~MY BOX OF LIFE~A Very Important Meme!

"Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"

~ Mary Oliver~ (Thank you Luxor for posting the purrrrfect quote for my meme:)

I have never been a cat of many possessions, I do not crave them. Silk and satin or velvet beds interest me not. Content with a grocery sack or a discarded frying pan I quietly nap the days away, sometimes even in my litter box. Crystal food dishes and Staffordshire water bowls are stacked in the corner cupboard. A paper plate and Tupperware water dish suit me just fine. They hold a basic menu of dry crusty crunchies while my pantry fills with untouched, undesirable, unwanted gourmet stinky delights. My drawer full of fancy toys gathers the dust of my daydreams. I am just a plain old cat...and that is that!

So what do I place inside my BOX OF LIFE?

I place the extra lives given up for me by my dearest kitty friends.

I place the love and purrrrayers they showered me with while I was so very sick last month.

I place the tender feeling of a human touch. Happiness is a cat, a cup of coffee and a good book in a cozy parlor.

I place the ray of warm golden Spring sunshine I sleep in on my pillow on the window seat.
I place the sultry Summer evening the beans and I spend listening to the cricket concerto out on my patio.
I place the sweet scented Autumn breeze...it beckons me, time to come indoors.

I place the frosty Winter night I curled tight into moms arms under the feather bed.
I place moms poem penned lovingly after I purrrred to the silent dance of falling snow flakes.

~~A MID WINTER NIGHT'S DREAM~~2004

Why night so light

Oh ground so bright,

In the quietness, the still,

LISTEN...

A nocturnal opus

Forms under the covers,

A crescendo of contentness,

From her soft sweet purrrrrrrrrr....

I place the silver tear drops mom cried for Henry the VIII, our King of gentleness.

I place the kitchen faucet...there is magic in it...I love to see it fall down onto my sandpaper tongue.

So come and go the SEASONS in my kitty cat life. Now comes the winter. I am content to lay by the fire and purr as the magic of love enfolds all around me. My life is complete because I have found you. My heart is full because I have placed you all in it....Love always Miss Peach

