Simon's Blog

Well, where the heck have I been for a year

I am almost embarassed to be writing this...a year has gone by and I have been remiss. I have some flimsy excuses....had to sit and think a bunch...you know ...ponder life. That took awhile.I have had to take care of my companion through one hip replacement and now we are waiting to head into another. It is so bizzarre to me that humans get their parts replaced, but it is a good thing because she can walk better now and will be purrfect once the other one is done. Plus, I got to snuggle with her a lot while she recovered.
I turned ten this summer, can't believe I have been with my companion that long.....helping her in the garden and in the kitchen. I help her on the computer too. Marybeth and I sit by her keyboard and tell her what looks good and what doesn't when she is designing stuff...and wow ...has she ever designed a ton of new stuff this past year. Some of the designs she licensed out , new cat vases and dogs vases and money banks, nightlights and salt and peppers, will be out the beginning of next year. She also has done many new horse designs and wildlife designs and cat and dogs designs which she is going to put on products through a cafe press website...really fun things...mugs and dog dishes and dog shirts and tee shirts and aprons, even teddy bears. She is working on that now and will send out a newsletter when that is ready to go.
  My companion has also been busy doing some special order vases and tiles and paintings for people. She did a great painting of three cats

and one lady called her to do a vase to be used as a crematory urn for her kitten who died of the dreaded FIP disease...it was hard to do it , my companion said, but she loved capturing his sweet spirit and image on the outside of the container that would hold him forever. His name was YinYang
 She also painted a vase of a cat named Phoebe and when she sent it to the lady , the lady sent this picture back  and called it "Phoebe's verdict"...she really seemed to like her likeness.

Then my companion did a fun tile of a wonderful pit Bull who was a rescue from the Hurricane Katrina and is now happily living on Whidby Island near Seattle. My companion loves to do portrait tiles.

I also want you to meet my beautiful friend Maggie. She was a rescue cat who lived in a rescue for a year before being adopted to her loving forever home in Florida along with her sister Aggie. they are lucky kitties.

 

The Season Turns

I sit by the sliding door on the deck and look out. It is raining. Sometimes , I go to the front door and ask to go out that way - maybe it isn't raining out that door - but , I find, alas,that it always seems to be raining out every door- why is that? I can go out and sit under the table on the deck - sometimes i do that but maybe  digging in the pillows on the bed for a nap is a better idea.
  The season has changed and now it is dark when my family gets up. Why is that? i am full of questions today. I don't know why they get up in the dark when the bed is so warm and cozy. My companion turns on the heater in the kitchen and we cats all sit by it in the morning, yawning and wondering why we are up - OH....FOOD- food is why we are up , we can always nap later. The fog sits low this morning, as I look out the window , I see the tops of the trees peeking out from the mists. I hear the horn from the ferry boat my companion will take across the sound today to visit her daughter. I have not ever been on a ferry boat but I hear from the dogs that the boats are very scary - all surrounded by water and bouncy. I would not want to go on one and  I hope my companion does not fall in the water.
  My companion has been very busy designing many new things. She tells me she has designed a whole new line of Santa Dogs and Cats for ornaments, and angel cats and vases, all of which will be out next spring. She did do a new vase for the Rescue Me-ow line , of my friend Alfiechinacat. He looked so real my sister Marybeth and I thought he WAS real and had come to visit us. She is also painting portrait vases of peoples cats and bowls and tiles of peoples dogs. You can see Marybeth with the Alfie vase here, doesn't it look like he just came to visit us. Marybeth is quite confused.You can click on these images to make them larger if you want. I asked Alfie if he wanted to share my lunch . He did not eat much, which is fine by me...since i like to eat everything in site.My companion said he was easier to clean up after, than I am .

If you would like a vase of your own cat you can go to the new special orders -originals section and order one.

  My companion wants me to tell you about a friend of hers , Joan Ranquet, who is one of the worlds foremost Animal Communicators. She has just published a book called "

"Communication With All Life, Revelations of an Animal Communicator" by Joan Ranquet. "

   You can go to her website  www.joanranquet.com   and read all about the book and Joan. She is amazing. I know this because I have talked to her.

