Merry Christmas

More to Christmas

There's more, much more, to Christmas
Than candlelight and cheer;
It's the spirit of sweet friendship,
That brightens all the year;
It's thoughtfulness and kindness,
It's hope reborn again,
For peace, for understanding
And for goodwill to men.
Anonymous


We wish everyone a Blessed and Happy Christmas.


Hugs,
Pellie & Sir Knight

Purrs,
Genghis

We're Back!!!

Hello Evfurryone,
We are back, Yeah! - Or at least, I hope we are.

Pellie was not feeling very good and so we just could not get on the computer very much.

Actually Pellie wants to tell you all about that herself; but I told her since it was officially mancat Monday I had to do a short post first.

We did catch up on a lot of sleep and I got lots of extra hugs and I gave Pellie lots of love and head buts - so that was good. However, we missed you all very much, and that was the real hard part. Did you miss me?

Well Pellie is starting to push me off the chair so I guess I'm done for today.

Purrs,
Genghis



Hello everyone,

It's been a long time since we have gotten to visit with each other and I have missed you all very much.

Way back the first part of October - I was Lucky enough to get the Chickenpox - a disease I had been previously immune to. Fibromyalgia is suspected to be an auto immune disease so it must have really messed things up for me; and at age 61 years young I was blessed with a childhood illness. Take it from me - it was no picnic. I would have rather dealt with it when I was young - like I did all the other childhood illnesses. The older you are the harder you fall. So while the rash cleared up in it's normal two week time period - the rest of me lagged behind in the recuperation department. I felt like a very washed out and limp dish rag - unable to do much of anything.

As each day brought just a little more energy to me - I noticed for some reason my eyes burned and hurt and I was unable to be on the computer for any length of time. I really don't know know what was up with that - maybe they just couldn't handle all the extra sleep and protested. I am able now to get on and stay on for maybe a half an hour - so I will try and post a little more often and get around to visiting all of you soon, but please be patient with me.

I want to thank all of you who e-mailed and commented your concerns - you are truly friends of the heart and my heart is so happy to call you friend.

I also want to thank my dearest Sir Knight for all the love, care and understanding he imparted on me during my illness, way beyond the call of duty. Especially the understanding - yes honey, I do realize that I was a very poor patient and on occasion a poor excuse for a person too. I also want to thank you for keeping up with all my emails for me - so my inbox didn't become daunting (even if you claimed you didn't know what you were doing when it came to the comment moderation stuff and Facebook stuff.) Thanks gain for everything Love you honey



Hopefully this is me waving goodbye to the Doctor for a good long while.

Hugs to each and everyone of you.
Penny

Thank you to all the Veterans

And I am proud to be an American

where at least I know I'm free

And I won't forget the men who served

to give that right to me.

Adapted from the "Song God Bless The USA" by Lee Greenwood

Hello Evfurryone,

Pellie and I want to take this opportunity to thank all the Veterans, including our own dear Sir Knight, for doing their part to see that we remain a free nation.

Lincoln’s words are enshrined among the best of Veterans Day quotes. He said in the famous Gettysburg Address about the soldiers who died: “But, in a larger sense, we can not dedicate, we can not consecrate, we can not hallow this ground.

“The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”

"This nation will remain the land of the free only so long as it is the home of the brave." -Elmer Davis

Purrs, & Thanks,
Genghis

Hugs & Thank you
Penny

Hiding on Wordless Wednesday

A corny tail/tale on Mancat Monday

Hello evfurry one,

There I was having a nice after Halloween snooze and I felt someone crawl up behind me - I thought this was rather strange since I don't have any siblings - but hey I was ready to just ignore it.


Then I felt whom ever it was start to try and push me off the chair- believe you me - that didn't make me very happy.

Then, I swear to you it bit me in the bum, right before the flashy box went off.

Well that's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Purrs,
Genghis

Welcome to my Steampunk Tea

Come away with me - if you will.


Join me in celebrating the first of hopefully many - Steam Tea Travels. - provided by our Friends at Plush Possum Studios. Today our wonderful imaginary airship has taken us to Victorian era Paris.



