Intruders at Grandpaw's - Caturday Art and Sunday Guest Selfie

Hallo again, Effurrybody!

We apawlogise for having missed last week's Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, as well as the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

You see, Mummy abandoned Us for the Entire Weekend! Step-Grandma went off to Safad for a few days to visit her friends, leaving Grandpaw all alone (well, except for Our Uncle Messi, the Woofie), and so Mummy went to stay with him for the weekend because he's her Daddy and he's almost 93 human years old. She was away for Three Whole Nights - only coming back effurry day for a couple of hours to feed Us and play with Us a bit, and so We didn't want to lose Purrecious Minutes with her writing bloggies.

Grandpaw and Step-Grandma have a big garden, where Uncle Messi likes to hang out, enjoying the huge sunpuddles.  This is his Territory, so when Intruders dare to - well, Intrude - you can be sure that Messi will demand that they leave, in no uncertain terms.

Well, the furry furrst afternoon Mummy was there, suddenly Messi, who was out in the Garden, started barking like crazy. Mummy went out to investigate, and She found that this little, itsy-bitsy kitten, whom She had seen earlier up in the road, being fed by two little boys who live next door to Grandpaw and Step-Grandma, had somehow managed to get into the next-door garden and from there, through a gap in the fence, into Grandpaw and Step-Grandma's Messi's garden!

As you can imagine, Messi was not best pleased!


Warning! Trigger Alert!  This Video contains Loud Barking by excitable Woofie!




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isx98rLKO64&feature=youtu.be

But Messi would never actually hurt a kitty - especially not a little baby like this one - and the Intruder Kitty furry soon realised that his Bark is much worse than his Bite, and didn't turn a Whisker.

In fact, the little kitten came back several times over the course of Mummy's visit, and She couldn't resist taking several pictures of it. So We have decided to invite the sweet furry baby to be Our Guest Star this week, in both the Caturday Art and in the Sunday Selfies blog hops.

Furrst of all (since Caturday comes before Sunday - mol), here are Our Entries in the Caturday Art blog hop. Furrst, the original picture, of Messi's Furrst Encounter with the Tiny Intruder:

Here is Athena's Caturday Art badge:

We were torn between two different art effects at LunaPic.
This is the Van Gogh Effect at 50%:

And this is the Beauty Effect, also at 50%:







Which one do you prefurr?

And for the Sunday Selfies, here is a close-up picture of the sweet little kitty.
We think - at least, We hope - that he or she has been adopted by the Family next door to Grandpaw and Step-Grandma.

Furrst, here is the Kitties Blue blog hop badge:








And here is Intruder Kitty's Guest Selfie:








Now all that remains is for Us to wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and may you and your Humans continue to keep safe from the horrible Coronavirus, which looks, alas, as if it's going to be with Us for quite a while yet. 

Memories of Minxie: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

Today, We are devoting Our post to Mummy's furry furrst kitty, Angel Minxie - the Queen of Cats. We should, by rights, have written about her last week, because she was born on (or about) June 15th 1980, and flew away to the Rainbow Bridge on June 12th 1995, just three days before what would have been her 15th birthday - only Mummy was a bit distracted by all the bad things happening in the World, and especially, by the surge in new cases of the Horrible Coronavirus here in Israel.

Minxie, as you can see, was a beautiful tabby kitty, with the most loving nature you can imagine. She and Mummy had absolute trust in each other and she would often go to sleep on Mummy's chest or tummy, safe in the knowledge that Mummy would purr-tect her and make sure that no harm would effur come to her. And Mummy did purr-tect her, until an Evil Cancer attacked Minxie, and although Mummy did all She could and spared no expense, She could not save Her Baby.

In this picture, you can see Minxie with Arabella Dolly, and with Felix, who are still with Us.  Sometimes, they whisper to Us and tell Us stories about Minxie.  

We decided to honour Minxie's Memory by making her the Star of this week's Sunday Selfies,  and it is she, the Furrst of the J-Cats, who will represent Us in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop hosted by Our Dear Furriends, the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.  Here is their Badge:

As usual, We are also taking part in the Caturday Art Blog Hop, hosted by the Wise and Lovely Athena, and her HuMum, Marie.  

Here is their Badge:  

We used the Stained Glass effect from LunaPic, at 60%, to artify Minxie's picture - and here she is, in all her glowing Glory:






Other News:

Before We get distracted,  We wanted to mention that this meowning, there was a paw-tial Eclipse of the Sun visible here in Israel (although, of course, We couldn't look at it because you should neffur look directly at the Sun, and certainly not when it is in Eclipse. Mummy says it can blind you). We think it got eclipsed because it was tired out after the Solstice yesterday. Maybe it had been celebrating too much (mol).

Last, but certainly not least, We want to wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and to remind you, whatever the state of the Pandemic in your neck of the woods, to stay safe and to look after your Humans.