  Another fabulous thing we have to report , is this. Remember little Adam, the burned kitten. Well, there is a happy outcome for the story and he is now going to his forever home with the woman who has been caring for him through all his surgeries and skin grafts. You can read all about him at his webpage, it is so wonderful that he has a forever home now...what a story  http://www.catster.com/cats/597964

I hope you are all having a lovely season... time to be Thankful and Grateful for all that we have , for each other, and for our own talents, successes, and the ability to meet the challenges we all face in everyday life. Don't forget to give the best gift of all , a smile. Purrs, Simon

Midsummer Madness

It is August. My companion is an August Leo...try and deal with that one.She is good to me though. I was her birthday gift 9 years ago when I was just a scrawny rescue kitten. Now, I am a big orange guy in my prime. As she was brushing me this morning she told me she was so grateful to have me be a part of her life. It is good that we have each other. She talks of visiting someone who had no cat. She said it was so strange...so quiet. She says a house without a purr is just a big empty space no matter what is in it. A purr fills the moments of silence with warmth. A purr can fill your empty heart, dull pain, dry a tear, create a smile. A purr can heal, provide gaity, music to sleep by....ahhhh..a purr is a small miracle. Now , I know my companion and my companion's companion also greatly enjoy the presence of the makers of the woofs...we love the woofs as well, and the whinneys that waft in from the fields....all a great part of every day life, sounds to live with , that create your space. But the purr...the purr is the heartbeat of a home and the lives therein. Some purrs are tiny little inaudible rumbles that need to be felt almost , instead  of heard. Other purrs are big and bawdy ,rolling ,rumbling and vibrating  . The purr is a mystery, it is magic. And we wish that everyone, everywhere can some day know the wonder of their own house fulls of purrs.
  Our purrs  of late are joyful  because a little kittens story has brought to light the good vs evil battle and made us all so hopeful for a happy ending. The kittens name is Adam   and he has become an international celebrity because of a tragedy that almost took his life....set on fire by mean teenage girls, saved by a little boy who stopped them, and then by a team of doctors and caring people.He has had so many skin grafts....the poor little mite, and lost his tail and parts of his ears, but he rallies and plays and  lives and purrs. Read his story here www.forgottenfelines.com and you can see his catster page at http://www.catster.com/cats/597964
We hope Adam thrives and stands as a symbol for better laws to be put into effect against animal abuse.

     Purrs are also in order because I found the most wonderful cat on catster. She is a tortoisehell exotic short hair, persian mix by the name of Raza. Here is a great picture of her covered in cobwebs...isn't she beguiling? My companion has a real thing for Torties so whenever we see one she has to stop and go oooh and aahh....what is the deal with that.Since it is her birthday I am posting this beautiful tortie just for her. Raza is truly wonderful to look at however and we enjoy having her here. We who have families to love us and care for us are so grateful  for that.Raza lives in Auckland City in New Zealand.

   We also want to post the pictures of the cat portrait tiles again. My companion has just been delighting folks with portraits of their kitties and doggies. Here is the Zoey tile, and once again Pumpkin and her tile. Wouldn't a fireplace surrond of tiles of all your dogs or cats or horses be great. Or a  sink surround  or a  big tile thing behind  the stove . She can do anything, my companion, well almost. She is not good at mousing....I have to do that for her .

    Did you see the horse of the month this month, Mr. Smith? My companion is a great admirer of Morgans, and Mr. Smith has the quirky, lovable, intelligent personality that is so endearing in the breed. Here we have to put another picture of him in to show him pulling his surry with his mom , driving through their arboretum.Now the only thing that could make this picture better would be if the surry were full of  cats.

