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!
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!
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:
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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!
Hallo there, Effurrybody!
We wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) from here in Jerusalem and wonder how your Lockdown is going. Here in Israel, the government has relaxed some more of the restrictions. Kindergartens can now open - and so can shopping malls and open markets, subject to all kinds of rules which, some of the Humans are complaining, make it not worth their while to re-open. For example - how do you enforce Social Distancing regulations (2 metres distance between people, wearing masks) in a class full of 4-year-olds?
Also, a lot of Humans are still scared to go out even though it's allowed, and think we should be waiting two weeks between each stage. Mummy really needs to have a haircut - Her hair is beginning to look like the coat of a Rough Collie woofie (MOL) - but She is afraid to risk it and intends to wait till the end of the month.
Tomorrow evening (Monday) is the start of Lag B'Omer, which is traditionally celebrated with bonfires, only they have been forbidden this year, because of the horrible Coronavirus, as they would become a magnet for lots and lots of Humans to gather together. What Mummy doesn't understand is why, if that is the reason, it is also forbidden to have bonfires in private courtyards and gardens. However, We are glad because We have heard of dreadful cases in previous years when EVIL Human children or teenagers threw innocent kitties into bonfires! Needless to say, this is NOT a Mewish tradition - those humans are simply EVIL MONSTERS who ought to be thrown into the bonfire themselves! Hissssssssss.
Today being Sunday, it is now time to join the weekend blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by the ever-lovely Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and, of course, the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by our sweet furriends, the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.
This week, it is the turn of My Impurrial Majesty, Queen Trixie, to lead Our Team on the blog hop. I have chosen my Sunday Selfie picture furry carefully, to impurress upon effuryone that, although My Little Brofur Shimshi may have seized control of the TeeVee remote, it is I who remain in command, as long as the digital converter is in My Power!
The thing is, however, that Mummy doesn't like Me to sit on the digital converter, because my furs get inside it and that will make it not work propurrly. But what She tells Me (the Official Reason) is that I might get an Electric Shock and become a Fried Kitty, looking like this:
Of course, such a thing has neffur happened. It's Fake Mews! Mummy made this artified picture using the Neon filter from LunaPic, to which She added the Glow effect - and this is Our Entry in the Caturday Art blog hop.
It is now time to get hopping. Here are the badges of the Caturday Art blog hop:
and of the Sunday Selfies blog hop:
Have a wonderful week - and whether or not you and your Humans are still in complete Lockdown, or are gradually being purrmitted to emerge, remember that whatever restrictions are in place are there for your Safety. So Stay Home, Be Well and Stay Safe.
Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!
April and its sunny showers have been and gone, bringing the flowers that bloom in May. Unfortunately, Mummy can't go furry far to see them, because of lockdown restrictions which prevent her from going more than 500 metres from home - but the geraniums in her window boxes are doing furry nicely, and so is a late-blooming Sick Lemon on the front porch.
And who knew spider-plants could flower?
The lockdown restrictions are gradually being eased. Schools are re-opening for Grades 1 - 3, thus enabling parents of young children to get back to work (within the Ministry of Health and Ministry of Education guidelines, which make it conditional on wearing face masks and adhering to Social Distancing regulations i.e. 2 metres distance between workers/pupils), and also Grades 11 - 12, so that teachers can prepare students for the Bagrut (Matriculation) examinations. Also, more shops are now being allowed to open - but not shopping malls or markets.
And when Mummy does go out - if only to take down the garbage - of course she can also see how Spring has come to effurryone else's balconies and window boxes and gardens.
We are stay-at-home Kitties, so all of this doesn't really make much difference to Us. The birdies continue to torment Us by flying right up to the window and laughing at Us. It is especially annoying when they perch on the bars right above the frosted windows of the Utility Room, and We can hear them chirping away but can't see them. We know they are there and it drives Us crazy!
And, of course, the Lockdown hasn't prevented Us from visiting Our Furriends throughout the Blogosphere and, most impawtantly, from taking part in the Blog Hops - the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie - whose badge you see here:
and the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by Our Furriends, the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet. Here is their badge:
As I said, We are stay-at-home Kitties, content to get Our Exercise by jumping up onto the highest cupboards in the kitchen, or racing around under Mummy's feet, or doing zoomies up and down the stairs. And when it's time to relax, either We snooze in the plentiful sunpuddles afforded Us by the south-facing windows, or We watch TeeVee - although, sometimes, it's a bit of a contest who rules the Remote Control. As you can see from this picture below (which is Our Entry in the Sunday Selfies blog hop), it is usually ME, the Mighty Shimshi:
Mummy artified this picture, using the MonoChrome filter from her favourite photo-editing site, LunaPic.
I rather like the effect, don't you?
Now, before We set off on Our blog hop, let Me wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) - and remind you all to keep your Humans under Snoopervision and make sure they continue to observe whatever restrictions are still in place in your neck-of-the-woods. Those restrictions are for effurryone's health and safety, so We can defeat that Evil Corona-virus once and for all.
Stay home, stay safe and Be Well.