Please come in and make yourself comfortable - the tea is poured and I adore your company

Please forgive me for planning a Gothic tea for us today - but I have not been able to get Halloween completely out of my system yet.



Thank you so much for dropping by - I hope to see you again next month; when with a bit more planning and preparation time ( hopefully I still wont be ill) - I am planning a huge Holiday Spectacular


Hugs,
Penny

P.S. I just wanted to let you know that I entered my art piece into the November Challenge over at Mary's blog Green Papers Blog, since I did use part or all of her three items in my picture.

Happy Halloweeen

Hello evfurryone,
This man cat Monday is in honor of my brofur Dale and all the other cute Black Halloween Cats out there.

Hope you all have a great time this Halloween -whether your out playing beneath the autumn sky or staying warm and toasty in your house.
Yea I know this spider has nothing to do with black cats - I just thought it was cool.

Pellie bought this card when she & Sir Knight only had Dale. She says it reminds her of him every time see looks at it.


I'm still on Pellie watch - so - I'll be warm inside tonight.

Purrs,
Genghis

Beware Movie Monsters on the Prowl

Hello Everyone,

The theme for October over at the Blissful ATC Swap was Movie Monsters. - How fun is that for an art theme?

The terrific card above of the ever good looking monster of Frankenstein is the one I received from my partner Jane over at Anything but... Plain Jane Blog. Thank you so much Jane I really Love my New ATC.

I really liked watching Creature Features on Friday Nights and Frankie was always one of my favorite monsters.

To the more modern taste in horror movies - I suppose these were too hokey - but it's what I grew up on and quite frankly I really have a hard time stomaching all the blood and guts stuff that passes for horror now.

Here is all the goodies Jane sent along with her Card. Thank you so much for you generosity.

Here are all the goodies together in one picture.

One of my other Favorite creatures - growing up - was the Creature from the Black Lagoon.
so that is who I created my ATC about.

I layered different colors & levels of tissue paper for the lagoon, the beach and the land to give my card texture and a bit of depth. I used dots to raise my creature to look as if he was coming out of the lagoon. Added a little moss to give it that Amazon Jungle look. I really thought he came out rather nice. - If I can be so bold to use the term nice and creature all in the same sentence.

Here is the picture of the card I made to accompany my ATC on it's trip. I sure hope Jane liked it.


Well I need to get back to bed - I really am hoping to be better soon - so I can get back to visiting with all of you wonderful friends.

Hugs,
Penny

All Most Wordless Wednesday

Hi Evfurryone,

I'm still busy on Pellie Patrol - today I picked me a closer vantage point - under Sir Knight's pillow. I won't miss a thing from here and won't have to go far if she needs me.

Purrs,
Genghis

Thinking

Hello Evfurryone,

Wow! Here it is Monday already. I was just sitting here giving some real thought to what I wanted to be for Halloween and I just can't decide. Robin Hood - Captain America - so many cool hero's but which one to choose Any ideas or suggestions that you might be able to offer me would certainly be appreciated.

Well this post is going to be short - since Pellie is sick - and of course it is my job to take care of her while Sir Knight is at work, so I really can't dally here on the computer too long.

One of these days I'll be able to visit more.

Purrs,
Genghis

Good morning

The graphic above is from a terrific site I found called Magical Graphics - check them out.

Good morning everyone,

The time at the tone is 5:07 AM and what the heck am I doing up and out of bed this early?
I sure as heck don't know. - Don't you just hate it when you wake up real early and can't fall back to sleep? I know I do.
No use crying about it - just use the time to get a bit of blogging and visiting in.


Way back in September when I was participating in the Gypsy Dreams Blog Hop - I entered a giveaway over at Laura's blog the Crafty Little Woman ( read her Gypsy post here.) Guess what - I won. Yipee!!!!

My prize was here waiting for me - when Sir Knight and I returned from our previously mentioned long weekend away from home. But my also mentioned upper respiratory bug has made life miserable for me and I have been very lacks at getting news posted.

