Is it Spring Yet? Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Shimshi

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

It was furry hot over Shabbat - and getting hotter! We are looking at 27 - 28 degrees Celsius today, with even higher tempurratures tomorrow. But the Weather Guessers in Mummy's phone app say the tempurratures will plummet later on in the week, and next weekend will be chilly again. Ah, well - that's March for you!
At least We had lovely weather for Our Purr-im Pawty on Furriday, up in the Enchanted Forest! 

Now, it is My Turn to repurresent the J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightfully and Predictably Predictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

I, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short), Furrst of My Name, the Little Purrince, a.k.a. The Baby Mancat, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs and Captain of the Guard, have chosen three mewtiful selfies, all of which have been artified (though they need no embellishment) with filters from LunaPic (which also provided the frames).

In this furrst one, I am displaying some of the Wealth of My Domain. You may not know this, but I am a Box Tycoon. Here is some of My Extensive Propurrty:

That yellow one is so humongous, there would even be room inside it for Mummy, if only She would try it out! 

And here is the artsy-fartsy version, which uses the Smoke effect at 41%:

Mummy is so selfish, she keeps hogging the Computer - all day long! So I decided that the Tablet would be just right for me, as you can see:

What? What?  It's about the same size for Me as the large, flat-screen TV is for Mummy, wouldn't you say? Not too big at all. Just the Right Size, in fact!

Anyway, this picture was artified with the Fairy filter at 43%, followed by Beauty at 27%.

And now for a close-up:

This last one was artified with a nod to St. Patrick's Day, which We know many of you will be celebrating. We decorated the frame with a couple of shamrocks and used the Scribble and Garden filters at 50% each. Happy St. Patrick's Day - and may the Leprechauns guide you all to your pot of gold!

Next, here are the blog hop badges:

        

Before We go, We just want to remind you to take a look at Mummy's own blog later on in the week. She has made a good start on reporting her field-trip to the Golan Heights earlier this month, and it will probably go live tomorrow or the day after.

Well, that's all for now, See you again next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Till then - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Twofurs for Purr-im: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

Here We are again - ALL of Us, this time, because We want to wish effurrybody a Happy Purr-im for this coming Furr-iday. We weren't so co-operative in posing for an Ussie this week, so instead, We are bringing you a selection of Twofurs for this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.
That way, you still get to see all of Us.

Furrst of all, here are Trixie and Caspurr, in a special Purr-im - themed frame:

We artified this with a blend of LunaPic's Dark filter, at 58% and Fairy (also by LunaPic) at 27%.

And here is Trixie with Shimshi:

We went a bit wild with a really artsy-fartsy frame this time, so We only used a single filter for the Caturday Art - Mola, at 40%:

For Our third and final Two-fur, here are the brofurs, Caspurr and Shimshi. 

We really went overboard with the artification this time, with a double frame and the Watercolour effect at 45%:

You know, it's a mitzva (religious obligation) to get drunk at Purr-im, and looking at this week's Art, Mummy thinks maybe We had all had a bit too much in pre-purration(mol).

All the art and frames are from LunaPic.

Here are the blog hop badges which Mummy We nearly forgot:

        

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In other News - last week, Mummy posted a description of her field-trip to Ashkelon and Beit Guvrin on her own bloggie.  She met lots of nice kitties there, so if you haven't read it yet, do go and have a look.

The day before publishing that article (which She actually started writing the previous week), She had yet another field-trip, this time to the Golan Heights in the North, but of course, She hasn't had time to write about that one yet. She hopes to do so (or at least, start doing so), later this week.

She also went to the O-purra, where She saw a new, original, Israeli O-purra called Theodor, about the great Zionist visionary, Theodor Herzl.

This week, Mummy doesn't have much going on and even tonight's Caterwauling Purr-actice is cancelled because the Music Director/Conductor is sick. Mummy says her life seems to have a pattern - one week absolutely choco-a-block full, the next - dead quiet. That's when She manages to find some time for reading. Of course, as far as We are concerned, the more time She spends at home and the less She goes gallivanting about, the better!

