Iron Paw Jenny

CAMERON: It's weekend art time again.  Our subject today is Jenny, one of the original Funny Farmers.

RUSTY:  Jenny was before my time.  Sam, Micah and Marcus did not meet her either, but we've all heard stories about how she ruled the roost with an iron paw!

MARCUS: This is Jenny in sepia for the Sepia Saturday blog hop hosted by Ruckus the Eskie and Earl & Ethel.  You know this is my favorite because it reminds me of the color Dirt.

SAM:  Even in black and white, you can tell Jenny had a soft, beautiful coat.  She loved to be brushed. 

MICAH:  Jan used the HDR-ish filter for this picture so we can join the Caturday Art blog hop hosted by Athena. 

PERCY:  For this one, she added Filtered Black and White to the HDR-ish picture above.

MERCI:  She couldn't resist adding a DUO Tone filter.  Jenny was a lovely cat and she looks good in any color.

CYNDI:  We can't forget a copy of the original photo for comparison.  I wonder what Jenny was thinking.

BUDDY:  Last night Murphy and Stanley made us aware a site has been publishing posts complete with photos stolen from a number of dog bloggers.  (We aren't included.)  They are one of those blogs with stolen posts. Murphy and Stanley and others are working on having the site shut down.  We have an idea they are angry!  And we don't blame them a bit.

MICAH:  What would be funny, if it weren't for the circumstances, is that Murphy and Stanley began to post a notice to the effect, if this post appears anywhere except ..... it is stolen in bright red text.  Those posts are boldly copied to the other site too.  And dzdogs posted an Important Annoucement with information on what those with a stolen blog should do, which was promptly stolen.  We think it's fitting the thieves should help take themselves down.  (Hard to argue they weren't stealing material when what they're posting clearly states it is stolen.)

SAM:  You would think whoever is doing this, possibly copying and pasting from an RSS feed, would notice what they are publishing. 

CAMERON:  Romping and Rolling in the Rockies is another of the blogs.  We understand they had a lot of photos - and they post beautiful photos - stolen and now have them "locked down", which sounds like a good idea. Now their posts have been stolen.  They have made their "do not steal" information highly visible. 

CYNDI:  It has been suggested that anyone who has their RSS feed set to FULL change it to SHORT so an entire post can not be stolen without a little invested effort.  Having a watermark did not stop the thieves but at least ownership can not be disputed.

PERCY:  We understand Wordpress has a plugin (?) that adds copyright information to the feeds, so those of you using WP might want to look into that.  Blogger needs something similar.  

Not A Rembrandt

Good morning, Cameron here to share something nice with you. This was supposed to publish yesterday but our church changed our Wednesday Bible study to Tuesday this week and we got a bit confused when Jan came home and, thinking it was then Wednesday, we scheduled the post for Thursday.  Are you confused?  You've got nothing on us!  And Jan is always confused so if we had asked her what day it was, she would have told us it was already Thursday. 

Things have been kind of ... well, discouraging around here for some time, so when Jan got an opportunity to design a photo canvas for our wall, she decided to uplift us (translate that as uplift herself) with a special design, one to remind her we are blessed despite the trials.

She chose some light, cheery colors.  We helped her pick out some photos with a positive theme, so of course we Funny Farmers got a place of honor.  We insisted our Georgia "angel" furries - Jenny, Grayce, Crystal and Cotton - be included since we loved having each as part of our family and each is greatly missed.  Jan tried to take a photo of the finished product but none did it justice, so we're just going to post a copy of the original graphic.  (The canvas is 16 x 20".)

All we have to do now is decide where to hang it.  It will probably end up on the wall facing us as we take turns working at the computer.  It isn't a Rembrandt, but hopefully it will be a positive reminder to Miss I-Can't-Remember-Anything of some positives in her life.

We hope all of you have many positives in your life too.  (There is a second part to this post but it won't arrive until next week.)

