Cat Scouts

COOPER AND TED’S EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

Thoroughly Poetic Thursday

Cooper Murphy is our poet this week. He wrote a poem about himself and his BFF, Teddy. He interpreted the inspiration photo a bit liberally, but then it’s meant to be just that…inspiration.

Here’s the photo followed by Cooper’s poem.

 

Cat Scout Adventure

 

Cat Scout Adventure

I’m a Cat Scout, and I like to explore
Whether in a cave or at the shore.
But I must be careful and super vigilant,
So I don’t have any type of accident.
In fact it’s always good to have a buddy,
Like my gingersnap pal, Cat Scout Teddy.
We can watch out for each other
Exactly the same as real brothers.
Helping each other up if we fall in the dirt
Or going for help if one of us is hurt.
We have our compass and a snack,
Rope and a first aid kit in our backpack.
As Cat Scouts we remain purrpared
To keep our wits and never get scared.
Teddy and I are strong and brave.
Now please excuse us while we explore this cave.

© Cat Scout Cooper Murphy Blue – 03/21/2018

Two Spoiled Cats, Teddy and his big brother, Angel Sammy, host Thoroughly Poetic Thursday. Mom Pam selects a photo to serve as inspiration. And each week Sammy transmits a poem from the Rainbow Bridge. it is always exceptional and not to be missed. To read it and find links to other poems in the comment section, click on the badge below.

Thankful Thursday

Cooper Murphy not only asked to write today’s poem but also requested the opportunity to do today’s thankful. His thankful also pertains to Cat Scouts. He, Teddy and Cat Scout Ætheling participated in a Cheerleader Workshop and tried out for the Cheer Team at Cat Scout University. All three made the Cheer Team and received certificates, badges and their official cheer uniforms.

Cooper Murphy will share the cheer he wrote for the try-outs in a future post.

 

Cat Scout CSU Cheer Team Member Cooper Murphy

 

Cooper Murphy would like to thank Scout Anya for conducting the workshop and the judges, Sammy, Gracie and Raz, for selecting him for the Cheer Team.

Thankful Thursday is a blog hop hosted by Brian’s Home. To join in, click on his badge.

 

 

LISBETH APOLOGIZES & FILL-INS

A Note from Lisbeth

Before getting to the Friendly Fill-Ins for this week, Lisbeth has a few words to say.

fill-ins

If Mom and Dad can’t forgive me, I am shipping myself to Charles.

I am sorry I scared my mom and dad and boyfriend Charles so badly by going missing on Wednesday for 11 hours. Delivery men who brought and set up Mom and Dad’s new bed frightened me. I didn’t know I was doing something bad. Staying safe from strangers was my priority. Mom says that I am grounded for life, but I am promising to never do anything like this ever again. I hope she and Dad will forgive me and continue to allow me to attend Cat Scout events with Charles.

I also want too apologize to all our friends and readers for scaring them as well. Mom and Dad and I appreciate all the prayers for my safe return home. Mom says that the pet blogging community is like a huge, loving family, and we appreciate having each of you in our lives.

With sincere apologies, Lisbeth

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #94

The kitties are helping me with the fill-ins this week by completing numbers 1 and 2. We all have used teal italics for our completions.

Kitties Blue: 1. My Our favorite president is President Abraham Lincoln because he was the first president known to have cats in the White House. Mary Todd Lincoln claimed that cats were her husband’s hobby.

Mau & Cooper Murphy: 2. This weekend, I we have plans to go to Egypt with Cat Scouts. This will be great. Cats were revered in ancient Egypt just as they should be today!

3. I 💗 my Kitties Blue past and present. If you have never met all the previous Kitties Blue, click on The Felines tab at the top of the page.

4. I believe in silver linings. Thankfully Lisbeth is now inside where she belongs. Even this blessing came with a silver lining. Lisbeth could have gotten in the delivery truck that was here on Wednesday and ended up 30 miles away at the truck’s next stop. I had horrible visions of her being lost so far away.

 

Friendly Fill-Ins is a blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Annie (McGuffy’s Reader). To take part in then hop, click on their badge. You will be whisked away to Annie’s blog.

COOPER MURPHY FEATURED AT CAT SCOUTS

Featured Cat Scout

Cat Scouts has been undergoing some major changes during the last several weeks. The site is updated and improved with the addition of many new features.

