Happy New Year!

Well the holidays are winding down but we have one more special night to enjoy.  Us cats don't know what all the fuss is about tonight but it sure is fun to partake of the festivities! We will be right with Mom and Pop to watch the ball drop on TV! 

This is what the ball will look like tonight. For 2011, Waterford Crystal has designed 288 new “Let There Be Love” crystal triangles featuring a romantic pattern that blends a modern cascade of hearts with diamond cutting.

Here's some info on the origin of the ball drop - The actual notion of a ball "dropping" to signal the passage of time dates back long before New Year's Eve was ever celebrated in Times Square. The first "time-ball" was installed atop England's Royal Observatory at Greenwich in 1833. This ball would drop at one o'clock every afternoon, allowing the captains of nearby ships to precisely set their chronometers (a vital navigational instrument).
Around 150 public time-balls are believed to have been installed around the world after the success at Greenwich, though few survive and still work. The tradition is carried on today in places like the United States Naval Observatory in Washington, DC, where a time-ball descends from a flagpole at noon each day - and of course, once a year in Times Square, where it marks the stroke of midnight not for a few ships' captains, but for over one billion people watching worldwide. (From the NYC Times Square.org site)

With the theme "Let there be love" in mind we want to wish you all a New Year filled to the brim with love, laughter, hugs and joy.  See ya in 2011! With love from all of us.

Christmas Catnip

Snow, Santa and Secret Paws

Hope you all had a Merry Christmas.  We have been snow bound for the past three days with the power going off and on!  Mom and Pop keep saying they have Cabin Fever - sure hope it is not contagious!

We got lots to share with you.  First off we got 8" of white stuff outside and it was pretty the first day but then the high winds and chilling cold came and made it scary to be outdoors.  We preferred to sit inside and look out at the birds.

Lily and Only checking out the crinkle sack.

Sweetpea and Mamacita laying with the new toys.

Santa gave us great stuff this year - Temptations and some new stuff called Catnip Delights made by The Goodlife Recipe - yum, those were real good.  We got a scratching board for the house and shelter, some Kookamunga Krazee Kitty catnip bubbles and a Furminator - whatever that is.  We wore out our tunnel and Mom said Santa would bring us one but he wasn't able to find one.  Instead we got a crinkle sack that can be opened at both ends - it's neat.  We all got salmon for breakfast on Christmas - that was delicious! Of course lots of little crinkle balls, bitty balls and toys for us to bat around.

Two Spot chasing catnip bubbles.

Al enjoying his salmon.

We joined Secret Paws this year but instead of gifts for us, Mom asked to have the presents donated to our local no-kill shelter Brother Wolf Animal Rescue in Asheville, NC. The Florida Furkids of Friends FurEver were our Secret Paws and they were great - donating to Santa Paws Drive plus they sent a gift package  to the shelter.  We wrote about it on the Secret Paws blog. Thank you for the donations!

We got lots of Christmas cards - mailed and virtual - thanks to all for thinking of us over the holidays.  We will post them this week. Hopefully the wind will die down and the power will stay on! We are going to stay warm, nap and play with our new toys the rest of the week.  Have fun ya'll.

We Wish You a Merry Chrtistmas!

Let the spirit of love
gently fill our hearts and homes.
In this loveliest of seasons
may you find many reasons for happiness. 

Merry Christmas from our house to yours!

 

Tortie Tuesday - Holiday Spirit

It's me...Chica today.  We want to apologize for not posting or visiting for a few days. Mom keeps saying she has lost her Christmas spirit...and we have been helping her look for it.  We have looked everywhere but nothing has turned up.

Mom got a lot of sad news the past week - her friend Emily is very sick from her cancer treatment, Pop's sister in law Laura lost her Dad, Mom's Uncle Ray died and then this one sent Mom over the edge - her friend Nancy died unexpectedly from a heart attack.  Nancy was only a few years older than Mom!  This is the second friend Mom lost this year  - both from heart attacks and so young. Kinda scary.

Anyway - Mom is doing a little better and we will keep trying to find her spirit. Just remember to tell your loved ones how much you do love them, all the time, every day - don't wait cuz you never know what can happen.  Chica signing out!

