Here's Wishing Everyone a Very Happy & Healthy New Year!!!

Ah yes, and about that New Year's resolution ...

Our visit from Santa Paws ...

Hey everyone, it's just Kim's cats ~ Midnight, Haley 'n' Kiki. We slipped her some of our strongest catnip in her hot tea in order to hijack her computer to write this post ~ tee hee!  We gotta tell you, our mommy and daddy really love us ~ even though they did leave us alone the entire day on Christmas! Silly humans ... no matter, atleast Santa Paws remembered us! He gave us some cool toys and our favorite snack, "Greenies" treats.  Gee, we must have been really good kitties this year ~ (ha, have we ever got him fooled, eh)!

Of course, after mom and dad came home from their travels, they adorned us with more cat treats and toys! Guess that was their way of trying to make up for being gone all day and "yes" it worked!

New addition to the Yule Tree

Yesterday afternoon, my hubby and I decided we wanted to get out of the house for a bit. So we drove down to one of our local Flea Market/Auction House's in our area, "Zern's." There we found all kinds of neat treasures. Among them was a pretty cool little decoration which, being the crafty and imaginative little witch that I usually am, immediately made me think of Yule and how nice I thought it would look hanging on our tree this year. To me, it looks festively Pagan/Wiccan ...

Of course, it had to meet the cats approval. After all, it is "their" Yule Tree ~ LOL!!

I wish everyone a Very Blessed Yuletide and a

Very Merry Christmas from us to all of you!!!

The Yule Cat

The oldest written sources on the Yule Cat are from the Nineteenth Century. These refer to the fact that those who do not get a new item of clothing for Yule are destined to become offerings for the Yule Cat. It may sound strange that the deprived ones will also become the sacrifices, but this tradition is based on the fact that every effort was made to finish all work with the Autumn wool before Yule. The reward for those who took part in the work was a new piece of clothing. Those who were lazy received nothing. Thus the Yule Cat was used as an incentive to get people to work harder.

A woman describes a scene from her youth in the last century thus: "We were lazy doing this chore. Then we were reminded of the Yule Cat. We thought that was some terrible beast and the last thing we wanted was to be one of his offers".

One of Iceland's most beloved poets in this century, Jóhannes úr Kötlum, wrote a lay about the Yule Cat. It follows in the translation of Vignir Jónsson, who says: "You'll have to forgive me but I didn't make it rhyme - I'm not much of a poet."

You all know the Yule Cat And that Cat was huge indeed.  People didn't know where he came from  Or where he went. 
He opened his glaring eyes wide,  The two of them glowing bright. It took a really brave man  To look straight into them.
His whiskers, sharp as bristles,  His back arched up high.  And the claws of his hairy paws Were a terrible sight.
He gave a wave of his strong tail,  He jumped and he clawed and he hissed. Sometimes up in the valley,  Sometimes down by the shore.
He roamed at large, hungry and evil In the freezing Yule snow.  In every home People shuddered at his name.
If one heard a pitiful "meow" Something evil would happen soon Everybody knew he hunted men But didn't care for mice.
He picked on the very poor  That no new garments got For Yule - who toiled And lived in dire need.
From them he took in one fell swoop Their whole Yule dinner Always eating it himself  If he possibly could.
Hence it was that the women  At their spinning wheels sat  Spinning a colorful thread  For a frock or a little sock.
Because you mustn't let the Cat  Get hold of the little children.  They had to get something new to wear  From the grownups each year.
And when the lights came on, on Yule Eve  And the Cat peered in,  The little children stood rosy and proud  All dressed up in their new clothes.
Some had gotten an apron  And some had gotten shoes  Or something that was needed - That was all it took.
For all who got something new to wear  Stayed out of that pussy-cat's grasp  He then gave an awful hiss But went on his way.
Whether he still exists I do not know.  But his visit would be in vain If next time everybody  Got something new to wear.
Now you might be thinking of helping  Where help is needed most.   Perhaps you'll find some children  That have nothing at all.
Perhaps searching for those  That live in a lightless world  Will give you a happy day And a Merry, Merry Yule.!
(source)

Shhhh, don't tell the cats what they are getting from Santa ...

