I Believe in Mirrorballs...You Sexy Thing!

 

    Aaaaaaaha....Missy has been busy. Little Miss Fabulous has decided to impress and share her stunning fabulousness with the world by becoming a living mirrorball, the embodiment of shining glory. Sapphira's job is to shine the torch beam as she swings from creaking rafters, blinding the bedazzled eyeballs of admirers for miles around. 

 

    Those mirror pieces are going NOwhere any time soon, stuck fast with Sapphira's super spit, so she sashays along the garden path like a goddess on Earth, blinding badgers and builders alike with her reflective glory. 

 

     I'm not sure this will end well....At some point her overinflated ego will be met by her puffed up curvacious body and those shards of dazzling glass will ricochet far and wide, inevitably leaving a trail of beheaded rodents and feather-shaved sparrows. It'll be a Missy massacre!

 

 

A New Venture

 

    So....Christmas is over, and with the fresh flush of a brand new year slowly turning into a remembered routine, the cats have found that there's room to spare - a few beds vacant - and, although they enjoy a game of 'musical snooze pads' as much as the next fussy feline, the sheer exhaustion of having to schlepp from comfortable warm zone to other comfortable warm zone is just too much to bear.

 

     With this in mind, Missy has taken matters into her own paws and has begun yet another new - possibly highly dodgy - business endeavour: a hostel - a 'kitty YMCA' if you will - with the inaugural guest - Faticus Caticus Maximus Iridius (a mature exchange student of fluffsome proportions) -promptly arriving from a Land Down Under, baggage full of necessities (sandwiches), prepared for an exchange of cultures and all the excitement (and food) that such adventures bring. 

 

     Bedecked in traditional attire, our adventurer is eager to rest his magnificent behind and recoup some valuable calories, and aspects of his appearance have reminded his hostess that catering and liquid fortification are - as ever - a priority. Now they just have to make it past the Duty Free without an international incident..

 

     Welcome to England, Maxxie - and good luck!!!

 

 

 

Missy Karenina

    

    It's cold out. Frosty. The garden was a white crystaline palace this morning and the beauty of winter was breathtaking - almost literally in the icy air. Who could fail to be impressed by the frosted splendour? Who could gaze upon the landscape, luminous under a clear moonlit sky and be unmoved?

 

     Missy. Missy took one look, lit her first morning cigarette and hacked up a sneering response to nature's glory, the remnants of last night's sambuca and kebab rave party still resplendant in a cascade down her neon onesie. Using a chipped, painted claw to hook the spandex out of her ample buttocks, she blew her acrid smoke into our eyes and rasped, "Fak that," and waddled back to bed.

 

     This is Missy, in all her glory. She's our pretty-perfect-party-pop-princess and she knows it. In those seconds where she leaned casually on the doorframe, she pictured herself as the romantic and luscious fragile female icon of some great Russian literary classic. Reality was never really 'a thing' for Missy.... We left her asleep, drooling over her half-spent glowsticks. She's happy. 

 

    She's Missy.....bask in the allure....

 

The Lion Merely Snoozes.....

 

    There are many bonuses to Leonard becoming a house cat once again....he's excellent company for a start - a well behaved boy and utterly adorable; his happy little face is enough to brighten even the grottiest of days; he's a patient listener and never criticises my singing or judges my rants... he's quite the little star. 

 

    The MAIN benefits of having Leonard locked up firmly indoors, however, are the distinct lack of headless, fat-bottomed rodents deposited underfoot and the absence of a need to check every inch of him for warrior's wounds, random holes and missing bits thanks to his continuing belief that he is, in fact, a lion of Herculean proportions. 

 

     He's terrified of fireworks, thunder and the rumble of the bin collections. He has a weird aversion to brushes and brooms. He's perpetually disconcerted by the inevitability of Thanos spiders and he is STILL intimidated by the chickens who berate him for disturbing their tea and scones and distracting them from their crochet. He will, on the other hand, take on rabid gangs of murderous bears, rampaging gorillas, herds of stampeding elephants, invading aliens and zombie hordes with not a flinch. He has no concept of limitations due to his size or species and will take on any adversary with what amounts to legendary gusto.

 

    Now anchored to his castle grounds our Knight of the Golden Biscuit has been forced to turn his aggressions on Mr Shroo, his favourite pink ribbony mousey-onna-stick which is proving to be an admirable and formidable nemesis. For now, the boxing gloves are shelved, but the claws remain razor sharp and ready should wandering yeti barge through the ramparts with murderous intent. 

