Saturday, October 1, 2016

Caturday Art: Pumpkins and Sunshine

Remember how last Saturday I bombarded you guys with a lengthy, long-winded post? Well, I'm doing it again this week! So many exciting and wordy things to share with you all!

First up is of course our primary contribution to the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by Athena.


Our art for today is actually going to be Day 1 of what I hope will be 31 consecutive days of Halloween art. Thanks to our good friends over at 15andmeowing, we were made aware of a fun Halloween Challenge going on throughout all of October. This challenge is being hosted by Jennifer Nichole Wells (JNW), who has created a calendar with a word prompt for each day of October. On that day, we are challenged to post something - whether it be a photo, art, a poem, or even a quote - relating to that word. So, I've decided to try and create a drawings each day in October, using JNW's daily Halloween prompts. Of course, I intend on having my Halloween art star furry critters.

The prompt for today is pumpkin. Being a huge fan of Snoopy and friends, I have seen It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown many, many times. Given my love for Snoopy, and adding to it today's prompt, I came up with this:


Did anyone notice that Snoopy has a stand-in in this drawing, though? Well, in case you're wondering, that's my pup Astrid in the great pumpkin patch itself. At least, that's what I envision up there in my head.


Now, next up is a fun and happy award for which our good friends over at The Cat on My Head nominated us. It's the Sunshine Blogger Award, which is meant to shed light on those fellow bloggers whose positivity and creativity you admire. Thank you so much, Kitties Blue and mom, for nominating us for the Sunshine Blogger Award!


There are some rules to follow with this award, and these rules are:

1. Thank the person who nominated you and add a link to their blog. (See above. But also, thank you again to the kitties and mom over at The Cat on My Head!)
2. Answer the 11 questions sent by the person who nominated you.
3. Nominate 11 other bloggers, adding their links and asking them 11 new questions.
4. Notify the bloggers you have nominated.

Our friends over at The Cat on My Head came up with some great questions. They are below, along with our answers written in italicized purple.

1. Who is your favorite author?
J.R.R. Tolkien. The man created not only an entire fantasy world, but also created details such as an entire language that he just sort of nonchalantly threw into that world. He's sort of my hero.

2. Why did you start blogging?
I think I primarily started blogging because of my sweet angel Rosie. Back when I started blogging, she was still with me on this earth. She was 20 years old, kicking renal disease in its rear end, and just loving life. Everyone who met her or found out about her always seemed so amazed by her and her spunky geriatric attitude, and I think that really spurred me to share her with the world.



Of course, when I started my blog a little over 2 years ago, I also had my pup Astrid, my special boy Evan, and very newly rescued Thimble, all to co-star on the blog as well.

3. Beach or mountains for vacation?
Mountains. Believe it or not and please don't hurt me, but I am not a huge fan of beaches. Mountains, though, I love.

4. What is your favorite indulgence?
Sweets. Anything sweet is my Achilles' heel. Chocolate, cookies, brownies, ice cream, candy, you name it. Even sweet fruits, like grapes and watermelon, will go right down my gullet.


5. If you had an unlimited amount of money, what would you do with it?
I would love to donate large amounts of funds to animal shelters and rescues, both local and in other areas. I have some favorite shelters and rescues that I would love to donate large chunks of money to regularly. I don't know how strange of a dream this is, but I'd also love to construct at least one large mansion of a house built heavily around the needs and health and happiness of animals. Lots of open space, safe and secure outdoor areas and patios, giant windows, all that jazz. I would love to have such a place for the purpose of being able to foster animals in need of a place to stay, especially those at shelters and rescues that are low on space of their own. (I would probably end up with roughly a gazillion foster fails, but so be it.) 

Of course I'd also love to donate extra to other charities dear to me, as well as pay off my house, my parents' house, help out family and friends in need, spoil rotten my own furbabies as well as all the others in my life, etc., etc.

6. If you could live any place in the world, where would it be?
My home. Indeed, places like the mountains or areas of Ireland and Italy would be gorgeous to live. But, I am happy with my familiar surroundings, and would ultimately rather be close to my family. So, I'd stay right where I am.

7. What is your favorite form of exercise?
I actually enjoy cardio exercise. I love to do dance routines designed for cardio workout (don't get any wrong ideas here - I am far from a pro dancer). I also like using my exercise bike, which allows me to read or even work on my blog while I pedal away. And bicycling outdoors in nice weather is also a favorite of mine.