About a month ago, my hubby and I took one of our yearly road trips to New Hope, PA. For those of you who are not familiar with the village of New Hope, it is a quaint little non-commercial town in Bucks County, PA and a "hop, skip and a jump" from New Jersey.

The Shoppes at New Hope range from the traditional to the new age. They offer all kinds of really awesome things such as beautiful Indian clothing, body piercing, nostalgia/collectibles, and various antique and craft stores, and Pagan/Wiccan shoppes to name a few.

On our last trip, we discovered a wonderful little shoppe called, "Jake & Elwood's House of Chews." There, they sell all kinds of cool paraphernalia for both dogs and cats. It just so happened that they were having a great "After Halloween Sale" so naturally I just couldn't resist! Yep, you guessed it! I bought a couple of cute little cat costumes for next year...

"Little Wizard" (Midnight)

"Mermaid" as modeled by Miss Haley

They look so thrilled, don't they? What really good sports my kitties are. Of course, they are getting them for Yule/Christmas ~ LOL!!

The Legend of the Christmas Spider ~ by Francis Morlan

**********************************************

There are many miracles of Christmas. From Germany comes the folk tale of the Christmas Spider ~ a miracle that took place due to the simple house keeping chores associated with the season.

As the story was told, a family living in a small home worked together one Christmas Eve day to clean the house. They cleaned it from top to bottom. All the spiders living in the various parts of the house escaped to the attic as the cleaning took place. Later that evening, after all had gone to bed, they were delighted to see that at least one place in the home remained that would be suitable for a spider -- the Christmas tree!

Having nowhere else to go to spin their webs, they dashed up the trunk of the tree and leaped from branch to branch, spinning their webs and making for them selves a new place in which to live. When Santa Claus arrived he encountered the web-covered tree and somewhat of a difficult dilemma: did he keep the tree wrapped in spider webs and disappoint the family? Or should he remove the webs and destroy the spiders' new home (and ruin their Christmas in the process)?

Santa fixed everything. He turned the spider webs into shimmering silver strands that turned the tree into a brilliant decoration. His action thrilled the family - and saved the spiders. That is why today many people decorate their tree with tinsel -- in honor of the Christmas Spider.



Guatemalan Worry Cats

There is a story among the indigenous Mayan people of Guatemala that when a person's soul goes to the next astral level, cats await them to help them overcome any obstacles or negative energy that they might encounter.

Like the traditional worry people of Guatemala, when these "worry cats" are placed beneath your pillow they will help remove obstacles and promote positive energy!

Decorating for Yule, Cat Style

One of the things I love the most about having a Yule tree is the fact that our cats simply love to lay underneath it. We even have stockings for each of them. Midnight's stocking says, "Prince," Kiki's is "Princess," and Haley's says, "Queen," of course.

Every year, I decorate the house with as much kitty cat paraphernalia I can from cat dish and bathroom towels to cat figurines...

Fenton Glassware "Christmas Cat"

Ginger Cats in wicker sleigh

Handcrafted Cat ornament

Lloyd's of London's "Not a Creature was Stirring"

Yule cookie cutters

HAVE A BLESSED THANKSGIVING!!

Wishing everyone a very

 Happy

 Thanksgiving

 and may you enjoy your time with family

 and friends!!! :D

It's a cats life

From ancient Egyptian deity to present day domestic feline, the cat has a very long and rich history indeed. As the story goes, a cat had wondered into Egypt one day and began killing the mice that were eating the stored grain which the Egyptians had saved for the coming year. Because famine was such a serious problem, the people of Egypt welcomed these felines and believed them to be a sacred gift sent from their gods. The once capital city of Am-Khent, then located in lower Egypt, was named Bubastis in honor of the goddess Bast or Bastet. 

