Ringer

Our library system, The Suburban Library Cooperative, is having a summer contest; for every library you visit, you receive a stamp in a booklet.

Collect all of the stamps, and you earn some library swag.

In my effort to visit the twenty-one libraries, peruse the stacks, AND chat up the workers, I was at the Ray Township Public Library, which is housed in the 1863 schoolhouse pictured above.

The library director let me ring the school bell; I pulled on the rope three times...ding ding ding!

A box that I didn't know was on my life to-do/bucket list has been ticked.

Am thankful for that unexpected but darn thrilling experience.

No one would wake up to think, 'gosh, today I hope to ring an antique bell!'

🔔 📚 🙀

However, I should have known it was going to be a special day, since Thomas visited me while I walked that morning.

Thomas was a stray cat, who was taken in by a family after he got stuck 'way up a telephone pole.

They keep him inside mostly, and I see him in the window from time to time, yet he was outside this day.

 I'm thankful he allowed some lovin', and allowed a photo shoot too.

He's a Paddy O'Malley look-alike, no?

❤️

Let's Hop!

Comrades!

7/30 is International Friendship Day

My fellow bloggers, family members, and acquaintances who have the same wacky likes as I do, are my friends!

Just for you all, I've gathered some memes for your entertainment today:

❤️ I love my friends! ❤️

Lazy Dayz

It's Twozday!

Da Boyz haven't a care in the world, and don't seem to give a darn about anything except what might interrupt their nap time.

Manny, between beddys.

Chili Bruce, enjoying the blankie.

Manny in his usual post-breakfast locale on top of the fridge.

Chili peeking into the kitchen to see if there is a counter to surf before his regularly-scheduled nap; you can see his shaved front leg.

The veterinarian gave CB a thumbs up at his post-dental check-up yesterday.

Yay!

❤️💤❤️

Grinner

It's PO'Monday!

July, 2015, and someone just wanted to show off his teefs.

And also show off everything else!

😹

Reversal of Mercury

Do you feel that things are wonky right now?

Today:

Mercury is in retrograde

Saturn is in retrograde

Neptune is in retrograde

Pluto is in retrograde

My calendar once had the moon phases, the planet retrogrades, plus the equinoxes and solstices.

Am rebuilding all of that data, and maybe I would have chosen a different time to vacation in New York, as Mercury Retrogrades often mess up travel and communication.

Am still not recovered from that La Guardia Airport multi-hour overnight, yet there was a peace to being solo for a stretch of hours.

HOWEVER, I'll check the cosmos before my next trip!

😹

Brofurs

It's Caturday!

After a few days of worrying that Manny had rejected Chili Bruce after Monday's toofs extractions, I discovered Da Boyz curled up together last night. ❤️

So, I played around with Prisma filters, created a collage, and a jigsaw puzzle too.

Click on the image to enjoy the puzzle.

Let's Hop!

Chewy

It's H.S.T.B.F.F. Friday!

A newish development in Henryville:

Some cat has been chewing on the spider plant!

The potential cat culprit list is rather short as only Henry is in Henryville.

However, we have no photographic evidence, only a chewed plant, and suspicious 'thuds' when said rascally cat is jumps down from the counter to evade detection.

The rest of the time, Henry is:

Nice work if you can get it, eh?

😹

FatCat and The Met Guards

 When I was recently viewing art masterpieces, I simply HAD to tell the security guards that these were NOT the true versions!

I pulled up FatCatArt.com on my phone, and displayed Madame X, and The Daughters of Edward Darley Boit that included Zarathustra, the orange cat!

My sister witnessed the whole thing; am not making this up.

Yes, I will talk to anyone, especially when in the middle of some of my favorite things: art and cats.

The slideshow above displays how these pieces of art look now, and how they looked in their true form.

Am beyond thankful to Sveta Petrova at FatCatArt for bringing this information to the public.

❤️

Let's Hop!

Plethora

 Friday, July 18 just before sunset, I spied cats efurrywhere!