Pawpats and kitty kisses to you all.

The New Normal - Shimshi's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

Shavua Tov (a Good Week) to you all. Things are furry slowly getting back to "normal". Well, not quite the way they used to be, but sort of. For example, Mummy is going to venture out to her Caterwauling Club this evening - although instead of all the members meeting together twice a week, as in the past, for the next few weeks they are going to meet in smaller groups, once a week, so effurryone gets their turn.  Mummy's group of about nine (including the conductor) will be meeting tonight, in the courtyard of the synagogue where they usually hold rehearsals. It is now pur-mitted to meet indoors, but they decided to play safe and remain outdoors, as long as the weather allows them to do so.

Today, it is once again My Turn to star in the Caturday Art Blog Hop hosted by beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie - as well as in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop hosted by the darling Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet! (We take things strictly in turn here, at the J-Cats' hangout.)

This is a picture of Me, exercising after my post-prandial nap:






I like this one furry much and I have chosen it for the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop, so here is their badge:

Mummy and I then popped over to LunaPic, where Mummy helped Me artify it, using the Picasso Effect and on top of that, Beauty (at 70%).  Mummy wanted to use the Sadness Effect at furrst, but We thought that there is already far too much sadness in the World (you all know what We mean, so no more about that now). We decided, instead, to add a little Beauty.

And here is the final result:

As I said, this one is for the Caturday Art Blog Hop and here is their badge:







And now, all that is left for Me to do is to wish you all Shavua Tov once more.

Stay safe, be well - and make sure your Humans remember to observe all the Rules!

What Next? - Caspurr's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurryone and Shavua Tov (a Good Week)!

It looks like that "Second Wave" the Humans were talking about, might have hit the shore!  160 new cases of the Evil Coronavirus over the last 24 hours!
Not Good!  Where will it all end?

Mummy didn't go to her Caterwauling Lesson last week, after all. Her teacher gave her a lesson via the Zoomie app instead. Which means that We had to listen to her caterwauling away got to hear her singing...

A lot of schools decided, on their own initiative,  to close and/or return to "Teaching from a Distance", without waiting for an official directive from the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Education.  Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted! If the schools had enforced the Social Distancing rules within their walls, We might not be in this new mess!

Well, there is nothing We Felines can do about it, so We shall purr-ceed to matters at hand - to wit, the weekend bloggie hops: the Caturday Art bloggie hop, hosted by the lovely and wise Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies bloggie hop, hosted by the sweet Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Mummy tricked Me into taking this selfie, when I had just woken up from a nice snooze on the sofa next to her. If you look carefully, you can see her foot just inside the left-hand frame:








And here is the Sunday Selfies badge:

We artified My Selfie, using a frame and the Illusion effect from LunaPic - et voilà!  (That's Furr-ench, you know. I learnt it from Trixie, who is always showing off by using Furr-ench words. She thinks it makes her look so-phisticated.)

I think it makes me look a bit like a ginger kitty, doesn't it? 
Anyway, here is Athena's Caturday Art badgie:

And now, it's time for Us to hop those bloggies, while Mummy has a siesta, which is really the best only thing to do when it's 31 degrees C (87.8F) outside.

As for you, dear furr-iends - stay home, stay safe, stay well (and make sure your Humans do too).

Corona Weekend: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo there, Effurrybody!

Well, it looks like Mummy was right when She insisted they were opening up the country and easing the lockdown restrictions too fast. Instead of waiting two weeks between the various stages, and considering the developments following each stage before proceeding to the next, the government gave in to the demands of all sorts of interest groups and backed down on some of the conditions they had set for proceeding to the next stages.  As a result, we had a spike in the daily number of new cases, from 10 last Sunday, to 113  (115 according to one of the TV networks) on Furriday!   However, they say it is still too soon to know if this is a trend heralding the expected "Second Wave", or a series of localised outbreaks, as most of the new cases seem to be centred on certain schools in Jerusalem and Rehovot. So We must just wait a few more days and see.
That said, Mummy is still planning on going to her caterwauling lesson later this week (the first time in nearly three months) but She has purr-omised Us to go by taxi and not risk using public transport.

Now, kitties, it is time for Us to take part in the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet: 







And here is their badge:  

I like this picture, because it shows Me in one of My Favourite Poses, presenting my Paws to the Camera. I have furr-equently been complimented on the daintiness of My Paws. Indeed, Mummy has often told Me how Purr-ecious they are. I hope you agree!


As you know, We also like to take part in the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena the Wise and her HuMum, Marie.  Here is their badge: 







So Mummy popped over to LunaPic and artified My Selfie by adding the Smoke effect at 70%. Here it is:








I thought that was purr-fectly elegant - and Mummy agreed.

Do you know, kitties, during the lockdown, a great many mewseums have been allowing people to pay virtual visits, using the Internet. This gave Mummy an idea. She thought the Louvre Mewseum in Paris would be vastly enriched by a pawtrait of Moi, so she took my artified selfie off to Photofunia, and came back with this:  

Magnificent, even if I do say so myself!

