HAPPY EASTER 🐣🐇

HAPPY EASTER 🐣🐇

Well, I’ve wrestled with reality for 35 years, Doctor, and I’m happy to state I finally won out over it.

A GHOST OF A CAT🐾🐾🐾🐾

A GHOST OF A CAT

Maggie and Bats' mom, Shy, came for her dinner and then left. 
How's that for gratitude?

She was never a mom; she hated her job and chose to abandon her three kittens in our backyard. After all, she was just a cat! A cat who was overwhelmed by the enormity of parenthood to three kittens.
Maggie was left to take care of her little brother, Bat. A sister and now his mother; she protected him and did a good job. 
After all, she was just a cat - with a heart! 
Good thing Maggie turned out right. Bat certainly, would not have faired well outdoors.
I wish we had done more to keep Shy and tame her: maybe she would have cared more for her babies. She is only a memory now and a screen saver.
Early mornings always remind me my cat Maggie has never forgotten. She will come and sit on my lap, snuggle, and purr, and the minute I open my computer and the screensaver comes on, she perks up and stares. She remembers.


“Mother is a verb as well as a noun. We all, male and female, have the capacity to mother others.
And we can each, always, mother ourselves.” 
― Orna Ross

“A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.”E.B.WHITE - WRITING A GHOST STORY

WRITING A GHOST STORY 👀

I am a romantic for ghost stories. 

Spooky, mysterious, and entertaining spooks on tv always trap me for an hour or two in telling their scary tales. I believe many people believe in ghosts. I never was one to keep a bucket list, although I do have a few things on a list I would like to achieve before that time; writing a ghost story is one. I wish I could write, and I wish I could paint, I wish I could play the piano. Unfortunately, I do none of those things well. My writing is atrocious. If not for Grammarly and my daughter, I would be lost. Still, I have the desire to write a spooky story. A couple of quotes by E.B. White, one of my favorite authors, inspire me to keep writing. “I admire anybody who has the guts to write anything at all.” And ... “A writer who waits for ideal conditions under which to work will die without putting a word to paper.” ― E.B. White. So true. M, my daughter, is my ghostwriter. We are collaborating on this ghostly tale. I recently watched Eugene Levy's, 'The Reluctant Traveler. He met up with a gondolier in Venice and talked about working with their kids. Mr.Levy mentioned how much he had enjoyed working with his son Daniel for seven years. So now, mother and daughter are working together on a ghost book. Today is my birthday; I turn 66. I was born on March 10th, 1957, a wonderful year. And the year I die, well, hopefully, be just as wonderful. No matter how difficult, I want to reach my goal; write the ghost book with my daughter. In the end, I leave behind an artistic legacy for my children. When one has a will, there is always a way. ♥️ Annabelle & M ♥️ © 2023 @batandmaggie

MAGGIE

BAT

Tales From The Darkside

"I wish I could write as mysterious as a cat" ~ E.A.pOE


I believe Bat and Maggie have kept a secret from us; they are the secret authors of "Tales From The Darkside": )

"The Case of The Missing K "

Happy Caturday ♥️
For The January 22nd Theme "Black and White" ♥️🐾🐾🐾🐾♥️

 

Goodnight, Karson🎄💔💔💔💔💔💔🐾🐾

We are Heartbroken 💔 Goodnight Karson, our precious church cat. May 3rd, 2004 ~ December 23rd, 2020 

"Remembrance, like a candle, burns brightest at Christmastime." 

Karson, the church cat

May 3rd, 2004 ~ December 23rd, 2020

Charles Dickens Merry Christmas, Karson, you will always be in our hearts.

"What would you not have accomplished if you had been free?"💡 HAPPY CATURDAY!🐱‰🐾

Happy Caturday Theme for October 17th /2020 

~ "CATPHABET ~Your cat's name & persuade your cat to pose for a photo with an object that starts with the same letter."

"This year I'm going to be Batman, said Bat"! 

And I'm going to be The Cat of Monte Cristo, said Maggie! 

“Ah, lips that say one thing, while the heart thinks another,” 
― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

"Oh, how I wish I could fly like the Bats on the Clock, said Bat!"