The first cat is Niko, and the last cat is Sly.

The rest have no names, not even the bunny rabbit, but I'll discover them if I ever see the humans that are caring for them.

Purrsonally, I'd rather all cats stay inside, so I can take their pictures through windows.

Until that happens, my eyes are always peeled for my furry friends.

👀

Thanks for all of the well-wishes for Chili Bruce.

He appears to be fine, while The Hubby dislikes having to be the 'bad guy' who has to grab CB for his medication deliveries.

Da Boyz haven't snuggled at all, which has me a bit on edge.

Am sure things will iron out soon.

❤️ 

The Toofs Of CB

It's Twozday!

Yesterday, Chili Bruce had two teeth extracted, leaving only one on his left side.

I added red lines to show you all of the teefs that are now absent; seven in total.

Once CB came home, Manny jumped into his carrier!

I'm not trying to fool you; it's really Manny.

Taken on Sunday, pre-vet visit.

The vet had predicted four teeth would need to go, so only two extractions is good!

The vet tech called to tell me that after waking from surgery, CB ate the entire can of food that I'd left.

In a normal day, each Eastside Cat gets a full can; 1/2 in the AM, the other 1/2 in the PM.

We have a few meds to administer for three to four days, but are confident that CB will come out of this experience with no problems.

Manny, however...he's not liking the vet smell on his brofur nor on me, but at least there is no hissing or swatting.

🦷 🙀 🦷

P.S. I've lost my calendar, or parts of it.

Am trying to rebuild it; you know, all of those weird National Days of whatever, that I so love to post about!

Unfortunately, some birthdays and significant milestones are also misplaced, so I apologize in advance if I miss anything.

Please send me an email (Contact Eastside Cats form over on the right sidebar) if you think of something that maybe I've overlooked...thanks.

Wonky

 It's PO'Monday!

Mid-July, 2018.

And yes, some of these images are a bit wonky, but that's just how Celestial PO'M was.

😹 

Gorgeous Stuff

 A very brief image slideshow of some of my very favorite sights in New York.

This trip was a visit with my family, and to attend the John Singer Sargent "Sargent and Paris" exhibition at The Metropolitan Museum of Art.

We walked, we talked, we ate, we sweated, we road the subway, we walked the HighLine, we were on the water, we were in the park, we shopped, we laughed, we grumbled (a little), and WE HAD FUN!

❤️

And the only thing that I brought back with me besides photos?

A refrigerator magnet!

❤️

269 × 400

Pawsie

It's Caturday!

Eevee is a rascally cutie pie kitty; that's tortitude.

Or maybe 'cause she's a New York Cat; she doesn't take guff from anyone...well, except from Magoo who is older and bigger.

I love her one light-colored pawsie, and used the Star filter from Prisma.

Click on the image above to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

Let's Hop!

21 Years Ago

 Celestial Chuck and Angel were born on July 18, 2004.

They were two of four kittens in the litter.

The Hubby and I hadn't a clue on how to care for kittens or cats, so Chuck and Angel were our 'starter' cats, from whom we learned so very much.

Especially, we learned LOVE.

Originally named Chocolate, shortened to Chuck

7/18/04-11/20/17

We thought he was a really dark brown!

Angel

7/18/04-1/24/20

We lost my father in May, 2004, so Angel was a nod to his memory.

Our sweet babies, we miss you, and will always be grateful for your presence in our lives.

❤️ 😿 ❤️

Put Some Ink on It

"National Tattoo Day is celebrated on July 17th each year to honor the history, culture, and artistry of tattooing. 

It's a day for tattoo enthusiasts to celebrate their ink, share their stories, and perhaps even get new tattoos to commemorate the occasion. 

While not an official holiday, it's a widely recognized day for appreciating the personal and cultural significance of tattoos."

In honor of the day, pics of my most recent ink:

The City Battycat

Art by Maggie Vandenwalle

Josephine Knot Spiral

Henry as Space Cat Maneki-Neko

This is on my right arm, and it's really hard to get an image of, so here is the template that Brandon used.

