Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie

Hallo, Effurryone!

Here We are again - at least, I am.
Who am I, do I hear you ask?
Why, Caspurr the Courageous, Furrst of My Name, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Guard and King of the Tigger-Tabbies.






Some more of the lockdown restrictions have been lifted - over the objections of some senior officials of the Ministry of Health, who fear a second wave of this horrid coronavirus in a couple of weeks time. They say we are moving too fast and that it is too soon to allow businesses such as hair and beauty salons to re-open. Mummy agrees and She has no plans just yet to go out and have her birds' nest luxuriant locks trimmed (mol). In any case, She doesn't really have anywhere to go, because gatherings like her Caterwauling Club, Open University lectures, field trips and the Opera, are still prohibited, so why should She take the risk?

Moreover, although high street shops (but not shopping malls or open markets) can now open,  there is going to be another stringent curfew for Memorial Day and Independence Day later this week, forcing people to restrict Independence Day celebrations on Wednesday to their nuclear families (like it was for Pessach)  - and bereaved families won't even be allowed to visit the military cemeteries over those two days, to prevent mass gatherings.  

I have to say, some people seem to have misinterpreted the gradual easing-up of restrictions. I have seen them on TeeVee, going to the beach and the promenade, without wearing face-masks, or keeping two metres distance from each other, as they are supposed to do! If they aren't careful, the horrible virus will be back in a couple of weeks and we'll be worse off than before!  

That is why I am looking so serious in my selfie, which is Our Entry this week in the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by Our furry dear furriends, the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.
    
Here is their badge:






So, to inject a lighter note into this week's post, here is Our entry in the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Beautiful and Wise Cat Goddess, Athena, and her HuMum,  Marie.

And here is their badge: 

Mummy used  the Dreaming Effect from LunaPic, at 66% and then She added the Sauna Filter which comes with Windows 10. As you can see,  it shows just how much of a tigger I am. Mummy calls this pawtrait  "Tyger, Tyger, Burning Bright", after a famous poem by Mr. William Blake.  This Mr. Blake was born more than 260 human years ago!  Do you like poetry? I like poetry - as long as it's about cats (mol).

We do have one piece of really good news. Mummy's nephew and his wife had a kitten baby boy, born last Thursday night. That means Mummy is now a Great-Auntie!  And her sister is a Grandma!  Mummy says when She starts to feel depressed about all the bad news all over the world, She thinks about the new kitten baby, and then She is Happy again.

Now, it's time for Us to go and join the blog hops, but not before I wish you all  Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and Chodesh Tov (a Good Month - yesterday was the furrst day of the month of Iyyar, the second month in the Mewish calendar).

And not before I remind you all to keep an eye on your Humans and make sure they continue to observe all the rules which are there to make sure they don't get sick or make anyone else sick.

Stay home. Stay healthy. Stay Safe.

Trixie's Sleepy Sunday Selfie

Hallo again, Effurrybody!

Shavua Tov (a Good Week) to you all. How are you all doing? Are you still in lockdown?

WE are happy to report that here in Israel, some of the restrictions have been lifted. Some businesses and offices have been allowed to get back to work, as long as they operate at only 30% of their workforce, and adhere to Social Distancing rules, such as keeping a 2-metre distance between employees, wearing masks etc. 

Although shopping malls are still closed, certain high street retailers can now open. Not fashion or shoe shops, but shops selling things like household goods, electrical supplies and so on - the kind of things people really need. Yes, yes, I know some of Our Humans (especially the ladies) think new clothes and shoes, and hairdos and manicures are ABSOLUTELY ESSENTIAL  -  but the government does not agree, for some reason. Go figure. We have seen, on the internet, some humans have been attempting to cut their own hair - with varying degrees of success. Mummy doesn't dare - even though her hair now looks like a cross between a bird's nest and a failed attempt at an Afro (mol).

Furriday, April 17th, was Shimshi's Birthday. He is now 6 years old. We celebrated quietly, en famille,  as We were all still exhausticated after Pessach. We will make up for it by celebrating doubly on Shimshi's Gotcha Day, May 15th. Meanwhile, We are recuperating and relaxing in one of the many sunpuddles We are enjoying this week, in which the temperatures are expected to remain in the mid-to-high 20s Celsius.

Now, it is time to pawticipate in the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by Our Dear Furriends, the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Mummy took so many pictures of Me this week that it was hard to choose which one would be Our Entry in the blog hop, but We finally settled on this one:

And here is the Sunday Selfies blog hop badge:





In addition, Mummy artified it, using the Picasso and Emboss effects from LunaPic - with the result that I, a Proud Black Panfur, now look more like a Tabby!
(I used to have a tabby tail, when I was a little kitten and furrst came to live with Mummy. It was black and white striped - but you wouldn't know that now.)

Anyway, this is the result of Mummy's artification:

This second pawtrait, the arty-fartsy one, is going to represent the J-Cats in the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie.   Here is their badge: 


  


They are celebrating the Greek Orthodox Easter today, so We wish them - and effurrybody else who is celebrating Easter this week, instead of last week, a Furry Happy Easter.


Now, before We start blog-hopping, We want to remind you all - and your Humans - to make sure you adhere to all the Rules that have been put in place for your Purrtection during this worrying time. 

Stay home. Be well. Stay safe.

Spring Holidays Caturday Art at Caspurr's Gotcha Day Pawty

Greetings, Effurryone!