Mau, as you know, has been a Cat Scout since the group’s inception. Cooper Murphy joined with his pal, Teddy (Two Spoiled Cats) almost a year ago. He’s been working hard on earning badges and participating in events.

A new way to recognize Scouts is by featuring one on the front page of the site. Scouts get to ask for this recognition and then are selected by Denmaster. Cooper Murphy decided to ask to be a Featured Scout and was selected.

What Cooper Murphy Said About Himself

I joined Cat Scours because my big brother (as in older…I am much larger than he is), Mau, has been having fun in Cat Scouts since the beginning. The reason I keep coming to Scouts is because I want to be the best cat I can be, have fun and learn lots of new things.

I am a Tenderpaw First Class along with my CSU dorm roommates and best pals, Teddy and Chip. We refer to ourselves as the Three Gingersnaps. The hardest thing I have done at Cat Scouts was to make my Garrison cap, but that goes along with one of my two best times and fondest memories. Summer Camp was the most fun ever with so many things to do and learn. I participated in every activity!

The other bestest thing for me was the Cardwood Derby. Mau and I competed together with our Hooligan Paddy Wagon, and we even won a runner-up trophy! Mau and I both like completing the Service project every month and for special occasions. My goal is to someday be Cat Scout of the Year like Mau was. He’s also teaching me to bake!

The Denmaster made a terrific artistic rendering of our ginger boy.

Cat Scouts

 

Cat ScoutsThough Scouts request to be featured, I am nonetheless proud of my youngest Scout.

Join Cat Scouts

If you are not a Cat Scout, both Mau and Cooper Murphy recommend you give it a try. It is a co-ed organization, so it is open to all cats. And their is no fee to join. The new site is terrific, and there are always lots of activities in which to purrticipate. Most of all, it is the place to make life-long friends.

On Sunday The Worldwide Wildcats troop had a Super Bowl party as they do every year. That is Mau and Cooper Murphy’s troop, and they attended. Being a great Scout, Cooper wanted to make certain he did not infect any of his fellow Scouts and took appropriate “purrcautions.”

Cooper’s Health Update

Cooper is the only Kitties Blue continuing to receive treatment for the eye “icks!” His eyes are still somewhat squinty, and I heard him sneezing yesterday. I pray that he is 100 percent well when he finishes his medications. The good news is that we have no new cases to report. And Misty May’s eye ulcer has completely healed.

Sadie Needs a Home

Sadie is a beautiful, long-haired, ginger cat in Greenville, SC, who is in danger of being euthanized. She is a special needs cat, as she is blind. She desperately needs a home or rescue that can take her. To read more about her, please visit Brian’s Home. And then please share about her on social media.

 

 

FROSTY CATURDAY ART WITH COOPER MURPHY

Caturday Art

 

frosty Cooper for Caturday Art

 

A couple of weeks ago, we let Cooper Murphy out on the upper deck. Though under roof, it had a thin layer of snow on it. Cooper had not been in the snow since his rescue as a stray last January 7. We let him out into the snow on that day so he could earn his Let it Snow Cat Scout merit badge.

To achieve the art’s frosty look I selected an effect in the Painnt app entitled, Iced. I think it is a good complement to the snowy-themed photo. I took the brightness down by 40 percent and increased the saturation. Then I added the light aqua border in Picasa followed by the white frost border in piZap and finally another light aqua border from Picasa.

Here’s the original photo.

The arty creation is our entry in Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. To enter some art of your own or find links to art created by your fellow bloggers, click on Athena’s badge.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

We know tomorrow is often a busy day for most humans with the Super Bowl, Puppy Bowl and Kitten Bowl all being contested. Bet you can guess which one we’ll be watching. Don’t forget to snap your selfie and join the hop before the festivities and snacking begin. One of the Kitties Blue will be here at midnight to greet you.

We are expecting snow tomorrow so it will be a good day to sit in front of the tube and veg out. Whatever your plans are, stay safe and warm and don’t forget to hop!

