BUON NATALEL

From our side of the pond to yours wishing everyone a Merry Christmas! Hope the Santa brings you all that you wanted to find under your tree this year!!

Monday Auction

Gracie, Fiona, & VSquillions getting ready for the auction.

The CB VSquillions are hosting a fundraiser auction slated to start December 14 running through January 31. All proceeds will go to help pay for Fiona's medical expenses, she is having surgery the Tuesday after Christmas. Be sure to check things out.

Off Again In The MFV

Photo by Gracie

The MFV is off and heading away for a girls only get together. Opus was kind enough to let me use the MFV but I think he is going to be glad to be the only cat at home with the humans for awhile. Click here to see where I am going and who is coming along.

Wordless Friday?

Happy Harvest

We wish all of our friends and their family a Happy Thanksgiving!

Wordless Wednesday

World Peace Day: Pace

Booootiful Halloween

Photo by Gracie

Wishing all of our friends the scariest of Halloweens filled with fun, friends, and lots of treats! To get all the treats we can we are celebrating early and going through the whole weekend until Sunday night. Now off we go. We will be on the lookout for you.

So Long Sassy....

You will forever be in our hearts. Where ever you are, we hope you are safe, happy, loved, and sassy.

A Send Off

Photo by Sassy

The day is here, we knew it was coming, but we were ignoring it. Ignore no more Sassy is stepping down and retiring. She wanted to have a quiet, simple, and low key send off. We all agree to this and had a small party in the boardroom and raised a glass in a toast to her . . . then . . .

Photo by Karl

. . .we jumped into the MFV and headed to Paris for a surprise celebration retirement party in Versailias. You can keep up with the action by visiting the CCSI Blog.

A simple good-bye, I am surprised that Sassy even thought any of us would consider that.

Tocktober Time

Wordless Wednesday

A Kidnapping?

Photo by Sassy

Some have said that a picture is worth a thousand words and this one is no exception. It would appear that poor Asta is kidnapped by the gang. Head over to her place to find out what is going on and where they are going?

HAPPY BIRTHDAY OPUS! SURPRISE!

I am speechless! I really don't know what to say. My dearest of dear friends decided to throw me a surprise party at the Colosseum in Rome in honor of my fourteenth birthday AND Cat Naps in Italy's 4th Bologversary! It all started yesterday when Ollie offered to take me to Rome for my birthday. She said that she wanted to cheer me up since I was feeling sad. You see, today is also Roscoe's birthday and it doesn't seem right not to have him here to celebrate with me.

While I stayed up late studying about ancient Roman history, Ollie snuck away in the magic flying van and picked up the gang. She then dropped them off at the Colosseum where they spent the night getting everything in order for the perfect party.

Imagine my surprise when we arrived this morning only find my best friends waiting for me, Sassy, Karl, Momo, Ruis, and Asta! Doesn't the Colosseum look wonderful?

(photo by Karl)

We took a quick group shot before putting on our nicest togas!

There was a parade in Rome, held in my honor. I walked proudly down the ancient streets with my best friends at my side.

(photo by Asta)

Afterwards, we found some chariots and decided to have a race. We were thinking about using Olive as a speed bump! Hehehehehehe! Can you believe I won???? I think my friends might have let me win because it is my birthday. Aren't they the greatest?

(photo by Karl)

Later at the Colosseum, I sat in the first row where I watched gladiators pretending to do battle. It reminded me of the time Roscoe was bullfighting with a chicken! Hehehehe! Throughout the day my thoughts have turned to Roscoe, like the time we went to Rome with Asta. Instead of feeling sad it makes me smile. I had 13 wonderful years with the best brother a cat could have asked for!

(photo by Asta)

We decided to drink a toast to Roscoe on his 14th birthday. Then we made a toast to me! Then we toasted Cat Naps in Italy's 4th anniversary. Then we toasted to friendship. After that, I can't remember what we toasted but I am sure it was something! Hehehehehe!

(photo by Asta)

So welcome to my birthday party! You may pick out which toga you would like to wear; a gift that you may take home with you so that you always remember your day with us in Rome.

Please come in and join the fun...

(photo by Sassy)

You are just in time as we are about to cut the beautiful cake that Sassy has prepared for me. That cat just keeps outdoing herself!

Sassy has catered the party. As you can see there is plenty to eat so please, help yourselves. We have roasted duck, wild boar, and caramelized figs on the menu. There are also fresh vegetables and fruits to choose from, not to mention authentic Roman bread and lentils.

We have a large wine selection to chose from. May I suggest the Vino San Giovese? It pairs wonderfully with the wild boar.


Be sure to mingle with the other guests. You will find the ladies enjoying the chocolate fountain.

(photo by Sassy)

While us man cats enjoy a cold beer with some potatochips before lunch. After we eat there will be live music and dancing. The dogs are free to run laps around Circus Maximus if they feel the need for exercise. There is a quiet corner in the last row at the top of the Colosseum. It is a great spot for a catnap should anyone feel tired. Thank you for coming to my party! I hope you enjoy yourself!

(photo by Sassy)

I tell you, there is nothing like good friends to make you feel like a king (or a cesar)!

(photo by Karl)

Thanks to each and everyone of you who stopped by today or sent me a card. You really know how to make an old cat happy!