Combine the two, cats and a pandemic and, what have you got? Infinite time to think! 

Ah, captivity, house arrest, hours spent in barred boundaries between four walls, and if you are lucky, a garden to soak in the sun while the weather is still warm although now a little too chilly. Nothing like being an outdoor cat! I miss having no boundaries, so what do we do?

Well, we join groups, cat lovers group, art group, writing group, music group, garden group, you find yourself pretty much forget you're living in a pandemic, almost. I still miss visiting family, thrifting, shopping, movies, and eating out. So for the time being this will help some.


THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO

“What would you not have accomplished if you had been free?"

"Possibly nothing at all; the overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect. Compression is needed to explode gunpowder. Captivity has brought my mental faculties to a focus; and you are well aware that from the collision of clouds electricity is produced — from electricity, lightning, from lightning, illumination.” 

― Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

Until life returns to normal keep focus on the treasures at hand. Stay safe♥️

OCTOBER

“I'm so glad I live in a world where there are Octobers.”
Inclusive of our cat, Bat, whose name in the book is October."🖤🐾🐾🐾

Bat's official registered name is October Bat 🐱🦇🖤🧡🎃

ONLY THE LONELY 🌱

'Only the Lonely' Nicotiana Sylvestris, White Shooting Stars or Woodland Tobacco.

It was the only Nicotiana Slyvestris plant to grow in the compost garden, and I left it alone to grow next to the Pumpkin Patch.
Now that the Pumpkin Patch is gone, Only the Lonely is truly alone. 

It's beautiful, candelabra-like clusters of tubular luminous white blossoms still intoxicate the evening autumn air with a rich Jasmine-like perfume.
In the past, when the white shooting stars of the Nicotiana Sylvestris bloomed in our summer garden at the front of the house where we could see and smell its beautiful scent, we would see hummingbird moths come around twilight to sip from the tiny trumpets. But this year, the trees have taken over the sun-loving garden, and only now are the self-sown seeds from the nicotiana of last summer starting to grow, a little too late, I'm afraid. So, come early spring next year, I must remember not to forget 'Only the Lonely' and plant some of its seeds indoors. This way, I will find it a better place to grow and watch its miniature chandeliers light up under the moonlight, maybe even catch a glimpse of a little fairy in the secret garden flitting here and there in the flowers of the 'Woodland Tobacco.'

'Where at dusk the dumb white nicotine awakes and utters her fragrance in a garden sleeping.' ~ Edna St. Vincent Millay

Home, for the moment, is our refuge...Rosebud🌹

The news this morning...stay at home.

Its a broken record on repeat, people sick of hearing it but the truth is its good advice for everyone. 

We are not the bird in a cage or the boy in the bubble we have the freedom to take a walk whenever the need should arise. 

I wrote a post ~ Rosebud 🌹 over a year ago when my husband and I were thinking of early retirement. 

Looking back now, I see we made the right choice.

Stay At Home 🏡

 “If you want a happy ending, that depends, of course, on where you stop your story.” ~ Orson Welles

Heart and Soul

Grace, a soul with heart and spirit






In his book "Dog Stories", James Herriot writes of an old woman whose only fear is that she may never be reunited with her animals after death.
Here is an excerpt from the short story "The Card Over The Bed" A very touching and beautiful story.


I went back and sat down by the bed. Miss Stubbs looked out of the window" for a few moments, then turned to me. "You know, Mr. Herriot," she said casually, "it will be my turn next.""What do you mean?""Well, tonight Ben has gone and I'm going to be the next one. I just know it.""Oh, nonsense! You're feeling a bit low, that's all. We all do when something like this happens." But I was disturbed. I had never heard her even hint at such a thing before."I'm not afraid," she said. "I know there's something better waiting for me. I've never had any doubts." There was silence between us as she lay calmly looking up at the card on the gas bracket. Then the head on the pillow turned to me again. "I have only one fear." Her expression changed with startling suddenness as if a mask had dropped. The brave face was almost unrecognizable. A kind of terror flickered in her eyes and she quickly grasped my hand."It's the dogs and cats, Mr. Herriot. I'm afraid I might never see them when I'm gone which worries me so. You see, I know I'll be reunited with my parents and brothers, but ... but ..." She gazed at the two cats curled up at the end of her bed."Well, why not with your animals?""That's just it." She rocked her head on the pillow and for the first time I saw tears on her cheeks. "They say animals have no souls.""Who says?""Oh, I've read it and I know a lot of religious people believe it.""Well, I don't believe it." I patted the hand which still grasped mine. "If having a soul means being able to feel love and loyalty and gratitude, then animals are better off than a lot of humans. You've nothing to worry about there."
"Oh, I hope you're right.