P.S. Solstice Blessings to all of you - the days will be getting longer now!  Yay!

Photo Hunt - Male

Darby here today.  We are joining in on Photo Hunt and the word today is male.  Here I am showing off the new Christmas cards we got in the male like the one I am holding from Rosie and Henry and another one from Fuzzy Tales' Nicki, Annie and Derry.

And this one from Hannah and Lucy all the way from England! Excuse me while I stretch - Mom woke me up from a nap to do this post.  ....What?  Just a minute here...Joey is saying something.....

Darby, I think they mean male as in me - like a mancat.  Not mail as in letters. It is spelled different!

Hey, I will spell male like I want to. And besides, if we got you in the post, we are covered, right? (For those of you who are wondering...I am a ladycat.  I can't help it if Mom thought I was a boy and gave me a boy name!)  For more male pics visit Photo Hunt!

Please make sure you stop by the Commentathon going on at Daily Dose of Dogs (aka Cats with Your Coffee to help Chrystal raise green papers  for a bigger cat kennel at her private shelter.Spread some cheer and help out too!

And...an auction to help Terry and her Cornish Rex cats pay vet bills for Brighton when he had an emergency crisis back in May - great stuff and lots for cats and home made too! Goes thru Dec 20.

Thankful Tabby Thursday

Hey it's me Tabitha helping Mom with the holiday cards and decorating.  Well OK, sometimes I am just being silly playing with the pompoms on the Christmas stocking!

On a serious note....we have so much to be thankful for this holiday season.  We are thankful for all our blogging friends, a warm safe place to live and that this year we are able to give to others.  Last year our family had a really difficult time financially but we  weathered thru it and now we can help others.

Please stop by and donate to Chrystal so they can build a bigger cat shelter for their homeless pet rescue organization and visit our "Flea Market" blog and buy a really spiffy vintage, gently used or new print or book (like the ones above) or jewelry, ornaments - all sales help feed and care for us and this month in the spirit of the season,  Mom is donating 20% of our intake to Chrystal.  

You can help out yet another way - We just found out that Chrystal is having a commentathon on her blog this weekend sponsored by another friend who will be donating 50 cents for each comment to Chrystal.  Please stop by Daily  Dose of Dogs from Friday thru Sunday!

We have gotten some really cool Christmas cards from our cat buddies - the Creek Cats and Four Crazy Cats.....

and Ginger Jasper (his card got all wet in the mailbox and Mom had to dry it out), Marge's Pets and Attie Cattie.  We will post more when we get them.

We are also thankful Woody is making himself right at home in the house and getting along with all the cats - more or less.  Doesn't he look relaxed in the sun puddle?

I would maintain that thanks are the highest form of thought; and that gratitude is happiness doubled by wonder.  ~G.K. Chesterton

Too Cold for Comfort Tuesday

View looking across the street.

You can see the snow being blown across our road.

We got 4 inches of snow on Sunday and then the Arctic blast blew in with temperatures in the mid teens for a high.  (Our average high for this time of year is 50 degrees!) Mom and Pop worked hard to make sure our generator was all clear, running and hooked up in case we lose power (which happens a lot out here).

The screen porch on the cat shelter.

Only snuggling on top of mom Lily.

They made sure the shelter was all snug with lots of cubby holes and fleece blankets for us white cats to nap in.  Don't worry it is heated and insulated but the screen porch is not - just a plastic cover over the screens. We stay indoors unless the sun is out and then it is toasty 70 degrees!

Mom in her L.L. Bean 30 below zero coat!

Mom went out to feed the birdies and secure all the loose items - wind gusts could get as high as 60 MPH!

Woody is checking out the feeders!

What were we all doing? Napping in our favorite spots, wacthing the birds at the feeders or jostling each other for the best spot on the heater!

Joey has dibs on the heater.

Snuggle time with Mamacita, Rosa and Yoko.

Hope you all are staying warm. This winter better not be a repeat of last year!  We may have to ask to move to Florida!