A Surprise Birthday Party for Opus

(poster by our wonderful friend Karl)

Shhhhhhhhh! Don't tell Opus! Tomorrow is his birthday and we are going to throw him a great, big, surprise party! Help us, Sassy, Momo, Asta, Karl, Ruis and myself, celebrate Opus's big day!

Where: Tomorrow, September 22

Where: The Roman Colosseum

Who: EVERYONE!!!!!!

Tomorrow is also Cat Naps in Italy's blogoversary!

So grab your togas and head on over to Rome!
Be sure to stop by for a wonderful party!

Hope to see you there!

Olive

Remembering Roscoe: One Year Later

There are days when I think to myself "wow, it has been a year ALREADY?". Then there are days when I think "wow, it has ONLY been a year?". I don't understand how it can feel like Roscoe has just died while feeling like he has been gone forever, both at the same time.



My husband says that Roscoe is still here in our home. That he can see Roscoe's tail just behind the corner. That he feels as if Roscoe is taking a nap under bed, like he enjoyed doing so often. These types of thoughts seem to be enough for my husband. That if you can think of Roscoe still wandering our halls at night, it will keep the pain of losing him at bay.



My husband is right to think such things. Roscoe is here with us, just not in the way I want him to be. I want to pick him up and feel his soft fur on my skin. I want to gaze into his loving green eyes. I want to hear the meow that woke me up so many times in the middle of the night. I want Roscoe here with me in the physical sense.



Roscoe was a character. From the first time I met him on Christmas day in 1995 till the end of his life, Roscoe's personality was unchanged. As a kitten he was loving, clumsy, boisterous, funny, talkative, playful, open-hearted, and sweet; exactly how he was later in life.


Unlike his brother, Roscoe wouldn't let you pick him up for a snuggle whenever you wanted. He snuggled only on his terms when HE wanted to snuggle. Of course that made it all the more special when he would curl up on your lap.



Roscoe didn't like to be cold. So in the winter months, when our house would turn into a refrigerator in spite of working radiators, he would bury himself under our down filled blankets. Another way he kept warm was by making himself a bed on the top of my head. I lost count of the number of times that I would wake up in the night to Roscoe snuggling down on my pillow, his front paws dangling down into my face. I always felt so much love from that cat as I fell back to sleep with the warmth of his body on my head.


I refer back to something that I read in a book called "Tuesdays with Morrie" by Mitch Albom. It is a saying that gives me great comfort whenever a loved one is lost, human or furry.

"As long we can love each other, and remember the feeling of love we had, we can die without ever really going away. All the love you created is still there. All the memories are still there. You live on-in the hearts of everyone you have touched and nurtured while you were here."

Roscoe, all the love you created is still here in our home. You have died without ever really going away. And if I close my eyes and try really hard, I too can see your tail just behind the corner.

Sei sempre con me.....

Quiet Time

This week you will find the two of us catching up on some much deserved rest. Our human is out of town this week and we are taking this time to rest up from our busy summer. Even though we haven't been visiting and posting much we have both been busy. The human has promised to post next week about what we have been up to.

We miss visiting with you and hope soon we will be able to get more computer time.

Happy World Cat Day!

Mancat Monday

There is nothing like the isolation and serenity of a box to give a mancat a chance to collect his thoughts and solve the problems of the world...

_______________________

Oh great! The female human has showed up and she brought her stinking camera with her!

_________________________

Oh goody! Look who else has decided to join the party! Can't a man cat have a moment to himself? Go away kid, ya bother me!

_______________________________

That's more like it! Keep moving! Nothing more to see here!

And take your human with you!

______________________________________

Hey! What's going on back there?
Sneaking up behind me are you? Hey? I'm talking to you!

_____________________________________________

Olive! Hey, you forgot something!
Get back here and take your human with you!
Olive! OLIVE!!! Olive? Women!

_______________________________________________

That's it! I'm going to the one place a
mancat can go without being disturbed...

... the litter box! I'm outta here!

One of the Family

By the human

Some of you have been wondering how Opus and Olive have been getting along.....

When I visited Olive at the animal shelter, she was in a room full of cats and didn't seem to mind. She sat in the window hoping to catch the attention of the humans on the other side, while mostly ignoring the cats inside. When I held her, she purred instantly and I never heard a bad word (or sound) come out of her sweet little mouth.



When we arrived in Italy, Olive's attitude changed. While Opus was excited to have a new friend, Olive was quick to let Opus know that SHE was the boss. Any time Opus would enter the room Olive would growl. Any time Opus got close to Olive, she hissed. For the first couple of days Opus was afraid Olive. It didn't take him long to realize that her bats to his head didn't hurt.



Opus wanted so much to play but Olive didn't want him anywhere near her. At one point I even cried because I thought that bring Olive into our home might have been a mistake. However one night while Opus was sleeping on our bed, Olive jumped up and laid down near him; a good sign that things might take a turn for the better. A few days later, she even let Opus lick her head. As the days passed, little by little, a friendship between the two began to blossom.



It has been over 3 months since Olive joined our family. I am happy to say that she and Opus have become the best of friends. They sleep near each other, play together and lick each other to death. I am also happy to report that Opus no longer cries out in the night like he did after Roscoe's death. Though we all love and miss Roscoe still, Olive has helped to fill the hole that Roscoe left behind.

Olive is still a bit of nervous cat. We can tell that in her last family she was not held much. She still cries out with a squeal each time we pick her up, but as time goes by she is learning to enjoy being snuggled. She has brought all of us so much love and joy and we are happy she has joined our family!