THE CAT'S PARADISE ~ BAT BAT BOO * My Little Warlock

The Cat's Paradise ~ Emile Zola

How fortunate I was, indeed, that providence had placed me with your aunt! That good woman adored me. I had at the bottom of the wardrobe a veritable sleeping salon, with feather cushions and triple covers. My food was equally excellent; never just bread, or soup, but always meat, carefully chosen meat.
Well, in the midst of all this opulence, I had only one desire, one dream, and that was to slip out of the upper window and escape on to the roofs. Caresses annoyed me, the softness of my bed nauseated me and I was so fat that it was disgusting even to myself. In short, I was bored the whole day long just with being happy. ******HAHA, SOUND LIKE ME ...almost😂


I took some photos of Bat and I guess Hubby took some as well. The one of Bat on the dining room table looking out the window, Stan took and reminded me of a story I had read by Emile Zola, "The Cat's Paradise". I think Bat can relate to it as well as I, always the desire to escape, maybe not on to rooftops but to Thrift Stores. As you can see, lots of collecting going on in this room and dusty as if no one lives here... 😂Thanks for the pic, Stan.

BAT BAT BOO * My Little Warlock

LILIES OF THE VALLEY

When at the end of spring I pick for the last time
My favourite flowers— a yearning fills my breast,
And to the future I urgently appeal:
Let me but once again look upon the lilies of the valley.
Now they have faded. Like an arrow the summer has flown by,
The days have grown shorter. The feathered choir is still,
The sun more charily grants us its warmth and light,
And already the wood has laid its leafy carpet.
Then when harsh winter comes
And the forests don their snowy cover,
Despondently I roam and wait with new yearning
For the skies to shine with the sun of spring.
I find no pleasure in books, or conversation,
Or swift-rushing sledges, or the ball's noisy glitter,
Or Patti, or the theatre, or delicate cuisine,
Or the quiet crackling of smouldering logs on the fire
I wait for spring. And now the enchantress appears,
The wood has cast off its shroud
And prepares for us shade,
And the rivers start to flow, and the grove is filled with sound,
And at last the long-looked-for day is here!
Quick to the woods!—I race along the familiar path.
Can my dreams have come true, my longings be fulfilled?—
There he is! Bending to the earth, with trembling hand
I pluck the wondrous gift of the enchantress Spring.
O lily of the valley, why do you so please the eye?
Other flowers there are more sumptuous and grand,
With brighter colours and livelier patterns,
Yet they have not your mysterious fascination.
Where lies the secret of your charms? What do you prophesy to the soul?
With what do you attract me, with what gladden my heart?
Is it that you revive the ghost of former pleasures,
Or is it future bliss that you promise us?
I know not. But your balmy fragrance,
Like flowing wine, warms and intoxicates me,
Like music, it takes my breath away,
And like a flame of love, it suffuses my burning cheeks.
And I am happy while you bloom, modest lily of the valley,
The tedium of winter days has passed without a trace,
And oppressive thoughts are gone, and in my heart in languid comfort
Welcomes, with you, forgetfulness of trouble and woe.
Yet now you fade. Again in monotonous succession
The days will begin to flow slowly, and stronger than before
Will I be tormented by importunate yearning,
By the agonizing dream of the happiness of days in May.

And then someday spring again will call
And raise the living world out of its fetters.
But the hour will strike. I shall be no more among the living,
I shall meet, like everyone, my fated turn.
And then what?—Where, at the winged hour of death,
Will my soul, heeding its command, soundlessly soar?
No answer! Be silent, my restless mind,
You cannot guess what eternity holds for us.
But like all of nature, drawn by our thirst to live,
We call to you and wait, beautiful Spring!
The joys of earth are so near to us, so familiar—
The yawning maw of the grave so dark! ~ PYOTR LLYICH TCHAIKOVSKY

Spring is late this year but on a good note, it gave me a chance to pick my favorite flower...LILIES OF THE VALLEY and I was ☘️ to find this painting "Lady of Shallott" by Waterhouse.

Doris Day - Que Sera Sera

HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!

THE EASTER BUNNY AND THE CATS 🐣🐥🐣🐥

A wish come true. The Easter Bunny dropped in for a visit this morning on Easter Sunday.

 Happy Easter🐣🐥🐣🐥

FADE TO GREY ~ DEVENIR GRIS, DEVENIR GRIS ~ VISAGE 🖼🖌🎨

"Devenir Gris, Devenir Gris
Feel the rain like an English summer
Hear the notes from a distant song

Aaah, we fade to grey" There was a time I was young and getting old was so, so far away.

