Chatting with Sparkle, Binga & Boodie

We are pleased to have Sparkle the Designer Cat, along with her roommates Binga & Boodie, as our interview subjects today.  If you already know Sparkle, you know she is a very busy working kitty, so we were fortunate to get her to sit down and answer some questions. 

Binga & Boodie are quiet and pretty.  Sparkle did the talking,while they nodded and smiled.  A very sweet kitty family.

 We hope you will go by Mousebreath to read their story: Sparkle the Designer Cat … with Binga & Boodie.

And they'd be happy to have you stop by to say hello on Sparkle the Designer Cat blog too.

We really need to get a new badge.  Poor Micah is going to spend the rest of his life in therapy.  Percy hates him and after 2 months, he's still not on our badge.  Hang in with us, Micah!  We'll get you there as soon as we can.  (Ann of Zoolatry designed our Funny Farmer Feline badges - this one and the "I was interviewed" badge, and as you all know she's extra busy.)

Judi of Sammy & Andy's blog died Wednesday afternoon after months of illness and she will be missed by many.. 

We Love Poppy Q Day

WE LOVE POPPY Q DAY!

We Funny Farmer Felines did an interview with Poppy Q last Friday, the same day she posted she'd been told she had to buy more more photo storage for her blog.

In a strange coincidence, quite a number of bloggers seem to have run out of storage at the same time. We've posted on this a number of times in the past and even wrote a "tutorial" on how to lower your storage usage.  A Blip On the Radar and Miss Peach are just two of the others who have been caught in the Picasa storage trap.  So we again warn you to check your Picasa storage and if you don't know how, read our "tutorial" post on it - .Vibrating Dogs and Picasa. 


We sent Poppy's mom the link to our Picasa "tutorial" but when she tried to get into Picasa, she could not enter without signing up for Google+.  Why this happened to her when others have been able to log into their Picasa account without being forced to sign up is beyond us. She didn't want to create a profile for Google+, as many of us don't, and it is just plain wrong to bully folks into joining!

Sadly, her mom typed in Poppy's birthdate and since she is 6, the entire Google account was deleted.  That's why you can't find Poppy's blog online.

Google wants copies of personal ID and way too much personal information to get the blog restored, so her mom will be making a decision in the next few days as to whether to continue blogging and if so, where..  Poppy was among our first blogging friends - possibly even our first.  We hate that this is happening to her and her mom and we want them to know we support them.  And miss them.

Losing several years worth of work and photos in a heartbeat is crushing.  Julie takes great photos of Poppy and makes a quiet, simple life interesting to read.. Today we would like to let our friends know we love and support them.  We hope they will return, if not to Blogger, perhaps using another means.

So we proclaim today We Love Poppy Q Day!  At least on our blog.  (You're welcome to use the graphic we made for the interview if you'd like to join.)

Tuesday Update:  Poppy Q's blog has been offline since Saturday night (our time) but her blog is back online today.  She still can't get rid of the Google+ signup, but she is back!

Poppy Q Interview

We were honored to interview the lovely Poppy Q this week.  She was one of our first blogging friends.
You will want to stop by Mousebreath to read Paddington Lil Poppy Pitstop … A.K.A. Poppy Q. And then we hope you will go by and tell Poppy how much you enjoyed getting to know her better.

Oh, if you live in the US, we hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving yesterday. 

Happy Thanksgiving 2012

Okay, you don't have to remind us.  We know this is an old Dr Seuss Day graphic and tomorrow is Thanksgiving.  But we need to take our hats off in a bit, so we grabbed the first hat pic we found.  Hang in with us..

Monday we posted the musical video Angel Flight about the USAF pilots who fly their fallen brothers home.  It's a beautiful song.  And it even makes grown men teary.  Today Jan looked up Radney Foster, who co-wrote and performs it, on Facebook.  Then she looked up Darden Smith, the guy who had the original idea and asked Foster to help him with it.  There she found a link to something called Song Writing With Soldiers, a retreat for soldiers - young or old - to get together, talk about their experiences and write songs together.

“This isn’t about guys sitting around and singing songs,” said Anne Marie Dougherty, director of the Bob Woodruff Foundation. “This is about suicide prevention and giving them hope and confidence to get on with their life.”  We hope you will visit SongWritingWithSoldiers and read about the program. 

Okay, now we need the hats -
We'd like to take our hats off to Darden Smith and all those associated / involved with this program. What a great way to help men and women.

