Planning Mischiefs - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Shimshi

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies and Shavua Tov (a Good Week) to you all!

Last week was furry Hot.
This week is going to be Even Hotter!
Mummy has the shutters rolled down to keep the room cool. Purrsonally, I think it wouldn't hurt to have the Air Conditioning on, but it's rather noisy. Besides which, Mummy read something about how people who sit directly under A/C units are more likely to catch the Evil Chinese Virus because the droplets are blowing about in the air.  Other people have said that's nonsense.  Mummy says She doesn't know what to believe any more and it's better to be safe than sorry. And Grandpaw says that in any case, it's not healthy to sit directly under the A/C and Mummy agrees because one can end up with a pain in the neck and shoulders that way. Anyway, if Mummy opens the big window at one end of the living room, and the window at the far end also, we can catch a nice breeze because We are quite high up, facing a valley.

You may wonder what I am doing in this picture. Trixie and Caspurr say that when the weather is as hot as this (30 C and upwards), there is really no point in doing anything, except snoozing. But some of Us have impawtant duties to attend to and the fact that it's hotter than hell even hotter than usual does not mean that these duties can be neglected. I, for instance, am Master of the Queen's Mischiefs, as you know and I am constantly giving thought to devising new, and effur more destructive Mischiefs. That is what I am doing in this picture, which is Our Entry in the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by the sweet Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.  

Here is their badge: 

  

You can no doubt tell, from my furry intense expression, how hard I am working to concoct some really Spectacular New Mischief.

As you no doubt recall, We also purrticipate effurry week in the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Beautiful and Wise Athena and her HuMum, Marie.  Here is their badge:






We went to LunaPic for assistance with Our Art this week, and since there are so many beautiful Art Effects there and We found it difficult to decide, We opted for a Collage Art effect, comprised of (clockwise from top left) Picasso, Tuscany, Nouveau and Psychedelic - the whole, surrounded by the gaudiest richest frame Mummy could find. What do you think?




Now, I believe I can hear Mummy calling Us for lunch (and if She isn't, She ought to be!) so I must be off. I will try to visit as many of you as pawsible later in the day - and if I don't manage, then later in the week. Meanwhile, take care of yourselves and your Humans, purrtect them from the Evil Virus which still stalks the streets and Be Well.

Purrs.

Caspurr's Sad Sunday Selfies and Caturday Art

Hallo again, Effurryone!

Caspurr here - King of the Tigger-Tabbies. 







I would like to wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) - but it cannot be denied that the week has started furry, furry sadly for all of Us, with the passing of dear, sweet Mauricio (Mau), one of the Kitties Blue, who - together with their HuMom, Janet - host the weekly Sunday Selfies Blog Hop.

Mau was called away unexpectedly to the Rainbow Bridge on Friday, July 17th and although his Family are heartbroken, they have bravely decided to soldier on and host the blog hop this week, in spite of their grief - and We, too, are joining it, in Mau's honour.  We know he wouldn't have wanted to miss a week.
So, Mau, this one is for you, Sweet Angel.

It is in tribute to Mau, also, that for Our Caturday Art this week, We have chosen the Sadness Effect from LunaPic, to show how sad we are at the loss of Our Furriend.







This version of the picture is Our Entry in the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by the Beautiful and Wise Kitty, Athena and her HuMum, Marie.

We were asked by the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam if they could display it, and of course, We gave Our Purrmission.

We wanted to add, Mau's passing has reminded Us once again of how impawtant it is to show those We love how much they mean to Us, as often as We can, because We can neffur know how long they will be with Us. Tomorrow may be Too Late - and this is true for Humans as well as for Cats, especially with this horrible Chinese Coronavirus continuing to rampage throughout the world.

So tell your humans and your furriends and anipals that you love them, show them you care...and be well, all of you.

Purrs from the J-Cats (and Mummy Shimona)

Recovering from a Visit to the V-E-T - Trixie's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie

Hallo, Effurrybody!