In Egyptian mythology, Bast was a daughter of Ra and Isis. She was acknowledged as being associated with music, dancing and anything fun! These people had revered their cats as members of the family and, when they died, they would mummify them and adorn them with various gemstomes and jewels.  Even today, cats are considered to be sacred in the country of Turkey. In fact, harming them in any way is forbidden and against the law.

During the Middle Ages; however, cats endured the most horrific of atrocities! Due to the ignorance of the religious leaders of that time in our history who believed that cats, especially black cats, were linked to witches and therefore must be evil, these beautiful creatures were killed and tortured in any way possible by the masses! This, in effect, allowed the bubonic pleague to spread. Since the disease was caused by rats, the same rats which would have normally been killed by the cats, it is believed that about 25 million people died as a result.

Fortunately for us, cats still live among us, gracing us with their ever-lasting beauty, grace, love, loyalty and equisite presence. I can honestly say that there is nothing that I wouldn't do for my kitties. They are, without a doubt, my best friends and I would be completely lost without them!

Morganna the "Mystickal" Mascot!

This pretty little lady is Morganna, the "Mystickal Tymes" mascot. Mystickal Tymes is a Wiccan/Pagan supply shoppe located in New Hope, PA. My husband and I have been taking yearly trips there since about 1996. The fabulously quaint shoppes at New Hope are mostly all non-commerical and very unique. So unique that you would be hard-pressed to find any items locally which you can buy there.

Morganna is 16 years old and spends most of her time at the store with her owner and the proprietor of Mystickal Tymes, Eric Lee. He said that she is quite at home there and never wonders outside the store. As Eric explains it, "She HATES it out there!" (can't say I blame her very much as New Hope is always a fairly busy place, with cars and horse and buggy carriages heading up and down the main strip throughout the entire day).

The shoppes at New Hope have just about everything you could possibly think of ~ beautiful clothing stores, great places to buy books of all kinds, excellent food (both fine dining and casual), awesome pet supply stores, whatever your looking for! Although my favorite shoppe is undeniably Mystickal Tymes with their huge variety of candles, incense, oils, statues, musical instruments and so on. And, it is always great to see Morganna greeting everyone as they walk in the store!

Cats & Friends: All You Need is Love ...

Through the years, my husband and I have shared our lives with a few bunny rabbits as well as kitties. So far, we have had a black & white Mini Lop named Sir Barney who lived to the average age of 7 years, a gray & white speckled rex named Choloe, and now a brown & white speckled Dwarf bunny named Sam.

Barney was by far my favorite as he would actually give you little bunny hugs by resting his chin on your shoulder and I had such an easy time litterbox training him. Yes, I said "litterbox." There is a great rabbit training book called, "Hop to It" and it teaches you how to train your bunny to use a cat litterbox, how to keep your bunny away from dangerous household items such as wires and cords simply by bunny-proofing and saying  a few simple little words, and much, much more!

Before we rescued our first bunny, Barney, I never knew squat about rabbits. So, I bought a few bunny books and learned a few things such as rabbits do not have the ability to vommit and if they develop a hairball or something they must have it surgically removed. I also found out that un-neutered male bunnies will spray just like male cats do if they are not taken care of. Most interestingly though, they are not stupid. Since they are such sensitive creatures by nature, you can not yell at them if you wish to make them listen.  If you do, all you will suceed at is terrifying him to the point where you have lost any trust you may have had before hand. Instead, you have to pick them up right away if they are misbehaving and repeat the words, "no, no ,no,  (and their name)" several times while placing them gently back into their cage. Trust me, they do not appreciate being confined to their cages after being left out for a spell and so the "dumb bunny" gets smart very quickly!!

Surprisingly, all of our cats have always taken extremely well to our rabbits and they often snuggled and played together ...

The Day in the Life of Winnie (With New Funny Pictures of Winnie)

 Picking What To watch on TV

 Laying in the window

Crashing on his owner's bed .....the day in the life of Winnie ;)

Puss In Boots

Cat lovers be sure not to miss this movie!  The cool cat Puss in Boots from the Shrek movies now has his own movie which is in theaters now. Me (Page) and my friends are going to see it tomorrow :) Here is  the movie trailer Puss In Boots: http://www.mtv.com/videos/movie-trailers/647791/puss-in-boots.jhtml

Meet Halloween!