A SIMPLE BUT VERY IMPORTANT MEME: List your treasures and tag other kitties and their humans also, as many as you like. Let this reflection spread through out the world. We need to count our contentments as Blessings!

~~~What do you look back over and treasure enough to place inside your BOX OF LIFE?~~~

I tag:

my lovely sister MARILYN

my Moonshine MICKEY

my kindhearted ADAN

the beautiful furs PRINCESS & CAESAR

my beloved brother DRAGONHEART

my forever mommy KARLA

SWEET SUMMERTIME GIFT FROM KC!

POPCORN~ PLACES~ACTION!

Mommy has also been so busy trying to learn new things. She finally figured out how to use the blogger video without having to bother the Lapdaddy. So you get to see my summer video of me in one of my favorite places...a BOX that came from KC! The beautiful little tote will come in so handy if I get to go on vacation. It will hold all of my cat food, and I need lots of it now because I eat like a little piggy:) Wasn't that a very thoughtful gift!!

Mommy played around with Adobe Elements the Lapdaddy put on her PC. There is so much to learn and it will take her years I am sure! But I would like to show you the very first photo she played with. Mommy loves Princess, the lovely Cornish sister of Caesar...so here it is...isn't she just the most sweet Princess!

SLEEPING BEAUTY...WHAT ARE YOU DREAMING ABOUT?

My beloved Mickey of course!
Miss Peach slept the day away in her box with the soft pad that came from Meezer Rescue as a prize for winning in Dragonhearts scavenger contest. It is so pretty that she fell asleep and did a complete face plant in it. I think the Fabreeze commercial people should hire her! Don't tell them that I use Downy though:)

Have a wonderful Monday and keep the sick and sad kitties in your hearts and all the lonely beans.
I love you all and am so happy to be alive! This has been a long recovery and each day I am getting stronger. Behold the Power of Purrrrrayers!!! Have fun looking at the dot graphic below and watch them dance!

CAT ART SUNDAY ON VETERAN'S DAY

We honor the many cats and dogs who work in the service of our country! Thank you Ariel for the photo from your album!

Once upon a time not too long ago, there was a very sick old cat. She had a beautiful pumpkin sweater to wear for her Halloween costume party at Skeezix house, but could not find the energy to put it on and join the fun. Her dearest furrrends Missy and KC decided she needed to have some encouragement and sponsored her in a special award CATegory for Courage. Storm the Furry Fighter's mummy put the pretty sweater on the little cat by magic...and she was so happy that her furrrends loved her so much to do this for her. Soon a package arrived at the little sick kitty's doorstep and there was a surprise inside for her! She looked it over and snift it well. Inside was a beautiful handcrafted pillow of green velvet. The other side had an image of the kitty quilted on beautiful linen. She recognized herself right away and wanted to drag the pretty pillow into her sleeping box. Her mommy said no because she was afraid it would get soiled =peed on:(

So it was put on the love seat by all the other pretty pillows and the kitty can come up to sit and admire herself like looking into a mirror.

The sick kitty was so happy after she got her pretty pillow and her mommy was thankful to the nice kitties who were so kind to have it made just for her. Now the little cat is feeling so much better and we hope to live happily ever after....

WE MUST REMEMBER, LEST WE FORGET!!!

I have walked the battlefields of Gettysburg in the quiet of a Spring day...

Remembering...a country divided will fall

I saw the buffalo in a pasture at Fort Riley, where General Custer once rode...

Remembering...the rights of those who were here first

I sat in Ebenezer Baptist Church where Marin Luther King ministered...

Remembering...a dream of a great man

I stood at the grave of John F. Kennedy and Robert Kennedy in Arlington...

Remembering...the hope that was taken away at its zenith

I wandered the highlands of Scotland, where Robert the Bruce gathered bravery...

Remembering...a battle for faith and freedom

I trembled in the chambers at Dachau surrounded by specters of the innocent...

Remembering...mans inhumanity to man

I watched the Star Spangled Banner wave over Fort McHenry with a grateful heart...

Remembering...the morning breaking and the flag was still there

I lay on a parade field on July 4, 1976 with my infant son waiting for dusk to turn into a celebration of fireworks...

Remembering...a Bicentennial of Freedom is anything but free for those who fought and died for it!!


As we celebrate VETERANS DAY this weekend, let us remember the words on Grant's Tomb~~~LET THERE BE PEACE~~~

A BEAUTIFUL OUTLOOK TONIGHT

Mommy and I had such a good day today. I catnapped and she worked on my special MEME. I watched as the Autumn leaves tumbled down in a golden light wind out my front window. The evenings in the desert are most amazing in any season. Tonight as the sun began to set, the sky took our breath away. Like when mommy sees the first Spring daffodil or hears the Summers first cricket invite us to the nightly concert. Soon Winter will blanket the cottage with it's quiet and frosty gray days...we welcome those cozy nights together by the fireplace...me and the Lapdaddy next to mommy on the love seat...

Oh and if you would like to see what was in MY package...please come over on Sunday and I will show you:)

A CATNAP A CATNAP A CATNAP ALL DAY LONG!

This is what I looked like all day today. Thank you all for letting me sleep so peacefully...mommy is always sitting close by on the footstool watching me sleep. I can hear her breath...I know she is there:) hovering like a fruit fly! Go and unpack your suitcase right now mommy...or else I might just pee in it!

I AM HAVING A NEGATIVE OUTLOOK TODAY!!!!

Dearest Friends...today I am feeling a little bit negative about myself. Mommy has been so busy taking such good care of getting me to feel better. She has not let me have the time to make my thank you visits to so many of you! I have missed you all so much and you deserve to be visited like you did me when I was so sick. So, when mommy wanted to take a photo of me today, I would not even look at her! She told me that she has not even had the time to unpack her suitcase yet from her trip to North Carolina. (Oh shudders don't even remind me of that time mommy please!!!) Instead she has been working on a very important MEME for all of you to play with. Will it be ready this week mommy...will it?

