carnival of the cats

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Studio

Luna looks out the window, as the new studio starts to take shape.

We see a side rack here, with a couple of colorful E-MU modules, and a couple of classic Yamaha FM modules. Near the window is a non-electronic instrument, a large bell made from a spent CO2 cartridge.

Of course, the main attraction is Luna with her perfectly groomed fur and sharp pose. This might be one of my favorite photos of her to date in our new home.

We saw Luna playing hide-and-seek in the studio last weekend. And that is the theme of this weekend's Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos, hosted this weekend by Chandra & Samantha at New Tuxedo Gang Hideout.

Weekend Cat Blogging #143 is being hosted this weekend Meowza at Mind of Mog.

The Carnival of the Cats is happening this Sunday at Grace & Kittens. And of course the Friday Ark #180 is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Peek-a-boo!

Luna has always enjoyed playing “peek-a-boo.” But now she has many more places to play. She is quite fond of this balcony, for example.

Of course, she also enjoys hide-and-seek. Where's the kitty?

There's the kitty!

Weekend Cat Blogging #142 is being hosted by Zed Monster and Burkowski and the rest of the gang at the Bad Kitty Cats. There's always something going on there, like dreams or fun with Graphire pens.

Speaking of “bad kitty cats,” the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos will be hosted this weekend by Mz. Mog & Kitty Cats at Mind of Mog. The Carnival of the Cats will be on Sunday at House of the (Mostly) Black Cats – and we at CatSynth of quite fond of mostly-blackness. And of course, the Friday Ark #179 is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: The Move-in

Well, it's now been a week since the big move to San Francisco.

Luna arrived last Sunday, after a spending a few days safely away from the commotion in the care of the folks at Kitty Hill Resort for Cats in Santa Cruz. It was a great place to board her, with nice large quiet rooms. But it's not home.

The trip up was difficult. And Luna was of course frightened the first evening, mostly hiding behind boxes. But eventually she ventured out to explore, and found some new interesting places:

Here she looks out from several of our balconies that overlook the cavernous main space below:

Yes, we still have quite a bit of work to do here to get set up. But that hasn't stopped Luna from claiming this comfy rocking chair in the loft as her new favorite spot:

When I come upstairs, there is a decent chance I will find her sitting there, or napping. With some effort, I have managed to convince her to share it. Indeed, we are both enjoying the chair right now.

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted on this Groundhog Day by Katie and a rather agape Puddy at A Bytootaful Life. Check out Puddy's photos and the round up.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos goes home to Megan and Zed Monster at the Bad Kitty Cats.

The Carnival of the Cats is going to be with the “Meowers of Death” at When Cats Attack this Sunday. And of course the Friday Ark is hosted by modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Getting packed

This weekend is the beginning of the big final pack-up of our home. And for Luna, things are definitely changing:

She definitely is good at watching over things, and is wise enough to stay out of the way, lest we end up with something like this:

Even though the drama has been building up for weeks and isn't over yet, we still have some time and space for humor 🙂 Seriously though, we have a long way to go before “we iz all paked.” A lot of the major stuff is already done, or waiting for the pros. But in the meantime, the devil is in the details, as it often is.

Weekend Cat Blogging #137 is being hosted by Pumpkin, along with Upsier and sher at what did you eat. Pumpkin is settling into his new home quite nicely.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos is being hosted by ” Mz. Mog & Kitty Cats” at Mind of Mog. The Carnival of the Cats is going to Missy, KC, Sol and Smokey this Sunday. And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more

A busy weekend here, so we present a couple more photos from our cat sitter Ronni West:

Luna has this wonderful wide-eyed expression in many of these photos. You can see another example in this recent post. We'll miss our pet sitter when we move.

Weekend Cat Blogging #136 will be hosted this weekend at Chey's Place.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be happening at the House of the Mostly Black Cats.

Carnival of the Cats is coming to Life from a Cat's Perspective on Sunday.

And a special note for Carnival of the Cats founder Laurence Simon, who lost his feline companion Frisky this week. Are thoughts go out to Laurence, Gina and Nardo.

Finally, the Friday Ark #173 is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: The Storm

California was hit by a nasty set of winter storms this weekend, and our soon-to-be-former home in
Santa Cruz was certainly in the middle of that:

Spectacular white-capped waves, heavy rains and high-powered winds battered Santa Cruz County on Friday causing clogged roads, sending trees and power lines into houses and buildings and flooding area roads..

Even from our window, it was obvious this wasn't an ordinary winter storm:

Even more than the rain, the real problem was the wind, well over 60MPH at times. And with wind comes power outages:

There were 46,010 PG&E customers without electricity in Santa Cruz County as of Friday afternoon, said company spokesman Jeff Smith.

We were among those customers, with power out until well into the evening. No lights, no heat, no internet or radio, and only a small amount of phone service. Perfect time for some extra long afternoon naps:

Luna has recently found this black pillow and made it her own.

At some point in the afternoon, I decided to try going out, maybe find a cafe with some electricity, warm drinks, and internet service. But it seemed that the entire town was without power, and most businesses were shuttered. This is what a hurricane must feel like as the storm approaches. A bit disappointed, I returned to the cold, dark house, for at least the warmth of a blanket and “kitty love.”

As afternoon turns to evening, the lack of light becomes more of a problem for humans. But for cats, who have excellent night vision, activities can continue largely uninterrupted:

Indeed, Luna was quite active in the early evening as darkness settled in.

