Pumpkin Cookie Caturday Art

It's time for Athena's Caturday Art Blog Hop, and you better believe we have an autumnal doodle to share with you all.

I have been working on lots of new doodles in my sketchbook, and these days they all revolve around autumn and Halloween. Some of them are inspired by autumnal and Halloween ideas that randomly pop into in my head, some of them are inspired by autumnal images I've seen or spooky stories I've heard, and others are actually inspired by an autumnal book or two that I've been writing. Seeing that I love autumn and Halloween so much, I guess it was inevitable that these concepts infiltrate the stories I've always wanted to write. For the same reason, there are also lots of cats and other furry friends in my stories.

The above doodle is actually mildly inspired by a concept or two from an autumnal story I've been scribbling up. For the fun of it, I'll try to point out which of the doodles I share are inspired by some of the weird and wacky stories I'm writing. I write what I love, what I enjoy, what I know, and all that jazz, and I'll admit that makes my stories something strange sometimes. Have you read any of the poems I've written for the Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenges? The books and other stories I write are, more or less, a little something like those poems. Sort of.

Well, there I go rambling again. Can you believe that, in person, I'm more often accused of being too quiet and not talkative enough? You'd never know it with how much I blather on here.

Happy Caturday to all!

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Tip of the Day

We're in the midst of a series of tips for National Disaster Preparedness Month. Yesterday, we discussed preparing emergency supplies or a travel kit, so that you and your furbaby will be ready to handle a disaster, evacuation, and so forth, should the need arise. Today, we're here to remind you to go yet another step further and to have a plan. In other words, in the event of a disaster or other emergency, how and what will you do in order to ensure the safety of both your furbaby and yourself? For example, if you live in an area where disasters might make evacuation a possibility, have a safe destination secured, not only for yourself but for your furbaby as well. Do you know of a motel or hotel, or another similar shelter, where animals are allowed? Or, do you have friends or family where your kitty or pup will be allowed to stay? If necessary, research veterinary offices, boarding facilities, or other similar facilities out of harm's way, where your furbaby could be taken in the case of an emergency.

Emergency plans don't just relate to possible evacuations, though. For example, if you live in an area where tornadoes are a possibility, have a plan for what part of the house both you and your furbabies can safely hunker down. Pick a safe room in the center of the house, for example, and have a plan for getting your kitty or pup there in a hurry. If needed, have leashes, carriers, or other necessary tools ready. Depending on where you live and what your situation is, always think ahead to how you will keep both your furbaby and yourself safe in an emergency situation.

One last comment we'll make on this topic is to, as needed and possible, practice your emergency plans. Make sure that everyone in your home knows the plan, and that everyone will know their part in the action. Doing a trial run or two can never hurt, to ensure that everyone is on the same page, and that everything will run as smoothly as possible in an actual emergency.