Benchy

It's Caturday!

My boyfriend Sly isn't moving very fast anymore, yet he always manages to find me when I'm on my 'hood walks.

His humans have thoughtfully provided a bench for us to canoodle on, and this is where I snapped his photo the other day, then Prisma'd it to make his eyes glow.

Click on the image to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

❤️

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, I recommend:

Author Jodi Picoult's novels:

Small Great Things (2016)

Leaving Time (2014)

Nineteen Minutes (2007)

A Spark of Light (2018)

The Book of Two Ways (2020)

Picture Perfect (1995)

Harvesting the Heart (1993)

Between the Lines (2012)

The author has many more books to listen to; the above just scratch the surface.

📚

Let's Hop!

Lazy

It's Hopefully-Soon-To-Be-Formerly-Feral Friday!

Nothing but nothing going on in Henryville.

Henry figures that since he doesn't have to hunt for his dinner anymore, he may as well lounge around!

😹

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, I recommend the following non-fiction books:

The Disappearing Spoon: And Other True Tales of Madness, Love, and the History of the World from the Periodic Table of the Elements

Author: Sam Kean, Narrator: Sean Runnette

The Soul of an Octopus: A Surprising Exploration into the Wonder of Consciousness

Author and Narrator: Sy Montgomery

The Art Detective: Fakes, Frauds, and Finds and the Search for Lost Treasures

Author: Philip Mould, Narrator: James Langton 

📚

Disorderly Giggles

We need some humor up in here!

The meme above was so impactful to me, that I asked my tattoo artist, Brandon Scott at Studio Seven Tattoos, to incorporate it to a work he'd recently inked on me:

The hat and the monocle!

The is Mr. Owl, and notice that he's holding books.

Am very thankful to have found this ink artist, who is vegan (like me), is a cat servant (same), is planting native Michigan plants (ditto!), AND we gab endlessly about our favorite artists and art museums.

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, I recommend:

Ashley Weaver's Electra McDonnell series and her Amory Ames Mysteries.

Electra McDonnell: London, during WWII when the British Army asks for the assistance of the safe-cracking McDonnell family:

1 A Peculiar Combination (2021)

2 The Key to Deceit (2022)

3 Playing It Safe (2023)

4 Locked in Pursuit (2024)

5 One Final Turn (2025)

 

Amory Ames: Set in 1930's England, where Amory and Milo use their sleuthing skills in the jet-set world of upscale London.

1. Murder At the Brightwell (2014)

   2. Death Wears a Mask (2015)

   3. A Most Novel Revenge (2016)

   3.5. Intrigue in Capri (2017)

   4. The Essence of Malice (2017)

   5. An Act of Villainy (2018)

   6. A Dangerous Engagement (2019)

   7. A Deception at Thornecrest (2020)

Most above are narrated by Alison Larkin

Let's Hop!

Hot June

The Heat Dome over a huge part of North America has been rough.

The Eastside Cats each have their own ways to deal with the heat, the breeze from the multiple fans, and the resulting noise from the window air conditioner units:

Chili Bruce at the front door.

Manny on top of the refrigerator.

Henry hiding in the warmest corner of Henryville!
He's not a happy camper.

We feel fortunate to have fans, window units, and a fridge that makes ice-cubes and keeps watermelon cold.

After a storm front comes through, the temps will dip for a bit, but the high heat and humidity will continue for many days yet.

Stay cool out there, folks, wherever you are!

🥵

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, I recommend:

Some golden oldies:

R.A. Dick's The Ghost and Mrs. Muir, published 1945

Audiobook published 2018, Elizabeth Jasicki narrating

Rosamunde Pilcher's The Shell Seekers, published 1987

Audiobook published 2017, Hayley Atwell narrating

Helene Hanff's 84, Charing Cross Road, published 1970

Audiobook published 2017, Barbara Rosenblat and John Franklyn-Robbins narrating

Nicholas Meyer's The Seven-Per-Cent Solution, published 1974

Audiobook published 1994, David Case narrating

Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist, published 1988

Audiobook published 2005, Jeremy Irons narrating

📚

Pisces?