Shavua Tov (a Good Week) to all Our Anipals!

It is My Turn to star in this week's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies blog hops, hosted by (respectively) the Wise and Beauteous Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sweet, yet Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

But before I do so, I have to tell you, kitties, how Mummy tricked Me last week and whisked Me off to the V-E-T, before I realised her Fell Intent! She tempted Me with treats to get Me into the Guest Room! And then She shut the door, so I couldn't escape. I can't believe I fell for that again! I took refuge in My Kitty Cave, but She dragged Me out and popped Me into the PTU before you could say Pussy Galore - but not before I managed to leave My Signature on the back of her Treacherous Hand!  She won't try that again in a hurry!

Anyway, her excuse for this Ill Treatment was that I was overdue with my annual shots (true, but that's Her fault, not Mine) and that I had stinky breath and She feared I might have a gum infection (No Comment)!

When We got to the Place of Torture, there were a couple of people before Us. One of them was already inside, with their Woofie, and another, in the Waiting Room, had a Parrot. I have never seen a Birdie at That Place before.

Anyway, because of the Evil Coronavirus, We waited outside in the garden until it was Our turn. Naturally, I refused to cooperate when Dr. Einat tried to examine my toothies. Instead, I hissed and snarled at her - but She just smiled and invited Me to do that again. Too late, I realised that I had given her a Grandstand View of my Fangs and Gums! Tricked again!!!

Well, the Evil Vet said I did have a bit of a gum infection, but not a serious one, and She gave Mummy a tube of DentiSept to be applied three times a week. Yeah, sure! Good Luck with that, Mummy. Not happening. NOT. NO, NO, NO.
(I know Mummy is going to do what She always does - sneak up on Me when I'm asleep and apply the stuff before I have time to resist.)

After that, I got stabbed, as usual - and then We came Home and Mummy gave me Treats in a (vain) attempt to atone for her previous Ill Treatment of Me.

Well, that is My News for now.  Oh, I almost forgot! Yesterday, Shabbat morning, We were rudely awoken before 8 a.m. by the sound of Very Loud Boomies from the neighbouring Arab villages. We are used to them letting off fireworks to celebrate weddings and things, but who lets off fireworks at 8 in the morning? What is the point of fireworks if you can't see the pretty colours?

Well, Mummy phoned the Pawlice and they said that the villagers were celebrating the end of the school year and the matriculation exams. Yeah, at 8 in the morning! The Pawlice said they were "dealing with it" - but it went on all day, on and off.  Honestly! Some People!!!

We invited Mummy to join Us in the wardrobe, or UTB - but She declined.

And now, Anipals, it is time to join the blog hops.

This is the picture I have chosen for my entry in the Sunday Selfies blog hop. You can see me chilling out in one of my favourite spots, on the floor beside the fan in the bedroom.

We artified it with two new filters We found at PhotoFunia.  They are furry similar, but you must tell Us which you prefurr.  


Furrst of all, here is the picture seen through the Cloud Filter.  It looks as if I am flying through the clouds on My Magical Flying Carpet, doesn't it?

And here is the same picture, using the Artistic Filter:

Is it Our Imagination, or do I look as if I am on fire in the second photo?


As I said, one (or both) of these pictures will represent Us in the Caturday Art blog hop.

Now, here are the badges for both blog hops: 
 
  


And that's all for now, Anipals. Arrifurrderci - and don't forget to look after your Humans and keep them safe from the Evil Coronavirus.

Intruders at Grandpaw's - Caturday Art and Sunday Guest Selfie

Hallo again, Effurrybody!

We apawlogise for having missed last week's Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, as well as the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the wonderful Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

You see, Mummy abandoned Us for the Entire Weekend! Step-Grandma went off to Safad for a few days to visit her friends, leaving Grandpaw all alone (well, except for Our Uncle Messi, the Woofie), and so Mummy went to stay with him for the weekend because he's her Daddy and he's almost 93 human years old. She was away for Three Whole Nights - only coming back effurry day for a couple of hours to feed Us and play with Us a bit, and so We didn't want to lose Purrecious Minutes with her writing bloggies.

