A New Year - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies With Trixie

Greetings, Effurrybody!

This is Our Furrst Post of 2025 and, as is fitting, it is up to Me, Queen Trixie, Furrst of My Name, Empurress of Jerusalem, Israel and the Entire Middle East, Queen of Hearts, the Panfur Princess, Guardian of the Boudoir and Alpha Kitty Extraordinaire, to lead the J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

We had a couple of beastly cold, rainy days last week, including the evening  Mummy's Caterwauling Club had their Fundraising Concert (about which She may - if She is not too lazy busy - write about in her own bloggie later in the week). But right after that, Mr. Sunshine decided to return, and since then, We have enjoyed blue skies with only a little cloud. It's still quite cold, howeffur, so We nap most of the time, either by the newly-fixed radiators, or under the duvet.

For this week's blog hops, Mummy and I have chosen three pictures of Me. Furrst of all, here I am by the heater, just checking in the mirror to make sure my whiskers are in order and my fur smooth and silky, as it should be.

We artified this with LunaPic's Brave filter at 43% and then added Dark at 35%.

Next, still by the mirror, I am having to contend with being photobombed by my Pesky Brofur, Shimshi!

And how dare he turn his back on Me?!

This time, We started with the Dark filter at 48% and added Storytime at 24%.

 

My last pawtrait needs no explanation...

The artsy-fartsy version again uses LunaPic filters - Daisies at 50%, followed by Scribble at 22%.

To be quite honest, I am not completely satisfied with any of the artifications this time, but Mummy has such a lot to do before caterwauling purractice this evening that they will just have to do.

Now for the blog hop badges:

        


That's all for now then. See you again next week. Till then - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Good News, Bad News, Somewhere-in-the-Middle News

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

Let's start with the Bad News and get it out of the way, shall We?

Over the weekend, there were not one, but TWO rocket attacks on the Jerusalem area, from the Bad Humans who are trying to kill Us! On the night between Friday and Caturday, Mummy was rudely awakened at 2:11 am, by the sound of sirens warning of an imminent rocket attack. So She jumped out of her Our nice warm bed (disturbing Us in the process) to take shelter in the inner corridor of Our Apawtment and had to sit on the Hard, Cold Floor for ten minutes till it was Officially Safe to return to bed. That rocket, which was fired by Wicked People in Yemen, which is about 2000 kilometres away, was intercepted by Our Airforce before it even reached Israel. Mummy would have done well to stay in bed (as We did - MOL)! In fact, Mummy later heard from her sister, Auntie N., that she slept right through it - as Mummy has been known to do in the past.

Then, on Caturday afternoon, just as Mummy was lying down for her Shabbat afternoon nap, there was another rocket attack, this time from the Evil Humans in Gaza. Mummy didn't hear any sirens at all, and only found out about it afterwards, when She checked her phone app to see if and where there had been any more rocket attacks during the day. 

It was all rather surprising, because they usually don't fire on Jerusalem.
Mummy was furry annoyed and said it's a pity We can't just nuke 'em and be done with it!

At any rate, these rockets were also intercepted and nobody seems to have been hurt in either attack.

So much for the Bad News. Now for the Good News. Mummy finally got the gas-fired central heating fixed. Well, not exactly fixed. She replaced the gas boiler - which cost Her a Pretty Penny (that's the "Somewhere-in-the-middle News") - and now the house is lovely and warm and We are enjoying all kinds of new places to curl up, such as right in front of the radiators. Mummy says it was worth effurry shekel. We agree!

Actually, Mummy got this done just in the nick of time. The weather has turned furry cold, especially at night, and We are expecting two or three days of continuous rain in Jerusalem. In the North, they have already had snow. We think snow is purrty to look at, especially now that the heating has been fixed and We can watch the snowflakes fall from the sky while We are safely ensconced behind a double-glazed window, but We are furry sorry for anyone who has to be out in that cold, wet stuff!

