GENJI - The Shining Birthday Prince!

#1 here, leading the Poupounette Central celebrations of our GENJI's FIRST BIRTHDAY!

Our little silver prince arrived home on July 8th, aged three months and one week.

He was confined to the back room or the first week or so, and I spent a lot of time in there with him:

Then he met Bibi:

... and the rest of the family.

He settled in remarkably well, not even getting hissed at by the girls. He was initially terrified of Tom, but the two are now best friends.

Beebs is the perfect big brother:

And little Genji has grown into a beautiful boy:

Although he will probably never be as big as The Beebs!

GENJI brings much joy to our family. He is incredibly affectionate and purrs as soon as I touch him. He loves climbing into my arms and just sitting there. He is adventurous, brave and very playful. He is also a glutton and a terrible food thief. He knows how to open the door of the small oven, a skill he apparently learned from his mother, Bastet, in the womb!

Little Silver Streak, we are so glad you are one of us, and can't imagine life without you!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY from #1, Tama-Chan, Sei-Chan, Bibi-Chan, Tommy, Vidock and Violette!

Les Filles on Friday!

Sei-Chan: For those of you who are not well-versed in French, that means "The Girls on Friday." You see, my sister Tama-Chan did not get a proper post on Tuesday and I know I am not going to get a SEIturday post this week as it coincides with Genji's birthday (Why is it that everyone's birthdays always fall on Saturdays? You don't believe me? Just wait for Vidock's and you'll see!)

Anyway, so us girls have decided to take over today's post. So there! Let us start with me in the run doing further supervising:

I am happy to say that #1 took my advice and got to work on making improvements in the run. She started by replacing the viewing platform I am sitting on, and which had been falling apart, and added another trunk to the access walkway:

The view is indubitably better when you don't have to worry about the whole thing collapsing under you!

She then added some branches to our "climbing forest" and put in a new hammock-like thingie, although none of us have actually used it yet. Here is Tama-Chan (at the top) hissing her head off at The Beebs at the bottom...

Tama loves to play jungle kittie!

We have really been enjoying the warm weather and sunshine this week. It seems it may cool down somewhat next week, and the farmers are praying for rain. It's never perfect, is it? Still, since it's a girly post today, we shall leave you with this lovely ladybird. The garden is just full of them this spring!

Thankful Thursday

Tom: We are never so aware of how lucky we are and therefore how thankful as when we hear rescue stories. Some of us really are unlucky and suffer terrible trauma before being rescued by devoted and kind individuals or organisations. Today we would like to pay tribute to two people who do amazing work.

The first is Eldad Hagar. You can find all kinds of info about the work he does on his website here. The latest story that has been making the rounds is that of a small dog called Fiona. We first read about her on Dublin Dog's FaceBook page and then saw the video on YouTube. You can donate to this great rescue through the website, and also through HOPE FOR PAWS.

We also must mention our wonderful friend Chrystal Parker whom many of you know through her "Daily Dose" blog. She operates a private rescue and takes in dogs and cats, often the most desperate cases. Right now, she is looking for homes for bunch of her cats, as part of her Winnie's Wish project, and our only regret is that we're an ocean away. She is also raising money for her operation by building a commemorative brick walkway to her cathouse. You can find details on that here and order your very own brick!

I also would like to express my personal thankfulness to the wonderful Erin at Dublin Dog. #1 had ordered me a beautiful "Lucky Me" ID tag from them and I wore it with great pride, but one day, we got back from one of our walks and #1 noticed it was gone. It had come loose from its attachment. This had already happened once before with a previousDD tag, so #1 wrote and told them about it, so they could perhaps look to see how they might make the attachment more secure. We got a lovely reply from Erin who sent us a new tag with a different attachment!

On the left is the original attachment, and on the collar is the new split ring attachment. Big Thankful Woofs to Erin and Dublin Dog. They're a great company with great products and great service!

I woudn't be so cruel as to leave you without a single picture of me, so here goes!

Almost Wordless Wednesday

Outdoor Hammock Times Are Here Again!

Totally "T" Tuesday!

Starting with Tantalizing Tama-Chan!

Tommy's Toes!

And Bibi's Toes too!

And Sei-Chan's Toes!

Genji's Tummy!

Thundering Vidock!

And Thankful Violette relaxing in a sunpuddle and wearing her new purple head collar, especially imported from England (they don't sell head collars in draft sizes in such colours in France...)!

Manly Monday - Much Excitement!

Genji: #1 said I could kick off Manly Monday today because this is my birthday week! I will be one year old on Saturday!!! And to pre-celebrate, I caught my first mousie a few days ago, so #1 says I am now a mighty hunter! See for yourselves:

I played with it for quite some time after I, ahem... killed it, flinging it into the air and such. Then, #1 took it away from me, muttering something about not wanting to find it in her bed later on...

So I went and had a nap instead!

Tom: I had some adventures too over the past few days. I mean just look at this bunch:

The littlest guy was the scariest, and he kept claiming that he was old enough to drive!

But I did have some more relaxing fun too, with my young friends Lily Toune and Nours:

... although it's a little scary to see how fast they're growing. They're only 5 months old and Nours is almost as heavy as me!

Vidock: Neigh everyone. Don't you think this is rather a romantic picture of me?

And how about this one? Don't you think I look rather coy?

And on the subject of being "studly" (HaHa!), here is my official entry in the French Percheron Stallion Catalogue!

Bibi-Chan: It is of course very manly to entertain your younger brother by playing with him:

And even manlier to play with both one's brothers simultaneously!

Snuggles on Sunday - Summer Time Edition!

Tama-Chan: We made the switch to summer time in Europe last night so we are all a bit bleary-eyed, having lost an hour's sleep along the way. But never mind! The sun is out, the birds are singing and we are happy!

Just to confirm that all is well with out world, let's start with a pic of Tommy and Sei-Chan snuggling:

And a BIG smooch from Violette:

Here are my Beebs and Genji having a morning snuggle:

And Tommy and The Beebs:

And here is rather a sweet picture of me relaxing with the two boys:

And last but not least, here is Vidock ready for a smooch too!

Savouring SEIturday!

Sei-Chan: La la Lala Laaaaaah! It's SEIturday and the sun is shining and this post is mine, mine, mine! And.... I have TWO new portraits, taken with the new camera. Which do you like best?

I have been enjoying being out in the run again, even though the amenities are not quite what they might be yet. #1 has promised that she will do some fixing and improving soon, so I have been practicing my stern supervisory look:

And going around the run seeing what advice I might give #1 for making improvements:

A girl's work is never done!

Fun on Friday!

Bibi-Chan: Things are good at Poupounette Central at the moment. Spring is here, the sun is out, and #1 is home with us, so we have been concentrating on having fun!

I have been enjoying being out in the run:

And hanging out at the open window with Genji:

Genji has been having fun with his kickaroo:

Sei-Chan has also been enjoying window whiffies...

And Tama-Chan has been working to replicate the famous Japanese "Hanadeka" (big head and tiny body) look:

As for Tommy, well he has been flying through the fields with his ball!

And Vidock has been thundering through his field with Big Tom:

The only one who hasn't been having much fun is our sweet Violette, but that is about to change! She has been confined to box as she has gone through the worming procedure, and she will get her shots tomorrow. After that, she will finally be able to go out into the field with the others!