As long as this is publishing on Thankful Thursday, we'd like to express our gratitude to a couple of very dedicated and generous neighbors who traveled to Atlanta every week for the past nine years to pick up a truckload of bread and rolls and, occasionally, sweets to distribute to local residents.

"The bread truck" was an old panel truck purchased specifically for the purpose.  One had to step waaaay high to get into it, so they built a ramp with a rail so even the old and disabled could climb inside to "shop" for bread. 

One morning a week, folks would gather in a local church parking lot.  Some drove a nice vehicle but were perhaps out of work or with a large family, some from a nearby assisted living home, folks from any walk of life.  Sometimes Jan would see a trash truck stop and the driver get in line.  It didn't matter who you were, if you needed bread, you could help yourself to whatever the limit was that day.  One day all you needed, some days only two loaves of bread and some bagels or English muffins.

When they first started, the bread truck would be crammed chock full of break and goodies, but over time, more groups vied for the same amount of bread and then sometimes the pickings would be mighty, mighty slim.She always came home upbeat when she'd found some rye bread among the loaves and even happier when she could get an extra rye for her brother, Mr. Doug.  They both love it.  Rye is too expensive for our budget, so she's going to miss it. 

There was no charge, but Jan always tried to remember to drop a dollar or two into the jar to help with the price of gas. It's sad to think of those who depended on the bread truck to help stretch their budget, but we were so fortunate to have had the help for all these years.

Lamar and Charles, you provided a needed service, and we know if it were possible, you'd continue to make the long drive each week, then stand in the rain, or the cold, or the heat and humidity for hours to distribute it.  We don't eat bread, except when Jan tosses us an occasional crust, but we'd like to thank these men for helping Jan and so many others.  We hope God has a special blessing for them.

Squillions, Gracie and Snoopy

Today is Squillion Day.

Gracie, VSquillion Shelter Keeper, has reported that February has been a good month for adoptions.  Adoptions are closing temporarily, but they will be available again in the near future.  These are a nice way to remember a loved furry who has gone to the bridge.

And speaking of Gracie, her mom should be home today to recuperate from her surgery yesterday.  We send lots of purrs and pawtaps to her.

We adopted Squillion Angel Cotton in memory of our dear tortoiseshell Cotton who left us so suddenly last June. Cotton, Crystal, and Jenny will always be in our hearts, as will all those who came before our time be in Jan's.

Don't forget to go by tomorrow and enter the raffle to help Dashies with Moxie adopt Snoopy, the dog they've been fostering.  It will run March 1 through 15th.  And doesn't every dog and cat need a Frankie Furter quilt? 

Jenny and Squillion Day

I don't believe I know any of you.  I'm Jenny, one of the founding Funny Farmers. I passed away in 2007 at age 17.  I never got to meet Rusty or Sam, but I hear they fit right in and help keep Jan unsteady on her feet and searching for her reading glasses.  They even helped hide Jan's slippers for an entire month and had her convinced she was losing more than a pair of slippers, if you catch my drift.

Well, as you can see, I'm not really Jenny.  I'm a Missy You VSquillion Jan and my siblings adopted in my memory a couple of years ago.  It's nice to know I'm still remembered.

I'm here to celebrate Squillion Day with Derby and Ducky. and also the Cat Bllogosphere, which as far as we know is still in exile (on Blogger) since the CB Wordpress blog was hacked Saturday.  Now Derby & Ducky and KC have real squillions but we are virtual ones JFF adopted from the VSquillion Shelter.

 

Above is the banner displayed at the bottom of this blog.   (Left to right)  Angel Crystal and then Missy You Crystal. Many of you knew my handsome brother Crystal.  Next is our sister Grayce.  We were together for 13 years, even moved cross country together, but Cotton is the only surviving furry of JFF who was privileged to meet her.. There I am to the left of Viola.  Viola was the first virtual Funny Farmer.  They adopted her from the VShelter because even a virtual squillion needs a home. 

It was nice to meet all of you.  Thank you for coming by and helping us celebrate today.  Perhaps the next time the VShelter holds an adoption, you'll consider giving a VSquillion a home.  A literal one is always nice to have but we don't know how to adopt one of them.

