Caspurr - King of the High C's: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurryone! 

Sir Caspurr the Courageous here, the Caspicatious, Furrst of My Name, the Snuggle-Bug, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Forces, King of the Tigger-Tabbies!

How are you all doing?

I am here 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.

We will start off with My Selfie. A word or two of explanation might be in order here. You see, Mummy keeps complaining that there aren't sufficient men in her Caterwauling Club, and it occurred to Me that maybe a Mancat with a Melodious Voice - such as Myself - could be of assistance. So here I am purractising. 

I am really rather good at it - a veritable King of the High C's, as My Own Human admits. One doesn't like to blow one's own trumpet (sorry about the mixed metaphors) but really, Purrvarotti wasn't a patch on Me (mol)!  

At any rate, Mummy and her Flashy Box caught Me mid-yowl here and then She decided this would be just purrfect for the Sunday Selfies. So We dropped in on LunaPic to design an appropriate Frame, and while We were about it, We made a couple of artifications. The furrst one uses one of Our Favourite filters - Nouveau, which, as has been more than once remarked, is reminiscent of a Stained Glass Window:

Our next artification was much more restrained, but still extremely elegant. We used the Fairy effect:

After that, We decided to see what BeFunky had in their arsenal, and We created this, with their Sticker Art GFX+ filter:

And finally, We returned to Watercolour Splash GFX+, which is bursting at the seams with joyful colour:

Do you have a favourite? Let Us know in the Comments section below.

At any rate, over at the PhotoFunia Art Gallery, they couldn't choose, so they are including all four artifications, plus the Original Photo, in their Purrmanent Collection:

Here, now, are the blog hop badges:

        

We have given you an Extra Helping of Art this week, because We are not sure We will be able to post next week, and especially not on Sunday, which is the day of the Memorial Service marking two years since Mummy's Sister,  Auntie Y., and Brother-in-Law, Uncle N., crossed their Rainbow Bridge after their car was smashed by a stupid, wickedly careless driver who still hasn't been sentenced for what he did. And the rest of next week is also furry busy - although mostly with good things, like the expected arrival of Uncle D. from England, who is coming here for the High Holy Days and will be here for the whole of September.

At all events, even if We have to skip a week, We'll be back the week after, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Meanwhile, be safe. Be well. We love you all.

PS. Don't forget to take a look at Mummy's own bloggie. She finally wrote about her Caterwauling Club's concert last month.

A Birthday and a Couple of Sad Goodbyes - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybody!

Queen Trixie here - with extremely mixed feelings this week. On Wednesday, August 12th, We celebrated My 14th Birthday with a Picnic and BBQ up in the Enchanted Forest - but how can we truly celebrate when, in the course of a single week, We have lost two such Beloved Furriends. I refurr, of course, to two of the dearest ladycats We have effur known, the beauteous and feisty Katie Isabella on August 8th, and the lovely and gentle Seal of the Brian's Home blog on August 14th.

It is furry, furry hard indeed - yet We think neither of these Amazing and Adorable Kitties would want their furriends to forego such Impawtant Traditions as 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 Delightfully and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet. In fact, it is even more Impawtant to continue hopping - especially for kitties like Us, who are accustomed to blog only once a week. This is Our Way of keeping in touch - and keeping in touch, even if just to say a quick "Hallo, how are you?" can mean so much. 

So, here is this week's Selfie:

We framed it with the help of LunaPic, which is also responsible for this week's artification, using the Landscape art effect at 56%, overlaid with Dark at 34%.

In addition, a stamp - in Impurrial Purrple - was issued in honour of My Birthday:

Moreover, PhotoFunia's Empurress Winery, (a boutique label, you understand) launched a limited edition of a new champagne named Sleeping Beauty, in MY Honour.

And last, but by no means least, PhotoFunia Publications has just brought out My latest book of Poetry:

I have dedicated the book to Katie Isabella and to Seal.

And now, here are the blog hop badges:

        

********

Before We start hopping, We wanted to tell you about something Really Weird! Yesterday, it rained. No, it didn't just rain. It POURED! As you may know, in Israel, it simply does not rain in August. But the weather all over the world has been completely Topsy-Turvy this summer, hasn't it? Europe has been suffering severe drought, due to massive heat waves, bringing the kind of tempurratures We would expect to see in Eilat. Meanwhile, although it's been pretty hot here in Israel (like, the upper 30s Celsius), yesterday, it seemed as if We might need to build an Ark (mol). And what's more, it's extremely cloudy again right now - although still furry hot. Kind of like monsoon weather. Maybe it will rain again this afternoon. Mummy hopes not, because we haven't yet got round to insulating the roof.

Well, I guess that's it for now. We will be back next week, COD-willing - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

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

Shimshi the Boxer - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

I, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short) am your Host today - the Little Purrince, Furrst of My Name, aka The Baby Mancat, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard.

