know anything about links, tags, blog rolls or awards.

In the past couple of months, I have been trying to visit as many kitty blogs as possible and subscribe. I haven’t found any that I don’t like. Because, unlike dog owners, who are usually partial to one or two breeds, we cat lovers most often love all cats! I am enjoying meeting and getting to know so many kitties and especially seeing their photos. My furry kids are a little jealous of this, but they have agreed to my pursuit as long as they can write some of the blogs as well as keep me company while I write.

I have found informative, clever, sensitive, funny, sad, cute, heart-warming and every type of cat blog imaginable. I am certain I’m not telling you anything you don’t know already. I want to thank all of you who have such extensive Blog Rolls as that’s where I am finding most of these kitty blogs.* But even with so many cat-centric blogs out in cyberspace, it does seem like another one is welcomed and eventually gains some followers. Because as I stated, if you love one cat, you usually love all cats.

I started my blog because I had been unsuccessfully trying to write about my kitties for several years. I had a number of false starts and found the task daunting. I thought the blog approach would give me the opportunity to do what I wanted but in smaller increments and without the stress. I was right on both accounts.

But no matter how much personal satisfaction I get from this, the positive feedback from those of you who have subscribed to or read my blog is a huge motivating factor, and I am so grateful for your feedback and support.

* I am still trying to determine how to create a Blog Roll in the latest version of WordPress. According to my “WordPress for Dummies,” it appears as if this process was much easier than it is now. If any of you WordPress users can impart some relevant advice, I would lap it up like a bowl of milk and send you many cyber head-butts and purrs.

Happy blogging to all. I look forward to reading as many of your future posts as possible.

February 11, 2013 by Janet Blue Awards Backstory 13

OUR FIRST AWARD: YIPPEE!

Last week, The Cat on My Head was fortunate to be nominated for the Reality Blog Award by Kitty Tales. This blog is hosted by Denise Brixey. The blog’s mascot is Punkie.

This is not just an ordinary pet blog. It also lists both cats and dogs available for adoption from Wee Bar None Ranch Pet Placement in Apple Valley, CA. As I support a feral cat rescuer and no-kill shelter, Barn Cat Buddies in Hardy, VA, and sometimes show their adoptable pets on this blog, I really appreciate other sites that do similar things. Three of our kitties have been adopted from BCB: Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette.

Thank you, BoBo, Mi-Mi and your mommy, Denise Brixey, for nominating The Cat on My Head for the Reality Blog Award. We shall treasure it and each of you always!

There are several rules you must follow in order to accept this award:

1) Visit and thank the blogger who nominated you.

2) Acknowledge that blogger on your blog and link back to them.

3) Answer the 5 simple questions. (See below)

4) Nominate up to 20 blogs for the award and notify each of them. (See below)

5) Display the award on your blog somewhere.

Here are the 5 questions and their answers. We all collaborated on the answers to prevent any hissing, growling, swatting or hair pulling.

1. If you could change one thing, what would you change?

We would make all cat owners accept the responsibility of spaying or neutering their beloved housemates so that so many of us would not be left homeless or end up euthanized.

2. If you could repeat an age, what would it be? any year?

Mommy would go back to a time when her beloved boys, Madison and MacKenzie, were alive; though, that would mean that some of us youngsters wouldn’t be, which makes us very sad. But she told us that we would still be in her future. So we guess that would be okay. We kitties like things just the way they are here and now.

3. What is one thing that really scares you?

The garbage and recycling trucks when they come down the alley if we are out on our screened-in deck.

4. What is one dream you have not completed, and do you think you’ll be able to complete it?

We all dream that our food bowls would never be empty and that we could live forever ’cause our mommy misses all the kitties who have passed on and she gets really sad. Mom says that she wants to go to Chengdu, China, to the Giant Panda Breeding Facility.

5. If you could be someone else for one day, who would it be?

That’s a really tough one for us kitties and for Mom. We all like who we are just the way we are. But after much deliberation, Mom says she would like to be Hugh Jackman’s wife. She thinks he’s really sexy! Sorry Dad.

Last but definitely not least, we would like to nominate some blogs we follow and admire for this award. This was a most difficult task for us as so many excellent blogs exist. We did have a tendency to chose some that feature oodles of great photos and maybe not as much writing. Our mom does tend to go on-and-on, and let’s face it, we just want to look at the pictures to make sure we don’t see any kitties cuter than we think we are.

Those of you who have stumbled across and read our blog are probably well aware of these blogs and read them regularly, but if not, please drop by and let them know you did by leaving a Comment. We feel sure you will find them entertaining.

Random Felines

Brian’s Home

Poppy Q

Daisy the Curly Cat

Jacqueline’s Cat House

Sweet Purrfections

Our Life by Eric and Flynn

Sometimes, Cats Herd You

The Island Cats

Prancer Pie

Purrs and hugs, Lily Olivia, Mauricio, Misty May, Giulietta, Fiona, Astrid, Lisbeth and Calista Josette