A Hint of Fall #CaturdayArt

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

Mommy's answers:

1. My favorite Peanuts character is Pig Pen. I know I should say Snoopy but there's just something about that perpetual cloud of dirt around Pig Pen that gets me.

2. I knew I was no longer a child when I stopped looking forward to birthdays. My birthday falls during fair season around here (next week) and growing up that's when I would get to go to a bunch of concerts. I used to joke that my birthday would last about 10 days. Now there are no concerts I'm interested in going to, and birthdays just mean you're another year older.

Mudpie's answers:

3. I was shocked when I learned that Mommy has been keeping something from me. You know those squeezable cat treats that are so popular? Since I hate wet food, Mommy claims she thought I wouldn't be interested in them. A few weeks ago she picked up a package on a whim only to find out I'm totally obsessed with them! Now she tells me they've been available for a couple years. I'm shocked at the deception and wondering what else she's been keeping from me!

4. I always feel frustrated when I try to look out the front door. Our house is close to the sidewalk so Mommy has the bottom part blocked off so people passing by can't look in when the door is open. Since I'm height challenged this means I can't look out, so every now and then Mommy lifts me up so I can see (we call it a "butts up"). Then a dog or jogger goes by, I freak out, and it's all over...

Him Again #PetPhotoFails

Meows from Mudpie!

Another month has flown by and thank Cod we're finally at the end of August, making it time once again for the Pet Photo Fails Blog Hop!

Now that it's getting a little cooler, I have started sleeping in my cat bed in Mommy's bedroom (the big bed *with* Mommy won't happen until it's much cooler). Last weekend I thought it might be a good place to take my selfie, but I had a few problems. First, we didn't have the bedroom light on so my pictures kept coming out way too dark. And don't even ask me what happened to my right eye in this first picture. Plus no matter which way I turned, HE kept photo bombing me. I just can't get away from him...

Mommy recently connected with a lady online whose grandmother has had to go into assisted living because of dementia. Her house is being sold and she was a HUGE Conway fan and collector. Long story shot, Mommy is buying much of her collection so there's more of him around here than ever before. My disgust is clearly showing in this picture...

I keep picturing myself out on the street corner one day with all my toys, food, beds and scratchers packed because there's no room left for me...

Let's see your bloopers!

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Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day 2019

I've sort of been at a loss over what to write about for this year's Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day. After all, just last month we honored Tara and Truffles on the anniversary of their journey to the Bridge, and last week saw the celebration of what was Truffles' Gotcha Day. Besides, everyone knows their stories by now.

In the past 4 years on this special day we've featured poetry, a short story, and a Purrfect 10 post. I finally decided to focus this year's post on the cat that started it all for me, my best friend throughout my childhood, Patch.

As I've often said, as a little girl in my playpen I had a cat in one corner and a stack of books in another. Patch was that cat. He was my parents' "first child," as he came into their lives a year and a half before I was born. He was abandoned as a three month old kitten on my father's family dairy farm and my grandmother, knowing how much my mom loved cats, asked if she'd like to take him home. Prior to Patch my mom had been over a decade without a cat in her life! Once I came into the picture, Patch wasn't about to give up his spot on mom's lap without a fight, so when she would hold me in her arms, she would have to put her feet up so he could nap on her legs.

Patch was the only cat I've ever taken outside on a leash. Back in those days it was quite a novelty, and my family was likely the talk of the neighborhood, but I loved taking him out in the backyard, enjoying quality time with my best friend.

We lost Patch to a brain tumor at age 15. Other than when his own parents died a few years before, the night we lost Patch was the first time I saw my father cry, I think because he knew our hearts were breaking. I know for a fact that Patch was my mom's "heart cat," and I've always felt that she never again let herself love a cat as deeply as she did him, knowing how much it would hurt at the end.

I've experienced a lot of loss since that first heartbreak, just as anyone does who can't imagine life without cats, but no matter how many times you say goodbye it doesn't get any easier. In ways I think it gets harder. But as the saying goes, grief is the price we pay for love. 

“We who choose to surround ourselves

with lives even more temporary than our

own, live within a fragile circle;

easily and often breached.

Unable to accept its awful gaps,

we would still live no other way.