Last week, We posted rather late in the day and this week, We are prepurring this post on Saturday evening, to be uploaded some time on Sunday, because Mummy has another busy day, with a doctor's appointment in the late meowning and her Caterwauling Club's end-of-season pawty in the evening and She doesn't know if or when She will have time to do any blogging tomorrow.

All in all, it's going to be a busy week ahead - not least because Wednesday (August 12th) is My Sisfur Trixie's 14th Birthday and We are going to have a big pawty for her  up in the Enchanted Forest, at 6pm Israel time, to which you are all invited. As usual, the coordinates will be sent directly to your Transportation Devices. 

It's going to be a Picnic and BBQ kind of pawty, but there will also be an air-conditioned marquee, for those of you not used to hot weather. The weather prophets say it will reach 34 degrees Celsius in Jerusalem on Wednesday, although by 6pm, it should have cooled down a bit.

Now, despite that, it is MY Turn to repurresent 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 Delightfully and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet. Trixie will have her turn next week, when she might show some birthday pictures.

So, this weekend, I have been having a lot of fun with some of the Boxes which Mummy's Cleaning Lady, Ms. M., regularly provides for Us. That is why Mummy named me "the Boxer" (mol)!

Mummy and I made some lovely artifications, with the help of BeFunky, and framed them with LunaPic. Here, for starters, is one using the Modern Comic GFX+ filter at 75%:

We like this a lot - although it is quite dark, so our next version, with Mosaic Fresco GFX+, is in complete contrast:

Our third artification, created with Crayon GFX, is probably the most colourful of the three:

Do you have a favourite? Let Us know in the Comments section below.

Now, We mustn't forget to add the blog hop badges. Here they are:

        

And that's it for now. We are looking forward to seeing you at Trixie's Pawty on Wednesday - and, COD-willing, We'll be back here again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then - be safe. Be well. We love you all.

A Double Pawtion of Caspurr - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurryone!

We're posting this rather late today, as Mummy was out all morning, furrst of all, meeting with the oncologist to discuss follow-up treatment after her opurration. Thankfully, it seems She won't need chemotherapy, just a few radiation treatments and then some kind of hormone therapy to prevent the recurrence of Bad Lumps like the one they took out of Mummy. After that, instead of coming straight home to Us, She and Auntie N. decided to go for coffee and a bite to eat.

Now that She is back home, She is helping Us 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.

This week, I, 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, will be repurresenting the J-Cats on the blog hops.

Since I posed on the dressing-table, right in front of the Mirror, you are getting a Double Dose of Me this week.

Mummy made three lovely BeFunky artifications with the new GFX+ filters - and framed them all with LunaPic's elegant frames.

Furrst of all - Modern Gouache:

Next, Impressionist Soft:

And finally, after all this Colour, something completely different - Ink Brush:

We must confess, We are finding it furry difficult to choose a favourite! Are YOU having any better luck? Let Us know, in the Comments section below.

Next, before We fur-get, are the blog hop badges:

        

Mummy is feeling furry sleepy now (as are We) - no doubt due to the Supurr Hot Weather (We understand many of you, in Europe and North America, are also enjoying enduring above-average tempurratures even for Summer), so We will purrobably not get round to visiting many of you today, although We'll do Our Best. Mummy doesn't have Caterwauling Purractice this evening, but She does have the Annual General Meeting of the Caterwaulers, so She still needs to rest, because discussing Financial Reports is likely to have her yawning. Fortunately, the AGM is on Zoom, so She won't need to go out and leave Us this evening.

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

Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with the Queen-Empurress

Greetings, Effurrybody!

After the beautiful guest selfies last week, I, Queen Trixie, Furrst of My Name, Empurress of Jerusalem, Israel and the Entire Middle East, Queen of Hearts, the Panfur Princess, Purrtector of the Library, Guardian of the Boudoir, Alpha-Kitty Extraordinaire, am here once more 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 Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

But before We do that, We will just relay the Good News. Mummy met last week with the Surgeon who purrformed her Lumpectomy. The histopathology report came back and the results are good. The margins are clear and it seems they managed to get all the Bad Cells out. Just to be on the safe side, next week Mummy will meet with the oncologist to decide what follow-up treatment, if any, is necessary to minimise any chance of a recurrence. So paws together that Mummy can now put that behind her and fully devote her time to Us and to her Mewsic. She and her Caterwauling Friends have a big concert this Furrsday, with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra - and yes! Of course She will write about that when She gets round to posting her Own Blog, next week or whenever...

And now to the blog hops. Let's start with My Selfie, framed (like the artifications which follow) with the help of LunaPic:

Can you just see My Raspy, Little Pink Tongue? And of course, you can't miss My Gorgeous, Floofy Tail, can you?


This week, We decided to use all of Our Favourite photo editing apps, so here, furrst of all, is an artification created with BeFunky, using the Orton Painting effect:

For artification no.#2, We used Frida, an old favourite from LunaPic:

And finally, with the help of PhotoFunia, We hung the Original in the National Gallery in London:

Now to add the blog hop badges:

        

And now, it is time to start blog-hopping. We know We have been a bit "out of the loop" these past few weeks, but now that Mummy can think beyond her surgery, We hope to get back into the swing of things.