So at this time I would Like to share with all of you - my wonderful prize.
Drum roll please. >>>>>>


This gorgeous bracelet is now mine - all mine. Isn't it pretty? I love it and am waiting till I feel better so I can get out and about and enjoy wearing it.
Laura also sent that wonderful tag along with the bracelet. Thank you so Much for your generosity Laura; I really do love and appreciate it.

Watching Genghis sleep -is making me sleepy - so I think I'll try to catch a few more ZZZ - before I really start my day in earnest.

Hugs,
Penny

Wordless Wednesday

Pretties that arrived from afar

Hello everyone,
The Last week in September - Sir Knight and I took a Long Weekend away from home. We arrived home late Sunday evening tired by happy.

That euphoria was short lived however - as by Monday evening I was deep into a full blown upper respiratory infection. (Runny nose, barky cough and tight chest plus the usual aches and pains that accompany it.)

My cough is much better and my chest is only a little bit tight - but now I have laryngitis.
( A blessing to Sir Knight ears maybe - but not so good for my overall mood and general disposition)

On the lighter side -when I arrived home there was a box from my friend Karla (check out her art blog here) waiting for me. The mosaic above show you just a glimpse of how pretty everything looked - before I started in ripping off all the wrappings. Karla sure has a knack for pretty and as much as I hated messing with perfection - I was way to nosey to see what was in store fore me inside - to linger to long with the wrappings.

You might remember that when Karla and I started trading ATC's privately, among our selves -I made her a cute little box to hold the cards she would receive from me.

Well Karla liked that idea so much that she made me a special box to hold the cards she makes for me.



This is the beautiful box she made for me. Isn't it just gorgeous. My pictures don't quite do it justice but I'm sure you get an idea how awesome it is. Thank you so much Karla - it is truly a work of heart.



Here is the the inside of the box - again so pretty and look at all the goodies that lay inside waiting for me to open them.



Our Theme for August's ATC was "At the Water Edge" so Karla made me this wonderful beach scene card. I love the wonderful play of the colors and check out the miniature shells - so darn cute.


The September theme was back to school and here is Karla's card - a sure winner in my book.


Here is an extra gifty that Karla sent me. A stunning ATC made from the petal of Rainbow roses. Isn't that butterfly something else. I love it.

Way back when we first started to swap I sent Miss Peach & Hunny Bunny some Pitter Pat's - so that before the years end we could alter the tin for each other.

Karla was really on the ball - cuz she finished hers already, and isn't it just so gorgeous. Hard to believe it once held cat treats.


The inside of the box is just as beautiful. and comes complete with two little fur friends nestled in the bottom. I love it so much.

She also sent me this super cool card of Kittens with beads on top of the whole card.

In the bottom drawer of the box is a tag that says do not open till Halloween - so I await the end of the month with baited breath to see her October ATC's.

Trying to do a post when your not feeling well is certainly an experience -after having to reload my photo's 3 times- due to my clumsy fingers - I am happy to say I've finished for the day and now plan on crawling back into bed.

I will be around to visit everyone later after I rest up a bit.

Hugs,
Penny

Mancat Monday.

Oh Hi Evfurryone,

I was just headed in to do my post after a wonderful early morning romp outside.

We have been very busy around here lately - but Pellie informs me I'm going to have to keep my post brief since - she and Sir Knight will be heading out to get some much needed shopping done.

Since I like to eat and I know my supply of stinky goodness is really way down -I best not keep them to long.

So From Pellie, Sir Knight and myself -we hope that you have a great Columbus day.

Wordless Wednesday

another cool picture thanks to Dumpr Photo Fun

A few little ATC's

Hello everyone,

As you know I just love making these little ATC's ; even when working in such a small format is hard on these old eyes of mine , as well as these old hands.
They are so addicting you just can't do one - so you make sure you have enough partners to swap with.
Karla from Misses Peach's Meowz and Sketchbooks ATC Mail Art and I swap privately between us. For August, Karla really wanted to do a beach scene - me living here in the land locked Midwest not so much - so we compromised and settled on a theme of By the Waters Edge.