 

    House kitty Leonard is the eternal guardian. Cuddly fluff-butt curled up with whiskers a-twitch, lulling the world of monsters and demons into a false sense of security with his wake-up drool face and savagely adorable little pink nosey. 

 

    For now, at least, the lion soundly sleeps.....

 

 

A Fond Farewell, In Full Technicolour

 

     Losing a pet is a trauma equal to, sometimes greater than losing a human from your life's circle. People without pets will never comprehend the loss. We grieve more, I think, for animals because our relationships with them are so uncomplicated, so simple. Humans are so complex and we have to come to terms with so many negative emotions - anger, resentment, guilt, bitterness... None of those things are present when an animal dies, just the pain of the void that they leave in our lives - their unconditional love, loyalty, trust, comfort and the joy they bring. 

    To pay tribute is almost an impossible thing as nothing really seems fitting or equal to the task. The only way I know how to express my love and loss is through my art, and, in some way through my words. In drawing a picture to represent Gizmo's journey from this world to his eternal realm, I wanted to reflect the joy that he brought to all of us. Inside, I crumpled and felt only the pain of loss as I have before with other feline companions, but Gizmo was strong - they all have been - and deserved something equal to the value he held for myself and especially for my Husband, for whom he has been a constant friend these past eighteen years.

    This is a happy picture, although painful to draw and paint. There are aspects which reflect the sadness.... The two sisters, Missy and Sapphira comfort each other as their older brother leaves them behind, although the road to his happy hunting ground is closer for them than for their younger adopted brother, Leonard. He sits close by, a little on his own, bidding farewell to Gizmo whilst waving to Harvey, his brother and best friend, lost to us in 2019 who I know he misses dreadfully. They are all sat down, firmly rooted in our world, as he floats towards his ginger furred litter brother, and Harvey, the latecomer to the family, the other grumpy old man, he and Gizmo studiously ignoring each other even when curled up on the same small cushion...

    But Gizmo is pictured still close to his earthly family, still almost within our reach. He filled our lives every day - we are still seeing him in everything we do, hearing his demanding meows, feeling where his furry, purry body would snuggle. We hold on to him just for a while... Ahead of him he has candy floss clouds that catch the love we send, an endless supply of heavenly sausages and even Harvey is willing to share one of his snuggly wubbies with his curmudgeonly compatriot. Sadness, loss and joy, expressed in a way which, at a future date, even my husband may be able to enjoy. 

     For now, it stays inside a folder with other emotive pieces. The record is made, the catharsis has been processed, and the colour and joy that Gizmo gave us will be held as a record never to be forgotten.

A Hero's Passing

 

 

Gizmo Aloysius Graymalkin Wilkins. Hero, champion, leader, companion, friend. A sporter of impressive trendsettng pantaloons and fashionable crazy whiskers. Scourge of rodentkind and fearless warrior. "Sossoge" aficionado and quiche devourer...bumsmells innovator and soft cuddler. 

*  *  *

    Tonight, Gizmo -the champion of our hearts - has left us to cross the Valhalla rainbow bridge. His once proud and virile little body could no longer house the mighty spirit that resided within and it was time to grow wings and fly to the hall where all eternal mighty heroes reside in glory, feasting on tales of their astounding achievements, triumphs in battle...and "sossog" quiche.

 

 

     He was stalwart - walking beside his Father and best friend, matching him stride for stride, ready to celebrate the wonder of life and to offer solace when the challenge was too great. He never flinched, never failed, never waivered. Through to those last few moments, he remained, within, the Gizmo of his youth and left us with his mighty paws curled protectively around the arm of his dearest human - my Husband, Glynn. 

 

     The void left by the softness of his fur, the steady gaze of his eyes and the expressive meows and purrs is filled with the immeasurable love and joyous memories that can only come with eighteen years of constancy, the gift that was his lifetime. 

 

     Gizmo Aloycius Graymalkin Wilkins. He may have left for his new horizons, but everything that he was - everything that truly matters - will stay with us forever. There is no following this act - he remains the leading cat in the performance that is our life. We will cherish every second of him and one day join him at his table and voyage with him beyond the stars into eternity.

 

     Until the curtain rises on the next act, goodbye Old Man. I love you.