Summer is Just Around the Corner: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Shimshi

Hallo, Effurrybuddies!

 

Guess whose turn it is this week to lead the J-Cats on 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!

Yes, you have guessed aright! It is I, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short), Furrst of My Name, the Little Purrince a.k.a. The Baby Mancat, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard!

We will kick off right away with My Official Pawtrait, which Mummy has adorned with a beautiful summery frame She created with the help of LunaPic:

Of course, Summer doesn't officially start till next week, but We probably won't be posting then, as that is the week of Mummy's opurration, and She has a great deal to do. So, since the weather here in Israel is definitely Summer weather, We will celebrate it right now :-)

All of this week's art is also from from LunaPic, as are the elegant frames. 

For starters, We used the bright and cheerful Delaunay effect at 68% - colourful as a summer garden:

Artification no.2 used the more sober tints of Colour Sketch at 85% - quieter and less flashy, but excellent for bringing out detail:

And finally, Bridge Art at full power:

And there you have it - three furry different manifestations of My Magnificent Self (mol). Did I say three? Nay, Four - let Us not forget the Original Me! Do you have a favourite? Do let Us know in the Comments section below.

And here are the blog hop badges:

        

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This Thursday, Uncle D. should be arriving. Yay!

As We mentioned above, Mummy has her surgery next week, so We don't expect to be posting next Sunday, when She is supposed to be spending most of the day at the hospital for something called a "Pre-Op Evaluation". They told her to bring something to drink and some sandwiches, as well as some light reading, as it could take several hours. Her opurration is scheduled for next Thursday and the plan is for her to spend one night at the hospital. If all goes well - and We purray, naturally, that it will -  We will be back here in two weeks time, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. 

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

Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Caspurr the Snuggle-Bug

Hallo again, Effurryone! 

Here I am once more! Once again, 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 leading My Fellow J-Cats on the weekend blog hops - 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 Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet!

And without further ado, here is this week's Meowsterpiece. It's got it all - tummy, paws, head upside down, cute Meowna Lisa "smile"...What more could the Pawpawrazzi ask of Me (MOL)?

And now for the artsy-fartsy part - all created with LunaPic, as were the frames.

Furrst of all, an elegant drawing using Sketch2:

We do love colour, it's true, but all the greatest artists used to make black-and-white sketches before applying paint to canvas. Signor Leonardo da Vinci, for example ...

Our next artification used the Edtaonisi effect at 58%:

We think this one shows up My Tiggerish Tabbiness to great advantage!

And finally, We used one of Mummy's favourite filters - Frida, at 84%:

Let Us know in the Comments section below, which is your favourite, and why.

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Mummy had a furry successful Gala evening last week with her Caterwauling friends and will no doubt write about it soon in her own bloggie, hopefully later this week. Their upcoming concert isn't till the end of July, but next week is still going to be a furry busy one for Mummy, with a nature hike, a couple of lectures/concerts and finally, an opurra. And, of course, Uncle D. will be arriving.

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What have We forgotten? Oh, yes - the blog hop badges!

Here they are!

        

We think that just about wraps it up for this week. We will be here again next week, COD-willing - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then, be safe. Be well. We love you all.

How Does My Garden Grow - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Trixie

Greetings, Effurrybody! 

Well, I'm back again - 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!

Once again, it falls to My Lot to repurresent the 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.

Here is this week's selfie, embellished by Mummy with a lovely frame, featuring  Our National Flag, as well as a bevy of flowers. She did this with the help of LunaPic. And then, of course, the bed-linen, too, is adorned with flowers. I get to enjoy My Own Private Garden, without having to move from Mummy's My Bed or leave My Boudoir. How cool is that?

The selfie itself (can one say that?) is furry artsy-fartsy, but Mummy made three more artifications using filters from BeFunky and frames from LunaPic.  All of them are brilliantly coloured, just like the Original.

The furrst version uses Sticker Art - one of the new GFX+ filters. We simply love what it does to my ears (mol)!

For the next one, We chose Pop Comic GFX. Just look at that gorgeous midnight blue tint it imparts to my beautiful furs!

And finally, a longstanding favourite - Pastel GFX:

Let Us know in the Comments section below which one you like best!

Before We forget, here are the blog hop badges:

        

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And now for the rest of the week's news.  Furrst of all, for those of you who missed it, the final episode of Mummy's adventures last autumn in the Peloponnese is now live on her own bloggie.

Next, We are happy to announce that Uncle D. will be arriving in the middle of next month, to give Mummy some Help and Encouragement when She has her Opurration.