My Wishnick Troll Doll, played with as a kid.

The lace dress was made by my sister, and Brandon inked her so very well!

My goal is to have both arms completely covered in tattoos; these are called sleeves.

I have a few open areas waiting for images, then we'll fill the gaps with swirls, stars, color, and mini-tats.

Current tat count: 15

Did You Know?

According to Smithsonian Science News, the first known tattoo belongs to Ötzi who was “the European Tyrolean Iceman who died and was buried beneath an Alpine glacier along the Austrian–Italian border around 3250 B.C.” 

Ötzi had 61 tattoos on his body including his wrist, lower legs, lower back and torso.

~~~

Thank you all for your well-wishes on my recovery from the delayed flight out of New York.

What an experience!

Let's Hop!

Worth It

 Made it home to Eastside Cats noonish on Tuesday.

My flight from La Guardia in New York to Detroit Metro Airport in Michigan was originally leaving about 9 pm on Monday night, but the storms that blasted the Eastern Seaboard had shutdown air travel for many airports. 

First my flight was delayed, then delayed again...and more.

Won't walk you through it all, suffice it to type that I was confident we would fly out at about 1:00 AM, until we were told there was no airline staff.

As I was already at the airport, and they said 7:00 AM flight, I decided to stay.

Listen, thousands of people besides our merry band of Detroiters were stranded, and lots of people were sprawled out in chairs or on the carpeted floor, trying to sleep to dream of getting to their destinations.

The fact that we made it out by 8:40 AM is amazing; we were one of the first flights to go out in what is a heckuva cleanup process for all of the airlines and airports that were hit by winds, hard rain, and man oh man, the lightning!

Haven't pulled an all-nighter like that since I was in my 20's, so this lady still has it!

I didn't sleep; I had audiobooks to listen to, and access to as much food and drink, bathrooms, and long empty corridors for stretching the legs as a body needed.

Once The Hubby delivered me and my luggage home, I crashed for a handful of hours, then proceeded to love on Da Boyz until they'd had enough, and right now Henry sits nearby, watching me.

A selection of cat pics from our New York City adventures:

The Wool Winder 

Jean-Baptiste Greuze ca. 1759

The Frick New York Collection, image from their website

Dude on the C train, New York Subway, sporting a cool cat t-shirt

Window kitty

Another window kitty, courtesy of DL

See the tabby peeking out at the bottom?

❤️

Delayed

 Am typing this while still in New York; my flight to Detroit has been delayed for over two hours due to storms.

Therefore, here are a few pics of my cat companions during my trip:

Eevee

Magoo

Leyla, housepanther and Maui, tortoiseshell

Magoo and Eevee own my niece.

Leyla and Maui own my nephew and SO.

We visited:

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Museum of Modern Art

The Frick Collection

The Whitney Museum of American Art

The High Line

Chelsea Market

The Comedy Cellar

Saks Fifth Avenue

Nordstrom

Washington Square Park

Central Park

Schooner Adirondack tour on The Hudson to see Statue of Liberty, Ellis Island, and views of the New York Skyline

Hoping to get out of here before midnight; The Hubby will be waiting at the airport for me, no matter what time I finally arrive.

He says I'll have to buy him breakfast.

✈️⛈️✈️

Magoo

Hello from New York!

Still here, and having a wonderful time.

Part of the fun is having Magoo to love on.

I dropped this into Lunapic and used the Retro Vintage filter.

Click on the image above to enjoy a jigsaw puzzle.

Let's Hop for Caturday!

Chair-ity

It's Twozday!

Da Boyz have been riding out the current heat wave in various chairs.

Together, side by side

Manny, at the front door

CB, looks like he's behind prison bars

~~~

Am off on a trip to New York, so expect random posting and comments until next week.

The Hubby will take care of the Eastside Cats; he happily drives me to the airport, hands me a package of food and tea bags, sees me on my way, and always is there to pick me up again, but NOPE, he's not going with.

❤️ ✈️ ❤️