Grandpaw and Step-Grandma have a big garden, where Uncle Messi likes to hang out, enjoying the huge sunpuddles.  This is his Territory, so when Intruders dare to - well, Intrude - you can be sure that Messi will demand that they leave, in no uncertain terms.

Well, the furry furrst afternoon Mummy was there, suddenly Messi, who was out in the Garden, started barking like crazy. Mummy went out to investigate, and She found that this little, itsy-bitsy kitten, whom She had seen earlier up in the road, being fed by two little boys who live next door to Grandpaw and Step-Grandma, had somehow managed to get into the next-door garden and from there, through a gap in the fence, into Grandpaw and Step-Grandma's Messi's garden!

As you can imagine, Messi was not best pleased!


Warning! Trigger Alert!  This Video contains Loud Barking by excitable Woofie!




https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Isx98rLKO64&feature=youtu.be

But Messi would never actually hurt a kitty - especially not a little baby like this one - and the Intruder Kitty furry soon realised that his Bark is much worse than his Bite, and didn't turn a Whisker.

In fact, the little kitten came back several times over the course of Mummy's visit, and She couldn't resist taking several pictures of it. So We have decided to invite the sweet furry baby to be Our Guest Star this week, in both the Caturday Art and in the Sunday Selfies blog hops.

Furrst of all (since Caturday comes before Sunday - mol), here are Our Entries in the Caturday Art blog hop. Furrst, the original picture, of Messi's Furrst Encounter with the Tiny Intruder:

Here is Athena's Caturday Art badge:

We were torn between two different art effects at LunaPic.
This is the Van Gogh Effect at 50%:

And this is the Beauty Effect, also at 50%:







Which one do you prefurr?

And for the Sunday Selfies, here is a close-up picture of the sweet little kitty.
We think - at least, We hope - that he or she has been adopted by the Family next door to Grandpaw and Step-Grandma.

Furrst, here is the Kitties Blue blog hop badge:








And here is Intruder Kitty's Guest Selfie:








Now all that remains is for Us to wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and may you and your Humans continue to keep safe from the horrible Coronavirus, which looks, alas, as if it's going to be with Us for quite a while yet. 

Memories of Minxie: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

Today, We are devoting Our post to Mummy's furry furrst kitty, Angel Minxie - the Queen of Cats. We should, by rights, have written about her last week, because she was born on (or about) June 15th 1980, and flew away to the Rainbow Bridge on June 12th 1995, just three days before what would have been her 15th birthday - only Mummy was a bit distracted by all the bad things happening in the World, and especially, by the surge in new cases of the Horrible Coronavirus here in Israel.

Minxie, as you can see, was a beautiful tabby kitty, with the most loving nature you can imagine. She and Mummy had absolute trust in each other and she would often go to sleep on Mummy's chest or tummy, safe in the knowledge that Mummy would purr-tect her and make sure that no harm would effur come to her. And Mummy did purr-tect her, until an Evil Cancer attacked Minxie, and although Mummy did all She could and spared no expense, She could not save Her Baby.

In this picture, you can see Minxie with Arabella Dolly, and with Felix, who are still with Us.  Sometimes, they whisper to Us and tell Us stories about Minxie.  

We decided to honour Minxie's Memory by making her the Star of this week's Sunday Selfies,  and it is she, the Furrst of the J-Cats, who will represent Us in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop hosted by Our Dear Furriends, the Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.  Here is their Badge:

As usual, We are also taking part in the Caturday Art Blog Hop, hosted by the Wise and Lovely Athena, and her HuMum, Marie.  