Finally, this coming Wednesday, Mummy and her caterwauling friends have their end-of-the-year Gala. That means, of course, that She has Caterwauling Practice this evening, so She needs to have a nice long Siesta (aka - a NAP) this afternoon. Howeffur, She will try to visit as many of you as She can before that.

That's all for now. We will be here again, COD-willing, next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then, be safe. Be well. We love you all.

CalliCallou Dreaming - Guest Selfie and Caturday Art

Greetings to One and All!

Today, We have a Special Treat for you! Our Outdoor Cousin, the lovely CalliCallou, graciously agreed to do a Guest Selfie, for this week's Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightfully and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet .

As she is sort of Family, Mummy used Our Family Frame for her, using the Israel flag, which - like all the art and frames this week - comes from LunaPic.

Next, for the Caturday Art blog hop, which is hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, Mummy created three beautiful artifications of Cousin CalliCallou (with Our Assistance, it goes without saying - MOL).

Fursst up, a Study in (mainly) Blue, using Splash at 68%:

Second, a delicate pawtrait using the Floating effect at 58%:

And finally, a colourful artsy-fartsy creation, using Dreaming, set to 52%:

Tell Us in the Comments section below, which one you like best this week.

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Mummy has a date in a month's time for her surgery that She told you about last week. After meeting with the surgeon, She now feels much calmer and more confident. Before that, her mind was in such a whirl, She completely forgot to mention in last week's post, that the following day,  She and her Caterwauling Club would be appearing in a concert of liturgical and religious-themed music, in the Old City of Jerusalem. She will probably write about that in her own blog, once She has collected, collated and edited the various video-clips shared by friends and guests of her fellow Caterwaulers.

Now, before She has time to forget anything else, here are the blog hop badges:

        

That seems to be it for this week. Although Mummy has a lot of running around to do in prepurration for her surgery, She will do her best to visit as many of you as pawssible, as well as to be here again with a new post next week, COD-willing - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.

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

Shimshi's Splendid Tummy: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

We are so sorry We didn't get around to visiting many of you last week and We apawlogise in advance for the likelihood of things being no better this week. Mummy's head is in a whirl. Her biopsy results were not what We all hoped for, or expected. It seems the suspicious lump She had was a Bad Lump after all. So now She has to have an opurration to take it out as soon as pawssible, because the whole point of catching these things early is being able to treat them quickly, before things get any worse and while they are still small. She has an appointment tomorrow with a highly recommended surgeon and We are keeping Our Paws crossed that all will be well and that She can get an early date for surgery.

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And now for more pleasant things. On Friday, as you know, We celebrated Jerusalem Liberation Day as well as My Gotcha Day - 12 years since Mummy and I gotcha'ed each other. So naturally, I am the one repurresenting the 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, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Here is My Selfie - and I think you will agree that where Tummy-Shots are concerned, I can certainly give My Big Brofur Caspurr a run for his money!

We made three different artified versions of this picture, using filters from BeFunky. The frames, as usual, are from LunaPic.

Furrst of all, here is one using the new Watercolour Splash effect, which We discovered a few weeks ago and liked very much. We set it at 50%:

Next up, Pastel GFX, at 55%:

And finally, Depth Light, at 65%:

Let Us know in the Comments section below which one you like best!

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As We have mentioned several times, Pawty Season is in full swing now, and so it should come as no surprise when We tell you that this coming Friday, up in the Enchanted Forest, We will be celebrating Shavuot (Pentecost) with a buffet lunch to which you are all invited at 1 pm (13:00) Israel Time. As always, the coordinates will be sent directly to your Transportation devices.

And now, before We fur-get, here are the blog hop badges:

        

That's all for now. We hope, COD-willing, to be back here at the usual time next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. However, We know you will understand if, under the Circumstances, We are late posting, or even have to skip it now and then.

Whatever happens - be safe. Be well. We love you all!

Caspurr the Conqueror: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurryone!

This will have to be a short post, because Mummy is going in to the hospital to get her biopsy results in a couple of hours and She is in such a state of nerves, She can hardly think straight. And yet, We have such a lot to say! 

It has been a furry sad week here in the Cat Blogosphere. Furrst of all, Ms. Jackie from the Memories of Eric and Flynn blog, crossed her Rainbow Bridge after a long battle with an Evil Cancer. We only saw that after posting last week's blog, or We would have written something then. Our deepest condolences to her husband, Mr. Ivor.