MINI RANT ON TUXIE TUESDAY

Tuxie Tuesday Doozy of a Snoozy

Since Sawyer came to live with us and Lily Olivia got her wings, the dynamic around our house is totally different. We are all a bit confused as to our roles. Misty May is trying to assert herself and take over Lily Olivia’s position as Commander of Everything and Everyone. Unlike Lily, however, she is needy, as opposed to demanding. The humans consider needy to be an annoying trait, and the remainder of us must agree. This isn’t to say that most of us don’t love Misty May. We just don’t think she is leadership material. After all, she is a bully. We understand many powerful people are bullies, but that will not be tolerated in our coterie of cats.

Misty May has been doing her best to curry favor with some of us to gain our support, especially the other tuxie female in the house, Lisbeth.

 

Tuxie Tuesday

 

As you can see, she has taken Lisbeth under her wing paw, even when they are sleeping. We suggest that Lisbeth not get too cozy. We know this camaraderie will not last if Misty May takes over as Top Cat.

Misty May and Mau are the oldest of this rag-tag bunch, so one of them probably is next in line for the job. We suspect mild-mannered Mau will garner most of the votes. He is a good candidate, as he has learned many important rules with regard to leadership as an Order of the Arrowhead, Sabertooth Cat Scout.

Misty May is not suited to ascend to the throne (Mom’s lap) as she refuses to sit quietly in contemplation—a most important trait for all of those in power. Mau can get awfully wordy at times, but he does recognize the importance of a regal bearing while on the throne. MOUSES! Did we really say that?

The new hierarchy definitely has not been decided, and we suspect we can look forward—NOT—to a long campaign season. In the meantime most of us are keeping a low profile, except for Sawyer. He can’t help himself. He’s just a kitten and only understands three things—eat, sleep and play.

We’ll keep you posted as to how this all shakes out.

Speaking of Lily Olivia

We want to share with you the Angel vSquillion Lily Olivia we adopted. She joins the ranks of all the other Kitties Blue angels (except cat #1, Skooter) on our vSquillion page. If you’d like to visit, click on the The Felines tab at the top of the page and then the vSquillion dropdown.

 

 

Thanks for joining us today. We’ll see you tomorrow for Wordless Wednesday.

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

CHRISTMAS CARD ART AND FILL-INS

Caturday Art

For those of you who did not receive one or more of our holiday cards via snail mail, we are sharing them here for today’s art submission. I do have a few more cards ready to mail, but please feel free to grab a card now.

The first card is the one from Kitties Blue. Astrid is the featured cat. This was actually created from Caturday Art that we posted last year.

 

Kitties Blue 2017 Christmas card.

 

This card is the one that Cat Scouts Mauricio and Cooper Murphy sent to their Cat Scout pals.

 

Cooper Murphy and Mauricio's Cat Scout Christmas card.

 

This final card is Lily Olivia’s Crotchety Cougar card.

 

Lily Olivia's Crotchety Cougars Christmas card.

 

We will be entering Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art Blog Hop with our first card. If you’d like to join or find links to art created by other bloggers, click on her badge.

Friendly Fill-Ins

As promised yesterday, we are doing our fill-ins today. Yesterday we reviewed a new product from PetSafe®. If you missed it, the link for that post is at the bottom of this one.

1. I can’t wait to see my friend of more than 30 years, Mary Jane, open my gift to her. Unfortunately I won’t, as she will open her gifts Christmas morning with her family. She is getting several gifts from me, and I know she is going to love all of them. Each was selected with love and care.

2. I have had the same house for 33-plus years.

3. I would not mind if Santa were to bring me a sunny day with the temperature in the 60s. I am going to get that wish for the next couple of days. Christmas Day, however, is predicted to be only 38 degrees.

4. On Christmas Eve, I always would celebrate my grandpa’s birthday with the rest of the family, until I moved away in 1972. The kitties’ dad and I really have no specific Christmas Eve tradition. Sometimes we will go out to dinner at a favorite restaurant. We haven’t planned that for this year.

Ellen at 15 And Meowing and Annie from McGuffy’s Reader create and host Friday Fill-Ins. It is a blog hop. To join in, click on the badge below.

Sunday Selfies Reminder

Tomorrow is Christmas Eve, and we suspect most of you will be busy, but we are hoping you’ll still join us for Sunday Selfies. Our selfie will be Christmas-themed. Not only that, but it will be a doozy as well…one you don’t want to miss seeing. So, paste a smile on your face and hop on over tomorrow.