And if you haven't watched the Angel Flight video yet, we hope you will.  Since we only learned of this beautiful song recently, we didn't realize it was written in 2009, and has been sung at at least a few "fallen soldier" funerals.

We're supposed to be thinking of things we're grateful for this week.  Actually every day, but especially as Thanksgiving approaches.  We know we have a lot to be thankful for - a roof over our heads, kibble in the bowls, toys for Sam to eat, etc.

And you know Jan has to be thankful for us.  She better be!  What would she do without us? 

We give her a reason to get up in the morning - walk us woofies and feed all us furries! 

We keep her limber bending over to pick up everything the kitties have dumped on the floor (for the umpteenth time). 

We keep her dancing.  (Stepping over yakked up hairballs.) 

And we keep her singing.  (Merci, stop piddling around and get your butt in here!  Rusty, don't you dare run out that door!  Percy, stop picking on Micah! Percy, you're supposed to pee IN the pan, not pee OVER it!. *Notice who gets picked on the most.*  Not very melodious but Jan can't carry a tune anyway.)

But for some reason she's been sitting down in the dumps this week so we should close and go find her in case she's gotten lost again.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Buddy Is Happy 8

Happy 8th Birthday, Buddy!

Love, Merci, Cyndi, Percy, Cameron, Rusty, Sam & Micah
    Oh, yeah ... and the computer hog, Jan

As usual, Jan was too lazy ... um, too busy to bake Buddy a birthday cake.  But Gracie sent him a party hat and card - and a cake.  She said he don't even have to share it.  Thanks, Gracie!

** Um, Buddy, you are going to share, aren't you?**

But don't worry.  I'll share it.  Come on over and have a piece.

(We had this post almost ready to go last night, but we got kicked off the computer before we could finish, so, although Jan did remember this year, we're still late getting our post up.) 

A while ago we came across a cute cat blog but we hadn't been able to visit for a while. When we did, we found fun posts.  Please stop by Cattales from Barn Cat Mansion to meet the ... well, the barn cats that live there.  You'll enjoy it.

If you missed our post yesterday on the very special USAF Angel Flights, do go check it out.

USAF Angel Flights

Hey, remember us, Merci, Sam & Buddy?  The Funny Farmer Felines keep hogging the posts with their Mousebreath interviews and Jan keeps hogging the computer, so we don't get to post very often and we keep getting overlooked.  But we're still here.  Today we have something special for you.


Veterans Day was November 11 and we wish we had known about this musical video then, but we didn't and we like it so much, we're going to post it a week late.  Grab a box of tissues cause we doubt you'll make it through without tears.

This video begins with Radney Foster, Darden Smith and Darius Rucker giving a short explanation of why / how the song was written  For those who are not aware, the U.S. Air Force Angel Flights bring home our fallen military (heroes).  

Co-writers Foster & Smith are donating proceeds to a charity that provides assistance to military families of the fallen.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Many thanks to all our veterans, including those who ride - as well as those who fly - the Angel Flights

We prepared this yesterday and don't have time to write a new post, so w apologize this teary video falls on the same day the cat blogging community lost the lovely Miss Huffle Mawson. It is doubly sad since her family is traveling out of the country. 

And the dog blogging community lost the adorable Princess Isis. Isis was Hansel's cousin.  Isis's' blog will be closing now. 

Chatting with Katie Isabella

The beautiful mousie killer, Katie Isabella, is our guest today.  She is an animated conversationalist and we had a good time. You can meet her or learn more about her in her Mousebreath interview by our Funny Farmer Felines.  And then stop by Katie's blog to say hello. 

We should be changing our FFF badge soon to add Micah.  He is very much a part of the FFF, even if he and Percy are still soooooo far from being friends..They're both adopted so they're brothers.

Don't forget to contact Marg if you have any items for the auction.  It starts Monday.

Oh, dear, we finished this a while ago and Jan took over the computer before we could publish it.  Thankfully, it's still here, didn't get deleted. You'd think if she can steal our typing chair, she could hit publish for us.  But we hadn't titled it yet, so good thing she didn't decide to "help" us.

Since she  interrupted us, we'll tell a tail ... um, tale on her.  The other morning she put the filter and coffee in the coffee machine, like she does every morning.  After she'd walked the woofies and fed all of us, she started the coffee and eggs.  But the coffee was clear.  Where did she put the coffee grounds?  Not in the coffeemaker or the fridge!  Oh, the jar was on the table.  She started a pot of actual coffee and then found coffee grounds in her empty cup.  We're getting almost afraid to let her out of our sight.  Anyone know where we can get a leash and harness large enough for her?