Then, a few days later, We learned that sweet Penny, one of the kitties from the 15 and Meowing blog, had become an Angel. We send purrs of comfort to her Mommy, Ms. Ellen and to all her fursibs.

It is hard to switch from such Sad Tidings to Our regular blogging, but it is so impawtant to keep in touch with all Our Furriends, because one neffur knows when something Dreadful will happen and one of Us will no longer be here.

So, here I am, Caspurr the Snuggle Bug, to repurresent 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 HuMum, Janet.

We chose a series of pictures of Me, asleep, waking and yawning, which We artified with the help of BeFunky and framed, using LunaPic.

Here I am, having a delightful Nap and, no doubt, enjoying the Most Beautiful Dreams:

We artified this with one of the new GFX filters, Orton Painting, which I like furry much, as I seem to bathed in sunbeams:

Of course, having that Sixth (or Seventh? MOL) Sense that all kitties have, even asleep, I felt the presence of the Pawpawrazzi and I awoke:

We decided to go for a black and white artification this time - Expressive Sketch. VERY Expressive, I should say (mol)!

And then I yawned - or maybe I roared. Either action would have been justified under the circumstances, wouldn't you agree?

The Modern Comic filter at 65% gave Us a nice, artsy-fartsy rendition of this one:

Do let Us know in the Comments section which one you liked best.

And here are the blog hop badges:

        


Now, We did mention a few weeks ago, that the Pawty Season is already in full swing, didn't We? And since this coming Furriday, May 15th, is not only Shimshi's Gotcha Day, but also Jerusalem Liberation Day, marking the 59th anniversary of Jerusalem's return to Jewish sovereignty after almost 2000 years, We will of course be celebrating it with a Picnic and BBQ up in Our Favourite Spot in the Enchanted Forest, overlooking the Old City of Jerusalem. You are all invited, of course. We will start about 4pm, Israel Time - but if any of you feel like coming a bit earlier and helping Us set up the Bar, it would be greatly appreciated. The co-ordinations will be sent, as usual, directly to your Transportation Devices.

Well, that seems to be that for this week. We will be back here again next week, COD-willing - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then, be safe. Be well. We love you all!

Trixie in May: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybody!

Queen Trixie is here once more - with apawlogies for posting rather late today. Mummy was out for several hours, doing some tests and things at the hospital, because something showed up in the MRI which didn't appear in her annual meowmeowgram, and She had to have a biopsy, where they stick needles in you and take out tiny bits to be examined more closely.  Poor Mummy! We kitties know how awful it is to be stabbed like that, especially in one's tenderest places. But She is feeling all right now - although, of course, rather on tenterhooks while She waits for the results, which could take a couple of weeks. We are all purring for her that they don't find anything untoward.

We seem to be having a bit of a hard time, meowdically speaking, as a family. Step-Grandma took a fall the week before last, tripping on the kerbstone. She was bruised and badly shaken but otherwise okay. And a few days later, Auntie N. had a tricycle accident! She tripped over her grand-daughter's tricycle and fell, and broke her ankle! Last Thursday, she had an opurration and now she has this great big boot-like thing on her leg and has to remain in bed, on her back, for at least a couple of weeks! And Uncle D. writes from London that he, too, has to see a doctor about pain in his knee. 

It seems almost furrivolous of Us, under the circumstances, to mention that tomorrow night is Lag B'Omer, but since We want to invite all of you to Our Lag b'Omer bonfire and picnic tomorrow night from 9pm Israel Time, We can't really avoid it (mol). Oh - and it goes without saying that it will be up in a clearing in the Enchanted Forest! The coordinates will, as usual, be sent directly to your transportation devices.

And now comes the part you have all been waiting for - 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.

So, furrst of all, here is My Selfie:

And now, here are three different artifications of My Selfie. Please note that all this week's artistic manifestations, including the frames, were created with the help of LunaPic.

Furrst of all, since I was so obviously curled up listening to Mummy tell a story, We used the Storytime effect, at 50%:

Next, because the Story was about a furry brave warrior Kitty Queen, We used Brave at 48%:

Finally, and in tribute to the Spring (although it suddenly turned rather cold), the final artification uses the Flowers filter, also at 48%:

Do tell Us, in the Comments section below, which is your favourite!

Next, here are the blog hop badges:

        

It's got so late already, We aren't sure we'll be able to visit many of you today, although, of course, We'll do the best We can. We'll try to catch up on that tomorrow. 

Ah - yes, tomorrow. May the Fourth Be With You (mol).

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