Mauricio

SPARKS OF FRIENDSHIP

Sparks #22

Of course, we cats are always ourselves! Let’s all strive to be somebody’s best friend.

According to Wikipedia, “Renee Olstead is an American actress and singer. Active since childhood as an actress, she is best known for her roles on the CBS sitcom Still Standing and on the drama The Secret Life of the American Teenager as Madison Cooperstein. In addition, she has recorded four studio albums, primarily of jazz music.”

Mauricio, Astrid and I are joining Annie (McGuffy’s Reader) for her Sparks blog hop. In establishing the hop, she wrote this, “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!” This is what makes Sparks so special and why I look forward to participating each week.

If you’d like to join the hop, click on the Sparks badge.

March 5, 2018 by Janet Blue Sparks 23

A FELINE SPARK

Sparks: Week #21

Being a blog dedicated to kitties, it seemed appropriate to finally do a Spark post featuring a quote about cats. The photo above features Calista Jo, Cooper Murphy, Misty May, Mauricio and Giulietta during one of Chris’s biweekly nip fests.

I was unfamiliar with the author of this quote, so I suspect most of you will be as well. The following information is from Wikipedia:

“Henry Charles Bukowski (born Heinrich Karl Bukowski; August 16, 1920 – March 9, 1994) was a German-American poet, novelist, and short story writer. His writing was influenced by the social, cultural, and economic ambience of his home city of Los Angeles. His work addresses the ordinary lives of poor Americans, the act of writing, alcohol, relationships with women, and the drudgery of work. Bukowski wrote thousands of poems, hundreds of short stories and six novels, eventually publishing over 60 books. The FBI kept a file on him as a result of his column, Notes of a Dirty Old Man, in the LA underground newspaper Open City.”

I am joining Annie (McGuffy’s Reader) for her Sparks blog hop. In establishing the hop, she wrote this, “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!” This is what makes Sparks so special and why I look forward to participating each week.

If you’d like to join the hop, click on the Sparks badge.

February 26, 2018 by Janet Blue Sparks 17

MAU’S ELECTRONIC ART

Caturday Art

Dad took this photo of me a couple of nights ago. I was lying on the bed next to Mom. The photo was pretty cute, so I used it to create my Valentine for my beloved wife Allie. I am not going to share that with you.

It seems Mom liked the photo as well. She decided to use it to create our art for Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s blog hop. She used the Painnt app again, selecting the Electronic effect.

Mom tinkered with some of the basic settings in Painnt, then added something from the Color Composition effects called, Grain Merge. The scrolled border is from piZap, and the square border is from Picasa.

Do you think Allie will like this version as much as her Valentine?

We are submitting this in Athena’s Caturday Art Blog Hop. To enter your own art, click on Athena’s badge.

Sunday Selfies Early Warning

I’ve been charged with reminding you that our Sunday Selfie’s blog hop is tomorrow. I have no idea which of the Kitties Blue will be hosting. I do know, however, we will be remembering and honoring Sister Kit from Brian’s Home. She recently received her angel wings. Even if you don’t plan to hop, please stop by and see us.

Purrs and paw-pats, Mau

February 17, 2018 by Janet Blue Caturday Art Blog Hop 21

LATEST VICTIM OF EYE “ICKS” SPEAKS OUT

Kitties Blue Health Update

It was my turn to be stuffed in a SleepyPod and hauled off to the vet on Wednesday. Yep, I got the eye “icks” too! I made the humans aware of my displeasure all the way there and most of the way back with loud protestations and tinkling in the SleepyPod.

The humans are getting better at recognizing this persistent and spreading infection. I had no fever and did not require an injection or any oral meds. But I am getting that goopy eye ointment. I have an ulcer on my eye as well. No one else has one of those. I knew I was special! It will probably take longer to heal than the infection will take to clear up, and I have to go back to the vet for a re-check. Again, special me! None of the others got to do that. Though we were told scar tissue may form, it should not occlude my vision.

Mau has two more days of meds and eye ointment, and his eye is looking good. We just need a few more purrs and prayers asking that I am the end of the line for this infection.

Friendly Fill-Ins: Week #90

Now that I am done with the health update, I am going to do the fill-ins. It is my compensation for being maligned so badly in the post, “Mini Rant on Tuxie Tuesday.” My fursibs were unkind, and they hurt my feelings. If Mom and Dad think the new collar with cute pandas is remuneration enough for that post as well as the trip to the vet, they are delusional.

My completions are in teal italics.

1. The flu shot is something Dad and Mom get every year. It hasn’t stopped them from getting the flu every year, but Mom can only remember a couple of times getting it in the last 35+ years. We kitties are wishing some type of vaccine existed to keep us from passing around the icky eyes.

Misty May protests her trip to the vet.

2. I think everyone should take time to nap daily.

3. I (almost) always sleep on Mom’s pillow, because I can!

4. I ~~(almost)~~ never am nice to Astrid, because it is so easy to assert my authority over her and make her scream.

Friendly Fill-Ins is a weekly blog hop hosted by Ellen (15 And Meowing) and Annie (McGuffy’s Reader). They each provide two incomplete sentences to be filled in by participants. You can find the sentences on their blogs every Thursday. To participate in the blog hop, click on the Fill-Ins badge. You will be taken to Annie’s blog to enter your link.

Purrs and paw-pats, Misty May

January 26, 2018 by Janet Blue Friendly Friday Fill-Ins Health Kitty Written Blog Veterinarian 18

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.

