A tale of Two Cat Beds - by Peaches the Cat

Peaches here. Our human brought us two new beds today.  Actually they are our "old" beds but since she hides beds    in a closet 6 months at a time, and then presents them again we think they are new! ANYWAY..I picked out this one immediately! It has colors exactly like me!  

When I take possession, I do so wholeheartedly! I clung to the bed for dear life, making sure everyone knew it was MINE!

But then...I saw the second bed...it was much smaller than my huge round one but...it was LEOPARD! 

Although the fit was a bit "cramped," I thought it was very complementary to my purr-sonality. I therefore attempted to take possession of BOTH beds!

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This did NOT please my human. I think a cat like myself should be entitled to any bed she wants. I don't understand the human being so difficult about it!

-- Peaches the Cat

Pastel Peaches on a Pedestal - Caturday Art

My human decided I should be put on a pedestal for my pastel peaches portrait for Caturday Art.  Well I should think so!  So what if it's just the high perch of my cat condo?  It gives me prominence, don't you think? And prominence is what this girl enjoys!

we are joining Athena & Marie's Caturday Art hop this week and look forward to visiting other beautiful kitties...!

Primroses Freezing in the Snow--Flower Friday

For Flower Friday, we thought we'd post some gorgeous primroses.  We love watching them on our window frame when its really icy outside!

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Squirrel Appreciation Day

We were so busy hugging and smooching yesterday we almost forgot it was also SQUIRREL APPRECIATION DAY! A trip to the deck slider to watch the happy birds feasting in Carol's restaurant yielded some different creatures yesterday whose strange habits of twitching their tail delectably were a sight to behold. We were a little afraid at first but our human told us there was nothing to worry about, squirrels have to have dinner too, so we relaxed and enjoyed the show! You can read all about Squirrel Appreciation Day here!

2019 Pet Blogger Challenge

We decided to (gulp) take the Pet Blogger Challenge this year and sheesh, we feel challenged already just thinking about it!   Best to just, um PLUNGE IN!  Without further ado, we'll answer the 
challenge questions!

1. FOR THOSE VISITING YOUR BLOG FOR THE FIRST TIME, HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN BLOGGING & WHAT IS YOUR MAIN TOPIC?

March 2019 will be our 4th blogoversary. Our blog features the adventures &  humorous relationship of Peaches & Paprika, my 2 beloved, quirky tiger-calico sisters.  Our blog is for entertainment & has no socially redeemable value (well maybe a little)!  We provide an upbeat, happy place for visitors!  We celebrate many "fun" holidays, like National Bubble Bath Day & Popcorn Day, both this month. In the latter, Peaches & Paprika are suddenly attacked by popcorn. 

2. What was your proudest blogging moment of 2018?

Creating 3 online slideshows for local shelters. (Guess that's socially redeemable!)  We were told afterwards the shows helped with adoptions! We're also proud of building a really nice little community on our Facebook page of individuals who genuinely enjoy our furballs. Some of these individuals also read our blog.

3. What was the biggest blogging challenge you faced in 2018 and how did you tackle it?

Fitting blogging in with the rest of our life  is a continuing challenge.  We also started the process of being organized and (sometimes) planning ahead.  We created books (by year) of previous blog posts with "blog2print" software. Blog2Print quality is not the best but helps us  keep track of what we did when. Having a record helps us when we need to recreate an interesting post from a year or 2 back which we sometimes use as a fun flashback.  

4. Which of your 2018 posts was your favorite and why?

Our favorite was National
Tooth Fairy Day because we got to dress up and it's silly and fun & decorative.  We also had a blast with Quirky Country Music Song Titles Day because we got to look up outrageous country song lyrics & country songs & then find backgrounds and a cowboy hat or 2 to make photo "cartoons" out of them.

5. Which of your 2018 posts was most popular with your audience? Did you implement a new feature in 2018?

The 4th Annual Meowy Catmas Show was the most popular since 40+ enthusiastic, talented bloggers, decked out in holiday gear participated in our online slideshow. We've done

the video every year and it continues be enjoyed. Runner up was Our 3rd Blogoversary post because it showed a panorama of what we created through the year. (Or maybe everyone just liked the cartoons!)

One new feature: We gave our blog a new more professional look via Glogirly's talented designer Debbie G. We really love it! Oh! And after years of procrastination, we bought a domain and became a dot.com!

6. As the social media landscape changes, how are you promoting your blog posts and connecting with new readers?

We've put a lot of energy into our Facebook page & are proud to have very engaged fans who love our quirky cats & there are lots of comments & shares. It's wonderful when your labors of love are reciprocated. We link maybe 1 post out of 4 to our blog, so it does increase traffic. (one has to be careful these days about  "linking" vs. original content. As we understand it, Facebook distributes your post to a smaller audience when your page has a lot of links...at least that's today's word.)

7. Looking forward to 2019, if you accomplish only one thing through your blog, what do you hope it is? What steps are you planning to take to ensure you reach your goal?

Our goal: We totally dearly and from the heart want to write 2 or 3 books based on some of our blog posts. We certainly have uber-much material by now!

Steps we're taking: Just now beginning research on how to create a book (?!?!) Checking out Kindle Publishing, Lulu, and starting to check various options. Simultaneously working out which themes and selecting/organizing  posts to use. Just starting, though!