  So, August will wend it's way . Myself, I enjoy the lazy warm days in the garden. My companions have  made some lovely spots for me to sit and watch the birds  in their bath, the butterflies  in the butterfly bush and the hummingbirds just everywhere.  I so enjoy  hiding under the zuchinni plants  and leaping out at anyone who may be weeding...I always enjoy a good scream. I am also tempted to toss a snake or two about, but my companion  has them on the same no no list as the birds and butterflies, she says they eat the bugs and slugs. Yuck..anything that would eat a slug has to be crazy. But, I am glad it is the snakes and not me.I did take one into my companions studio area once but they removed it after much noisy surprise, they did not seem at all pleased like they usually are when I bring them a mouse or rat. Guess they only like to eat rodents so that is what I will bring them. I think for my companions birthday I will bring her an even dozen.Maybe she will put them on top of her cake.

i have a friend named Mango, a gorgeous orange and white kitty, who is an inspiration to anyone. He has Cerebellar Hypoplasia, a neuralogical syndrome that renders him unable to control his legs and body normally. But he is happy and loving and giving and just plain perserverant. I wish I had a picture of him to put in here but I do not. I do have a short video of a cat named Charley who has the same physical challenge. It is wonderful and inspiring. Please view it and share with me the joy that there are people who care about these pets with physical challenges. They and their pets are an inspriation to the rest of us daily. http://ie.youtube.com/watch?v=dJQG6V1MOVY

And so to end the monthly purr session here I am going to put in two pictures of my companions most recent love...good thing he lives in England or I would be jealous. She is always going on and on about how gorgeous he is. Well , he is the cat of the month this month and he is the International #1winner in the house pet division on the Cat Show circuit, and since he is my good friend I have to say hats off to him....Alfiechinacat

   so, Purrs...purrs and more purrs. If your house doesn't have some....be sure and get some real soon.

 

Summertime

Ahhh....summertime - it's true you know - what the song says - the livin' is easy, at least for cats. The long , long days leave lots of time for lying in the sun on the deck railing or snoozing in the shade under the picnic table, or, best of all,sliding quietly through the low growing leaves of the plants in the garden. I can sit silently in the heather watching the hummingbirds as they flitter around the Graham Thomas honeysuckle. I dasn't snatch one though or my companion will shriek louder than thunder at me. I will never understand why? Humans are just not to be understood.
I love the garden. It buzzs and hums. The nodding flower heads bump my ears and tickle my nose as I wend through the nooks and crannies of stems and mounds of flowers. Above me archways of roses reach for blue sky and bow to the sun. There are so many smells - roses , mariglods, mice, moles. It's just all so wonderful.
My companion and her companion just had a celebration in the garden. They drank champagne and talked about 41 years of being married. I have only been here for 9 so I do not know of 41 years. It seems like a very long time. They laugh though - so it must be good. I caught a nice fat young rat as a gift for them and took it , still wriggling, to the deck door . I thought it would be nice of me to provide their dinner since they provide for me all the time. I knew they would be pleased. My companion shouted loud shrieks of delight, then caught her breath and praised me "Oh Simon,how wonderful and thoughtful you are." Her companion came and praised me too and scooped up the rat and disappeared with it. I guess they were saving it for later. I did see them eating some shrimp which they shared with me, but, they did not share the rat. I can't be angry though. It was, after all, a gift.
My companion has been so busy painting in her studio. She has done two large Hereford Bull paintings for the Gallery ARTE in Uvalde TX. Here is a picture of them hanging in the Gallery. Please click on picture to see it larger.

  She also just finished two 8" portrait tiles of cats named Zoey and Pumpkin. Here you can see Pumpkin with her tile. You can see both

tiles on the opening page of my companions website  www.ninasbigstore.com   
Now she is working on a painting of three cats together and then she has a horse to paint.You can click on the picture to make it larger.

  My good friend Twist , who is a top male fashion model in the cat world, has just had his first birtdhay. here he is in his houndstooth beret and scarf. He always looks so well turned out and dapper. I have

to admire him for that. Happy Birthday , Twist!

My companion tells me a fan sent her a picture of a different pet. She told me I had to keep my claws and teeth contained.  Good grief...now what. Well I guess it is a pet gerbil named Pippin and as you can see by the picture he is pretty cute. So we will welcome Pippin to our friends group as he does look like a jolly sort doesn't he.

  I guess I will sign off now, the day is golden and I should be out in the sun chasing something. I have many new friends pictures in my friends group so please do take a peek and send me your picture if you want to be in my gallery of friends.I do have to pop one more picture in of my cousin Bangle the Bengal who lives with my companions grandson. She is becoming quite a beauty as you can see.