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

January 23, 2018 by Janet Blue Angel Cat Cat Scouts Doozy of a Snoozy Kitty Written Blog Tuxie Tuesday vSquillion 18

MAU’S “BLUE” PERIOD

Caturday Art

Mauricio is here today for Caturday Art to ask for some purrs and POTP. That’s right…it’s his turn, which is why this Kitty Blue is blue. He now has the eye infection, which is working its way through the furmily. We’ve put some ointment in his eye, and he has a vet appointment at 8 a.m. Dad Tom and I are praying he’ll be the last to contract this. (Calista Jo has a few more days of medication and ointment.)

This photo was taken on Monday at the same time as Lisbeth’s “nip” photo from yesterday’s post.

To create the art, I used the Painnt app again. The effect I used is Composition – X. I set the color filter at “original” and increased the saturation. Next, I added the blue scrolled border with piZap and the square border with Picasa.

If you check out the original photo, you will see that Mau has nip on his head and is standing on a package of Temptations. Are you wondering what possibly could be the reason for this largesse? It was Chris, of course. She was here to clean. She always brings nip and treats for the gang. Mauricio is looking up at her and wondering why the treat package is still closed.

Several additional photos were taken, which I will share in future posts.

We are entering Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. To see additional art and/or submit some of your own, click on her badge.

Sunday Selfies

Another week has slipped away making it time for you to get your selfie taken for tomorrow’s blog hop.

The whippersnapper will be here tomorrow as your host for week #180 of the hop. It’s his punishment for escaping outside through the front door last night. We tempted him to come with treats and his favorite wand toy, and Dad Tom scooped him up. When you see his selfie tomorrow, you’ll find he showed no remorse. What a little stinker!

Looking forward to seeing all your smiling faces tomorrow!

January 20, 2018 by Janet Blue Caturday Art Blog Hop Prayers 21

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.

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

This final card is Lily Olivia’s Crotchety Cougar 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.

December 23, 2017 by Janet Blue Cat Scouts Caturday Art Blog Hop Christmas Crotchety Cougars Club Friendly Friday Fill-Ins Holiday 18

MAURICIO’S SNOW-DAY SELFIE

Sunday Selfies; Week #174

We had our first snow of the season yesterday. Though it snowed most of the day, we only got about three inches. It was very pretty to watch coming down and looked great sprinkled on the trees and bushes like powdered sugar. In keeping with that theme, Mom has added a snow effect to our site and framed Mau’s selfie in a snow-themed frame.

Mau was thinking of his lovely wife Allie (Friends Furever) when he snapped this selfie. He has his paws crossed that she likes it.

A Shocking Discovery

Before we get down to the business of hopping, Mom asked us to share with you a surprising encounter she had yesterday. She went out to the front porch to retrieve a package and came face to face with a kitten, slightly larger than Sawyer. The kitten was solid grey and a Manx like Sawyer. It had on a frayed-looking pink color. The kitten bolted as soon as it saw Mom. It appears that Sawyer has a sibling. Where it is living and who put the collar on it is a mystery. Should Mom or Dad spot it again or if we find out any information about this kitty, we’ll share it.

Blog Hop

Alrighty then…it is time to hop. We know everyone is busy with holiday preparations, but we are hoping you can take just a few moments to snap a selfie and join the hop. If you are new to hopping, here are a few tips.

The link to add your selfie to the hop is below.
You also will find below the code to use if you’d like the hop to appear on your blog.
Posting on Sundays is not necessary to join.
You do not need to be a cat to enter. All anipals are welcome regardless of species.
The hop remains open for entries through Thursday midnight.
Please be so kind as to display our badge and/or link to The Cat on My Head.

Thanks for hopping.

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

December 10, 2017 by Janet Blue Kitty Written Blog Sunday Selfies 41

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?

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

December 9, 2017 by Janet Blue Caturday Art Blog Hop Christmas Kitty Written Blog 22

MAURICIO BLUE IS BLUE

Caturday Art

Mauricio returns today without his turkey suit. In mid-October he was atop the pool cover one afternoon looking particularly cute. I snapped a few photos of him. The one I am using today for art is from that photo shoot.

This is the photo I used for the basis of my art. I selected this photo as I thought all the shadows and various textures would make the creation more interesting.

My first addition was the pen art effect from LunaPic. I almost stopped with just that, but if you know me, that’s just not my MO.

My next step was to add the Crystal Palace filter using piZap. That added some splashes of color around the edges. Then it was back to LunaPic to add the water effect and the “Splash” art. After adding “Splash” I cut back on that effect by about 50 percent to get some of the original pen look back. The border was from Picasa. That gave me the art you see at the top of this post.

This is Mau’s entry in Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty’s Caturday Art blog hop. If you created some art today or want to find links to other creations, click on her badge.

Mau hopes his lovely wife Allie (Friends Furever) enjoys seeing him again for the second day. He’s sending her oodles of love and smoochies.

Sunday Selfies

Kitties Blue and I were excited to have so many of you join us last week on the blog hop. We even had some new participants, which always gets us super excited. Did some of you discover them and visit their blogs? Remember, that’s the purpose of blog “hops.” As we do every Saturday, we are giving you a reminder to put on your best smile and join us on the hop tomorrow.

Until tomorrow…toodles!

November 18, 2017 by Janet Blue Caturday Art Blog Hop 20

YOU
For Fiona

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

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

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

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

YESTERDAY

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

ONE YEAR MISSING YOU

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

UNTIL

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

ONE OF A KIND

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