 

VISIONS OF SUGAR PLUMS MOUSIES

Caturday Art

We know that Christmas is just a bit more than two weeks away, but in our opinion, it’s a tad too soon for our Caturday Art to resemble a Christmas card. Obviously, our mom does not agree. What do you think…too soon?

 

Christmas Art

 

Dad discovered Cooper Murphy collapsed and deep in sleep in a living room chair yesterday afternoon. His morning had been totally chaotic with Sawyer constantly following close on his heels and trying to coerce him into playing. Cooper seemed fine with all the activity, but he needed a restorative nap midday (as did Sawyer).

To create today’s art, Mom used the Spectrum effect from the Painnt app and manipulated the hue to get the green and red colors. The gift boxes and frame were added with picMonkey.

Here’s the original photo of tuckered out Cooper Murphy.

The arty version is our entry in Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. If you’d like to see a variety of other art entries and/or submit a creation of you own, click on Athena’s badge.

Christmas Cards

Since we mentioned that our art looks like a holiday card, we want to let you know that Mom is busily working on addressing Lily Olivia’s Crotchety Cougar card, Mau and Cooper Murphy’s Cat Scout card and our Kitties Blue card. She expects to have them all in the mail the first of the week. We will post them all here for Caturday Art on the 23rd.

Sunday Selfie Early Warning

Tomorrow is the day we look forward to all week, as it’s when we get to see the smiling faces of all our friends. So, we are reminding you to snap your selfie and join us tomorrow for our blog hop.

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

 

KITTIES BLUE AUDITION FOR REALITY TV

Cooper Murphy’s Audition for “The Voice”

 

Cooper Murphy at his The Voice audition.

“‘I ain’t nothin’ but a hound dog.’ No, wait, that can’t be right! I think I need to start over.”

“‘Baby let me be your lovin’ teddy bear/Put a chain around my neck/And lead me anywhere/Oh, let me be/(Oh, let him be)/Your teddy bear. I don’t wanna be a tiger/’Cause tigers play too rough/I don’t wanna be a lion/’Cause lions ain’t the kind you love enough.’ Well, I know that’s just wrong. I give up. Guess I’ll just stand here channeling my inner Elvis and looking handsome.”

Allie & Mau Audition for “So You Think You Can Dance

Allie and I have on our Sandy and Danny Rydell High costumes. Mom said we couldn’t wear the sexy ones, as this is a family blog.

Allie and Mau audition for So, You Think You Can Dance.

We are going to do the jitterbug for our audition.

If you have any doubts about our abilities, here’s our official photo from the 2014 Cat Scout Sock Hop Dance Contest. We didn’t win a trophy, like Astrid and Sampson did, but you’ll have to admit, we have all the right moves.

 

 

We’ll let you know how we do on our auditions…well, actually, we are just pretending. The Elvis costume and Sandy and Danny “Grease” costumes were just for this month’s birthday party at Cat Scouts.

And, in all honesty, if any Kitties Blue was to try out for “The Voice,” it would be Mau.

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.

 

 

MAU REPORTS ABOUT CAT SCOUTS SUMMER CAMP

Cat Scouts Summer Camp

That’s right, we are not going wordless today; though, we will purrticipate in our furvarite blog hops. Cooper Murphy and I are taking over today so we can tell you a bit more about Cat Scouts Summer Camp and share some poems we wrote as well as photos of our two craft projects. Mom had originally thought we could do this tomorrow as Thursday is poetry day. But tomorrow is Astrid and Lisbeth’s sixth birthday, and she has promised to write a special poem just for them.

This is the first time Cat Scouts has held Summer Camp. We went to Yosemite and stayed at Camp Curry. I was excited to see Yosemite, as our mom and dad spent part of their honeymoon there. Cooper Murphy was a bit apprehensive about leaving home for an entire week, but it turned out he had a blast. He bunked with our Wolverine patrolmate, Ætheling, and his ginger tabby pals, Teddy and Chip. They are the Three Gingersnaps (named by Teddy’s mom [Two Spoiled Cats]).

We had several activities each day of camp. Some of those were a hike to the top of Half Dome, a cheerleading competition, poetry workshop, craft projects, s’mores recipe submissions, water safety class and a knowledge bowl.