Now, it is time for Us to join the weekend blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.  Since this will be the last Sunday Selfies post of 2024, We thought it would be a Good Idea to make it an Ussie this time. In fact, you can even see a couple of Us twice, as We are reflected in the Mirror. And the sharp-eyed amongst you may even catch a glimpse of Mummy's arm, also reflected in the mirror, as She snapped this photo.

Since it will be 2025 the next time We post, We decided to take this Oppurrtunity to wish you all a Happy Mew Year. And, just as We did with Our Chrissymouse/Hanukkah card last week, We used LunaPic's amazing filters to prepurr three artifications of this picture.

In the furrst one, We used a combination of Watercolour2 at 58% and Landscape at 73%:

Next, We tried two of Our favourites - Dark at 73%, overlaid with Nouveau at 41%:

Last, but not least - Candy at 45% with an overlay of Frida at 38%:

 

And here are the blog hop badges:

     

Till next time then. Meanwhile - be well. Be safe. We LOVE you all.

And have a Happy MEW Year!

Looking Back and Looking Forward: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

December 23rd marks the Bridge Day of precious Princess Pixie PixieCato, one of the co-founders of this blog, who received her Angel Wings thirteen years ago tomorrow, on what was a Friday afternoon, shortly before the lighting of the fourth Hanukkah candle.

Hanukkah is later this year and doesn't start till the evening of December 25th, just as Chrissymouse ends -  but We are going to commemorate Pixie today with the help of PhotoFunia and LunaPic. She was such a beautiful, gentle little kitty girl and she grew into a lovely Ladycat, as you can see in this picture from June 10th, 2010, when she was almost fifteen years old.

Mummy used this picture in a previous commemoration of Pixie some time ago - artifying it with LunaPic's Dreaming effect at 60%. Now, since We are in the depths of winter, She framed that picture with some of PhotoFunia's images of December, the month in which Pixie left this earth.

Pixie loved Hanukkah - as do Trixie, Caspurr and Shimshi, the present generation of J-Cats. And they also enjoy seeing how kitties from all over the world celebrate their own festivals. So, in honour of Hanukkah and Chrissymouse, We are bringing you a combined Hanukkah and Chrissymouse card, in which all three of the current J-Cats are sharing their Selfies and enjoying a snowy Seasonal landscape (it isn't snowing here in Jerusalem, in case you were wondering - but it might, who knows?).

And as if that wasn't arty enough, Mummy went back to LunaPic and prepared three more versions of the card! 

This furrst one uses the Quirky filter, at 63%:

Next, We tried Storytime, at 82%:

And finally, We used the bright and cheerful colours of Candy at 40%:

This last one is closest to the Original, don't you agree?

Which one do you like best?

At all events, since We aren't sending out individual cards, please see this as a purrsonal greeting and feel free to download whichever one you prefurr - or all of them!

Now, it is time to join the weekend blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.  

Here are the blog hop badges:

        

We will leave you now with Best Wishes for whichever Holiday you celebrate (some of you celebrate both Hanukkah and Chrissymouse, We know). We will, of course, visit as many of Our Furriends as pawssible over this Joyous Season - and We will be back again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

Till then - Meowy Chrissymouse and Happy Hanukkah.

Be well. Be safe. We LOVE you all!

Shimshi's Wintery Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

Guess whose turn it is this week to repurresent the J-Cats in the weekend blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

That's right! ME - The Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short), Furrst of My Name,  a.k.a. The Little Purrince, a.k.a. The Baby Mancat, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain-of-the-Guard!

We have chosen two selfies this week, and artified each one with a blend of effects from LunaPic. And then, We did something festive with the pictures, as you will see later.

Furrst up, here is a pawtrait of  Me, guarding the entrance to My Our Teleportation Tunnel:

We artified this with a combination of Landscape at 80% and Bridge, at 37%:

And here I am, enjoying the company of My Own Reflection on a chilly morning:

The artsy-fartsy effects here were created using Candy at 55%, with a light overlay of Picasso at 10%:

We are furry pleased with the effect of both of them - and so were the owners of this Blogville chocolaterie, who asked Our purrmission to decorate their store front with giant posters of these Works of Art:

Finally, We used a couple of seasonal frames from PhotoFunia for the Original Photos,  to create a festive mood. You could do the same, to create lovely Chrissymouse/Hanukkah prezzies!