8. What is the most unusual job you've ever had?
My first job after graduating college was working at the large animal clinic of the university I had attended. I temporarily worked as an animal caretaker there. While I greatly enjoyed working with the horses, as well as the cows and other animals, there were aspects of this job that were, to put it mildly, quite an experience. This is in large part because this job not only entailed feeding and otherwise caring for the animal patients, but also dealing with those that, sadly, didn't survive. I have worked in a similar position at a small animal clinic as well, and I'm sorry to sound dark and morbid, but let me tell you, handling the body of a 10 lb cat is so much simpler than handling that of a 1,500 lb horse. There were forklifts and pulleys and all sorts of machinery and manhandling required, not to mention the cleanup afterwards. As I said, this job was certainly an experience.

9. What was your first job?
I started dog-walking and pet-sitting for neighbors when I was 11 years old, and I began baby-sitting not long after that. I did both of those through the end of grade school and then all the way through high school and college.


10. Do you believe in ghosts?
No, I don't believe in ghosts. Angels, though, I do believe they exist.

11. Where do you get your news: newspaper, TV, computer?
Computer. I am far from tech savvy, but I do get most of my news from a computer.


For the next part of this award, we came up with 11 questions of our own:

1. How many animals have you had in your lifetime thus far?
2. Do you have a favorite blog topic, blog hop, or blogging day?
3. What is your favorite book?
4. If you had to change your first name, what new name would you choose?
5. Are you an early bird or a night owl?
6. What is your favorite holiday?
7. What is your dream job?
8. How many siblings do you have?
9. What is your favorite candy?
10. What is your absolute least favorite food?
11. What do you call it: pop or soda? (Or something else altogether?)


Next up is nominating 11 other bloggers. All of the blogs we read in this blogging community give us inspiration. We know so many bloggers deserving of this award, as all of you are so positive and creative in your own ways. That's what makes this community so great!

Below is our list of the 11 bloggers we are nominating for this particular award. That being said, as I always say, if you are listed here, please do not feel any obligation to complete this challenge. I know and completely understand that not everyone has the time or desire to complete posts like this. I myself found this award to be great fun. But, again, please do not feel pressured to complete this if you do not wish to. (On the other hand, if you want to join in on the fun but don't see your name listed below, please feel free to join in anyway. I certainly won't stop you!)

1. Melissa's Mochas, Mysteries, and Meows
2. Zoolatry
3. 15andmeowing
4. Marg's Animals
5. Animal Shelter Volunteer Life
6. Lucy's Lounge
7. Cat Chat with Caren and Cody
8. Dakota's Den (If you choose to participate, feel free to use the same answers, Cody and Dakota. I just had to include you both!)
9. Stunning Keisha
10. The Island Cats
11. Chat Aux Sphynx


So, that concludes this hefty post. We'll be back tomorrow with some Sunday selfies, from whichever furbaby or furbabies decide to cooperate. And, we'll have our creation for Day 2 of JNW's Halloween Challenge.

Happy Caturday to all!


***
Our Tip of the Day:
Although many of us would love to share our lives with as many furbabies as possible, please always be honest with yourself regarding how many cats, dogs, or other critters you can realistically have in your life. This requires that you consider the amount of space you have at your home, as well as finances. It is of course important to ensure that each furbaby is comfortable, happy, and healthy, so please take that into significant consideration when determining the number of furbabies you can handle. Don't forget, too, that some cities have laws limiting the number of animals you can legally keep in your home. And, please also consider all of this in terms of your family, friends, and neighbors as well. If you know someone you believe is hoarding animals in any way, please take action to help those animals, as well as the hoarder. Signs of an animals hoarder will have more animals than can comfortably live in the home, and so you'll often find that such animals are unclean, undernourished, and overall failing to thrive. Other red flags include urine, feces, or other such unsanitary debris throughout the house, and sometimes far worse and severe signs of neglect. If you find yourself concerned that you know an animal hoarder, please do what you can to obtain help not only for the animals involved, but for the hoarder as well.

17 comments:

Alastriona, The Cats and Dogs said...

We love J.R.R. Tolkien too and guess what Mommy loves the Mountains, and wishes we lived closer to mountains. She isn't that keen on beaches although the dogs do enjoy their beach walk with the Mom, but they said their recent walk in the woods was a real treat, Fenris even went wading in the Pearl River. So Mountains would be our first choice, than woods and beaches come in third.

pilch92 said...

