Wordless Wednesday ~ No Almond Joy?

Mancat Monday - A Varmint for Victor

By Sadie Willie

Sadie caught a huge varmint to give to Victor for his 2nd Gotchaversary Day present.
Because I am the sole mancat on the premises (at this moment), the yards and house belong to me.
So I took it.

I started to walk it down the hill to the mailbox so our wonderful postal person, Curtis, could take it right out, but then I thought maybe it should be gift wrapped first.

I tried to give it back to Sadie for wrapping, but she was very upset with me and told me to do it myself.

I tried to bring it into the dining room so Mosaic Lady could wrap it up for me.

And then I remembered that she sucks at gift wrapping.

I suddenly noticed that the varmint was not moving much, so I tried to revive him.
He did not seem to want to play anymore.

I prayed over him and tried to do some hands-on, Reiki healing, but nothing.
I decided that a varmint corpse is not a very nice Gotcha Day gift.
They don't play very well.

I went to the front yard and cleaned myself up on my hot tub.
That was a lot of exertion and trouble I went to for Victor, with nothing to show for it.

Bianca and I watched Mosaic Lady use a big shovel to toss the dead varmint over the deck and into the canyon.

It's the thought that counts, anyway, right Victor?
And we are thinking of you today.

The End

Everycat's an art critic Sunday

Oh my, what have we here?
Don't tell me she's found her misplaced muse?

mmmmmmmm...Fiesta has a flavor.
RED!
Sort of like pink, only richer.

Mosaic Lady might enter this in the Etsy Bitchen Kitchen Mosaic Challenge. The theme is housewares. (Kind of a jab at etsy brass who have decided to place mosaics not in art, but in housewares!)

We don't have a lot of old kitchen stuff any more. When we were packing up to leave Colorado, our Fairy Godmother ordered Mosaic Lady to put in the trash any object that had the f word in front of it, used as an adjective to describe it. For example: "f'in toaster. F'in dull knives. F'in teflon frying pan with no teflon left."
It is a good thing that our Fairy Godmother has not applied that same rule to that same favorite adjective used in front of "cat".
Or our names.

Be sure to biggify so you can see the cute bumble bee above and the hummingbird below. Their wings quiver!

The tail on the tiny turtle moves, too, which is good. It moves out of the way instead of snapping off when you set the carafe down.
Our Fairy Godmother has been trying to talk ML into using sculpey to make legs for the carafes so they don't leave moisture marks on tables (assuming you're drinking a chilled white or pink and not a red, of course.)
ML had never heard of sculpey and is pretty sure she'd be talentless at fashioning it into symmetrical legs.
While she waits for our Fairy Godmother to show us a sample (reminder reminder), do you think we should see if the carafe looks good on top of this?

You can see a few more photos of this piece and read more about the materials at ML's blog. I also want to pimp Whiskers Rescue. ML got the cute green rhinestone fly pin in the first photo from them. They are one of our favorite eBay sellers to patronize. They spay and neuter feral cats in New Jersey and care for them in their existing colonies, providing food and medical care. Please look at their eBay store and support them if you can!

Formerly Feral Friday ~ Annie

Formerly feral, now proud Pumpkin Palace proprietor.


Great thanks to our talented pals over at Zoolatry, as always.

What a difference a year makes, Wednesday ~ by Bianca

One year ago this very day, Kitties, our Godmother woke up very early in New York City and flew all day to Colorado to meet us for the very first time.

Walter, Mosaic Dawg and I loved her from the first moment.
Willie and Sadie took a bit longer to warm up.
They are still warming up.
They just don't like anyone but Mosaic Lady, really.
They are super freaks.

Walter and I especially liked her computer, because she let us climb all over it, and her, when she was using it.
Mosaic Lady hardly noticed the computer at all.
What Intel Duo MacBook Pro?

Walter liked his Godmother so very much that he tried to stow away in her suitcase the night before she was to leave.
She was very concerned for his in-flight safety, so she suggested we all just pick up and move to North Carolina to be closer to her.
So we did.
And we are glad.

Happy One Year GotUsVersary --
Evil Joy Fairy Godmother!