Yes, that is actually her real name, but we call her Haley, for short. Haley is what you might call our "middle child" cat. She joined our family in October of 2007 and she is of course a Calico cat. I have heard it said about Calico's that they "are like a piece of chocolate ~ sweet on the outside and nutty on the inside!" This we have certainly found to be true of Haley!

I must admit that we have never shared our lives with a Calico cat before, although I have to say that it has been quite interesting to say the least. First of all, we have to keep her separated from our other cats whenever we are not at home because she likes to "mark" her territory (she is NOT happy about sharing her home or her litterbox with any other cats). Our vet suggested that we keep three litterboxes around the house (one for each cat), but we have no way of keeping the other cats out of what she considers HER toilet. Not to mention, we have a rather small house and simply do not have the room to accomodate this gesture. Secondly, she likes to play ""come and catch me" and then runs right up to you after you walk away from her.

She also has this weird habit of moving her water bowl in front of the doorway so that when you walk out the door, you almost trip over it! Ahh, the joys of being a cat parent, eh? I suppose it could be worse; however, as we would prabably not have been able to keep her (with the peeing thing which we can not have) if we didn't have our closed porch for her to use when we are at work during the day, etc.

With that being said, she is probably the most sweetest, adoreable little female we have ever had. She loves to groom Mr. Midnight (what we like to call "cat kisses") and she is definately our only lap cat which I totally love about her!

Who needs a vacuum cleaner?

This is a little video clip of Midnight doing his "burying" thing I spoke about. I have never seen a cat do this before and I have to laugh every single time he does it!! (please excuse the quality, I am just learning how to take videos with my husband's digital camera) ...

"The Coven of the Cat"

This afternoon while watching The Animal Planet series on television called, "The Haunted," I saw an episode that really struck me and I just felt as if I had to write a post about it. 

First of all, I watch this show all of the time and usually the stories revolve around families and their pets who have experienced some very "abnormal" paranormal activity ~ voices when there is no one else in the house, pets who are either affected directly or indirectly by something or someone, etc. Second, these families most often than not choose to bring in a Catholic Priest along with a Paranormal Team of sorts to cleanse their homes in order to get rid of these "unwanted" or, for lack of a better word, "evil" spirits be they human or animal. I was torn between posting this one on my Wiccan blog, "The Wiccan Life" or here. (I had finally decided that it would have slightly more relevance on this blog rather than my Wiccan blog).

A Pennsylvania resident, Rob Viars, and his family moved into such a house. Their cat, in particular, was terrified by this strange spirit. In short, the house was once owned by a man named Dr. Frederick LaMotte Santee who was the town doctor and the leader of a Wiccan coven called, "The Coven of the Catta." This coven worshipped the Egyptian cat goddess, Bastet.  Of course, there had been a lot of rumours and half-truths going around about people practicing witchcraft and performing seances, etc. for years.

Around the time The Viars family was getting, "haunted" one of the descendants of Dr. Santee's coven, Lord Shawnus, had come across this story on the Animal Planet website about the house where the doctor had lived. He had decided to come forward to help this family and to set the record straight about both the house and witchcraft. Turns out that the doctor's neighbors were so paranoid about these rumours of speculation, that someone actually tried to burn down the guest house where the coven's sacred cat, Bastet, was living. The house was saved and everyone managed to make it out alive except for the cat.  It was believed that this was the same cat's voice screaming which the PAA (Pennsylvania Paranormal Association) picked up on their EVP's.

The Viars family asked Wiccan High Priest Lord Shawnus and his High Priestess to cleanse their house of Bastet's spirit and send her toward the light.

I have linked the entire story here on our blog for your view ~ Parts 1, 2 & 3. 

(Part 1) http://youtu.be/0gR7XFnkcr4

(Part 2) http://youtu.be/XdP1koQxx3Q

(Part 3) http://youtu.be/ABU2kcp5T6k