It's Twozday!

Here in Michigan, we've had the HOTS, and some humans have not left the house since Saturday.

Manny and Chili Bruce still manage to nap together; pictorial evidence below:

In the bay window, again.

Don't they sorta look like the Pisces sign?

Manny, in situ and up close.

CB, drooling just a bit.

😹

 In honor of June is Audiobook Month, I recommend:

Susan Hill's Simon Serrailler Series.

1 The Various Haunts of Men (2004)

2 The Pure in Heart (2005)

3 The Risk of Darkness (2006)

4 The Vows of Silence (2008)

5 The Shadows in the Street (2010)

6 The Betrayal of Trust (2011)

7 A Question of Identity (2012)

8 The Soul of Discretion (2014)

8.5 A Breach of Security (2014)

8.6 Hero (2016)

Old Haunts (2018)

9 The Comforts of Home (2018)

Revenge (2019)

10 The Benefit of Hindsight (2019)

11 A Change of Circumstance (2021)

12 The Sound of Footsteps (tbd)

All narrated by Steven Pacey

DCS Simon Serrailler is the central character, set in the fictional English cathedral town of Lafferton.

Simon's family members and staff are a large part of the stories, as is his second life as a artist of some renown.

Have been waiting for book #12 to be published for YEARS; rumors are that the author is ill.

Book 11 ended with Simon deciding to take a big step in his personal life, so we beg the publishers to please please please find a way to get this book to market.

📚

Blep-itude

It's PO'Monday!

Celestial Paddy O'Malley blep pics taken in June:

June, 2012

June, 2013

June, 2014

😻

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, 

I recommend Dan Brown's Robert Langdon series:

1 Angels & Demons (1999)

Narrated by Richard Poe

2 The Da Vinci Code (2003)

Narrated by Paul Michael

 

3 The Lost Symbol (2009)

Narrated by Paul Michael

4 Inferno (2013)

Narrated by Paul Michael

5 Origin (2017)

Narrated by Paul Michael

6 The Secret of Secrets (September 2025)

Narrated by Dan Brown

Am really excited for a new Robert Langdon book!

"Harvard symbologist Robert Langdon, pits his wits against a conspiracy/bad guy testing even his considerable brainpower and takes him to the edge of losing all that he holds dear."

Yes, this is an overview of just about each book, yet they are masterfully written and are real page-turners...even if listening to the audiobook!

Let's not discuss the films, even as much as I adore Tom Hanks. 

📚

Spied

A few cuties seen while walking in my neighborhood:

Very friendly, but I've not met this cat before.

This cow-colored kitty is not afraid of me.

Am almost sure that this is Eightball, who needed medical attention in April.

Not seen regularly, this cat had a growing-out shaved area under his chin, just like Eightball had, even if it was several blocks from his feeding station.

😻

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, I recommend the following books by Fredrik Backman:

A Man Called Ove (2012)

Narrated by George Newbern

My Grandmother Asked Me to Tell You She's Sorry (2013)

Narrated by Joan Walker

My Friends (2025) 

Narrated by Marin Ireland

This author brings charm, humor, and attention to the poignant details of everyday life.

I finished "My Friends" yesterday, while acquiring a couple of new tattoos; it's a masterpiece worth the five star rating that I gave it.

📚

Say Cheese!

June 21 is National Selfie Day!

Manny gallantly shared his selfie, which I artified a few times, then made a collage.

Click on the image above to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

😻

In honor of June is Audiobook Month,

I recommend the following series by Kelley Armstrong:

Cainsville:

Omens (2013)

Visions (2014)

Deceptions (2015)

Betrayals (2016)

Rituals (2017)

plus three novellas

Olivia Taylor Jones’s world is shattered when she learns that she’s adopted. 

Her real parents? Todd and Pamela Larsen, notorious serial killers serving a life sentence.

Olivia flees the media storm and ends up in Cainsville, a strange small town that takes a very…odd interest in Olivia. 

