Tama-Chan Thursday

Tama-Chan: Dear Friends, I had a most delightful evening yesterday! We had friends over for a simple dinner of lobster and corn chowder, and one of them was none other than Dr.J, the man responsible for procuring the drug that has helped several of our friends with appetite problems. Dr. J is a great cat lover and he and his wife have several at home. I decided that he needed a personal thanks from me:

He was eating a rather yummy-looking dessert...

...which he shared with me!

Three cheers for Dr. J!

In other news, I am back to sharing #1's desk chair:

and hanging out with her at breakfast:

Always leaving plenty of time for essential napping, of course!

Woops on Wednedsay!

Tommy occasionally forgets to give #1 the ball before getting ready to spring into action to catch it...

Yes, we had snow yesterday. Nothing like the several feet of snow they got up at Tommy's family's place in Normandy, though. It was more of a dusting. But it's gotten very cold again, and our poor spring flowers are cold:

Rufus had a very busy day yesterday, coming over to collect a large quantity of walnuts which he gamely carried off to his stash (or maybe her stash?):

It certainly kept The Chans entertained!

Violette's First Gotcha Day!

Once upon a time, there was a little filly who lived in a field with her Mummy...

She was a very cute filly, and curious too, and she made friends with the neighbour who used to walk her dog in the next field:

After a few months, she went away, but two years later, she was back in the same field, grown-up now and on her own...

It was a cold winter, and she had no food, no shelter, and nobody to love her, other than her old friend, the neighbour, who came to see her every day, and brought food

Eventually, the neighbour learned that her name was Violette. Several times, she freed her when she got entangled in nasty barbed wire that was lying around in that field. Then one day, the neighbour whispered something in her ear, something about "Gotcha", and soon, there was a truck there for her:

The new home was warm, and dry, and she got a halter that was violet in colour!

She started going to school...

And met lots of people, all of whom loved her!

And she grew lovelier and lovelier:

Some months later, she had to move again, but to another place where she is well taken care of (sadly, Poupounette Central does not come with fields of its own) and the neighbour, now known to her as "#1" still comes to see her many times a week, giving her lots of cuddles, and talking of the day when they will step out together...

Sweet Violette has gone from being unloved and uncared for to being a treasured friend and very special member of the Poupounette Gang. To celebrate her First Gotcha Day, #1 ordered some jewellery for her:

In case you can't see, one of those strands has "Violette" written out in beads!

Violette, we are so happy you are one of us!

From your family, #1, Vidock, Tommy, Tama-Chan, Sei-Chan, Bibi-Chan, Gen-Chan, and neighbour woofie Fernant who was also your friend when you lived in that field. 

Here's looking at you, kid:

By the way, Violette will be four years old on May 11th. She is just one day older than our Vidock.

Manly Monday

Genji: The Shining Prince here. Have you been missing me? I am SO happy that my #1 is back and have been snuggling with her constantly since her return.  It's pouring with rain here and we have thunderstorms and snow in the forecast for the next day or two, but it was nice when #1 returned and we spent some time out in the run.

Bibi-Chan: There is nothing manlier than sharpening your claws on real tree trunks!

And looking fierce as you gaze over your lands:

Tom: You know me. Always ready to play ball!

Vidock: Yup, it's still muddy, and I'm muddier than ever. #1 brought me and Violette some apples and carrots all the way from England!

Definitely worth walking over for!

Snuggles on Mothering Sunday!

Tama-Chan: Today is Mothering Sunday (aka Mother's Day) in the UK and we would like to take this opportunity to tell #1 that we love her and would like her to be by our side all of the time, even if the trips away do yield good stuff...

So, here I am sharing a cuddle and simultaneously telling her this...

And here is a cuddle plain and simple:

Genji of course spends half his time wrapped around #1...

And a good chunk of the rest hanging with his buddy, Tommy:

Tommy of course remains the major snuggle magnet of the household. Here he is with my Beebs:

And here is my Beebs snuggling with #1 in bed:

And Sei-Chan getting a snuggle from #1:

No "Big V" snuggle shot today, but here is one with Violette!

By the way, we will be celebrating Violette's First Gotcha Day on Tuesday, so don't forget to join us then!

We would like to end today's post with fond farewells to two dear friends who left for the Bridge yesterday. Tigmut'hep, aka Tigs, was one of of our very first blogging friends, along with his fabulous Aby family (Isis was Sen-Chan's special lady), although they have not been blogging for sometime now. He had had a long struggle with cancer and finally lost his battle yesterday. Our condolences to Mum Jacquie and Ramses, Isis, Setra, Devlin and Isis' current litter of kittens. A farewell also to Princess, sister to Prancer Pie, Princeton and Precious. This beautiful senior girl left very suddenly and we know her family are still in shock. May both of you run free and happy until we see you again.

Supervising SEIturday

Sei-Chan: Even though it is grey and a bit foggy outside, and there is talk of much colder weather coming our way next week, it feels sunny and warm at Poupounette Central now that we are all together again.

I have been supervising #1's vague attempts at putting away the stuff she brought back:

It's awfully hard work...

Wishing you all a great weekend!

Fantastic Friday!

The Chans & Tommy: She's BACK!!! #1 got back yesterday afternoon, fairly early as she had been able to take an earlier train, having started on her journey very early. As promised, the boot of the Big Cat was full of goodies for us:

Please don't think that Tommy is being short-changed! It's gotten easier to order the right food for him over the Internet so she doesn't have to carry huge bags over anymore. But he did get a new ball and that really is what he cares about most!

#1 has promised to start taking photos of us again tomorrow, so we will hopefully return to our regular posting very soon! In the meantime, a huge thanks to Ms. A for taking such god care of us (and tidying up the garden!).