Mayzie, Shrunk the Pig, TCC

We don't want to forget to mention Mayzie's Wag n' Swag fundraiser..  It will run through this week.

The fundraiser is to help furry victims of Superstorm Sandy.  Stop by Mayzie's blog for complete details.

Hey, we got the Honey I Shrunk the Pig award from Miss Bassie.

It's because we're a multi-animal household but we think it's cute. And of course we're soooooo deserving. :)

We'd like to pass it on and hope these bloggers haven't already received it.

•  Team Tabby

• da tabbies o trout towne

• A Tonk's Tale

• Alasandra, The Cats & A Dog

• The Island Cats 

Thanks for sharing with us, Mizz Bassie.

Oh, and we - Percy, Rusty and Micah - would like to remind you The Tabby Cat Club is holding an Open House tomorrow (Thursday, November 15) to celebrate our 1-year anniversary.  Plan to stop by.  If we know Gracie, there will be lots of food and fun.

Good thing Gracie's mom takes care of the food and Jan only had to make the header.  If Jan was fixing the food,  you'd all starve unless you like peanut butter and crackers.  Jan forgets to cook.  Can you believe that?  Is it any wonder we furries are all skin and bones?.  No pot roast, no mashed taters and gravy, no chicken and dumplings, no cheesecake with real whipped cream ....  We better stop here.  We're getting hungry.  Maybe we can call for take-out and delivery?  Hey, guys, any of you know where to find a dollar around here?

Plan to stop by the Tabby Cat Club tomorrow. 

Thanks for Serving

Yesterday was Veterans Day but our town held it's annual observation ceremony at 11 a.m. this morning in a nearby park instead of at the courthouse.

This is Billy J. from the Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), one of the many veterans present today.  He was the local VFW Commander for most of the years Jan was with the VFW Auxiliary.  He was a highly patriotic, high energy, keep the veterans in the public eye, go-getter type Commander.

There is always an impressive number of participants from the local high school.  This is the UL NJROTC lining up before the ceremony.

More NJROTC members, including the Color Guard, marching and carrying the flags. Those on the pavilion spoke in one capacity or another.

The UL High School Band.

Amazing Grace on the bagpipes.

And Taps concludes the ceremony (bugler is on far right).

A group shot of most of the veterans who attended today.  We owe each a debt of gratitude for their service.

Honoring Our Vets

We're a little late getting a post up today but we do want to do a quick one.  Today is a day when we honor our military veterans.  It's Veterans Day in the United States and Remembrance Day in the United Kingdom and Canada.

We salute all the veterans who have given so much for us to have the freedom to make this post.. 

This is Jan's favorite Veterans Day video, so we are posting it as thanks for her allowing us to use the computer first today.  (And we have to admit, we've grown fond of it too.)  If you've heard it before, it is worth listening to again.  GI Joe and Lillie written and performed by Joe Bonsall of the Oak Ridge Boys.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Faraday, Allie and Maxwell Speak

This week we Funny Farmer Felines interviewed 3 saucy siblings, so please stop by to meet and greet ... oh, guess we mean to read A Tail ... er, Tale of Faraday, Allie & Maxwell on Mousebreath.

Buddy Hits Delete and Harry Wins

Shhhhhhh, Buddy here.  I don't want Jan to recognize me, but it's really me.  I came across this terrifying video of Jesse.  You remember Jesse, the dog that performs "useful" tricks and all the humans think he's wonderful.  Well, he isn't!  He's could end life as we dogs presently know it.  We could all end up having to ... shudder ... w-o-r-k for our kibble.

Yeah, Jesse is cute but he's been brainwashed into thinking he's having fun.  Whatever you do, do not .... not ...not let your human watch this video.  But you furries need to watch it so you'll know what you're up against.  When you're done, hit the delete button and don't let on you've ever even heard of this video.

Can you imagine Jan expecting Sam and I to ... do housework?  That's fine for Merci.  She's a girl.  But we're big manly woofies.  Well, neither Sam nor I would mind carrying Jan's breakfast to her plate since it would have an accident on the way.  And we wouldn't mind washing dishes the old fashioned way.  But real housework?  Naaaaah. 

Is your human out of the room?  Okay, hit the play button.  .


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Now hit DELETE!  Quick, before your human arrives.