Here's the graphic for Jimmy's auction, if you'd like to use it for your blog.

Jan finished the graphics for Furriends of the CB auction for Jimmy of Criz Cats Sanctuary.  Marg expects to open the auction sometime today., Tuesday  Stop by and check it out.  New items will be added periodically.

Criz lost Jeremy and Jerry to the same thing Jimmy is being treated for.- FLUTD (feline lower urinary tract disease).    Mama Jessica survived it.  Jimmy has spent the last few days at the vet's and Criz hopes to have him home soon. 

Criz lives in Malaysia and helps feral cats whenever he can, plus takes care of his own furry J Family..  


We received this email yesterday and even though we weren't interested, it raised some red flags so we did a search and found a lot of bloggers are receiving this message and the consensus of opinion is it appears to be a scam. The email address is from purebloggerss, with a double ss on the end. If you receive this message and are tempted to respond, research it well before visiting. We don't want to send anyone to their site by posting the link, thus we divided up their url.

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Cotton has a Poison PSA

Hi, This is Cotton with a PSA (public service announcement) for you today. But first a related story.

Because this is a mill town, even though the mills have closed in recent years, we have wharf rats here. Jan heard of them but never saw one for the first couple of years or so she was here. Then one day she saw a cat with a shiny coat sunbathing in the yard. She went out on the porch for a better look. She walked a wide curve through the yard so she wouldn't scare it away. She got as close as two or three feet from it before it suddenly got up and ambled off and down into the sewer.

Only it wasn't a cat. What from the back had appeared to be a healthy looking cat with a shiny dark coat had a pointed face, bare feet, and a long naked tail! Jan's first thought was that possums don't come in that color. She still has a hard time believing a rat can grown that big.

A few short years later, a hot water pipe under the house broke the day before Christmas and we were without hot water until some time after New Year's. The poor plumber who finally showed up was sick and he was probably quite a bit sicker after crawling around on the frozen ground, but he did manage to install new hot water pipes.

A couple of days later, Jan found Crystal in the bathroom trying to dig through the side of the bathtub. And something on the other side was trying to dig through just as vigorously. Jan had to physically remove Crystal, Jenny and me and close the door. She left a message for the landlord but this kept happening. So she reluctantly called someone in the neighborhood who had some rat poison from the city. Rat poison was thrown under the house and things were quiet for a while.

Then the noises started under the tub in the bathroom again. And in the bathroom wall. Once there was what sounded like the frightened squealing of something small. It gave Jan chills. She could follow the critters as much by where we cats were investigating as by the rustle as they walked between the walls of the house. She kept leaving messages for the landlord. She had more poison thrown under the house, terrified a neighbor's cat would get hold of it.

One night there was the sound of chewing by the front door. Behind the fireplace. Over by the closet. Over by the door to the inside back porch. It was an invasion! Crystal, Jenny and me were racing from one spot to another, trying to dig through the walls. Jan totally lost it. This time she left a late night phone message for the landlord (we should clarify this is an ex-landlord), begging him to send someone over to plug up the opening the plumber evidently left under the bathtub. Her message was tinged with hysteria and it did the trick. She never saw the plumber so he must have come when she wasn't home, but the opening under the tub was finally sealed and the unwelcome visitors have not been heard from since.

We watched a video today that reminded me of this story and I'd like to share it with you. Because even if your human NEVER EVER uses rat poison anywhere on your property, you could still be poisoned, even if you're an indoor kitty. In this video, veterinarian Karen Becker discusses the best ways to protect your pets from ingesting rat poison and what to do if they accidentally have some.


If the video doesn't play, click here.

Missy You

No, the title is not a misprint. We really are posting about "Missy You." Angel, Missy You and Regular VSquillions are available for adoption at the VSquillions Shelter..Just follow the instructions to adopt one or more for your own blog sidebar. Gracie will gladly help with the adoption procedure.