And here are the blog hop badges, before We She fur-gets:

        

That's all for now. See you again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

Till then - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Caspurr's X-Rated, Uncensored Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurryone!

It's time for the weekend blog-hops again - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Snoozies Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet. This week, the J-Cats will be repurresented by ME - Sir Caspurr the Courageous, the Caspicatious, Furrst of My Name, the Snuggle Bug, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Forces, King of the Tigger-Tabbies.

It has been a furry meowmentous weekend in Our Little Corner of the World, as you must know if you watch the News, but since this is not a Pawlitical Blog, We are not going to write about that but, instead, get straight on with the blog hops.

We picked out three different pictures of Me this week. In this furrst one, I am snuggled up under the duvet, which is one of My Favourite places to be on a cold evening, either with or without Mummy or one of My Fursibs snuggled up beside Me:

What you need to understand is that, although it can be quite warm during the daytime (like about 17 or 18 degrees Celsius), after sunset, the tempurrature plummets. We discovered the other day that the gas-fired central heating, which would have made the whole apartment lovely and toasty warm, was on the blink. Mummy hasn't yet called in a techie to fix it and in the meantime, she is using portable heaters and only heats the room SHE happens to be using. Furry selfish of Her, I  think.

Anyway, We artified this picture with two of LunaPic's amazing filters - Dreaming at 40%, followed by Dark at 23% to add some sharpness. How do you like it? I think the colours show up My Tiggerishness rather well, wouldn't you agree?

 

   

The next pawtrait was taken later that same evening, when I had emerged from the warmth and comfort of the duvet and came to snuggle next to Mummy on the sofa. Of course, She disturbed Me by getting up to snap this shot. I think it's even a bit blurred, but it's not too bad:

We went artsy-fartsy here with two more LunaPic filters - Landscape at 72%, with a Quirky overlay at 30%:

Of course, I do have other ways of keeping warm. For example, I like curling up in front of one of the heaters. Which brings Me to the picture you have all been waiting for - My X-Rated, Totally Uncensored, Let-It-All-Hang-Out Cosmeowpawlitan Centrefold Selfie:

I call this one Some Like It HOT (mol).

And here is the artified version, using LunaPic's Gauguin effect at 75%, with a dash of Grey at 33%:

All three of these masterpieces will be on display at the Blogville Pawtrait Gallery from tomorrow, before being taken on a Tour of the World's Greatest Art Galleries.

Here, now, are the blog hop badges:

        

Well, that's all for now. We'll be back again, COD willing, next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Remembering Grandpaw: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybody!

This week it falls to Me, Queen Trixie, Furrst of My Name, Empurress of Jerusalem, Israel and the Entire Middle East, Queen of Hearts, the Panfur Princess, Guardian of the Boudoir, Alpha Kitty Extraordinaire, to lead My Fellow J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog Hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Before We do that, however, I want to remind effurryone that tomorrow, according to the Mewish Calendar, it will be the Second Anniversary of Grandpaw's departure for his Rainbow Bridge. We are all furry sad. We still miss him so furry much - and especially Our Woofie Uncle, Messi, who loved his Daddy furry much, as you surely remember.

Mummy will be lighting a candle for him this evening and reading Psalms in his Memory.

********

Now, as for Our Own News - Shimshi told you last week about My Traumatic Expurrience, when Mummy kitnapped Me, and carried Me off to the Stabby Place, where they stole My Bloods and poked and prodded Me and told Mummy My Toofies were in bad condition. But at least My Kidneys are FINE.  Howeffur, Mummy continued being Mean to Us and left Us alone for HOURS on end, to go to her Caterwauling rehearsals. And on Saturday night, when She doesn't usually go out at all, She was out all evening appearing in a Concert. She will write about that in her Own Bloggie some time later this week or, more likely, next week. She has a lot to write about as November is the month when most of her "Activities" get started again after the Summer Break - the new Opurra season, and her archaeological field trips and her Art Appurreciation course.