Great post filled with lots of fun things. I am impressed that you are going to do a drawing a day for the challenge- I can't wait to see them all. I love your first one and Astrid makes a great stand in to Snoopy :) Congratulations on your well-deserved award and thank you for choosing us to receive it as well :) I enjoyed learning more about you. I love the drawing of you as a little girl walking dogs. It is nice to know someone out there isn't a beach fan.Your angle Rosie was a beautiful girl, you were blessed to have her for so long, but no amount of time is ever long enough.
Excellent tip, I try very hard to follow this. I know I had 15 and now have 13, but I am going to try not to adopt anymore because many are getting older and I know their medical bills are going to be more costly. Have a nice day and enjoy decorating.

Marg said...

That is such a great post. Loved hearing all that about you. We sure like the same things. Also this is so exciting that you are doing a drawing every day for Halloween. This will be great fun. Thanks so much for nominating us for the award. Don't know if I can do it with my hand being silly. But it would be fun to do. Rosie was such a pretty cat and we are so glad that you started blogging.

Kitties Blue said...

First, I love all the art. I am a huge panda fan. Prior to having my current vanity license plate of PRRFCT, I had PANDAS. Your questions for those you are passing this to are terrific. I wanted to answer a couple if that is okay: Name: Johanna (my name is actually a variation of that); night owl; including the animals we had growing up (except birds) 35 so far; favorite candy is anything 85% chocolate and the truffles from Blondel, a chocolate shop in Lausanne, Switzerland, where they are made on-site; anything See's in dark chocolate but especially California Crunch. Rosie was a beauty. I sure hope calico Lily makes it to 20. She's a feisty one. Your answers were terrific. I can tell you put lots of thought into this. Thanks for accepting this award. Hugs, Janet

Annie Bear said...

I love Astrid in the pumpkin patch! I love the Peanuts too. I enjoyed reading all your answers and getting to know you better. The accompanying pics are adorable. It's always nice to see your sweet Rosie. Thanks for nominating us. It may take us a while but we'll do our best to participate. It will be fun to see all your Halloween pictures!

Athena Cat Goddess Wise Kitty said...

Your art is just so beautiful!

Great questions and answers. I agree - don't like beaches (unless they're quiet and secluded) and I prefer mountains but most of all I love forests :)

Purrs xx
Athena and Marie

The Swiss Cats said...

Concatulations on your award ! How cool that you're entering the Halloween challenge : we're looking forward to seeing your Halloween art every day ! Purrs

Memories of Eric and Flynn said...

Your Halloween picture is lovely and I will look forward to seeing them. Congrats on your award. We don't have mountains near us, but I prefer moorland to beaches.

Melissa, Mudpie and Angel Truffles (Mochas, Mysteries and Meows) said...

31 days of Halloween art??? Oh, am I ever looking forward to seeing this! And I always enjoy challenge questions and we thank you for the nomination :) We'll get to working on our answers!

Cathy Keisha said...

Love your It's the Great Pumpkin, Astrid. MOL! Looking at the questions I have to answer, I notice most are geared toward human answers.

The Island Cats said...

We just love your art work! And thanks for giving us the award. We'll do our best to answer your questions, though we probably will have to let the mom answer most. :)

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Congratulations!!!! Thank you for including both of our blogs! We received this award quite some time ago, but are going to try and participate because it HAS been so long! I would like to know, HOW do you write your blog while being on an exercise bike???? lol!!! Seriously!!!! We adore your artwork and the Great Pumpkin special is one of our all time faves!!! catchatwithcarenandcody

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Congratulations!!!! Thank you for including both of our blogs! We received this award quite some time ago, but are going to try and participate because it HAS been so long! I would like to know, HOW do you write your blog while being on an exercise bike???? lol!!! Seriously!!!! We adore your artwork and the Great Pumpkin special is one of our all time faves!!! catchatwithcarenandcody

meowmeowmans said...

Congratulations on your wonderful (and very well-deserved) award! You always bring sunshine to our day. And we really enjoyed learning more about you. :)

Thank you for passing it along to us! We're so honored!

meowmeowmans said...

Oh, and 31 days of your Halloween-themed artwork? Woohoo!

Mariodacat said...

Congratulations on your awesome award. We'll try to return and see the selfies!

Connie - Tails from the Foster Kittens said...

That is my dream as well... when I consider what I might do with lottery winnings.. I also buy a fleet of spay neuter vans that are self contained so they can go into communities that need it and do low cost / subsidized neutering.