Now, dear Anipals (and your Humans), it is time for Me to wish you Shavua Tov (a Good Week), and remind you to take care of yourselves and of each other, by making sure that you observe whatever restrictions are in place for your safety. The month of June, and with it, the Summer, is almost upon Us. Let's try to get through it safely and in Good Health.

And now, it's time to blog hop!

Shimshi's Celebratory Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

Here I am again, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short) a.k.a. The Little Purrince,  Furrst of My Name, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard. 

Furrst things furrst. I want to wish effurryone Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and also Chodesh Tov (a Good Month) - today being the furrst of the Mewish month of Sivan. And to our Meowslim furriends, who are celebrating Eid el-Fitr today, We also wish Eid Meowbarak!

We, too, have been celebrating - and shall be celebrating still more.  Yesterday, We had a pawty to celebrate Jerusalem Liberation Day, which fell on Furriday and also (belatedly) My Gotcha Day (which fell the Furriday before).  Can it really be six years since Mummy and I gotcha-ed each other? Doesn't time fly? I feel as if Mummy and I and my fursibs have always been together! And this coming  Furriday, We shall be celebrating the Mewish festival of Shavuot (Pentecost).

The weather has been furry strange. Last week, you remember, We had a dreadful heatwave.  It was so hot, Mummy just HAD to get her birds' nest hair cut!  Today, the tempurratures have plummeted to about 16 degrees C and this morning, it was absolutely POURING with rain.

I watched the rain for a while till I got bored and then resumed my guard duties on top of the highest of the kitchen cupboards, which is one of My Favourite Snoopervising Purrches.

While I was there, Mummy tricked Me into taking a Sunday Selfie, to repurresent Us on the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by Our Sweet Furriends the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

And then, with the help of LunaPic, She turned Me into a stained-glass window, which is one of Our Favourite Artsy-Fartsy Effects:

This will be Our Entry in the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Lovely Athena and her HuMum, Marie.  

And now, all that remains is for Me to remind those of you still in Lockdown - even only pawtial Lockdown - to remember to observe the rules that are in place to keep you and your Humans safe. Be well, all of you - and may the Great Cat in the Sky continue to watch over you.


That said - let's blog hop!

Melting Point - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurryone!

It is ME, Sir Caspurr the Courageous, Furrst of My Name, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Forces, King of the Tigger-Tabbies and I am here to tell you, it is HOT!  Spring was just getting into its stride when all of a sudden, it was SUMMER!  It is 35 degrees Celsius at present (just after 2 pm) and We are looking at a week-long Sharav, with temperatures here in Jerusalem the Capital hovering around 39 degrees C till the weekend!

I have to say, under the circumstances, staying home doesn't seem such a bad idea. Indoors, at least We have the air-conditioning to keep Us cool. Only a Mad Woofie (or an Englishman) would go out in temperatures like these if they didn't have to!

Mummy went out of the house for the furrst time last week to visit her Daddy (a.k.a. Grandpa), whom she hasn't seen in purr-son since the start of the lockdown two months ago - but since he hasn't been out anywhere either and lives here in the neighbourhood, We don't really consider that "going out". However, She thinks She might, after all, go to have a haircut some time next week. We worry about her - but We do understand. If She waits much longer, they're going to need a machete to hack off all that excess growth (mol)!

Today being Sunday, We are taking part in the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet - and also in the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the furry Wise Cat Goddess, Athena and her HuMum, Marie.

This is ME, doing the only really sensible thing a cat can do in a heat-wave:




   




That's right. Trying to take a nap.  Not so easy to do when Humans insist on shoving flashy boxes in your face and badgering you to take a selfie!

Are you hearing Me, Human Mummy Dearest?

Anyway, this is Our Entry for the Sunday Selfies blog, and here is their badge:

Mummy decided to turn this into a painting, for the Caturday Art blog hop - and here is their badge:






|
Furrst of all, she used the Oil Painting Special Effect from PicResize:

But She decided that one could hardly spot the difference. It certainly didn't look arty enough, so She added the Surreal Painting Effect from LunaPic:






Now, that looks much more appropriate as a piece of Caturday Art, don't you think?


One last thing - We wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and remind you all that coming up this Furriday, We have Jerusalem Liberation Day, the 53rd anniversary of the liberation and re-unification of Jerusalem in the Six Day War, so We shall be celebrating with a picnic and barbecue the following day, Shabbat, up in the Enchanted Forest, which is Our Favourite picnic spot - and which has a wonderful panoramic view of Jerusalem and especially, the Old City. We shall also be celebrating (albeit a week late) Shimshi's sixth Gotcha Day which occurred last Friday, May 15th. Do say you'll join Us!

And now - let's join the blog hops!  Off We go!