Getting Ready For Pessach: Shimshi's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie

Hallo there, Effurrybuddies!

It's Me again, The Mighty Shimshon (a.k.a. Shimshi), The Little Purrince, Furrst of My Name, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard, 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 Delightful, and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

It is nearly Pessach (Passover) and so there is a lot of cleaning to be done. In the picture above, I am hard at work on that. But don't go imagining that once I finished, I could just get a bit of shut-eye. Oh no, no indeed. I had to take my turn in snoopervising Mummy while She cleaned the living-room and kitchen.

We made two artifications of each of these pictures - all with the help of LunaPic.

For the furrst picture, of Myself purrforming My Ablutions, We used Grey at 70%:

And then We tried something a bit more colourful - Landscape.  That made it look more like an oil painting, didn't it?

Now, for the picture where I am snoopervising Mummy's Pessach cleaning prepurrations, We used the Dark filter at 65%:

That is kind of repurresentative of Mummy's feelings before  starting work (mol). But now that effurrything is mostly done, her mood is much lighter, so We celebrated by using a new (to Us) artsy-fartsy effect called Adventure, at 55%:

And here are the blog hop badges:

        

Before We go, We want to wish Chag Sameach to all those who are celebrating Pessach, Happy Easter to those who are celebrating Easter next week, and Ramadan Kareem to those of you who are celebrating the Meowslim holy month.

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Caspurr's Toothy Tribulations: 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, and King of the Tigger-Tabbies!

Are you admiring my toe-beans? My adorable, raspy little pink tongue? Oh yes, it's all on display this week, as I lead 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 Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Wonderful, Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Well, the truth of the matter is, I had a pretty horrible week, as I have had the Most Dreadful Toothache and the earliest appointment Mummy could get for Me was last Wednesday. And since the V-E-T had told Mummy I needed to be sedated and therefore, fast for 12 hours beforehand (which is why they couldn't have checked my toofies when I had my annual shots), She had Me shut up in the guest kitty room with no noms from the evening before. 
Now, as you know if you read Shimshi's post the week before last, the handle on the PTU broke. Mummy therefore ordered another one, which was delivered the evening before my appointment at the Stabby Place. But it had to be put together and there were no written instructions, only a set of rather small and not furry clear pictures. Mummy was in despair. But fortunately, one of the neighbours was able to help her put it together so She didn't have to shlep all (almost) 9 kilos of Me to the clinic in a PTU without a handle. 
BTW - We have had a Brilliant Idea for what to do with the old PTU. Mummy thinks she will re-arrange the flowerpots on the entrance porch, take off the door of the PTU and leave it (the PTU, not the door - MOL) on the porch as a shelter for the Outside Kitties when it's raining.

Back to My Dental Trauma. When We got to the clinic, We discovered that neither the V-E-T nor her assistant had yet arrived and the door was locked. There was a man waiting there with his woofie. Fortunately, at least the assistant arrived five minutes later and let us into the clinic.  A few more people arrived - all with woofies! The assistant called Dr. Einat, who was stuck in a dreadful traffic jam due to a chain accident involving several cars (not hers, fortunately) and estimated she wouldn't be there for at least half an hour! Or was it an hour? I don't know. I don't wear a wristwatch. I'm a CAT! So the assistant let Mummy and Me sit in the inner room, so that I would be away from all the woofies (they didn't really bother Me -  I am, after all, Sir Caspurr the Courageous).

Anyway, Dr. Einat eventually turned up and she stabbed Me with a needle to sedate Me. I was more or less completely zonked out, though even if I hadn't been, I was in too much pain from my toofies to resist. And She pulled out TWO of my toofies - but not my Fangs, at least. So now, I have lost THREE altogether - one behind Trixie, who has had four removed.

Here is another picture of Me, taken yesterday, just to show you I still have plenty of toofies left:

We have artified both these pictures, with filters from LunaPic. Furrst, here is the picture where you can see My Tongue and Toe-beans, using the Beauty art effect at 85%:

And here I am sporting My Fangs, filtered with the Quirky art effect:

Let Us know in the comments what you think of the pics.

In other news, Uncle D. is back in Israel. He arrived early this morning and will be here till after Pessach (Passover), which starts next Wednesday evening (April 5th). Isn't that wonderful? He is staying with Auntie N. till then, and will come to Us for the actual festival.

Now, it is time to put up the blog hop badges:


  

        

        

Time to go, so that Mummy can do her Pessach supermarket order and then rest before Caterwauling Practice. She needs a LOT of rest, because She hasn't recovered yet from having an hour stolen from her last Friday morning when We moved all the clocks forward. Don't blame Us. We were furry understanding and let her carry on sleeping, instead of demanding breakfast an hour earlier. Aren't We Good Kitties?

Till next week then.

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Ecco La Primavera - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybody!