(UPDATE: Many Kitties have asked us in our comments how can they get a fairy godmother of their own, and can you get one on the innernets? We did. We found ours on eBay! Here's How! )

Toes, Tail & Toosh Tuesday

Smudge, the once foster kitten, resting comfortably after his daily butt bath.
I surmise this because his toes and tail are uncharacteristically, and relatively, clean.
I am pretty sure his yellowish butt fur stain is permanent.
Sort of like his own special tattoo.
Poo Tattoo.
Wasn't that a Stones album?
No, that was Tattoo Poo.
HA!
Where is Yao-Lin when I need him to snigger at my jokes?

Annie's Autumn Art Sunday & Foster Update!!

Hello Kitties,
I thought I'd share some of the natural art all around my house with you today.
Even though the colors are not supposed to peak till next week, they are pretty spectacular right now.

Besides my gorgeous, sleek form in the window, this is Mosaic Lady's view from her studio. She put that chair there just this week for morning meditation. So far her butt has not touched it. Her intent is aspirational. Her follow through, abysmal.

The tree line in my back yard...

Our fun back yard stairs...(you can see the Walter memorial yard stake)...

The picnic table landing where we all like to nap...

Our driveway...

The mailboxes at the end of our road...
The horse pasture right behind is one of Mosaic Lady's favorite things about our street. She and Mosaic Dawg walk along side it every morning.

The beautiful neighbor horses...



Happy Autumn Art Sunday to All!

Foster Update:

After I posted this, ML got this email from the TAAG prez re: Lucy:

Lucy was adopted yesterday. She went to a very, very nice family, so I hope it all works out. They are a young couple with an 18 month old little boy. The whole family is very gentle and calm, including the baby. They wanted a kitten who was gentle and would
tolerate being held (with supervision) by their little guy.

and when ML inquired if Smudge was happy to be "home" with TAAG prez (who we hope hope hope keeps him!), she wrote:

Smudge didn't skip a beat! He was happy to be home, but I also think he would be happy anywhere. He is a very adaptable dude. He has been sleeping all cuddled up with me at night. His poop is perfect, but not in the box!!!!! :-(

What a great Sunday morning, Kitties!

Farewell Fosters Friday

Well, Kitties, the day has finally come that we are Fosters No More! Lucy and Smudge went back to their REAL foster mom's home today. Mosaic Lady has already cleaned the foster kitty bedroom carpet and washed the poo splatter off the walls. It was a lot of work and on some days, a lot of stress. Some days ML felt like all she did from the time she woke up till after lunch was wash poo off of carpets, floors, kitty condos, blankets, towels, cubes, scratch toys...We did not even tell you that after Smudge poo'd in our cube for the FOURTH time, ML gave up and threw it away!

She is now an expert at poo stain removal (Resolve, of course) and poo stink removal (Nature's Miracle 3-in-1 spray). The skin on her hands is peeling off from all of her OCD hand washing, made 6 times worse by our tiny house guests.

And, of course tonight, three brief hours after their departure, she is depressed and sad and wants them back!

Here are some of ML's favorite final photos of the Poosome Twosome...

Smudge tried to employ Annie's Worming My Way In (TM) strategy by being sure ML noticed that he was a white boy kitty, just like Walter. (The Snapfish memorial collage is finally framed and soon to be hung. Really. We mean it.)

This is how he tried to soften up ML's heart and worm his way back in after putting a half cup of liquid poo in one of her plastic tubs full of mosaic shards. (This was after our T13 post so you didn't even hear about that one either. You're welcome.)

This was just this morning. Helpful muses, aren't they?
Don't you think they've gotten big in just 3 1/2 weeks?
Bigger = More Poo!

Smudge even let Annie have the special muse chair when she wanted it.
Sort of like how Sadie had to let Annie have it when Annie claimed it.

Black, white and the gray in the middle.
See how the light falls on the middle path?

A never ending source of bitey amusement for each other.
They had never met until they came to our house on September 25th. Now they are close friends and best play partners.
Tomorrow Lucy will go with the TAAG prez up to Pet Smart for the adoption day.
She will not stay and sleep there in a cube, however. ML confirmed that first thing.
(Don't tell anyone but ML was prepared to foster Lucy longer if it came to that.)

