Zen Cat Art

Christmas Review...

Sammy taught her new brother, Charlie, how to drink water out of the Christmas tree stand.  Charlie can't see it but he had no trouble finding it.  But he didn't drink the water.  "Yuck!"  Good move Charlie!

So I wrapped up the base and added a bowl of water.  Most of the decorations are off.  Sammy undecorated it as fast as I decorated it.  Fortunately it was before I hung the glass ones.  The first morning after the tree went up there were more ornaments on the floor than on the tree.  We eventually stopped hanging them up.

We went to see Dickens' Christmas Carol radio show at our library.  It was a redo of the Campbell Soup show that aired with Orson Wells and John Barrymore.  What a hoot!  I thoroughly enjoyed it and we got to sing Christmas carols during the show.

Tess & Hannah, Phil's daughters, came to visit on Christmas Eve.  Jimmy, Tracy and kids were going to come but Jim was sick and had to do some certification work before the new year and I did the mom thing and suggested they don't come.  I missed them but I'll go down to NC to visit soon.  Jimmy's god-mother and my good friend Louise did come and stayed a few days and that was lovely.

We ate lobster cakes.

Bake Brie. A big hit!

And Cinnamon French toast.  Among many other things!!

Like the eight batches of chocolate chip cookies...that's approximately 400 cookies!

Breezy got a new bird feeder right outside her window perch!

Sammy & Charlie were discussing who was going to get the feather toy.

"I'm the new cat," says Charlie.  "I must be for me!"

Sammy didn't think so and helped the decision by heading off with it.  Hey guys, I didn't even wrap it yet!

Maggie, older and wiser, was willing to wait till Christmas morning for her treats.

There are so many more pictures to post and things to say but it's New Year's Eve and there are a few things to do before tonight.  I'll just say it was a great Christmas.  I enjoyed it as always! 

Good food! Good times! Good friends! 

Charlie & the cheetah pillow. Yes, he does look like me!

As you can see Charlie is settling in.  He's chosen the big chair in the living room for his evening nap.  That way he is in the middle of everything and doesn't miss a trick. 

Although sometimes it's just too hard to stay awake...

Charlie doesn't have to dream about getting a good home anymore.  He has one!

Sleep Charlie, you're safe now!

Jumping down...

How far down do you think it is, Dad?  Can I make it?

Sure Charlie, you can make it! 

*The little red spot just below his ear is a hot spot that Charlie keeps scratching.  We took him to the vet last Thursday and we have been putting a little cream on it and it's looking better.   

No words are adequate...

December 14th, 2012 - Sandy Hook, Newtown, CT

Twenty children and six adults.  A national tragedy.

Charlie in bed... our bed...

Just because you get up at 5 am, Dad, doesn't mean I have to...hey, it's really warm here on your side.

Call me when breakfast is ready!

Sammy discovers Charlie...

Mom!  Mommm!  Your painting is blocking the hallway!

Mom!  Mom!  Why is the kitchen ladder in the hall?

Mom!  Mom!  There is another cat!!

Who is he?  Charlie?  He's my brother?  I don't need a brother.  I have two sisters.  Why would I want a brother?

Mom!  Why isn't he looking at me?  Mom, where are his eyes? 

Mom, is he going to stay here?  Forever?  Are you sure?

OK.

Can I play with his toys?

Can I have some catnip now?

 

Charlie - My first days...

I'm settling in to my new home!  It's pretty good here.  The mom and dad are really nice people and I seem to have three sisters but we haven't been formally introduced yet.

I've got my regualar crunchies and some stinky fish stuff to eat.  And they have these things called treats.  Yum!  Dad wants to give me lots of them but Mom says not so many.   
 

I like being here.  They have nice quilts and solft beds and I have been napping here on the bed most of the day.  Here I am resting on Dad's pillow.  Some ladies came in a admired me and told me how handsome I am.  They brought a ball with a bell in it so I can find it when it rolls on the floor.

Today they brought a tree into the house.  What is that about?  It smells nice and I can hear my sisters talking about playing with it.  How do you play with a tree?  I guess I will find out.

Thanks to everyone who sent me notes and comments on mom's blog or on facebook.  I'm pretty sure I struck it rich here.  I'll keep you posted on how I am doing. 

Happy Catnip Treats, 
xox Charlie

A New Member of the Family - Charlie!

This is Charlie.

I've been working for the last few days to rescue Charlie from a kill shelter in NYC.  You may had seen him on my facebook page.  Yesterday, I drove to Staten Island and brought Charlie home just after midnight.

Charlie is a love bug, lap cat and a non-stop purr machine.  He is also blind.  He is 5 years old and has a lot of cat life (and love) left in him.

I was pretty car sick when I got home last night after trying to navigate the Jersey turnpike with a Garmin that wasn't aware of road work, detours and was about 100 yards wrong when it finally said that we had arrived.  But Phil being the excellent Cat Dad that he is slept about half of the short (about 4 hours) night on the bathroom floor to make sure Charlie settled in OK.

There will be more about Charlie soon.  What a brave little fellow to come through so much and still purr.  He reminds me a bit of Tommy Cat, the Zen Master.  When I saw Charlie's picture, Tommy whispered to me "save him."  And we have.  

And special thanks to Louise Harmon who saw his picture and said "we can do this" and then spent the better part of several days supporting the process.  You're the best!

~When you save a rescue animal you save two.  The animal and yourself.