Maybe if you are a good cat and take your meds like you should, then I will finish it!

Good....then I will be able to visit my friends again so they do not think me a rude kitty...

ANASTASIA'S DARE IS ACCEPTED AT OUR HOUSE

The Lapdaddy dressed up as Captain Feathersword and is making me walk the plank because I wouldn't eat while mommy was on her vacation! Avast ye mateys....I shall not do it! ARRRRRGH!!!! Just wait until you are asleep tonight lapdaddy>(^,^)<

Mommy is dressed up as a bumblebee complete with pipe cleaner antennas and black gauze wings. Oh and look at her pointy stinger! her best friend is dressed as a piggy. Aren't those baby bottle nipples just the bees knees:))

The amazing Miss Anastasia of the Cat Realm has DAREed us one last time. She wants us to dress up our beans and get revenge on them for dressing us up.

How did I do? I think the beans are having too much fun here!

Even my sweet pip of a pal JACKSON who is my NOMSS friend has dressed up for the occasion! Isn't he just the cutest? I love him!

MONDAY MAGIC! IT IS ALL ABOUT LOVE...DO YOU HAVE TIME?

Thank you Ann for this pretty graphic!


Seven minutes will change your mind about the relationships between cats and birds. I have always known that black cats are special...this proves it to me! Sit a spell and be amazed!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1JiJzqXxgxo

I am feeling better with each passing day...you must all still be purrraying for me because I can feel it. The love of good friends can sustain you so much in times of need. I promise that I will come and visit each of you who have been by my side through this ordeal with a special thank you...even if it takes me till the end of the month. It is the Thanksgiving month after all:)
I am also planning a very special MEME to give the Cat Blogosphere much food for thought during this month of Thanksgiving...

UP UP AND AWAY......

in my beautiful balloon! Such a peaceful feeling flyin up into the sky. Which balloon would you like to ride in? Can you believe all the different shapes there are? The bees are holding hands! A giant can of dog food for Roxy and Lucky! Daisy has a balloon just for her and Skeezix! I am in the lighthouse with Mickey:)) Which one are YOU in?
Oh this is just dreamy.....purrrrfect for a Sunday!
Suspended under a twilight canopy...if by some chance you find yourself loving me....then find a cloud to hide us...keep the Moonshine beside us....love is waiting there in my beautiful balloon....high up in the air!

IN MY BEAUTIFUL BALLOON!

The ROAD TRIPPERS are finally here! These are the balloons I chose for our out of this world balloon ride! They are so pretty. We packed a picnic lunch of hot catmint tea and the crab puffs filled with cheese and we were off into the skies above Washington flying along the mighty Columbia River....

Karl and Ruis had one balloon all to themselves:)

Did you know that the world stands still when you fly above it?

That your troubles are as small as the trees way down below...

The air smells sweet with promise of new adventure and hope for tomorrow...

We do all rejoice this day spent with our beloved friends...

GRATEFULNESS ON CAT ART SUNDAY

This is a close up of the beautiful platter mommy serves my food on. Do you see her there at the window of the pretty cottage? She even has red hairfurs!{Click to bigafy} The white kitty sleeping on the rock ledge is my beloved sister Marilyn who has been keeping a vigil by my side all week while I was so sick. The rest of you kitties where exploring about in the many gardens!

Indeed, we rejoice with the morning!!

Beau's Sunday Sermon
"..Weeping may endure for a night, But joy comes in the morning...To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven: A time to be born, And a time to die...a time to heal; A time to break down, And a time to build up; A time to weep, And a time to laugh; A time to mourn, And a time to dance; " (Psalms 30:5a; Ecclesiates 3:1b-4 NKJV) This week we have lost several of our dear friends. It has been a sad week, but at the same time there is much to be joyful about. We may weep now but God promises to turn it into joy. Another thought I would like to suggest, by a play of words, is that joy comes in the mourning as well. Joy comes in the mourning in that we know that our friends and family have gone to a better place and we will again see them some day. Joy comes in the mourning in that we know they are now with God in the palm of His hand. And, Joy comes in the mourning knowing that those who were suffering are suffering no more, and that we have each other for support. Yes, there IS a time for sorrow and breaking down, but there is joy in the morning and the mourning, and the time is coming to be joyful, laugh, dance, and build up again. Remember this in the coming days. Love, Beau

Please keep Beau in your thoughts...this has been a hard week for him losing his beloved Mia and all the health problems he has right now.

VISITORS MIGHT BE ON THEIR WAY TO SEE ME!

I just heard a rumor that the Road Trippers might be on their way to Washington for a short visit. I have to get the cottage all nice and tiddy tomorrow and bake some crab puffs to serve with my catmint tea. Wonder how many cups I should wash up? 25 or 30 will be enough I think. I want to hire a hot air balloon to take them all sightseeing.....Oh I hope they can come and enjoy themselves.

For now I will take a nap and dream about seeing you all coming around the corner in that big red bus! Oh and I am delighted at the thought of seeing my Moonshine Mickey again so soon:))

But first...a nice big plate full of new food the VET wants me to eat:)))

WHILE A FIVE POUND BAG OF SUGAR WEIGHS MORE THAN MY PEACH, SHE IS SWEETER!

MY PRECIOUS BRIGHT EYED FUR

TODAY, HOW BRAVE YOU WERE

WHEN I THOUGHT YOU WOULD

SPREAD YOUR TINY WINGS

FLYING AWAY

OVER THE AUTUMN BRACKEN...

YOU SOFTLY MEOWED, "NOT JUST YET,

FOR MY GLASS IS STILL HALF FULL!"

THEN STAY WITH ME

A WHILE OR TWO

AND I WILL BE YOUR SERVANT,

FOR YOU HAVE BEEN MY FAITHFUL FUREND

AND I...

YOUR GLASS HALF EMPTY HUMAN.

COME SIT AND TEACH ME YOUR SWEET SECRETS

AS WE WATCH THE AUTUMN WINDS

WHILE WE BLINK EACH OTHER KISSES...

LOVE ALWAYS YOUR MOMMY AND LAPDADDY