She soon teams up with her mother’s appeal lawyer, notorious attorney Gabriel Walsh, as they begin to slowly unravel all the mysteries of Cainsville and the dark truth behind her parents’ crimes.

📚

Let's Hop!

Sum-sum-Summertime!

June 20 Summer Equinox @ 10:42 pm EDT

YAY it's SUMMER!!!

Cannot express how I feel that there are others in the world who find making Stonehenge replicas out of ANYTHING, then post the images to share with numpties like me.

And now YOU get to enjoy them too!

🌞

In honor of June is Audiobook Month, 

I recommend Robert Gailbraith's (pen name for J. K. Rowling), Comoran Strike series:

1 The Cuckoo's Calling (2013)

2 The Silkworm (2014)

3 Career of Evil (2015)

4 Lethal White (2018)

5 Troubled Blood (2020)

6 The Ink Black Heart (2022)

7 The Running Grave (2023)

8 The Hallmarked Man (September, 2025) 

Robert Glenister, Narrator

Gritty, human, and wildly inventive is how I describe the stories of private detective Cormoran Strike and Robin Ellacott, in London, England.

There is also a TV show, which I have not seen, but I've heard that it's pretty darn good.

📚

Receptacle Love

6/19 is International Box Day!

Yes, cats often LURV cardboard boxes, but some humans seem to hoard them.

No one that I know, I've just heard about it...

Am thankful that we haven't run out of boxes in a long, long, long time.

😹

In honor of June is Audiobook Month,

I recommend Elly Griffith's Ruth Galloway series:

The Crossing Places (2009)

The Janus Stone (2010)

The House at Sea's End (2011)

A Room Full of Bones (2011)

Ruth's First Christmas Tree (2012)

A Dying Fall / Tomb of the Raven King (2012)

The Outcast Dead (2014)

The Ghost Fields (2015)

The Woman in Blue (2016)

The Chalk Pit (2017)

The Dark Angel (2018)

The Stone Circle (2019)

The Lantern Men (2020)

The Man in Black (2020)

The Night Hawks (2021)

The Locked Room (2022)

The Last Remains (2023)

Jane McDowell, Narrator

Archaeologist Dr. Ruth Galloway lives alone in a remote area called Saltmarsh near Norfolk, England when she's asked to help identify bones found nearby by Detective Chief Inspector Harry Nelson.

In some parts, uncovered bones could be a fresh corpse, or a 3,000 year old Early Iron Age burial.

And oh, the mysteries, murders, antiquities, museums, local legends, and complicated loves that ensue.

📚

Let's Hop!

Playing Coy

Henry's Hopefully-Soon-To-Be-Formerly Feral Friday is temporarily moved to today.

Am working on more action shots of Henry, as he learns that he can sniff my hand, foot, or leg, without repercussions.

It's hard to get pics, as these incidents are fleeting...or maybe 'feeting'?

Ugh...

😹

Henry did not enjoy the ruckus when The Hubby put the window air-conditioning unit in yesterday; much too noisy for his taste.

And no doubt the fans blowing hot air around aren't his cup of tea either, but it's Summertime in Michigan, which means really hot and humid, stormy, smoky, or windy.

🌞

In honor of June is Audiobook Month,

I recommend the following audiobooks about BOOKS!

*Nina George's The Little Paris Bookshop, narrated by: Steve West, Emma Bering, Cassandra Campbell

*Robin Sloan's, Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore, narrated by Ari Fliakos

*Erin Morgenstern's The Starless Sea, narrated by Dominic Hoffman and five other readers

Libraries, bookshops, boats, bunnies, secret government departments, time travel...you name it, you've got it!

There are a multitude of authors who've written about the fantasy of books; these are my top picks but I've got more; email me if you'd like more suggestions.

Or, if you have something you'd like to tell me about, DON'T BE SHY.

📚

Choco Cats

It's Twozday!

A selection of together and separate pics for your viewing pleasure:

On the pool table.

Manny left, CB right.

CB on my lap in MY chair.