Now, before We go, We would like to wish all those who are celebrating it, a Happy Purr-im. We will be having Our Fancy-Dress Purr-im Pawty, to which you are all invited, on Friday afternoon at 2pm Israel time, up in the Enchanted Forest. Indeed, where else would We have it?! The Co-ordinates have been sent, as usual, to your Transportation Devices. Remember, it's a costume pawty. And the weather forecast says it will be sunny, with tempurratures in the mid-20s Celsius.

Till then - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Happy Purim - פורים שמח - Purim Sameach!

Was There Snow? Where Did It Go? Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Caspurr

Hallo again, Effurryone!

Here I am once more, Sir Caspurr the Courageous, the Caspicatious, Furrst of My Name, the Snuggle Bug, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Forces, King of the Tigger-Tabbies. It falls to Me, today, to lead My Fellow J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie,  and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Delightfully and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

We picked out two selfies, and each one has been given a couple of artified versions, courtesy of LunaPic.

Furrst of all, Mummy could not resist sharing my raspy little pink tongue with you all:

We artified this with a filter We haven't used much before - Woodsey, set to 63%:

We liked it so much, We decided to leave it at that and not add an overlay in another filter.  

Then, We did another version, again using a single filter - Courtisane, at 67%:

There was another picture which, although it might technically count as a Photo Fail, because the camera was facing the sunlight and that caused distortions, We liked because of the way those very distortions threw what looks like a halo of light around My Face:

That made the photo seem like a Prime Candidate for Artification, of which We made two. The furrst one used (appropriately enough) Sunshine at 63%, lightly washed with Delaunay, set to 25%:

The second one used Escher at 53%, overlaid with Nouveau at 30%:

Another reason We liked this second pawtrait is that, because of the camera angle, it makes Me look slimmer and my legs, longer.

Which is your favourite? Let Us know in the Comments section below.

And now to the Question you must all be dying to ask - what about the Snow we were purromised last week?

.

.

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Didn't happen.

At least, Mummy met a couple of people who claimed to have seen some snowflakes, mingled with Sky-water.  And Mummy's sister sent her a Whatsapp message early last Monday morning, saying (and We quote):

"I took out my super-powerful magnifying glass and managed to see a snow-flake just before it hit the ground and melted."

But Mummy herself didn't see a single snowflake. Nothing. Rien. Nada. Nichts.

It was very cold, though, with the tempurratures dropping below zero at night, so that the water froze in the pipes and some of the solar boilers on the roof burst. That didn't happen to Us, however, because Mummy heeded the water company's advice and left a warm-water tap dripping all night long. If you do that, the water can't freeze because it's moving. Of course the water bill is a little higher, but by not nearly as much as it would cost to have to replace the pipes or the boiler.

And today is bright and sunny and considerably warmer than last week, which is Good News, because Mummy has another one of her field-trips tomorrow, up in the Golan Heights in the North.

Before signing off, We would like to wish effurrybody A Happy Dr. Seuss Day. 
This isn't really a thing here, although, growing up in an English-speaking country, off course Mummy read the Cat in the Hat books when She was a child. But if You, Our Furriends, celebrate it, then We hope you have a Great Time. Mummy did actually look for some Dr. Seuss clipart for the Caturday Art, but, to her utter Surprise and Consternation, couldn't find any - which She (and We) found rather odd.

Now, here are the blog hop badges:

        

We will try to visit as many of you as We can today (before Mummy lies down for her Sunday afternoon pre-Caterwauling Club nap) and those We don't get to today, look for Us later in the Week.

At all events, We will see you all (Great-Cat-in-the-Sky willing) next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Meanwhile, be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Where Is The Snow? - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Hallo there, Effurryone!

This week, We were furry Co-operative and posed nicely in front of the radiator together, so for this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet - We are bringing you an Ussie!

You are purrobably asking yourselves what is that object on the floor in front of Us. Well, it's Mummy's Old Mattress. She bought a new one, out of Meowmory Foam. But She needs help getting the old spring mattress down the stairs and outside for the garbage collectors, so She is waiting for our Cleaning Lady, Ms. M., to come and help her. Meanwhile, as She is not so inclined to go out for her Daily Walk because of the weather, She has been using it as an exercise mat. And, of course, We kitties also like having another soft, bouncy surface to play on.