~~~UPDATE~~~LEO ONCE SAID THAT THE SMALLEST FELINE IS A MASTERPIECE

Miss Peach stole hearts at the Vet this morning! She was such a good girl during it all. Her temperature was a bit low even though I heated up her peachy velvet blanket in the dryer before we left. The nice VET lady said her gums looked good and moist and this is a good sign that she is not too dehydrated. At this time there is not a need for Sub~Q's. We did discuss this and I told the VET I would be willing to help if needed. She does have a icky ear on the right side....her high white count confirms infection. We got 2 medicines for this. Her weight is low....4lbs 13 oz...I might have to rename her Miss Twiggy:) They stole some of her blood and the results are better than expected. Most of her counts are good. Her kidney function is a little worse than last years results, but not as bad as the VET would have expected it to be in a years time! So this is good news indeed. But there is some bad new to report also. She has a cancerous mammary tumor on her tiny tummy that is not operable. We will watch this closely to see any level of discomfort. Peach will be on Prednisone for this new development. This will also help her appetite some the VET said!
Now something that I have to wrestle myself with is the fact that my absence may have triggered this whole unhappy turn of events:( A cat can grieve itself into not eating. Maybe I will never leave again......
SO the medicine is in the cat, the cat is snuggled in her warm bed by the fire and I will now take a nap and dream of all my beloved friends in the Blogosphere who purrrrayed for a miracle and the results are in.......we have more time.....the greatest gift you'll ever learn is just to love and be loved in return.....

After I read this wonderful letter from my dear artist friend....I completely agree with Leonardo and am so proud of my little tiny Miss Peach! On gray days when you think your life does not matter...think again ...somewhere...to someone...it does!

~~~~An unexpected legacy from Miss Peach to my house~~~~

Hi Karla: I just want you to know how sad I am for you and Miss Peach. Her blog precipitated an unusual turn of events in our household. I'm sure she would be pleased. I was looking at her sweet pictures and especially the one where she is all snuggled up with you. As I was sadly looking at how loving that was, I also was reflecting that although our Chessie is very nice and has some fun qualities, she is not a snuggle bug and I really miss that. Just then our phone rang and my neighbor wanted to let me know she had a lead on an extremely good financial deal for a certain kind of dog that I have wanted for several years now. It is a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and they were bred to be like Miss Peach. Just a bundle of snuggle lap love. Even though I had told my husband I didn't want any more pets, Miss Peach's love urged me on to convince him that I had changed my mind. So in a whirlwind of decision making and savings bond cashing, we now have the little sweetheart at home. He is 4 months old and snuggles just like she does. Our puppy is named 'Cricket' both for the English sport and the happy crickets chirping in the summer. Our cat Chessie, is not amused, but I'm sure he will win her heart eventually. He really really wants to be her friend.One other thing...my friend and I spent about an hour at the breeder's home, where she had the dog parents and another mom with a 4 week old litter. Also 2 Himalayan cats which were incredible cats! They came in and sat right down with all the commotion and wrestled and played with our puppy and let the kids in the family drag them around without protesting. The owner said that breed is like that. Hugs to you both and lots of love. Rebecca

Thank you my sweet little Peachy girl for being you...just as you are...your life has always made a big difference in mine....now it has once again, in Crickets! This morning we will be at the VET to see what we can do to help make Miss Peach comfortable. Keep us in your thoughts...till we get back.