9.  Now it's your turn! How can we help?  Is there an area where you could use some advice? Share it here and we'll answer you in comments!

Yes, Help please!!  Can you point us in the right direction re how to create a book we can sell as both an e-book &  paperback book on Amazon? We've used Blurb for photo books but costs are too high for sales. Right now we have readers (I think!) who would buy it but not sure how long we'll have this pleasant situation! So...options for publishing or self-publishing to start? Or what to read/how to research? Does anyone have any experience with the Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing Option?

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Also plan to monetize our blog/Facebook page, after the book is done.  

Many thanks for reading through our long long answers and wishing for all of you to fly just an inch or two closer to your hearts' desire...

PS: As of today, January 27, w are also adding our link for this post to Cat On My Head's Sunday blog hop.

Happy early Hugging Day

Paprika here! This important hugging day is actually celebrated January 21 (tomorrow). We prefer to get a head start because 1) Hugging is cool and 2) we have lots more time for hugging on a snowy weekend afternoon!

National Hugging Day, as you can plainly see, is not limited to humans (though they are encouraged to participate!) I love being hugged by Peaches because when she's in a good mood, I feel so safe & protected snuggled in her Paws!

Among the benefits are boosting serotonin, lowering blood pressure, improving cardiac health and increasing relaxation among both participants.  We can attest to that!

We are joining Cat On My Head's Sunday Hop today & wish all of you warm hugs and more today & all week long!

Popcorn Peaches & Paprika

We were minding our own business when suddenly we were ATTACKED BY POPCORN.  What a mess!  while we were defending ourselves, poor Peaches was literally flipped in the air..but we found out why this was happening.   NATIONAL POPCORN DAY, an obscure holiday, had taken us by surprise.  But we rose to the occasion!  A few kernels hit our noses but we did a great job of self defense!  Wishing your humans a happy Popcorn Day.  Have some! We do suggest you kitties run like H___ if you see them coming your way though!

PS: You can read about this fun day by clicking the link.  We're joining Athena & Marie's Caturday Hop today. Looking forward to saying hello...

Dress Up Your Pet Day - Our crochetted hats

Here I am, "hamming it up" with my favorited crocheted hat on "Dress Up Your Pet Day". I have to admit I've only found one hat I like -- this one.  The way it caresses my ears is delectable!  My sis-fur Paprika (below) is just the opposite.

Good morning, Paprika here! MY idea of celebrating this day and wearing a hat is to Hide UNDER the hat...or hide the hat itself.  A girl has her pride. I refuse to show off like my haughty sis-fur Peaches.

Have fun, everyone with Dress Up Your Pet Day. The idea is to be stylish and have a good time, but never force it! Comfort is all! If your kitty doesn't like your heart's desire costume, you will have to celebrate in other ways!  there are always "virtual costumes" now that we have our computers!  Will your cat be dressing up today, virtually or for real?

PS: This hat was made by the famous "grammy, " mom of my friend Ellen of the the blog, 15 and Meowing.  Mroww!

Blue-eyed Gurrrls - Caturday Art

 Paprika the cat here! I decided to try life as a blue & white chick....after all, one needs a break from all those peachy  colors....Hey its kind of cool to be a blue-eyed cat. Wonder if I can get more dates? Vive Le Difference!

Good morning, Peaches here! I'm trying out the blue and white look too.  I'm not quite used to it yet, as you can see from my slightly dubious look.  After all my name IS Peaches. But Paprika wanted to try this new look out.  Once in a while I let her have her way.

Our human tried out the Painnt filter for these effects, and used the "Bistro" Brush. Happy Caturday to all! 

Bubble Bath Fantasy

We decided to make an exception to the "cats hate water" deal since it's National Bubble Bath Day. You can read all about this fun holiday HERE! My sis-fur, Paprika, she was even more silly than usual.  She insisted on cleaning weird places on her leg, that's her HIND leg coming up out of the tub and holding the brush!  This is so embarrassing!  However we do want to wish everyone a happy Bubble Day.  The purpose of this fun day is to immerse yourself and everyone you know in bubbles. (except for cats since this is just a fantasy!) -- Peaches the cat

Happy Cuddle Up Day

This is a wonderful time for me to cuddle with my sis-fur, Peaches for National Cuddle Up Day!  Winter is the ideal time for snuggling in general with--humans, animals or toys.  Being as how Peaches is a close relative, I can't think of a better creature to snuggle with.  Of course the holiday is ALSO for humans.  Who is YOUR pick to cuddle up with?  -- Paprika the Cat

Today we're participating in Cat On My Head's Blog Hop. Happy Snuggly winter to all!

Snow Princesses Peaches & Paprika - Caturday Art

Princesses Peaches & Paprika here. Okay, so it's not REALLY snowing yet but we wanted to get ready for the whole snow thing (we KNOW it's coming) by pretending to be snow princesses. Soon it will not be pretend! The snow effects are from Imikimi & the frame made in PicMonkey. Happy Caturday to all!  

Happy New Year to our Furrrrriends!

Wishing our dear friends happiness, health, love and light for the New Year.  One of our resolutions are to visit you guys more often!  Thank you for being our friends and for all your holiday greetings! Love, Carol, Peaches and Paprika