Friendly Fill-Ins, the Letter O, and Adorable Eddy

Hello, friends! We're ready for the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge, and we'd love for you to join us. My amazing co-host Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two fill-in statements, and I came up with the second two.

1. If I had to choose a fictional world to live in it would be _________.

2. _________ is a book or movie that changed my life.

3. As a kid, I gave _________ the name _________.

4. If I had a parrot, I would teach it to say _________.


My answers are below in bold.

1. If I had to choose a fictional world to live in it would be Hogwarts and its magical surroundings.

(For me, this would actually be a tie between the aforementioned world from Harry Potter and Middle-earth from J.R.R. Tolkien's works. But, I let Harry Potter have this one since Tolkien gets #2 below. The magical worlds of Harry Potter and Middle-earth were both introduced to me as a kid, and they brought me so much joy. They still do. I'd truly visit them if I could.)

2. The Hobbit is a book that changed my life.

(It might be odd to have a fiction book as an answer to this sort of question, especially one in the fantasy genre. But, here we are. I've mentioned before the sentimental value Tolkien's The Hobbit has for me, as I remember my dad reading it to me as a bedtime story when I was a toddler. My dad also hand-drew a map of Middle-earth in his youth, and it hung in my playroom and fascinated me for my entire childhood. The Hobbit is what really got me into the world of stories and sparked my desire to consume as well as create them myself.)

3. As a kid, I gave my budgie bird the name Robin.

(My family had a budgie named Pippin when I was young. Linking this to my answers above, Pippin was named after a character from Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings, as were my first kitties Rosie and Sammy. But I digress. Budgie Pippin was my first real companion animal, before I even had kitties or pups in my life. I remember sweet Pippin and his big personality, even though he passed when I was only 4 or so years old. Soon after that, my parents got my sister and I each our own budgie bird. I've always loved robins, even when I was a small child, and I remember thinking it would be so funny to name my decidedly non-robin budgie bird after, well, a robin. And so that's what I did.)

4. If I had a parrot, I would teach it to say the lyrics to (Don't Fear) The Reaper.
(I was really trying to think of something different and more clever to put for this, but I'm coming up empty. That said, I wouldn't mind if a parrot wanted to sing me my favorite song. In addition, if anyone ever tried to break into my house, maybe hearing Blue Ӧyster Cult's (Don't Fear) The Reaper in a parrot's squawking voice would scare them away.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.

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Now it's time for another day of the April A to Z Challenge.

I'm of course still sharing fan art covers for some of my favorite books, but of course my book covers all star cats or other animals. Today we've reached the letter O, and for this one I let myself use an older doodle that matched the book I wanted to share. And that is the whimsical fantasy book Od Magic by Patricia McKillip, which is more or less about a magical gardener who attends a magical school.

[Reminder/Disclaimer/whatever you want to call it: This is not a real, true cover of this book. My name is also not Patricia McKillip, and so I am admittedly not the author of this book. I'm just someone who likes books and cats and so drew this unofficial feline version of the book's cover.]

I have a few other covers coming up for which I'll be using old doodles, just like I did for this one here. It's a bit of a crazy month, and so I told myself I was allowed to use old doodles for these book covers if I wasn't able to complete all of my new drawings in time. I'm determined to complete the full April A to Z Challenge because I'm really enjoying making these book covers, so I'd rather recycle and spruce up old drawings than have nothing to offer at all.

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And now we're of course here to give you your Eddy fix. Are you ready for the adorable lady and her gorgeous eyes? Here you go!

Eddy and all of us here wish you a fantastic Friday!

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Tip of the Day

The last parasite we'll be discussing in this parasitic series of tips is Toxoplasma gondii, which causes the disease known as toxoplasmosis. Though different animals can be affected, including cats, dogs, and humans, cats are the most prevalent. A cat can get toxoplasmosis from eating the infected muscle or organs of an animal, such as by eating a mouse or uncooked meat. The parasite can thereafter be passed through the cat's feces, and then other cats, dogs, or humans can acquire the disease after coming into contact with and ingesting such fecal matter.

Some cats with toxoplasmosis will display symptoms such as fever, lethargy, respiratory distress, or neurological disturbances. Symptoms are most often seen in cats who are immunocompromised, such as young kittens or the geriatric and sick. In most cases, though, especially in grown, healthy cats, no symptoms are noticed. It is even possible for a cat to indeed have toxoplasmosis for years, but to simply never display symptoms. This can also be the case in other animals, including humans. That being said, developing babies in utero can be at high risk for toxoplasmosis. This is why it is often recommended that women refrain from scooping their cat's litter box when pregnant.

To help prevent the transmission of toxoplasmosis, you can keep your kitty indoors, where they are less likely to come into contact with the feces of an infected animal or to ingest infected tissue from prey. Also ensure that any meat you feed your cat is cooked. Also keep all litter boxes scooped and cleaned. To protect yourself, always wash your hands well after scooping the litter box. Accidental transmission can occur simply from a person scooping the litter, not thoroughly washing their hands, and then touching their mouths or food. Dogs can also acquire toxoplasmosis by ingesting fecal matter, so keep your dogs away the litter box and fecal material they might find outdoors.

We're sure you all know this by now, but if you notice any concerning symptoms in your kitty, of course always have them examined by a veterinarian. Any questions or concerns regarding your cat's risk for diseases such as toxoplasmosis can of course be discussed with your vet as well. Even diseases such as toxoplasmosis, which often give off no symptoms at all, can be lethal in a compromised, untreated furbaby. So, as always, it's always better to be safe than sorry.