Welcome to Caspurr's Gotcha Day Pawty! It's been seven years since he Gotcha'd Mummy - Mummy thinks it was She who Gotcha'd Caspurr, but what do Humans know (mol)?

Actually, since Caspurr and Mummy Gotcha'd each other just three days after Mummy's Birthday, She thinks he was kind of a birthday purresent sent to her by Angels Possum, Pixie and Minxie!

Whatever the case may be, it's a good excuse for a pawty. So come on in, and join the fun! No Social Distancing is necessary in the Enchanted Forest!

The bar is over to your right - plenty of niptinis, catmint juleps and silvervine soda pop.

If you are hungry, the central table is loaded. Have some salmon quiche, or some chicken salad. There is trout terrine. And plenty of chopped liver sandwiches  - made with matza, because We are Mewish kitties and it is Pessach.
Just to bring that home - there is also gefillte fish (mol).

And on that table to the left, you will find effurry flavour of Fancy Feast your heart could desire!

The dessert table is at the far end of the marquee. Plenty of cakes and micecream. Eat up! Enjoy! It's good to get away from all the news about the horrible Corona-virus pandemic that is driving Our Humans crazy and scaring them so.

But when you get back to them, don't forget to snuggle them and show them you love them and that life isn't all bad, because YOU are there for them!

And now it is time to join the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Our Beautiful and Wise Furriend, Athena and her HuMum, Marie!

We made this Greetings Card with the help of PhotoFunia. It was originally an Easter Card, but since We are Mewish, We made it an Easter AND Pessach card, so that EFFURRYONE can enjoy it, whicheffur festival you are celebrating this weekend. About the eggs in the card - eggs are a traditional food at the Pawssover Seder, as well as for Easter, you know! In fact, this year, in Israel, there was a terrible shortage of eggs for Pessach. They had to impawt millions from Europe!

In this picture, We are all enjoying a well-earned afternoon nap. We can't remember what We had been doing before, to make Us so sleepy, but We are sure We had been working furry hard - probably snoopervising Mummy's Pessach prepurrations last week. By the way, She has written about Pessach here in Israel, on her own bloggie, if you or your Humans would like to read it. It would make Mummy furry happy if you (or they) would leave a comment there.


And now, it is time to join the blog hop. Furrst, We display the badge:






And at last, off We go - but not before We wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week), a Happy Easter and a Happy Pessach!

Shimshi's Pre-Pessach Selfie Pawtrait and (Belated)) Caturday Art

Greetings once again, Effurrybuddies!

Yes, it is I, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short), a.k.a. the Little Purrince, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard.

We have all been furry, furry busy snoopervising Mummy's Pessach (Passover) spring-cleaning. In fact, Mummy has been so busy, She's hardly had time to notice that She's at home all day, because of the lockdown caused by this stupid Corona Virus thingie. But She does listen to the news several times a day and it makes her all of Us - furry unhappy to hear how more and more Humans have been forced to leave for their Rainbow Bridge because of it.  Mummy has also been reading/hearing how, because so many Humans have lost their jobs due to the fact that many businesses have been forced to close, there has been a considerable drop in the amount of donations to pet shelters and for feeding homeless kitties and woofies. So many people are now finding it harder and harder to feed even themselves and their children. 
We want to assure you that Mummy still goes out effurry night to feed the homeless kitties on our street and She has even noticed some kitties from other streets turning up. We think that because of the Crisis, there is less leftover food being thrown away for homeless kitties to find and eat and that somehow, the word has got out that on Our Street, those kitties can get at least ONE square meal a day.

Now, to happier thoughts. Before I forget, I want to remind you that this coming Caturday, April 11th, is Caspurr's Gotcha Day and so, as usual, We shall be having one of Our Famous Pawties to celebrate, at 6pm Israel Time, up in (where else?) the Enchanted Forest. We hope you will all come. It wouldn't be the same without you!

Next up - I, the Mighty Shimshi, am the J-Cats' representative in this week's Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Cat Goddess, Athena and her HuMum, Marie and also in the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the adorable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Furrst of all, since We used the same basic picture for both blog hops, We want to show you the original pawtrait.

This will be Our Entry in the Sunday Selfies blog hop - and here is their badge:







And now for Our Caturday Art blog hop entry - er, entries! Mummy couldn't quite decide which of these three She prefurrs. All three were created using different LunaPic Art Effects, only Mummy can't quite remember which ones, (which isn't surprising, considering that on her birthday, which falls later this week, on April 8th, She will be about a gazillion years old!)
She does remember that one was Abstract, another was Landscape - and She thinks the third might have been Watercolour. Only She couldn't for the life of her tell you which is which (mol). We don't think it really matters, does it? Just tell Us which one you like best.

And here is the Caturday Art bloggie badge:



One of these days - sooner, rather than later, if the Corona Lockdown continues for much longer - Mummy may finally get round to creating a puzzle from Our Art, as so many of you seem to know how to do.

Now, before We go, We want to wish you Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and in addition, as Pessach starts with the Passover Seder this Wednesday evening, We want to wish you all Chag Sameach (a Joyous Festival). 
Finally, for those of you who are celebrating Easter next Sunday, a Happy Easter.

And for all of you and your Humans, We wish that this time of Crisis may end. Meanwhile - Be well, stay safe. We love you!