We have a Regular VSquillion we named Viola, Angel Crystal our ValentineVS and now we have 3 Missy You VSs. One for Crystal, Jenny and Grayce because these are sibling we have lost and miss very much. They were all part of the Funny Farm.

If you too would like to add a VSquillion in memory of a beloved cat, stop by the Offishul CB VSquillions Shelter and speak to shelter keeper Gracie. She has adopted one for her sidebar in memory of her sister Sassy, the founder of CSI. And she has a large litter of Angel VSquillions and Missy You VSquillions needing loving homes available.

By the way, if you haven't met Gracie's new brother Steffano, he's a real Squillion. Before long he might be as famous as Jeter's Squillion laffin an laffin.

Wakeup and Strong Cat

Well, after about 20 hours of being without water -- not just us but the county -- we finally have water again. Going without water is kind of an Olympic event of it's own. The local radio station was announcing a boil water advisory but Jan couldn't figure out how to boil it if there isn't any available. She did get a small pot of water just before it went off and at one point this morning there was a fast drip and she managed to get a small dishpan of water to half fill the toilet bowl before the tap ran dry again. She wants to take a shower but she's afraid the water will disappear like it did when she soaped her hands this morning and found the drip had dried up.

The Late Night Human Wakeup
We just had to enter Cameron in this Cat-o-lympic event which is being hosted by Tuck.

Fortunately, since photos are hard to come by in the middle of the night, a story is allowed. We could tell the one about Sam leaping on Jan's infected toe in the middle of the night. But we have an old one we'd like to share again. Cameron is a winner in this category as far as we're concerned. Hehehe

Cameron, our Late Night Human AND FURRY Wakeup champion!

This is an excerpt from our August 5, 2005 post, Waking the Dead.

Crystal says, sadly, “Grayce died suddenly and Jan didn’t have a chance to say good-bye. She knows Jenny’s time is short, so Jenny is getting as much attention as Jan can give her. Jenny was always affectionate but independent. She never liked to be held before, but now she’s eating up the extra attention.”

“I thought I would bawl last night when Jan suggested we say good-bye to Jenny because Jenny was going to go to sleep and she probably wouldn’t wake up.”

“You?” Cyndi asks, in surprise. “I never thought of you as the sentimental type, Cotton. Perhaps it was from lack of sleep since none of us got much rest last night, between Jan sitting up with Jenny and Mr. Clatterpuss waking the entire household after we all finally drifted off to sleep.”

“I resent that Mr.Clatterpuss remark!” The voice comes from underneath the bed.

“Come out from there, Cameron,” Percy demands. “What are you doing under the bed?

“Hiding.” Cameron’s head appears from under the bedspread. “I’ve been trying to keep out of Jan’s way. I figure she has enough on her mind with Jenny being so old and tired.” He tilts his head and changes his tune. “Actually, Jan — all of you — should be thanking me that Jenny is still with us today.”

“What?” the group choruses, in unison.

“Have you lost your mind?” Cotton demands.

“No,” Cameron asserts. “But if you remember correctly, Jan told us in the wee hours of the morning that when Jenny went to sleep, it would likely be for the last time; she probably wouldn’t be waking up again.”

“But Jenny is alive. She did wake up again.” Merci shakes her head, in confusion. “What does that have to do with you?”

Cameron looks around at the group. “It has everything to do with me. I’m not any more prepared to say good-bye to Jenny than any of you, so I couldn’t get to sleep when all the rest of you did. I tossed and turned on the counter, until in desperation, I decided to try a relaxed breathing technique I read about in a book. I took a deep breath, stretched, and suddenly there was a deafening clatter! Scared me out of one of my nine lives.”

“That’s because you pushed the dish draining rack off the counter, and all our stainless steel food bowls and Jan’s silverware went bouncing around the kitchen. The noise was loud enough to wake the dead!” Merci reminds him.

“Exactly!” Cameron exclaims. “The noise woke Jan, all of you guys — and Jenny!” He looks around at the blank faces of his friends. “See, Jenny did wake up. She’s not dead. You should all thank me.”