Queen Trixie here again! How have you all been keeping? What crazy weather we've all been having! Furrst rain, then sunshine, then rain again, then sunshine again. No wonder it's driven all the March hares mad (mol)!

It is My turn to lead my fellow J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, led by the Divinely Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by Our Dear Furriends, the Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

I am furry, furry pleased with this week's selfie. I think it shows up all My Best Points to purrfection, don't you?

And here is the artified verson, using LunaPic's Art Nouveau filter at 62%:

However, in honour of the Spring Equinox, which is tomorrow, I have also invited my brofurs to join me for the Caturday Art, in a painting by Signor Botticelli (aka Pussicelli), La Primavera:

For this, We added a filter of Flowers at 62% to the original painting. 

Flowers is a furry suitable filter for Spring, but since today is rather rainy and overcast, We also tried out the Dark filter, at 45% and then the Grey filter at 50%:

In both of the latter, We think We are more clearly visible than in the one with the Flowers filter - but there is no denying that Flowers are much more suitable for Spring and much more what We hope to see!

Let Us know what you think in the Comments section below.

We noticed that some of you have already moved your clocks forward to Summer Time or Daylight Saving Time, or whatever it's called in your part of the world. Here in Israel, that will be happening later in the week, on the night between Fursday and Furriday. We view that with disfavour, of course - as We do anything that alters Our Sleep Schedule - although We have taken note that moving the clock forward an hour means We should receive Our Breakfast an hour earlier. We hope Mummy realises this. If not, you can be sure We shall voice Our Displeasure - LOUDLY (mol).

Now it is time to put up the blog hop badges. Here they are:

        

Till next week then.

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies Starring Shimshi

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

It's the Mighty Shimshon here, (Shimshi for short), aka The Little Purrince, Furrst of My Name, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard.

Once again, it is MY turn to lead My Fursibs on the Weekend Blog Hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Divinely Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Snoozies Selfies blog hop, hosted by Our Dear Furriends, the Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

As you can see, as far as I was concerned, it really was a case of the Sunday Snoozies (mol).

Caspurr was kitnapped on Fursday and taken to have his annual shots and he tells Me that, as Mummy entered the V-e-t's waiting room, the handle broke on his PTU and She dropped him! Caspurr was furry brave, however and didn't freak out - though Mummy got quite a shock!

Anyway, as compensation, although it is MY turn as Blog Hop Leader this week, here is a twofur of Me with Caspurr:

It would not be fair to leave out Trixie, so here is a twofur of Me with her, as well:

As you can see, We have been having lots of sunny days - though We are expecting some rain later this week. But Spring is in the air and will officially start next week, which is a furry nice feeling.  And Mummy is happy too, because she'll be starting two new Open University lecture courses this week, which She will probably write about in her own bloggie some time.

We had lots of fun artifying Our pictures this week.

For My Twofur with Caspurr, We used LunaPic's Surreal Painting filter and then added Cartoon, at 70%:

And for My Twofur with Trixie, We used the Quirky art effect at 80%, and then added the Soft Lighting filter:

Since I am Blog Hop Leader this week, My Own Selfie had to be something Really Special. We used the Edtaonisi art effect at 50%, with a Simply Pawsome, custom designed frame:

Isn't is Splendifurrous?

Next - before We forget - here are the blog hop badges:

     

Time to go now, to give Mummy plenty of time to rest before Caterwauling Purractice this evening. But furrst, to those of you who celebrate it, We want to say: Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.

A Double Celebration: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurrybody!

Spring is in the air - and with it, the start of Party Season. This week, We have TWO reasons to celebrate! 

Furrst and foremost, I, Sir Caspurr the Courageous, the Caspicatious, Furrst of My Name, the Snuggle-Bug, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Forces and King of the Tigger-Tabbies, will be celebrating My Tenth Birthday on Tuesday, 7th March. It is therefore right and fitting that I should be leading my fellow J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Divinely Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie,  and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by those Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet. Doubly right and fitting, because it's My Turn anyway (mol).

The second reason for Celebration is that on the same day as My Birthday, Tuesday, it is Purr-im - which is why I am wearing a Purim mask in My Sunday Selfie.

In fact, We are all costumed and ready for the joint Birthday/Purim pawty which We will be holding on Tuesday afternoon at 4 pm Israel time in the Enchanted Forest (where else?), to which you are all invited. As usual, the coordinates have been sent to your Transportation Devices. If there are new furriends among you, who have not been to the Enchanted Forest before, do let Us know in the comments. And if you can't make it till later in the evening, don't worry. The pawty will continue all night long, because in Jerusalem, Purr-im is celebrated a day later. So We are going to make it an all-nighter.