We cherish memory as the only

certain immortality, never fully

understanding the necessary plan.”

― Irving Townsend

ABOUT RAINBOW BRIDGE REMEMBRANCE DAY:

This special day was created by Deborah Barnes – author, award winning blogger, and cat advocate in tribute to her cat, Mr. Jazz, who she had to say goodbye to on August 28, 2013. She shared the journey of letting him go in her book, “Purr Prints of the Heart: A Cat’s Tale of Life, Death, and Beyond,” a warm and heartfelt book that is written in the wise and comforting voice of Mr. Jazz himself as he shares his life and death journey to offer guidance and understanding through a cat’s perspective as to why sometimes letting a pet go can be the greatest gift you give them.

A special event page for Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day has been created on Facebook so that people can share blog post links, pictures, poems, favorite memories, etc. Please click here for the link.

Paws Off My Radio #MewsicMovesMe

When I was in my early to mid teens a portable radio was practically an extension of my arm. I carried it around with me obsessively. Much to my parents chagrin I would even have it on down low next to me when everyone was trying to watch TV. And Heaven forbid anyone disturb me when the American Country Countdown was on for 3 hours each Sunday night - I was glued to it.

Radio has always played an important part in American history. My mom has told me so many stories about when she was a little girl and her family would sit around the radio listening to the news during World War 2. She had 2 brothers overseas (who thankfully both came home safe) so these are very vivid memories for her.

Today most of our momentous news comes from TV and the internet, but I clearly remember the one piece of breaking news I got from radio so many years ago - the Saturday morning Conway's death was announced on my local country station. Believe it or not, I still have the portable radio I was listening to that day. I think I subconsciously held onto it for that very reason.

Since this is a freebie week in the Mewsic Moves Me blog hop, we chose songs with the word "radio" in the title after reading that this past Tuesday, August 20, was National Radio Day. To start, this is one of my all-time favorite songs...

Do you have a special memory radio-related memory?
Tell us about it!

Deep in Thought #SundaySelfie

Mudpie, what's going on in that sweet little head of yours?

We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Pretty as a Posey #CaturdayArt

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. I am a stickler for obeying the rules of the road. Let's just say I use my horn liberally when I witness foolish behavior behind the wheel.

2. By the end of August, I plan to be able to hold Mudpie on my lap again. During the winter she never wants to leave my lap, and in the summer she won't come near it. Usually by late August we start to have some cooler nights, so I hope we can reconnect soon.

3. My love for animals is my favorite thing about myself. It's my favorite quality in any person. I'll never understand or be able to get close to anyone who doesn't love animals, as they are the most innocent among us.

4. These days, my biggest priority is catching up on all the household chores I let slide while it was too hot to do anything.

Fun Feline Finds: Mudpie's Customized Socksery Socks

Meows from Mudpie!

A couple months ago Mommy got an email from a nice lady at Socksery offering us a free pair of customized socks with MY face on them!

How could she say no? And when they arrived we were just blown away by how fantastic they turned out. (Of course, why wouldn't they with my precious face to work with!)

It's super easy to upload a photo of your pet's face to the Socksery website, and the socks will be in your hands on your feet in a couple weeks. You can choose from a wide variety of colors, and even put up to three pets' faces on a single pair of socks.

With Christmas right around the corner we can't think of a better purrsonalized gift for the cat or dog parent in your life. Use the coupon code SOCK20 at checkout for 20% off your order!

Disclaimer: We received a pair of customized socks for free in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are our own and we never recommend a product we don’t fully believe in.

Remembering a Happy Day with Truffles

Six years ago today was Truffles' first full day in her forever home. There's no happier time than the arrival of a new fur baby, and I still remember picking her up at Petco the night before, bringing her home and her settling in like she was always meant to be there.

She was so young, we were going to have so much time together...but that wasn't meant to be.

She's been gone for over 4 years now and I still have a hard time fathoming the little bit of time we had together. Would I have brought her home that day if I'd known the heartbreak to follow? Without a doubt.