(The Truth is, it's also hard for her to say goodbye to an Object which has served her faithfully for over 35 years. Uncle D. says She has a Tendency to anthropomorphise Inanimate Objects -whateffur that may mean.)

We made three different artifications of this picture, all using the amazing filters and effects available from LunaPic. This furrst one uses Grey at 59% with just a hint of colour from Nouveau at 22%:

Next, We have this colourful piece, using one filter only - Candy at 43%:

And finally, in tribute to the predicted weather conditions, this one, in which We combined Sketch4 at 62% with Frost at 35% - and then added a Snowfall animation, for good measure:

To be quite honest, howeffur, We suspect that this animation is all the snow We are going to see. The weather forecast keeps changing and the likelihood of there actually being any snow in Jerusalem seems to be be receding with effurry hour. Having said that, Mummy just checked the weather forecast and now (contrary to what they said two hours ago), We are being told to expect snow showers around 7 to 8 am tomorrow (Monday) morning. Well - We'll believe it when We see it. What We can say with certainty is that it's furry, furry Cold - 5 degrees Celsius, with a Real Feel of just 1 degree, thanks to the Wind Chill Effect.

What it must be like for the remaining Israeli hostages still being held in the Hamas Terror Tunnels below ground in Gaza - the ones who are still alive - We dare not even try to imagine.

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Before We go, here are the blog hop badges:

        

We will see you all again next week, same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. Meanwhile - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Wondering When It Will Be Spring: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Trixie

Greetings, Effurrybody!

As you can see, this week, it is I, Queen Trixie, Furrst of My Name, Empurress of Jerusalem, Israel and the Entire Middle East, Queen of Hearts, the Panfur Princess, Guardian of the Boudoir and Alpha Kitty Extraordinaire, who will be leading the J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Selfies, hosted by the Delightful and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Before We get on to the art, We would like to say We hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day. We also hope that those of you who celebrated Tu b'Shvat, the New Year for Trees according to the Hebrew calendar (which fell the day before Valentine's Day), had a lovely day, ate lots of fruits and planted many trees. Tu b'Shvat falls when it is still quite cold and often rainy, but the almond trees which have come to symbolise the festival are already in blossom and you can feel that Spring is just around the corner.

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We have chosen three selfies this week, and each one has been artified with one of the mewtiful effects from LunaPic.

In this furrst selfie, I am in my favourite half upside-down position, looking up at Mummy adoringly. (I was actually wondering if She was going to bring Me a treat, but We won't tell her that - MOL.)

The artsy-fartsy effect here was achieved with LunaPic's Dark filter, which is, as you already know, one of Our Favourites - set to 57%.

I like the way it emphasises My Eyes, don't you?

Next, here is a picture of Me in close-up.

I was enjoying a sun-puddle here. I often have to fight for sun-puddles because My Pesky Brofurs gang up and steal them from Me when I am enjoying them on the Bed. This time, however, I had the Last Laugh because I found a Bigger and Better Sun-puddle on the Living Room Sofa which I shared with Mummy.
Anyway, this picture was artified with the Flash Gordon filter at 67%.

This last selfie was taken just a few minutes later. Mummy and I think it's just purrfect because of the play of sun and shadow on My Furs. The panoramic window behind me faces south and the sun was shining quite strongly so Mummy let down the shutter about two-thirds of the way. See what a beautiful effect it has!

Mummy and I feared that any artification here might spoil the effect, but since We are supposed to produce something artistic for the Caturday Art blog hop, We decided on a minimal (24%) use of the K3 filter.

I quite like the result. How about you?

And now for the blog hop badges:

        

That's all for now. See you again next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel!

Till then, be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Tongue, Tummy and Tail - Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies with Shimshi

Greetings, Effurrybuddies!

Today, I, the Mighty Shimshon (Shimshi for short), a.k.a. the Little Purrince, Furrst of My Name, a.k.a. the Baby Mancat, Master of the Queen's Mischiefs, and Captain of the Guard, am honoured to lead the J-Cats on this weekend's blog hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie,  and the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

All three selfies have been framed with the Israel flag and with a yellow inner frame - in Solidarity with the three Israeli hostages who were freed yesterday, in a dreadful, emaciated condition, having been tortured, deliberately starved and kept in tiny cages by the Evil Hamas Monsters (unlike the convicted terrorist Murderers whom Israel released in exchange, who were well-fed and slept in beds, in cells which conformed to the standards accepted in civilised western countries and who were regularly visited by their families and by the Red Cross). And in solidarity with the hostages still in captivity...