Most impawtant of all, don't forget that, since it is Purr-im, this will be a Fancy Dress Pawty. Of course, you don't have to wear full Fancy Dress. We know some kitties hate wearing costumes. Masks will do, or just funny hats. Take a look at Trixie, for example in her flirty mask, or Shimshi, in his Court Jester hat:

In honour of My Birthday, Mummy did a Really Spiffing Artification of My Selfie, using LunaPic's Quirky art effect at 80%. She then increased the colour saturation to 85 and added a custom frame - et voilà!

Now, it is time to add the blog hop badges:

                                 

     


See you at the pawty!

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.

A Couple of Twofurs for Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo there, Effurrybody!

As you may have noticed, We J-Cats take it strictly in turn to lead Our Furmily on the weekend blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Divinely Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie,  and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by Our Dear Furriends, the Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet. This week, it is MY turn - Queen Trixie, Furrst of My Name, Empurress of Jerusalem, Israel and the Entire Middle East, Queen of Hearts, Guardian of the Boudoir, Alpha Kitty Extraordinaire. Since, this time, We are actually posting a couple of Twofurs, I am in both of them - one with each of My Brofurs.

Here is the furrst one - My Impurrial Self with My Brofur, Caspurr the Caspicatious:

And here is the artified version, using LunaPic's Tuscany art effect, with an overlay of the Dark effect at 50%.

I really like this picture, because it makes Me look bigger, while Caspurr looks smaller. In real life, it's completely the other way around - and no wonder, when Caspurr and Shimshi steal My Food whenever they get an Oppurr-tunity!!!

Speaking of Shimshi - here is a Twofur of him and My Royal Self:

If I remember rightly, he had just woken up (as had I, I believe) and Shimshi was telling Me about a New Mischief he had dreamt about (in his capacity as Master of the Queen's Mischiefs), and was requesting My Royal Assent to put it into purractice, which, naturally, I graciously granted.

We made an artsy-fartsy version of this one, using Lunapic's Harsh Lighting filter at 95%, with an overlay of Barcelona (which I don't think we've used before) at 30%.

Spring seems to be right on the thresh-hold here, with lovely, sunny weather and tempurratures expected to rise to the mid-20s Celsius in the next couple of days - which is very good, as Mummy has one of her Biblical archaeology field trips up north later in the week.

Speaking of Mummy, She had one of her opthalmic migraines this morning. It didn't last more than about 15 - 20 minutes, but now, She has developed an ordinary headache, so She needs to lie down and have a good, long nap to make it go away, otherwise, She won't be up to attending Caterwauling Purractice this evening. So without further ado, here are the blog hop badges:

        

That's it for now then, Dear Furriends. See you next week.

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.

I've Been Framed: Guest Selfie and Caturday Art from CalliCallou the Cat Burglar

Hallo there, Effurryone!

We have Something Special for the weekend blog hops today - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Divinely Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by those Sweethearts, the Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

You remember Intruder Kitty CalliCallou, don't you - the kitty Mummy is thinking of adopting (if she can be lured into a PTU and taken to the v-e-t for a check-up before being allowed into the house, so as to minimise any risk of infection to Us)? She hasn't been such a devoted visitor as before, but she still seems to be quite sleek and well-fed and We think she is being taken care of, maybe, by another resident (or residents) of Our Street.
Well, last week, CalliCallou jumped up onto the windowsill of the downstairs loo, where she was snapped by Mummy's Cleaning Lady. We think she looks like a Cat Burglar, trying to break in (mol), don't you?

Naturally, CalliCallou denies any such ne-furrious intentions. She says she has been framed. Mummy is sure this is yet another sign that CalliCallou really, really wants to join Our Fur-mily, but another problem has presented itself. The thing is, there are a couple more kitties who would really, really like to be J-Cats. Mummy has already mentioned Melba, who goes wherever CalliCallou goes. But now, there is another one, a ginger male, whom Mummy calls Gibori (from the Hebrew "Gibor", meaning a hero). Apparently he has been "TNR'd" as his left ear is tipped, but he also seems to be covered with sores, though they don't seem to bother him - and although he probably needs to be adopted even more than CalliCallou, Mummy is a little reluctant to choose one needy kitty over the others, especially when she feels she kind of promised CalliCallou that She would adopt her. But what is She to do? We can't keep 6 kitties in a small apawtment. 

It is quite a Dilemma.

Be that as it may, We think CalliCallou (who does seem to be beautifully framed - by the window, at least) is the purr-fect candidate for the weekend blog hops.

So, before We go any further, let Us put up the blog hop badges:

        

And now, let Us show you how We artified CalliCallou's pawtrait, with the help of LunaPic, using three different filters.

Furrst of all - Beauty at 75%:

 

Next, Sketch4:

And finally, Flowers - also at 75%:

Do you have a favourite? WE certainly found it hard to decide. But We think they are all worthy of being displayed in an art gallery, just as OUR pawtraits have been, on more than one occasion.

Do let Us know which picture you like best - and your thoughts on Mummy's Adoption Dilemma too, please.

That's all for now.

Be well. Be safe. We love you all.