This was a very long fostering experience for us, especially since we are new to it and the kitties had the run of the house for many hours in the day. (And especially since we fostered Annie for several weeks right before it!!! -- Sadie wrote that part.)
But it was also a very fun, joyful and exciting time. We all came to accept the chaos and the newness. Mosaic Dawg loved the kittens, and they loved her right back. Smudge would often walk right up to her and kiss her nose. Leah did not ever expect it. She's freakishly confused or often over-excited by displays of affection.

Even though it was like having two human babies around (not that ANY of us would have a clue what that involves since we are all Child Free By Choice), there were days when we saw ML put her ear up to the kitten bedroom door, hoping to hear them awake and squealing to come out to play. She would start looking forward to letting them out when she was driving home from town.

Even though Smudge's poo challenged existence had ML close to wrist-slitting some days, this is how we will choose to remember him**.
Happy (Poo Lined) Trails to you, darling Smudge and Lucy.
Until we meet again...


Psssssssssssttttttttttttttttt...
HEY KITTIES!
I heard ML tell TAAG Lady that if she could solve Smudge's poo problems and get him to use the litter box 90% of the time instead of 10%, she'd think about keeping him forever!!!
Shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....
don't tell Mosaic Cats!


**Finding the roses in the pile of poo by our talented pals over at Zoolatry, of course.

Wordless Wednesday - Le Voyeur

Mancat Willie Monday - placid and self contain'd

This was taken in my last year in Colorado. I lived there over TEN years. That is 2/3 of my life (so far.) From California to North Carolina via New Mexico and Colorado is a long road for a mancat cat to travel. Good thing for good company!

I decided today that I like North Carolina just fine. Less snow and less stairs in our new house! And the yards are awesome with many places to walk, climb, hide, and nap on picnic tables and benches and porches. It's getting cool suddenly and the leaves are starting to fall. Every morning the back yard is a different color. Fall and winter have always been Mosaic Lady's favorite times of year, but suddenly she is mourning the passing of spring and summer. It happened so fast, and so much of it was a blur of grief after Walter died in May. I think she is dreading the cold and dark and wet a tiny bit this year. Fortunately, unlike Colorado, the winter here will not be six, never-ending months of cold and dark and snow.

Mosaic Lady has many things to focus on through the end of the year, including and especially her mosaics! She will start posting new pieces to her blog a lot more frequently, so please visit her there. We will still post here when we can because we love to show off, but if you don't see us around as much it is because we are shifting our energies into other areas now and turning inward, with the shifting and turning of the season.

I think I could turn and live with animals, they're so placid and self contain'd, I stand and look at them long and long.

They do not sweat and whine about their condition, They do not lie awake in the dark and weep for their sins, They do not make me sick discussing their duty to God, Not one is dissatisfied, not one is demented with the mania of owning things, Not one kneels to another, nor to his kind that lived thousands of years ago, Not one is respectable or unhappy over the earth.

~Walt Whitman

Sunday Eggs & Ego ~ Annie

Thank you for hearing the desperate plea for external validation that my sarcasm was attempting to cover up. Apparently, I cover up my cr@p about as well as Smudge does his.
Today I have received two real awards, unrelated to body fluids, gross excretions, or retch-inducing aromas.
I am lapping up the love.

The sweet and charming Mickey left this for me as I slept. I will share this one with Mosaic Lady because she loves candied apples. But I will cut them into tiny bits for her because if she were to bite into one of these babies, at least three of her veneers would pop right off.

HRH Yao-Lin tried his best to mitigate the extensive damage his little brother's so-called "award" did to my bruised, tenuous, faltering sense of self. He gave me this one this morning. Beau Beau and Angie thought I already had it or they'd have given it to me too, so I'm counting that. (Yes, I really am that needy. You say that like it's a bad thing.)

Mmmmmm...
My blog has a new flavor.
LoVe

I think most cats have received these awards by now but if you are reading this and you have not and you feel bruised and shattered like I once did, consider yourself Sweetly Luved.