“You think dogs will not be in heaven? I tell you, they will be there long before any of us.” Robert Louis Stevenson ☺️

Guardian of the Soul?

Little Sparrows circle, all around us.

Everywhere we go, they follow!

Ever wonder why?


If you believe in God then they are his messengers:

“ his eye is on the sparrow

And I know he watches me”


Or are they the guardians of the soul, like the Ancient Egyptians believed, who carry the dearly departed to heaven ?

I like to believe both.


This Little Silver Sparrow I keep, reminds me always “Not all Treasure is Silver and Gold”.

* EVERY SILVER LINING'S GOT A TOUCH OF GREY *

STRANGE AND CURIOUS  IS THE MONTH OF OCTOBER
SPOOKY DARK ARE IT'S NIGHTS , 
LUMINOUS AND BRIGHT
WHEN THE FULL MOON DROPS DOWN 
TO OUR GARDEN BELOW

SPOOKY artists know the magical allure of October and it's extravagant Ball in it's final farewell.
Much is accomplished in the mystical 31 days of it's life; many times, our piece de resistance is created.
And then again, strange, very weird and unexpected occurrences happen, some faintly disappearing into thin air, making you wonder if they really did happen at all, while others etched in our minds for eternity wishing we could bury them ten feet under the ground.


I knew for some time now hubby was going in for a triennium eye surgery operation October 18th, today, so it wasn't a surprise or a strange event of the sort but definitely an unpleasant part of life he had to deal with to get better and something that the kids and I didn't look forward to as well. We must always remember ,with life , "every silver lining's , got a touch of grey"....nothin is purrrfect.
There is always apprehension and anxiety when one of your loved ones goes in for surgery....not a nice  feeling and we have become quite familiar with the usual routine associated in entering hospitals, one we never get used to,but all the same I was prepared for it , but not for what was to occur yesterday afternoon.


You never know the events to follow when one leaves home and says goodbye. I am not a Witch or a fortune teller but I think most of us do have what is called a sixth sense and yesterday was one day I felt a bit weird when my son left with his friends to go skating. I missed seeing him off and all I heard from the computer room was hubby teasing him if he needed some bread, at that point I felt unwell in my stomach that I had not seen him off as I usually do.That's it...just a bad feeling I didn't see him off. 


Long story short he returned to us but with a very unpleasant story to tell. He had suffered a concussion upon falling and hitting his head on the ice. Two gentlemen appeared to him when he woke up but he didn't recall anything after his fall. When he retold us the story, I felt terrible that I wasn't there when he needed me most, but we all know too well that we could never consistently be there by their side, especially parents, who eventually will need adjustments once their kids fly the roost.


 In summing up the events of the last few days, poor old dad ended up visiting two hospitals in less than 24 hours , first seeing our son through his testing and once again today for his operation; talk about creating anxiety before a surgery procedure....hehehe!


Anyway, I'm relieved to say the tests on my son turned out okay and hubby's surgery went well only he is suffering some pain now.
Under a mysterious moon, October never seems to disappear without leaving me some inspiration, strange curiosities of Witch I will later tell and a Spooky foreboding of Witch I quickly dismissed. Next time I feel the turning tummy I will listen.


So, I'm afraid I will be detained from my visits to your blogs for the next few days while I attend to my two boys.

iT'S Been a little too sPOOKY..........remember ...

*EVERY SILVER LINING'S GOT A TOUCH OF GREY *

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