In this furrst picture, I am admiring myself in the mirror of Mummy's wall-to-wall closet - and I think We can all agree that there is a great deal to admire (although Mummy says I have lost some weight and can now be described as rotund rather than fat).

All the pictures were artified with Filters from LunaPic. For this one, We used Storytime at 68%, with a light overlay of Scribble at 28%:

For this next pawtrait, I actually posed for the camera:

The artsy-fartsy effect here was achieved using Daisies at 91%, followed by a considerable dose of Sadness at 45% (completely justified in view of what was done to the Israeli hostages and their families - some of whom were murdered, and the returning hostages are only now learning of their fate).

In this final shot, Mummy caught Me while I was making my Meowning Toilette. It came out a bit blurred but since you can see my raspy little Pink Tongue, as well as My Tummy and Tail, She decided to keep it and share it with you.

In the artified version, which uses the Dark effect at 58% with a Surreal overlay at 38%, the blurring is less obvious:

And here are the blog hop badges:

        

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In other news, Mummy finally got round to updating her own blog, so if you want to read about and see videoclips from her Caterwauling Club's last two concerts, as well as pictures from her last field-trip, that is the place to go. The field-trip which She was to take part in tomorrow, to which She alludes in that post, has been postponed till next week, because of the rainy, stormy weather expected this week. 

Well, that just about rounds things up for today. Mummy has to eat and shower and rest before this evening's Caterwauling Rehearsal, in which She and her fellow Caterwaulers will be receiving new material for their next concert, so We shall probably do most of our blog-hopping tomorrow (since Mummy won't, after all, be going out for the Day).

We'll be back next week then - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel. 

Till then - be well. Be safe. We love you all.

Caspurr's Teething Troubles: Caturday Art and Sunday Selfies

Greetings, Effurryone!


My goodness, it's well past lunchtime and We are only now about to post this week's blog! That is because I, Sir Caspurr the (VERY) Courageous, the Caspicatious, Furrst of My Name, the Snuggle Bug, Commander-in-Chief of the Impurrial Forces and King of the Tigger-Tabbies, was tricked into visiting the V-E-T this meowning and only got back an hour ago! My teefs had been hurting and one of them - my lower right fang - was wobbly. So Mummy said We would go to see the v-e-t- and get something for the pain. But once We got there, they decided to drug Me and remove the toofie! While I was "under the Influence", they found another wobbly toofie and stole that one as well! 
Well, they didn't exactly steal it, because they wrapped them both up and gave them to Mummy, so She could give them to the Tooth Furry and get Me a Present in return. And they shaved my neck furs and stole some of My Bloods too! So it all took longer than Mummy had planned, leaving hardly any time to blog today, let alone visit our Furriends, as Mummy and her Caterwauling Friends have a Concert this evening, in which Mummy has a So-Low - which means She really needs a Good Long Nap beforehand!

So, We will post today and try to visit you all tomorrow.

Today, it is My Turn to repurresent the J-Cats on the Weekend Blog Hops - the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by the Wise and Beautiful Athena and her HuMum, Marie, and the Sunday Snoozies Selfies blog hop, hosted by the Deliciously and Predictably Unpredictable Kitties Blue and their HuMom, Janet.

Here is this week's Snoozie Selfie:

We made three different versions of this picture, using the artsy-fartsy filters from LunaPic.

Furrst of all, since I was so Brave today, Mummy chose the Brave Effect at 63%, followed by Sketch2 at 28%:

Next up, We went for a combination of Dreaming at 35% and Landscape at 43%:

 For our final Artification of the Day, We returned to one of Our Favourites, Frida at 73%, overlaid with Pen at either 20% or 28% (Mummy didn't write it down immediately, and She's not sure).

Here are the blog hop badges:

        

That's all for now then. Till next week - same Cat Time, same Cat Channel.
And, as always - be well. Be safe. We love you all.