Artus Gets A Monkey Magnet!

Artus was SO sad when he did not win the wooden monkeys prize in the great contest Jeter Harris & his squillion, Laffin an Laffin, put on last month. Only ONE lucky cat could win the wooden monkeys, and that cat was the ultra cool Skeezix. Artus was mopin' an mopin'... he didn't even want to play in his favorite toy, the tunnel. He just sat beside it, looking forlorn. I felt bad for him, but I didn't know how to cheer him up.



BUT THEN, I got an e-mail from Karl, one of the cats over at The Cat Realm. He said he was going to send out a monkey magnet to all the cats who didn't win the wooden monkeys in the contest!! How thoughtful and generous that Karl is!

When I told Artus, he seemed pleased, but I'm not sure he really believed it. He'd never gotten mail from Karl, or any other cat, before. He didn't want to get his heart set on the monkey magnet, like he did on those wooden monkeys, and get all dissapointed again. So, he sat down by the window and waited for the mailhuman to bring him his monkey magnet from Karl. He stayed right by that window, day after day, waiting and watching.

To be continued...

(several days pass, while I'm busy elsewhere)

... and now,

the rest of the story:

So Artus waited by the window, day after day. It seemed to him as if he was waiting forever. but it wasn't really all that long before the day came. Artus watched as the mail human brought a bigger than normal envelope, and it had HIS name written on it!!

Yep, sure enough, it was from Karl. I opened it up for Artus, and out came a WONDERFUL magnet with a wise and fashionable looking monkey on it, and these memorable words: "Owning a wooden monkey does not make you a better cat!" Hearing that made Artus feel SO much better. He knew he didn't have to be sad anymore. He began playing in his tunnel toy again.

And I put the monkey magnet up on the refrigerator, where all the cats can see it from the cat feeding station. And that's the happy ending to this story, with special BIG THANKS to Karl, from me and from Artus!

I Feel Schmoozey, Oh So Schmoozey!

Yes indeed, today I am feeling the schmooze, because I've been given the schmooze award, not once, but TWICE, in the past few days. I'd like to extend my gratitude to both Sindhu, over at Under The Sun, and Awannabe over at Awannabe's Hangout, who chose to bestow this award upon me here at Cat On My Head.


Here's what Mike, one of the originators of this award, and the human behind the wonderful Gummy The Lovesick Alien, had to say about it: "Schmoozing as defined by Dictonary.com is the ability “to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.” When it comes to blogging, schmoozing is your ticket to making new friends, getting yourself noticed and building a reputation. Some bloggers are gifted with the ability to effectively schmooze and others not so much."

What amuses me about being given this particular award, is that I am so UNschmoozey in my offline life! When I'm not at work, I really do live a hermit's life, and happily so. My socializing is done with cats, not with humans. But, online, I've discovered that I really do enjoy being a part of the blogging community, and participating in social networking sites like Blog Catalog.

Now, as it often goes with these blog awards, and memes, I am supposed to pass this on to 5 other schmoozey bloggers. And this is where I fall down in my responsibilities. BUT... If YOU, dear reader, are a blogger, and you're feeling the schmooze, just leave a comment saying that (include the specific words "I feel the schmooze"), and I will nominate the first 5 of you for the schmooze award. So tell me, are ya feelin' it??

Sunday Night Cat Pile!

Here's the scene a foot or so from my computer- there are usually one or two cats there, but tonight it got a bit more crowded. Gracie is also up there, to the left, but she didn't fit into the photo.


And then, just a few minutes later, Gamma and Rexie jumped down, so Fieldsie and Boo had more room to stretch out.

Old Growth, New Growth

I was lying out on the hammock in the dark a little earlier tonight, and there was just enough light left to notice once again how full and bushy the willow tree above the hammock is this summer. It is full of new growth.

There are several enormous old willow trees on this property. I had told my landlord that they needed trimming, as there were many old, dead limbs hanging out which could come crashing onto the roof of this little house I rent. The landlord hired someone to come and trim away the dead growth on the trees closest to the house, but left a few other trees untouched.

I went out tonight, in the dark, unable to see exactly what I was photographing, and took photos, first of one of the uncut trees, still hanging onto its old dead parts, and then the tree above the hammock, trimmed clean and showing its vibrant new growth.





And I realized that I am also full of new growth, like that tree. And, like the trees, it involved first letting go of old growth, to make space for the new to come. My new growth doesn't show as much on the outside, like the tree growth does, but it's there all right.

I was looking at myself in the mirror tonight, and noticing that I looked younger. And I said to my reflection: "It's because I have released the Demon of Misery which I'd been holding onto for so long." Yes. I have. I have finally let go of the Demon of Misery. And I know that this demon was one of my own creations, so it was mine, and only mine, to deconstruct. It was my personal life responsibility as a Human Creator. I could have chosen not to let go of my Demon of Misery, it would have been just as valid a choice, but I'm glad I chose release, instead. My reflection in the mirror smiled back at me, agreeing with all I said and thought.

I Won Rising Blogger's 'Post of the Day'

I am pleased as punch to announce that my post from the other day about my Grandma Julia has been awarded the 'Post of the Day' by Judd Corizan over at The Rising Blogger, as seen HERE. Thanks, Judd! Each day Rising Blogger features one post to have the honor of that day's spotlight. It's a great idea, and it's worth visiting Rising Blogger to see what Judd has chosen each day.




Judd asks winners of the Post of the Day award to nominate a favorite post by another blogger. I thought long and hard, and I have made my nomination. "Which post? Which post?" I hear you wondering. Well, I'm not saying! Hah! All I will say is that I talked it over with 8 out of 9 of my cats, over tuna & cream, and we came to a unanimous decision. Judd, over at Rising Blogger, has been notified of our most excellent choice. Why did only 8 of the 9 cats participate in the decision? Well, because Boo was outside hunting bats, and could not be lured in for our important blog post nomination meeting. Any other questions?

Cat Lady: This Could Be ME In 20 Years...

Oh my gosh! And I thought I had a lot, with just 9 cats. Heck, I've hardly even gotten started!!

Baby In The Apple Tree

Grandma Julia in 1915

click on photo to view larger

Above is the photo of my grandmother Julia, taken in 1915, which hangs on the wall above my computer. The book she is reading is 'A Woman's Hardy Garden', first published in 1903 and last reprinted in 1999.

I never met her, just as I never met her husband, my grandfather, Herman Aaron. Her son, my father, was 4 years old when that photographic portrait of his mother was made. I was born 40 years later. My father is shown below, as a young man, in a World War II era photo.

click on photo to view larger

The generations roll on, we come and we go, leaving behind dust that smells of time long gone, like the dust that floated out to tickle my nose when I removed my grandmother's photograph from its frame. I honor my ancestors as best I can, by placing their images here.

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