And now I'm glad I didn't know

The way it all would end the way it all would go

Our lives are better left to chance I could have missed the pain

But I'd have had to miss the dance

The Dance, Garth Brooks

Root Beer Floats By the Jukebox #MewsicMovesMe

The theme of this week's Mewsic Moves Me blog hop is a playlist in which the first letters of the songs spell out ROOT BEER, in honor of the birthday of Charles E. Hires (1851-1937), the first commercial brewer of root beer.

I don't drink much soda but I do enjoy a can of root beer every now and then, particularly in the form of root beer floats. I especially love the A&W Restaurant chain with their car hop service because I firmly believe I was born too late and should've grown up in the 1950s. 

We had a lot of fun putting this playlist together! I added notes to a few of my favorites.

R- Ride Me Back Home, Willie Nelson

I'm going to stun everyone and start with a Willie Nelson tune this week. I've never been a huge fan, but my former next door neighbor was as obsessed with him as I am with Conway. The title track of his latest album, Ride Me Back Home, is an homage to the horse. Did you know dozens of rescue horses live on Willie's Texas ranch?

O- Over Thirty (Not Over the Hill), Conway Twitty

Songs like this are one of the many reasons women loved Conway so much (and still do).
He never recorded a song that put a woman down, and he understood us in a way most male singers don't.

O- Oh, Pretty Woman, Roy Orbison

T- That's the Way Love Goes, Merle Haggard

B- Baby I Lied, Deborah Allen

I've loved this song since I was a little girl...

E- Everytime You Touch Me I Get High, Charlie Rich

I must say, if Conway didn't already completely own my heart, this guy might have had a good shot at it. Such a beautiful voice.

E- Every Light in the House is On, Trace Adkins

R- Raining On Sunday, Keith Urban

We hope you enjoy our choices this week!
Let us know if you have a favorite!

Good Mews #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

Thank you all so much for the purrs and prayers for my grandma last week. They worked! She had a recheck of her bloods (how much more are they going to take?) and it was purrfectly normal. She doesn't need to go to the blood specialist now. 

Geez, they had me scared that if I scratched her (by accident, of course) she would spring a leak!

We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Black & White Beauty #CaturdayArt

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowingand Four-Legged Furballs!

1. I love it when it starts to get dark earlier in the evening. It means fall is coming sooner rather than later!

2. I know it’s time to pull out Mudpie's favorite blankies when she starts eyeing my lap. That hasn't happened yet, unfortunately.

3. Others come to me when they need a cat sitter. Not professionally, just for friends and neighbors. I just finished taking care of my next door neighbor's kitty while she away for a month! Mudpie is glad that job is over, and I must admit that I am too.

4. We should never take a single day for granted. We aren't guaranteed a thing in this life - all we have is the moment we're in. My Uncle Don used to say it was a good day when you woke up "on this side of the dirt." In the back of my mind I couldn't help thinking there's no certainty of going to bed tonight on this side though. Each moment is precious.

Book Review/Giveaway: The Time for Murder is Meow (A Purr N Bark Pet Shop Mystery) by T. C. LoTempio

Crishell "Shell" McMillan sees the cancellation of her TV series as a blessing in disguise. The former actress can now take over her late aunt's pet shop, the Purr N' Bark, and do something she loves.

While getting the shop ready for re-opening, Shell is asked to loan her aunt's Cary Grant posters to the local museum for an exhibit. She finds the prospect exciting―until a museum board member, who had a long-standing feud with Shell's aunt, votes against it. When she discovers the board member dead in the museum, Shell becomes suspect number one. Can she, her Siamese cat Kahlua, and her new sidekick―her aunt's Persian Purrday―find the real culprit, or will her latest career go up in kitty litter?

Who would think that a high profile actress who moves to a small town in Connecticut to take over her late aunt's pet shop would be a completely relatable and likable character, yet that's exactly what Shell McMillan is! Unfortunately the first days in her new home take a wayward turn when she crosses paths with museum board member Amelia Witherspoon, and soon after finds the difficult woman dead. Amelia had a long-standing feud with Shell's aunt and had blocked the use of her extensive collection of movie posters for a museum exhibit, but that's only the tip of the iceberg. Many people in town had reason to want Amelia dead, and since the spotlight seems to be on Shell, it's up to her to find the real culprit.