So We will wrap up this post now and try to visit as many of you as pawssible, before Mummy has her Siesta. We'll be back again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then, be safe. Be well. We love you all.

And Now For Something Completely Different - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies With A Couple of Guests

Greetings once again, Effurrybuddies!

Today, We invite you to join Us for something new - a chance to meet some of the beautiful Street Cats of Jerusalem. How did this come about, you ask? Well, it's like this. 

Last week, Uncle D. flew back to London. The day before he left, he and Mummy and Auntie N. met up for a late lunch (or early supper, depending on how you look at it) at a restaurant in the centre of town, called The Sea Dolphin - a favourite with Mummy and her biped family. It's situated near one of the oldest neighbourhoods in Jerusalem outside the Old City Walls, Nachalat Shiva, and right next to a piazza known to generations of Jerusalemites as Kikar Hachatulot (Cats' Square). That isn't its real name - probably only a handful of people know that, without googling it - and there are contradicting stories about how it acquired its nickname. Some people say it's because it used to be a popular spot for ladies of - um, a certain profession - to ply their trade. Others assume it's because of the large numbers of kitties who congregate there, possible due to the easy accessibility of good food from the many restaurants in the area.

At any rate, Mummy and her biped siblings met up there for a meal. It's a fish restaurant, and Mummy had the most delicious grilled rainbow trout (of which She did not bring Us back a Single Bite, shame on her!). Auntie N. had salmon - and Uncle D.? Well, although it's offishally a fish restaurant (get it? get it?), there are a few meat dishes available, and Uncle D. let the side down by ordering steak!!!

After the meal, Mummy and Uncle D. decided to walk Auntie N. back home as she is still having to use a walking stick, not having fully recovered from her broken ankle. They decided to go via the park, and on the way, Mummy took several pictures of the pretty felines She met along the road. We thought you might like to see some of them, so We chose a couple, which Mummy then artified and framed, and they will now be purrticipating in 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.
Each kitty was artified twice, once with BeFunky and once with LunaPic (which also supplied the frames).

The furrst feline they spotted after leaving the restaurant, was this little Beauty, obviously the Guardian of the Boutique you can see in the background. Besides restaurants, the Nachalat Shiva neighbourhood is famous for its upmarket boutiques and art-and-craft shops.

Mummy helped Us artify Boutique Kitty, furrst with Expressive Sketch GFX+ by BeFunky and then with Nouveau, by LunaPic at 84%:

As they walked through the park, Mummy snapped several other felines - although not all were as cooperative as Boutique Kitty. 

The last kitty was hiding in the dried grass outside one of the old apartment blocks near to Auntie N's house and the reason We have chosen to share this purrticular photo with you is, because We are still not certain if there is one kitty here or two:

If you biggify the photo, you might just see why We aren't sure. The truth is, Mummy herself didn't even start to wonder until She looked at the artifications - furrst of all, with BeFunky's Watercolour Splash GFX+ filter and then with LunaPic's Tuscany filter at 74%:

Do you see what We mean? It looks as if there is a black kitty behind the mostly white kitty! Either that, or the white kitty has an extra eye!!! And in fact, in the second artification of this kitty, whom We have named Incognita, it even seems as if there might be the shadow of a THIRD kitty, all in red!

All furry mysterious indeed, isn't it? Although for the sake of Fair Disclosure, We must admit that Mummy is pawsitive that when She took the photo, there was only One Kitty.

What do you think? One kitty or two? 
And which is your favourite artification? Let Us know in the Comments section below.

Here, now, are the blog hop badges:

        

And that's just about it for now. We look forward to seeing you all again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

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

Shimshi's Zonked Out Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

We are posting a little late today, because Mummy was out the whole morning at a lecture - a virtual tour of some of the lesser-known museums and art galleries of Paris. Purrsonally, We think that the only art galleries worth visiting are the ones with lots and lots of pictures of Cats! 

With that proviso, I believe all of Us would agree that Art broadens the mind and is a furry desirable subject of study. So, without further ado, I, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short), am honoured to be repurresenting My Fellow J-Cats in 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.

Furrst of all, here is My Selfie.

Mummy says I look as if I have been out all night on the tiles (mol)!

I say I merely look pensive. Though I must admit it makes me look a little - shall we say portly? Mummy pointed out that I can't quite get my grey waistcoat to close.

We used BeFunky to make three different artsy-fartsy versions of this using the new GFX+ series (all the frames are by LunaPic).

Furrst of all,  Rotoscope:

Next up, NeoComic at 80%:

And finally, SynthWave at 75%:

Now, I must admit, in this last one, I do look completely zonked out (mol)!

Do you have a favourite? Let Us know, in the Comments section below.

And here are the blog hop badges:

        

That's it for now. We look forward to seeing you again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

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