Have a humming, sunny, lazy, yummy summer...Simon

 

The garden

it would seem that May is the month the garden truly begins to make noise. I was sitting in the foxgloves today, enjoying the warmth of the sun on my fur. My companion struggled a few feet from me with a shovel and huge clod of dirt and weeds. She was uttering unprintable words and snarling. I have no understanding of this process at all. She digs a huge shovel full of dirt and green grass and rocks and then heaves it into the wheelbarrow. If she enjoys this why does she snarl and snorffle and if she does not, then why does she do it at all. Humans are a great mystery...a great mystery. Finally she threw the shovel down, snatched me from my reverie and plunged her nose into my fur ,taking a deep breath, then proclaimed I smelled like sunshine. Madness, I tell you. She suffers from madness. She put me down and I tried to reclaim my serenity , but alas, I was overcome with the sounds the garden makes , the rustling, the growing, the buzzing and humming, the bird sounds,and  sounds of creatures crawling just beneath  the  ground. So many sounds...fun to sort and identify and  pinpoint and  pounce on.I enjoy an afternoon in the garden with my companion , she is just part of the entertainment.
  Someone who purchased the Dreamer planter, from my companion , because it reminded her of her  Maine Coon Cats, sent pictures to my companion and she used one for the cats of the month. She is quite enamored of these cats. I have to say  they are rather special to look at . Their companion said "Maine Coons are often referred to as gentle giants because they are so large and sweet tempered. These two live up to that, Weeji is 20lbs and Misty is 16lbs.They are 38-40" from nose to end of tail and Weeji is so long he can stand up and reach to the center of the kitchen counter" I must say I wish I could do that sometimes. I will put pictures of them in here so you can see for yourselves how tall they are. Are they not amazing? My companion brushes me every day but she wonders what the care for these two must be like.
  I must say I, myself, have fallen into sighs over Misty . Here is a picture of her looking demure.

So, the month of May rolls onward and I get to spend many hours on the deck or in the garden chasing things that buzz and hum and rustle. And, I love the hours in the sun , just perfect this time of year. Not yet too hot, but just right for whiling away a bit of dreaming time...because that is the vocation of cats.

Spring Delights

Spring seems to be here in a fury...my companion just oohs and ahhs constantly about the trees and shrubs and flowers all blooming. It sure does feel like a fantasy land of smells when I go out on the deck. There are so many birds singing and flying around I almost fell off the railing trying to snatch a quick snack. I love to go outside and watch the insects and the birds. My companion runs out and grabs me every once in awhile and freaks out screaming "eagle" or "hawk" . I have no clue what that means but it always means I get to be snatched off the deck for sure. She says they are big birds. I say 'yummy" but she says 'Simon my dear, they would think you are the yummy one". She knows these things I guess so I will abide.
   This pet food scare sure has her in a twitch though we never did eat any of those brands. She is very careful about what we eat. She bought special food that has no corn, Newmans  Own, because my sister Marybeth is 18  and  has to be careful what she eats to stay healthy.  I will put in here a picture of Marybeth . Doesn't she look like the pin my companion made of her? Speaking of pins have you looked at all the great new designs my companion made. Now she is working on dogs...why, I can't even imagine.

I went into my companion's companion's garden the other day. There are many new flowers growing and the smells that surround a cat are just overwhelming sometimes. He has placed one of his big porcelain pedestal bowls next to a sculpture, as a bird bath and drinking bowl for us cats and dogs. I like to sit and drink and dream. Sometimes I sit in the shadow of the Eupatorium Purpureum and watch the birds bathing and splashing. I daren't grab one as my companion gets positively hysterical screaming at me and doesn't let me out for days and I do so love my little garden forays and my afternoons on the deck.

I hope you go to my  Simons friends pictures and see all my new friends. 

I wanted to put this great picture of the horse next door in here. Her name is Figi and she is wearing Rhythm Beads her mom makes to help keep her calm and relaxed. You can read more about them at her site   which is in our related links area.