Congratulations to Harry Spotter for winning the Presidential Election by a landslide.  All 8 of us voted for him cause we think he had the best platform.  

Ludo and Coupons

Ludo's Auntie Penny died Sunday.  She was old and dearly loved. Purrs and pawhugs for Ludo's family. You can visit them on the Ludo, Ludwig van Doggy blog.


Jan was surprised to take one of those fancy coupons with a foil Purina logo to Petsense recently for a free bag of Purina cat food and have it refused by the store manager, who said they no longer take any coupon over $5 because they were not getting paid for them!  She made Jan feel as if she was personally responsible for the problem.  In the past, Petsense was very cooperative, even sending down a bag from their Griffin store a couple of times when Jan had a free voucher in order to do a pet food blog review.  So Jan emailed someone who is now at the company's Scottsdale, Arizona headquarters and asked about this. 

He responded, "We stopped accepting manufacturer's coupons for free bags a few months ago when we noticed a large uptick in the amount of fraud. When we accept a coupon, we don't know if the coupon is valid for over a month, after a clearing house processes it. We found that company-wide, we were losing hundreds of dollars a month because of fake coupons."

We understand any store not wanting to lose money to any type of fraud, but since we're a multiple pet household of limited means, Jan dances a jig (no pictures available) whenever she receives a free coupon..  We assume the coupon fraud problem is national, so we're curious -

Have any of you had a problem using a valid coupon - free or otherwise - at any store (not just Petsense) in your area? 

Oh, in case any of you saw a strange post from us in your Reader or on Facebook yesterday, we apologize for Miss Bad-Aim.  We were working on today's post when Jan said she needed the computer, reached over Percy, and hit "publish" before he could hit "save."  Yes, it was Jan's bad aim that gave you our notes before today's post.  . 

Squashie

We were sad to learn this morning that Squashies' mom had to make the hard decision to help her to the bridge today.  We know the pain of loss, as do so many of you who have walked the same path.

We send Squashies' family many hugs from Jan, purrs and pawhugs.from us furries. Rest in peace, sweet girl. 

You can visit her family on TK, Squashies & Pip - Furrever Home.

The first graphic is by Zoolaty and the second by Alasandra, the Cats & a Dog

Micah Announces Book Winner

Hey, Micah here again. You won't believe what happened yesterday. Jan lost me. In the house, no less. She brought that big noisy machine into my bedroom again and I got so scared I forgot all about Percy and ran to hide. And then she couldn't find me. She moved furniture, crawled the floor, hollered for me. But I wasn't anywhere. She finally gave up and figured I'd turn up when I was hungry. 

And I did turn up 2 1/2 hours later.  She went into the kitchen to feed her face ... um, to feed the dogs and then fix herself some dinner, and there I was.  Tucked in a corner with Rusty and Percy watching me. She picked me up and put me on a warm blankie on a tall table near the computer.  I was worn out and went to sleep with Rusty and Percy standing guard to make sure I didn't fall off the table.  (Ha! As if they cared!).

Yep, there I am in front of the bookcase in the living room and for once I am not getting beaten up by Percy.  Later, Jan carried me back to my bedroom and I spent Sunday recuperating from that big adventure underneath the short table I like to hide ... er, nap under.  This place is exhausting!  No peace, no privacy.  And Percy is everywhere.  Jan is calling him Houdini.

And now for our news.  We would like to thank all of you that entered our book giveaway. Yesterday we made a numbered list of all the entries and Random.org picked #2 as the winner.

We are pleased to announce that Brian was #2 on the list and he will receive a hardbound copy of Paws to Reflect by Devon O'Day. Congratulations, Brian! 

We saw a lot of peace globes yesterday.  So much talent and so many innovative ideas among the pet bloggers.  We came across one last night we'd like to share with you.  It will only take a moment to pop over and see it at Ask Fisher. 

Dona Nobis Pacem

The lovely Cyndi and handsome Buddy are our 2012 blogging for peace spokesfurries.

Don't forget to enter your peace globe post in the blog hop at Blogblastforpeace.com.

A Chat with Wally, Ernie and Zoey

This week we interviewed The Island Cats, Wally, Ernie & Zoey. We hope you will go by to read Island Living with Wally, Ernie & Zoey on Mousebreath. You just might learn something new about them. Or not.

Don't forget Sunday, November 4th is Blogblast for Peace.

This was our 2011 peace globe.  We have a new one all ready to go Sunday.


You can pick up your peace globe here.  And find directions here.

Have a good weekend.