It is raining, again. I feel the rain in my bones but I adore it, its pitter-pattering on the window pane quiets my mind and I drift back.

 I was an eighties girl. I loved the music, the clubs, and dancing. Life was simple, never imperiled, easy and free to love. A youth, almost perfect then only now, I'm much older, timeworn, feeling the years, lost in a chilling world. I watched Notre Dame burn this week, I choked, my vision signed. So much loss : (


I did this illustration of a girl inspired by Modigliani.

                                VISAGE

Its titled "Visage ". A girl with a haunting, melancholic look..."two eyes staring cold and silent. "

It's a homage to Notre Dame Cathedral and the people of France.

Devenir gris

Devenir gris
One man on a lonely platform
One case sitting by his side
Two eyes staring cold and silent
Show fear as he turns to hide
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Un homme dans une gare isolée
Une valise a ses cotés
Des yeux fixes et froids
Montre de la peur lorsqu'il
Se tourne pour se cacher
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Sent la pluie comme un été Anglais
Entends les notes d'une chanson lointaine
Sortant de derriere d'un poster
Espérant que la vie ne fut aussi longue
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Aaah, we fade to grey (fade to grey)
Feel the rain like an English summer
Hear the notes from a distant song
Stepping out from a back shop poster
Wishing life wouldn't be so long

Below I'm sharing an amazing video of "Fade to Grey " remix done by:

lionel simon 

KEEP FAITH❤️

OLD VIOLET 🖼🎨🖌 WIP

Spring Painting wip

This is the mat background to the oval painting I'm presently working on. As usual, Maggie loves to art with

THE OWL, THE CAT, AND THE HARE or WHO LIKES THE NIGHT? 🦉🐈 🐇

And the Moon and Stars Float, ever so Quiet, on Candy Floss Clouds 🌚✨☁️

There is not enough time in a day to do what you truly want to do. I like to think I started this painting in February but likely it was much earlier, can't remember. More importantly, it's finally done.
And now is a good moment for me to become truly mindful, learn the art of appreciating life at the moment ... "mindfulness is recognizing how extraordinarily special every moment of the present already is.” 

Like The Owl, The Cat, And The Hare have learned to see, hear and feel in their heart the beauty in the quiet of the full moon night.

A DAY WITH GRACE 🐕🐶

Happy Caturday!

Cats can be sneaky...it's ok!

Happy Caturday!

" THE WINDOW INTO THE UNSEEN IS OPENED IN WAKING HOURS " 🎨🖌🖼

Painting Magic? 

Waking from my sleep, the dreams of the night filled my head with lovely, mysterious, secret places to escape to and so I thought I would try to paint some magic.
The trials and tribulations that accompany a wip painting are many, at least for me. I am just an amateur painter who loves art, doesn't and can't produce artwork in minutes or hours and even if I could, I'm too fussy and like to work on the little things that I believe make the painting special. 

This painting has been lingering around for some time now and with everything else that has happened in life in recent weeks, it has been left behind. So this morning I returned to it, didn't like the trees, cat, cottage, cypress, etc and made some changes. Still far from finished but I like the direction it's taking. The cat will return, only a little different.

Muse - Unintended

You could be my unintended
Choice to live my life extended
You could be the one I'll always love
You could be the one who listens
To my deepest inquisitions
You could be the one I'll always love
I'll be there as soon as I can
But I'm busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before
First there was the one who challenged
All my dreams and all my balance
She could never be as good as you
You could be my unintended
Choice to live my life extended
You should be the one I'll always love
I'll be there as soon as I can
But I'm busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before
I'll be there as soon as I can
But I'm busy mending broken
Pieces of the life I had before
Before you





Have fun guys. Muse & Montreal ❤️

Our Birth is but a Sleep and a Forgetting:

Our birth is but a sleep and a forgetting:

The soul that rises with us, our life's Star,

Hath had elsewhere its setting,

And cometh from afar.

~ “Intimations of Immortality”

 1804 William Wordsworth

Creatures of the night, in their nocturnal habit they dance on the threads of the gleaming moon.

Emrick, happy to have finally arrived at his journey's end sits by the river and watches the aerial ballet. In the starry, almost scary heavenly world above, Emrick catches a glimpse of another world, one he might know.

I loved painting on this 6 x 6 canvas. I was inspired by Old Quebec paintings for this landscape and gave it more of a surreal, magical fairytale Victorian Gothic style.

Hubby named the cat, Emrick, a name from Wales meaning immortal, from that a story materialized. I will eventually make some prints to sell this artwork. I like how it turned out.