Ithink I will end this post with a picture of me having a nap in the sun. My companion tells me she is not only working on dog pins but also on portrait tiles of dogs and cats to top wooden boxes for jewelry. She is busy always. She is also painting paintings. Huge portraits of hereford bulls if you can imagine that. She says she has a Gallery in Texas that loves her bulls. Don't they love cats in Texas. What is Texas? There are a few things I don't seem to know. Perhaps today will bring answers. ....and catnip!

 

February dreamin'

  Ahh, February. Here in the northwest it feels like spring. My companion said the pussywillows were in full bloom and she was going to bring some in for a bouquet. I always think it odd that she makes so much of the little soft catkins on the stems...here am I, huge and soft ...and, I purr as well; but she seems to get all googly over these sticks with tiny furry lumps on them . There is just no way to understand what these human beings think or why they think it.
  I did go out and sit on the deck and the air felt softly warm, and the witch hazel in bloom purfumes the air ever so delicately. It was all very charming till Jacquelyn decided she had to come out and put her two cents in. She is the noisiest cat you can imagine. My companion says we have to be nice to her because she never had a cat mom, only my companion as her mom, and so she is not really catlike in so many ways. She is like a chatty human child...chatty bratty I say. Of course, I rather think all the attention should be directed to me.
  My companion has been working on putting some new products on the webstore . She just had a booth at a gift show with the new vases and things and her rep/friend,Debbie, brought her dog to model the new aprons. Can you imagine? She showed me a picture of Barkley wearing the "Dogs Don't You luv'em " apron and a chef Hat. Chef Barkley. Pretty funny....what a good sport he was. I don't think I would do such a thing but then I am a cat.So, here is the picture of Chef Barkley...I do have to admit he looks pretty spiffy. Be sure to click on image to enlarge it so you can see him in all his splendor.
  When you speak of dogs , and I do try not to very often, one does have to speak of and print this very funny picture of Chief, my rottweillor friend. He sent me this very funny Valentine and here I will share it with you.Click on the image to enlarge it..It is really very funny and cute.

   Chief Has a great brother named  Mountain Dew, you probably have seen him in my" friends" area  or in the Cats Cards  area as he lives with her in  Tennessee and he is one of her best models. Well, Dew also sent me a Valentine which I will post here for your veiwing pleasure. Dew is such a ham and really knows how to make his meowm laugh.                                                                                                         
  I say farewell and happy February to you all....purrs, Simon

January is cold

  I tell my companion I want to go outside on the deck and she tells me I do not. I convince her I do, and she opens the door and I run out to my spot under the table where I like to sit and watch the birds. I sit down and immediately realize she was right. I hate that. I really hate that. She told me it was 26 degrees out but what do I know about degrees. Well, now I know. I know I want to be back in the warm kitchen. I just don't want her to know that I know she was right. So , I sit there freezing my furry behind trying to look nonchalant and like I am enjoying the birds. OK!!!!!!! LET ME IN!!!!!! I AM FREEZING!!!! She let me in and cuddled me till I was warm again and gave me a treat. I am a lucky guy.
  I have to share some new pictures with you.One is my friend Twist , who is a comedian extraordinaire.Here he is dressing up like a Hells angel in his Harley cap. Don't you just love it? He loves to dress up.  Twist is quite a guy. I also love the one of him in the bowtie, don't you?

 

Now I will put in the wonderful one of Twist dressed for Valentines. He went all out for this one.

 

    I could put in cool pictures of Twist all day and all night but I also have to show you my new frineds the "Geller Girls". They are  Munchie, Mazie, Tessie and Star. They are Bichons and they are , as you can well see, the most adorable family you can imagine. My companion just loves Bichons and when she opened this picture she absolutely screamed with delight.

Here they are "The Geller Girls". Click on the picture to enlarge it.

    So, there you have it. Fun pictures to brighten a cold wintery day.Isn't Twist just a laugh a minute. And, aren't these Bichon girls just cat's meow or should I say the dog' bark.

I am so lucky to have such wonderful friends. If you want to send me any pictures of yourselves then please do...hey , a guy can always use more friends.

