
The cat sat on the textured mat
A filter changed its shape
It’s spikey and crinkly
Coloured and wrinkly
But the cat is relaxed
Not very fat
Contented on the mat.
New paintings and regular art updates.

The cat sat on the textured mat
A filter changed its shape
It’s spikey and crinkly
Coloured and wrinkly
But the cat is relaxed
Not very fat
Contented on the mat.

Lino cut cat from last year. The curve at the back could be from a snail shell. This is another technique I would like to pramore this year. I think I will try and create card sets, hopefully without cutting my fingers. You also have to remember to carve back to front or letters are the wrong way round. If you have ever tried this you can feel the carving tools slipping on the surface of the lino. You have to push quite hard to cut down into it but not too deep or you can split the lino. The kit I bought had a safety carving blade which is the safest way to carve. I look forward to doing some more.

I don’t want to worry you doctor, but I don’t think the tablets you gave me worked? You see I’m still coughing, and I keep wheezing, and I feel odd…
Thank you for examining me. So you can hear the wheeze? Oh, more like a purr? How odd.
Now look doctor, I don’t understand. What do you mean, feline blood? No my family keep cats, they aren’t actually cats!
But it doesn’t make sense, I am not licking my cat! How can it be? A Furball? That’s what I’m coughing up?….. That’s Mad! And why have my pupils suddenly gone from round to slits? Oh doctor, am I turning into a Werecat!? Is that your diagnosis?

My cat last night
Upside down,
Playing with a toy
Belly exposed
Excited and charming
Relaxed and fat!
Funny and playful
Twisting and twirling
A black and white whirlwind
Happy and purring!

No photos of last night’s fireworks! This was from two years ago, January 1st 2021. It was far too noisy last night. The cats were frantic as what seemed like hundreds of fireworks went off in about ten minutes around where we live. Bang, Boom, Crash, Flash. I had the curtains closed but could still see flashes of light through them. I just talked calmly to the cats and turned the sound up on the television to drown out the noise. After about twenty minutes it calmed down and the cats relaxed. The amount of money spent on fireworks last night must have been huge. I wish they would only sell quiet fireworks. I think you can get them.

Stick his tongue out at you?
While he’s lounging on your knee?
Does your cat stick his claws in?
When he kneads your belly.
Does your cat close his eyes?
When you give him mince pies?
And as a surprise
he just drinks the cream!
Merry New Year
You cheeky creature!

Nice to go upstairs and find a cat snuggled on the bed. It was different with one of our old cats though. She would crawl under the covers so you didn’t know she was there until she nipped your toe or ankle! This one sometimes gets under the sheets for a few minutes when I’m already in bed, a quick few purrs then I think she gets too hot and goes off into her hidey hole in the wardrobe where I have an old crocheted blanket. I’m glad we have cats.

Today’s #bandofsketchers prompt was pets. This is one of our black and white cats, his eyes are very dark gold so when he’s in shadow they are hard to see. He’s the biggest of our rescue cats, he used to be the outside cat but has migrated in and now lives happily with our other two.

Our new phone turned up, not as good as the original one, its lighter and looks “generic”, the screen isn’t coloured and has no logo. Clearly a cheaper value, but it works. We had to move a cupboard to get at the electric socket to plug it in. That meant moving several years worth of books, old letters, ornaments, trinkets and tranklements. I found a few things I thought I had lost….. I also unearthed the paper shredder… Might be useful!
Then… Deep breath, inputting numbers. Each one by hand. The old phone would not release the numbers I had on it. So I had to look them up on my mobile and transpose them onto the land-line. The trouble was that I wasn’t sure what had been on the land-line so I may have added a few more from my mobile than I needed to. But the problem is the new phone has automatic call barring, so I might have blocked some friends if I hadn’t copied them. First World problem? Yes. But hubby ended up like a caver underneath the cupboard trying to work out where the plug socket was. The cats enjoyed exploring the space too…

I laughed when I saw him this morning. Paws straight out in front of him, like he was going to gambole off the cushion and bounce on the floor! So comical. It reminded me of a diver spinning towards the water, or a trampolinist spinning somersaults. I took one grainy, dark photo and he woke, so I’ve had to edit the photo, because he moved into a normal, cat curled up, position. If I could I would print this on either side of a circle of card. Punch two small holes in the centre and run a loop of string through. When you twist and stretch the string the cat would bounce and twirl!