Percy shakes his head, in disbelief. “And you guys think Buddy and I are daft? Cameron, if Jan had caught you last night, you would probably be minus three inches in height and another one of your nine lives. I think you should go back under the bed until your concussion heals.”

Strong Cat Competition
We entered Cyndi in this competition which is being held by the Naughty Kitty Club.

Cyndi and the tree she knocked down.

Yep, Cyndi knocked the oak tree in front of our house right off its stump! Jan was upset since that was our shade tree. However, when she saw how rotten the inside of the tree was she calmed down and eventually thanked our hero Cyndi for possibly saving the house.

We'll be back tomorrow with our last entries, starring Rusty and Merci.

Miss Mother

Merci stops beside the typing chair where Buddy is sitting motionless, staring at the computer monitor. “Buddy, what are you staring at so intently?”

Deep in his own thoughts, Buddy is startled. “Huh? Oh, I was just reading some of our old journal entries. I sure have changed since I wrote my first column in 2005, haven’t I?” 

Buddy is much taller than when he sat on the same chair to type his first journal entry and now when he sits on the chair he towers over Merci. She scrapes a footstool across the wood floor and then climbs onto it to better view the screen. It also makes her feel less like a little ant sitting next to a large grasshopper.

“Yes, you sure have changed in some ways, but not in others. You were so messy but you sure were cute.”

“Messy? I was never messy. Didn’t I win the Scruffy Award for the bedmaking contest?”

“Yes, you did win. Did you ever find out who else was in the competition?”

“No, Jan never did give me the list of the other contestants, although I made several requests for it. I must have had some tough competition since she didn’t want me to know who lost. She said she didn’t want me to get a swelled head.”

Merci lowers her head to hide a slight smile. Buddy has grown up but he has retained much of his innocence.

“We sure had some good times, didn’t we?” Buddy asks wistfully. “I wish things could have stayed the same. I don’t like the changes.”

“You grew up, Rusty and Samaritan came to live with us. What would you like to change back to the way it was?”

“I’m glad Rusty and Samaritan moved in with us. I like having them here. But we lost Jenny and Miss Mother’s dogs Shorty and Benji, and then we lost Miss Mother. I miss all of them, especially Miss Mother. Jan used to take us down to visit every couple of days and we ran free in her fenced yard. It was nice. Now we don’t have anyone except Jan to love us and we don’t have anyone to go visit or a yard where we can run.” A solitary tear drips down Buddy’s face and falls onto the keyboard. He sighs deeply, climbs off the typing chair and, head low, walks slowly out of the room.

“I know what you mean, Buddy,” Merci says softly to his retreating back. “Jan misses them all too. Some changes are positive and some changes bring tears.”

“Wait!” Buddy hollers from the bedroom. He trots back into the living room, tears forgotten and a wide smile on his face. “I know how to cheer up Jan. We can hold a Miss Mother contest and find her a new Miss Mother.”

“Buddy, first of all, I never have understood why you call Jan’s mother Miss Mother”

Indignantly, Buddy shoots back, “What would you have me call her, Mr. Mother?”

“Oh, in that case, Miss Mother is fine. But holding a contest to find a new one is far out, even for you. You can’t replace Jan’s mother.”

“Oh. Well, it would be nice to have another Miss Mother to visit and make a fuss over us. Are you sure we can’t hold a contest and surprise Jan with a new Miss Mother?”

“I’m sure, Buddy. It’s a nice thought, though. You’ve always had a soft heart.”

Buddy sighs. “Then I guess I’ll just have to go take a nap. Maybe I can use my soft heart for a pillow.” He disappears into the bedroom.

Then his head reappears briefly in the doorway. “Oh, by the way, Merci, in case I forgot to tell you before this, I forgive you for making fun of me when I won the Scruffy Award Contest. I still make the neatest bed in town!”

Merci smiles broadly, knowing full well that he might be all grown up but Buddy still makes the messiest bed in town!

Posted by Merci