Here is their Badge:  

We used the Stained Glass effect from LunaPic, at 60%, to artify Minxie's picture - and here she is, in all her glowing Glory:






Other News:

Before We get distracted,  We wanted to mention that this meowning, there was a paw-tial Eclipse of the Sun visible here in Israel (although, of course, We couldn't look at it because you should neffur look directly at the Sun, and certainly not when it is in Eclipse. Mummy says it can blind you). We think it got eclipsed because it was tired out after the Solstice yesterday. Maybe it had been celebrating too much (mol).

Last, but certainly not least, We want to wish you all Shavua Tov (a Good Week) and to remind you, whatever the state of the Pandemic in your neck of the woods, to stay safe and to look after your Humans.


Pawpats and kitty kisses to you all.

The New Normal - Shimshi's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfie

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

Shavua Tov (a Good Week) to you all. Things are furry slowly getting back to "normal". Well, not quite the way they used to be, but sort of. For example, Mummy is going to venture out to her Caterwauling Club this evening - although instead of all the members meeting together twice a week, as in the past, for the next few weeks they are going to meet in smaller groups, once a week, so effurryone gets their turn.  Mummy's group of about nine (including the conductor) will be meeting tonight, in the courtyard of the synagogue where they usually hold rehearsals. It is now pur-mitted to meet indoors, but they decided to play safe and remain outdoors, as long as the weather allows them to do so.

Today, it is once again My Turn to star in the Caturday Art Blog Hop hosted by beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie - as well as in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop hosted by the darling Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet! (We take things strictly in turn here, at the J-Cats' hangout.)

This is a picture of Me, exercising after my post-prandial nap:






I like this one furry much and I have chosen it for the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop, so here is their badge:

Mummy and I then popped over to LunaPic, where Mummy helped Me artify it, using the Picasso Effect and on top of that, Beauty (at 70%).  Mummy wanted to use the Sadness Effect at furrst, but We thought that there is already far too much sadness in the World (you all know what We mean, so no more about that now). We decided, instead, to add a little Beauty.

And here is the final result:

As I said, this one is for the Caturday Art Blog Hop and here is their badge:







And now, all that is left for Me to do is to wish you all Shavua Tov once more.

Stay safe, be well - and make sure your Humans remember to observe all the Rules!

What Next? - Caspurr's Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo again, Effurryone and Shavua Tov (a Good Week)!

It looks like that "Second Wave" the Humans were talking about, might have hit the shore!  160 new cases of the Evil Coronavirus over the last 24 hours!
Not Good!  Where will it all end?

Mummy didn't go to her Caterwauling Lesson last week, after all. Her teacher gave her a lesson via the Zoomie app instead. Which means that We had to listen to her caterwauling away got to hear her singing...

A lot of schools decided, on their own initiative,  to close and/or return to "Teaching from a Distance", without waiting for an official directive from the Ministry of Health or the Ministry of Education.  Talk about closing the stable door after the horse has bolted! If the schools had enforced the Social Distancing rules within their walls, We might not be in this new mess!

Well, there is nothing We Felines can do about it, so We shall purr-ceed to matters at hand - to wit, the weekend bloggie hops: the Caturday Art bloggie hop, hosted by the lovely and wise Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies bloggie hop, hosted by the sweet Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Mummy tricked Me into taking this selfie, when I had just woken up from a nice snooze on the sofa next to her. If you look carefully, you can see her foot just inside the left-hand frame:








And here is the Sunday Selfies badge:

We artified My Selfie, using a frame and the Illusion effect from LunaPic - et voilà!  (That's Furr-ench, you know. I learnt it from Trixie, who is always showing off by using Furr-ench words. She thinks it makes her look so-phisticated.)

I think it makes me look a bit like a ginger kitty, doesn't it? 
Anyway, here is Athena's Caturday Art badgie:

And now, it's time for Us to hop those bloggies, while Mummy has a siesta, which is really the best only thing to do when it's 31 degrees C (87.8F) outside.

As for you, dear furr-iends - stay home, stay safe, stay well (and make sure your Humans do too).