Cheerleading Competition

I am already a cheerleader at Cat Scout Universaity, so I decided to cheer on the purrticipants instead of competing. Cooper has agreed, however, to share with you the cheer he wrote.

I’m proud to be a Cat Scout
Rah, Rah, Rah.
I’m proud to be a Cat Scout
Sis boom bah.
If you like Cat Scouts, holler
Rah, Rah, Rah.
If you like Cat Scouts, shout out
Sis boom bah.
Cat Scouts Summer Camp is a fun place to be.
Rah, Rah, Rah.
Cat Scouts is the place for you and me!
Sis boom bah!

The cheer was pretty simple, but Cooper Murphy decided to wear his Lorax costume while giving it, which was pretty cute and funny.

 

Cooper Murphy in Lorax costume at Cat Scouts.

 

Craft Projects

Our craft projects included making an infinity scarf for our mom from a t-shirt using spray paints. This is the finished scarf Cooper Murphy and I made for our mom.

 

Cat Scouts craft project: infinity scarf.

 

It was really easy to make. If you’d like the instructions, let us know in the comments.

Our second project was making Garrison caps for ourselves. Mom helped us with the sewing machine. My cap is on the right. Cooper’s cap is on the left with his Tenderpaw 1st Class patch. (He was purrmotted, along with his three bunkmates, at the conclusion of camp.)

 

Cat Scouts craft project: Garrison caps.

 

Making the caps was the easy part, and Mom says that it WASN’T easy. In order to get credit for the project, we also had to wear them. That was no easy feat. We both finally wore them just long enough to have our photos snapped.

 

Mauricio in his Cat Scouts Garrisonn cap.Cooper Murphy wearing his Cat Scouts Garrison cap.

Poetry Workshop

This truly has to be the wordiest Wednesday post ever, but we’d like to share a few more things with you. As part of our poetry workshop, we had to write at least three poems with a Cat Scout theme. I was able to submit two poems I’d written previously and shared here on our blog. If you’d like to read them, click on the titles: Even Runners-up Can Be Winners and For Sammy—A Totally Terrific Tabby.

This was my new poem. It is a limerick.

I’ve been a Scout for quite a while.
Thinking of it makes me smile.
Summer Camp has been great.
Spending time with my mates.
I love this camping lifestyle!

© Cat Scout Mauricio Blue

Cooper Murphy was able to use a poem he’d written previously as well. You can read it by clicking on the title: Nip and Ninja Moves. Here are his two new poems. The second is a limerick.

Camp’s a Blast

Mom told us we’d have lots of fun,
But I wasn’t sure I wanted to come.
As we packed our duffles for summer camp,
She assured me at camping I’d be a champ.
And she was right—camp’s a blast!
Yosemite has so many beautiful things,
Including birds I’d never seen.
And Half Dome is an amazing rock;
Though, I got a bit dizzy at the top.
But the very best thing about this trip
Are my bunkies, Teddy, Ætheling and Chip!
Teddy, Chip and I are the three gingersnaps.
Bet we’ll all look cool in our new Garrison caps.
Soon we’ll have to say good-bye to Camp Curry.
I can tell you now, “I’m in no hurry.”
For a week at summer camp, I’ll give a cheer.
I sure hope we come back again next year!

© Cat Scout Cooper Murphy Blue

I Love Camping

I love camping with Cat Scout pals.
Whether they are guy scouts or gals.
We’ve had fun painting scarves.
And we sure haven’t starved.
We’re bolstering Cat Scout morales!

© Cat Scout Cooper Murphy Blue

If these activities sound like something you’d enjoy, check out Cat Scouts. We have various activities happening regularly, and it’s a great opportunity to make new, lifetime friends.

Giveaway

Yesterday our mom reviewed a really great book, The Book of the Cat: Cats in Art. It is 160-pages of gorgeous art featuring cats. Not only does she highly recommend this book, but she also has one to giveaway. For the opportunity to win this book, leave a comment on yesterday’s post (link at the bottom of the page) 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.

Though I have rambled on and on, we are still joining two Wordless Wednesday blog hops.

Ciao and meow, Mau

BP_Wordless_wed_Hop_Logo_2014
Wordless Wednesday at Create With Joy