Femme Friday - Midnight with a Touch of White

Here are some more gorgeous ladycats in hats by Judi of Sammy and Andy's Place! Thanks Judi for doing such a wonderful job!

Mamacita looks very sophisticated in her silver hat.  She is one of our chubby cats - big rotund body, round face, no neck and short legs. When she and her daughter Rosa play, the thuds and bangs sound like huge Sumo wrestlers going at it on the mat!  She loves to be petted and sit on Mom's lap or next to her but is still very skittish and will run away to hide if things get too loud or hectic in the house.  She loves Joey and you will find Mamacita, Joey and Rosa smushed together on the chair sleeping.

Our second ladycat is also a house panther - Rosa, Mamacita's daughter.  Rosa has come out of her shell more these days but does spend a lot of time during the days under the bed or sofa.  Mom calls her our vampire cat cuz she prefers to come out at night!  She is also a plus size girl and is very close to her mom Mamacita.  They are usually together, napping, cleaning each other and just hanging out.

Doesn't Smidge look lovely and so feminine?  She is another tomboy cat who is the sister to Only, Two Spot and Tabitha.  Mom thought she was a boy and didn't find out for sure until she got her back from being neutered...um uh spayed!  Smidge is a rough and tumble cat who likes her food and will growl and chase anyone away from her plate even tho she is a slim and tiny girl. She lets the boys know what they can do and not do. She has softened up a bit and enjoys it when Mom and Pop love her up.  She is usually with her Mom Lily or by herself - very independent!

We would like to remind everyone that Moosie is still looking for a forever home for Christmas - we need to keep putting her name out here and purring for a miracle for her.  Click here to read about Moosie. Don't forget to help out the homeless cats and dogs this holiday season by donating time, money or supplies.

We are all doing well - it has been very cold here nights in the teens and days in the 20s but we are safe and snug in our cat room and the house, napping and watching bird/pony/goat TV! . Mom is going to take a few days off this blog to work on adding more great things to sell on her Wildcat Woods Vintage Treasures blog - we are donating 20% of our income in December to help Chrystal and her rescue organization.  Deb is also holding and auction to help Chrystal too so check out the great deals at Deb's Emergency Auction site.Please stop by and feel free to pass these blog sites on to other folks who might want to help out Chrystal and our feral cats.  Have a good week and see ya in a few days!

Wordless Wednesday - Christmas Memories

(Just is case you are wondering - the poinsettia is fake and is silk and Al is now much bigger at 6 years old) For more wordless visit Wordless Wednesday - they're back!

Helping Mom Decorate the Tree

Mom and Pop took a drive without us and came back with a real tree!  Tabitha and Woody were the most enthused of all of us. Tabitha went right up to it and stuck her face in the branches.  Must smell nice to her! This is Woody's first tree. He just ran around under the tree and got all excited.

The older cats slept thru it all - been there done that! Besides it was cold and windy and a better day for snuggling.

Darby was the only one who zipped here and there while Mom trimmed the tree.  Mom had all she could do not to trip over her!  A very diligent snoopervisor! All the ornaments are non breakable, mostly hand made and very colorful.  Mom collects them from all over - a lot of them are from Mexico! Last year was so snowy and icy before Christmas that she was not able to get the ornament boxes out of the storage unit and had to make all her tree decorations! She made sure she got them all out extra early this year.

There is still time to do your holiday shopping on our Wildcat Woods Vintage Treasures blog - this month we will be donating 20% of sales to Chrystal of Winnie's Wish towards a new cat shelter. Lots of neat items -  new ornaments, jewelry, books, and more. Please stop by Jan's Funny Farm Fair too for great gift ideas! Her blog helps provide money for all her dogs and cats!

If you haven't picked up our online holiday card - please do.  Ann of Zoolatry offered to downsize the photo to fit better in the sidebar so you have a choice today. From top to bottom - large size, next is 300 px and then 225 px. Mom will be putting all of yours on the sidebar this week - we hope!  She is just getting sloppy about keeping up with the blog! Claims she has too much to do cuz of the holiday!  Sure Mom, whatever you say.....