Speaking of Art - here are My Selfie and its Artifications, for which, as usual, We used LunaPic's beautiful filters.

The furrst artification is composed of the Sketch2 filter at 28%, overlaid with the merest hint of Garden at 17%, to bring out the colour of My Eyes:

Next, We tried the Floating effect at 75%, lightly washed over with Smoke at 25%:

Finally, We went for Fantasy at 73%, followed by Landscape at 47%:

Tell Us in the comments section below which one you like best.

********

Mummy says to tell you all that She did not desert Us entirely all week and that, on the contrary, She started reading to Us the lovely book We won on ERin the Cat's giveaway earlier in the autumn. It's called Chumley and Hudson Investigate: The King Herod's Affair and it's all about a beautiful and aristocratic kitty called Erin and her housekeeper and Companion, Mrs Hudson, who are private detectives and who are called in to investigate the disappearance of three kittens from London's famous (and expensive) King Herod's Department store. Of course, what starts out as a routine investigation turns out to be something much, much more sinister. We will bring you a full review once We finish the book (which would happen a lot sooner if Mummy didn't keep disappearing herself so often to go to her Caterwauling Club!!! Hint, hint, hint, Mummy!) but on the basis of what We have read so far, We think you should definitely tell your pawrents to go and buy the book themselves. 

Now, since Mummy has to go again to Caterwauling purractice this evening, because there is yet another concert next month, and She needs to rest furrst, We had better get on with the blog hop. Here are the blog hop badges, before We fur-get:

        

We will try to visit as many of you as We can before Mummy turns off the Computer machine and goes for her Afternoon Nap (I declare, She naps almost as much as a kitty. She must have Feline DNA somewhere in her Family Tree - MOL).

See you next week, then - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

Till then, be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Baby, It's Cold Outside: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

Today, it is MY turn to lead the J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie,  and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

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

When this picture was taken, there was still some sunshine. Now there is none. It is cold and grey and there was a lot of water falling from the sky earlier today.

I like this picture - and I know you will too - because of the way my beautiful Tailio dangles over the edge of the sofa.  

We made a couple of different artifications of this picture, with the help of the Bright Minds at LunaPic.

Furrst of all, We used the Quirky effect at 55%, tinged with Sadness at 27%. We have so many things to be sad about in this part of the world, that We don't even need to explain...

This next one uses a couple of Our recently rediscovered favourites - Ceremony at 50%, with an overlay of Connections at 21%:

Now, as I said, it is My Turn to lead the J-Cats on the weekend blog hops this time, but since Trixie had a furry traumatic expurrience last Thursday, when she was hauled off to the Stabby Place by Mummy, I thought it the Gentlemancatly Thing to Do to include her this week. And since it wouldn't be fair to leave out Caspurr, My Big Brofur, here is a Really Rare Twofur of them Together, without Trixie insisting on any Barriers between them!

The Immediate Cause of Trixie's Abduction and Tempurrary Incarceration was an overgrown toenail that had curled right round and back into her pawpad. However, once at the Stabby Place, where she had to be sedated to get the Job done, she got a complete Miaowni-PawdiCure, and a panel of blood tests as well. Mummy got the results today and was astounded to hear that Trixie has NOTHING whatsoever wrong with her kidneys - though her teefs aren't in furry good condition. All her bloodwork results were Purrfect. Moreover, she has gained some weight, which makes Mummy furry pleased. I don't understand that at all. She wants ME to LOSE weight!

Anyway, here are the artified versions of the Twofur. Furrst of all, a colourful combination of Flashgordon at 38% and Beauty at 21%:

And secondly, a more sober composition using Storytime at 60% and Lake at 31%:

Now, We mustn't forget the blog hop badges, must We?

        

Now it is time to start hopping. We'll be back here again next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

Till then, be well. Be safe. We love you all.