Now I have one more picture, of my new family member. my companions grandson received a Bengal Kitten named Bangle Bonnie the Bengal after Christmas and my companion goes on and on about her all the time. She does have some amazing spots, I have to say, but I think stripes are just as wonderful. Bangle is quite special though and my companion says she is a very very busy girl.

I think I will go ask to be let out onto the front deck. maybe it isn't as cold out there. Here is wishing you all a Happy New Year , a full food dish, someone to cuddle with, a spot to sit in the sun and watch the birds, and many purrs. Simon

 

Holiday Time

  I am so remiss in keeping up on this blog. My companion and I have been so busy, then we had terrible storms and lost our power and phone for four days. My companions daughter is going into the second week with no power and she is not a happy cammper at all since she has a dressage farm with 36 horses. But we forge ahead. My companion is designing new things and has finally gotten the Rescue Me-ow kitties on the website. I am a little miffed there is not one who looks like me yet but she says it is coming.
  I want to post a picture here of a friend of mine named Mango. He is one of my companions friends kitties and he is a very special little man. My companion's friend runs Harbor Hope Cat Rescue in Gig Harbor , Wa. They specialize in really challenging cases. Mango was presented to her by another Rescue that could not care for him. He has cerebellar hypoplasia so is neurologically challenged. He has a very hard time walking but he gets where he is going in a roundabout way and he is so sweet and charming. Mango is a real inspiration, as is his Meowm, proving purr-serverance futhers and a great attitude will get you a long way in the world. My companion keeps his picture on her desk to remind her that , though the path may be roundabout, difficult to manuver, and you may fall a few times, you can still get where you want to go with purr-serverance. And, if you smile when you get there someone will pet you.

Rainy rainy days....

  Today it is raining. Yesterday it was raning. It will no doubt rain tomorrow. We have a record for rain ....oh goody. This means I sit in the house instead of on the deck. My companion is working on her website today putting some new mugs on there but she keeps fussing that she should be in her studio painting dogs. DOGS...why in the world would she paint dogs. It mystifies me.
  I heard her laughing and asked her what it was all about. Her partner , Cat, the photoghrapher, who lives in TN sent this picture of my friends Tybolt , Torque and Twist . They were playing dressup like the Red Hat society so she took their picture. Aren't they just wonderful. who but Cat could get three kittens to sit in feather boas and smile?(click on picture to make it bigger)
   My companion has her website hooked up to the google adwords and anylytics so she can see all the people in the world who are looking at her website. It is amazing . She tells me when two people in Athens are looking or four people in Cairo, Egypt. We have no idea who they are unless they write to us, which of course she wishes they would . She is so funny, she will sit here and just fuss "12 people or one person 12 times  from Vashon Island is looking...who are they? Why don't they write to me...it makes me crazy!" ( She says that a lot... about things making her crazy...mostly it is me who does it to her...well I have to keep her entertained don't I?) Anyway, you people in Egypt and France and Norway and Texas and Winnipeg and on Vashon Island...let's hear from you...tell us who you are...send us pictures of your pets. We love to hear from you.

  So, it is still raining. My companion went to visit her daughter in Duval , north of Seattle last week and she got stranded there because the Snohomish river rose so high it covered all the roads into this very populated area. She said it was very strange to be trapped in that way. Luckily they are on very high ground. Her daughter had ten evacuee horses come to her stable because the flooding had risen up to their bellies in their own barn. I guess it happened to many many horses and cows and people and cats too. She told me when she finally could drive out it was like driving across a moving lake. Sounds eerie to me.

Anyway, I hope you people and cats and dogs are busy getting your holiday shopping done here on the website. The sweatshirts with the holiday designs on are really wonderful, I have seen them but they don't fit me so I can't model. Cat has some fabulous new cards...have you checked those out. And the new dog mugs are great (if you like dogs) and she tells me Golden Retreivers and dachshunds are coming as well as bulldogs and french bulldogs and beagles and chihuahuas. gads...I just think she should do more cats myself. But nobody listens to me....sigh. Guess I will go take a nap. The rain on the roof is very soothing and the woodstove is very warm.