Shell isn't alone in the hunt as she's quick to make friends with fellow shop owners and even welcomes her former co-star to town who is more than eager to lend a helping hand. The stars of the show though are Shell's Siamese Kahlua and the Persian she inherits from her aunt, Purrday, who points her in the direction of some very important clues. Kahlua and Purrday don't exactly get along at first, but I have a feeling they're going to be partners in crime before long.

I must admit that I managed to pinpoint the killer early on by catching a slip of the tongue that Shell missed, but that didn't take away from my enjoyment of the book a single bit. I adored the cats (of course), the descriptions of Aunt Tillie's Victorian home and especially her collection of movie memorabilia. I look forward to seeing what's ahead for these characters once the Purr N' Bark reopens under Shell's ownership.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for a fair and honest review. This post contains affiliate links.

Spoiled Much?

Meows from Mudpie!

One of my favorite places to hang out, either to play or snooze, is in the bathtub. It's nice and cool in the summer, and toys are really fun to bop around in there too. It frustrates me when Mommy gets it all wet to shower or take a bath, so she has started laying a towel down in one end after she uses the tub so I don't get wet.

I'm not spoiled a single bit...you would do anything for this face too, wouldn't you?

August Retro Country Rewind #MewsicMovesMe

This spring we premiered our new mewsic feature "Retro Country Rewind," a look back at favorite songs that hit #1 during that month from 30, 35, 40 plus years ago. We were so happy that you guys seemed to enjoy it! Now let's take a look at August for this freebie week in the Mewsic Moves Me blog hop...

45 Years Ago - 1974, As Soon As I Hang Up the Phone, Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn

Conway wrote this song, and it turned out to be one of his and Loretta's biggest hits. It's a spoken word/sung duet, and when they recorded it Conway was in one room on the telephone while Loretta was in the recording booth. When they did the song live in concert one would be on stage, the other off stage, singing into telephones. It was even a #1 hit in South Africa!!!

35 Years Ago - 1984, Mama He's Crazy, The Judds

Well, there are men, but ones like him

Are few and far between

Hmm...I wonder who that line makes me think of?

35 Years Ago - 1984, Long Hard Road (The Sharecropper's Dream), The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band

30 Years Ago - 1989, Sunday in the South, Shenandoah

This song almost makes me wish I lived in the south...except for that whole heat and bugs thing...



30 Years Ago - Timber, I'm Falling In Love, Patty Loveless

One of my all-time favorite female artists...



Let us know if you have a favorite this month!

Out of Focus But Super Cute #SundaySelfie

Meows from Mudpie!

This week my grandma helped me take my selfie (which is why it's slightly out of focus! MOL)

It's okay though because today is grandma's birthday and I love her *SO* much! 

Would you mind not only wishing her a happy birthday, but sending her a few purrs and prayers too? She just got a clean bill of health at the doctor except for one thing in her blood work that he was a little concerned about, and has ordered further testing on. We kitties worry about our humans, especially the older ones!

Thank you!

We're joining our friends at The Cat On My Head for the Sunday Selfies blog hop!

Snow in August #CaturdayArt

Meows from Mudpie!

Mommy says this effect makes me look like I have snowflakes on my fur. I wish!!! I believe it may simply be tortie dust...

Visit more artsy kitties at Athena's Caturday Art blog hop!

And now our weekly answers (all answered by Mommy this week) for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, hosted by 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Furballs!

1. When I can't find Mudpie in the house, I get nervous. Even thought I know she's here *somewhere*, I start to panic that she has snuck outside without my knowing it.

2. Bring back real country music. I can't even listen to country radio anymore. I'm so happy when I hear young people say they're going back and listening to the legends because no one out there today sounds any different from anyone else.

3. I'm embarrassed to say I just bought my mom's birthday card and gifts on Friday. (Her birthday is tomorrow.) I've had Mudpie's Gotcha Day card and gifts for awhile...

4. I feel like taking care of cats gives my life meaning.

Happy 4th Gotcha Day, Mudpie!!!

Meows from Mudpie!

Four years ago today my life changed forever when Mommy decided I was the kitty to fill the empty hole in her heart that Truffles left behind. We've told this story for the past 3 years on my special day, but it's a real life "fairy tail" and I didn't think you'd mind reading it again. I know that I never get tired of telling it!