Fortunately for us humans, power was restored to some parts of town by early evening, and I was finally able to go find a cafe for warm drinks and internet service (and to recharge the all important cell phone). The chatter of others and bustle of activity was quite welcome, indeed. But still no power at our house; our block was frustratingly dark even as others started to light up. I was able to spend some time and enjoy a warm meal at a the home of a friend whose power had returned, and by around 9 or 10PM our power was finally back on. As I returned to the house, I could see Luna's face peering out the window, with light in the background…

Weekend Cat Blogging #135 is being hosted by Katie and Puddy of A Byootaful Life. It seems that they are experiencing a rainy weekend as well, and they're inviting everyone to come inside.

The Carnival of the Cats has a new home at The Cat Blogosphere, and they will be celebrating the inaugural edition this Sunday.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be hosted by Ammie & Menagerie at Sleeping Mommy. The option theme is “Gotcha Day Stories.” You can read about Luna's Gotcha Day from this anniversary post back in June.

And of course Friday Ark #172 is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: A day of the year

For our last Weekend Cat Blogging of the year, we weave several of our favorite photos from past into a narrative about the present.

Of course, we at CatSynth wouldn't deign to open such a narrative with “it was a dark and stormy night”. But it was a very gray morning, a bit like the Dark Gradient we posted a couple of weeks back. Yet another perfect day for lying by the heater:

Dark or otherwise, I have been an early riser of late. Even on a Saturday, up by 9AM, and fresh coffee brewing soon after. Certainly the thing to get one alert and wide-eyed:

Actually, morning coffee is an opportunity to relax and enjoy a moment before the real work of the day begins. Read a bit, listen to the radio, do a crossword, and start on some Weekend Cat Blogging. But none of it was happening. Too weary, too numb. Back to bed.

To her credit, Luna soon left her comfy perch above the heater to join me. She's always ready to provide much needed “kitty love.” Of course, she has to first knead her spot on the bed:

Cuddling up for a morning nap, and letting go of the outside world and its worries. Yes, that's what we needed. And now we will be ready to continue with our day…

Things can change very fast. A phone call around noon sets in motion events that may determine the fate of “soon-to-be-former CatSynth HQ.” I can spare you the details, except to say we suddenly need to clean up a bit more than we have been. There's all the boxes and debris such from our expected move:

along with our general sloppiness over the past few months:

But in addition to the task at hand, there is the melancholy of what we will be leaving behind. Some favorite spots, for one:

But we have our photos and our memories, and of course, we should have new favorites in our future home.

So it's back to work for us…

The main focus of today's effort is the downstairs studio/office room, scene of many creative and musical moments:

as well as some moments of comfort:

The goal for today, and indeed for much of work around the house, is simply to get things clean and organized. From complete chaos and bewilderment to something manageable, that we can envision packing up and moving. We have been fortunate to count on our friends to help us in the effort, today as well as last week. And their help has been invaluable. Indeed, the last month has reminded about friends and family and what's important in life:

It looks like we're not the only ones going through the challenges of moving. Kashim and Othello and Astrid were going to host Weekend Cat Blogging #134, but they have just moved and are temporarily without internet access. Fortunately, Samantha and Tigger have stepped in to host the New Years Edition of WCB.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be hosted by Zed Monster and The Bad Kitty Cats. The optional theme is “birds or feathers.” Hmmm, that sounds rather familiar…

Carnival of the Cats returns this Sunday to its original home with Laurence Simon. And of course Friday Ark #171 is at the modulator.

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Weekend Cat Blogging and more: December morning

This Saturday morning, we see Luna enjoying a different window:

It was a very cold morning, with frost.

Frost isn't very common for this part of California, though we have had a lot of frosty mornings this December. Yes, it has been quite cold. Perfect for spending even more time on a favorite perch above the heater:

But we all know the best source of heat is curling up together for some cuddling and pets:

This of course brings us to the theme of this weekend's Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos: family and friends. Being close to one's family, human or feline, is important, and for me what keeps me going during what is an otherwise “difficult” period. Friends, too. And we hope to hear from some of our friends this weekend…

Weekend Cat Blogging Holiday Edition is being hosted by Katie and our favorite Luna-look-alike Puddy. Puddy seems even more like Luna than usual (except for the hat).

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is being hosted by our friends Astrid, Kashim and Othello at Catboys Realm. As stated earlier, the theme this weekend is “friends or family,” and it looks like Othello is getting things started with a sibling tribute of his own.

The holiday edition of Carnival of the Cats will be hosted by Missy and KC at The Cat Blogosphere. And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Away for Thanksgiving

Well, I am away in New York for the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, and Luna remains at the (hopefully) soon-to-be-former home in Santa Cruz. So I thought it would be appropriate to share some more photos of Luna from our favorite cat sitter Ronni West:

Perhaps this trip is a little more bittersweet because the “long weekend is longer than a weekend”. We're going to be stuck in away-from-home state for a bit longer, it seems. Hopefully not too much longer. But it is good to know that meanwhile she is getting lots of love and care.

Weekend Cat Blogging #129 is being hosted by our friends at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats. It looks like Pepi had a bit of a scare with a candle, but everyone is fine. Everyone, please be extra careful with fire safety. A candle can easily turn into something terrible for everyone.

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos will be hosted this weekend at Mind of Mog; Carnival of the Cats is going to Wonkitties this Sunday. And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: Comfy and Clean

It's been a bit colder and darker this week, so Luna is returning to her spot on the glass table above the heater:

The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos has an optional theme of “Clean or Dirty”. Luna is quite fastidious, and enjoys clean elegant spaces, like her glass table. Similarly, how about this minimalist pose on our clean floor?

Weekend Cat Blogging #127 is being hosted by the vermin squirrels at What Did You Eat – and of course Upsie and sher are there as well. The Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos is being held at This, That and The Other Thing.

The Carnival of the Cats (which we hosted last week) will be at Justin's Random Thoughts. And of course, the Friday Ark #164 is at the modulator.