Another pool table duet.

CB bottom, Manny top.

Manny, in the bay window beddy.

Although they are black cats, they often look chocolatey.

❤️

In honor of June is Audiobook month:

I recommend Alan Bradley's Flavia de Luce Mysteries.

The Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie (2009)

The Weed That Strings the Hangman's Bag (2010)

A Red Herring Without Mustard (2011)

I Am Half-Sick of Shadows (2011)

Speaking from Among the Bones (2012)

The Dead in Their Vaulted Arches (2014)

The Curious Case of the Copper Corpse (2014)

As Chimney Sweepers Come to Dust (2015)

Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd (2016)

The Grave's a Fine and Private Place (2017)

The Golden Tresses of the Dead (2019)

What Time the Sexton's Spade Doth Rust (2024)

Untitled Book #12 publishing Autumn 2025

All narrated by the incomparable Jayne Entwistle.

Flavia is an 11 year-old girl who is fascinated by chemistry. 

The series is set in 1950s England and later in Canada, and young ladies usually do not bedevil the local constabulary; Flavia will solve the mystery even if it maddens the police, her relatives, OR the government.

📚

Sunny Whiskers

It's PO'Monday!

June, 2016

The sunshine was strong, and Celestial Paddy O'Malley showed off his whiskerage.

He was a looker!

❤️

In honor of June is Audiobook Month,

I recommend the following non-fiction cat audiobooks:

Dewey: The Small-Town Library Cat Who Touched the World by Vicky Myron, narrated by Suzanne Toren

Homer's Odyssey by Gwen Cooper, narrated by Renée Raudman

A Street Cat Named Bob And How He Saved My Life by James Bowen, narrated by Kristopher Milnes

Making Rounds with Oscar: The Extraordinary Gift of an Ordinary Cat by Dr. David Dosa, narrated by Ray Porter

Most likely, you've already heard about the first three, but maybe not the story of Oscar, who lived at a dementia ward, and had a unique ability to comfort those patients whose time had come.

Each book is a testimony to the bond between human and feline, and through great adversity, the love is unbreakable.

Including the reader's love for these cats and their humans!

📚

Dad's Smoking The Catnip Again! 😹

World Catnip Awareness day is June 15:

 

😹

This year, June 15 is also Father's Day in the U.S. of A and maybe elsewhere:

Happy Heavenly Father's Day, Puba.

We miss you.

❤️

In honor of June is Audiobook Month,

I recommend Richard Castle's, Nikki Heat series:

1 Heat Wave (2009)

2 Naked Heat (2010)

3 Heat Rises (2011)

4 Frozen Heat (2012)

5 Deadly Heat (2013)

6 Raging Heat (2014)

7 Driving Heat (2015)

8 High Heat (2016)

9 Heat Storm (2017)

10 Crashing Heat (2019)

Books #1, 2, & 3 were narrated by Johnny Heller

The rest by Robert Petkoff

These are the tales of Nikki Heat, an NYPD homicide detective and later captain, and Jameson Rook, a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist who also moonlights as a romance novelist under the pen name Victoria St. Clair.

New York: 'nuff said

Nikki is one tough cop, with a sad backstory, and a desire to be a woman amongst dudes.

Jameson is a flakey rich-boy, whose uncanny instincts weave the storylines together with action, snark, and knowing all the good delicatessens.

Hey, anyone who will get me a pickle is aces in my book!!!  🥒

No, I've not seen the TV show; didn't even know there was one until Book #10 appeared.

📚

Rainbowy

It's Caturday!

My boyfriend Sly was enjoying the warm temperatures.

Just played around with colors in the iPhoto edit, adding a touch of rainbow.

Click on the image above to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

In honor of June is Audiobook Month,

I recommend:

Annie Jacobsen's, Area 51: An Uncensored History of America's Top Secret Military Base (2011)

The American journalist offers her information about the secret United States military base known as Area 51.

Narrated by the author.

Compelling research that blows the "1947 Roswell Incident" story out of the water.

🛸

Let's Hop!