It all began 10 days earlier with a series of photos posted on the shelter website. Mommy says she saw my picture and had the same feeling in her heart that she had the first time she saw Truffles. Still, she didn't want to make a hasty decision so she saved my picture to her PC and tablet and kept looking at it over and over. When she finally decided to call the shelter and ask about me it didn't take long for her to decide that I was the one.

She filled out the adoption application, gathered the needed references, and was immediately approved, but then we hit a bit of a snag. The shelter doesn't typically finalize adoptions before the prospective family meets the pet, meaning I couldn't be placed "on hold" (for lack of a better term) and when Mommy spoke to the shelter on Friday afternoon she learned that another lady had just stopped in and was very interested in me! Thankfully the nice shelter volunteer heard the panic in Mommy's voice when she reiterated that she just couldn't come get me until Sunday (they had already agreed to open the shelter just for us!) and said she'd do everything she could to steer the lady's attention to another cat. (People are just drawn to me...what can I say???)

So on a sunny Sunday morning Mommy and my Grandpa made the hour drive to make our union legal and bring me to my forever home.

She had never been to this particular shelter before and thought it was so beautiful. She especially loved the cat quotes on the walls.

She enjoyed spending a little time with Thomas, the shelter mascot, but her heart was pounding with anticipation to meet *me*!!!

There was a cute little tortie in the front holding room, and at first Mommy thought it was me! Then she was told that I was sequestered in the shelter director's office because I don't play well with others. Tattle tails!!!

As soon as Mommy saw me it was all over...I held her heart in my paws!

In no time at all the paperwork was complete and I was on my way home. Mommy rode in the back seat with me and I barely made a peep. We just gazed at each other as well fell completely in love.

I made myself at home the moment I walked in the door, immediately gravitating to the toys set out waiting for me...

...and the pawsome cat beds too! (Geez, wasn't I a skinny, scrawny little thing???) I was totally tuckered out at this point!

The whole day was just a dream come true, one Mommy and I will never forget. Life is pretty darn amazing for this little tortie today. I have a wonderful family who worships the ground I walk on, and loads of friends in the blogosphere who welcomed me with open arms.

Of all the kitties in the world, Mommy picked me. And I thank Cod for her every single day.

Do you remember the day you moved to your forever home?

Warning: Mudpie Cheesecake Photos

Meows from Mudpie!

Mommy says I'm "to die for" in these photos. 

Hope no one keels over looking at them!!!

SCROLL DOWN AT YOUR OWN RISK!

Everybody still okay?

Music Row Dogs and Nashville Cats: Country Stars and Their Pets #MewsicMovesMe

The theme of this week's Mewsic Moves Me blog hop is "songs about dogs (or any pets) in honor of the end of the Dog Days of summer." It reminded me of a book I've had for years now, published by CMT (Country Music Television) back in 1994, titled Music Row Dogs and Nashville Cats: Country Stars and Their Pets.

This is a book that will be enjoyable to all animal lovers, even if you aren't a country music fan. It's filled with stories and photos of country stars with their cherished pets, many of whom stepped forward to help fund a badly needed new animal shelter in Nashville back in the late '90s. Some of these stories made me laugh, of course some made me tear up, but most of all the book warmed my heart to see that so many celebrities with tons of money were advocates for shelter pets.

You won't be surprised that my favorite entry was about Conway, written by his children. He loved animals, and they wrote about the day he called 911 for his beloved dog Tojo, (They came too! His poor wife came home from shopping and thought something had happened to one of the kids.) and how he used the annual celebrity softball game he hosted to benefit the local Humane Society. I once read an article quoting a Twitty City gardener who said Conway wouldn't even allow a tree or bush to be trimmed if he knew there was an animal nest inside.

He was just as beautiful on the inside as he was on the outside.

Since the purpose of this blog hop is music, the first song that popped into my head to coincide with the theme was Hound Dog. Get ready to rock out on this one!

We hope you check out Music Row Dogs and Nashville Cats, a book we readily give four paws up, and that you enjoyed our combination book review/music feature!