The picture above is the card I made. I titled it "Stream Dreams in Sepia". I worked this card mostly digital.. I started with a color picture of a great mountain stream and gathered my extra pieces which I wanted to cut and paste into my scene. Well the colors from all those different sources didn't play well together, so I decided I'd have to switch everything over to Sepia. It worked out - they were more cohesive and worked well together. To give a little extra depth to the picture - the Adirondack chair was carefully cut out and applied with pop dots. as well as one of the clumps of trees. Then I just added some glitter and called it quits.

I really liked the way it turned out and during all that hot humid weather we had this last summer -I was really dreaming of a vacation at such a nice spot. But alas - Sir Knight really didn't have any vacation time to use.

Our September theme was Back to School - which I thought would be fun -and none of the other swap groups were using it.

So here is the card I made. I worked this card both digitally and manually. First I found a cute picture of a classroom in a vintage school book. I digitally manipulated the picture to put the welcome back to school on the black board as well as the teachers name and grade. The bulletin board to the right of the teachers desk was not so easy for me to manipulate digitally so I printed the picture I had cleaned up and manipulated so far as an 8 by 10. Cut out the inside of the bulletin board used a piece of cork Slid in behind the picture, made my divider for my bookworms board and slid my boy and girl characters into the cork.. When every thing was as I wanted it - I scanned the whole thing back into the computer; reduced the size to wallet and printed it out. I mounted it on Black with white polka dot a scrapbook paper, added the ribbon and apple and called it a masterpiece.



I also made this little backpack card - on which I added the earrings I used for my boy and girl characters and sent them off to Karla as well.

At the auction we went to right before I sent out my cards - I found this cute little school girl and had to have her - as she reminded me of pictures I had seen of Karla herself as a little schoolgirl.
So I sent it along as well.

Now I best get back to my Halloween creating or clean up the craft room.

Hugs,
Penny

Puzzled on Wordless Wednesday

Photo manipulation software free on Dumpr Photo Fun

Never too early for Halloween

Hello everyone,

I can not believe it's been two weeks since I last stop by this here blog and visited with all of you.

I really don't have any excuse why I've been gone - just getting lackadaisical in my old age I guess. But then who can blame me - the weather is nice and cool - the leaves are starting to turn and Autumn will soon be here. I love this time of year and I have certainly been enjoying it's inviting reprieve from the scorching heat we had this summer.

I am also a little preoccupied with the class I sign up to take at our local collage. It's an Adobe Photoshop Elements Basic course. My self and one older gentleman are the only seniors in a class full of young mothers - who want to learn Photoshop Elements to enhance their scrapbooking. And those young minds are grasping this stuff a whole lot easier than I am -so I have to work hard on it here at home. Keep practicing and maybe I'll get it down pat.

I wanted to share with you some spooky Halloween ATC's. The Swap for September over at The Altered Paper blog was Halloween - which is sooooooo much fun to create for.



This is the ATC I received from my partner April Cole. Isn't it just the cutest thing. Thank you so much for being such a great partner . -I love my card. Check out April's blog here.


All the items that Mr. Mailman brought from April. So cool. -I know she didn't know this but I am addicted to candy corn; for eating and for decorating. ( Another good reason I love this time of year.)


Here is the card that I made for April. I started with a kind of orangey marble background that was free a the Plush Possum Studio blog - overlayed a rather transparent cemetery scene over it. Added my text and then cut out this cute cat (the original was a flocked cut out that I bought for my first Halloween Party way back in 1960, which I scanned into my computer and shrunk him down to fit on the card.) I then added the little pumpkins and ghost.

So what do you think? I liked it - sure hope April liked it as well.


Here is the card I made to accompany my ATC on it's trip to April's house.



Had a howling good time creating this one.

Now I need to get back to work on my Photoshop Elements homework for the week.

Hugs,
Penny

Shiver me Timbers

Arggggh Matey,

Captain Ghenghis Khat, aboard the good Ship Catmint on a special Mission of privatering for Her Majesty Good Queen Bess.. In case you didn't know that's pirating that is sanction by the Queen herself - against enemies of the country.

I can't tell you anything about our mission - because - then I'd have to kill you.

The good ship Catmint for you to color.

Meow like a pirate you scurvy dog or I'll make you walk the plank.


Arrgh,
Genghis